Software:Torneko: The Last Hope

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Torneko: The Last Hope
TornekoTheLastHope.png
North American box art
Developer(s)Chunsoft
Matrix Software[1]
Publisher(s)Enix
Director(s)Fukashi Omorita
Yasuhiro Ohori
Kenji Orimo
Producer(s)Seiichiro Nagahata
Designer(s)Seiichiro Nagahata
Programmer(s)Masayasu Yamamoto
Artist(s)Akira Toriyama[2]
Writer(s)Kazuya Asano
Ichiro Tezuka
Composer(s)Koichi Sugiyama
SeriesMystery Dungeon
Platform(s)PlayStation, Game Boy Advance
ReleasePlayStation
  • JP: September 15, 1999
  • NA: November 16, 2000
Game Boy Advance
  • JP: December 20, 2001
Genre(s)Role-playing, roguelike
Mode(s)Single-player

Torneko: The Last Hope[lower-alpha 1] is a 1999 role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix. In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001.[lower-alpha 2][3]

Torneko: The Last Hope is a spin-off title of the Dragon Quest franchise and the second Mystery Dungeon game to star the Dragon Quest IV character Torneko. It is also the second game in the Mystery Dungeon series to be released in North America, after Chocobo's Dungeon 2. Like in Torneko no Daibōken, Torneko (or Taloon, as he was known in Dragon Warrior IV) explores dungeons in search of items, while fighting hordes of monsters.[4]

Gameplay

The game is done with two dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective of the games activities.[5] The main gameplay involves Torneko exploring mazelike dungeons in search of items.[6] When players first start conquering dungeons, Torneko continuously returns to level one strength and loses all his items until he rebuilds his storehouse.[6] Temporary saves are sometimes allowed mid-dungeon, but these are erased as soon as players resume play.[6] Combat against monsters is turn-based, with player and enemies alternating movements and actions.[6] Torneko can attack with close range weapons like swords, long range like bow and arrow, or magic spells summoned with a wand or scroll.[6] Torneko also has a hunger meter which causes him to lose health if he does not eat bread.[6] During his exploration, Torneko can discover treasure and magic items.[2]

Plot

The plot for Torneko: The Last Hope happens after the events of Dragon Quest IV, and half a year after Torneko no Daibōken. Torneko returns to his village and is forced to help cure his village of a curse that has been placed upon it.[2][7]

Development and release

On April 18, 2000, Enix announced its first three games to be made for the original PlayStation, of which Torneko: The Last Hope was one.[2] The game features 130 hand drawn monsters.[2]

A 2013 news article wrote that based on forum posts by Nob Ogasawara, one of the game's editors, The Last Hope was only localized in the United States because of the passion of the translation team and their agreement to work for much less than normal.[8] In a 2020 interview, Ogasawara clarified that the localization team largely consisted of himself; according to him, the original translation company "made a total mess of things", produced no usable text, and wasted most of the budget and deadline, so he personally with his editor and kids finished the work in three weeks.[9]

Torneko: The Last Hope was released for the PlayStation on September 15, 1999, in Japan. Its United States release occurs over a year later, on November 16, 2000.[10] Finally, its Game Boy Advance was released exclusively in Japan on December 20, 2001.

Music

The musical score for Torneko: The Last Hope was composed by Dragon Quest series composer, Koichi Sugiyama.[11] The original game soundtrack from the PlayStation version was released by SPE Visual Works on January 21, 2000, in Japan on a single 21-track disc.[11]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic66/100[12]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM4.5/10[13]
Famitsu(PS) 37/40[14]
(GBA) 36/40[15]
Game Informer2.75/10[16]
GameSpot6.9/10[6]
IGN6/10[17]
Next Generation1/5 stars[18]
OPM (US)2/5 stars[19]
PSM1/10[20]
RPGamer7/10[5]

Torneko: The Last Hope was a financial and critical success in Japan. The PlayStation version of the game sold over 578,000 units in Japan the year of its release.[22] The Game Boy Advance version of the game had sold over 181,000 units in Japan by 2007.[23] Famitsu gave the game a score of 37 out of 40 for the PS version,[14] and all four nines for a total of 36 out of 40 for the GBA version.[15][24][25] Additionally, the game was voted by the publication as number 31 in its top 100 PlayStation games of all time.[26] The game was also nominated for “Game of the Year” by CESA.[17]

The PlayStation version of Torneko: The Last Hope did not sell well in North America[27] and received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12] RPGFan called the game "frustratingly difficult," but said that its "addictive gameplay elements and top-notch soundtrack" make it a marvelous game.[21] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot said that a lot of role-playing game players would be turned off by its lack of story and randomly generated dungeons, but those who are looking for some lighter fare of role-playing game may like it.[6] Other critics scored the game much lower, however. Erik Reppen of Game Informer called it "an outdated, ugly piece of crap whose silly antics will charm no one. There are so many better RPGs out there."[16] Eric Bratcher of NextGen called it "A primitive, turn-based dungeon crawler that takes so many cheap shots it could tick off a Buddhist monk."[18] Mikel Tidwell of RPGamer called the game simple but fun, and it was mostly for those who already like rogue like games with randomized dungeons. He did, however, find the game to have amusing dialogue and the music for each dungeon matches it “remarkably well”.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 – Fushigi no Dungeon (ドラゴンクエストキャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2 不思議のダンジョン, Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu Torneko no Daibōken 2 Fushigi no Danjon, lit. Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 – Mystery Dungeon)
  2. ↑ Known in Japan as Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 Advance – Fushigi no Dungeon (ドラゴンクエストキャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2アドバンス 不思議のダンジョン, Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu Torneko no Daibōken 2 Adobansu Fushigi no Danjon, lit. Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 Advance – Mystery Dungeon)

References

  1. ↑ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ja). http://www.matrixsoft.co.jp/consumer/ps_toruneko2.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 IGN staff (April 18, 2000). "Enix America Announces First PlayStation Games". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/19/enix-america-announces-first-playstation-games. 
  3. ↑ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ja). http://www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp/games/torneco2gba/. 
  4. ↑ "Torneko: The Last Hope". http://www.rottentomatoes.com/g/playstation/torneko_the_last_hope/about.php. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tidwell, Mikel (January 1, 2001). "Torneko: The Last Hope - Review". CraveOnline. https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/dq/torneko/reviews/torstrev1.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Gerstmann, Jeff (December 1, 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope Review". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/torneko-the-last-hope-review/1900-2660263/. 
  7. ↑ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ja). https://www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp/games/torneco3/story01.html. 
  8. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (August 21, 2013). "The New Dark Age of Dragon Quest". Gamer Network. https://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-new-dark-age-of-dragon-quest. 
  9. ↑ King, Austin (15 September 2020). "DRAGON QUEST TRANSLATION & LOCALIZATION: INTERVIEW WITH NOB OGASAWARA". https://geektogeekmedia.com/geekery/dragonquestaustin/dragon-quest-translation-localization-interview-with-nob-ogasawara/. 
  10. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (2000-10-28). "Torneko: The Last Hope Release Date Announced" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/10/28/torneko-the-last-hope-release-date-announced. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gann, Patrick (November 16, 2008). "Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 ~Mysterious Dungeon~ OST". Emerald Shield Media LLC. https://www.rpgfan.com/music-review/dragon-quest-characters-tornekos-great-adventure-2-mysterious-dungeon-original-soundtrack/. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Torneko: The Last Hope for PlayStation Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/torneko-the-last-hope/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. 
  13. ↑ MacDonald, Mark (January 2001). "Torneko: The Last Hope (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (138): 207. https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_138_January_2001_U/page/n205/mode/2up. Retrieved May 31, 2022. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 (in ja)Famitsu (Enterbrain) 915: 12. June 30, 2006. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "ゲームボーイアドバンス - ドラゴンクエスト・キャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2アドバンス ~不思議のダンジョン~" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain) 915: 117. June 30, 2006. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Reppen, Erik (December 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (92): 112. http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/753AFA2A-AC43-444A-B39D-3C6F6C351C43.htm. Retrieved May 28, 2016. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Zdyrko, David (December 12, 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/13/torneko-the-last-hope. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Bratcher, Eric (January 2001). "Torneko: the Last Hope [sic"]. NextGen (Imagine Media) (73): 108. https://archive.org/details/NextGen73Jan2001/page/n109/mode/2up. Retrieved May 31, 2022. 
  19. ↑ "Torneko: The Last Hope". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (40). January 2001. 
  20. ↑ Tokoya (January 2001). "Torneko: The Last Hope". PSM (Imagine Media) (41): 51. https://archive.org/details/psm-041/page/n49/mode/2up. Retrieved May 31, 2022. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 JediLeroy (December 3, 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". Emerald Shield Media LLC. https://www.rpgfan.com/review/torneko-the-last-hope/. 
  22. ↑ "1999 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games". http://the-magicbox.com/Chart-BestSell1999.shtml. 
  23. ↑ "Nintendo GBA Japanese Ranking". July 8, 2008. http://www.japan-gamecharts.com/gba.php. 
  24. ↑ Chinn, Marty (June 23, 2000). "Famitsu Top 120 PlayStation games". http://gaming-age.com/news/2000/6/23-151. 
  25. ↑ Cole, Michael (December 15, 2001). "Famitsu GBA Reviews". NINWR, LLC. https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/6815/famitsu-gba-reviews. 
  26. ↑ IGN staff (November 20, 2000). "Famitsu Weekly PlayStation Top 100". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/21/famitsu-weekly-playstation-top-100. 
  27. ↑ "Enix Interview With John Laurence". 2001. http://www.rpgfan.com/features/e32k1-enix/index3.html. 

External links



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