Bahamut Lagoon (1996)

by Square, Square Enix, Square Product Development Division 6

Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS)

Themes:Action, Fantasy

Game modes:Single player

Story:Bahamut Lagoon combines RPG mechanics with squad-based combat. Characters have HP, MP (SP for fighter characters), EXP, equipment, stats and class-specific, SP-draining special elemental abilities very much like traditional console RPGs. The player can explore his surroundings, talk to people and visit shops when not in battle, though to a limited degree as there is no world map and no way to leave the current area. The game's core is its turn-based battles fought on a 2d grid. Characters are assembled into parties of four and the player allowed a maximum of six parties, which are usually well outnumbered. The two opposing sides act in alternating turns so that each party can move once and/or attack once a turn. Attacks are divided into distant and close-up combat. In the former, a party uses a special ability (e.g. casting fireballs, throwing lightning, healing allies) of one of its members at a distance. The range and possible area of effect damage vary per ability. If the attacking party has two or more characters with the same ability, they join in the action to multiply its effectiveness. Distant combat results in less money and generally less damage, but the target cannot retaliate. Distant attacks can also affect the field; fire and ice ignite or extinguish forests and melt or freeze ice, etc. Close-up, each unit in two adjacent opposing parties can act once. Very much like Final Fantasy SNES combat, they can attack an enemy, use an item or a special ability (though these can't be combined and most only affect one target instead of all) or defend. Dragons are the player's ace in the hole. They have their own stats and gain experience like normal characters do. In battle, each party has a dragon attached to it and draws a large portion of its strength from that of its dragon: if a party's dragon is slain, the party will lose the ability to use special attacks and class-specific abilities for the remainder of the map. The beast acts as a very powerful autonomous unit that moves after its party does and it cannot be controlled beyond very simple commands, e.g. "Come!" Out of battle, dragons will eat anything and raising them by feeding them items is an important part of the game. Feeding can improve their stats as well as affect their behavior on the field, and the dragons develop into new forms as they grow. The player can change the characters in each of the parties, their formation as well as what dragon represents them at will.Show more

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@TGOskar

January 29, 2025

This game is one of the last releases from Squaresoft for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom, and as with other games of the era, it has never been released officially in the West. The game is a semi-serious attempt to make a tactical RPG, with designs and a gameplay that's reminiscent of Final Fantasy VI, but with a quirky, comedic and even raunchy storyline about a band of freedom fighters against the advances of an empire in a world comprised of islands in the sky. The gameplay is unique even now, with units tied to powerful dragons that act independently but also provide them with special elemental attacks. The terrain can be altered by using these moves on the map, such as creating ice bridges in water by using Ice attacks or destroying obstacles with Fire or Lightning attacks. The fan translation helped people like me enjoy the story but I feel Square Enix should consider bringing this game, a testament to their creativity, to Western lands in order to make this chapter of their history proudly available to consumers. Tactical RPGs are few and far between, and Bahamut Lagoon, preceding Final Fantasy Tactics by years, should not be left in obscurity, hidden in the depths of the Internet where the new gamers rarely step, particularly when re-releases of FFT and Tactics Ogre are always well-received.

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