268: The Best Planet Companion

[pparrish]

The Best Planet Companion

When playing a party-based RPG, your companions are equivalent to sidekicks, moving along the story and providing color. Peter Parrish tells us of one of the most unique characters in recent memory, the planet Democratus.

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[Crimson_Dragoon]

I've never heard of the game (a 50k marketing budget would explain that), but it sounds right up my alley. Is it online anywhere (on Steam or something like it)?

 

[Jandau]

Anachronox is one of those truly great games. Funny thing is that at its core it plays like a JRPG, but done in a western style and with so much bizzare stuff in there that one can't help but be amused. It's the exact opposite of Daikatana. If by any chance you haven't played the game, DO IT!

 

[CUnk]

I think I may have to replay this. I don't even remember how I first heard about this game several years ago (probably some casual mention on a forum like this) but the game turned out to be such a pleasant surprise that I must have been under some spell while playing and forgot many of the details. I just hope I can find my copy because I have no idea where you could buy this. GOG doesn't seem to have it sadly.

Also, for those that don't care about spoiling the game (or those that have already played it), someone made an Anachronox movie a while back by stringing together the cut scenes:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dfuk_anachronox-the-movie-part-01-of-13_videogames

 

[kingmob]

How strange that I've never even heard of this game, it sounds brilliant! As soon as I get home I'm going to try and get my hands on it

 

[Latinidiot]

I bet this game is very hard to get your hands on, andit will only get worse now that so many people read about it.

 

[pparrish]

Is it online anywhere (on Steam or something like it)?

Unfortunately it isn't, and I don't know when it might show up there. Somebody mentioned Good Old Games, who (although they don't have it yet) will probably be the best bet to get it at some point.

One problem about getting it out there is Ion Storm went bust (obviously) - and Hall himself doesn't own the Anachronox license any more. I believe Square Enix do, for some reason. But I may be recalling that incorrectly.

 

[K.]

Also, for those that don't care about spoiling the game (or those that have already played it), someone made an Anachronox movie a while back by stringing together the cut scenes:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dfuk_anachronox-the-movie-part-01-of-13_videogames

Thanks for the link. Ah, good times. Really one of my all-time favorites.

I learned about the game from a programmer, who was impressed by what was possible with the Quake-Engine.

 

[Kegluneq]

Anachronox is one of those truly great games. Funny thing is that at its core it plays like a JRPG, but done in a western style and with so much bizzare stuff in there that one can't help but be amused. It's the exact opposite of Daikatana. If by any chance you haven't played the game, DO IT!

Definitely. It's full of brilliant gameplay and a fantastically witty Douglas Adams-style storyline that parodies everything from Tolkienesque dwarfs to film noir private eyes, along with great voice acting and graphic design (it looks much, much better than Deus Ex).

It does have its problems as stated; it's very linear, it ends on a cliffhanger, there are a few gamebreaking bugs (at least in my experience). There's a lot of running huge distances in the early part of the game, especially if you're playing without a guide, that can get tiresome quickly. Nevertheless it's still one of my favourite games and definitely worth a play, if you can find it - the quality of the writing and the plot more than make up for the shortfalls.

In relation to the article, Democratus was a great plot device and a great concept for a character, but I think you can't really tie the character and the planet together that closely. The levels set on the planet are more of a pretext for a further genre mashup, which is still awesome, they're just not a meaningful insight into a singular personality as such. (For a better example of that, think of the mind diving of Psychonauts, in which you really were exploring the secret worlds of NPCs.) Having an actual planet for a party member was still both bonkers and brilliant though.

 

[JustRadek]

As Tom Hall and the rest of the Anachronox team stated on multiple occasions, the game was cut short during the burnout of ION Storm. Very unfortunate too as it was a really quirky but interesting game, very much along the lines of what Double Fine is putting out these days.

 

[xxxDarkUtopiaxxx]

I learned about the game from a programmer, who was impressed by what was possible with the Quake-Engine.

Well, that initial level on Anachronox... suffice to say I've never seen UEngine pull off multidirectional gravity effects anything like that...

And keep your eyes open for budget labels, the game has appeared on at least one, costing the princely sum of ?7 for the privelige...

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I freaking love that game - it quite handily illustrates via its existence that the problem I have with JRPGs isn't the mechanics necessarily (as the game plays exactly like one), it's the everything else. There are so many wonderful little nuances: in other games you might have a set of totally arbitrary collectible objects you can find for some vague reason. Well in Anachronox, those are actually called TACOs, a product that was quite popular until the public found out it that TACOs stood for Totally Arbitrary Collectible Objects.

I had almost forgotten I was in the middle of replaying this a few months back before I got distracted, I should really get back to that.

 

[lumenadducere]

Ah, Anachronox. What a fantastic game - it's such a shame that it didn't sell more copies, as I would have absolutely loved to see a sequel made (especially with that ending). It was nice reading this article and remembering how much fun I had with that game.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

This...is a game I have to check out. *Goes to Amazon to order one* Hmmm...why have I never heard of this before? Hell, that sounds all kinds of the right kind of crazy. Cliffhanger, huh? I'll be wary of that. Thanks for the passalong, I suppose.

 

[The Random One]

There are so many wonderful little nuances: in other games you might have a set of totally arbitrary collectible objects you can find for some vague reason. Well in Anachronox, those are actually called TACOs, a product that was quite popular until the public found out it that TACOs stood for Totally Arbitrary Collectible Objects.

I actually did a spit take over that.

I bet this game is very hard to get your hands on, andit will only get worse now that so many people read about it.

On the internet, the more people know about an old thing, the easier it is to get it. Isn't that grand?

I hope it comes around to gog someday - weird party members have always been my favourite part of an RPG.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

This sounds awesome. I must have it.

 

[Grand_Marquis]

This games sounds like something I need to check out.

I think I may have to replay this. I don't even remember how I first heard about this game several years ago (probably some casual mention on a forum like this) but the game turned out to be such a pleasant surprise that I must have been under some spell while playing and forgot many of the details. I just hope I can find my copy because I have no idea where you could buy this. GOG doesn't seem to have it sadly.

Also, for those that don't care about spoiling the game (or those that have already played it), someone made an Anachronox movie a while back by stringing together the cut scenes:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dfuk_anachronox-the-movie-part-01-of-13_videogames

Just a head's up - probably better to search for this on youtube, where you don't have to wait through two preroll ads, followed by four different banner ads during playback for each segment. Good god, Dailymotion has become a slum. Still, for its day those are some impressive cutscenes. I can't believe this game is as obscure as it is.

 

[pparrish]

Yes, something I didn't really get space to mention in the article is how much of a homage to JPRGs (Chrono Trigger in particular - which has been quoted as a direct inspiration) Anachronox is/was.

Like Barkley, Shut Up & Jam: Gaiden, it takes the formula and does wonderful things with it.

 

[Rad Party God]

Ana-wha?... man... this game sounds like it's full of so much win... I wish it was available somewhere on Steam or other place, I don't want to end up searching an ilegal copy of the game.

 

[aldowyn]

I find it interesting that so many games being featured this week are old. Like, text-based old, in one case. Where has the sidekick gone? It seems that many mediums have just decided the entire idea is hokey and worthless! Gladly, books have not. (Don't believe me, go read Harry Potter and tell me Ron isn't a sidekick.)


This game seems like the interactive, video game version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Utterly, consciously, unabashedly ridiculous, and all the better for it!