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''Arcana'' is a
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
released for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
by
HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...
in 1992. The game represents all of its characters as
cards {{Redirect, CARDS, other uses, Cards (disambiguation){{!Cards The CARDS programme, of Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation, is the EU's main instrument of financial assistance to the Western Balkans, covering spec ...
, but plays like a dungeon-crawling role-playing game rather than a card-based game. In keeping with this metaphor, the death of a character results in a 'torn' card, and the magical properties of some cards are used to explain abilities of the game's characters.


Gameplay

Assuming a first-person perspective, the
dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
s and towns of the game are navigated from the viewpoint of the characters and, with a few exceptions, the conversations between characters hold true to this as well. Battles within the game are portrayed in the first-person, displaying the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
characters along the perimeter of the screen, with the enemies in the center. ''Arcanas battles, however, are not graphically intensive and the characters' animations are limited to, at most, five frames. Breaking from the format established by
Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of displaying the
damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...
incurred by characters above their heads, this information is summarised in a text display at the bottom of the screen similar to ''
Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...
'' games from
Enix was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting t ...
. The map's tile based dungeons are, arguably, the most challenging aspect of the game. Seeing often only what is immediately before the characters, the player is free to move in the four primary
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...
directions. Labyrinthine in their design, and often fraught with dead ends and hidden dangers, the detail in the drawing of these dungeons compensates for their relative lack of animation. Battles within the game follow a strict turn system. As each character takes their turn, various options are presented to the player. Rooks, the principal character, possesses many of the vital battling techniques. Because he can switch the Elemental spirits, flee the battle, and use magical card spells which, though powerful, were expensive, Rooks is the most valuable resource to the party. If Rooks is incapacitated, the entire party is crippled. A battle is followed with the reward of Experience Points and Gold. However, the level progression of all of the characters is standardized; there is no randomness to what statistics increase when a character levels up. Four elemental spirits,
Sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...
(Wind), Efrite (Fire),
Dao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
(Earth), and
Marid A marid ( ') is a type of devil (''shayṭān'') in Islamic tradition. The Arabic word, meaning "rebellious," is applied to such supernatural beings. Hans Wehr's '' A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' defines ''marid'' as a "demon" or "gian ...
(Water), rotate through the same slot in the battle formation. Rooks and a spirit are always in the player's party, providing two other spots for party members. Unlike the human characters, an elemental can die and the game will continue. Their card will be torn, and they can be rotated out for a live elemental. If Rooks is incapacitated, however, the player can be stuck with a dead elemental. Spirits can be resurrected for a fee by the Spirit Healer who resides in each town, or by a spell Rooks can learn at a high experience level. The game's difficulty is determined by various factors: *Easy
Game Over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...
s: In contrast to the norm for RPGs of the era, which dictated that the death of one character in the player's party was usually a recoverable loss, in ''Arcana'', the death of any character save an Elemental results in
Game over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...
. This means that an unexpected confrontation could result in a speedy demise. *Little forewarning: Due to the convoluted nature of the passages, a common cause of death for a player's character is the sudden discovery of a boss character. The gravity of the situation is not apparent to the player until the fight begins. The presence of these boss characters is not always deducible in advance, and in many cases results simply from the player's movement onto a particular
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...
. *Scarcity of
save point Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places * Save (Garonne), a river in southern France * Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique * Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save * Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Rwan ...
s: Saving the game is limited to the town area of each
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...
. As such, it is possible to be in a difficult situation without any restorative items. The player must escape to the solace of the town before further engaging monsters. *Limited inventory: The party's inventory is limited to forty-two item slots. Unlike other RPGs, where multiple copies of the same item can "stack" in one slot, the items in this game do not stack, providing a very strict, and often small, item limit. *Linearity: Having completed a dungeon, the player cannot subsequently return. The dungeon explored is determined by the player's progress in the story and not chosen. This prevents players from returning to a dungeon with easier monsters, and risks being stuck in a dungeon whose monsters are too strong to overcome.


Plot

The ancient land of Elemen was rife with chaos under the tyranny of the evil Empress Rimsala (Rimsalia). A group of powerful wizards called the Card Masters combined their abilities to defeat Rimsala and seal her away. But her legacy would not be forgotten. Decades later, political unrest in the kingdoms of Elemen turned into bloody civil war. As armies slaughtered each other on the battlefields, the Card Masters were persecuted and hunted down by the minions of Galneon, the former court magician of Wagnall, King of Lexford. Galneon was the man who had launched the original coup that began the war, but his motives were much more sinister than bloodshed. He sought the unsealing and resurrection of Rimsala, to unleash her ancient evil upon Elemen again. In the conflict, King Wagnall's two daughters disappeared. It was also the last battle for the Knights of Lexford, a trio of brave fighters sworn to Wagnall, which dissolved as the war drew to a close. Galneon assumed power and stretched forth his oppressive authority across Elemen, eliminating every Card Master found so that the revival of Rimsala could succeed without interference. Ten years have passed since these events. The young protagonist Rooks is the son of the last Card Master to perish during Elemen's civil war, who was also one of the Knights of Lexford. The death of his father motivated Rooks to begin learning the art of the cards in earnest, but in a decade his minimal training has barely scratched the surface when word comes to his home village of Galia. Mysterious events are occurring all over the land, heralding a cataclysm. Rooks' path lies before him as he sets off to prevent the awakening of Rimsala, so he must fulfill his destiny as the last Card Master before it is too late.


Characters

* Hero of the story and the last surviving Card Master. His parents were killed during Galneon's coup ten years ago. Rooks is the only character who can call the spirits to change which one is in the player's active lineup. As the Card Master, only he can use magical Cards in battle, which have various effects on enemies and the party. His other talents include swordsmanship, healing magic, and magic to negatively affect enemy stats. * Rooks' childhood friend, he has not seen him in ten years. Ariel seems to have several apprentices whom he taught, however what exactly they were learning is unknown as each has different styles of battle. It was because of Ariel's request to go to Balnia Temple that Rooks' adventure begins. However, there is more to him than he shows. Ariel is not playable but is interacted with at several points in the game. * One of Ariel's apprentices. She is decent in battle but her real talent lies in sorcery. Teefa is the only character in the game who can master the eleventh level Attribute spell. Also, she can cast some healing magic. The first to join the player's party while following Ariel's request. * One of the two missing daughters of King Wagnall of Lexford who Axs has been taking care of since the coup. Like Teefa, Salah is primarily a magician. It was she who healed the injuries Rooks sustained during Chapter 1. * A wandering elf with two different color eyes that switch depending on which side of the party he is placed. The fighter-mage character who is good at both talents. His reasoning for joining Rooks' party is unclear at first but will be revealed over time. Darwin is also the character who joins the most; he accompanies Rooks in three chapters while the others only are playable in two. * The last surviving member of the Knights of Lexford; a group that once consisted of himself, Rooks' father and Ariel's father. After the king died, Axs became the caretaker of his young daughter, Salah. A warrior through and through, Axs uses the fewest spells and none that have any offensive powers. * The former Court Magician from Lexford, he assassinated King Wagnall one day ten years ago and claimed the throne for himself. Currently, he is attempting to gain the three treasures necessary to revive the evil Empress Rimsala. Galneon is not playable.


Reception

''
Super Play ''Super Play'' was a British Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) magazine which ran from 1 October 1992 to September 1996. Overview ''Super Play'' covered in great detail the role-playing video game genre. Many of these games were nev ...
'' opined, "An RPG based around first person perspective (like '' Dungeon Master'') sounds good, but if suffers from a very plodding pace - the combat scenes are particularly long and drawn-out. Graphically it's okay, and the music is well done, but only recommended for die-hard RPG fans." ''Time Extension'' listed ''Arcana'' as one of the best SNES games, saying "the challenge is pitched perfectly" and calling the game audiovisually superior to '' Shining in the Darkness''.


Notes


References


External links

*{{moby game, id=/arcana, name=''Arcana''
Arcana
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1992 video games Dungeon crawler video games Fantasy video games First-person party-based dungeon crawler video games HAL Laboratory games Role-playing video games Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Video games developed in Japan