NintendoComplete | Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side (PlayStation) Playthrough [English] @NintendoComplete | Uploaded 2 months ago | Updated 11 hours ago
A playthrough of Nihon System's 1998 role-playing game for the Sony PlayStation, Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side.
Ancient Roman was only released in Japan, so I used SnowyAria's translation patch for this video. You can find it at github.com/Eight-Mansions/Ancient-Roman/releases
"When CG movies and 3D polygon characters crossed paths, their meeting gave rise to a new trend in RPGs. Ancient Roman, a movie-like RPG."
That rough translation of the red text on the back of the box should give you a pretty clear idea of what this was intended to be. Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side is a two-disc JRPG that badly wanted a seat aboard the Final Fantasy VII hype train.
Ancient Roman didn't manage to steal Square's lunch, but it certainly hasn't been forgotten over the years. It's one of the PlayStation's best known examples of what the Japanese refer to as "kusoge." (Literally, a "shit game.") It's somehow held in even lower regard than Camelot's Beyond the Beyond (youtu.be/-O0DorKxVQE). That's an impressive feat.
In essence, Ancient Roman is Final Fantasy VII (youtu.be/h0mqRkhOvtY) made on a tiny budget with zero skill or care. It stars a teenage boy with a clouded past and an innate talent for sword play. It has low-poly 3D character models running around on top of prerendered CG stills. It has a fully 3D, turn-based battle system.
But what makes Ancient Roman truly stand out is the way it bungles every single aspect of its execution. The story is absurd, the dialog is inane, and nothing makes much sense. Most of the game's locations, including the dungeons, are made up of just one or two screens, and it's often difficult to tell where the screen exits are. The loading times are irritatingly long. The battle scenes run at a laughably poor framerate, and the action freezes up to load a sound effect every single time a player character or enemy acts. The difficulty balance is utterly broken by status-afflicting weapons, over-powered spells, and the way holding the circle button allows you to avoid random encounters.
And then there's Another Roman's most famous failing: the soundtrack, which gave rise to an endless parade of Japanese memes. Everything about it sounds wrong, as if someone imported a bunch of midi files and never bothered to check the sample assignments or tunings. (Remember Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood? Yeah, like that.)
It's because the game is such a trainwreck that I thought it would be fun to show it off, especially now that it can be played in English.
And how about that intro cutscene? It's like an unhinged fantasy-themed reimagining of the nuclear blast scene from Terminator 2. Someone deserves a round of applause for that bit where the guy's face explodes into a million triangles.
And why is a game with no ancient Romans in it named Ancient Roman?
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
A playthrough of Nihon System's 1998 role-playing game for the Sony PlayStation, Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side.
Ancient Roman was only released in Japan, so I used SnowyAria's translation patch for this video. You can find it at github.com/Eight-Mansions/Ancient-Roman/releases
"When CG movies and 3D polygon characters crossed paths, their meeting gave rise to a new trend in RPGs. Ancient Roman, a movie-like RPG."
That rough translation of the red text on the back of the box should give you a pretty clear idea of what this was intended to be. Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side is a two-disc JRPG that badly wanted a seat aboard the Final Fantasy VII hype train.
Ancient Roman didn't manage to steal Square's lunch, but it certainly hasn't been forgotten over the years. It's one of the PlayStation's best known examples of what the Japanese refer to as "kusoge." (Literally, a "shit game.") It's somehow held in even lower regard than Camelot's Beyond the Beyond (youtu.be/-O0DorKxVQE). That's an impressive feat.
In essence, Ancient Roman is Final Fantasy VII (youtu.be/h0mqRkhOvtY) made on a tiny budget with zero skill or care. It stars a teenage boy with a clouded past and an innate talent for sword play. It has low-poly 3D character models running around on top of prerendered CG stills. It has a fully 3D, turn-based battle system.
But what makes Ancient Roman truly stand out is the way it bungles every single aspect of its execution. The story is absurd, the dialog is inane, and nothing makes much sense. Most of the game's locations, including the dungeons, are made up of just one or two screens, and it's often difficult to tell where the screen exits are. The loading times are irritatingly long. The battle scenes run at a laughably poor framerate, and the action freezes up to load a sound effect every single time a player character or enemy acts. The difficulty balance is utterly broken by status-afflicting weapons, over-powered spells, and the way holding the circle button allows you to avoid random encounters.
And then there's Another Roman's most famous failing: the soundtrack, which gave rise to an endless parade of Japanese memes. Everything about it sounds wrong, as if someone imported a bunch of midi files and never bothered to check the sample assignments or tunings. (Remember Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood? Yeah, like that.)
It's because the game is such a trainwreck that I thought it would be fun to show it off, especially now that it can be played in English.
And how about that intro cutscene? It's like an unhinged fantasy-themed reimagining of the nuclear blast scene from Terminator 2. Someone deserves a round of applause for that bit where the guy's face explodes into a million triangles.
And why is a game with no ancient Romans in it named Ancient Roman?
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
![Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side (PlayStation) Playthrough [English]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2bR9ZKqN2xo/hqdefault.jpg "Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side (PlayStation) Playthrough [English]
A playthrough of Nihon Systems 1998 role-playing game for the Sony PlayStation, Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side.
Ancient Roman was only released in Japan, so I used SnowyArias translation patch for this video. You can find it at https://github.com/Eight-Mansions/Ancient-Roman/releases
When CG movies and 3D polygon characters crossed paths, their meeting gave rise to a new trend in RPGs. Ancient Roman, a movie-like RPG.
That rough translation of the red text on the back of the box should give you a pretty clear idea of what this was intended to be. Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side is a two-disc JRPG that badly wanted a seat aboard the Final Fantasy VII hype train.
Ancient Roman didnt manage to steal Squares lunch, but it certainly hasnt been forgotten over the years. Its one of the PlayStations best known examples of what the Japanese refer to as kusoge. (Literally, a shit game.) Its somehow held in even lower regard than Camelots Beyond the Beyond (https://youtu.be/-O0DorKxVQE). Thats an impressive feat.
In essence, Ancient Roman is Final Fantasy VII (https://youtu.be/h0mqRkhOvtY) made on a tiny budget with zero skill or care. It stars a teenage boy with a clouded past and an innate talent for sword play. It has low-poly 3D character models running around on top of prerendered CG stills. It has a fully 3D, turn-based battle system.
But what makes Ancient Roman truly stand out is the way it bungles every single aspect of its execution. The story is absurd, the dialog is inane, and nothing makes much sense. Most of the games locations, including the dungeons, are made up of just one or two screens, and its often difficult to tell where the screen exits are. The loading times are irritatingly long. The battle scenes run at a laughably poor framerate, and the action freezes up to load a sound effect every single time a player character or enemy acts. The difficulty balance is utterly broken by status-afflicting weapons, over-powered spells, and the way holding the circle button allows you to avoid random encounters.
And then theres Another Romans most famous failing: the soundtrack, which gave rise to an endless parade of Japanese memes. Everything about it sounds wrong, as if someone imported a bunch of midi files and never bothered to check the sample assignments or tunings. (Remember Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood? Yeah, like that.)
Its because the game is such a trainwreck that I thought it would be fun to show it off, especially now that it can be played in English.
And how about that intro cutscene? Its like an unhinged fantasy-themed reimagining of the nuclear blast scene from Terminator 2. Someone deserves a round of applause for that bit where the guys face explodes into a million triangles.
And why is a game with no ancient Romans in it named Ancient Roman?
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!")
![Samurai Shodown RPG (Neo Geo CD) Playthrough [2 of 2, English]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3di8DY_Z1ms/hqdefault.jpg "Samurai Shodown RPG (Neo Geo CD) Playthrough [2 of 2, English]
A playthrough of SNKS 1997 role-playing game for the Neo Geo CD, Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidouretsuden (真説サムライスピリッツ 武士道烈伝).
This is the second part of a two-part playthrough, picking up with the partys arrival in Paris in Chapter 2: Lament of the Pale Blooms. (Part one can be found at https://youtu.be/IIsIL1lq-iA)
The final battle begins at 7:42:39
The ending begins at 7:50:36, and the animated credits sequence begins at 7:55:20
The bonus chapter, made up of five mini-scenarios featuring characters from other SNK franchises, begins at 8:01:32
The finale to Samurai Shodown RPG is a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to the story, but man, the credits! Its rare to see an animated pixel-art sequence go that hard! And how cool is it that they remixed the Psycho Soldier theme for Athenas cameo in the bonus chapter?
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!")
