Shadowrun (1993)

Escort Mission, The Game.

For me, playing Shadowrun on Genesis was a somewhat miserable experience. Before the second hour of gameplay I realized that the basis of this game is just doing escort missions or "go talk to this NPC" quests. And repeat them over and over and over again. You have to do this in order to get EXP and cash that you absolutely need if you want to progress. I should mention right away that during my playing time I used fastforward constanty, also savestates and a guide, in addition to having the manual at hand at all times to check the maps of each zone.

This game gives you a lot of freedom, in the worst sense of the word. That is, you are free to do things terribly wrong at every moment. At the beginning of the game you are weak, really weak. Even though I chose the "Samurai" class who are supposed to be the most skilled at wielding guns and resisting shots, even the first enemies I encountered were kicking my ass! I happened to visit the first "dungeon" available and I was promptly destroyed.

Slowly, after doing many (many!) of the first Johnson / "quest giver" missions I finally got the money to buy my first permanent companion and advance a little in the game's plot. Then I acquired a second NPC and accumulated more money. I know now that there are many other Johnsons and that apparently the fastest way to make money is through "hacking" however I was never forced to interact with cyberspace and all my adventures happened in the physical world. I found all that Matrix stuff just too convoluted to care.

In short, it is a very interesting game with an absorbing atmosphere, mediocre storyline, perhaps too ambitious for its time. In terms of gameplay it's... uhm, tolerable, although I can't imagine I would have finished it without fastforward.

Not recommended.

About the Game:

Shadowrun is a game where you play as a Shadow Runner and go on Shadowruns. You are Joshua, and you're trying to find out who killed your brother. After speaking to the local innkeeper, you are killed by guards.

Based on the P&P RPG of the same name, Shadowrun takes place in the not-so-distant future and bears the classic sci-fi aesthetics popularized by films like Blade Runner. Beneath the rundown Seattle slums filled with dwarves, mutants and ghouls lies a deep and complex RPG system. A system that, I believe, can only be either loved or hated.

Gameplay:

Shadowrun makes no effort to hide it's pen and paper roots, and you'll spend the majority of your time in dialogue screens like this one. Honestly, especially given my new-found love of visual novels, I really like this way of handling conversations. Sure, sure, it's not the fully voiced over exchanges in Mass Effect or Dragon Age, or the nerve wracking Class Trials of Danganronpa, but there's really something to be said for written branching conversations.

In fact, if the entire game took place in these text-based scenarios, I probably would have enjoyed Shadowrun much more than I actually did. For starters, the gameplay itself is incredibly boring. Combat is a matter of pressing B to lock on to a target and hold A to attack with your equipped weapon until either you or your enemy dies. Speaking of combat, you start the game entirely ill-equipped to handle more than a single enemy on your own without using healing items between every encounter, and you will rarely be fighting enemies one on one. The issue is that the game has no problem sending you into the fray for your first mission, which you will inevitably fail.

Failure in Shadowrun means waking up in a hospital bed a few Yulen (¥) short. You'll likely have lost some ammo before losing consciousness and your bullets certainly don't magically respawn. Die too often and you may find yourself completely out of combat options. What is not made clear is that the missions, or Shadowruns you receive are chosen at random, and may not involve any kind of combat at all. Knowing this, you can choose to cycle through mission options until you find something you can actually handle.

I really appreciate the game's menu system. It's clear and easy to navigate, and anything you'd every want to know about your characters, their stats and equipment, and what all those numbers actually do is easily accessible and plainly spelled out for you. From the menu you can equip a single weapon and piece of armor, manage your party member's AI tendencies, save and load, check on current mission status, etc. It may seem odd spending so much time praising something as simple as a menu system, but in a game with so much going on it can make a world of difference.

While moving around the game world the controls are universal, meaning any actions you could take in a hostile environment, you can take anywhere. As a result, my first playthrough had me accidentally killing two guards then shooting a potential party member in a bar before he killed me. I actually don't have a problem with that, though it would have been nice to know earlier. What is an issue is when the game seems to bug out, and guards will inexplicably run from across the city to beat me down just for exiting a building!

Presentation, Music and Sound:

Aside from the nicely laid out menu system, Shadowrun falls flat when it comes to giving you anything to look at or listen to. While the music and graphics do emphasize that, yes, you are living in a bleak dystopian future, they only do so to the point of being just good enough. Visual are muddy and bland, and you wouldn't even notice the music if you weren't listening for it. Sound effects are generally kept at a minimum save the occasional gunshot and digitized voice clip. While there's nothing truly offensive on offer, there's really nothing that stands out either. Looking forward, every area of the game shares a similar dark styling with little if any variation in the music track.

Fun & Relevance:

I went in to Shadowrun really wanting to like it, and that just didn't happen for me. I feel like this is a very specific kind of game made for a very specific kind of person, and if you are that kind of person you'll absolutely love Shadowrun. It's like if someone asked me for a recommendation for an RPG on the NES. I could easily and confidently lend them Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior III, or maybe something more action oriented like Faxanadu or Crystalis. I certainly wouldn't go reaching for Eye of the Beholder though, as 19 out of 20 people are just not going to enjoy it. Of course, there'll be that one guy who will think it's the best 8-bit RPG ever made! I see Shadowrun filling the same niche. If you're a die hard fan of old school roleplaying games, and want a 16-bit representation of that, Shadowrun might be right up your alley. If not, then you'll probably end up disappointed and bored.

Review:

Playthrough: