For those that missed the initial rumblings about this actively retro RPG I’ll start right at the beginning. Initially called The Tavern RPG, the game that would eventually become Pier Solar & The Great Architects began as a simple thought piece on a home-brew gaming forum. It quickly picked up speed and with a set team in place and a custom-built engine the game makers could set down their aspirations. The most striking of which is that they didn’t want this to be just any anachronistic RPG made for emulators or, at best, Xbox store. They wanted this to be the real deal. So the decision was made to not make a Mega Drive style game, but an actual cartridge, built for the Mega Drive (or Genesis, if you prefer).
Of course, this created a huge buzz in the community and by the time the Pier Solar title was announced in 2008 jaws were nashing with anticipation. Demos followed and, after suffering delays, the full Pier Solar & The Great Architects was released in 2010. The game was released in full cartridge form with beautifully retro card board packaging, posters, game manual and for those that could make use of it, a Mega-CD. For men and women all over the world the nostalgia was almost to much to bare. It was like Christmas circa 1992 all over again.
But what about the actual game? Well most ways you look at it Pier Solar was a success. It perfectly captured the spirit of now classic RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Mother and Lunar. The mechanics were all there down to the most frustrating details like unfair random battles and sluggish experience points gathering. Statements like that are not complaints, that’s how these games were made and the torture is just an accepted part of it. However you could tell there were some unintentional deficiencies. While some parts of the game were as beautiful as you could ever imagine sprites to be others, like some of the main characters, were annoyingly squashed and unfinished. The story felt rushed and under developed which really is one of the worst things to say about an RPG. To put it simply Pier Solar & The Great Architects was a fantastic piece of nostalgia but as a game didn’t always live up to the fanfare.
However, the potential was obvious. Even taken out of its cardboard casing and away from its period clothing it was clear that developers WaterMelon were capable of making a solid and heart warming game. So it wasn’t surprising when news surfaced that the title was going to get a souped up, console spanning release. Many were eager to see what the title could do away from the novelty market and though WaterMelon have registered some frustrating delays it seems that Pier Solar HD will get a concrete release date in the coming weeks. The game is expected to appear on the PS4, Xbox One, Android, PC and Mac. And just to give a knowing nod to its roots the game is even to have a release on the Sega Dreamcast.
The newly worked version will include a huge graphic upgrade, reworked battle system, save changes and an extended story. No doubt many of the kinks in the original title will have been ironed out making this a title well worth looking forward to. If you like your RPGs to have a sprinkle of yesteryear but still want them to work on your hi-def screen then Pier Solar HD may just be the next great game for you.
