Dungeons and Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun Review

Here’s a game that brings back awesome memories. When my family first got a Sega Genesis it was waaaaay after the system was actually released, so most of our games were purchased at garage sales or “borrowed” from friends. This was borrowed from a friend of my father, and we never forgot it. Warriors of the Eternal Sun is one of my favorite RPGs for the Genesis, and if you never heard of it and are looking for a good fantasy game for the system, this might be the one for you.

Graphically, Warriors of the Eternal Sun looks good. The colors are very vibrant. It uses an angular approach for the main screens so everything seems to be slanted, kind of like the game Ultima: The False Prophet. This isn’t a problem, but at first it might take a bit to get used to it. In addition to the main screens, you have first-person labyrinths with some pretty cool, detailed creatures moving about. My only problem with it is some of the animations are kind of static. When monsters attack during the overhead screens they just step towards you like they’re too bored to get into it and every creature in the labyrinths merely hobbles about, kind of hovering without moving a limb. Looks silly, but you’ll get used to it. Awesome ending and opening storylines though, so Warriors of the Eternal Sun is generally well-tied together when it comes to the graphics.

Now, the music for this game was one of the things I remember vividly. Warriors of the Eternal Sun has a really unique track set that goes with it, really creating a cool atmosphere. Most of it has this almost hard rock style, and it fits the action surprisingly well, but this is usually only during battles. The peaceful segments tend to be more gentle. Overall, excellent tracks. Can’t think of one I didn’t like. The sound effects work well too, but they’re reused quite a bit. Most of the monsters make the same attack sounds and it gets kind of redundant after awhile. The death track is cool though, and the majority of the effects are well-placed.

Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a welcome addition to the Genesis’ RPG library. Unlike the majority of them, Warriors of the Eternal Sun mixes two styles. It has a first-person view for some of the action, an angular view with turn-based combat, and plenty of storyline. You can create characters like any other Dugeons and Dragons game, picking from a variety of classes, which here are arranged based on race. The rolling system is fluid, you can alter character colors, and it’s really easy to get into play. The 3D segments are particularly interesting, because you attack enemies by setting your weapons and spells and pressing the button repeatedly instead of going through turns. There’s a lot of plot to go through and areas to investigate, all with their own themes. The swamp area, for example, has lots of lizard men and similar creatures. Here’s a sampling of some of the gameplay (none of the opening screens in this video unfortunately):

Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a dang fun game to play. There’s a lot of variety in the story mixed with an interesting combination of turn and action-based play. The plot is pretty cool and I like how you have to investigate this alien world, locating new and strange realms by passing through different labyrinths. However, it does have it’s problems.

For starters, the class system is kind of pointless. You have the usual classes, but some of them are mixed with the race system. So, the elf is simply a magic user who can wear armor. This makes the regular magic user pointless, and you find the same thing with the halfling, which is a worse version of the thief, a character that generally serves no purpose anyway. The fighter and dwarf are generally the same, and the cleric sort-of functions as per the rules, but a little more powerful than usual. Next, although Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a hell of a lot of fun to play, it has one major flaw that occurs during 3D battles. See, because they made this action-based instead of turn-based, you can simply walk around in circles backwards as enemies approach. Why does this matter? Well, enemies won’t attack you until they’ve reached a stationary position, meaning that if you keep them from stopping, they keep moving to try to get a position to attack. Move carefully or in an area where you can corral them around walls, and you can destroy any creature by simply striking until they get close to turning, turning the other direction so they follow, and repeat until they’re dead. Really sad when you figure it out, it makes the game way too easy. Otherwise, it’s very enjoyable overall, and though it’s a major play glitch, you can still play it as it was intended if you want.

I have to give Warriors of the Eternal Sun a bit of credit for what it did. This is the only Dungeons and Dragons game on the system, and the combination of RPG play is a cool idea. The issue with moving and attacking might be pretty major to some people, but it manages to still bring it with some cool stories, worlds, and a very expansive world that provides plenty of excitement. It’s the only attempt at anything from this gaming system for the Genesis, and though it has some faults I feel it pulls it off well. Not a big fan of the action-based first-person gaming, but it’s an interesting mix.

I’ve played Warriors of the Eternal Sun a number of times since I first came across it. It’s a favorite in my Genesis collection. However, play through it once and you really don’t have a reason to come back to it for awhile. It takes some time to finish the game, but you probably won’t have a reason to play it immediately after you finish it, there’s nothing really here to give you the incentive to want to do it.

Being that Warriors of the Eternal Sun is the only Dungeons and Dragons title for the Genesis, and considering what it has to offer, I’m happy overall. The SNES only received the first Eye of the Beholder title, which wasn’t a good idea, so for my 16-Bit Dungeons and Dragons needs I go straight to this one, that is, after it’s been awhile since I last played it. It’s not the greatest RPG out there, but it has enough to offer for the majority of RPG fans. Plus, this is the only version of it you’re ever going to find. It wasn’t released for anything else, so you might want to at least check it out once.