Finished Libros de Chilam Balam, a 1992 PC98 rpg by Right Stuff Corp.
The Books (Libros) of Chilam Balam are a
Mayan occult artifact and indeed occultism (Mayan prophecy mentioned in the books) is central to the plot. This game is a Wapanese rpg with a Wild West setting – which is quite unique (aside from Wild Arms, there aren’t any others).
The game is certainly very good looking for its time; it uses animu cutscenes that look way better than Phantasy Star 4 which came out two years later. There’s some p. cool detail in the game; it manages to capture the feel of quaint western town with saloons, newspaper service, corrals, etc.
Protagonists are two cowboys called Fred (Willfred R. Anderson, 17 years old) and Max (21 years old).
In the intro of the game (taking place 7 years before game events) a convoy led by Fred’s father is attacked by some weird cultist-like enemies because of what was transported – Max is the only survivor of the attack, partially loses his memory and returns to town only two years later.
The game story begins 5 years later. Some weird guys show up asking about the brothers’ father and turns out Fred’s sweetheart Christina is kidnapped and they demanded his father’s antique gun as ransom. Fred eventually gets Christina back but loses his father’s gun and decides to chase after it (the gun ultimately turns out to be an important occult artifact).
Aside from Max (who can actually dual-wield pistols unlike Fred who’s a single-hander), Fred gains a mestize shotgun toting party member early in the game called Edward Bradford.
Combat is p. fast-paced and very reminiscent of Phantasy Star 2 which I liked very much. During combat there is usually a front and back row; enemies in back row will take less damage if attacked (unless they’re shot by a rifle) but will move to front row when the front row is defeated.
The weapons in the game are handguns, shotguns and rifles but there are also various throwing weapons, bows and eventually magic. There’s a need to buy bullets & weapons can be modded increasing range, damage, accuracy, etc. Every character also has a weapon skill level that increases as they level up.
Edward with shotgun can hit an entire row while pistol users are single target. Though as the game progresses conventional weapons become less and less effective as opposed to magic. Luckily later on Fred’s old man’s antique gun turns out to be especially effective against supernatural enemies.
Christina becomes a party member for a while but leaves the party almost as quickly as she joins (she’s a very minor character despite her presence on the game cover). Tough luck if you spent some time leveling and equipping her (new party members usually start at level 1). She is replaced by a rifle wielding US Army officer.
There’s actually quite a big cast of party members in the game; on the way to Texas the same mysterious enemies that appear in the prologue attack and Max dies pierced by an arrow. The enemies are immune to gunfire but an Indian (Native American) girl - whose arrows can hurt the enemies - appears and saves everyone. She reveals that the assailants are descendants of a “snake god”. They can’t be hurt by most weapons because of their divine blood.
The Indian girl is called Luka/Ruka and when she joins she shares a scroll that allows party members to cast magic. She escaped the snakemen who were going to sacrifice her and is looking for her father after her village was torched by the same snakemen. Initially her bow is the only weapon that can hurt supernatural enemies.
Not long after arrival in Mexico Richard dies and mentions a mask to Fred before dying. Edward rejoins the group a bit later along with an occult expert and magic user named Roger. At this point there are a lot of Mayan ruins to be explored, ultimately the group ends up in Yucatan (and beyond…) where both Edward and Roger kick the bucket.
Beyond Yucatan the game takes a pause from the dark & gritty involvements and becomes rather light-hearted. Fred and Ruka enter the “dream world” and find themselves in a literal witch forest and gain a new party member called Vivian who uses the rather unique “cat magic”.
This “dream world” is a full fantasy parallel world but the game doesn’t last long enough to fully explore it. Sylvia, colleague of Roger, is recruited here as final party member and only at this point the grand design is revealed.
The gist is that the Big Bad is the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca wants to return to Earth. Fred’s father was transporting a mask essential for Tezcatlipoca’s return which is the reason why he was attacked by them snakemen (who are of Tezcatlipoca’s blood). Fred’s old man’s antique gun is an artifact that has the power to destroy the mask.
Later it turns out Max is still alive and has been a traitor in cahoots with Ruka’s father from the very beginning. Moreover Fred’s waifu was again kidnapped since she is the needed sacrifice to restore Tezcatlipoca. After saving her again she becomes party member until the end of the game.
The events before the end of the game are kind of a rollercoaster with another party member dying, a previously dead party member returning and Fred’s waifu who nary had any effect on the game storyline turning out to be the most important character of all.
Though Max is the final boss, the true power behind the mask manipulating Max turns out to be Nyarlathotep, the god “with a thousand forms”. But Fred destroys the mask with his old man’s gun while Christina blows up the entire Mayan ruin.
Overall the story is quite enjoyable with a lot of twists and turns. To further the storyline there’s usually a lot of talking or reading required (and on occasion, some adventure game like pixel hunting). A nice touch is also that at any moment Fred can consult with party members who will comment on what’s going on (also some fun banter).
Also props to the music which was p. decent throughout.
Taking everything into account, p. great game.
Also found some stuff from the manual: