Beyond the Beyond

For the manga series of the same name, see Beyond the Beyond (manga).

Beyond the Beyond
Developer(s)	Camelot Software Planning
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	November 3, 1995 (JP) August 31, 1996 (NA)
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player

Beyond the Beyond is a console role-playing game that was developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in 1995. Beyond the Beyond was the first traditional console role-playing game available for the PlayStation.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Beyond the Beyond is, for the most part, standard for a console role-playing game. However, the turn-based battle system does contain one feature that was not standard in console role-playing games of the time. Dubbed the "Active Playing System", this feature allows the player to increase the chances of either landing an improved attack on an enemy or defending from an enemy attack by pressing the X button at the correct time during battle.

Beyond the Beyond, unlike most RPGs of the PSX era, offers more side quests and three secret characters. It is also longer than most PSX offerings, with total gameplay time averaging between 124 and 144 hours. It has been argued that the gameplay time is extended due mostly to long and complex dungeons, frequent random encounters, and the steep difficulty of bosses.

Plot

Long ago in the world of Beyond the Beyond, a battle raged between the 'Beings of Light' and the 'Warlocks of the Underworld'. Before the planet was destroyed, the two sides signed a treaty leaving the surface world to the Beings of Light and underground to the Warlocks. After hundreds of years of peace, inexplicable happenings begin to occur. The player must control Finn, a young swordsman, to stop the evil power that has broken the treaty and invaded the surface world.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Motoi Sakuraba, who is well-known for his work on other Camelot Soft titles such as Shining Force III and the Golden Sun series along with other series' such as Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile. The music did not take advantage of pre-recorded redbook audio, instead relying on the MIDI format.

Characters

Playable

• Finn - the 14-year-old main character, in training to become a knight after his mother's death.
• Steiner - a baby dragon that Finn keeps and has the potential to assist in battle. Will become extremely useful when you get a upgrade for him, which turns him into a fully grown dragon.
• Annie - a 13-year-old friend of Finn's and daughter of Galahad, she fills the healing role during the game as a Cleric. It is implied that she has a crush on Finn.
• Percy - a 20-year-old knight at Marion Castle and Annie's older brother, he "died" in the first few parts of the story before coming back as a secret character. Although not a better fighter than Finn in the first part, Percy will return as a much stronger Dark knight.
• Samson - revered for his bravery, the 32-year-old soldier is cursed at the beginning of the game, making him the weakest character, but once the curse is lifted by Zeon, his strength stats will grow tremendously fast.
• Edward - a 13-year-old magician, he is the prince of Marion and your best magic user.he specializes elemental spells and summoning, he also has the highest mp (higher than Tont and Annie) and when you get the upgrade he will become your fastest character.
• Domino - a 28-year-old pirate collecting treasure throughout the world, joins the party in order to pay for his debt to Finn, who saved his life.
• Tont - a young summoner who is living with his parents in the Village of Simone, he was accidentally transformed into anthropomorphic blob by a potion and returned to normal by the end of the game. Second best magic user who specializes summoning and support magic.
• Lorelei - a monk and the Princess of the kingdom of Barbaros, her speed stats are slightly higher than Edward, the fastest character.

Non-Playable

• Galahad - the 50-year-old former leader of Marion's knights, Finn's guardian and father of Percy and Annie.
• Kevins - at age 39, he is leader of the Marion Knights and as such was forced to entrust his son Finn to Galahad's care, he supposedly sacrificed himself by staying in hell at the end of the game to prevent Akkadias's forces from invading the surface, but was brought back to the surface by Finn, who flew to the underworld on Steiner to save him.
• Shutat - a mysterious man serving directly under the emperor of Bandore, he was taken over by an evil being named Akkadias.
• Ramue - a cold-hearted witch reporting directly to Shutat, she has strong magical abilities. She places a curse on Samson in Marion to render him weak, in order to make the heroes appear as frauds to Zalagoon's king.
• Dagoot - another of Shutat's 3 generals, he is an expert in archery.
• Yeon - a strange goblin-like being, he is the last of Shutat's generals and has magic rivaling that of Ramue, he is a minion of Akkadias sent to monitor Shutat.
• Zeon - the Village chief of Simone as well as the strongest magician in the world.
• Glade - adviser to the king of Zalagoon, he betrayed Zalagoon with the Bandore forces by using Samson's curse against the party, but once his scheme is exposed, he went insane with fear and turned himself into a monster with Shutat's pill.

Reception

Despite being almost universally panned by critics, Beyond the Beyond has nevertheless garnered a certain amount of underground praise from fans on the Internet. The game maintains a 44.4% average rating on GameRankings, pooling reviews from 8 separate online sources, and was most harshly criticized by the Official PlayStation Magazine receiving the lowest possible score of 0.5 out of 5.

External links

• Beyond the Beyond at MobyGames
• Template:GameFAQs