1.
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
2.
Gyromite (NES)
3.
Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For- (Steam)
4.
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Famicom)
5.
Radical Dreamers (SNES)
6.
Video Games 1 (TI-99/4A)
7.
Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (Famicom)
8.
Exile (TurboGrafx CD)
9.
Exile: Wicked Phenomenon (TurboGrafx CD)
10. Xak (PC Engine, Xak I・II)
11. Xak II (PC Engine, Xak I・II)Let me talk about Micro Cabin for a second. They were one of the late great JRPG developers of yore. As they were undeniably similar to Falcom, it's hard to think of one without thinking of the other. And it's impossible to talk about
Xak without referencing
Ys. But more on that in a minute.
Micro Cabin experimented with multiple genres but eventually settled into the role of JRPG developer. Their initial 8 and 16-bit titles were all originally released on Japanese computers, though some were later ported to the Super Famicom, Mega CD, and PC Engine CD. Notice I didn't say "SNES" or "Sega CD" or "TurboGrafx CD" - sadly all those ports remained in Japan.
At the advent of the 3D CD-ROM era, Falcom abandoned the console scene temporarily (minus some reissues and ports for the PSX and Saturn) to focus on development for Windows computers. Micro Cabin, on the other hand, turned their interest towards the fledgling destined-to-be-hot multimedia CD-ROM powerhouse... the 3DO. A trio of games was developed and localized:
The Life Stage: Virtual House (simulation),
Guardian War (strategy RPG), and
Lucienne's Quest (turned-based JRPG). While these are undeniably fantastic, the 3DO flopped and the English-language Micro Cabin triumvirate faded into obscurity. At this point the company headed towards Sega-land and the Saturn and pumped out some frothy RPG sexiness, though only the SRPG
Blazing Heroes saw a Western release. After a small handful of titles on the PSX, Dreamcast, and GBC, Micro Cabin's final releases consisted of the (localized)
Warship Gunner simulators for the PlayStation 2. They then shifted focus to pachinko machines and later folded completely.
During their heyday, Micro Cabin's "flagship" series was
Xak. These games are defined by a protagonist with bright unnatural hair, fast-paced "bump" combat, plenty of cutscenes with pretty ladies, an arcane and epic mythology, and aggressively passionate ass-kicking musical arrangements. Does this sound familiar at all? Yes, the
Xak series is modeled directly after Falcom's
Ys. But consider this a homage rather than a soulless rip-off. Anyone who enjoyed Adol's adventures would be wise to check out those of the blue-haired Latok.
Xak I・II (yes, with a dot) is a compilation featuring enhanced ports of the first two games in the series. They've been redone with beefed-up music, graphics, additional storyline elements, and have been merged into one long experience with a lengthy cutscene connecting the two installments. Hmmm.... Sounds like some
other great PCE two-game compilation!
Anyone who played and enjoyed
Ys Book I & II will have a huge nostalgic grin on their face after booting this one up.
Xak I・II wastes no time before plunging Latok into lightning-fast zip-around-the-screen skirmishes. And the beautiful scenery, abstruse ruins, detailed characters... it's all here. It's like discovering that there's
another (though, admittedly lesser)
Ys Book I & II out there. And that ain't a bad thing.
Combat is incredibly satisfying. It follows the same sort of strategic "angle" system as
Ys, but with a touch of
Hydlide. Latok's sword is sheathed unless the II button is held. With no button depressed he deals less damage and assumes a more defensive position. At higher levels, weaker foes can be slain without a button press. This is a grind-heavy game, but it's
fun grinding (seriously) as the combat never lets up and a level is gained every few minutes. The I button is used for.... jumping? Yes, there are some occasional platforming sequences. They feel tacked-on and the controls are sloppy. Mercifully, they're fairly uncommon.
There's magic too. The magic system is different in both games and, quite honestly, it's a bit confusing in the second. In
Xak, Latok buys spells much like the heroes of the original
Final Fantasy. There's a teleport spell (essential), wall-breaking spell (essential), and two (mostly worthless) screen-clearing offensive spells. In
Xak II, the teleport spell is the only one available for sale. This time offensive magic consists of
Ys II-like fireballs, and a MP meter is depleted during use. Fireballs are conjured up with the II button. But wait, isn't that button used for the sword? Yes, you have to switch between sword mode and the "force shot" in the menu screen; only one can be active at a time. It's pretty clunky. I found myself at one boss towards the end of
Xak II that could only be damaged by fireballs. The menu can't be access during boss battles and since I was in sword mode I dealt zero damage. I was also overleveled to the point where Latok couldn't be harmed either so the PC Engine had to be reset! Ouch.
Swinging back to the positives. The music. Good lord the music. It absolutely slays. The speedier tracks played during action sequences are like those of
Lagoon: thumping, bass-heavy, and tailor-made for carnage. There are also some soothing slow ambient pieces that wouldn't sound out-of-place in the likes of
Terranigma. Here's the kicker though. The best compositions found here are, I shit you not, the
town themes. While playing
Xak I thought to myself "this is the best
town theme I've ever heard" and I'd linger around just to listen to it. That is, until I heard the
one in
Xak II. Nerd chills, man.
Graphics are relatively sexy. The characters are "proportional" like those found in
Phantasy Star II, so don't expect any big-headed super-deformed freaks. When talking to key NPCs you'll see some great facial portraits. Oh, and there's no shortage of waifus here, if that's your thing. There's a pixie who follows Latok around throughout both games. Then there's Fray, who's sort of a cute-but-clumsy comic relief character. Notable enough to get her own spin-off game, apparently. But Latok's "love interest" ends up being the beautiful and stoic Elise, much to the chagrin of Fray.
Those who enjoy classic CD-ROM cutscenes and voice-acting may be a bit disappointed. Only three cutscenes are present here: one at the beginning, end, and the one that segues from part one to part two. These scenes are the only areas where voice-acting is present as well, as all in-game dialogue is simply text. That said, the cutscenes are full-screen and gorgeous and the voice-acting is exemplary. Quality over quantity.
The environments here are all cliché (you've got your ice dungeon, fire dungeon, woods, and so on) but look pretty swell. The flow of the two games is a lot different.
Xak has that traditional town/dungeon/town/dungeon thing going on, while
Xak II has one central town with dungeons spread out in the four cardinal directions. The dungeon design is mixed. There's little consistency here. The first dungeon of
Xak, for instance, is a confusing labyrinth while subsequent ones are more straightforward. Nothing like Solomon Shrine presents itself in either game though (thankfully...).
Dungeons conclude with a boss battle and the developers really dropped the ball here. They are absurdly easy. Some bosses can be killed in under three seconds. I can't even comment on their individual movements and attack patterns as the skirmishes ended so quickly. The only exceptions to the rule are the bosses at the end of
Xak II. These are a bit tricky, though it feels due more so to shoddy programming than genuine design choices.
Xak I・II frequently relies on "triggers" and items with arbitrary uses. Want to enter the first town of
Xak II? Make sure you have that mask equipped. Want to extinguish a fire in
Xak? make sure you find some medicine and take it to a sick girl first. And it goes on and on. Plenty of items exist just to be traded for others, and some seem to have no apparent use.
This is all amplified by the dreaded Language Barrier.
Xak I・II is entirely in Japanese, minus the menu options. Those with no knowledge of the language will undoubtedly be confused, and quickly. There is a silver lining though. The MSX2 versions of these games (released separately) have full translation patches available. Also, the Super Famicom port of the first game has a partial translation done. There is a walkthrough of
Xak I・II available on GameFAQs. I found it helpful and I commend the creators, though it does contain several omissions, errors, and sequential problems. It also seems to be written with the assumption that the reader knows at least a smidge of Japanese.
Xak I・II is big, bold, and beautiful, but comes packaged with some interface and navigation issues commonly seem in old ARPGs. It's
Ys Book I & II's slightly-flawed little brother. I'd hesitate to recommend it to just anyone, especially with its lack of English, but those who adored
Ys Book I & II will find plenty to love here. Whatever the case, all JRPG fans should check out at least Micro Cabin games lest we let that developer slip into obscurity with the likes of Produce, Quintet, and Xtalsoft.
Fray says "thanks for reading!"
