Beyond the Beyond Review by: janus - 4/10
Beyond the Beyond: Beyond Awful Released in late 1994 in Japan, the PlayStation console had a rather slow development until Squaresoft decided to put its Final Fantasy flagship series on that console. So before 1997 there weren't that many popular games, and those that were there weren't terrible.
Beyond the Beyond is such a game. This has to be one of the worst games I've played in my life. Find out why a relatively good story is not enough to support a game...
Graphics: 5/10
Probably because the game is so old (1996), most of the graphics were inferior to games like Final Fantasy VI and even Phantasy Star IV.
For starters the sprites outside of battle are barely clearer than FF VI. The characters' head is oversized and their person is much too pixelated. They also evolve in a 2D environment everywhere. While the graphics inside towns are nice and colorful - and even appropriately darker when a town is occupied by foreign forces - they are much to simply for a console this advanced. Even walking on the world map looks awful; the main character's pet dragon drags him behind, making his walking unnatural.
OK I lied. There is a sort of 3D effect when you walk on the world map, but again it's inferior to FF VI. The only good effect worth mentioning is the vine you climb to a sky temple at one point, which 3D effect was well-done. Otherwise the world map is barely better than the average 16-bits game. The mountain ranges looked better in Shining Force II.
The reason I gave graphics a 5 instead of a 1 was because of battle. THAT feature was well-done and is in full 3D. You only see your characters from the back but their definition is much clearer than on the world map. They have human proportions and their movements are very fluid - when they do a critical hit, you see them dash towards the enemy. The magic is also well-done and higher-level spells (or magic jars) have impressive drawings (you see a fire dragon for high-level fire spells). The hero's dragon becomes a magic spell once he gets promoted and he looks more fearsome than Smaug.
Enemies too are well-drawn and in 3D. Their movements might not be as fluid but at least they are moving; they sometimes even have a face and mouth. Fun fact: when you successfully escape they jump in triumph (just like YOU do when you win a battle). I thought that was original.
The environment in which you fight depends on where the fight takes place. Be it in a cave, in sewers, in a forest, etc., the creators have put some effort into making the backgrounds realistic and in 3D.
Finally, important characters (playing or not) all have their portraits on the screen when they are talking. Most of the characters look "too manga" for my taste (gigantic eyes, microscopic nose) but they are larger and more detailed than in PS IV.
Music: 3/10
Even more awful than the graphics is the music. The synthetization is even worse than Final Fantasy VII and there was no attempt to make it sound realistic.
I barely remember any of the tracks, which gives you an idea of how unmemorable it is. There were a few battle themes but none could stand up to the 16-bits ones.
Those that I do remember were OK at best. The world map theme sounds epic like most of them but the second half of the loop just gets lost in drums. The first dungeon music you hear is dramatic enough and the "drum" intro gives the right mood but the rest of the track gets lost in artificial music. Finally the peaceful village music, while indeed sounding peaceful, had lousy arrangements that were too loud.
The only track worth talking about is the one of occupied villages. Despite the synth the rapid beat you hear through the track give it a good-enough dramatic feel opposed to the peaceful village track. The final dungeon track also does a decent job by accelerating as you get near the bottom.
Sound effects aren't much better. You hear "voice" sounds much like the Shining Force series... which get annoying pretty quickly. The battle intro sound looks like it's from an 8-bits game and the drum beat preceding your dash for a critical attack just sounds silly, and so does the chime that indicates you mashed the right buttons (see section below for more details).
Addictiveness: 7/10
The score is so high because I really got into the story, which was well-managed and wasn't a generic save-the-world scenario, at least not until the end.
Otherwise the game doesn't have much to offer. There are three secret characters but only the first one (Tonte) is worth getting because of his strong spells. Otherwise the other 2 can easily be missed - in fact the last one comes so late in the game there's barely any chance for you to get him because of how you meet him.
The only sidequest worth mentioning is that to find Merlin, who will grant one of your characters a much-needed resurrection spell. There isn't even a quest for you ultimate weapons.
Story: 9/10
At least the producers put some efforts into creating a great scenario.
You play Finn, a boy raised by his father Lord Kevin, the captain of the knights in Marion Kingdom. After coming back from training, Sir Galahad (where you spend most of your time) offers you to visit Marion Castle - you're just a trainee - if you complete a little task. Your friend Annie wants to join in but Galahad (her father) refuses because she's just a girl... She storms out of the house and you go to the cave.
You find Annie, who takes the wrong route Galahad warned about. Fortunately, the magic water you took saved her life... and gave her magical powers! As if it weren't enough drama, Percy (Annie's brother) comes back to the village, out of breath, to say that the Kingdom of Bandore has invaded Marion! You try sneaking in the next morning in order to rescue Prince Edward, the heir to the throne. You will get the help from Samson, the knight with the legendary strength... that will weaken considerably once he gets cursed by one of Bandore's generals.
Depth: 9/10
What I told in the story is not even 10% of the game. The plot is very elaborate and takes all sorts of interesting twists.
For starters, Samson's curse will occupy at least 25 percent (of not one third) of the game. Until you can cure him you will not be able to get support from Zalagoon, where Edward's Queen aunt lives. Only Samson's full strength will prove who he is and show Zalagoon that Bandore only means conquest rather than peace.
There are also two shocking plot twists that will blow your mind. One of them involves the Dark Knight. He is forcibly taken by Bandore when he is forced to wear a cursed mask. Despite all this, he still acts to help you...
Finally, the dungeons you will explore are also very deep, many of which contain trap holes to make your way more difficult. The final dungeon is especially challenging; you must carry two orbs (light and darkness) to the bottom to get into the final fight. But once you take out one, the opposing one will emit an aura keeping you from passing nearby, making you walk another way.
Difficulty: 9/10
While that latter part can be dealt with, the rest of the game is insanely difficult.
I once tried to make the game's speedrun but was unable to because it was too difficult. The first boss you have to face, unless you are properly leveled, is just too strong with its spells that will decimate you. In addition, Samson's curse is too realistic. The former super strong soldier goes back to level one and is affected by the curse at random (can't fight, receives damage, etc.) which is very annoying.
Speaking of curse many pieces of equipment are cursed. Fortunately their names (darkness, evil) are usually obvious so just keep them for money.
Also, like too many RPGs the number of random encounters is insanely high, and even a speedrun can't go around it.
Finally, the final battle is downright impossible. Not only do you have to face the too strongest generals that have been harassing you since the beginning, but you also have to face the ultimate boss
without any pause. I just couldn't complete it.
On a more positive note, the game introduces two new concepts. The first one is vitality points, which determine whether your character can fight or is temporarily numb. What determines whether he's alive or dead is life points, which get transferred to VP when the character gets "groggy".
The second concept, linked to the previous one, is active playing system. Basically, you have to mash the X button right before anyone's action in hopes that they will: attack twice, do a critical hit, defend, counter or avoid grogginess by having one VP. However the system is highly imperfect and even during a speedrun, it yields unsatisfactory results.
In conclusion, I can't really recommend this game. Despite a strong story that develops very well, the graphics and music are just not worthy of a PSX game. Plus, the game is so difficult that in order to avoid a scream fest, you are better off by avoiding the game altogether.
Graphics
5 Sound
3 Addictive
7 Depth
9 Story
9 Difficulty
9
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