Brandish

~ BRANDISH ~

Falcom / NEC Home Electronics

Super CD-ROM / Arcade CD-ROM

1994

Brandish is an excellent dungeon crawler, an absolute must-play if you're at all into games in which you explore mazes, collect items, and solve puzzles. I wept streams of tears as I neared its conclusion because I didn't want to stop playing it.

It might not seem wonderful at first. It plays a lot like a first-person game even though it isn't one, so the controls take a little getting used to, and the graphics aren't so hot. Even I didn't have high hopes in the beginning. But I was surprised at how natural the controls felt after just a short while, and the quality music (the Tower theme in particular is excellent) helps make up for the mediocre graphics.

Best of all, exploration is the name of the game, so you needn't do much cryptic-clue deciphering. Inability to read Japanese will make one or two puzzles difficult to solve, but for those, you can just check out a walkthrough for the SNES version, as the solutions to the conundrums in question are basically the same in that rendition.

The levels are loaded with items and secrets and interesting enemies. They reminded me of the labyrinthine floors in the enormous tower at the end of the first Legend of Xanadu, though they aren't nearly as challenging as those fiendish areas (and they're actually more enjoyable to explore). So if you made it that far in Xanadu and enjoyed that experience, this game is a safe bet.

Another great thing about the game is that it gives you options as far as how you will proceed. For example, I made it through almost the entire adventure just by using my character's fists to smash up enemies, so he grew stronger and stronger physically, and I was able to sell off weapons and buy other good stuff with the cash.

Also worth noting is the final boss, a hardy cyclopean turtle-like thing guarded by energy cannons and gates of laser fire.

There's so much to look forward to with every step in Brandish. Sometimes, you'll happen upon good stuff; other times, you'll run into trouble. Either way, it's always fun to find out what's around the next bend.