Working Designs' unleashes its first project for PlayStation with an action-adventure game that strongly resembles the best of Zelda. It is called Alundra, and thanks to the expert translation efforts of WD, this disc is now playable in the USA! Let us tell you this is a bona fide classic with a story so enticing even the summary will hook skeptics. A tyrant has seized control of a kingdom and demanded all objects of prayer be vanquished as he alone must be revered. Denizens of this land have had their dreams under assault by life-threatening nightmares, and it is up to our hero, a "dreamwalker," to purge all evil and save the day. The storyline contains its share of mysteries, plot twists, tension, and a healthy dose of humor that will keep players totally engaged. Following the briefest of intros (by RPG standards...), our hero sets off into the wilderness with his trusty dagger.

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The opening animation contains a full, anime-styled animation spliced with in-engine video. From that point on, the graphical ingenuity all but disappears. Alundra utilizes a traditional, sprite-based presentation void of any 32-Bit advancements. While not as technologically impressive as the latest Square products, Alundra overcompensates with a buffet of other pleasantries. Enemies pose a real challenge, as Alundra's beginner equipment causes little damage, but even as stronger weapons are discovered the baddies scale to your toughness. An easy trick is to pound the attack button when in danger - no time for strategy in this realm! Aside from swift combat, Iona contains a swathe of tricky overworld obstacles to contend with as well as a plethora of exceptional, brain-bending dungeons. Alundra learns new abilities on his journey, which serve to expand the map to an even greater extent.

Printed in Issue #44, January-February 1998