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   Volfoss - Import Retroview  

A Study in the Bizarre
by Michael Baker

PLATFORM
PSX
BATTLE SYSTEM
2
INTERACTION
2
ORIGINALITY
4
STORY
2
MUSIC & SOUND
3
VISUALS
3
CHALLENGE
Very Hard
LANGUAGE BARRIER
High
COMPLETION TIME
20-40 Hours
OVERALL
2/5
+ Unique visual aesthetic
+ Plenty of variety
- Hidden failure conditions in battle
- Little chance to level-grind
- Brutal difficulty in later levels
Click here for scoring definitions 

   There were a lot of tactical games made for the original PlayStation — far more than most people outside Japan might ever realize. Like any group in any genre, they've had their high points and their low. Today, we're looking at one of the weird points: Volfoss

   The main plot of Volfoss is deceptively simple. A few years ago, the mercenary troop known as the Silver Fang was among the highest ranked military units on the continent, until its members were ambushed and slaughtered almost to a man. Only two junior members survived, and after years of preparation they're ready to raise the ensign of the Silver Fang once more, and perhaps get revenge on the ones responsible. Along the way there are a few branching points, but the majority of the thin plot is based on revenge in one form or another.

   This story plays out against a far more interesting backdrop, as the continent is split between three incredibly different nations. Ikuaip is a land built on sweat and steel, with advanced war machines and cyborgs. The Republic of Asdenia is more mystic, with a watery oracle and plenty of magical beasts. The third nation, Caldealand, is just insane and looks like a mishmash of Wonderland, Oz, and an LSD trip. The Silver Fang can accept missions from the various nations as well as neutral factions on the side, and the actual list of missions offered will change depending on previous choices, successes, and failures. There are two hundred different missions and five possible endings to the game, though navigating a way to a specific one may be more trouble than it's worth. While the variety is welcome, the mission objectives can be difficult to figure out without a good deal of experience in the Japanese language.

Volfoss is divided into segments called phases, which are roughly analogous to missions and chapters. Some of these phases have set scenarios and story bits to them, while others give the player a handful of missions to choose from. The bad news is that they are also finite. There is a point, Phase 20 of the game, where if the Silver Fang's troop ranking (TR) is not high enough, the game will give the player the apathetic ending, for plot reasons. By the time the TR-gated event, a tournament, is announced, it's not only possible that the player will have dug themself into a hole in the rankings, it's damn near certain on the first playthrough. It may take several goes through the first part of the game, starting from scratch each time, before the player can finesse the ranking needed to qualify. One of the best ways to raise TR early on is to simply not hire anyone new for the first dozen phases, taking on all battles with just the main character and the two units he starts with. This is one of several counter-intuitive design decisions made in this game.

Things look weird from the very beginning. Things look weird from the very beginning.

   In a crowded field of tactical games, it was often necessary to experiment with the combat systems, and Volfoss was certainly no stranger to innovation in that regard. One thing that is sure to trip the player up a few times is the fact that there are two movement options on the command menu. There's the basic "Move" and then there is "Move and Attack." If a player unit is moved on the field, there are no take-backs, and no action may be taken afterwards even if no attack is made. If a unit needs to use an item or skill, then they are not allowed to move at all. The attrition rates can be quite high, which is why the game allows enemies to be captured for interrogation and later recruitment, while dead units on either side can be re-animated as single-use cannon fodder.

   There is a system for learning skills, though much like the rest of the game it has its annoying bits. In order to teach a unit a new skill, they have to be sent off on a journey, bought and paid for with the same skill points that could otherwise be applied to their stats. Later in the game, recruits will come with skills in place, but for true versatility early on some sacrifices may be necessary, followed by prayers that one's key unit doesn't get slain in the next combat phase.

The real world needs newscasters like this. The real world needs newscasters like this.

   If only two words were allowed to describe the game's graphics, they would be "grotesque" and "psychedelic." Never mind the blocky polygons of the battlefield scenery; those are on par with many other mid-PSX era titles. It's the selection of portrait graphics that really steal the show here. These are the demented creations of Yasushi Nirasawa, an artist known for his bizarre and grotesque aesthetics. In Volfoss, he has provided a cast of characters and enemies to match the strangeness of the setting. There's the eldritch abomination that serves as the Silver Fang's business agent, for example, or... well, this could be a really, really long list, because Mr. Nirasawa was a busy man indeed. The overall visual style could even be termed a work of genius, albeit of the sort that eventually leads artists to a padded room in the asylum. The fact that the developers were able to make recognizable polygonal models to match these designs is rather impressive. It is also none too surprising that the game never left Japan, because stuff like this would make the censors go nuts.

   To match such a visual assortment, there isn't much choice in the musical department. It shouldn't be a surprise at all that Volfoss's soundtrack is about as heavy with heavy metal as could possibly be. It's as loud and thumping as they could make it, with electric guitar riffs galore. The music's not quite as bizarre as the visuals — and I'd hate to hear anything that was — but it certainly fits the game quite well.

   Volfoss is, if not a good game, certainly an interesting one. It's also a great example of how a creative mind could go wrong in so many ways. While some games are diamonds in the rough, this one is simply metal, rough and dirty. For strategy-minded RPGamers with a good grasp of Japanese, it might even be worth the import price, but it's not going to be an easy play regardless of circumstance. Consider this a warning.

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