A RPG made in Korea in 1994, this tells the tale of Sir Lloyd von Roiental, who is ambushed while escorting a holy staff and his fellow soldier killed. His quest to regain the item and his honor soon turn into saving the world.
This game was first released for the PC, and then remade some years later for handhelds, including a PSP version that was the first time it was localized in the US and Europe.
The game uses a tactical RPG battle-system similar to Arc the Lad and Shining Force. However, the emphasis is far less about number crunching and stat watching, and more about just getting your characters into the right positions. Thus the game was marketed in some places as a casual-friendly strategy game.
It got a Korean-exclusive Gaiden Game, Forgotten Saga, and a sequel, Crimson Gem Saga.
Provides Examples Of:
- Aerith and Bob: There are names like Lloyd von Roiental, Rendalf, Francis De La Cross and Brimhild.
- Arbitrary Headcount Limit: Subverted. Every party member participates in the battles.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Downplayed. A wounded Patton kills Herzo seconds after being backstabbed by her, but then Akra finishes him off.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Rudoug is monk, thus he prefers to fights unarmed and cannot equip weapons.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: The english version was highly criticized for its translation.
- Critical Hit: Seems to happen much more frequently than in other RPGs.
- Cutscene Boss: Dryden. While Lloyd and the others face his pet, Lezail confronts him by himself and wins, at the cost of his life.
- Digital Piracy Is Evil: While escorting the MacGuffin, Lloyd meets a strange character that asks him to input the password and asks if he is playing a pirated copy. Lloyd tells him that Password Saves are no longer used.
- Dirty Coward:
- Sir John fled by himself during the ambush and became a deserter.
- Patton. He use traps against the heroes and tries to escape after being defeated.
- Doomed Hometown: Lezail didn't allow Ylenne to accompany Lloyd in his mission, but after her hometown is burned down by a dragon, he is left with no other choice.
- Experience Booster: The Bracelet of Luck grants the wearer 1.5 more EXP after battle.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: After Brimhild is defeated and the Cainan's Staff recovered, a white dragon named Kasirak suddenly appears to serve as the game's final boss.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Queen Brimhild leads the elves and is the Big Bad of the game.
- Good Morning, Crono: The game begins with Lloyd waking up latter for a mission.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Quite a few of them, like the soldiers accompanying Lloyd in the beginning of the game and Hataik.
- Healing Spring: Some dungeons have pools that restores the party HP and MP, helping with the Level Grinding.
- Heel–Face Turn: Akra betrays the elves after Rudoug saves her life.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Lezail sacrifices himself to defeat Dryden.
- Akra uses the last of her strength to destroy Brimhild's crystal.
- An Ice Person: There is a class of ice spells.
- Infinity +1 Sword: The Stone Cutter for Lloyd, obtained by completing a sidequest.
- Level-Up Fill-Up: Leveling up recover all the HP and MP.
- MacGuffin: Lloyd's goal is to recover the Wand of Kinan, stolen by Francis in the beginning of the game.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Occasionally, Lloyd meets some strange Super-Deformed characters that loves to break the fourth wall.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Randalf is short, simple minded, has a beard, loves to dig and fight with an axe.
- Our Elves Are Different: Similar to Tolkien's description of them, the elves from Astonishia Story are humanoid creatures with pointy ears that lives in isolation and have long lifespans.
- Playing with Fire: There is a class of fire spells.
- Shock and Awe: There is a class of lightning spells.
- Squishy Wizard: Ylenne and her grandfather Lezail.
- Status Effects: Poison, fear, confusion, anxiety and paralysis.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Akra sacrifices herself to destroy Brimhild's crystal just before the final battle, striping you of one party member.
- The Von Trope Family: The hero full name is Lloyd von Roiental.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: General Rodiac is fought and killed in the same scene where he is introduced.
- Whole Costume Reference: One of the NPC sprite designs is wearing a Pimped-Out Dress very similar to this dress
worn by Louise of Lorraine (wife of Henry III of France). - Winged Humanoid: Akra, an Elier, has bat-like wings.
