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AtomTengai Makyou 3 Namida
aka known as Far East of Eden 3.
Over in Japan circa the 16-bit era, Tengai Makyou was a name to be reckoned with. Ranking up next to behemoths like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, Tengai Makyou (also known as "Far East of Eden") was Hudson’s premier RPG for the PC Engine CD. Being freed from the restraints of the cartridge, Tengai Makyou had fully voiced characters, vibrantly animated cutscenes and an orchestral soundtrack. The last "true" game in the series was Tengai Makyou 2, although there were several offshoots, including Oriental Blue for the Gameboy Advance and the brilliant Tengai Makyou: The Apocalypse IV for the Saturn. The only time the series ever showed up in America was the Neo Geo fighting game Kabuki Klash.
While Tengai Makyou 3 was planned for NEC’s PC-FX back in 1995, the dismal failure of the system caused the game to be cancelled. A decade later, Hudson and Red Entertainment has resurrected the series for the Playstation 2 and giving a third true installment. But considering that cutscenes and voices are standards in today’s gaming, can Tengai Makyou 3 stand up in the modern RPG climate?
The story begins with Namida, a young boy with rather rambunctious hair, is found floating in the ocean near a small fishing village. Years pass, and he grows closer to his lady friend (and adopted sister) Ichiyo. But with a name like "Namida" (which means "tears", sometimes Japanese RPGs have no subtlety when it comes to foreshadowing), you can bet tragedy strikes. During a ceremony, a mirror is broken which unleashes a horde of demons called "Ami", and naturally, they’re up to no good. They kidnap Ichiyo and murder your adopted father, but their schemes include the eventual takeover of the land of Jipang. Naturally, Namida has special powers blah blah blah, must the save the day, etc. It’s your typical RPG plotline, which makes sense given how incredibly traditional the gameplay is.
Not much has changed since Tengai Makyou 2 - although the plot is linear, you’re given free exploration over the land, which encompasses several gigantic islands. There’s a fair amount of fetch questing and backtracking involved, which unfortunately does get quite tedious. Amidst running from town to town and crossing through mountain paths, you’re encouraged to hunt down Tengu Hideaways, which grants various magic spells to be dispersed amongst your party members. When you get party members, that is. The first few hours are painfully solitary, with only Namida as your sole characters. The battles can be tedious with only one player to control, but eventually you get more members to control. The kidnapped Ichiyo joins your party after being rescued, proving herself to be more than just a damsel in distress. In many ways, she’s more of the main character than Namida, who, in the standard 16-bit hero sense, is completely mute. Other heroes include the obese cow-priest Ushibouzu, the dual-pistol wielding, mask-wearing heroine Tsugumi, a little cat creature named Miyu and the archer Tametomu, who has a bow so big it puts Cloud’s Buster Sword to shame. The villains include a mechanical man with bug eyeglasses, an evil robot, and a retarded monkey named Mantou (a recurring character in the series), so despite the otherwise traditional Japanese setting, the game clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Other than the strange cast of characters, the battle system also attempts to keep the game feeling too ancient. The old games featured a rather dull first person view - Tengai Makyou 3 gives you the traditional 3rd person camera. While only three characters can participate in battle at once, you’ll often face huge hordes of enemies in a single battle - fights against twenty or more foes at once are not uncommon. Thankfully, you can attack multiple times in one turn, a single slash can take out multiple characters - it’s a lot of fun plowing through battalions of baddies and sending tiny creatures airborne with a mere swipe. The system is fairly deep too, as each characters can choose one of four assigned special moves, in additional to standard attacks. Every special move or spell gains experience when you use them, opening up the route for more methods of destruction. It’s by no means remarkable, but considering how old-school the rest of the game feels, it’s nice to have a battle system that moves at a brisk pace.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the loading times, one of the biggest flaws of the game. While entering battle is fairly quick, finishing it takes about five seconds. Every time you change screens, expect a load time. It’s especially awful in towns, as walking in and out of each house takes several seconds each way. Considering that a lot of time is spent exploring and interrogating townspeople, you’ll need quite a bit of patience to deal with the amount spent staring at the "now loading" logo. Tengai Makyou 3 was initially planned on seeing a Gamecube release, and given the reputation the system has for fast loading, it’s a bit a shame that we’re stuck with the snail’s pace of the Playstation 2.
And given the quality of the graphics, it makes you wonder why they take so long to load. They’re not offensive, but there’s hardly anything distinguishable about them. Early artwork showed cel-shaded similar to Dragon Quest 8, and it’s a shame that the final game ditched that entirely. Similarly, some teaser trails had traditional cel animation, and it’s something of a shame to see everything solely with 3D rendered computer graphics. And the CG isn’t even very good - the quality is barely better than the in-game engine.
Things are much better on the audio side of the spectrum. The music is fully orchestrated bliss, which is a welcome change from the synth-heavy stuff that practically every other game uses. While not as memorably melodic as any of the Final Fantasy games, the high quality of the instruments, especially the drums, lends an authentic feeling to the ancient Japanese atmosphere.
Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 5
Although the furigana in spots is nice, there are a lot of weird kanji for use in the menus. And given the non-linear nature of the game, it can be hard to find where to go unless you can understand what people are saying. Proceed with caution.
US Bound?
Considering that the deepest enjoyment relies heavily on nostalgia for the PC Engine games, an English translation is unlikely. At one point, Konami was planning to bring this out in America. However, the title has since disappeared from any release lists after it was delayed in Japan so many times.
+ Pros: Decent classic RPG gameplay, superb orchestral soundtrack
- Cons: A bit too traditional in spots, average graphics, and lots of load times
Overall: Other than technical issues, the only thing that Tengai Makyou 3 can really be faulted for being quite traditional. It’s very plain, and there’s little here you haven’t seen elsewhere. It’s also something of a personal disappointment - Tengai Makyou The Apocalypse IV was one of the craziest, cracked-out RPGs ever made, featuring a heavily skewed parody of American history. It ranked up there with the craziness of Earthbound, and I wish the series had kept with that venue instead of returning to the Oriental elements of the original games. But that’s neither here nor there (and that particular installment is due to be ported to the PSP - hopefully someone will translate it, because it’s pure gold.) Jaded gamers won’t find much fun here, and most casual RPGers will just be bored. But Tengai Makyou 3 was made for those who wish for the olden days, where getting from point A to point B wasn’t just a straight line, where there was more gameplay than cutscenes. For them, Tengai Makyou 3 will be a perfectly pleasant experience.
Written by Kurt Kalata.
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