Software:Beyond Oasis

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Short description: 1994 video game
Beyond Oasis
North American cover art
Developer(s)Ancient
Publisher(s)Sega
Producer(s)Yuzo Koshiro
Designer(s)Kataru Uchimura
Programmer(s)Yukio Takahashi
Artist(s)Ayano Koshiro
Writer(s)Juri Ogawa
Composer(s)Yuzo Koshiro
Platform(s)Sega Genesis
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Beyond Oasis[lower-alpha 1] is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. The game has also been re-released in various emulated collections. A prequel to the game, The Legend of Oasis, was released for the Sega Saturn in 1996.

Plot

The player takes the role of Prince Ali, who has discovered a buried gold "armlet" which once belonged to a wizard who waged a long war against the evil wielder of a silver armlet. The silver armlet was used to create chaos and destruction, while the gold armlet had the power to summon four spirits: the water spirit, "Dytto"; the fire spirit, "Efreet"; the shadow spirit, "Shade"; and the plant spirit, "Bow". Ali travels the land of Oasis, gradually acquiring the ability to summon all these spirits, in an attempt to stop the person who has discovered the ancient silver armlet and is once again using it for evil.

Gameplay

The game has action adventure elements similar to The Legend of Zelda series. The player controls Prince Ali and control him across the map to fulfill his quest. Along the way the player picks up special items to restore health and mana, special weapons to help defeat enemies, and four magic spirits found in shrines to aid Prince Ali in his mission.

Prince Ali's default weapon is his knife, which can perform special attacks and has unlimited usage, but during the course of the game the player can equip Prince Ali with special weapons such as swords, crossbows, and bombs. Some crossbows (and a sword) can ignite their targets on fire. However, unlike the knife, these weapons do generally not have unlimited usage and will break after a set number of uses, unless unlimited versions of these weapons are found.

Re-releases

Beyond Oasis was re-released as a downloadable game for various home and portable platforms: on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007,[4] on Steam in 2012, App Store and Google Play Store in 2017 (now delisted[5]), and the Nintendo Classics service in 2022.[6] Additionally, the game was included in the 2009 Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection compilation for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Vol.5 of Sega Genesis Classics, and was preloaded on the Sega Genesis Mini hardware.[7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings78%[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG89/100[10]
EGM8/10, 8/10, 7/10,
7/10, 8/10[11]
Famitsu6/10, 7/10, 6/10, 5/10[12]
Game Informer8.75/10[13]
GamesMaster93%[15]
Hyper83%[16]
Next Generation2/5[18]
Electronic GamesC+[19]
Games World
Mega93%[20]
Sega Magazine90/100[21]
Sega Power93%[22]
Sega Pro90%[23]
Ultimate Future Games84%[24]
VideoGames8/10[25]
Award
PublicationAward
GameFan (1995)Action RPG of the Year[26]

The Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine ranked the game third in popularity in its March 1995 issue, and it received a 22.8/30 score in a poll conducted by Mega Drive Fan and a 8.2138/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Sega Mega Drive titles at the number 78 spot.[27][28][29] Beyond Oasis received generally favorable reception from critics, holding a rating of 78% based on seven reviews according to review aggregator GameRankings.[8]

Electronic Gaming Monthly praised its vast game world and strong plot twists.[11] Next Generation contended that the combination of RPG and action elements results in a game which is average on both fronts. He added: "The use of magic, whether it be the fireball or meteor storm; a user-friendly interface; and an ever-ready map put Beyond Oasis beyond others of its type. But ultimately, poor fighting and an uninspired storyline leave this title looking more like a mirage."[18] GamePro's The Unknown Gamer commented that the game "is definitely not for hardcore RPGers" due to its small game world, limited challenge, and greater emphasis on hack-n-slash combat and puzzle solving than on RPG elements, but would be a good game for players new to the RPG genre. They praised the "intriguing" gameplay and the 3D feel of the graphics.[30]

IGN gave the Virtual Console re-release an 8/10, calling it "very stylish," and expressing "surprise" that despite a lack of polish in certain areas, its "unique" mechanics "deserve to be mentioned alongside such classics as Secret of Mana".[31] In 2017, GamesRadar rated Beyond Oasis 38th on their Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time, giving praise to the game's graphics and sound.[32]

Notes

  1. ↑ known in Europe and Japan as The Story of Thor and Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value).

References

  1. ↑ "Fact File: Beyond Oasis". Electronic Gaming Monthly (67): 134-135. February 1995. https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-67-february-1995/page/n133/mode/2up. Retrieved January 10, 2022. 
  2. ↑ "Mega Drive Review - The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light". EMAP. March 1995. pp. 94-95. https://archive.org/details/sega-uk-15/page/n93/mode/2up. Retrieved 9 March 2025. 
  3. ↑ "Software List (Sega Release)" (in ja). Sega Corporation. https://www.sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html. 
  4. ↑ "VC Monday Madness: Beyond Oasis, SPLATTERHOUSE [update 1"] (in en-US). 2007-03-19. https://www.engadget.com/2007-03-19-vc-monday-madness-beyond-oasis-splatterhouse.html. 
  5. ↑ Extension, Time (2023-09-28). "Sega Forever Games Are Being Delisted From iOS And Android" (in en-GB). https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/09/sega-forever-games-are-being-delisted-from-ios-and-android. 
  6. ↑ "Switch Online's latest Mega Drive/Genesis update adds Alisia Dragoon, Beyond Oasis and Earthworm Jim" (in en-GB). 2022-09-16. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-onlines-latest-mega-drive-genesis-update-adds-alisia-dragoon-beyond-oasis-and-earthworm-jim/. 
  7. ↑ "Sega Genesis Mini Games List: Sonic 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Tetris, And More" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/sega-genesis-mini-games-list-sonic-2-castlevania-b/2900-2733/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Beyond Oasis for Genesis". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2013. http://www.gamerankings.com/genesis/586061-beyond-oasis/index.html. 
  9. ↑ "BEメガドッグレース: ストーリー オブ トア 〜光を継ぐ者〜" (in ja). Beep! Mega Drive (SoftBank Creative) 11 (1): 22. January 1995. https://archive.org/details/beep-megadrive-1995-01/page/n23/mode/1up. 
  10. ↑ Lawrence, Edward; Patterson, Mark (March 1995). "CVG Review: Story of Thor". Computer and Video Games (EMAP Images) (160): 78–80. https://archive.org/details/computer-and-video-games-magazine/Computer%20and%20Video%20Games%20160/page/n77/mode/1up. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Sushi-X; Weigand, Mike (March 1995). "Review Crew - Major Mike's Game Roundup: Beyond Oasis". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (68): 36. https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_68/page/n35/mode/1up. 
  12. ↑ "New Games Cross Review: The Story of Thor 〜光を継ぐ者〜" (in ja). Famitsu (ASCII Corporation) (313): 39. December 16, 1994. 
  13. ↑ McNamara, Andrew; VanDerSchaegen, Ross; Anderson, Paul (March 1995). "Genesis Reviews: Beyond Oasis". Game Informer (Sunrise Publications) (23): 16–17. https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-23-march-1995/page/n17/mode/2up. 
  14. ↑ Lundrigan, Jeff; Slate, Chris (April 1995). "Genesis Review: Beyond Oasis". Game Players (GP Publications) (70): 46–47. https://archive.org/details/Game_Players_Issue_51_April_1995/page/n47/mode/2up. 
  15. ↑ Ellis, Les; Kirrane, Simon (March 1995). "Reviews (Mega Drive): The Story of Thor". GamesMaster (Future Publishing) (27): 54–55. 
  16. ↑ Smith, Tim (August 1995). "Review: The Story of Thor". Hyper (nextmedia) (21): 52–53. https://archive.org/details/hyper-021/page/52/mode/2up. 
  17. ↑ Swan, Angus; Bufton, Paul (March 1995). "Megadrive Review: The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light". Mean Machines Sega (EMAP Images) (29): 56–61. https://archive.org/details/mean-machines-sega-magazine-29/page/n55/mode/2up. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Finals - Genesis: Beyond Oasis". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (4): 94. April 1995. https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-004/page/n95/mode/1up. 
  19. ↑ Camron, Marc (June 1995). "Consoles: The Ease Of Adventure — Sega joins arcade action with an RPG in Beyond Oasis". Electronic Games (Decker Publications) 3 (6): 84. https://archive.org/details/electronic-games-1995-06/page/84/mode/1up. 
  20. ↑ Lloyd, Rich (March 1995). "Mega Drive Review: The Story of Thor". Mega (Maverick Magazines) (30): 52–55. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:Mega_UK_30.pdf&page=52. 
  21. ↑ Guise, Tom; Leadbetter, Richard (March 1995). "Mega Drive Review: The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light". Sega Magazine (EMAP Images) (15): 94–95. https://archive.org/details/sega-uk-15/page/n93/mode/2up. 
  22. ↑ Lowe, Andy (April 1995). "Reviews: The Story of Thor". Sega Power (Future Publishing) (65): 42–45. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:SegaPower_UK_65.pdf&page=42. 
  23. ↑ King, Phil (April 1995). "Review: The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light". Sega Pro (Paragon Publishing) (43): 36–37. https://archive.org/details/sega-pro-43/page/36/mode/2up. 
  24. ↑ "Ultimate Review Sector: The Story of Thor". Ultimate Future Games (Future Publishing) (5): 90. April 1995. https://archive.org/details/ultimate-future-games-05_202012/page/n89/mode/1up. 
  25. ↑ Higgins, Geoff (April 1995). "Power Reviews: Beyond Oasis". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine (Larry Flynt Publications) (75): 71. https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_The_Ultimate_Gaming_Magazine_Issue_75_April_1995/page/n70/mode/1up. 
  26. ↑ "GameFan's 4th Annual 1995 Megawards". GameFan (Metropolis Media) 4 (1): 104–106. January 1996. https://archive.org/details/Gamefan_Vol_4_Issue_01/page/n105/mode/1up. 
  27. ↑ Nishibu, Masako (March 1995). "メガドライブ" (in ja). Micom BASIC Magazine (ja). Super Soft Hot Information (The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation (ja)) (153): 31–32. https://archive.org/details/micom-basic-march-1995-03-600dpi-ozidual/Micom%20BASIC%201995%2003%20%28fixed%29/page/31/mode/1up. 
  28. ↑ "メガドラ読者レース" (in ja). Sega Saturn Magazine (SoftBank Creative) 11 (9): 82–85. September 1995. https://archive.org/details/sega-saturn-magazine-ja-1995-09-01/page/83/mode/1up. 
  29. ↑ "超絶 大技林 '98年春版" (in ja). PlayStation Magazine (Japan) (ja) (Special). 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. April 15, 1998. p. 841. 
  30. ↑ The Unknown Gamer (May 1995). "Role-Player's Realm: Beyond Oasis". GamePro (IDG) (70): 103. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_070_May_1995/page/n104/mode/1up. 
  31. ↑ Thomas, Lucas (March 21, 2007). "Beyond Oasis Review". http://wii.ign.com/articles/774/774863p1.html. 
  32. ↑ Loveridge, Sam (June 21, 2017). "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time" (in en). GamesRadar. https://www.gamesradar.com/best-sega-genesis-games-all-time. Retrieved February 21, 2022. 



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