Software:Alundra

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Short description: 1997 action-adventure video game
This page is about the video game. For the wrestler known as Alundra Blayze, see Debrah Miceli.
Alundra
The word "Alundra" appears in the center of the cover art, with a blue swirl design in the background. An anime-style male elf wields a sword in a defensive stance next to the words.
European cover art featuring the titular character Alundra
Developer(s)Matrix Software[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Yasuhiro Ohori
Producer(s)Takahiro Kaneko
Hideaki Kikukawa
Akira Sato
Designer(s)Yasunaga Oyama
Writer(s)Ichiro Tezuka
Composer(s)Kōhei Tanaka
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Alundra (アランドラ, Arandora), released in Europe as The Adventures of Alundra, is an open-world[6] action-adventure video game developed by Matrix Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was originally released in 1997 in Japan, January 1998 in North America by Working Designs and June 1998 in PAL territories by Sony-owned Psygnosis.[3] A standalone sequel, Alundra 2, was released in 1999.

The game's protagonist is a young man named Alundra, who learns that he has the power to enter people's dreams. He is shipwrecked on an island, near the village of Inoa, where locals have been suffering from recurring nightmares that sometimes cause death. With his dream walking ability, Alundra proceeds to try to help the locals. The narrative becomes gradually darker and more twisted as the game progresses, dealing with mature themes such as death, clinical depression,[7] fate, religion, and the essence of human existence.[8]

The gameplay involves extensive exploration of the island and various dungeons, with an emphasis on challenging puzzle solving, real-time action combat, and platforming,[9] as well as interaction with non-player characters in the village of Inoa. The main gameplay innovation is a dream walking mechanic, where Alundra can enter people's dreams, with each of the dream levels having its own unique twist based upon the dreamer's personality and traits.[7]

Upon release, Alundra earned critical acclaim as well as some initial commercial success. It was praised for its well-written story and characterization, smooth game mechanics and platforming, challenging gameplay and puzzles,[9] and expansive overworld exploration.

Gameplay

The gameplay style is top-down action-adventure, with a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving.[10] A range of terrain and surfaces affect the player character, from sand, which causes the player character to move more slowly, to lava, which damages the player character. Upgrades throughout the game can help the player overcome many of these obstacles, encouraging exploration.

Plot

Alundra, the silent protagonist and player character, is an elf from the clan of Elna, the Dreamwalkers. He set out for a place called Inoa because of a recurring dream in which a mysterious figure who calls Alundra "Releaser" tells him that he must save the villagers from the evil of Melzas. The ship carrying Alundra is caught in a storm and is broken in half, leaving most of the crew dead and Alundra drifting unconscious.

Alundra is next seen washed ashore to an unknown beach, where a man named Jess finds and rescues him. Jess carries Alundra to his house at the village of Inoa and lets him sleep in his guest room. In the village, Alundra discovers he is a Dreamwalker, which means he has an ability to enter other peoples' dreams, and helps the villagers get rid of the nightmares that have been possessing them. Since Alundra's arrival, bad things begin to happen in the village, with various villagers being murdered in their dreams, which leaves them dead outside of their dreams as well. Some of the villagers eventually start blaming Alundra for what is happening.

Another dreamwalker, Meia, from the clan Elna arrives to the city and helps Alundra fight off the nightmares of the villagers. Later in the game, it is revealed that the demon, Melzas, has disguised himself as a god, and he is the source of all the nightmares of the village. His goal is to make the villagers pray for their god, and thus make Melzas himself gain power from their prayers. Ronan, the priest of the village, was also on the side of Melzas and helped him to deceive the villagers, and keep them praying for Melzas, the false god. Once Alundra discovers the truth, he gathers the information and items needed to access Melzas' palace to defeat the demon. After Melzas is destroyed, Alundra and Meia bid farewell to the villagers and depart together, before going their separate ways.

Development

Alundra is considered a spiritual sequel to Climax Entertainment's Landstalker on the Sega Genesis,[11] particularly because several members of the game's programming and design team had worked on Landstalker.[12] Alundra producer Yasuhiro Ohori previously worked on Landstalker, while map designer Kenji Orihara previously worked on the Shining Force series.[13]

The game began development before the PlayStation launched in 1994 and took three years to complete. It originally began development as an action role-playing game. According to Ohori, the team decided there would be "no experience points" but instead "the player accumulates experience" themselves so that by "the end of the game, even someone who sucked at the outset will find they’ve gotten way better at the action."[14]

Alundra's game world contains over 7,000 screens.[13] The music for Alundra was composed by Kohei Tanaka.[15]

Release

The game was published by Sony in Japan, Working Designs in North America, and Psygnosis in Europe.

Later, Alundra was released as a downloadable game on the PSone Classics service for the PlayStation 3.[16]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings84%[17]
Metacritic86/100[18]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVGStarStarStar[4]
EGM8.625/10[19]
Famitsu31/40[3]
Game Informer8.5/10[20]
GameSpot8.8/10[21]
IGN8.5/10[22]
Next GenerationStarStarStarStar[23]
PSExtreme90%[24]
Man!ac88/100[25]
Ultra Game Players9/10[26]
Awards
PublicationAward
Electronic Gaming MonthlyRole-Playing Game of the Year (runner-up),[27]
Game of the Month[19]
GameProBest Role-Playing Game (2nd Place)[28]
Metacritic#6 Best Critic Reviewed PS1 Game of 1997[18]

The game had sold 143,114 copies in Japan by the end of 1997.[29] Following its North American release, Working Designs sold over 100,000 copies of the game in North America within a single month in early 1998.[7]

Alundra was well received by critics upon release.[7] It has a score of 86 out of 100 at Metacritic based on 9 reviews, making it the sixth highest-rated PlayStation title of 1997,[18] and held an 84% at GameRankings based on 13 reviews at the time of the site's closure in 2019.[17] Critics hailed the game for its deep and often maddening challenge, particularly the puzzles.[19][21][22][23][30] They said that, while the gameplay is derivative of The Legend of Zelda series and Landstalker, it has enough original elements to stand on its own.[19][21][22][23][30] Next Generation stated that "Working Designs made a smart decision importing Alundra, and any gamer looking for a unique challenge is guaranteed to appreciate it."[23] Jay Boor wrote in IGN, "Never have I been so tested and challenged since the old Genesis adventure title, LandStalker. And Climax has made Alundra twice as hard, twice as challenging, and twice as good as its LandStalker counterpart."[22]

The music was applauded for its strong composition and appropriateness for the tone of the game.[21][22][30] GamePro commented that "the game's heroic battle music will make you feel good about being the fighting savior of tormented sleepy souls."[30] Reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and GameSpot also praised the translation as being noticeably more restrained than Working Designs' earlier projects, in which the humor was often overdone to the point where it compromised the mood.[19][21] GameSpot's Chris Johnston said that "For those who have bagged on WD for its past liberties with American humor, there is little to complain about here. Alundra is maturely written and has a tone and feel that fits the game to a T."[21]

The one significantly criticized element of the game was the graphics, with GamePro giving it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound, control, and fun factor but a 3.5 out of 5 for graphics.[23][30] GameSpot found that it is sometimes difficult to judge height and depth, forcing the player to proceed by trial and error.[21] EGM's Sushi-X said the color palette is too dominated by "bland greens and tans", though he and the other three members of the review team were overall very impressed with the game's challenging dungeons and puzzles, giving it their "Game on the Month" award.[19]

Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro both selected Alundra as the runner-up for their 1997 Best Role-Playing Game of the Year awards, coming second only to Final Fantasy VII.[27][28] During the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Alundra for "Console Game of the Year" and "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year".[31]

In 2009, Destructoid's Conrad Zimmerman described Alundra as a "fresh and innovative" game and "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming." He particularly praised it for featuring "a plot the likes of which I had never seen before in the genre," the strong "writing and characterizations," and the "clever and challenging puzzles."[9]

Sequel

Main article: Software:Alundra 2

The game was followed up by Alundra 2 in 1999. The sequel uses 3D graphics and has little in common with the original game.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "JAPANスタジオ作品一覧 1998年～1994年" (in ja). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2021. https://www.playstation.com/ja-jp/corporate/playstation-studios/japan-studio/history-1994-1998/. 
  2. ↑ "Working Designs Home Page". 1999-10-13. http://209.76.69.2/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "アランドラ [PS / ファミ通.com"]. https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?a=page_h_title&title_id=8717. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Alundra". Computer and Video Games (197 (April 1998)): 50–3. 11 March 1998. https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_197_1998-04_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n49/mode/2up. 
  5. ↑ "Alundra Release Information for PlayStation". https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/196598-alundra/data. Retrieved 6 January 2019. 
  6. ↑ "Alundra Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/alundra/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 George Reith (17 June 2010). "Awesome Games That Time Forgot: Alundra". Game Revolution. http://gamingbolt.com/awesome-games-that-time-forgot-alundra. Retrieved 14 January 2015. 
  8. ↑ "Platform Nation's Alundra Review". http://www.platformnation.com/2010/10/27/alundra-psn-review/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Zimmerman, Conrad (20 March 2009). "An RPG Draws Near! Alundra". http://www.destructoid.com/an-rpg-draws-near-alundra-125565.phtml. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Alundra: Another Epic WD RPG". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (101): 70. December 1997. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nickel, Thomas (21 February 2017). "Zelda? Nein danke! - Abenteuerliche Alternativen – Seite 7 von 12" (in de-DE). https://www.maniac.de/extended/zelda-nein-danke-abenteuerliche-alternativen/. 
  12. ↑ "Protos: Alundra". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (99): 47. October 1997. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "In the studio". Next Generation (29 (May 1997)): 17. 15 April 1997. https://retrocdn.net/images/b/b7/NextGeneration_US_29.pdf#page=19. 
  14. ↑ "Alundra – 1997 Developer Interview". Shmuplations. 13 December 2021. https://shmuplations.com/alundra/. 
  15. ↑ Gach, Ethan (11 March 2020). "Alundra, My Big Beautiful Elven Son, Play Us Some Songs". https://kotaku.com/alundra-my-big-beautiful-elven-son-play-us-some-songs-1845554936. 
  16. ↑ "アランドラ". PlayStation.com(Japan). Sony. 10 October 2007. http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/jp9000npji00044_000000000000000001.html. Retrieved 26 May 2008. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Alundra for PlayStation". https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/196598-alundra/index.html. Retrieved 6 January 2021. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Alundra for PlayStation Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/alundra/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 Ricciardi, John; Boyer, Crispin; Rickards, Kelly; Sushi-X (February 1998). "Review Crew: Alundra". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (103): 111. https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly103/page/n114. 
  20. ↑ "Alundra - PlayStation - Review". Game Informer. 13 September 1999. http://www.gameinformer.com/cgi-bin/review.cgi?sys=psx&path=jan98&doc=alundra. Retrieved 11 March 2016. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 Johnston, Chris (8 January 1998). "Alundra Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/alundra-review/1900-2546558/. Retrieved 24 April 2022. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Boor, Jay (9 January 1998). "Alundra - PlayStation review". http://uk.psx.ign.com/articles/152/152018p1.html. Retrieved 28 June 2012. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 "Finals". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (38): 110. February 1998. 
  24. ↑ Alex (February 1998). "Alundra". PS Extreme. http://www.workingdesigns.com/games/playstation/alundra/reviews/index.html. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 
  25. ↑ Ehrle, Oliver (18 April 2019). "Alundra - im Klassik-Test (PS)" (in de-DE). https://www.maniac.de/tests/alundra-im-klassik-test-ps/. 
  26. ↑ "Alundra". Ultra Game Players. January 1998. http://www.workingdesigns.com/games/playstation/alundra/reviews/index.html. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 104, March 1998, Editors' Choice Awards, page 90.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 GamePro, issue 118 (July 1998), pages 38-39
  29. ↑ "Video game software sales in 1997". Geimin.net. http://geimin.net/da/db/1997_ne_fa/index.php. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 Johnny Ballgame (February 1998). "Alundra". GamePro (IDG) (113): 120. 
  31. ↑ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Alundra". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=1998&idGame=749. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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