Tilk: The Girl From the Blue Sea (TILK 青い海から来た少女), launched 4/25/1997, developed by TGL

This is one other obscure recreation, one which I didn’t discover in my authentic record however I picked it up later. It was launched for each the PSX and Saturn — the Saturn model has full voice appearing (I believe). I didn’t discover this out till after I had performed about half of the Playstation model. However, the voice work sounded a bit amateurish and I had by no means heard of any of the seiyuu, and the flexibility to hurry up the battles was fairly necessary so I’m wonderful with the Playstation model.

It’s additionally an uncommon expertise for me. Usually I worth gameplay above all the things else, and I at all times say {that a} good story can’t save unhealthy gameplay. I used to be confirmed flawed right here although — based mostly on my standards this will get an A score as a result of I used to be taking part in it for enjoyable proper as much as the ending scene. But objectively talking the battle system isn’t good, and the interface has a variety of issues too. Thus the A- score. So what I’m going to do with this publish is first describe the system, after which spend the remainder of this publish (and possibly one other one) telling the story.

First off, I actually just like the graphics.

The sprites and the backgrounds have an important really feel to them that intensify the story. But let’s get to the battles.

The recreation proceeds in sequence from one battle to the following. You can solely save in battles, and the one time you are able to do standing screens is earlier than a battle, the place you’ll be able to equip as much as 3 equipment, and if in case you have greater than 8 folks, select which 8 you wish to ship out. Once in battle, it’s typical participant turn-enemy flip, you’ll be able to select the order.

Everyone has fairly low motion charges. You can assault (everybody has a range-1 assault and a range-2 assault), however the hit charges are usually decrease than I would love. There is a weapon-triangle like system with every character having a sure affinity. Special strikes are 100%, however neither the instruction booklet nor the sport itself inform you what most of them do. You can use gadgets freely with out taking turns, however the one approach to get gadgets is the treasure containers within the stage, so it’s a must to watch out. There can also be a “wait” that modifications your stance to boost or decrease stats, and a “field action”. This is meant to allow you to do issues like roll barrels however it’s hardly ever helpful, and sometimes entails some obscure merchandise that they don’t inform you what it does.

Movement is annoying as a result of you’ll be able to’t transfer by your individual guys, so it’s straightforward to get caught.

Unskippable battle animations.

Since the treasure containers are the one approach to get gadgets you wish to get as lots of them as doable, however it’s not sensible to get each single one on each map — it’s a massive waste of time within the recreation although to maintain one enemy alive and take 15 turns monitoring down all of the containers. Healing gadgets are notably helpful since you don’t get many good strategies that heal.

The purpose is normally beat all enemies, however some maps are “beat boss” or “reach a certain point on the map”.

So sadly the battle system just about stinks. Once you get used to its quirks it turns into a bit much less annoying, however it’s by no means a complete lot of enjoyable, and also you undoubtedly need an emulator with speedup.

So let’s get to the story and setting with the Prologue chapter “Boys of Tilk Island”. The textual content and footage received’t seize the element and appeal of the sport, however no less than it’s one thing.

The recreation takes place on the island of Tilk. This is an island to the far south with wealthy farmland and blue seas. The primary character Billy Drake is the son of a fisherman. At the start of the sport he has overslept once more, and races to the treehouse to satisfy his 4 pals. They are Fon Tokun (a nerdy scientist kind), Meril Fount (the lone lady), Pack Myson (the son of a shipbuidler) and Grus Ganto (an enormous strongman).

At first the children waste time by happening to the ocean to beat up Sand Jellyfish and go to the native farm to see child animals, however ultimately they determine to go to a close-by mountain. Unfortunately that is the area of one other child named Jake and his band of unruly ruffians (Sharks).

From left to proper it’s Rui, Jake, Phillip, and Eric (the massive one). Grus truly was part of this band till Billy beat him in a battle after which Grus joined Billy. In any case, Jake doesn’t just like the Billy group invading his territory. They knock the Sharks round a bit however then go house as a result of it’s late.

The subsequent day Billy and his pals are losing time on the seaside, in search of a rumored pirate ship that has supposedly been visiting the world. The adults inform them to go take care of some crabs which have been bothering the fishermen. After that, Billy hears some mysterious singing that no person else does. Going to a sure place on the seaside he meets a woman named Silky.

They discuss for a bit however then when Billy’s pals present up Silky disappears.

Meanwhile Jake desires to get Grus to rejoin his group, and when Grus refuses once more, the Sharks assault him. (This is the toughest battle within the recreation; in the event you didn’t save a therapeutic merchandise you’ll be able to go left from the beginning and there’s a Bread in a field. That needs to be sufficient to win the battle.)

After this, the entire group decides to tackle Jake’s band, and when Billy’s group defeats the Sharks, Jake will get depressed and decides that he’s as soon as once more alone as he at all times is. Later, it seems that Rui by no means got here house, so Billy and his pals go search for her. They discover her within the Sharks’ base (an deserted mine), however she’s being attacked by some form of robotic.

With the assistance of Eric they take down the robotic and rescue Rui. Later when the adults present up, Billy’s father appears to acknowledge the robotic however says nothing.

Chapter 1 – The Legend of the Hidden Treasure

The group decides that for at the moment’s journey, they are going to go to a close-by island to discover an deserted home. But how will they get to the island? They meet Silky on the seaside who reminds them that when the tide is down (like at the moment) they will merely stroll over there. Silky trails alongside as they discover the home — and occur upon the pirates!

They spy on Captain Gratz and his underlings Henry and Oyster. They’re a map displaying the placement of six emerald tablets. This makes Silky alarmed, and he or she insists that they need to steal the map. The different children are hesitant, however Silky costs in and manages to tear half of the map away. The children battle grunt pirates on their means out of the home.

The children escape by the forest and again to the mainland. Silky explains a legend: in olden occasions the gods and people lived collectively, however the gods turned birds and fish, and now a few of them reside in an underwater palace Dilm, the place one thing referred to as Tupshimaty exists, that may grant needs. They have to preserve sufficient of the emerald tablets from the pirates that they received’t get entry.

Chapter 2 – To the Island of Adventure

The subsequent day, Billy and his group got down to go to the islands marked on the map (I don’t keep in mind how they get a ship; I forgot to put in writing that down). Jake and Rui come alongside, however Jake decides that is none of his enterprise and leaves. Meanwhile, the pirates are pissed off. They need the half of the map again. A fourth member named Kars affords to kill the children, however Gratz turns him down — that goes in opposition to his pirate code.

The island segments might be executed in any order. In the primary one I did, we minimize the pill out of a tree — after everybody else leaves, Silky seems to speak to the tree, and apologizes earlier than therapeutic it. The second one entails beating up armor sharks — the children really feel unhealthy afterwards as a result of the sharks have been simply defending their space.

At the following islands, the robots from first chapter are again. A younger lady named Bell initially assaults the children considering they’re with them.

But as soon as the children drive off the robots, she relents. She was simply defending her “god”, and provides up the emerald pill. She then disappears, leaving solely a skeleton behind…

Meanwhile, a bit of child named Elrich, who a commander from an Empire, is heading to the island for an as-of-yet unknown purpose.

The last emerald pill on the children’ map is on the high of a mountain, however the pirates handle to search out them and chase them up the mountain. Of course the children handle to beat the pirates up as standard and get the pill.

Now the pirates have kidnapped Phillip, a weak, traitorous member of the Sharks (Jack’s gang). With little or no prompting he offers up the placement of Billy’s secret base, and the pirates go there to get the tablets…in fact they lose to the children, but once more.

Now there’s an interlude — Pack’s grandfather, who was as soon as a well-known adventurer, is sick. Pack desires to go to the mountain to discover a Veronica Flowers — a few years in the past his grandfather introduced some seeds again and planted them, and he thinks that if he can present one of many flowers to his grandfather he’ll really feel higher. Unfortunately they don’t develop nicely on this heat local weather.

At first they solely discover one, and Pack can’t convey himself to uproot the one flower remaining from his grandfather’s seeds. But then they discover that a complete bunch of them grew elsewhere, and he brings one again.

However, on the way in which again they meed Fredrick (the grandfather) who appears to have completely recovered. The different children head again to city, and Pack talks to his grandfather. Fredrick says he’s about to go on an extended journey together with his pals — Pack desires to go too, and Fredrick says that he’ll come again for Pack ultimately, when Pack is able to go. He additionally tells Pack to not come to the harbor tomorrow, as a result of it’s unhealthy luck to see off a sailor whereas crying. Pack heads again house. The subsequent day, the grandfather is discovered lifeless in his mattress, and the funeral happens, though Pack doesn’t attend.

Next the pirates faux a circus to attempt to entice the children…it doesn’t actually work, although, as a result of Billy and his gang don’t know what a circus is. Eventually they simply need to strongarm the children into the tent and assault them. As standard the children beat them up, however within the ensuing chaos, Silky is captured. Later a letter comes for the children saying that if they need Silky again, they’ve to surrender the Emerald Tablets they’ve.

I’m going to cease there so this publish doesn’t get too lengthy — I’ll publish the opposite two chapters quickly, possibly tomorrow, or Monday on the newest. It’s actually a disgrace that the gameplay was so unhealthy or this might be an all-time basic, I believe.