Games of the Abstract: Strahl (1993)

 

a.k.a. Triad Stone

Developer: Data East

Publisher: Pioneer Productions / Panasonic

One Player

3DO Interactive Multiplayer / Sega Saturn / Pioneer LaserActive

 

Strahl is definitely of its time – a full motion video game in the mould of Dragon’s Lair (1983), the legendary arcade game where, using laser disc technology to play and animated by Don Bluth, you attempted to rescue a princess from a dragon’s castle by way of animated sequences and proto-quick time events, pressing the right button commands at the right times to avoid a game over. Dragon’s Lair was a seminal title from the eighties, because as much because of how ahead of its time graphically was if by way of sacrificing game play freedom, leading to a boom of FMV games by themselves connected to this idea of minimal interactivity. By the time Strahl however reaches a point when FMV games, including these specific animated ones would become less appreciated. There would still be FMV games in a variety of genres by the late nineties, such as the point and click genre, but as the likes of American Laser Games, who won favour with lightgun games like Mad Dog McCree (1990), would need to look into alternate revenue, like normal games like Mazer (1995) or targeted for a female audience with the Her Interactive line, and polygons in video games would become the popular trend, these games would be under threat as consoles 3DO and the Sega CD would be criticised for having FMV games in general.

Strahl is an odd case thought, as this was originally developed as an arcade game, and yet ended up on multiple consoles like the 3DO and the Sega Saturn in the mid-nineties. This is also distinct as this is among a small number of Japanese animated FMV games, (mostly) released in the eighties for the arcade, and getting ports to games consoles in the nineties. Time Gal (1985), ported to the Sega CD and other consoles was a Taito property and is probably the most well known of this group. Important to all of them, and Strahl, is Toei Animation, the legendary animation studio who were founded in 1948 and an institution in Japanese anime, be they with their Dragonball adaptations or One Piece or Precure etc. Among all the mediums they worked in, these FMV laserdisc games from Japan were among their projects.

Evil is creeping through a fantasy land, and you play a male hero who has to travel to remote and dangerous places to collect gems to stop this. Strahl, based on the version I played, offers you to choose which animated segment to play, where you need to press the right directional button at the right time when prompted, press the sword button when prompted, and when it is brought up, bash the last button you need as much as possible until you fill an onscreen orb blue. You have continues and as you progress in the 3DO version, thankfully you keep progress in the session you play. This is in mind that the game is short, where I was able to finish it within one session, the issue more reflexes and how, having to complete segments, having to remember what to expect can be the case with repeating scenes. You have leeway with most of the button prompts, but this does present the issue, undercutting the virtues of the animation itself, of having to repeat an entire segment from the beginning if you get a fail state. This is an issue with an FMV game in general like this.

This is beautiful to look at, a fun game to play in mind its structure is an artefact of a different time. The scenarios vary between more traditional scenes from a fantasy but also be very inventive, such as escaping a haunted field which references Gulliver’s Travels with tiny people trying to attack you, before you become small and they giant, or the final level you unlock facing mirror images of yourself in duels. Compression is obvious an issue with full motion video, be it for the 3DO or the Saturn, but the animation is incredibly good. Strahl however comes with the knowledge that, even back when it was released, it would have become part of the backlash against these games, as longer and more interactive genres were becoming more appreciated and wanted. It comes with the sense that, by this point, this type of game originally meant for the eighties post-Dragon’s Lair was out of time. Its obscurity now neither helps, a shame as it is a work that should be preserved and, for me, was entertaining. These are the kind of obscurities which fascinate, and once you get used to this, Strahl for those who could play it would find reward even for a shorter gaming experience.