I just bought Alundra 1!!

[Dragonsoul]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9b/Alundra.jpg
Alundra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alundra)

Alundra 1 is a 1998 Playstation 1 action rpg that's like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past but with extremely hard puzzles. It's developed by a lot of the same development team as the Genesis mid 90's action rpg Landstalker and is very similar to that game.

I originally got Alundra 1 as a gift in 1998 and loved it. I was unable to beat it though because it's one of the hardest rpg's ever made and I didn't have a strategy guide. I eventually sold the game. I've been wanting for years to get it again. In the last two years my demand for this game has been high but I've always been busy with other rpg's.

I finally beat those rpg's and on Friday three days ago I ordered Alundra 1 on Ebay. I was unable to find a new copy but I found a mint edition copy for $50, which I bought. I also bought a new unopened strategy guide(Working Designs version) on Ebay also. The strategy guide came today and it's great! The game hopefully will arrive this week and I can play it!

This game has been in my mind for years and I'm pretty excited for it to arrive. I'm right now listening to the soundtrack. You can download some Alundra 1 music including unreleased tracks if you search on FF shrine's music forums.

Who else has played this game and what do you think of it? :)

[KentaRawr!]

Best game everz!

[PhoenixAsh]

Its awesome... Its not THAT hard. I had to cheat and get the good sword for the final boss, but thats it.

I remember sitting in class and solving one of the puzzles by jotting it down on the back of a book :) It'd been driving me crazy up until then...

[Madame Adequate]

It's like the old top-down Zeldas, except I actually love Alundra.

And yeah, it's hard as nails imo. Hate to admit it but I used a strategy guide more for this game than any other I can recall.

[Bahamut2000X]

Never played it. I've played a bit of Alundra II and it was alright. I really need to work on beating it someday.

[Proxy]

i voted great cause there was no "teh winz"

[oddler]

Yes yes yes very very very good game.

[Breine]

It's a great game. I wish I could find a copy of it.

[oddler]

I just figured out why I never get things done. You guys keep bringing up awesome games and I keep going back and replaying them. :mad2:

[Bahamut2000X]

I just figured out why I never get things done. You guys keep bringing up awesome games and I keep going back and replaying them. :mad2:

It's all an evil plot made just to keep you trapped in time oddler.

[Dreddz]

Like Im my own Milf said, its baisically Zelda but.......better. Some of the later dungeons were a nightmare. All worth it though.

[scrumpleberry]

I love it so much. One of my first games ever, it makes me feel all nostalgic :cry:

I think it's hiding in the attic somewhere...

[Flying Mullet]

I love good Zelda-style games and I've never played it so I'll have to check this out.

[KentaRawr!]

I wouldn't say it's just Zelda but better. The main thing in each dungeon for a Zelda game is where you go next, like a Labyrinth. The puzzles simply offer no challenge, with the exception of a few Ice-Block puzzles. However, Alundra has a larger focus on puzzles than trying to figure out where you're going, which is something I definitely prefer. Also, I really like how it looks in general.

[Dragonsoul]

Yea the game was amazing! The game shipped on Monday from North Carolina via USP Priority Mail. Which means it's scheduled to arrive today or tomorrow. It's already very late today so it's not arriving, I'll have to wait till tomorrow. It's probably good that it arrives tomorrow since today I was extremely busy.

I'm so excited about this, I can't wait. Oh by the way I got in the mail the other day a new unopened copy of the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack(Limited Edition version!)! It's so great!! I've been listening to this soundtrack over and over, it sounds much better on my pc than my tv. I've been listening to the Alundra 1 soundtrack over and over on my pc. I also have the mp3 for the video for the first of the two intro opening movies for the Usa version of the game. That video plays with anime scenes and gameplay scenes and it has great rock music.

This game is so great I want more people to know of it and play it. I'll let you know more information about my thoughts when I get the game in the mail. I hope I get it tomorrow but I don't know if it will arrive. Great game! :)

[Raebus]

Um, you do know that Alundra is a pretty well known game, right? So, trying to spread the word about it is good and all but a lot of people already know about it.

[Markus. D]

Very lovely game =]

[Krelian]

Great game. I know it took me quite a while to beat it but I did it eventually. I hope you'll have lots of fun with it!

[KentaRawr!]

Um, you do know that Alundra is a pretty well known game, right? So, trying to spread the word about it is good and all but a lot of people already know about it.

Why not just talk about it? :p

[Bahamut2000X]

Um, you do know that Alundra is a pretty well known game, right? So, trying to spread the word about it is good and all but a lot of people already know about it.

What the hell's Alundra? :confused:

[Dragonsoul]

The game arrived today!! My Ebay seller is true to the word, the game is in MINT condition!!! It's been opened but other than that is in mint condition! It includes a world map also, which is pretty nice, although my strategy guide has a better map.

I played two and half hours of Alundra 1 so far today. I realized though that I can't save the game on a Playstation 2 memory card. I need to buy a Playstation 1 memory card to save my game. Now, with my strategy guide, I won't be stuck on those puzzles anymore! :-)

[Proxy]

Awww lucky bugger! Well I hope you enjoy it! =)

[Dragonsoul]

This is great, I'm 10 hours into the game and I love it! I think the game is 40-45 hours long based on how many pages I've done in the walkthrough. I haven't gotten to stuff that I haven't played before yet. When I originally owned the game I think I got stuck on The Reptile's Lair. Not this time though since I have the official strategy guide!

It includes developers interviews, here's one...

Scenario Writer - Ichiro Tezuka
Q. What is the reason for setting the story in these two worlds?
A. I, myself, wanted to write a story based on a dream. While I was thinking about it, I got an offer for Alundra. I thought it would be fun to have an RPG with the setting in nightmares and dungeons. For example, if you are talking about the twins' dreams, there will be two maps resembling each other and they would also be connected.

Q. The scenario for Alundra is pretty religious, isn't it?
A. The religion is something that people can rely on. I believe that the strongest feeling in the human heart is "to believe." I wanted to focus on that feeling and make the story more real, but I was also worried that it would be too realistic for a game. I myself am not sure that there is a god.

Q. "Death and Creation" is the key to the game, isn't it?
A. I feel that everyone wants to escape their reality sometimes. Inventing a machine, or creating something... Those are results of that feeling, I think, and I wanted to express that in this game. I wanted to make a hero get an item in a very convincing way. That is why I have used the method of death and creation...

Profile:
After workias a game writer, Ichiro Tezuka has made his debut as a novelist with "The songg for teh last Dragon (Saigo No Ryu Ni Sasageru Uta)." He is also involved in writing the scenario like "The Ring of Sainas", among others.

...also there is a little snippet of text that says: "This story is based on death, creation, and religion is written by Mr. Tezuka. Mr. Tezuka has an established reputation for writing about the dark side of mankind.". There is an arrow from this little snippet of text that points to a screenshot of the game. In the screenshot Alundra is standing in a house in Inoa Village talking with Sierra and there is a young girl also there, can't remember her name. Sierra says: "Nothing would break my heart more than the betrayal of someone I loved."

:)

[DMKA]

I only thought it was awesome because I was obsessed with animu at the time. But I was in 7th grade so I'll forgive myself.

[Dragonsoul]

:)! I've been progressing in the game quite nicely recently. I'm currently 1/3 done with the final level! I will stop that for a moment, and do whatever sidequests I can. Then I'll finish the game. I probably have 4-5 hours left in the game, it should be almost 40 hours long, excellent! I originally thought it was going to be 20-25 hours long. The game is amazing! I feel sad to finish the game though. :choc2:!!!

[Dreddz]

Make sure to pick up Alundra II. Still a good game despite what people will tell you.

[Dragonsoul]

Yea I'll check it out. I'll check out related titles made by a partially similar development team...

Landstalker
Lady Stalker
Dark Savior
Time Stalkers
Alundra 1(already playing)
Alundra 2
Dual Hearts

Is Dual Hearts good?

EDIT:
I just beat Alundra 1!!! :)

The game was amazing! I've been waiting for years to finally beat this game. Here's my review for Alundra 1...

Story - 10/10
Characters - 10/10
Graphics - 9/10
Music - 9/10
Controls - 10/10
Battle System - 10/10
Sidequests - 9/10
Overall: 9/10

I really liked the game!! It took 39 hours to beat the game and I did around half of the sidequests, I was unable to finish some of the rest because through errors playing the game I couldn't access a secret area. The final battles were very difficult, especially the last one, until I found out that I can use the Fire Book and beat the final boss easily. I recommend this game to everyone! Anybody who liked The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past but wants extremely hard puzzles and a dark story should pick up Alundra 1! Anybody else who beat the game please post your thoughts on it! :-)
p.s. I'm buying Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core today, finally! :D