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Great idea, bad execution

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: October 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The Aidyn Chronicles has a unique plot line as it doesn't follow a standard 'kidnapped princess' idea, although it has a 'save the world' style of plot. Overall, the game is very well designed and the graphics and cinematic scenes are also well done. The problem of the game comes into play with the tedious and almost boring dialog at times coupled with a similar battle-mode. As a large fan of turn-based style RPG games, this turn-based style implementation has very good intentions, but poor execution.

Being able to go to nearly any section of the world at any time you wish is a nice touch, but not always a plus as demonstrated at times in the game. In instances where you need to return to a distant location, sometimes you have to plod your character's jerky 'running' movements in the direction of the town which can take up to an hour alone if a few fights come into the mix. As almost insult to injury, the 'musical score' often reminds me of that annoying song you get stuck in your head and can't get out.

Pros:
Easy to 'figure out' the controls
Good graphics and environment interface
Unique battle-mode interface
Change in a character's statistics immediately reflected in battle-mode effectiveness instead of leaving you guessing as to what a stat. change affects
Lots of skills and spells to learn, that similarly have immediate effects instead of leaving you guessing if the skill level change actually does any good

Cons:
Tedious, and almost boring battles at times
Lifeless & almost emotionless dialog
Music is extremely annoying at times (as commented by my friend multiple times while we were playing the game)
Can get easily lost in the world map, despite a map function
Some potential party members won't join after certain events
Some useful shops disappear magically with no explanation

A reviwe and a bit more.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I don't need to sat anything, since people can clearly see my star rating. I just plain like this game. It seems so unique. For one, death actually has a meaning. You lose a valuable party memeber that has been fighting at your side, as opposed to "Oh I'll just use some phoenix down next turn", or "I'll bring him back to life when I get back to town". Afterall, I think that what made Aeris's death so significant. Who didn't want to kill Sephiroth right there and then for doing that? True, the game is slow and graphis are a pretty bad (Even I wanted to quit playing during the first twenty minutes) but this good isn't about looks or speed. It's about something deeper, the actual adventure. I mean, Alaron's life is in jepardy. How exciting would it be if you solved that in an hour and then just went home for dinner? The length of the game should be a lure, like popular television series. When I first talked about this with a friend of mine, he told me about how many people thought the game sucked, and it really got me depressed. Then I looked here and saw that there were people that enjoyed it just as much as me. I'm not going to say that people that down like the game are wrong, thats what you want to believe. But think about it, alot of the complants are about the dragged out story line. Has anyone here heard of Gungrave? The game has almost no story line, just a whole bunch of action. I liked it, but it left me feeling empty. Then I saw the anime of Gungrave, and it just seemed so much cooler. I'm not going to get preachy any longer so I'll just wrap this up with the points that I think makes a good RPG.

1. Choices
2. Consequences
3. Tough situations
4. Realism

P.S. Maybe I just feel this way because I play Dungeons & Dragons

Inconsistent game...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

After looking at many screenshots, and interviews with the creators, I was actually really looking forward to the release of this game. Everything about it looked so good...

However, it wasn't what I expected at all. This game is...well...a mess. But it's an organized mess, if that makes any sense at all. The graphics are well-done, but over-done, because the animation is rather choppy at times, and can be rough on the eyes.

I'm not a big fan of the battle scenes either. They take a long time, and can get VERY tedious. However, this just shows that this is a game that requires strategy, instead of just whacking the "attack" button over and over like in other games...

Another beef has to be the music. The music in this game is quite poorly composed, whenever you heard it. While you're travelling on the World Map, you travel in complete silence, with some nature sounds in the background. This takes a lot from the game, and sort of gives it a creepy edge if staying up playing this at a late night. The different battle compositions are quite shabby, and get very annoying to hear afterwards.

However, I'm not entirely against this game. I quite like the storyline, it's very interesting, and it certainly stands out from the other games up to this point. The characters do seem to have their own personality, and that affects how they react in battle. For example, if a character fights especially well during night hours, then they may have trouble fighting during the day. Others may fight well during the rain opposed to when it is clear, etc. So, a really neat insert into the game.

This game didn't seem to be designed properly at all. The designers spent too much time on graphics and cut-scenes that they didn't spend enough time on other elements. According to other reviews, the game crashed a few times, and a save file continued to become corrupted. The Expantion Pak exclusive High Resolution option only makes the animation that much more choppier, and even harder on the eyes than Normal Resolution.

I think they should have spent much more time cleaning up the animation, adding and enhancing more music, tested it thoroughly, that kind of thing. That way, it allows for much smother transitions, and if the battle music was a little more upbeat, fighting the battles could become a lot more fun.

Another note is that the replay vaule won't be very high. With all of the wandering and exploring of towns and the world map, one could only be glad that the long trip of Aidyn Chronicles is finally over, and would be rather hesitant to start another game right away.

So really, this game was just a great game that managed to get tangled in a disastrous mess. We've waited so long to see something that just won't be accepted. If THQ had waited another few months or so, this game could have been on the Gamecube. That way, it wouldn't seem so choppy, and that means they would have had more time to enhance, fine-tune, and test.

Rent this game first, like I did. Don't buy it right away, unless you're absolutely positive you will like the game. Because of its inconsistency, I give this game three out of five stars...

Looks truly promising

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: January 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This title from THQ is their follow-up to Quest 64, a somewhat disapointing title which had the bare-bones structure of an RPG and a very weak story. In recent interviews, members of the Aidyn Chronicles development team have cited these weaknesses from Quest, and are promising an improvement for Aidyn. The game already has a more grown-up plot line, and if you have seen any pictures from the game, the graphics look great.

Let's hope that Aidyn comes through in 2001, as there has been a running lack of good RPGs throughout the N64's brief history.

This game is fun and interesting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Aidyn Chronicles The First Mage is a good game to get if you like games like Dragon Warior.I love how the characters do battle, because it makes the battle come more alive.I also like the story line and the interesting characters you meet along the way.

Aidyn Chronicles The first Mage

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I gave this game five stars because it has a great story line plenty of action and the fantasy that all of the great RPGs have. The graphics aren't the best but the game is awesome.
You should get this game if you have the chance!

This game is pretty cool

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is pretty frustraiting and hard sometimes.. but that doesn't mean it's not fun! I think this game is fun, because it has a pretty good story line.. most of you who have played the game will propably agree with me.. I also like it because it has very good grafics.. It is also fun because it allows you to use your imagination.. With the magical spells and the knights and goblins and dragons.. It may sound like your average fairy tale, but in this u get to bash their heads in and stab them in the back and burn them and and trow hatchets at them and so forth.. Soo in my opinion this is a cool game!

The chair now has a permanent dent in it...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My son got this game for his 14th birthday and has not stopped playing it! Well, that's an exaggeration..he stops playing when my husband want to take a turn.
The graphics are excellent for a Nintendo 64, there are no glitches in it, it starts up perfectly everytime they insert it.
( I'm more worried about the control panels..)
The music gets on my nerves only because it's new-agey-monotonous-drumrolly stuff. The game is very playable, if you don't mind sitting still for hours and hours at a time, there is a huge tendancy to get sucked into it and end up playing way too long while the day just sort of disappears.
I don't play, but I watch off and on and my son and husband are truly enjoying this game.
Do not get this game if you want to actually go outside and do things. Don't give this game to your friends if you want your friends to hang out with you.
On the other hand..it's probably OK for rainy days, as long as you are completely alone.

A great game, but graphics are average and not to par!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

To get my anger out of the way, this is a great N64 RPG. The story line is good and the music fits the game really well. The cut scenes are also well done. I know this game is not so good in the graphics for the N64 but even though it is below average, it still looks far greater than those of Final Fantasy 7. This is all due to the fact that the N64 machine is 100,000 times more powerful than the PSX. THQ just rushed an RPG with bad graphics and it still looks far better than the Final Fantasy 7 which took Squaresoft years. First of all, this game is scary at times and sometimes funny. The story is very cool and I will not tell you any of it. The music fits the mood but the quality of the sound is average. It by no means sound as good as Jet Force Gemini. The graphics are also average when turned onto high-res. Zelda: Majora's Mask looks a lot better. But for a third-party company that has not made many RPG's, it was amazing. Do not worry, the graphics are not as bad as Hercules. Overall, this game's music is not as good ad FF7 but the graphics outshines it anyday. The reason is that people look like people and everything is in 3-D unlike FF7 which is all top view(maybe except the battle and cut scenes). This game is worth a RENT and if you like it then BUY it before it is out of stock!

one of the best N64 RPG experiences

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I found Aidyn Chronicles to be the kind of game where you're glued to the TV screen for hours and hours at a time. From the moment Alaron leaves the castle and is attacked by the Goblin Poisoners to the final showdown (there's about 50 hours of gameplay in between). The graphics and cinematics are good for a
N64 game and the same can be said for the huge world in it. You can explore any place at your own leisure. I like the fog and rain effects and the seasonal changes in the game. Some people don't like the idea of not being able to use a sword while you're exploring, but to tell the truth, I never paid any attention to that. I was having too great of a time exploring all the forests, mountains, deserts, seaports, and towns. This is a very large, engrossing game that all RPG lovers should have a good time with. This being a game set in a different world in a very long time ago, my only complaint is that some of the towns look like...well, trailer parks.

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