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chuckroSanzo is a foundling raised in a monastery, until one day a vision of Lady Kannon appears, bringing a magic staff and a command to go west, to India. Sanzo’s very first encounter leads to releasing Son Goku the monkey king from a rock, and the wacky adventures continue from there.
A fairly standard Tactical RPG of the era, with the isometric view and the fairly standard jrpg mechanics. The big gimmick to this system is that except for Sanzo, all of your characters can take Were form, a giant mode that can be used once per battle that has double HP, stronger attacks, and the ability to damage certain scenery. Like several other trpgs of the era, there are hidden items in one-time maps that can unlock a superpower in the endgame. (And nothing in the game indicates this is the case.) A walkthrough that warns you “Make sure to get this treasure or give this answer or you miss something good!” is helpful. That said, most of the battles aren’t that hard if you’re keeping up with upgrades and dojo training in the towns. (I lost two battles: One of the early ones before I was able to grind, and the final battle. If you do all the sidequests and keep your equipment upgraded, nothing is particularly difficult.)
Each battle is part of an episodic story, which works out very nicely. As they enter each area, you get to see the characters banter and the latest monster try to trap or trick them, and the ways they (usually Son Goku) manage to be clever to get out of it. The plot is cartoony and light-hearted, and apparently a lot softer than the original novel. Most of the enemies survive and/or reform, everybody is friends and the negative traits of most characters are played down. Also, the approach to religion is a mishmash of Buddhism and Hinduism (Buddha is referred to, said to be “hiding” during the final battles, and never shown). Again, it’s cartoony: The supervillain devils take over Heaven, but the hero monsters and Sanzo save the day.
There are four chapters of the game, but I really think of Chapter 2 when I remember the game, and I think that’s very much the meat of it. It’s the longest chapter and it has branching paths (which you need to take all of to complete the sidequests), and it also has most of the interesting episodes. Once you cross into India, everything gets linear again, and there are only a few more points when you need to pay attention to sidequests. But also, you’ve gotten a much larger team at that point, so the nature of how you use your team for battles is different. Chapter 4 is just five battles and a bunch of cutscenes; there aren’t even any hidden items after the first battle. And there’s no postgame.
I don’t think I put as much time into the Post quests the last time I played (admittedly, it was almost 20 years ago), but I didn’t realize there were special story scenes and special items you could get, not just the “deliver X, possibly fight bandits, get money” loop. There are actually a few special locations that only Post quests unlock. Meanwhile, Dojos are the best way to keep your characters up to level, but if you collect all the hidden characters, the sidequest to defeat ever Dojo master is not worth it, because the master only challenges you if your weakest character is a certain level.
Overall: It’s a very pleasant approach to a tactical rpg; lighthearted and fun in tone and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Not too hard but not too easy, I’d call this a lost gem of the PS1 era.
A fairly standard Tactical RPG of the era, with the isometric view and the fairly standard jrpg mechanics. The big gimmick to this system is that except for Sanzo, all of your characters can take Were form, a giant mode that can be used once per battle that has double HP, stronger attacks, and the ability to damage certain scenery. Like several other trpgs of the era, there are hidden items in one-time maps that can unlock a superpower in the endgame. (And nothing in the game indicates this is the case.) A walkthrough that warns you “Make sure to get this treasure or give this answer or you miss something good!” is helpful. That said, most of the battles aren’t that hard if you’re keeping up with upgrades and dojo training in the towns. (I lost two battles: One of the early ones before I was able to grind, and the final battle. If you do all the sidequests and keep your equipment upgraded, nothing is particularly difficult.)
Each battle is part of an episodic story, which works out very nicely. As they enter each area, you get to see the characters banter and the latest monster try to trap or trick them, and the ways they (usually Son Goku) manage to be clever to get out of it. The plot is cartoony and light-hearted, and apparently a lot softer than the original novel. Most of the enemies survive and/or reform, everybody is friends and the negative traits of most characters are played down. Also, the approach to religion is a mishmash of Buddhism and Hinduism (Buddha is referred to, said to be “hiding” during the final battles, and never shown). Again, it’s cartoony: The supervillain devils take over Heaven, but the hero monsters and Sanzo save the day.
There are four chapters of the game, but I really think of Chapter 2 when I remember the game, and I think that’s very much the meat of it. It’s the longest chapter and it has branching paths (which you need to take all of to complete the sidequests), and it also has most of the interesting episodes. Once you cross into India, everything gets linear again, and there are only a few more points when you need to pay attention to sidequests. But also, you’ve gotten a much larger team at that point, so the nature of how you use your team for battles is different. Chapter 4 is just five battles and a bunch of cutscenes; there aren’t even any hidden items after the first battle. And there’s no postgame.
I don’t think I put as much time into the Post quests the last time I played (admittedly, it was almost 20 years ago), but I didn’t realize there were special story scenes and special items you could get, not just the “deliver X, possibly fight bandits, get money” loop. There are actually a few special locations that only Post quests unlock. Meanwhile, Dojos are the best way to keep your characters up to level, but if you collect all the hidden characters, the sidequest to defeat ever Dojo master is not worth it, because the master only challenges you if your weakest character is a certain level.
Overall: It’s a very pleasant approach to a tactical rpg; lighthearted and fun in tone and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Not too hard but not too easy, I’d call this a lost gem of the PS1 era.
