Mystic Ark (Japan) [En by Aeon Genesis v1.01] ROM

STORY: From different worlds, 7 characters are teleported by a mysterious force and changed into statues inside a shrine on an island. A knight breaks free and begins a quest to free the others and find magic arks in order to save their worlds from evil.

GAMEPLAY: Menu system with options to fight monsters, search items, talk with people, use magic, check status and many others. In battle, main character is knight with choice of allies such as witch, robot, monk, demon, ninja and priest. Fun experimenting with different combinations for different enemies. For example, a boss requires both strong defense and offense but a group of weak monsters require mass destruction. The team must explore worlds of sand, fruit, children, grey, wind, darkness and fairytale. Solve puzzles or unlock secret items. For examples, doors hidden as fireplace, pumpkin, pot, mirror or book.

GRAPHICS: Much better graphics here than in 7th Saga but inconsistent quality. Wide variety of backgrounds are either awesome or ordinary. Some expensive spells sure appear pretty . Also monsters are skillfully illustrated especially bosses.

MUSIC: Good variety in different situations. Some of the town or castle musics are fun to listen to. Great attention to sound details such as wind blowing and walking on beach.

DIFFICULTY: This game is hard if player lacks pro action replay device, knowledge of Japanese language and gamefaqs guide. Easier than 7th Saga because dying is less common but instant death is still possible. When your team dies, 50% of all money is losted so rebooting game is necessary. Completing every task is hard because there are several areas that a player cannot revisit if items are not taken the first time. For example, a boss monster guards 2 valuable treasures in dark world. But if you didn't level up previously, you would never be able to get those treasures because a return to dark world is impossible. Also oddly, control of movement is sluggish in some areas such as walking on beach and jumping on platforms. Replay value from improving on previous performance and trying to complete everything.