War of the Dead (PC Engine) English Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Victor's 1989 horror action-RPG for the PC Engine, Shiryou Sensen: War of the Dead.

War of the Dead was a Japanese-exclusive, so this video was recorded using the English translation patch created by Nebulous Translations. If you are interested, you can find more information at https://www.romhacking.net/translatio...

War of the Dead is a unique blend of genres, combining traditional RPG and platforming mechanics with distinct horror overtones. The style feels a great deal like a darker, more adult version of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, and the mix works pretty well.

The only real snag that the game runs into is in how it handles plot progression: events are triggered by speaking to various characters gathered at the church at specific times, but you absolutely have to make sure that you exhaust all possible dialogue sequences with the NPCs to trip the flag for the next event. You might have to speak to someone five times in a row, and some of those responses might be repeats of previous dialogue snippets, so you'll really need to double and triple check everyone you speak to to make sure you haven't missed anything. If you don't know better beforehand, you'll find yourself flailing in fits of frustration.

Besides that (glaring) flaw, the game plays well. The platforming segments are smooth and handle easily as long as you manage your levels, items, and ammo appropriately, and the random-encounter rate usually isn't too bad. The graphics are nice - they are a good upgrade over the original computer version - and the soundtrack is simple but super-catchy. Both the visuals and the sound carry the horror theme well.

The story has a lot going for it - even though though the game does tend to lead you by the nose a bit too much at times - and I love how all of the characters' names are nods to classic horror icons.

If you enjoy horror and like platformer-styled ARPGs, you'll certainly have some fun with this one. If you can deal with the creakiness that comes with older, more "experimental" titles, there's a lot sink your teeth into here.

And if you liked this one, I've also recorded a video for its sequel, War or the Dead Part 2 for the MSX2:    • War of the Dead Part 2 (MSX2) Playthr...  
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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