[b]TL; DR[/b] Classic grid-based Dungeon Crawler goodness, complete with hordes of monsters, instant death attacks, and the infirmity of old age! [i]Elminage Original[/i] is a very enjoyable game, if you like its combat, otherwise it is tedious and not worthwhile.
[b]Note[/b] that most resources are not in English, if you are looking for an in-depth guide… there isn’t one, at least not on the usual sites. You can use guides for [i]Elminage Gothic[/i] if you want a better understanding of the classes.
[h1] Story [/h1]
No one knows the truth of the world, not even the gods, but with their power they could fashioned the realm, and so that its foundations might be upheld and its peoples might live in peace, they invested their might into several Rings. All that is in the past, the barrier has been destroyed, monsters are overwhelming the world, and if the Rings are not reclaimed the Priestess of Darkness may succeed in summoning her dark lord and reshaping the world!
[i]Elminage Original: Priestess of Darkness and The Ring of the Gods[/i], has a very long title, and it pretty much explains the entire plot. This is, after all, a Dungeon Crawler, and those are often lighter on narrative, but you might have noticed something already… [i]Elminage Original[/i]’s translation is lacking, and its store page does not exactly inspire confidence in their commitment to quality, so it is fortunate that story is far from the focus.
However, there are a couple of quests to do, nothing is narratively complex and they generally boil down to fetch quests. While some missions are slightly confounding on account of the poor translation, others are purposefully confusing, luckily you can visit seers to help you in your assignments. Since most quests are one and done you feel like a group of mercenaries, slowly building up the fame to take on more profitable dangers and eventually earning enough goodwill, and experience, to be trusted with saving the world.
[h1] Presentation [/h1]
[i]Elminage Original[/i] is based on a PS2 game, and it does not utilise 3D assets all that much, they are typically used for environments and that is a good thing. In my opinion graphical fidelity is not all that important, especially in a Dungeon Crawler, what is more important is the variety, and there is plenty of that in [i]Elminage Original[/i].
I am most found of the ruins of Sheba and Wayne, there is something haunting in traversing those streets, the red miasma of Sheba, and the misty channels of Wayne, you really get immersed in the atmosphere, the abandoned air, the desolation, it is almost beautiful—enemy encounter!
Moving on, [i]Elminage Original[/i] uses still images for most of its visuals from hub-screens to every single enemy, this means that monsters lack lifelikeness, but it allows them to have a huge variety of creatures, and they have some crazy designs because they draw inspiration from everywhere. You have mythological creatures, fighting alongside Lovecraftian abominations, monstergirls, biblical beings and a whole host of others. However, sometimes when you delve into the dark depths of a dungeon, you will come across a far more fearsome foe, a Maid, fear her, for she has can keep a dungeon clean!
[i]Elminage: the Priestess of Darkness and the Rings of the Gods[/i] has an OST but that is different from the one they included in [i]Elminage Original[/i], which is confusing. Supposedly the developers thought the OST was subpar and replaced it with the score of a later entry in the series. Neither score is particularly great, but they both work, and I find it really strange to completely remove a game’s original music as it completely changes the atmosphere.
They are both enjoyable, if a bit generic, so no matter! If you so desire you can replace the music with whatever you want, but if the fancy strikes you, you might want to check out the original score.
A more serious issue is the sound effects, look at my playtime, how many death sounds do you imagine there are? How many “action confirmed” sounds? That is right, one of each. They are so deeply ingrained in my memory that they are the only sounds I can remember from the entire playthrough.
[h1] Gameplay [/h1]
Have you played [i]Wizardry[/i], because this is one of many [i]Wizardry[/i]-clones out there. It has all the things you should expect, a front row, a back row, armour class, it has mechanically “simple” turn-based combat, Ninjas keep beheading you, you die of old age, kill thousands, and raid a few tombs worth of loot.
Unlike certain newer titles [i]Elminage Original[/i] has you choosing actions for your entire party at once instead of basing it on their initiative. This sometimes means you whiff a spell of miss an attack, but it does encourage you to think more carefully about what you are doing, until such a time when all out attacks, or repeating the previous turn become viable options.
This is all fine, but what truly makes it a memorable game are all the different parties you can create. [i]Elminage Original[/i] offers a lot of different classes, and that makes character creation a bit overwhelming. You will obviously want six party members with good synergy, but you will also need a party with similar alignments, and then there are gender, species, and alignment-restricted classes, so yes, a lot of things to keep track of.
You can go as complex as you want, but generally the ones that combine aspects of different classes, such as Samurai, were the most enjoyable to use for the simple reason that they have more tools at their disposal. Another fun class is Ninja, since they can behead their enemies for a quick kill, but all Ninjas are evil, which will affect your party composition in the early game.
With that said, a Summoner is one of the most useful classes in the game, merely having another body to soak up damage is a huge boon, but the fact that you can form contract with basically every enemy in the game is insane. You can get free heals, free buffs, and why yes, I do want Medusa to petrify my enemies, thanks.
[h2]Dungeoneering[/h2]
Every area in [i]Elminage Original[/i] works the same way, they are bastions of evil and serves to form the backdrop for the combat. They are often lacking in interesting interactions and are rather straightforward. Sometimes you will have a fixed encounter other times you will happen on a random one. Combat is the game, and if you dislike it the game is not worthwhile.
Regardless, there are two dungeons that are particularly intriguing, one is the domain of the Sphinx and therefore themed around puzzles and tricks. At one point you are walking around a ballroom, although I am taking a few liberties when I call it that. Whereas the other one is completely submerged, oh you can enter it whenever, but you will drown! You are told quite directly how to counteract it, but even then, the time you can spend underwater is limited, and that is the fun! You have a timer counting down throughout the entire temple and it feels real, and intense, it is actually great.
Other areas often lack that gimmick, or the interactability, more puzzles and silliness are sorely needed. I vividly recall the rabbit encounter, and sometimes I do reminisce about the time I reassembled a murderous doll, those are really memorable parts of [i]Elminage Original[/i] but when combat is so omnipresent every area needs something to make it stick out, and many dungeons lack that oomph factor.
