One of the Most Beautiful Games on First Xbox; Saw as Revolution, but Ultimately Forgotten
This game, released on the first Xbox, is hailed as one of the most beautiful games of its generation. Even today, after 20 years since its release, it still holds up.
Table of Contents:
Not every production that has a good reputation must achieve commercial success, even if a giant like Microsoft was involved in its development. A perfect example of this phenomena is Sudeki, an action game with RPG elements, which was characterized by great visuals, a large dose of combat, a linear but interesting plot, and a combination of cuteness with savage moments. The history of its development has been surprisingly turbulent.
The chaotic history behind the development of Sudeki
It's worth starting the story about Sudeki with the fact that Microsoft wanted to offer a game on the Xbox Classic that would attract players who like JRPG titles. Climax Studios was responsible for developing Sudeki. Interestingly, the developers initially planned to release the game on the Dreamcast console, and at that time, it was supposed to be called Symphony of Light. The developer was inspired by the classics of the JRPG genre, such as the Mana series from Square (later Square Enix).
However, since the Dreamcast wasn't a popular platform at the time, Climax Studio decided to release the game on the PlayStation 2. After a while, Microsoft got interested in the title. They wanted to enter the market with their first Xbox console and wanted a game for JRPG fans to be on it. The game was supposed to be titled Suteki, which can be translated from Japanese as "wonderful/beautiful." However, somewhere along the line of communication between Microsoft and Climax Studios, was a misunderstanding, and the game was titled Sudeki.
The title appeared on Xbox Classic on August 27, 2004 under the Microsoft Game Studios banner, and on PC less than a year later, on April 13, 2005.
Different approach
It must be admitted that the studio developed a bold title because it combines JRPG with FPS elements, logical puzzles, and the ability to perform combos. The protagonist is named Tal, a young warrior who we meet at the beginning of the adventure. He wakes up, realizing that he overslept for the training led by General Arlo, the demanding and bitter father of the boy. As you progress, you'll be able to unlock the remaining three characters: princess Ailish, the scientist Elco, and Buki, a warrior who wields blades and has a fondness for wearing provocative outfits.
During the game, we occasionally have access to one of the two-person teams, or we fight with the entire crew. The game allows you to choose a character that you can control. In the case of Tala and Buki, we play in third person, and we have access to combos. These combos can be performed by pressing the left or right mouse button at the right time. By choosing Ailish or Elco, the game changes to an FPS, which is an interesting feature. Every character has access to offensive and defensive skills, which can be unlocked after reaching a new level. The statistics of a particular character can also be increased, and as if that wasn't enough, runes can be inserted into weapons and armor to increase effectiveness in battle.
The game looks good even today
At the time of its release, Sudeki was characterized by its nice graphics, and it can be conceded that even today it looks very decent. The character designs are quite angular and exaggerated, but the world, landscapes, and architecture are of a very impressive quality. This colorful, sometimes even gooey, setting contrasts sharply with brutality, illustrated by sights such as people being dismembered or enemies falling to pieces during combat.
The downside is the frequent backtracking, which forces you to traverse the same terrains and fight the same battles, sometimes in such great numbers that they may become boring. Overall, Sudeki won the hearts of many players, but not enough to achieve financial success. The title wasn't heavily advertised, which affected the number of copies sold. By the way, I found out about Sudeki in one of the magazines.
An interesting fact is that many players weren't satisfied with the ending of Sudeki, which featured a short animation in the style of "good won and everyone lived happily ever after." As a result, one of the animators created a short film in which he was assisted by voice actors to show what happened right after the final fight. You can watch his work here.
Despite being almost 20 years old, the game is still available on Steam and has received many positive reviews. Based on the reviews, the title performs flawlessly on new systems. Unfortunately, you won't find this game on XSX.
