Radia Senki: Reimeihen

Did You Know?

• Among the four reviewers in Famitsu, two found the game's movement too slow while two others said it felt like a typical action RPG.
• One Famitsu reviewer said the map is too small on the screen.
• Another Famitsu reviewer said Tecmo's dynamic visuals are still as strong as they ever had been.

Gameplay

Radia Senki blends action and console role-playing gameplay. Players take charge of one of five characters while moving through top-down areas. Encounters happen automatically when stepping onto hidden trigger tiles, and combat plays out in real time without a screen transition, much like The Legend of Zelda. The rest of the party follows orders given during fights, such as attacking or regrouping, and can even feign death to dodge enemies. Characters cast both offensive and healing magic, plus spells that tweak enemy stats. After each battle, experience points are earned to make the team stronger. New spells come from scrolls, but the number of times a spell can be used grows as characters level up. Gold is rarely dropped by foes, though they often leave items that can be sold. Shops in towns trade in gear and supplies, and the party can rest and save progress by using any bed they come across.

Plot

The story begins with the protagonist waking up in a forest, unable to remember anything. A wandering mage named Darus finds and helps him. Together, they see a plane crash and discover an unconscious woman named Lefis. When she wakes up, she explains that her stepbrother Gadiss wants to take over the world and is hunting for keys to the sacred Radia Tower. She also mentions that the hero’s name, which the player picks, means “Guardian of Light.” Meanwhile, Nova, a servant of Gadiss who rules the country Samara, starts destroying forests. Over time, new allies join the hero and Darus: Baru, a bandit; Haman, a knight loyal to Lefis; and Saria, a mysterious woman from Samara. Duke Necrude, the leader of Zenobia, is brainwashed by Samara and kidnaps Lefis. While rescuing her, the group learns that Gadiss has completed a massive airship called the Fitzcarraldo. On that ship, Lefis tells the hero he is truly the legendary guardian from Ark’s legend. Nova then appears, revealing that Saria is his daughter and a spy. Nova also suggests the hero himself might be the key to opening the Tower, but the hero refuses to help.

Gadiss and Nova want to open the Tower so they can reshape the world, known as Lemuria, however they wish. To do this, they need to gather eight magical items, and they already have many of them. The heroes collect the remaining items, but Nova and Saria steal them. Nova opens the Tower and explains that it is only half of Radia; both the Tower of the Moon and the Gate of the Sun must be opened to reach the real Radia. Nova is about to kill the heroes, but Saria stops him and sends them to Elfas, the first town from the start of the journey, where the people are descendants of Ark. At the Gate, the heroes defeat Gadiss and open Radia Tower, also called Ark Castle. Outside, someone who looks exactly like the hero appears, calls himself the Master of Dreams, and kidnaps Lefis. Inside the Castle, the Master of Dreams says that Lemuria is only a dream he created, and he made monsters to turn it into a nightmare. The Nightmare Monster then eats him and attacks the party. After the Nightmare is defeated, the hero remembers he is from the real world and that this world is just a dream. Lefis, who has fallen in love with the hero, begs him to stay, but he is teleported out of Lemuria.