Lord Monarch - Tokoton Sentou Densetsu for MD

Image: MobyGames

Lord Monarch - Tokoton Sentou Densetsu

Falcom's RTS

Genre: strategy - rts

Publisher: Sega

Year: 1994

System: MD

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

One of the most accessible RTS titles I've played. It reminds me a lot of Bad North, for modern consoles. The purpose of the game is to destroy all enemy castles on the map. Your civilization will build itself out automatically, so you can simply go on auto-pilot in the early stages. Eventually, you need to use tactics to limit the growth of your enemy's civilization and to increase your own. The controls aren't explained well but are quite simple. You have two types of units - the King and Pawns. You must highlight a unit, press A, and then move the cursor to a tile and press A again to send the unit to that tile. Your King will auto attack any enemies or enemy buildings in his way, but you won't collect resources (i.e. gold) while he's away from the castle. Pawns can be instructed to do something specifically, such as build a bridge, clear forest, act as a sentry to guard a spot, build a fence, etc. The challenge with the controls is in selecting units. It's the classic RTS-with-a-controller problem. In this case you can only select a single unit and they move around so you have to be quick to grab them. This gets hectic in the mid- to late-game when you have a lot of units running around. It's also impossible to tell what orders a unit has, as they all look the same. The game has a number of nice QoL features, such as the ability top change the zoom on the map between three levels, and an intuitive menu system activated by pressing and hold A, B, or C. Despite a few little warts, this is a fun game.

Level Design Score: 5

Level Design Notes:

Each map has a 160 day time limit. Progress isn't carried between stages, so there's no leveling or anything like that. Each level is a self-contained experience. There's even two modes - story and challenge, where you can play a single map. Each map has it's own distinct design and challenge. Good stuff

Theme Score: 5

Theme Notes:

You're a headstrong 16 year old prince tasked with proving his mettle to your demanding king father. Your grandpa tags along to advise you as you brashly charge into each battle. It's a cute, light hearted take on medieval warfare akin to what Intelligent Designs did with modern warfare in the Famicom/Advance Wars series.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Lovely, colorful pixel artwork. It has a Monster Boy or Shining Force vibe, with chibi sprites and lots of deep reds and greens. The animation leaves much to be desired, but cutscene artwork is fantastic.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

The song sounds a lot like "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". It's a light hearted march that fits the game's setting perfectly. I really enjoyed it! Sound effects are good but rare. I wish there were more musical tracks to listen to.

Overall Score: 86

Review ID: 6038