Dark Savior
| Developer: Climax Entertainment | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Sega | Sound: |
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| Year: 1996 (1997 in Europe) | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Platform-adventure | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
5/10 | |
100% contractually binding photos!
Toward the end of the ’90s, I was the proud owner of a Sega Saturn, a console renowned for its Japanese role-playing games, several of which I played to death, without considering myself a die-hard fan. I have, moreover, a low tolerance for mawkishness and manga characters with improbable hairstyles and large sparkling eyes. That’s why I dropped Shining Force 3 shortly after the prologue—any longer and I would have topped myself. Go ahead, throw tomatoes!
Thus, I must acknowledge that few of them left an indelible impression on me. There was Panzer Dragoon Saga, which I’ve already discussed, and this one, Dark Savior, which I remember with a mixture of nostalgia and pain. The older I get, the more I forget. And the more I appreciate these somewhat clunky games that at least have the merit of trying new things…
Let’s clear up the ambiguity straight away: although it was developed by the studio behind Landstalker (Sega Genesis, 1992), Dark Savior is a false role-playing game. It borrows certain elements from the genre (character sheet, hit points and other statistics, inventory screen, dialogues…), but I feel they didn’t know what to do with them and abandoned the idea along the way. Take it, therefore, as a hybrid between platformer and adventure game.
Its isometric 3D representation divided players. Yet the formula had met with great success, particularly across the Channel, since the first generations of consoles, with Knight Lore (ZX Spectrum, 1984) and its countless variations and successors: Head over Heels, Treasure Trap, Cadaver, Heimdall 2…
The problem perhaps stems not so much from its representation as from its rather rudimentary 3D engine. It’s possible to move the camera, partially and rather clumsily. I could have done without this capability, especially since the developers took perverse pleasure in exploiting this “innovation” by placing objects or paths in blind spots!
Note that the game takes advantage of an analogue controller, quite rare on Saturn. However, I couldn’t properly configure the analogue stick of my Xbox controller on emulator…
The combat system, although simplistic, is probably the most memorable element, and what will most put off role-playing game enthusiasts. It takes the form of a mini-fighting game on a single plane, in real time (like the first Street Fighter). Unfortunately, it quickly gets repetitive. Sure, you can capture some enemies and control them instead of the hero in subsequent battles, but almost all the fighters disappoint, making these sequences even longer and more tedious than they already are. It leaves you with that “gimmicky feature” aftertaste that wasn’t really thought through.
For me, Dark Savior is primarily a platformer, and as such, it’s clearly insufficient. The mechanics are basic (moving platforms, switches, crate-stacking…), but above all, the level design sorely lacks imagination. Besides, the difficulty lies mainly in the awkward camera angles, which pose serious problems for judging the distance between platforms.
I come to the controls, which are unwieldy, especially when having to deal with the uncooperative camera and the two axes along which the hero moves. The worst is when the level layout forces us to jump in a “45-degree” direction, which the hero can’t follow without turning at right angles mid-jump. Truth be told, I’m hesitant… The worst might be the puzzles involving throwing an object into a circle or onto a button, as the trajectory is unpredictable and the object ends up stuck in the scenery every other time. No, the worst is when you don’t know where to go, either because the only exit is hidden (I remained stuck here for half an hour) or the game deliberately makes you believe the passage is impassable (I would swear an invisible wall prevented me from jumping over that river). It drives me nuts to have to resort to a walkthrough, not because I’m stumped by a puzzle, but to find my way!
I was about to forget the most important thing, or rather, the last straw to cling to… [Mixed-metaphors again! – Ed.]
The story is passable, but let’s acknowledge the effort. You’re a bounty hunter pursuing a powerful monster (the ominously named “Bilan”, who continued to haunt me during my accounting studies).
[“Bilan” means “statement of account” in French. – Ed.]
It will later be revealed that a prophecy has chosen you as humanity’s saviour, how original! And inveterate liberator of a strong and independent woman, and ungrateful, and incapable of walking ten steps without being kidnapped.
The twist unfolds [I see mixed-metaphors everywhere. – Ed.] shortly after completing the first scenario, when you wake up at your starting point (on the ship). You’ll discover that depending on the time spent completing the game’s prologue, three parallel storylines will be available to you (numbered 1 to 5 in the game, Japanese numbering! Or is this English numbering?).
To conclude, despite intriguing premises and a role-playing game façade, I’m sorry to have to update my embellished memory of Dark Savior, a daring all-in-one that masters none of its components.
I would mention in passing that the chocolate bars used for bartering are, of course, cigarette packets in the original version. It’s comforting to know that censorship wasn’t limited to the French version of our animes.
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