Name: Pal Shinken Densetsu (PAL 神犬伝説)
Type: Turn-based RPG
Available Languages: Japanese
Today’s post is all about relishing the obscure. Being that this is a blog about Japanese games, I felt that it was time to take a short trip out into leftfield and talk about a little known game. I wanted to choose a Japan only release that was a PlayStation exclusive. There are quite a few options to choose from, of course, but none that I could think of fit my criteria as well as Pal Shinken Densetsu. If you have heard of this game before, I congratulate you on knowing your RPGs. If you haven’t, then you’re in for a treat, as this game is nothing if not strange and entertaining. The title, roughly translated, means Pal God Dog Legend, and if you think that that makes no sense, it’s only because you’re not familiar with the story.
Pal Shinken Densetsu begins as a tale about a dog and his owner. Kaoru, a teenage girl with a destiny that she is unaware of, is being sought out by a man named Nostradamus. Totally unaware of this, she lives her daily life in her hometown of Kamishima. She finds an abandoned dog one day and takes him in, naming him Pal.
Things don’t go very well for our canine friend, however, as Kaoru’s foster mother won’t allow her to keep him due to having a dislike of dogs. So Kaoru puts him on a leash and goes looking for help. Her boyfriend, Yukito, won’t take Pal in either, because he is too preoccupied with his studies. So she sadly takes him with her to school, not knowing who to turn to for help. Pal’s best friend, the stray cat Pally, releases him from where he’s been tied to a tree and they go searching for Kaoru. While looking around for her, you will be picked on by some punks, and finally by a girl who apparently thinks it’s fine to bring nunchaku with her to school. It turns out that she’s Kaoru’s best friend, and after realizing who you are, she helps you find her.
It is soon after that things become bizarre. After singing a strange song, Kaoru is kidnapped by a flying ship that is rather reminiscent of a harpy. Needless to say, you attack it, it makes mincemeat out of you, and then kidnaps your owner, leaving you and Pally injured on the school roof. It seems that you are a dog who has unwittingly been caught up in a rather large mess. But as you and Pally love Kaoru so very much, Zeus decides to help you. My eyebrows felt like they had raised to my hairline by this point, but I decided to just roll with it and took him up on his offer. Pal and Pally end up in the land of the gods, where the seven gods of good fortune put you through trials to become heroes.
Both of you pass with flying colors, which means that you’re ready to go kick Nostradamus and his little committee around like soccer balls, right? Not so fast! Zeus will allow only one of you to become a hero, so you have to duke it out. Given that the title of this game is Pal Shinken Densetsu, the puppy must defeat the alley cat. After you win, you promise Pally to save Kaoru and move onward. You are then treated to what has to be the most bizarre transformation sequence that I have ever seen, as Pal is changed into a human, although his dog ears still remain. You now have the appearance of a human and the power of a god. Sweet. You are also joined by Yama No Kami (god of the mountain), a rather obese female deity, and Binbougami (god of poverty), her perverted husband. How your circumstances have changed, Pal, although I’m not sure if they’re for the better. And so you return to Kamishima very different from how you left it, and your search for Kaoru begins in earnest.
The choices that you have in and out of battle are
somewhat varied, although it is still a pretty simple system by RPG standards.
As a puppy, you have options as to what you can do via menu. Pal can bark to
talk to other animals or get the attention of humans. In battle it has the
potential of frightening enemies into immobility. He can snap his teeth to
confront enemies and attack them in battle. He can check for scents in areas to
look for information. He can also wag his tail, which in battle can reduce an
enemy’s health. As a human, out of battle you can talk to people and your party
members, use techniques and items, and search for information. In battle, you
can attack, defend, use techniques and items, or run. It’s your classic
turn-based RPG fare. You can use your techniques in and out of battle and level
up the elements as the game progresses. Each element adds a different group of
spells to your arsenal, which makes the game’s battle mechanics slightly more
complicated and interesting. It is fun to experiment with them to see what is
most effective in different situations. Yukito, Kaoru’s boyfriend and your
fourth party member, can’t use techniques because he is human, so as his
special skill he cooks. That’s right, he cooks. His recipes can do all sorts of
different things to help you as you fight your way toward the end. It’s a nice
little addition to what is otherwise a pretty traditional battle system.
Beyond the strangeness of this game’s plot, another
thing struck me rather forcefully. This game’s dialog is interesting in that it
is written in furigana. Most games of this generation are a mix of that and
kanji, but this game is an exception. Therefore I can recommend this as being
much more accessible to beginning learners of Japanese than many other games.
Oddly enough, the in battle choices and the choices to agree or disagree during
conversations are all in kanji. I can only assume that this was done for
stylistic reasons, as it’s rare to see the kanji for agreement and disagreement
choices used in games.
We have only scratched the surface of this odd
little game, given that discussing the whole story would be more like a
dissertation and less like a peek into the world of games that few outside of
Japan ever get to see. If you’re looking for something that’s a little bit
different from the norm or that is a good game to play as your first foray into
Japanese language RPGs, then give Pal Shinken Densetsu a spin. Its character
designs are interesting, the battle system is accessible to most players, and I
defy anyone to say that the story isn’t entertaining. You certainly won’t find
this little jaunt predictable.
If you feel like hearing more of my gaming prattle,
feel free to follow me on Twitter. You can find me at @bejiita_buruma
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