Arcus Odyssey

Arcus Odyssey is a RPG video game developed by Wolf Team. The game was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The game is a cross between fantasy and science fiction themes reminiscent of the Gauntlet series.

Once upon a time, 1000 years ago in the lands of Arcus, an evil sorceress named Castomira sought to destroy the land and remake it a place of chaos and darkness in her own image. The only person powerful enough to stop her was Leaty, a kindly princess and the granddaughter to the legendary King of Light. The two battled. Leaty and Castomira fought for days on end, but the powers of the Light eventually overwhelmed the evil sorceress. Leaty then forged a magical sword that came to be known as "The Power of Leaty", to forever seal Castomira into the Dark World, and trusted its safekeeping with the King of Arcus.

Now, a millenia later, the evil followers of the dark sorceress have stolen the Sword, in order to resurrect their mistress. The power of Castomira grows stronger by the day. Only the powers of four brave warriors can stop the minions of the evil witch and prevent a second coming of Castomira that could spell doom for all of Arcus: Jedda the Swordsman; Diana the Archer; Erin the Warrior-Maiden; and Bead the Mage.

The basic premise of the game is that of many other early RPG's - go around finding enemies and killing them dead. There is no experience system like many more recent RPG's, but rather the deaths of your enemies merely mean you get to advance in the game without the added trouble of being hit more times than needed. You pick one of the four initial characters, and trek through the game. A two-play mode is availible, which makes things easier. There are multiple acts with multiple stages to each act, which a general boss being at the end of each. Obviously the only difference is that the bosses take more hits to kill. Simple enough. You'll also be healed to a certain degree between each act.

Throughout the game you will also find various items inside treasure chests. These items heal, cure poison, make you invincible, and generally make your life easier. You can carry up to six at a time. Medicines of regeneration cannot be carried, but are automatically used as soon as they are found (see item descriptions for details).

In addition to normal items, there are also magical power crystals. They do not count in your normal inventory, and you can carry up to six at a time. To use them, highlight the number of crystals you want to use, and press A. Your magic will be set to a level equal to the number of crystals used, and you will receive anywhere between one and twenty charges for that magic. Each character has between three and five magic levels.