So close to being great. But by stretching itself too far in too many directions, we have to settle for merely good.
User Rating: 8 | Other Life: Azure Dreams (Konami the Best) PS
When the developers sat down to create Azure Dreams I have a feeling there was a little dissent. One developer wanted to make a dungeon crawler, while another wanted to make a dating sim, another wanted to make a game like Pokemon, and several others still had ideas on what they wanted to make. What resulted was a game that contains all of these styles of gameplay and more. This ends up being the game's greatest strength and greatest weakness. On one hand there are so many different things to do that you can surely find something that will entertain you. However when you find find the aspect that appeals to you the most you may feel disappointed that it was not further developed. The story takes place in a small desert town that surrounds a huge tower called the Monster Tower. Monster Tamers from across the world come here to enter the tower in search of great wealth, adventure, and the greatest treasure of them all, monster eggs. You play as Koh, the son of one of the greatest Monster Tamers, who sadly died in the tower years ago. Koh has just turned 15 and is now of age to enter the tower and seek his own fortune and live up to his father's reputation. Inside the tower the action is the standard dungeon crawler style, and is where the bulk of the game is spent. For every action you take, whether it be an attack or walking one step, the monsters take an action. There's nothing terribly innovative about it, but for fans of the genre, it is great fun. There are 40 floors in total, despite what the manual says about there being 100 levels. Each floor is randomly generated, so you never quite know what to expect. In the tower treasure ranges from coins, to weapons and armor, and of course the ever so rare monster eggs, which can be sold or raised into pets of your own. The monster eggs are actually the key to climbing the tower. While in the tower you raise Koh's level by gaining experience through battling monsters, but everytime you leave the tower you lose all your experience your level is dropped back to 1. However, your monsters never lose their experience, so by bringing a particular monster back into the tower time and time again you will have a pet that will protect you and fight your battles. There are a couple dozen monsters, and of course some are naturally stronger than others, so you will find yourself abandoning a pet on several occasion to raise a new one with more potential. Additionally, like in Pokemon, some monsters may evolve into new forms with enough experience and this makes it worth the time to experiment with different pets. The tower is not the only place to have fun though, as the town has plenty to do. Using the money you earn in the tower you can rennovate your home, buy furniture, or create new buildings in town like a bowling alley or a casino that allow you to play new minigames. Most of the minigames are not terribly interesting and after playing them once you will likely never touch them again. As you climb higher into the tower your reputation will build as well, and many of the townspeople will ask you for particular favors so be sure to speak to everyone you can to find out what needs you can help with. In town the most fun you will have though will be trying to woo one of the many girls in town. There are seven eligible bachelorettes that you will have an opportunity to date. Each one is lovely, but they all have their own problems they will need help with, and you will have to do your best to appeal to them. This part of the game was done very well as the girls are some of the most well developed characters in any of the few dating sims that have made it to America. Unfortunately as well developed as they are you might find yourself a bit frustrated that you won't be able to marry any of them or go further in your relationships other than just "winning their heart." That is biggest problem with Azure Dreams. As fun as the monster raising, dating, or town developing is, there was a lot more potential for these aspects to be expanded upon and you might be left feeling a little disappointed that there is not more to them. The graphics are decent enough. Generally the main character and most of the people in-town look pretty good, as does the town itself. In the Monster Tower though the scenes look a little pixelated as do the items you find and the monsters that you battle and make into pets. Graphically the highlight of the game would be the anime styled portraits of the main characters and how they change depending on what their current opinion of you is. The music is okay, but nothing that will likely get stuck in your head when you are not playing the game. Overall this is a very good game. There is plenty to do and depending on how much time you spend training your monsters you can spend anywhere from 40 to 100 hours on the game. Even after you have reached the top the player is still able to continue making trips into the tower and improving the town, so it is possible to even play more than 100 hours. For those who enjoy dungeon crawlers or a games that almost defy classification, Azure Dreams is well worth the time to play. 
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