115) Tenshi No Uta: The Angel Verse (1991)

Developed as the first title of the newly formed Riot division of Telenet Japan, Tenshi No Uta: The Angel Verse was released for the PC Engine, better known as the TurboGrafx-16 in the US, in 1991. In 1993. due to declining sales, Telenet Japan underwent extensive restructuring that unfortunately saw a number of their studios close. While some of the staff at Riot would be absorbed into other teams within the company, several key developers opted to leave, founding Media.Vision where they would go on to produce the Wild Arms series. By 2007, with a substantial debt, Telenet was forced to shut its doors. In 2009, Sunsoft acquired Telenet's software library, planning to release the older games on Virtual Console. As of 2020, Edia Co., Ltd. known for releasing compilations of retro games, acquired the catalog of games, and has since seen fit to officially release some of the older titles in the west for the first time.

Drawing heavy inspiration from Celtic mythology, the story begins with a young couple, Cael and Claire, leaving the small village in which they were raised in order to seek blessing from the King so that they may be wed. The journey is made dangerous by demons, actual, literal servants of the Christian Devil, which roam the lands. Before they can make it to the King, the couple is attacked by a powerful demon that kidnaps Claire, leaving Cael barely alive. After recovering and meeting with the King, Cael sets out on a journey to rescue his beloved, and in doing so save the world from the machinations of Lucifer.

At its core, the game is a fairly standard turn based RPG that doesn't do much mechanically to set itself apart. The story is also pretty cookie cutter, with a young hero on a quest to rescue a damsel and save the world. What sets it apart is the inclusion of animated cutscenes, which are rather impressive even by today's standards, and writing that is completely off the wall crazy. While most works of fiction do their best to avoid referencing real world religions, Tenshi No Uta instead revels in it. Not only are the demons we face servants of the literal Christian Devil, but the setting and story make heavy use of how the spreading Christianity has begun to replace traditional Celtic beliefs. Further, an actual plot point involves finding those who believe in the old Celtic ways in order to access areas and lore that are being lost to Christian expansion.

Tenshi No Uta: The Angel Verse is the exact type of game that I'm thrilled to see get re-released more than 30 years later. Not only is it a fascinating experience that brilliantly showcases the evolution of the medium, it's a game that was previously never released in the West, and even if it had been was on a niche console that a lot of gamers don't even know about. From a simple stance of video game preservation, the game is absolutely worth the price of admission. However, it also tells an interesting tale that genuinely caught me off guard more than once with curveballs I wasn't expecting. The writing is insane at times, with the references to real world religions seeming bold and bizarre.

On top of everything, the game was genuinely fun to play. I say that as a long time fan of the genre, so individual mileage may vary. What I find most fascinating is that, as I played, I kept seeing similarities to another game I've covered, Lunar: Silver Star Story. The plot is very similar, both games heavily feature impressive cutscenes, and both feature a turn based combat system that hasn't aged particularly well. However, where I viewed Lunar as being bland and generic, Tenshi No Uta sets itself apart with a more engaging combat experience and a visual style that is uniquely its own. In addition, while I found one or two characters in Lunar to fun and memorable, the entire cast of Tenshi No Uta brings something fun to the table that helps them stand out.

If you're a fan of classic RPGs, or if you have an interest in seeing a nearly forgotten chapter in video game history, I can't recommend Tenshi No Uta: The Angel Verse more highly. While not perfect, it serves as a fascinating time capsule that showcases an important stage of how the medium evolved. If you're a fan of the Wild Arms series, which the team would later go on to create, then it's more than worth your time to see some fairly direct lines that would lead the team down that path. The game isn't perfect by any means, but it's an experience that holds up remarkably well and would no doubt have been impressive at the time of its initial release.