Saiyuki: The Journey West

Playstation

Koei - 2001

Saiyuki, to put it mildly, is basically a bad ripoff of the tactics ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics games. Sure it has some new and interesting stuff, but basically, for all purposes here, it is a bad ripoff.

There, that's a start. Now then. Saiyuki. The plot of the game is that you are a monk, whats-his/her-face, who must travel from China to India. Along the way you meet Hindu dieties, like Son Goku, the monkey king, and such. No this is not DragonBall, DragonBall was based, loosely I might add, on this ancient Chinese Myth. Saiyuki takes the basic plot of this myth, then has as much fun as possible with it. I must say, the plot of this game is actually quite done, the characters all full of life and loveable. But that is all that is really well done in the game. I guess at this point I should mention Koei's love for ancient China and historical figures, such as Lui Bui or whatever his name was, but instead let's move on to the gameplay.

Let's see, the actual gameplay. Think Final Fantasy Tactics. Except no job classes, so half the fun is gone there. Sure all the characters except the main get stunning transformations into Beast Forms, but the only real thing to work on in the game is leveling up, for that is the only way to learn new skills, and each skill is separate for character, so again, no job classes. Sure it is possible to play a tactics game without such a thing as job classes, or even fake job classes, to keep one'self interested, but why? Especially when there is something good, like Tactics out there. Hmm...

The characters are another thing, even with the myriad of extra characters you have to hunt down, it still doesn't compare to other Tactics games with the 20+ characters. Only 12 just doesn't cut it anymore. Players, and when I mean players I mean ME, need more. Give Me More!!!! Now!!! Good.

What else. Nothing really strikes me as important to mention about Saiyuki, so let's move on.

What liked: The translation. The character's interaction.

What disliked: Not much playable value. I'm tired of leveling up for leveling up's sake. Give us something else to strive for at the same time and perhaps we will be happier.

What to expect: Simplified FFT.

What not to expect: DragonBall Z

What's so different from this and other games of it's genre: It is set in Ancient China and feels a bit historical, even though it is based on a myth.

Ratings on:

Control: 8 - I still have trouble with the angled walking.

Graphics: 9 - Pretty pretty sprites.

Sound: 5 - Decent. I never listened to it.

Style: 6 - It has ancient China, and Dieties.

1st hour: This is fun.

5th hour: this is...

1st week: Ok...

5th week: Ok, where is tactics?

#1 reason why I hate this game: When you get to the end boss, pause it to go eat, and your "friends" come in and turn it off to play GTA3!!!!!

by Hawke