Tadaima Yuusha Boshuuchuu Okawari
Tadaima Yuusha Boshuuchuu Okawari for the Super Famicom was a game I picked up with absolutely no idea what I'd be getting myself into. The fantasy anime art lent itself to an RPG or strategy feel, and while I don't do as many RPGs as I once did, a good action RPG is something I tend to be down to play. Welp, as luck would have it, it was none of those things... it was a board game, and I do love me some video board games! All I needed was to find a little time to learn to play it!
Now, I've played a load of video board games, so I was pleased as can be to see that Tadaima Yuusha Boshuuchuu Okawari has a lot of unique twists to keep things interesting. It's designed to be played by four players, and the computer will control any un-manned players. You begin by picking which character you want to be and naming them. Each character has their own look and class, which affords unique abilities as well as weapon/armor selections. You then select a map, which is populated with various cities, shops, outposts, and a castle with the map's master. You then select a target amount of NVP (some sort of victory points), which are earned through various methods, but predominantly by winning battles, the largest amounts from liberating cities and outposts. You then designate a number of years to play, and the player who achieves the target and has the most NVP at the end will win. So, time to start!
You find yourself on a 16-bit RPG-style overworld map, and you have a handful of options. Roll the die, use an item or spell, and check equipment. Pressing Y will allow you to freely view the map, and pressing X will give you a secondary menu, from which you can stay still, pass, view the map's features from a menu, and check your and your fellow players' status/character sheets. Spells can have effects like causing an opposing player to lose a turn or teleporting them or other effects, but most often you're gonna roll and move.
Moving is the first big wrinkle. You move much like in a grid-based strategy game, and the higher you roll, the farther out you can move. You can freely explore the map from here, but there are a few things you'll want to do before picking fights with strongholds and cities. First, hitting the inn doesn't just refill your health; you can hire mercenaries in them to form a party of up to three (you can go alone if you're an idiot). These have varying classes and abilities, so you want to be sure to hire a party that is capable, but you can replace folks you don't like later (or they might randomly ditch you). Next, hit the Pico bazaar, where you can upgrade weapons and armor, as well as purchase items like potions and magic. You can also occasionally randomly get hit up by a traveling merchant or wandering mercenary, but these stops are the only surefire way to get outfitted for the battles to come.
Battles can randomly occur on the map, but are guaranteed at the cities and forts. These play out much like a Final Fantasy or Breath of Fire encounter, as you select your attacks/spells/items/run/etc. from menus. These last until either side is dead. Lose, and you'll go back to the nearest inn to the start, having lost some NVP. Win, and gain EXP, money, NVP, and even occasional items. Liberating cities and stronholds give massive NVP bonuses as well. Once a city or fort is clear, it stays free, so there is a limit as to large NVP quantities.
The graphics look really great, with big character portraits, colorful sprites and backgrounds, and nice looking cutscenes. Games can be set to be rather short or massively long, like in Dokapon Kingdom, and there are several maps to play through. You can save at any time by pressing Start, which is convenient. Altogether, it's a fun board game, and the grid movement reduces the computer cheating that typically plagues these sorts of games when played in single player. It may seem a little daunting at first, but it's honestly one of the more accessible games of its kind I've played. I like it a lot.
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