Software:Brain Lord

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Short description: 1994 video game
Brain Lord
North American box art
Developer(s)Produce!
Publisher(s)Enix
Artist(s)Sachiko Kamimura
Composer(s)Masanao Akahori
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
  • JP: January 29, 1994
  • NA: October 1, 1994
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Brain Lord (ブレインロード, Burein Rōdo) is an action role-playing video game developed by Produce! and published by Enix for the Super NES. It was only released in Japan and North America.

Gameplay

Most of the game takes place in dungeons, with a heavy emphasis on puzzles.

The player takes on the role of a young adventurer who can have up to two jades, creatures that perform tasks such as healing or long range attacks, following the player character at one time. There are five dungeons in the game: The Tower of Light, Ancient Ruins, the Ice Castle, Droog Volcano, and Platinum. The player starts out in the town of Arcs; there is only one other town, Toronto. In Toronto there is a battle arena in which the player can fight for money. The player can also bet on other competitors.

The video game features several kinds of weapons including bows, boomerangs, swords, axes, and flails. Defeated enemies yield gold. Throughout the game the player can acquire better armor and weapons to increase his defensive and offensive capabilities, similar to The Legend of Zelda series.

The jades that accompany the protagonist can level up by picking up blue 'XP' orbs that are dropped randomly by defeated enemies.

Plot

Remeer's father, the last of the dragon warriors, was sent on a quest to find the last of the dragons terrorizing the village. His father never returned.

Years later Remeer sets out on his own journey to find out what happened to his father. Remeer is joined by his four friends: Kashian (a bounty hunter), Barness (a spiritual guru), Rein (a warrior), and Ferris (a witch). Each help him as he makes his way through the five dungeons in the land.

Remeer (or its equivalent 'Lemele') is used for prominent characters in two more video games developed by Produce! and published by Enix, The 7th Saga and Mystic Ark.[citation needed]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings75.50% (3 reviews)[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM8/10, 7/10, 7/10, 8/10, 7/10[1]
Famitsu8/10, 7/10, 8/10, 7/10[2]
Game Informer8/10[3]

Brain Lord was released in Japan on January 29, 1994.[2] Reviewers in Weekly Famicom Tsūshin had two reviewers comment that the game was similar to the PC game Brandish and another saying it reminded them of Soul Blazer. Hamamura Tsūshin complimented the game saying it was willingness to break free from the mold of established RPGs.[2] Two reviewers complimented the amount of puzzles making it appealing. Another said the game grew plodding as it went on which ruined the more action-oriented parts of the game. The fourth reviewer said that as it was continuous action sequences followed by difficult puzzles, the game did not give the player much room to breathe.[2]

The reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly said Brain Lord was "more standard fare" from Enix. While complimenting that it strikes a nice balance between the action and RPG elements, and the "atmospheric" music, they found the story plodding and only containing average graphics.[1]

In a retrospective review, Game Informer complimented the games logic puzzles, calling them "good ones, not just stupid two-step switch puzzles."[3] They described the graphics to be sub-par, even for the time of its release and that it had the "nasty tendency to make you replay long portions if you die."[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Sushi-X; Weigand, Mike (September 1994). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) 7 (9): 32. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/126ee2a4-2009-41e0-94af-72402eb2bb01. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tsūshin, Hamamura; Uchisawa, Goro; Watanabe, Miki; Chuji, Giorgio (February 4, 1994). "New Games Cross Review" (in Japanese). Weekly Famicom Tsūshin (ASCII Corporation) (268). 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McNamara, Andrew, ed (May 2008). "Classic GI Retro Reviews". Game Informer 18 (181). https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/db97b7c7-5777-45c7-893c-de20a5f4b53d. 
  4. ↑ "Brain Lord Review Score". https://www.gamerankings.com/snes/563527-brain-lord/index.html. 
  • 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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