While translation-wise it wasn’t great at least it wasn’t a mess like in the Enix release of Quintet and Ancient’s Robotrek (Brain Lord first came out in Japan in January 1994 but didn’t arrive in American NTSC format until that October, while Slapstick arrived on the Super Famicom in July 1994 but also came in America as Robotrek that October). Don’t get me wrong, I like Robotrek enough for I do think it’s cute and quirky lighthearted fun but man that game’s translation makes me wince. But I digress.

Brain Lord’s biggest strength is its puzzle-solving aspect, I like how the myriad of plaques you read on the wall have different puzzles ranging from straightforward to complex, the dungeon designs are neat, and Opus’ Masanao Akahori’s soundtrack I do actually quite enjoy as it does give this game its own sense of life and atmosphere (the desert theme for when you venture towards the Ice Castle is haunting, and the Platinum Shrine is one of my all-time favorite final dungeon themes from any game). =) The Fairy Jade system is a good one, though I think they might reduce the game’s challenge a bit and I really only use four of them as the majority of them I’m not too keen on: Sarah the Power Jade, Golem the Foundation Jade, Pazun the Light Jade, and Ason the Life Jade.

I do enjoy platforming in this game, over the years I found myself relying more on the boomerang-style weapon for the game’s final stages due its sheer range, and maybe it’s me but this game doesn’t really feel like a Nintendo 16-bit game (maybe due to its presentation, the way its soundtrack is done, and the pulldown menu system). Not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing, but it is fascinating in this respect.

Last year I imported the original Super Famicom version after years of playing the NTSC SNES version, and while the game on the whole was the same there were differences that made it worth comparing and contrasting: Remeer’s in-game hair was blue as opposed to brown (even though in the Super Famicom cover and concept art his hair is brown), the weapon potency was doubled while in the American version it was halved, the three sorceress’ place has a Judaism symbol removed in the American version, and the room where you first confront Ramus and fight his ghouls were different as in the Japanese version it was a straight solid line sandwiched by two icy halves with no holes to fall into while in the American version the floor was all icy with four holes. I prefer the Japanese version but the American version is still good in its own right.

I solved all the puzzles on my own the first time around except two: the first one was due to a mistranslation (“the puzzle is in the pillar”–turns out I had to push the wall around it to reveal a door, never mind that a wall and a pillar are not the same thing) and the second one I’m not sure how anyone would’ve gotten without looking it up (“the key is in the Control Pad”). Every time since I’ve had no problem solving the plaques’ puzzles, and the more I played it the easier and shorter it got to the point where I can beat it in one life.

And regarding one of the enemies sounding like they’re shouting the f-bomb when being attacked (in either version): yeah, it does sound similar now that you mention it. I mean, wow! XD

Keep up the great work, RVGSteve, to each their own =)