| Bahamut Lagoon |
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| | Developer(s) | Square | | Publisher(s) | Square | | Designer(s) | Kazushige Nojima | | Platform(s) | Super Famicom | | Release date | JPN February 9, 1996 | | Genre(s) | Tactical RPG | | Mode(s) | Single player | | Media | 24 megabit cartridge |
Bahamut Lagoon (バハムート ラグーン, Bahamūto Ragūn?) is a Japanese tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Super Famicom on February 9, 1996. It's often called Bahalag(バハラグ) in Japan. It was never officially released outside of Japan, but it was unofficially translated into English . It is similar in gameplay to Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission, and Fire Emblem, except that it uses dragon units.
Gameplay mechanicsBahamut Lagoon combines RPG mechanics with squad-based combat. Characters have HP, MP (SP for fighter characters), EXP, equipment, stats and class-specific, SP-draining special elemental abilities very much like traditional console RPGs. The player can explore his surroundings, talk to people and visit shops when not in battle, though to a limited degree (e.g. there is no world map and no way to leave the current area.) The game's core are its turn-based battles fought on a 2d grid. Characters are assembled into parties of four and the player's maximium is six parties, which are usually well outnumbered. The two opposing sides act in alternating turns so that each party can move once and/or attack once a turn. Attacks are divided into distant and close-up combat. In the former, a party uses a special ability (e.g. casting fireballs, throwing lightning, healing allies) of one of its members at a distance. The range and possible area of effect damage vary per ability. If the attacking party has two or more characters with the same ability, they join in the action to multiply its effectiveness. Distant combat results in less money and generally less damage, but the target cannot retaliate. Distant attacks can also affect the field; fire and ice ignite or extinguish forests and melt or freeze ice, etc. Close-up, each unit in two adjancent opposing parties can act once. Very much like Final Fantasy SNES combat, they can attack an enemy, use an item or a special ability (though these can't be combined and most only affect one target instead of all) or defend. Dragons are the player's ace in the hole. They have their own stats and gain experience like normal characters do. In battle, each party has a dragon attached to it and draws a large portion of its strength from that of its dragon: if a party's dragon is slain, the party will lose the ability to use special attacks and class-specific abilities for the remainder of the map. The beast acts as a very powerful autonomous unit that moves after its party does and it cannot be controlled beyond very simple commands, e.g. "Come!" Out of battle, dragons will eat anything and raising them by feeding them items is an important part of the game. Feeding can improve their stats as well as affect their behavior on the field, and the dragons develop into new forms as they grow. The player can change the characters in each of the parties, their formation as well as what dragon represents them at will.
StoryThe story takes place in the sky world called Orelus. It begins at the prologue, a world being consumed by war and the skies turning to the purple color of sadness following the downfall of the Kingdom of Kahna. The Kingdom of Kahna gets conquered by the Granbelos Empire, headed by Emperor Sauzer, taking Princess Yoyo captive and forcing the defenders of the kingdom to withdraw in defeat. After the prologue, the horrible war has come to an end with the Granbelos Empire victorious over all the Lagoons of Orelus. Chapter 1 begins, with the rebel alliance called The Resistance, headed by Byuu, with backup from the former captain of the Kahna's Royal Guard, Matelite, and Sendak, magician and wiseman from Kahna, being shaped up with the help of many other heroes from around the other kingdoms (Lagoons) also conquered by the empire, notably the great warrior Taicho from the kingdom of Mahal and his allies among others. As their first act they reclaim the former flagship from the Kahna Dragon Squad, called the Farnheit (Fahrenheit) and with this vessel, they set out on a journey to liberate the skies of Orelus, Lagoon by Lagoon from the clutches of the Granbelos Empire. If the Resistance fails to win that war, the Granbelos Empire will oppress Orelus. In the fierce battles that follow, The Resistance manage to rescue Princess Yoyo from the Empire, thus claiming its first greater victory, yet, the time spent in captivity has made her heart change. Although she tries to hide it at first, her feelings for Byuu have now turned for the Imperial General Satha Palpaleos, who also seems to be in love with her in turn. Reflecting upon the fact that Kahna was conquered by the Empire as its guardian, The Holy Dragon, Bahamut (Apparently all major Lagoons across Orelus are home to an ancient holy dragon each), never woke up to defend it despite the previous king's attempts, they come then to the conclusion that in order to defeat Emperor Sauzer, they must gather the powers of the Holy Dragons to their side. Princess Yoyo seems to hold the power to communicate with the dragons and harness their powers. The legend of this is that the chosen one, the Dragnar, must control them and usher in a new era of prosperity. Should the person fail, calamities will wrack the world of Orelus. Emperor Sauzer at the same time has somehow acquired this power himself, and wishes to claim the power of the dragons for the empire. The Resistance continues to wage war across the skies of Orelus, liberating its Lagoons one at a time and gaining new allies of both their inhabitants and Holy Dragons, and soon the Empire begins losing its conquered dominions and begins to fracture as some of its most prominent generals, headed by Gudolf, begin plotting against their own emperor, whom they judge weak. Upon their contacting the Holy Dragons, both Yoyo and Emperor Sauzer begin falling ill, as it seems this act drains those linked to them of their spiritual energy. Yoyo, constantly accused by the Holy Dragons of being weak-minded endures, however, while Emperor Sauzer becomes gradually more ill. The awakening of the dragons cause the gates to another dimension, Altair, to open, and demonic creatures begin an invasion of the kingdoms of Orelus. On the eve of this, The Resistance finally arrives on Kahna and upon fighting an army of demons, they gain the alliance of General Palpaleos, secretly ordered to join by Emperor Sauzer himself, who has foreseen a great coming disaster which he feels only The Resistance can stop, even if that means waging war on the very empire he once served with zeal. Reunited with his love, Princess Yoyo, he assists in repelling an imperial assault of massive proportions, thus, restoring Kahna her lost freedom on a battle in which many of the characters reflect upon their own emotions and motives. The former resistance now becomes the Orelus Liberation Army and heads straight towards the hearth of the Empire, to end the war once and for all. After a great victory over the Imperial Flagship "Trafalgar", they find Emperor Sauzer, his illness advancing further, and take him in. Here he reveals with great courtesy that in order to obtain the ability to speak with the Holy Dragons he had done a pact with the demons from the other dimension. After admitting this, following a long period of agony, he finally dies, and his body is left to drift away in the never-ending skies of Orelus by Palpaleos, his closest friend. A different situation unfolds on the Granbelos Empire however, as the people witness the "official" burial ceremony of their beloved emperor and Gudolf climbs to the throne as the new ruler while a giant gate with the other dimensions opens itself over the skies of Granbelos. After a great battle, the Liberation Army defeats the Imperial Armies and penetrates deep into the imperial palace, where they defeat Gudolf, thus, claiming the final victory over the empire. Still, the greatest of all threats still looms over Orelus as the gates of Altair remain open. The brave Liberation Army, now with the help from all the Holy Dragons, including mighty Bahamut, fly the Farnheit inside the superior dimension, where they fight hordes of demons and their master, the most powerful of all dragons, Alexander. Alexander seeks to claim the powers of the other Holy Dragons in order to become unstoppable and rule over all worlds. The epic battle, on which the very survival of Orelus is to be decided, follows, and as Alexander is defeated, order is restored. Byuu and all of his friends make their farewells as they all return to their kingdoms to rebuild them under the newly restored order of peace, leaving Byuu along with Bahamut as the wandering guardians of the skies of Orelus.
Cast
Resistance/Kahna Army
Cross Knight- Palpaleos (パルパレオス Parupareosu)
Summoner (Dragnar)
Royal Guard- Matelite (マテライト Materaito)
Knight- Bikkebakke (ビッケバッケ Bikkebakke)
Heavy Armor- Barclay (バルクレイ Barukurai)
Light Armor
Wizard- Ectarina (エカテリーナ Ekaterīna)
- Anastasia (アナスタシア Anasutashia)
Priest- Frederica (フレデリカ Furederika)
Lancer- Zora's Son (ゾラのむすこ Zora no Musuko)
Assassin
Mini-Devil
Granbelos Empire- Palpaleos (パルパレオス Parupareosu)
- Barbarella (バーバレラ Bābarera)
- Zomberd (ゾンベルド Zonberudo)
Dragon- Salamander/Salamando (サラマンダー Saramandā)
- Ice-Dragon/Icedrake (アイスドラゴン Aisu Doragon)
- Thunderhawk/Thunderh (サンダーホーク Sandāhōku)
- Twinhead (ツインヘッド Tsuinheddo)
Holy Dragon- Alexander (アレキサンダー Arekisandā)
- Bahamut (バハムート Bahamūto)
- Hyperion (ヒューベリオン Hyūperion )
- Jormungand (ユルムンガルド Yurumungarudo)
- Garuda (ガルーダ Garūda)
- Leviathan (リヴァイアサン Rivaiasan)
- Valitora (possible corruption of Vritra) (ヴァリトラ Varitora )
Other Characters- Kahna King (カーナ国王 Kāna-koku Ō)
- Campbell Queen (キャンベル女王 Kyanberu Jo ō)
- Hornet (ホーネット Hōneto)
- Crew (クルー Kurū)
- Dragon Keeper (ドラゴンおやじ Doragon Oyaji)
- Battlefield Merchant (戦場を駆ける商人)
- Celine (セリーヌ Serīn)
- Dragonite (竜人)
Outside JapanBahamut Lagoon was marketed exclusively in Japan during the 32-bit era and came out late in the life of the Super Famicom. However, in the following gaming era the game was fan-translated from Japanese to English by DeJap Translations in 2002. Another group, "Starsoft Translations" attempted translation prior to DeJap's, but difficulty with the game's compression algorithms forced them to halt the project. The fan translation contains coarse language, although it could be some translation issues.
Production credits- Chief Game Designer and Chief Graphic Designer — Hitoshi Sasaki
- Director — Kazushige Nojima
- Producer — Tadashi Nomura
- Main Programmer — Kazuhisa Murakami and Hiroshi Ono
- Story Event Planner — Motomu Toriyama
- Simulation Planner — Takatsugu Nakazawa
- Effect Programmer — Tetsuji Iwasaki
- Field Planner — Naoya Kawahira and Satoru Tsuji
- Battle Planner — Takeshi Endo
- Object Graphic Designer — Fumiyasu Sasaki and Murisaki Iriguchi
- Effect Graphic Designer — Kunio Asahara
- Monster Graphic Designer — Shin Nagasawa
- Field Graphic Designer — Rena Sasaki, Takahiro Yamashita and Tomoe Inazawa
- Sound Engineer — Teruaki Sugawara
- Sound Programmer — Hidenori Suzuki
- Music — Noriko Matsueda
- Supervisor — Hironobu Sakaguchi
References- ^ http://www.dejap.com/bl.php DeJap Translations
External links- Bahamut Lagoon at GameFAQs
- RPGClassics.com's Bahamut Lagoon Shrine
- DeJap Translations – Makers of the English translation
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