“Morality has its benefits”
Well before Hydlide 3 comes out for me to try. Why not do another Eggconsole release? I was gonna do Marchen Veil I but I couldn’t beat that game so I’d rather someone else do a review for it and do it justice. This time I’ll be doing Relics. Also for some reason there’s two different pages for this game and I’ll just do the page that matches the other covers even if it’s way lamer as a cover. So let’s talk about Relics.
You know when I reviewed Yokai Tantei, I didn’t realize the name Bothec was also on this game as well. Relics is something I really was only aware of thanks to the awful FDS game. I learned a bit more of it lately and just the Relics series in general so I had some awareness of what I was getting into.
Relics has you playing as a soul that goes into ruins that rises above the sea where you’ll eventually learn you can take over bodies. It’s a pretty interesting concept but you’ll have to be careful because losing the body can a lot of the time mean game over for you and you’ll have to start at the very beginning of the game. You’ll be exploring these ruins trying to find items and just secrets about what the meaning of being here means and who you even are.
I gotta say the mood this game brings can be a little scary to me especially with there being zero music outside of the intro and normal ending. The game can feel a little clunky and slow but you’ll get used to it. Oddly I had an easier time playing the game at 2x speed. The game has some methods to do some commands like holding up left or up right to either turn around or run. This game also has morality in the way if you don’t want to do unnecessary battles so try to run if you can.
Exploring and finding where to go can be cryptic at times but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I find exploring it interesting. Again I think it’s just the atmosphere of it that really just makes me uneasy. Especially where there’s an enemy in the way. It also has one of those health meters that creeps me out. It’s depicted as a heart and if it goes fully blue then you’re done for. This release does have save states and rewind so these can help you if you don’t have the patience to constantly restart.
I’m not really sure if I get what’s going on in the story, it doesn’t help you can’t see the ending or intro in English but a lot of the dialogue is in a language I can’t read. The how to play section says I’m missing an item for it but I never saw what this item could be or if it even exists. I’m sure there’s a way to read some of these documents but I couldn’t figure it out. They seem to be more for hints though.You’ll eventually find your own body and I think it’s trying to imply it’s evil? Maybe I’m misinterpreting it.
Once you get to the 2nd half of the game, you’ll be finding idol statues and it’s not too bad but there are some annoyances. The room with one enemy and rocks got on my nerves cause the enemy is a pain to kill and I think you need to kill it? I originally ignored it but looking at a guide seems I’m supposed to. There was also one room that was a pain in the butt to get out of, I still don’t know what I did. You also meet a girl here and I was wondering when I’d be able to let her out but eventually you’ll get a key to help her, she’s vital for the normal ending.
Oh god but nothing would prepare me more than the enemy before the final boss. Screw this guy. He is strong and can even stun lock you until you’re dead. Worst of all, he flashes the screen multicolors and it hurts my damn eyes! I spent like 10 minutes with many reloads of save states just to finally get a win on him. It felt so glorious! Until I realized you actually don’t have to kill him, well I wasted my time. The actual final boss is easy and will go down pretty fast. Once I was done, I went left and climbed a ladder and was presented with the bad ending. God it’s scary, you actually come out to the first screen of the game and it goes to a black screen with red text saying “YOU GOT AWAY FROM THE R E L I C S. . . . .” What does this even mean? Does it mean I got away like I survived and I can live on or is the game upset with my actions? The fact you can’t leave the screen either and the noise from the outside is still playing makes me think any moment something is going to attack me…
Though if you decide to not leave and go into an entrance, you’re back in the room with the girl and with a key you get from an enemy, you can save her! Now I don’t know if she has to follow you but now you can leave like you did for the bad ending and honestly I enjoyed having her follow me even if her AI is a little odd to get used to. There’s not even enemies or even that one annoying guy. I also already killed the final boss so it’s time to leave and get the normal ending. I sadly can’t read any of it but I felt proud seeing it and hearing that wonderful music. Thanks to the Scene select in this game, I could also check out the 2nd bad ending and it’s depressing. You basically take over the final boss but now you’re forced to stay there only able to move your jaw up and down. It almost feels like the faith of poor morale. You’re the final boss now, a husk of nothingness and joylessness that will forever sit there. You will never escape and this is your life, suffer. God it’s brutal…you can’t even reset the game.
The game graphically looks nice but I found it hard to read the text though this wasn’t the case for the guide I looked at a couple of times, wonder why that is? Regardless, the game looks good despite the obvious limitations the system has. I do love that ending picture it has and a lot of the designs are pretty cool. I think they’re based on something but I forget the name at the moment. There isn’t really any music outside of the beginning and normal ending and you already know them so not much to say there.
Relics feels like the kind of game I couldn’t see being a thing that wasn’t in that era of time. It’s a special kind of game. I really enjoyed it even if I needed a guide for a couple of moments but I’d say it’s still possible without one. It’s not a game for everyone but I really love the feeling this game has and like I said before, I felt very fulfilled playing this one. I think this one takes it easily so far for my favorite PC 88 game that I’ve tried for these Eggconsole releases. It makes sense why this was the first game with how interesting it is. It’s just too bad the next game turned out so badly, I doubt I’ll review that one. Still as always, thanks for reading.
Well before Hydlide 3 comes out for me to try. Why not do another Eggconsole release? I was gonna do Marchen Veil I but I couldn’t beat that game so I’d rather someone else do a review for it and do it justice. This time I’ll be doing Relics. Also for some reason there’s two different pages for this game and I’ll just do the page that matches the other covers even if it’s way lamer as a cover. So let’s talk about Relics.
You know when I reviewed Yokai Tantei, I didn’t realize the name Bothec was also on this game as well. Relics is something I really was only aware of thanks to the awful FDS game. I learned a bit more of it lately and just the Relics series in general so I had some awareness of what I was getting into.
Relics has you playing as a soul that goes into ruins that rises above the sea where you’ll eventually learn you can take over bodies. It’s a pretty interesting concept but you’ll have to be careful because losing the body can a lot of the time mean game over for you and you’ll have to start at the very beginning of the game. You’ll be exploring these ruins trying to find items and just secrets about what the meaning of being here means and who you even are.
I gotta say the mood this game brings can be a little scary to me especially with there being zero music outside of the intro and normal ending. The game can feel a little clunky and slow but you’ll get used to it. Oddly I had an easier time playing the game at 2x speed. The game has some methods to do some commands like holding up left or up right to either turn around or run. This game also has morality in the way if you don’t want to do unnecessary battles so try to run if you can.
Exploring and finding where to go can be cryptic at times but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I find exploring it interesting. Again I think it’s just the atmosphere of it that really just makes me uneasy. Especially where there’s an enemy in the way. It also has one of those health meters that creeps me out. It’s depicted as a heart and if it goes fully blue then you’re done for. This release does have save states and rewind so these can help you if you don’t have the patience to constantly restart.
I’m not really sure if I get what’s going on in the story, it doesn’t help you can’t see the ending or intro in English but a lot of the dialogue is in a language I can’t read. The how to play section says I’m missing an item for it but I never saw what this item could be or if it even exists. I’m sure there’s a way to read some of these documents but I couldn’t figure it out. They seem to be more for hints though.You’ll eventually find your own body and I think it’s trying to imply it’s evil? Maybe I’m misinterpreting it.
Once you get to the 2nd half of the game, you’ll be finding idol statues and it’s not too bad but there are some annoyances. The room with one enemy and rocks got on my nerves cause the enemy is a pain to kill and I think you need to kill it? I originally ignored it but looking at a guide seems I’m supposed to. There was also one room that was a pain in the butt to get out of, I still don’t know what I did. You also meet a girl here and I was wondering when I’d be able to let her out but eventually you’ll get a key to help her, she’s vital for the normal ending.
Oh god but nothing would prepare me more than the enemy before the final boss. Screw this guy. He is strong and can even stun lock you until you’re dead. Worst of all, he flashes the screen multicolors and it hurts my damn eyes! I spent like 10 minutes with many reloads of save states just to finally get a win on him. It felt so glorious! Until I realized you actually don’t have to kill him, well I wasted my time. The actual final boss is easy and will go down pretty fast. Once I was done, I went left and climbed a ladder and was presented with the bad ending. God it’s scary, you actually come out to the first screen of the game and it goes to a black screen with red text saying “YOU GOT AWAY FROM THE R E L I C S. . . . .” What does this even mean? Does it mean I got away like I survived and I can live on or is the game upset with my actions? The fact you can’t leave the screen either and the noise from the outside is still playing makes me think any moment something is going to attack me…
Though if you decide to not leave and go into an entrance, you’re back in the room with the girl and with a key you get from an enemy, you can save her! Now I don’t know if she has to follow you but now you can leave like you did for the bad ending and honestly I enjoyed having her follow me even if her AI is a little odd to get used to. There’s not even enemies or even that one annoying guy. I also already killed the final boss so it’s time to leave and get the normal ending. I sadly can’t read any of it but I felt proud seeing it and hearing that wonderful music. Thanks to the Scene select in this game, I could also check out the 2nd bad ending and it’s depressing. You basically take over the final boss but now you’re forced to stay there only able to move your jaw up and down. It almost feels like the faith of poor morale. You’re the final boss now, a husk of nothingness and joylessness that will forever sit there. You will never escape and this is your life, suffer. God it’s brutal…you can’t even reset the game.
The game graphically looks nice but I found it hard to read the text though this wasn’t the case for the guide I looked at a couple of times, wonder why that is? Regardless, the game looks good despite the obvious limitations the system has. I do love that ending picture it has and a lot of the designs are pretty cool. I think they’re based on something but I forget the name at the moment. There isn’t really any music outside of the beginning and normal ending and you already know them so not much to say there.
Relics feels like the kind of game I couldn’t see being a thing that wasn’t in that era of time. It’s a special kind of game. I really enjoyed it even if I needed a guide for a couple of moments but I’d say it’s still possible without one. It’s not a game for everyone but I really love the feeling this game has and like I said before, I felt very fulfilled playing this one. I think this one takes it easily so far for my favorite PC 88 game that I’ve tried for these Eggconsole releases. It makes sense why this was the first game with how interesting it is. It’s just too bad the next game turned out so badly, I doubt I’ll review that one. Still as always, thanks for reading.
3 Comments
@PasokonDeacon
Kind of unrelated but does Marchen Veil I run better on the PC-98 like in terms of the speed of the character? The speed of that game made me not wanna finish it ngl.
Kind of unrelated but does Marchen Veil I run better on the PC-98 like in terms of the speed of the character? The speed of that game made me not wanna finish it ngl.
@Angel_Arle You can select three speed options on PC-98 via a function key. The game defaults to the PC-88's slow-ass pace, and I have more fun playing on the highest setting except when trying to dodge the harder enemies. It won't circumvent the prince's waddling pre-boots upgrade, but the speed select helps a lot overall.
PasokonDeacon
2 months ago
Relics for FDS was a really misguided idea, let alone how poorly they made it. And while the Windows revival games were a great return to form, they're maybe a bit too much like Diablo to carry the spirit of the '86 original.