Software:Faxanadu

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Faxanadu
North American box art
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Hitoshi Okuno
Toshiaki Takimoto
Composer(s)Jun Chikuma
SeriesDragon Slayer
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: November 16, 1987
  • NA: August, 1989
  • EU: December 28, 1990
Genre(s)Action role-playing, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The name was licensed by computer game developer Nihon Falcom ("Falcom") and was developed and released in Japan by Hudson Soft for the Famicom in 1987. Nintendo released the game in the United States and Europe as a first-party title under license from Hudson Soft.

Faxanadu is a spin-off or side-story of Xanadu, which is the second installment of Falcom's long-running RPG series, Dragon Slayer. The title Faxanadu is a portmanteau formed from the names Famicom and Xanadu.

The game uses side-scrolling and platforming game-play, while employing role-playing elements with an expansive story and medieval setting.

Story

The player-controlled protagonist of Faxanadu is an unnamed wanderer who returns home.[1] He has no name, though the Japanese version allows the player to choose one. The game begins when he approaches Eolis, his hometown, after an absence to find it in disrepair and virtually abandoned. Worse still, the town is under attack by Dwarves. The Elven king explains that the Elves' fountain water, their life source, has been stopped and all other remaining water has been poisoned and provides the protagonist with 1500 gold, the game's currency, to prepare for his journey to uncover the cause.

As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Elves and Dwarves lived in harmony among the World Tree until The Evil One emerged from a fallen meteorite. The Evil One then transformed the Dwarves into monsters against their will and set them against the Elves. The Dwarf King, Grieve, swallowed his magical sword before he was transformed, hiding it in his own body to prevent The Evil One from acquiring it. It is only with this sword that The Evil One can be destroyed.

His journey takes him to four overworld areas: the tree's buttress, the inside of the trunk, the tree's branches and finally the Dwarves' mountain stronghold.

Gameplay

A typical gameplay shot

Faxanadu is a side scrolling action role playing game,[1] sometimes classified as a metroidvania.[2] Players guide the hero through a screen-by-screen series of fields, towns, and dungeons. The hero can walk, jump, and climb ladders – all typical characteristics of a platform game. Along the way, he may also purchase usable items with gold, equip and use bladed weapons against enemies, equip armor, and cast magic projectiles. In addition, he can access information regarding the game's events by speaking with townsfolk or by consulting other sources.

The limits of physical damage the hero can sustain from enemies is tracked by a life bar, and the magical power he can exert is tracked by a magic bar. These are listed on the top of the screen along with total experience, total gold, time (for items with a timed duration), and the currently held item.

When the hero defeats an enemy, it usually leaves behind gold or life-giving bread. The hero also gains a set amount of experience. Experience points help increase the hero's rank. Occasionally, an enemy will also drop an item; some activate specific effects when touched, while other items may be stored for later use.

The game utilizes a password system. Passwords, or "mantras" as they are known in the game, can be obtained from church-dwelling Gurus. Gurus also bestow ranks to the hero when he meets certain experience totals; these determine the amounts of experience and gold a player will possess upon resuming a game via password.

Because of its use of statistics, reliance on story, thematic basis upon medieval fantasy, and provision of interactive NPCs, many observers have classified Faxanadu as a role-playing video game.

Development

Jun Chikuma composed the music for the game and was assisted by Hudson Soft's sound programmer, Toshiaki Takimoto. Chikuma, working with just the tone generator of the NES which had only three channels, used her background in jazz technique to create melodic movements and express chord progression. The team gave her full freedom "from general directions to sound-making details. I was able to work quite freely under these good circumstances".[3]

Release

Faxanadu was released in Japan on the Famicom on November 16, 1987.[4] It was released in North America in August 1989 and was published by Nintendo as part of a deal with Hudson Soft, thus later starting a collaboration on their Mario Party series.[5] The November/December 1989 edition of Nintendo Power, Faxanadu debuted on the magazine's "Top 30" list at #6. It gradually fell from the list in subsequent issues.[6]

The game world is featured in two episodes of Season 2 (1990–1991) of the Nintendo-based, Saturday morning cartoon series, Captain N: The Game Master. They are "The Feud of Faxanadu" and "Germ Wars". The Elven King is named Melvis and looks and sounds like Elvis Presley for his first appearance; the voice was changed in the latter episode. The Dwarf King is not featured in the series; he is replaced by Queen Dwarfine.

The game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2010 and 2011.[4][7][8][9]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings75%[10]

The game has received critical acclaim. Weekly Famitsu scored it 29 out of 40.[4] IGN reviewed the game in 2011, after its Wii virtual console release, giving it a better score of 8.5 out of 10 and called it a hidden gem. IGN went on to call it a better action RPG than Zelda II and Castlevania II.[11]

Marcel van Duyn of Nintendo Life gave the game an 8 out of 10, saying that it is a surprisingly fun game and an absolutely essential purchase for those who like RPGs. However, he criticized the password system for western audiences, and was grateful the Virtual Console release eliminates that feature.[12] Retro Gamer listed the game as the 16th best game for the NES, saying it is a "forgotten gem" of the system's library.[1] IGN listed the game as the 36th best NES game, calling it "one of the best and least-known Nintendo-published adventures.[13]

Notes


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The NES book: everything you need to know about Nintendo's iconic console; The master system: the Sega book. Jones, Darran,, Imagine Publishing. Bournemouth. 2015. p. 51. ISBN 9781785460180. OCLC 909815695. 
  2. ↑ "Episode 111 resumes our exploratory journey into the metroidvania realm" (in en). 7 August 2017. http://retronauts.com/article/482/episode-111-resumes-our-exploratory-journey-into-the-metroidvania-realm. 
  3. ↑ Tieryas, Peter (2021-12-25). "The Unique Artist Behind Bomberman's Catchy Beats" (in en). https://kotaku.com/the-unique-artist-behind-bombermans-catchy-beats-1848268051. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "ファザナドゥ [ファミコン"]. https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=938. 
  5. ↑ "NES Games". 2006-02-12. http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "Top 30". Nintendo Power: 81. November 1989. 
  7. ↑ "Vc ファザナドゥ". https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_fxd/. 
  8. ↑ "Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/OlLet3sroPTmTWkLNGd2jiBR7MYVITQ-. 
  9. ↑ "Faxanadu". https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Faxanadu-277259.html. 
  10. ↑ "Faxanadu for NES". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/nes/587273-faxanadu/index.html. 
  11. ↑ "Faxanadu Review - IGN". 26 February 2011. http://ca.ign.com/articles/2011/02/26/faxanadu-review. 
  12. ↑ "Review: Faxanadu (Virtual Console / NES)". 28 November 2010. http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2010/11/faxanadu_virtual_console. 
  13. ↑ (in en) Top 100 NES Games - IGN.com, http://ca.ign.com/lists/top-100-nes-games/36, retrieved 2018-08-25 
  • 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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