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LUPIN THE THIRD: CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO: SAIKAI
(Reunion at the Castle of Cagliostro)
SLPS 00535~7
Copyright © 1998 NTV
Sony PlayStation, 1 player
3D Puzzle/Adventure
Available Now (Import Only)
¥6800
—by Charles McCarter
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The concept of this game is very cool. Ten years have passed since the
events in the films LUPIN III: CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO.
You, as Lupin, return to the tiny country to see how things have turned
out, and of course to see Clarice. There are a fair amount of clips from
the movie, as well as the Castle being totally rendered into 3D for you to be able to explore and poke around. The
concept was definitely cool.
But something happened in the execution. Sure, you get to play
the role of Lupin, but since this game is from a first-person perspective,
players never get to see his likeness except in the video clips and the
encyclopedia section of the game. And even though you're traveling with
Jigen (or so you assume since everyone who talks to you says "Lupin-san
and Jigen-san"), the player doesn't see him either.
But my biggest complaint with the game is the silly stuff you
have to do at the beginning of the game. When Lupin arrives at
Cagliostro, he is given pamphlet of the town with five blanks. Each of
these blanks must be stamped before he will be allowed entrance to the
castle. Despite the fact that everyone knows who he is and his face is on
the commemorative plates and everything. I guess you can never be too
cautious.
So what does the player, as intrepid thief Lupin III have to do? He has to wander around town to places
and try to get these seals. Lupin and Jigen eat at the restaurant, stay
at a hotel, and get refused at the dock and several other places because
they don't have the appropriate items. But the player is never really
told where to get these items, either. It's one of those "hunt around
and look at everything and maybe you'll get lucky" games that really gets
frustrating, especially when there are only three streets to go up and
down and five places to go into and out of.
So, if you're lucky and patient enough, you'll eventually get
into the Castle, which, although it looks much cooler is more of the same
wandering and looking and trying to figure things out. This is not an
action-paced game by any means. LUPIN III has a
devoted following because it is full of excitement, action, and comedy,
none of which is really present in this game. It's a very watered down
premise and it doesn't do much to hold interest. Usually I try to play
to the end of all the games I review, but I just couldn't take this game
anymore.
And it's a shame, too, because it was such a nice concept and
had a lot of potential. The 3D graphics are very
nicely drawn, too. It's just a shame that they've been stuffed into a
very mediocre game that frustrates more than challenges. If Lupin had
this much trouble during the movie, I think he would have just gone the
hell home.
As is standard with games of this genre, there is a lot of
talking in this game. So much, in fact, that you sometimes forget that
you are actually playing a game. And unless your Japanese is really good,
it won't be of any interest or help to you. And the characters, while
nicely drawn, do get a little old when you're talking to them for the
hundredth time trying to make progress.
Everyone but die-hard Lupin fans fluent in Japanese will probably
be bored silly by this game. I hate to say it, but that's the way it
is. 
Rating: *1/2 out of 4 |
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