Torneko: The Last Hope

Lore & Background

The game follows Torneko after the events of Dragon Quest IV and half a year after Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon. He returns to his village and must help cure it of a curse. Gameplay uses two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective, with Torneko exploring mazelike dungeons, losing all items and returning to level one upon starting a new dungeon. Combat is turn-based, with weapons including swords, bows, and magic from wands or scrolls. A hunger meter forces Torneko to eat bread or lose health.

Reader's Guide

Torneko: The Last Hope was a financial and critical success in Japan, selling over 578,000 units on PlayStation and over 181,000 on Game Boy Advance by 2007. Famitsu scored it 37/40 for the PS version and 36/40 for the GBA version, and ranked it 31st in its top 100 PlayStation games. It was nominated for CESA's Game of the Year. In North America, it sold poorly and received average reviews, with critics citing frustrating difficulty, lack of story, and randomly generated dungeons. Some praised its addictive gameplay and soundtrack. Decades later, a product manager hinted at a possible re-release on modern platforms due to the success of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island in Japan.

Did You Know?

• The game features 128 hand-drawn monsters.
• The U.S. localization was completed in three weeks by editor Nob Ogasawara, his editor, and his kids after the original translation company produced no usable text.
• The PlayStation version sold over 578,000 units in Japan in its release year.
• Famitsu gave the PlayStation version a score of 36 out of 40.