Elemental Gimmick Gear

by Vatical Entertainment

Product Details

• ASIN: B00003O9KF
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,744 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Do you remember the great, older action-RPGs like The Legend of Zelda for the SNES or Legend of Oasis for the Saturn? Elemental Gimmick Gear for the Sega Dreamcast is one of those titles that definitely returns to the basics of action-RPG. Like the classic games, you'll jump, run, and attack while acquiring different items and magic in a 2D map rich with colorful, beautiful backgrounds. The story begins when archaeologists discover an egg-shaped robot and a pilot at an ancient structure that dates back more than five thousand years. Engineers successfully replicate the robot for mass production and call it Elemental Gimmick Gear or E.G.G. for short. E.G.G. eventually becomes a part of everyday life, taking on extreme physical tasks so the human race can take it easy. But the pilot who was discovered in the original E.G.G. is still asleep (hence, his name, the Sleeping Man), and all attempts to wake him have failed. Five hundred years have passed, and the ancient structure has been dubbed the Fogna, a place where scientists continue their excavation, and treasure hunters risk their lives in hopes of finding buried treasure. But instead of finding treasure, the treasure hunters trigger a switch that causes mass destruction, shaking the earth and causing huge tentacles to spread across the continent, destroying everything in their path. All this commotion causes the Sleeping Man to wake up and hop in his E.G.G., hoping to regain his lost memory and find out what lies beneath the Fogna. The game was developed by Birthday and was originally planned for a release on the Sega Saturn console. It's good the game has retained its Saturn-esque image, but it adds flavor with an additional gameplay element that uses the hardware capabilities of the Dreamcast console. You will usually move across town and through dungeons in a 2D map reminiscent of the hand-drawn picture-book style found in Square's SaGa Frontier. 3D battles occur only on occasion, usually when you encounter a boss inside a dungeon. The 2D-world graphics are very colorful and detailed, though it makes it easy to get lost. The characters and enemies are all in 2D sprites, while polygon models are used in the 3D battles. Although the graphics are simple first-generation Dreamcast graphics, the movements and controls are seamlessly smooth. The game also features FMV sequences in between gameplay, as well. Miki Takahama did the artwork for the game. His previous work includes the Japanese live-action flick Gamera 3. Unfortunately, the artwork doesn't seem to have been used very well. The clashing styles between the midget-sized characters and their respective face icons (used during dialogue) cause a bit of confusion. The mech design of the E.G.G. is neither new nor unique. It's quite reminiscent of the mech design found in series like Sakura Wars. Finally, the story and the characters fall short, lacking well-established and complex characters. It might seem strange for an RPG, but what saves E.G.G. from being below average isn't its story or characters; it's the gameplay that picks up some of the slack. The basic attack consists of either a punch or a spin. While spinning, you can move faster across the field, attacking enemies all the while and even becoming impervious to certain enemy attacks. The only drawback is that spinning causes your hit points to slowly drop, so you can't use it all the time. You will later gain special items, which let your E.G.G. cast spells like fireball, ice beam, earthquake, and plasma beam. Other special items do things like teleport out of the dungeon, recover hit points, carry heavy blocks, or cross broken bridges. All these actions and movements can be done in the 3D battle mode, as well; the only difference is that your point of view will change from top-view 2D to front-view 3D. The gameworld is not as big as you'd expect from an RPG. You'll only come across one or two very small towns. There are several dungeons spread throughout the game, such as the tower called Metal Heaven. But the dungeon you will be exploring most of the time is the ancient structure Fogna, which consists of several floors with different entrances and exits located in different parts of the world. As the game progresses, you will gain access to deeper levels in the dungeon. Although you will travel across the same sections several times, the common enemies will get stronger as you defeat bosses. --Ike Sato
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Manufacturer Description

While digging through the ancient ruins, archeologists found a sleeping man iside an egg-shaped machine. Though the scientist couldn't wake up the Sleeper, they were able to reproduce his machine which people started calling Elemental Gimmick Gear, or EGG. A wide variety of EGGs have been manufactured for civilian and military use.

One hundred years after discovery of the Sleeper, something goes terribly wrong, destroying the city and the people. The Sleeper awakes and leaves the laboratory. As the Sleeper, you try to save the city of Fogna and learn what went wrong.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fighting Armored E.G.G.'s? Hey,..they made it work!, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Elemental Gimmick Gear (Video Game)

At first glance you see EGG in the game store and think to yourself "NEXT! " I did too, figuring it to be some goofy game catering to children and poeple like my little cousins. But I took a second hard look at it, and I'm glad I did. Although it's story and sequences of events technically makes it a RPG game--the actual feel during most of the interaction is more like Golden Axe only it's screen is not limited to scrolling just left to right. And the viewing angle is quite a bit further away. The enemies vary from little cute critters,(after smashing one you feel slightly ruthless) to mutated spiders, and other E.G.G.'s.(these you SHOULD be ruthless with). During fights with certain special enemies though there is a very realistic 3D combat mode that you enter into. I was constantly impressed by the way it makes you feel like you're one with the action, part of the game even. As far as the storyline goes, it's a pretty simple idea. You are Sleepman(I hope they call it something in the US version-either way they let you rename yourself once the game starts) who has just awoken from a several century nap. And of course, you don't remember anything. The idea might be old but when you play E.G.G. you'll see that they did an excellent job of dusting it off and evolving the story into a very interesting tale with some twists to it. I haven't finished it yet(haven't even scratched the surface) so I don't know what other surprises have yet to be revealed. But so far, the farther I get into E.G.G. the more satisfied I am that I picked it up. And I'll be looking for EGG2. Jya ne.(Japanese "see you later)

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars egg, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Elemental Gimmick Gear (Video Game)

As the story begins, a group of workers uncover a strange machine from an ancient ruin. Within the machine's cockpit, they find a man, in a slumber of some sort. Taking note of the, strangely, spiritual feel surrounding the machine, the diggers flee the area in a panic.

The machine is pulled form the ruins using man-made vehicles, and is given the name Elemental Gimmick Gear, and it's pilot, Sleeper. Soon, mankind develops copy-cat EGGs, similar to the original, and use them as vehicles. So it remains for the next 100-or-so years, the sleeper in his perpetual slumber as humanity progressing with the EGG as a new tool.

One day, a group of EGGs are exploring the ruins where the original EGG was found, and they manage to activate a device of some sort. Suddenly, the ruins explode with life. Tentacles extend violently from the dome-shaped exterior, tearing into the ground, destroying buildings, streets, and forests. A thick fog surrounds the ruins, and people come to know it as Fogna.

So begins Elemental Gimmick Gear. The Sleeper wakes up under the care of Selen, and is given the name Leon (you can actually choose your own name, if you're into that sort of thing). Leon is unaware of his identity, and remembers nothing of his past, so Selen suggests that he head out to Fogna, which is as close to a home as one could possibly hope to find at that point. Leon equips his original Elemental Gimmick Gear, and heads off into the game world.

EGG survives on its gameplay alone, much as the old 2D Zelda games could get by with a simple story involving Link's attempts at saving the princess. EGG, with its overhead perspective, will actually make you think of a 16 bit RPG - or, more recently, games like Alundra, Shining Wisdom, and Neutopia (okay, okay . . . Neutopia is actually from the 16 bit era - I just couldn't resist the chance to mention it). As in those games, you travel about the markedly different overworld and underworld sections of the game, fighting baddies and solving puzzles as you attempt to advance further.

EGG gives you plenty of control over the main character. Your primary means of attack is a teeny-tiny punch, but you can also block, and spin around like a top, taking out any enemies which lay in your path. You'll also find yourself, at times, exiting your EGG and walking around without arms. As you progress, you'll gain a grappling hook for pulling yourself across chasms, a fire attack for burning enemies and ice blocks, an ice attack for freezing enemies and areas of water, and more. You can also grab power ups along the way, raising your attack, defense, and "mind" abilities.

Despite all these features, the overhead action system is the main complaint I have against the game. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, if more thought had been put in this area, the great Miyamoto himself would overwhelm Birthday with his praise over the game. The punch attack is just too basic, and it never seems to be fast enough to actually prevent you from being struck by your opponent. I think a combo of some sort would be welcome. As it stands, much of my experience with the overhead action was punch - get hit - punch - get hit . . . over and over, until someone emerged victorious. The spin attack isn't much of an option, unfortunately, as it drains energy and takes too long to start up. Sure, the game is very liberal in giving you energy restoration power ups (the enemies drop items when you kill them), but it seems like the developers should have concentrated on squeezing a bit more from the dated battle system. I have a feeling that many people are going to find themselves, rightfully, frustrated.

If you can ignore that, though, you'll find a game worthy of comparisons to Zelda. The game's brilliance lay in the puzzles that are encountered in the dungeons, and how you're required to make use of every item and accessory in your arsenal. You'll push blocks onto switches in order to open doors, melt ice blocks in order to advance through tight passageways, and have to work with conveyor belts, changing the directions over and over again until you get across. It's classic action/RPG gaming, the likes of which you're probably not going to see on the Dreamcast for a long time coming.

There are some truly inventive puzzles throughout the game that go beyond the simple pull the lever and cover the switch thing. You'll sometimes have to freeze enemies in order to use them as blocks. Sure, this is just a minor twist to the push-the-block thing, but it feels infinitely cooler. Instead of using bombs to break through dubious cracked walls, you need to make EGG spin, and slam into the wall. You can also use EGG's spinning form to travel through chutes, and can hop into cannons and flowers in order to blast yourself to different sections of the dungeon. What's more, these puzzles aren't just scattered about here and there. Instead, they're strung together one after the other throughout the course of the dungeon. It's not as involved as in something like Legend of Oasis, but getting through these things still manages to bring a rewarding feeling.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad yolk nor an omelette..., March 23, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Elemental Gimmick Gear (Video Game)

Here's a pretty cool old-school RPG adventure with some decent 3D action thrown in for good measure. It's not as good as, say, Square Soft's offerings on Playstation, but it's pretty good nonetheless. E.G.G. offers a unique quest with 3D battle sequences, and it remains a treat to play, even if it gets a little boring in parts. Don't be thrown off by its weird name or its old-school 2-D appearance, because you'll find plenty to enjoy here if RPG is your thing. It'll get slaughtered the second Time Stalkers and Eternal Arkadia arrive, though...old-school can only last so long. At least the Easter Bunny didn't show up anywhere in the game. Pretty good stuff.