Game of the Day 2/9/2016: Strahl

[celerystalker]

Strahl of the 3DO, Saturn, and LaserActive (as Triad Stone) is an anime-flavored FMV game in the style of Dragon's Lair. You play as Alex Hawkfield, who shows compassion to an old man who us God in disguise. God offers Alex the chance to test his mettle by hunting seven crystals, each of which restores lost art and technology to the world. Can you get them all, save the world, and become king?

Well, yeah, you probably can. If Space Ace hurt your feelings with its super tough timing, Strahl will give you a hug and make you feel better about yourself, especially on 3DO, which only offers a very easy difficulty. The Pioneer and Saturn versions, though, add scoring systems, additional voice, and adjustable difficulty, which adds a lot to the replay by adding at least slightly more challenge to the affair.

There are three main paths you can choose from, though, and 48 good and death endings total to see. I love that old-school anime flavor in games like this and Time Gal, and the scenes are pretty imaginitive with a cool fantasy theme.

This one is obviously kind of a niche interest game, but I have a soft spot for classic FMV games. Strahl may be the game to make you feel better about yourself after you killed Dirk the Daring a billion times, but it is a pleasant diversion to pick up every once in awhile. I'd say it's a great intro to the style if you wanted to get somebody to try these sorts of games, but it definitely isn't for everyone.

Have you played it? Have the much rarer LaserActive version? Loathe it for being so forgiving?

I would truly enjoy hearing other peoples' memories of this one.

[Steve W]

Triad Stone was one of the games I really wanted for my Pioneer LaserActive, but it never quite worked out. By the time the LaserActive was discontinued and I was able to buy the floor model unit, the store had gotten rid of all their games. I've never seen Triad Stone since, the only LaserActive games I've ever come across that aren't online are Rocket Coaster and Pyramid Patrol, both of which are the only titles I have. It's very had to collect for the LaserActive when you don't do eBay.