Name: Startling Odyssey 1 Blue Evolution (スタートリング・オデッセイ１ブルー・エヴォリューション)
Type: Turn Based RPG
Available Languages: Japanese
This week we take a look at the RPG Startling Odyssey 1 Blue Evolution. This game has the distinction of being the only one of the three Startling Odyssey titles to be brought from the PC Engine to the PlayStation. It also has one of the more interesting titles that I’ve come across over the years. Let’s see just how startling this supposed odyssey actually turns out to be, shall we? Paging through the manual, I noted that things look like your generic RPG fare, save for the moment when I got to the characters section and saw that the main character was voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru. After the requisite fangirlish squeal had been unleashed at the presence of my favorite seiyuu ever, I saw nothing else of interest beyond the nice character designs (and, of course, made the usual fervent wish that the busty female characters would put something on before they caught a chill). I suppose it’s time to see what this game has to offer us!
The game opens with a rather decent anime sequence. While it was nothing to some of the masterpieces I’ve seen over the years, it was more than passable for its day and was a nice introduction to the characters. From what I gather from the introduction and the manual, there was a pretty massive battle between good and evil that went down long before the game began. We’ve heard this kind of stuff before. According to the infallible internet, the Startling Odyssey games actually go in reverse order, 2 being a prequel of 1, and 3 being a prequel of 2, so I suppose I’m allowed to be a fish out of water here. I’ll play them in the order intended, complete with the requisite confusion.
We awaken in the village of Arishia as the protagonist of the game and resident Midorikawa Hikaru character, Leon Solford. The pest who won’t let him get his shuteye is local boy Mark, accompanied by his dog. Belied by the cheerful music in the background, he actually has a good reason for waking Leon up. It appears that a monster has gotten into the village, and it is up to Leon to help drive it out.
During our trek around the village, we learn that monsters have only begun showing up in the area recently, which is never a good sign in a videogame. The other shoe should be dropping any time now. An earthquake rocks the village in the midst of Leon’s quest for information, after which Mark’s dog Ron senses something. It seems that Ron has found the infamous monster, which is quite demonic in appearance and can talk. Leon is then thrown into his first battle against the monster, Kureido, which he wins handily. With a typically villainous ominous statement being thrown at our hero, the monster dies. His passing is followed by yet another earthquake.
The next morning Leon’s fervent admirers Mark and Ron have shown up at his house again, and Mark asks if Leon is going to see the elder. Since it seems there is a conversation to be held with that gentleman, that is where we should head off to. Saria, Leon’s mother, arrives, and Mark tells us that Sophia is coming home. This is important to us because she is the next playable character that we’ll get and has healing spells. Enough said. Saria hustles Leon off to the elder’s, but another earthquake shakes the land. After listening to the billionth inane comment about how many earthquakes there have been lately, you gain control of Leon.
As Leon leaves, Saria stops him for apparently no reason, changing her mind at the last minute about telling him what she had to say. A poor choice, methinks. Outside the elder’s house, Mark tells Leon that he wants to be like him when he grows up. We never would have guessed that, given that the boy and his dog have literally been following us everywhere since the beginning of the game. Leon, however, seems surprised. Mark desires to become strong in order to protect the village from bad guys, which is an admirable, if rather childish, plan. He then runs off to play with his dog, leaving Leon happily laughing in his wake.
The elder is, naturally, pleased with Leon’s monster cleansing of the night before. Apparently things are a lot worse around here than they appear, though, as there have been rumors of Mazoku (literally ‘evil tribe’) destroying villages on the continent. The monster from the night before gave him a bad feeling, to which Leon replies that Kureido said that the end of the village was coming. The elder is not pleased to hear this news, and it leads into a discussion of the war between light and darkness 270 years previously. The elder cuts the discussion short and shoos Leon outside, where he teaches him the Shooting Star skill. Not bad, old man!
Unfortunately, we don’t have time to appreciate our shiny new powers, as there is a disruption in the village. Mark, of course, comes to get you, telling you that there are Mazoku in the village and that people are being killed. Gara-do and his band of mooks have appeared in this village under the name of his emperor to take the land for the Mazoku. It’s leave or die, but Leon isn’t too keen on that idea, and with Mark as his cheerleader, he clears through some of the rabble with his new technique. Leon then flings himself sword first at Gara-do, who proceeds to totally annihilate him.
Out of nowhere, more of the enemies are blown to bits, the source of firepower being none other than Leon’s mother. After an impressive showing of power by Saria, Gara-do shifts the balance in his favor by capturing Mark and killing his dog. He knows that Saria won’t act because of Mark, and proceeds to turn her partially to stone. He then hurts Mark anyway. Saria’s transformation into a statue is then completed, and Gara-do sends her off to become a part of his collection. Tossing Mark’s body to the ground, he teleports off with the magically petrified form of Leon’s mother. Mark reaches out to Leon shakily, telling him that he wants to become stronger, like Leon, and then dies. I believe that we’ve just found the startling part of the game, because I’m genuinely startled by my sudden rage. Leon is left to bury his grief, discover his family’s past, and find a way to save his mother from the magic that binds her.
The battle system in Startling Odyssey 1 is turn-based, with your characters appearing on the right side of the screen and the enemies on the left. The character’s HP and SP appears attached to them by a blue line. When it is your character’s turn, their name and face will pop up on the screen and a set of option buttons will appear. The central button will allow you to attack, the left will let you use skills, the right defend, the top use items, and the bottom will take you to another page of buttons. This page has four buttons, the center of which returns you to the previous page, the left allows you to run, the right sends you into auto battle, and the top allows you to change weapons. It’s very basic and couldn’t be easier to learn, given that the buttons come with accompanying illustrations for beginning learners of Japanese. All that being said, the in battle sprites are truly hideous. There is absolutely nothing good that I have to say about them. I hate to be so negative, but there it is.
I rather like some of the music in Startling Odyssey, although I know that it won’t be to some peoples’ taste. It reminds me very much of the background music of some of the anime I watched as a teenager, and I can’t help feeling nostalgic about it. Other than those few tracks, though, the rest of the music is average. The game’s appearance is also average, with nothing really speaking to me of any extra effort being put into making something memorable. The cut scenes are decent, with the anime style stills making for a nice illustration of the scene in progress, but as I said earlier, I’ve seen it done better.
Overall, Startling Odyssey 1 is a decent way to kill a few hours, or even a few days. It’s not great in any sense, but it certainly isn’t bad either. However, having played through this truly generic RPG for quite a while now, I can say that the only truly startling thing that I’ve come across in it is its title.
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