Beyond the Beyond
| Beyond the Beyond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Camelot Software Planning[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Shugo Takahashi |
| Producer(s) | Shugo Takahashi |
| Programmer(s) | Kenji Numaya Masashi Muramori Makoto Yamamoto |
| Artist(s) | Ami Shibata |
| Writer(s) | Shugo Takahashi |
| Composer(s) | Motoi Sakuraba |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Beyond the Beyond,known inJapanasBeyond the Beyond: Harukanaru Kanān e[b],is a 1995role-playing video gamedeveloped byCamelot Software Planningand published bySony Computer Entertainmentfor thePlayStation.Though not the first role-playing game released for the PlayStation,Beyond the Beyondwas the first RPG available in the west for the console using a traditional Japanese RPG gameplay style likeFinal Fantasy,Dragon QuestandPhantasy Star.[2]The characters were designed bymangaartist Ami Shibata ofPapuwafame.[3]
Gameplay
[edit]
Gameplay inBeyond the Beyondis, for the most part, standard for arole-playing video game.However, theturn-basedbattle system does contain one feature that was not standard in role-playing games at the time.[4]Dubbed the "Active Playing System", this feature allows the player to increase the chances of either landing an improved attack on an enemy or defending from an enemy attack by pressing the X button at the correct time during battle. It is similar to the timing-based attacks in the later role-playing gameFinal Fantasy VIII(1999).[4]
Plot
[edit]Long ago in the world ofBeyond the Beyond,a battle raged between the 'Beings of Light' and the 'Warlocks of the Underworld'. Before the planet was destroyed, the two sides signed a treaty leaving the surface world to the Beings of Light and underground to the Warlocks. After hundreds of years of peace, inexplicable happenings begin to occur. The player must control Finn, a young swordsman, to stop the evil power that has broken the treaty and invaded the surface world.[5]
Development
[edit]The soundtrack was composed byMotoi Sakuraba,who later worked on other Camelot Soft titles such asShining Force IIIand theGolden Sunseries. It is the first in two video games Camelot Software Planning developed for the PlayStation, the other beingEverybody's Golf.Sony's internal development studioassisted on development.[6]
For the North American release,Beyond the Beyondwas translated into English by four production personnel atSony Computer Entertainment America.[7]
Reception
[edit]| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 44%[8] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.5/10[9] |
| Famitsu | 28/40[10] |
| GameRevolution | C[11] |
| GameSpot | 5.5/10[2] |
| IGN | 4/10[12] |
| Next Generation |   [13] |
Critical assessments ofBeyond the Beyondwere divided upon its release: While Shawn Smith and Sushi-X ofElectronic Gaming Monthlyfound it to be an impressive RPG,[9]Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer in the same publication andGlenn RubensteininGameSpotdeemed it derivative and underwhelming, though still a solid and satisfying enough experience for fans of the genre,[9][2]GamePro's Scary Larry considered it outright "lame and predictable",[14]andNext Generationdescribed it as "painfully derivative, plodding, and not even a terribly challenging adventure".[13]However, there were points of agreement, with even the most positive reviews remarking that the game has a very generic RPG visual style[9][11][2][13]and simply does not look like a next generation RPG,[9][11][2][12][13][14]though some also remarked that the 3D battle graphics are impressive.[9][11][13]
Most reviews said that the story is highly derivative and suffers from overlong, dull dialogues,[9][11][2][12]thoughNext Generation,which otherwise gave one of the more negative reviews, said the story was pleasingly long and interesting.[13]While Shawn Smith and Dan Hsu praised the music,[9]Glenn Rubenstein, Scary Larry, andIGNall called it tepid and generic, and criticized that it is inMIDIformat instead of the high qualityRed Book audiothat was by this time standard for CD games.[2][14][12]Another common criticism was that the battles are excessively frequent.[12][13][14]
The game maintains a 44% average rating onGameRankings,from 8 reviews. Review scores for the game included a 6 out of 10 fromElectric Playground.[8]In a retrospective review, Andrew Long of RPGamer argued that the extensive time it takes to complete the game is due mostly to long and complex dungeons, frequent random encounters, and the steep difficulty ofBoss es.[15]
Notes
[edit]- ^Sony Computer Entertainment Japanassisted on development.
- ^Japanese:ビヨンド ザ ビヨンド ～ dao かなるカナーンへ～,Hepburn:Biyondo za Biyondo ～ Harukanaru Kanān e～,lit. "Beyond the Beyond: To Far Away Kanaan"
References
[edit]- ^"Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ vidgames".June 11, 1998. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 1998.RetrievedDecember 4,2023.
- ^abcdefgRubenstein, Glenn."Beyond the Beyond at GameSpot".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on June 26, 2016.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
- ^"Beyond the Beyond".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 72.Ziff Davis.July 1995. p. 82.
- ^abNickel, Thomas (Summer 2011), Parish, Jeremy (ed.),"Beyond the Beyond: Beyond Redemption?",GameSpite Quarterly(8),archivedfrom the original on March 31, 2012,retrievedSeptember 12,2011
- ^Beyond the BeyondInstruction Booklet, pg.4-5
- ^"JAPANスタジオ tác phẩm một lãm 1998 năm ～1994 năm"[List of Japan Studio works 1998–1994] (in Japanese).Sony Interactive Entertainment.2021. Archived fromthe originalon February 26, 2021.RetrievedMarch 1,2021.
- ^"Finalizing the Fantasy".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 94.Ziff Davis.May 1997. p. 91.
- ^ab"Beyond the Beyond for PlayStation".GameRankings.Archived fromthe originalon December 9, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 6,2021.
- ^abcdefgh"Review Crew: Beyond the Beyond".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 87.Ziff Davis.October 1996. p. 62.
- ^Famitsustaff (November 10, 1995)."クロスレビュー"[Cross Review].Famitsu(in Japanese). No. 361.ASCII.Archived fromthe originalon April 30, 2022.RetrievedApril 30,2022.
- ^abcde"Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop!".Game Revolution.October 1996. Archived fromthe originalon September 1, 2004.RetrievedNovember 6,2018.
- ^abcde"Beyond the Beyond".IGN.November 21, 1996.Archivedfrom the original on November 7, 2017.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
- ^abcdefg"Beyond the Beyond".Next Generation.No. 23.Imagine Media.November 1996. pp. 266, 268.
- ^abcd"Beyond the Beyond".GamePro.No. 97.IDG.October 1996. p. 110.
- ^Long, Andrew."Beyond the Beyond Retroview".RPGamer.Archived fromthe originalon February 28, 2009.RetrievedMarch 13,2009.
