Torneko: The Last Hope

World of Dragon Warrior: Torneko: The Last Hope[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix in both Japan and North America in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

Torneko: The Last Hope
North American boxart
Developer(s)Chunsoft
Matrix Software[1]
Publisher(s)Enix
Director(s)Fukashi Omorita
Yasuhiro Ohori
Kenji Orimo
Producer(s)Seiichiro Nagahata
Designer(s)Yuji Horii
Programmer(s)Masayasu Yamamoto
Artist(s)Akira Toriyama[2]
Writer(s)Kazuya Asano
Ichiro Tezuka
Composer(s)Koichi Sugiyama
SeriesMystery Dungeon
Platform(s)PlayStation, Game Boy Advance
ReleasePlayStation
  • JP: September 15, 1999
  • NA: November 15, 2000
Game Boy Advance
  • JP: December 20, 2001
Genre(s)Role-playing video game, roguelike
Mode(s)Single-player

Torneko: The Last Hope is a spin-off title of the Dragon Quest franchise and the second Mystery Dungeon game to star the Dragon Quest IV character Torneko. It is also the second game in the Mystery Dungeon series to be released in North America, after Chocobo's Dungeon 2. Like in Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon, Torneko (or Taloon, as he was known in Dragon Warrior IV) explores dungeons in search of items, while fighting hordes of monsters.[3]

In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001, renamed Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibouken 2 Advance[lower-alpha 2].

Gameplay

The game is done with two dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective of the games activities.[4] The main gameplay involves Torneko exploring mazelike dungeons in search of items.[5] When players first start conquering dungeons, Torneko continuously returns to level one strength and loses all his items until he rebuilds his storehouse.[5] Temporary saves are sometimes allowed mid-dungeon, but these are erased as soon as players resume play.[5] Combat against monsters is turn-based, with player and enemies alternating movements and actions.[5] Tornkeo can attack with close range weapons like swords, long range like bow and arrow, or magic spells summoned with a wand or scroll.[5] Torneko also has a hunger meter which causes him to lose health if he does not eat bread.[5] During his exploration, Torneko can discover treasure and magic items.[2]

Plot

Torneko returns to his village after the events of Dragon Warrior 4 and is forced to help cure his village of a curse that has been placed upon it.[2]

Development

On April 18, 2000, Enix announced its first three games to be made for the original PlayStation, of which Torneko: The Last Hope was one.[2] The game features 130 hand drawn monsters.[2]

A 2013 news article wrote that based on forum posts by Doug Dinsdale, one of the game's editors, The Last Hope was only localized in the United States because of the passion of the translation team and their agreement to work for much less than normal.[6] In a 2020 interview, Dinsdale clarified that the localization team largely consisted of himself; according to him, the original translation company "made a total mess of things", produced no usable text, and wasted most of the budget and deadline, so he personally with his editor and kids finished the work in three weeks.[7]

Music

The musical score for Torneko: The Last Hope was composed by Dragon Quest series composer, Koichi Sugiyama.[8] The original game soundtrack from the PlayStation version was released by SPE Visual Works on January 21, 2000, in Japan on a single 21-track disc.[8]

Reception

Torneko: The Last Hope was a financial and critical success in Japan. The PlayStation version of the game sold over 578,000 copies in Japan the year of its release.[18] The Game Boy Advance version of the game had sold over 181,000 units in Japan by 2007.[19] Famitsu gave the game a score of 37 out of 40 for the PS version,[12] and all four nines for a total of 36 out of 40 for the GBA version.[11][20][21] Additionally, the game was voted by the publication as number 31 in its top 100 PlayStation games of all time.[22] The game was also nominated for “Game of the Year” by CESA.[14]

The PlayStation version of Torneko: The Last Hope did not sell well in North America[23] and received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9] RPGFan called the game "frustratingly difficult," but said that its "addictive gameplay elements and top-notch soundtrack" make it a marvelous game.[24] GameSpot said that a lot of role-playing game players would be turned off by its lack of story and randomly generated dungeons, but those who are looking for some lighter fare of role-playing game may like it.[5] Other critics scored the game much lower, however. Game Informer called it "an outdated, ugly piece of crap whose silly antics will charm no one. There are so many better RPGs out there."[13] Eric Bratcher reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "A primitive, turn-based dungeon crawler that takes so many cheap shots it could tick off a Buddhist monk."[15] RPGamer rated the game 7 out of 10, and called the game simple but fun, and was mostly for those who already like rogue like games with randomized dungeons.[4] They did, however, find the game to have amusing dialogue and the music for each dungeon matches it “remarkably well”.[4]

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 - Fushigi no Dungeon (ドラゴンクエスト・キャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2 ～不思議のダンジョン～, Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu・Torneko no Daibōken 2 ～Fushigi no Danjon～, lit. Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 - Mystery Dungeon)
  2. Known in Japan as Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibouken 2 Advance: Fushigi no Dungeon (ドラゴンクエストキャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2アドバンス 不思議のダンジョン, Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu Torneko no Daibōken 2 Adobansu Fushigi no Danjon, lit. Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 Advance: Mystery Dungeon)

References
  1. "株式会社マトリックス/製品/PS/トルネコの大冒険2　不思議のダンジョン" (in Japanese). Matrix Software. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  2. IGN Staff (April 18, 2000). "Enix America Announces First PlayStation Games". IGN. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  3. "Torneko: The Last Hope". Rotten Tomatoes. 2000. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  4. Tidwell, Mikel (January 1, 2001). "Torneko: The Last Hope - Review". RPGamer. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. Gerstmann, Jeff (December 1, 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  6. Parish, Jeremy (August 21, 2013). "The New Dark Age of Dragon Quest". US Gamer. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  7. DRAGON QUEST TRANSLATION & LOCALIZATION: INTERVIEW WITH NOB OGASAWARA
  8. Gann, Patrick (2000). "Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 ~Mysterious Dungeon~ OST". RPGFan. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  9. "Torneko: The Last Hope for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  10. Macdonald, Mark (January 2001). "Torneko: The Last Hope (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on January 26, 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  11. "ゲームボーイアドバンス - ドラゴンクエスト・キャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2アドバンス ~不思議のダンジョン~". Famitsu. 915: 117. June 30, 2006.
  12. "プレイステーション - ドラゴンクエスト・キャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2 ~不思議のダンジョン~". Famitsu. 915: 12. June 30, 2006.
  13. Reppen, Erik (December 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". Game Informer (92): 112. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  14. Zdyrko, David (December 12, 2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". IGN. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  15. Bratcher, Eric (January 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 1. Imagine Media. p. 108.
  16. "Torneko: The Last Hope". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. January 2001.
  17. "Review: Torneko: The Last Hope". PSM. January 2001.
  18. "1999 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  19. "Nintendo GBA Japanese Ranking". Japan-Game Charts. July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  20. Chinn, Marty (June 23, 2000). "Famitsu Top 120 PlayStation games". Gaming-Age. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  21. Cole, Michael (December 15, 2001). "Famitsu GBA Reviews". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  22. IGN staff (November 20, 2000). "Famitsu Weekly PlayStation Top 100". IGN. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  23. Kanzaki, Sumire; Sensei Phoenix; Uzuki, Citan (2001). "Enix Interview With John Laurence". RPGFan. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  24. Jedi Leroy (2000). "Torneko: The Last Hope". RPGFan. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
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