Thousand Arms
Release Date: December 17, 1998
Maintained in the steampunk climates and style of Japanese animations, unusual production combining RPG elements with a dating simulator.
Thousand Arms, developed by Red Entertainment, is a jRPG, in which the devs used a number of rare solutions and mechanics. The game is distinguished by a dating simulator mechanics integrated into the gameplay.
Story
Dark Acolytes, a mysterious organization of cyborgs and robots, decides to plunge the world into chaos. They need five legendary Holy Flames to accomplish their evil intentions. The only person who can save the land is the 16-year-old blacksmith Meis, a descendant of the famous magical weapon manufacturers. The young hero sets off on an expedition during which he gains a chance to prove his courage, but also to conquer the hearts of several women he meets.
Mechanics
Thousand Arms is not a typical jRPG. The game enables for activities characteristic of the genre, such as city exploration, conversations with NPCs, questing, and tens of random battles with opponents, but at the same time, it has a number of unique solutions. One of them is the combat system created by the devs. Three-person teams, arranged in two rows take part in a battle. Only the characters in the first row can physically attack enemies. The rest of the heroes play a supportive role by casting spells and using items. The player can switch the rows at any time. The applied mechanics make the battles rather slow paced compared to competing titles.
Another unique feature of the game are dating simulator mechanics. The hero can date one of nine women present in the title. Selecting the appropriate dialog options during dating increases the level of character intimacy, which later translates into the ability of the main hero to create more powerful weapons.
Technical aspects
Thousand Arms is distinguished by the characteristic Japanese animation visual style. The whole game is maintained in a steampunk climate. The devs decided to present the characters as sprites and backgrounds in the form of rendered 3D images.
Last updated on April 27, 2020
Thousand Arms Summary
Platforms:
PlayStation 1
Developer: RED Entertainment
Publisher: Atlus
Age restrictions: 12+
