El Dorado Gate - Scenario 8/18 (Part 2/2) - Dreamcast - エルドラドゲート ~ Boss Gauntlet

There would be so much to say about El Dorado Gate. I guess its most eye-catching feature, right off the bat, is that this is a seven-disc game. Yes, that's right! However, it's not like you bought a big case with seven discs inside. Each disc was released individually and they all came out a few months apart of each other. I think fans could write to the development team and they would try to improve on some features after every release. The game features 18 scenarios, many of them presenting one of the 12 party members you are going to end up having in your party. The stories are often sad and heartbreaking, but there are also many funny moments, and the game doesn't lack humor. I really enjoyed following the story of this ragtag group of demon soul bearers. There are 18 scenarios to go through, and they are all pretty much self-contained and just 2-3 hours each, but of course the story has an overarching plot that connects them all together. You can play each disc in any order you want, but really you'll get the most out of it if you play them in order. The battle system is reminiscent of Dragon Quest in a way, because you can only see the enemies in front of you, and your characters are invisible. This may turn off some people, but I didn't mind. Otherwise what differentiates the game is the magic stones you can (must) use, and depending on your character's nen (magic) capacity, you can fuse stones together in battle to cast even greater spells. The elements are fire, ice, wood and light. They all play into a rock-paper-scissor strength-weakness circle, except for light which is good against everything, but weaker than the elements' own strengths. i.e., light will be strong against fire, ice and wood, but fire will still be stronger than light against wood. You will not be able to beat this game without magic. All equipment is also tied to an element. You will not be able to beat this game if you don't equip the proper elemental gear to counter a boss's strength. It took me a while to understand that. Had I understood earlier, perhaps I would have found some scenarios easier than I did. Oh, and speaking of uniqueness, there are no experience points in this JRPG. No money to be gained from battles, either. Everything is in equipment, and all money is made through selling your useless gear and items. It can become a little tedious, admittedly. The game also features ogre stones (red jewels scattered about), and each scenario has something between four and seven of them hidden. Some are in plain sight, but there's a disgusting amount of them that are just straight up invisible because hidden behind walls or trees or whatever. Without the ogre stone location guide I was using, I would have missed tons of them. Every five you collect give you a special item. There are also special cards hidden everywhere, but I missed a bunch of those. They also give special items, but the rewards don't seem to be as good unless you manage to find them all. All these items are obtainable in the hub, where you can basically wander around and talk to goblis or other characters, manage your inventory of items and money carried over from a previous scenario, change your party members and most importantly, sleep for cheaper than in any of the world's inns. You could also connect to the internet through the Dreamcast, go on the official website and obtain exclusive items there, but I never tried it. And yes, as of writing (2022), that site was still available! The VMU shows your party members' names and current HP. The game also features MANY secret bosses that you will only be able to defeat when you replay a scenario. There's also a bonus dungeon. I haven't done them. The pixel artwork is incredibly gorgeous. Look at it! Super colorful and attractive, you couldn't ask for more! The battle artwork is by Yoshitaka Amano (of Final Fantasy fame). Whether you like his art or not will of course be subjective, but I quite like the sometimes grotesque artwork he presents here. It was always fun to see how a new sprite would look in battle. The music is also quite good and that is one soundtrack I'll listen to again in the future! I do my best with the live translation but please keep in mind that there will be mistakes in there as well as parts I just don't translate completely or skip entirely. Overall, El Dorado Gate is a challenging and long but rewarding gaming experience. I loved it! Playlist:    • El Dorado Gate | Dreamcast | エルドラドゲート...   #dreamcast #eldoradogate #天野喜孝 Eldorado Gate == LIVE STREAMS ON YOUTUBE OR TWITCH EVERY WEEKDAY! Mondays & Thursdays @ ~1:15 PM EST -- SUPER MARIO MAKER 2 Every weekday on Twitch @ ~1:15 PM or ~7:15 PM EST -- OTHER GAMES (JRPGs) == TWITCH:   / retro_zen   == DISCORD:   / discord   == TWITTER:   / retro_zen   == SUPPORT: Thank you for watching, liking, commenting, and subscribing! =) ***