Senken Kigyouden #BestOfSaturn

Senken Kigyouden — a.k.a. “Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan” in Chinese or “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” in English — is a 1999 Saturn conversion of a 1995 DOS / 1997 Windows RPG released by SoftStar. The game is based on Chinese mythology, and for a solid 10 years, was the biggest-selling video game in China, spawning spinoffs and sequels that persist to this day.

Follow the tale of Li Xiaoyao as he embarks on a quest to find medicine for his ill aunt, and experience a tale of love, tragedy, and sacrifice. Available on Saturn in both Japanese and Chinese, the game visually reminds of old IBM-486 adventure games, with stiff animation and limited use of color.

Fun can be had here, and the historical significance of this title in the East is unparallelled, but the amount of text is a heavy barrier to entry.