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Retro I started this game in 1988, and finally finished it in 2022

NeoZeedeater

Tektite
The game is Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord for the Sega Master System.

800px-Miracle-Warriors-US-cover.jpg


A little background for those unfamiliar with it:

Known as Haja no Fuuin in Japan, Kogado's Miracle Warriors was a fantasy RPG originally released for the NEC PC-88 computer in 1986. It received ports to formats such as the FM-7, X1, MSX, and Famicom.

The Master System port (arguably more of a remake) was developed in-house by Sega and was the only version released in Western countries. HG101 has a nice article talking about various versions, and improvements the SMS rev made to the structure and music.

Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord – Hardcore Gaming 101

The SMS version is also historically significant as it was likely the first JRPG released in English. Dates on the internet list both it and Phantasy Star for late 1988 in North America but Miracle Warriors' Sega newsletter feature was in an earlier issue.

Unlike the home computer scene, there were very few turn-based RPGs on Western consoles prior to 1988. Starpath had Dragonstomper for the Atari 2600 in 1982 but it was extremely obscure and required the Supercharger add-on. Mattel's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin was another impressive one that came out for Intellivision in 1983.

While Miracle Warriors wasn't as far removed in style from WRPGs as today's JRPGs are, its Japanese art and music made it stand out to me as something different. I rented both it and Phantasy Star within a week of each other in late 1988. I also later bought both of those rental copies when the video place was selling off their SMS games. Phantasy Star was clearly the superior game and Miracle Warriors forever has to live in the shadow of it. PS had a larger and more varied world with more memorable characters and events, not to mention the stunning 3d dungeons.

Still, I think Miracle Warriors was impressive for its time. It made great use of the SMS' colour capabilities to make some detailed enemies and backgrounds.
Miracle-Warriors-SMS-Title-Screen.png

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Miracle-Warriors-SMS-49.png

page19-425px-Miraclewarriors-sms-us-manual-pdf.jpg

page20-425px-Miraclewarriors-sms-us-manual-pdf.jpg


So why didn't I beat it sooner? Well, my initial save while renting it was written over by someone else. Later on, I progressed far into the game only to have the battery in it die. I also favoured replaying Phantasy Star over the years. And there have been countless other games to play in the past three decades.

When I replayed NES Rygar this year, it made me want to go back and play classics I have been neglecting for many years. I decided to finally play all the way through Miracle Warriors recently, and I enjoyed it. I would only recommend it to hardcore fans of 8-bit RPGs as it requires lots of patience with grinding, exploring via cryptic clues, and checking maps. Its overworld field of view is quite small so it can be frustrating and easy to get lost. The cave mazes aren't quite as intimidating as Phantasy Star's mazes, at least. I found the sense of danger and discovery to be rewarding. Finding a new item or party member felt like achievements and made me want to continue playing.

What do you think of Miracle Warriors or anything related?

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Great OP!

I havent played it either back then or more recently, but I’ll stick it on the list. That looks like my kinda thing :)
 
That's a good looking Master System game!

I remember seeing the Master System in an Xmas catalogue with screens from Hang On and I think Out Run. I tried to convince my mum we should get it because it would save money on arcades in the long run. We didn't get one.
 
Never heard of this game, but it looks and sounds very good! Very interesting.

There's something deeply satisfying about finally completing games decades later (speak from experience). Nice one OP!
 
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Oh hey! I had this game! I was like 8, so I had no idea what to do and did not get far.
 
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Hey! I got exactly the same adventure as you, I started the game at 1988 and just completed it today, 28Sep2022.

My grand mum brought the game to me when I was a kid, I thought it’s a action game at the very beginning. The English wordings use in the game was too difficult to me when I was small. When I started to get known of how to play the game, I lost the map…..

My SEGA game console not function at some days when I was teenager. I have tried the game at simulator after I grown up, but give up in the mid way after l changed from Android to IOS. Finally, I bought a retro game console last year and completed the game finally today.

So surprise there are someone having the same adventure on this game as me. Nice to know. Btw, it’s a good game and should have the Miracle Warriors 2 after 40 years. Yeah!
 
Weird how the box makes absolutely no mention of what system the game is for. Are all pre-Mega Drive Master System games like that?
Before the Genesis/Mega Drive was available in the West, most people just called the Master System, "Sega".

Activision releases in NA from before the Genesis do say "Sega Master System" on the game boxes, though, as do Japanese games that say "Mark III/Master System" on them.
 
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