Oriental Blue: The Tengai Makyou Spin-Off That Began on the N64DD
The Tengai Makyou series, known in English as Far East of Eden, is one of Japan's quieter RPG giants. Conceived by Oji Hiroi and made by Red Company with Hudson Soft publishing, it began in 1989 on the PC Engine CD-ROM2 and went on to sell more than 2.2 million copies in Japan. Overseas, almost nothing arrived, apart from the Neo Geo fighter Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash.
Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai came to the Game Boy Advance in Japan on 24 October 2003, published by Bandai. Its history is odd: the project started life as a Nintendo 64DD game that was cancelled, and was later rebuilt for the GBA. The English edition here is a fan translation, completed in 2013 by Romhacking Aerie according to Giant Bomb, making it the first RPG in the series that English speakers could play.
At a glance
- Based on: the Japanese GBA game Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai (2003)
- Created by: the Tengai Makyou team (series creator Oji Hiroi); English fan translation by Romhacking Aerie
- Released: Japan, 2003; English fan translation, 2013
- Genre: turn-based RPG
- What sets it apart: a free scenario structure where missions can be tackled in any order
What makes it worth playing
- A choice between a male and a female lead, Tenran or Aoi.
- A non-linear story: missions can be taken in any order, and losing a boss battle opens a new route instead of ending the run.
- Classic turn-based combat, overworld travel and first-person dungeon battles.
- A diary system, plus magic stones that can be combined into stronger spells, as described when the game was first announced.
- The setting mixes inspiration from Japan, China, Mongolia, Tibet and Southeast Asia.
One review of English-patched GBA RPGs calls it huge, with dozens of hours of play and replay value thanks to the branching structure.