 I've been doing this channel project thing for over nine years now, and I still really enjoy doing a deep dive on some of these oddball games that stayed in Japan and were never localized. This one is called Neugier, Umi to Kaze no Kodo. That's right, the title combines German and Japanese, I have no idea why. But Neugier is German for curiosity, and the rest translates to pulse of the sea and wind. Sure, that makes sense, I guess. The thing is, though, this game was in the process of being localized by publisher Telnet Japan's American branch, and there were cartridges made and box art ready to roll, and it was set to be released under the title The Journey Home, The Quest for the Throne, in November of 1993, before it was finally canceled at the last minute. The game was even covered in Nintendo Power, and it got a generally favorable review. However, if you want to play this one today, you'll have to play it with the English patch made by Haleth and RPG1 that's available on romhacking.net. So what actually is this game? It's a top-down action adventure title that's just barely kinda sorta on the RPG spectrum, and it was made by Wolf Team. Yes, the same Wolf Team, known for creating the Tales series, as well as tons of other games ranging from action platformers like El Viento, shoot-em-ups like Solfice, and action RPGs like Arcus Odyssey. You play as Duke, who's returning to his kingdom after being exiled for standing up to his evil father, the dastardly Count Ween. No, not that Ween. As soon as Duke shows up in his ship, he's attacked by pirates, a witch, and a giant octopus, until he's saved by a girl named Cessia, another person who's been in hiding, so the two of you team up to try and get to Duke's father and attempt to change his evil ways. Well, kind of. Nobody is as they seem, your dad is being influenced by the aforementioned witch, and it turns out Cessia isn't the most friendly of people. The story here is just okay, it's not gonna hold a candle to some of the all-time great SNES RPGs, but I do appreciate that the tone and overall theme here is at least something slightly different from the usual tropes we're used to seeing. The combat you see here isn't as direct as something like Zelda or Secret of Mana, where you just hack and slash. There's much more of an emphasis on dodging and observing enemy patterns before attacking. It plays like one of the older Ease games, where your character moves very quickly. The problem, however, is your range. Your sword is tiny. Again, just like you'd see in games like Ease 1 and 2. And you're gonna end up taking a whole bunch of damage if you try and hack and slash your way through this one. What helps mitigate that, however, is your hookshot that you start the game out with. It doesn't do any damage on its own, but it stuns enemies and it helps create space by pushing them away, allowing you to have a clear shot with your sword, so that's cool. The main thing your hookshot is good for is for solving puzzles and finding your way around. There is a lot of wandering around in this game, for better and for worse. And yes, as you can see, your character can jump, and you'll be doing a lot of that, especially in this dungeon here, which means you'll be falling a lot and wandering over to the stairs to climb back up and start over. The dungeon design really boils down to just a series of mazes, in fact, sometimes it's not even necessary to fight any enemies, since all you have to do is find the exit. You do get rewarded for fighting though, since there is a leveling system here, kind of. You defeat enemies to get items that boost your attack, defense, and your health meter. Enemies also drop items that affect your status, both good and bad, like a told stool that disables your attack temporarily or a chalice that makes you invincible for a bit. The most fun here, however, is using your hookshot, or the throw chain, as the game calls it, to hurl stuff at enemies. You just press the Y button twice. You can also press the select button at any time to save your game, but that really isn't necessary because this game is really short. There's only 6 dungeons in total, and there's no towns to visit and no overworld, so you can finish this game in just a couple of hours. And like I said, every dungeon pretty much just has you wandering around looking for a way to get from point A to point B, while using whatever items and skills available to you to do that, whether it's jumping on floating platforms or using your hookshot. I'm a bit torn on this game because on one hand, I wish the game were longer and had more stuff to do, but on the other, I'm kinda glad it isn't because the 6 dungeons that are here are pretty bland. Even a game like Brain Lord runs circles around this one. Still, I can't help but think that if this game were actually localized, it'd probably be seen as something of a cult favorite by some people. I do like games with combat like this, I like that there's actually an emphasis on dodging, just as much as hacking and slashing, and I will say it controls much better than something like Lagoon, for example. Noigir isn't a bad game, it's got some good qualities, but it could really use more polish. I mean, sometimes it's tough to see something as simple as where you're supposed to go next, certain doors and entryways can be frustrating to find. Still, I appreciate that this game is slightly different than the usual top-down action stuff, both with the combat and the story, but if you're willing to scratch an itch with a game similar to this, you're way better off with Brain Lord or even Twisted Tales of Spike McFang. Noigir is best viewed as a curiosity, not great, not bad, but it would have been at least a decent rental. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.