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Amazonian Saga


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This scenario was a bit hit and miss, for me. It had some clever and innovative bits. The way you solved a problem by travelling back in time and preventing it from occuring, which changes all sorts of things in the present, beyond what you intended, was rather nice. Also, the society was inventive.

 

On the other hand, the ancient civilisation with their strange magical nuclear weapons was a bit cliched and felt rather tacked on. Also, why where there aliens? What was the point of them, beyond some half-hearted Star Trek speech about peace they give you?

 

Also...the "message" of the scenario was a big let down. Mind you, I'd just played Nephil's Gambit, so I was comparing it to that a bit, which'd make anything look bad, but...to find out that the scenario has a deeper meaning, and then to be told it was "really about" an argument between anime fans over which of two anime creators was the best...um.

 

That really lowered the tone of it, right at the very end...which is where you really don't want it to, because it's what you take away from it the most.

 

I'm torn between GOOD and AVERAGE for this one...I think I'll got for

 

AVERAGE.

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THURYL

 

While the designer's English isn't perfect, I found that the idiosyncratic writing style added a sort of charm to the story. The plot was interesting, and in some ways this scenario was groundbreaking - it included many features common only in far more modern scenarios, such as special spells, NPCs that join the party, and extensive use of high-quality custom graphics. And while I personally have a distaste for time travel, regarding it as a cheap plot device, I suppose it wasn't done too offensively in this scenario. Good

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ALCRITAS

 

A True Pioneer

 

It's only now, in the last few months before BOA, that this scenario starts to look dated. A great pioneer, and great fun to play.

 

It seems every time I approach some previously uncharted island of BOE scenario design, and get ready to plant my flag, claiming it for myself, I see a Neon Purple Flashing sign, with the words, in 6 foot high letters, AMAZONIAN SAGA WAS HERE.

 

Amazonian Saga, by Haneda Yoshiyuki (haneda AT dragon.mm.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp), is, without a doubt, one of my favorite scenarios. It nicely combines a faerie tale atmosphere with an engaging storyline and excellent aesthetics.

 

The basic storyline of Amazonian Saga is hard to describe. The scenarios uses the evolving world engine, but in a way far different than used elsewhere, for example, Tatterdemalion, Fog, and Of Good And Evil. In those scenarios, the world evolved as the plot progressed. In Amazonian Saga, the world evolves so much, not one, but three different plots emerge. You start off trying to hunt down a mysterious fellow who’s been terrorizing the island. You’ll end up doing much more.

 

The gameplay in Amazonian Saga is generally quite solid. The dungeons are nothing of note, in fact they probably compose the biggest weakness of the scenario. Beyond that, however, Amazonian Saga introduces several concepts in the BOE arena, all of which greatly enhance the enjoyment of the scenario.

 

The two most notable of these features are the ally system, which allows you to contact certain NPCs for help in the final combat, and the Amazonian Blade, a sword that grows stronger every time you slay a major enemy with it. Both are very nice features, and give the scenario a unique feel.

 

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent graphics the author has employed. Several authors have employed large scale makeovers to enhance their scenarios. None have truly succeeded, save Haneda Yoshiyuki. Everything in this scenario is a visual treat, from the second you start the scenario and see a nearby snack cake, to the final conflict. Altogether, an excellent job.

 

Amazonian Saga is rated PG, and is designed for medium level parties.

 

GOOD

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THE ALMIGHTY DOER OF STUFF

 

Deplorable!

 

No, the scenario wasn't deplorable. I just think that's a funny word. I rate it Average

He overused magically locked doors. There also wasn't enough opportunity to gain levels in the early game, so I couldn't train in Mage skill to get Unlock. I had to go into the character editor to give myself Mage skill to get into important places.

Not bad, though

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My first response to Amazonian Saga is...well, wow. This scenario is set in an interesting island where most of the inhabitants are women...woohoo! Anyway, you start out sitting in your room next to a custom graphic right away! Talk about jumping in headfirst. So you talk to Lucy...oh that reminds me. The best part about this scenario is the custom dialogue pictures! basically everyone has one...in fact everyone does. not a single person is without a CUSTOM dialogue pictures. Anyway, to continue: you wander around, find out about death header. you fight him, you wander around. Do a blacksmith mission, wander around, get summoned to go back in time...now this is where it gets interesting.

 

The interesting part:

 

You already have the Amazonian Blade, a sword that gets stronger every time you kill a Forest Idol with it. you can either kill Death Header as a human or go fight some people. I killed death header...gonna run through it again. you get sent back to your own time where the chieftains have fought, the amazons have been beaten. you have to use the crystal ball of allies...(a cool item) to get people, then fight the final battle. I won’t ruin it for you...it’s way cool.

 

 

Bad stuff:

 

Basically my only problem with Amazonian Saga is that the beginning is really unclear. Apparently you were on a ship that was sunk...it all gets fuzzy from there.

 

Custom graphics:

 

There are a lot of them. You’d better have the file or most of the aura of the scenario will be lost.

 

 

Ending:

 

My favorite part of Amazonian Saga was actually the ending. You walk through a secret area of the scenario, meet its author (a bladesman, #0 on the monster roster — he cleverly replaced townsperson one with himself so you’d start off with him), go to the tower of the chieftain...I wont spoil the ending. A thoroughly entertaining and magical scenario. “Did you visit the Space Ship?”

 

I give this scenario Best. What a boon to the world of Blades!

 

— the BURRD

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DRAKEFYRE

 

I love how this scenario has a great atmosphere and the whole time-paradox-traveling aspect. It's unique, and it hasn't been copied or replicated yet.

 

When I decided to review the Amazonian Saga (By haneda AT dragon.mm.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp), a scenario I had never played, I thought same old, same old with a different setting. Boy, was I wrong. This scenario has excellent node mastering, and a wavering plot line. You don’t need all of the allies for the final battle, but they sure help.

 

The first thing you notice, is immediately you see a sweet cake on the table next to you. The reason is because of the superior quality of the graphic to any Spiderweb food graphics. The graphics and new monster types do take a while to get used to, though, but they are good to have.

 

You start out with a choice. You can play the scenario, or leave the island. Doing the mission however, is much more intriguing. The use of the Amazonian Flute is remarkable. It is a special item that enables you, when in Olgada, to open all the gates in the town. You blow the flute, and the guards know to open the gates. It is easy to miss a crucial starting-point in the plot line. So you don’t miss it, I will tell you to visit the middle of Parke immediately after leaving Olgada. It also is a little fuzzy after that. Go to Igor for metallurgy, and then follow the instructions. Then find Gomez. That is really all the hinting I will give you.

 

My next topic is, DON’T MESS AROUND WITH THE SCENARIO IN THE SCENARIO EDITOR! The effects of this can be devastating and permanent. I tried to see what I should do, but everything was sooo confusing! It is like trying to look at Tatterdemalion through the Scenario Editor. You don’t get anything from it unless you are very far in the scenario, and in that case, why cheat? You may even get bad effects, as is usually the case. I have tried to hack it, but it was hard. The best I could do was put in some secret passages, and that still messed the game up. That skips you nodes that you need to activate to win the game.

 

Now back to the review. I have a few gripes, as you may have noticed. One I have not mentioned, is that the weapons and such are horribly weak. You can buy weapons weaker than Steel Greatswords for a greater price, at the same merchant! You need more powerful weapons for later on. That brings me to my next point. You need an old party. That may not mean much to those BoEers who carry a party of every level, and every amount of PCs. But to those who, like me have only a few or even one party, it is hard to come up with the exact party for the scenario. I have figured it out, however. Parties with 5 PCs work the best. The level should be between 8 and 15, to start. This covers about every kind of BoEer except the cheater who runs through with Doomguard Armor and Level 50 PCs.

 

 

As I shift away from gripes, I shed some light on the good parts of the scenario. As I will always say, the graphics bring you to a new world. It is very challenging for a low party, as some monsters have high armor and all resistances or immunities. The game edges you along with hints, sometimes telling you what to do next. I don’t want to spoil the ending, as there is a hard battle with a level 7 mage. She can wipe out your allies in a flash. It is excellent, and I give it the rating of GOOD

 

Lastly, it is rated PG, and is in medium difficulty range.

 

— Drakefyre

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ROBSTA

 

I got stuck in this scenario after killing the three idols, so I can only rate the scenario up to that point. (It needs a walkthrough) I also left the scenario a while ago, so I’ll try to remember enough of it.

It has an interesting storyline, and some well developed characters and a unique setting.

It was filled with custom graphics, monsters and items.

It included advanced nodding for the time, such as special skills.

Drakefyre - Weapons are horribly weak? Not so, with a little bit of metallurgy, and a lot of gold (which is possible to get), I gave my favourite fighter a quality axe +5, (total bonus of +10). For a party of this level, that is a decent weapon.

The weapon that really was disappointingly weak was the Amazonian Blade, it was probably also the reason I got stuck halfway through the scenario. I didn’t know you needed to use it to kill the forest idols, so I used the much more powerful axe I had.

All in all, Good

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