Halfway through the countdown features an action-RPG nearly 12 years old but still holds some of the fondest memories of my childhood gaming experience, and I'll get to that near the end. It felt like this gem of a game got lost with the current releases of the mid 90's; Final Fantasy 3 was becoming huge and Chrono Trigger (hon. mention) and A Link to the Past (hon. mention) were on their way to shelves and it felt like Mana got lost in the pile.
The story starts you as a young boy in a small village playing near a waterfall when he slips off and must get back to the village, yet the only way is to grab a rusty old sword from underneath the waterfall and cut his way through the forests and shrubs. Sounds innocent enough except that upon removal of the sword, many beasts and evils are released and the only way to stop them is to strike them down with the very sword that released them. Oh and before you begin your adventure the entire village banishes you in a heated rage. You are on your own for now.
Throughout the story you meet 2 other party members, a tiny boy called a sprite and a young girl. I thought it was quite brilliant at the time to be able to control their behavior during the real time fights. If you don't like their aggressive behavior, then grab ahold of that tactic bar and slide it to fit your game style.
The visuals are very colorful but at the same time realistic, and the sounds and music are one of the best in a video game, in my opinion, still to this date. The ring equipment system was easy to use for equiping magic, items and weapons.
I received this game as a christmas present the year it came out. I hadn't heard anything about it or played it until Christmas morning. I can turn around in my chair right this second and look at the cartridge and just be happy I was able to experience it. But the experience could only be better as the game was 3 players, and at the time, I played for hours with my cousin and even my sister whom hardly touches video games. That's how powerful this game was. Still to this day one of the most remembered christmas gifts.
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