Boundary Gate: Daughter of Kingdom

Originally a PC-FX , Boundary Gate makes a fairly quick translation to the Playstation. The subtitle of this game is Daughter of Kingdom. The games starts out in town where your first task is to rescue the daughter of the king (thus the subtitle, ''Daughter of Kingdom'') and get her to join you. After you rescue the king's daughter, you'll set out to find 2 more companions to bring your party up to the standard 4 people. The main character in the game is a white haired princess who has to keep her father's kingdom together through adventure, interaction and lots of fighting. The in-game movement is reminescent of Might & Magic and Bards Tale (these are two very old Commodore 64 and PC games) with the sides of walls scrolling past you as walk through towns and wilderness. Boundary Gate improves on this generic 'maze engine' by adding 360 degree panning and wide open spaces to explore. There are many doors in cities that you can enter to encounter the various characters in the game. For example, when you enter an inn, the owner will greet you and ask if you wish to stay the night. In a nice touch, subtle animation is apparent in all of the characters that you encounter. The innkeeper will move his arms and act jovial as he questions you. The voluminous fighting in the game is viewed from a behind your character perspective. As you hack, slash and cast magical spells, the screen will light up with sparks and luminescence from your magic. If it looks like every other monster that you meet is bigger, stronger and mightier than you are, then you'd be correct. There are a lot of tough beasts in Boundary Gate that you'll encounter in towns (yes, in populated towns) and the surrounding countryside that will give you pause. Since the battles are fought in real time with each slash, stroke and blow animated in good detail, adventurers will have to make their decisions efficiently. A good tactic to use in Boundary Gate is to build up your party as quickly as possible by defeating some lesser monsters. You should then outfit your guys with the best armor that you can afford with the gold that you score for better protection against the tougher beasts. STORY: Long time ago, the First Mother created the world and blessed it with five magical symbols that would keep it in balance. The symbols were hidden deep in a sacred temple, to protect everything and everyone around them. Many years later, an adventurer named Finn was looking for work in the city of Ambrose. There was indeed much work to do: monsters roamed the country, the threat of war was more real than ever. One night Finn was strolling through the city when he suddenly spotted a young girl attacked by a monster. Naturally, he defeated the monster and saved the girl, who turned out to be a princess hoping to restore her father's kingdom. The two decide to work together and venture to the nearby city, that lies in ruins, overrun by monsters… GAMEPLAY: Boundary Gate is an old-fashioned RPG with dungeon-like 3D layout. The game is viewed from first-person perspective, with the exception of battles, where the heroes can be seen from an "over-the-shoulder" view. The attacks are animated. Enemies are random, and combat is turn-based, the party members using equipped weapons to attack or magical spells. Important locations are presented as 2D pictures. There is also voice acting for important conversations.