Bahamut Lagoon
1996
- role-playing (rpg)
- strategy
- turn-based strategy (tbs)
- action
- fantasy
- single player
The story
Bahamut Lagoon combines RPG mechanics with squad-based combat. Characters have HP, MP (SP for fighter characters), EXP, equipment, stats and class-specific, SP-draining special elemental abilities very much like traditional console RPGs. The player can explore his surroundings, talk to people and visit shops when not in battle, though to a limited degree as there is no world map and no way to leave the current area. The game's core is its turn-based battles fought on a 2d grid. Characters are assembled into parties of four and the player allowed a maximum of six parties, which are usually well outnumbered. The two opposing sides act in alternating turns so that each party can move once and/or attack once a turn. Attacks are divided into distant and close-up combat. In the former, a party uses a special ability (e.g. casting fireballs, throwing lightning, healing allies) of one of its members at a distance. The range and possible area of effect damage vary per ability. If the attacking party has two or more characters with the same ability, they join in the action to multiply its effectiveness. Distant combat results in less money and generally less damage, but the target cannot retaliate. Distant attacks can also affect the field; fire and ice ignite or extinguish forests and melt or freeze ice, etc. Close-up, each unit in two adjacent opposing parties can act once. Very much like Final Fantasy SNES combat, they can attack an enemy, use an item or a special ability (though these can't be combined and most only affect one target instead of all) or defend. Dragons are the player's ace in the hole. They have their own stats and gain experience like normal characters do. In battle, each party has a dragon attached to it and draws a large portion of its strength from that of its dragon: if a party's dragon is slain, the party will lose the ability to use special attacks and class-specific abilities for the remainder of the map. The beast acts as a very powerful autonom
What it’s like
Bahamut Lagoon has the look of a chunky mid-90s 16-bit fantasy: crisp pixel sprites on a 2D grid, painted backdrops of lagoons, forests and ruined cities, and bright, saturated palettes that shift toward flame orange and icy blue whenever spells land and set fields alight or freeze them over. The battle screens are busy but tidy, with squads of four lined up in tight formation, and the anime-styled character portraits add warmth to the dialogue scenes. Sound leans on sweeping orchestral-style synth themes that swell during set-piece fights and drop back to gentle, slightly wistful loops while wandering between towns. Pacing is deliberate and methodical: battles reward patient positioning and a long view of the map rather than quick reflexes, and the rhythm of turns gives it a calm, planning-heavy feel. Its mood is warm, sincere, and a little bittersweet, with young protagonists and a love triangle moving through a sprawling war, and its arcs follow characters who grow into responsibility as their dragons grow alongside them. Violence is turn-based and cartoonish: sprites flash and fall, with no gore, though fights can be lethal in story terms. For players who want a strategy-leaning JRPG with a cozy, thoughtful pace.
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