My friends say that I like weird games. And it’s true. But, do you think a 3rd person shooter with football elements is weird? …  Well, I think it is.

S4 League is the “acronym” for Stylish eSper Shooting Sports. Yeah, I don’t really get it either.

About S4 League

Actual In-game Screen

This game is like football (you get the ball and try get it to the goal with the other team trying to stop you) but it has guns, swords and a bat.

The teams are split in two teams of 6 members each (they can be less or even one member): Alpha and Beta.

The rules are the same as football: take the Fumbi (a doll-like item that takes the place of the ball) and place it in the enemy base. The other team must use any weapon or tactic to stop you, get the ball and place it in your base.

(continue reading…)

Chrono, Marle, Lucca, Robo and Frog

Take a setting like the middle ages, add some magic, some technology and  time traveling, and mix it up with characters designed by the famous creator of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest Akira Toriyama, and what do you get? One of the most memorable games for the Super NES: Chrono Trigger.

With its multiple endings, side quests and a unique battle system, Chrono Trigger it’s still considered one of the best games in the Super NES library.

Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuhiko Aoki, Final Fantasy Music Composer Nobuo Uematsu, Yuuji Horii and Akira Toriyama, (known as the Dream Team) and published by  Square (today Square Enix) on March 11, 1,995 in Japan and August 22, 1,995 in USA.

The story follows a group of young adventurers that were transported through time accidentally and discovered that the world will be destroyed by a parasite-like entity known as Lavos. Swearing to prevent this event, they travel through history to stop it.

There are 7 Characters to play with: Chrono (named Crono in-game), the silent Swordsman is portrayed as a brave and fearless boy; skilled in the use of the Katana. Marle, the princess of the Guardia Kingdom.  An active tomboy capable in the use of Crossbows. Lucca, the mechanical genius and childhood friend of Chrono, is the responsible of throwing Marle through a time warp by accident and starting the whole adventure in the first place. Her weapons of choice are guns (she uses some kind of hammer on close encounters). They compose the first party from 1,000 A.D.

From 600 A.D. we have Frog, the cursed Knight. He is really a Human named Glenn but was transformed into a frog by a Wizard named Magus after killing his friend Cyrus. Magus is a Wizard original from 12,000 B.C. He ends up in 600 A.D. after a portal sucks him up when he was a child.

From 2,300 A.D. we have Robo, a robot repaired by Lucca. He joins when they learn that Lavos destroyed the whole world and so, he has no more use there.

Anime Video from the game

From 65,000,000 B.C. we have Ayla, leader of the Ioka tribe and one of two evolved races sharing the planet (Human and Reptites). She’s incredibly strong, but (like Robo) can’t use any Magic.

The Story goes like this: Crono Meets Marle in the Millennial Fair, they go to a show where Lucca presents her most recent Creation: The Telepod. She uses Crono as a test Subject, then Marle tries it

herself. Her pendant reacts with the telepod, a portal shows up and she ends up in the past. Crono goes after her to bring her back. They mess up the timeline making Marle disappear. Crono and Lucca rescue the queen (who’s resemblance with Marle is uncanny) with the help of Frog to restore the timeline and bring Marle back. They go back to the present (minus Frog). Crono is arrested and put on trial for supposedly kidnapping Marle and sentenced to death. He escapes from prison and escapes with Marle and Lucca to 2,300 A.D. where they meet Robo. With the Help of Robo they discover that the future world was destroyed by a parasite-like entity known as Lavos in 1,999 A.D. Then, they get set to stop Lavos and change the future.

Ok, that’s not the whole story, just the basics; but now that the game has been re-released for the Nintendo DS (with a lot of extras), I don’t want to spoil the rest of the story.

This game has been released 3 times (as far as I know); in the SNES, as part of Final Fantasy Chronicles (along with a remastered Final Fantasy IV) for the PSX, and now for the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t remastered (like Final Fantasy III or IV), but it includes many new features like:

• The Anime Opening of the PSX Version
• Several New Dungeons
• Art Galleries
• Bestiary
• Music Box
• And many other things…

A Boss Battle

One of the main features are the Multiple Endings. It gives the game enough replay value because each ending requires different events to be triggered (even the main ending has two different versions). And the PSX and DS Version have one new ending each. Also, there are no random battles (like in Final Fantasy). You can choose if you battle or not because the enemies are in plain sight (like in Secret of Mana).

All the videos in the PSX and NDS version include animated movies triggered during special events (this can be turned of, however) created by Akira Toriyama and animated by Toei Animation

If you enjoy RPGs like I do, get this game and play it till the end. Of course, it may look short, but thanks to the New Game+ option, you can start again from the beginning with all your items, money, levels and ready to see each one of the endings.

I really enjoyed this game and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Fenixwing