Master of Monsters: Disciples of Gaia (1996)

Just to make sure, I played through into the fourth map and this is not really for me. I actually think it could be pretty fun, but the randomness of the summon monsters makes strategy and planning almost moot. I kept finding myself holding onto creatures that had leveled up, only to find that a better-leveled version of that monster would be available in the next map, and I was wasting slots. But then the game would pull some previously available classes? It was annoying more than anything.

One of the other big issues, as another user pointed out, is the ABSURDLY silly low hit rates. A stupid amount of time would pass before anyone, good or bad, connected with the opponent. I started keeping a talley at one point, and enemy units always fared better. I would have units with a 70%+ hit rate miss on every hit, and the opposing unit would connect every counter, with a 40% hit rate.

Otherwise, not much there. Nice music. Sometimes ok to mediocre graphics. Basically non-existent plot.

I’m not sure how this got in my collection in the first place, but it’s going back on the shelf.

If there is one thing I enjoy about older games it is how, for the most part, you are buying a solid finished product. No need to wait to buy it until after they release a game patch. This PS1 era game is an exception to that rule though. It has a bug that can add many agonizing hours onto the total gameplay, with no hope for an update, patch, or fix. Ever. Here is how my time with this game broke down:

--The Good--

What I enjoyed most about this game was its simplicity. This game does not get mired in stats and number crunching. You can grind for levels, but it feels unnecessary. Instead it is more about making the best strategic use of the game space. How will you position your units in order to make it possible to advance and attack while still protecting your Master? (Basically a Master is to this game what the King is to chess.) The game aesthetics are also simple, with just a touch a style and without being overly ambitions (as some PS1 era games can be).

--The Bad--

I would have enjoyed my time with this game a great deal more if it wasn't for one frustrating bug. Often (sometimes it would happen several turns in a row) none of the characters on the board would be able to hit any of the other characters. I would select a move, the game said I had a 54% chance of hitting, but I would miss. Then the enemy would miss his retaliatory strike. Then each of the rest of my monsters on the field would miss all their attacks for the rest of the turn, no matter what chance the game said I had for successfully hitting. The enemy would also miss all their counterstrikes as well. Sometimes there would be two full turns in a row where no one could damage anyone else. All I could do was move around and keep trying to hit things, because without warning (often at the start of turns but sometimes in the middle of a turn) everything would go back to normal and I could damage and be damaged again. I wouldn't call this a "game breaking bug" because it is possible to finish this game with this problem. It will just add several hours on to your playtime as almost half the turns you take will be meaningless.

--The Verdict--

I couldn't finish this game because I do not have the patience to deal with that serious bug. Honestly, I wish more games were as simple as this one. I want to feel like I won because I had the superior tactics and strategy, and simpler titles like this one make me feel that way. It is a real disappointment then that I had to shelve this game without finishing it. And because this game can never be patched I would not recommend it to anyone. The art and aesthetic are too simple to even make it a viable collector's item.