Twinkle Tale Longplay (Sega Genesis) [English Patch]
170Game Info
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Developer: Wonder Amusement Studio
Publisher: Toyo Recording
Year of Release: 1992
Game Review & Impressions
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You can't always judge a book by its cover, and that's certainly true of Twinkle Tale, released in 1992 for the Sega Genesis. Anyone looking at still images of the game could be excused for mistaking this Japan-only release for a JRPG, but it's actually a shoot 'em up, feeling something like a blend of Elemental Master and Mercs. Kudos goes to Jon Najar for creating the English translation patch so a wider audience can enjoy the game's story. There's a lot of written text in this game, both in the into sequence and delivered as dialogue by characters during the game itself, so this must have taken some time to put together.
I'm not going to go into the story here, other than to say you assume control of Saria, a witch with magical powers who must save the kingdom of Alpherion from the threat of an evil demon. Saria must battle her way through 6 stages, most of which are actually quite lengthy, blasting skeletons, troglodytes and sentient suits of armour with a variety of magical abilities. Saria has 3 different primary spells available, each with a different type of shot pattern and level of destructive ability. Each spell can be upgraded in power by collecting star tokens, increasing the number of projectiles fired, which gives a huge advantage when dealing with the various enemies and bosses you'll encounter. Rounding out Saria's mystical abilities is a pair of screen-clearing smart bomb-like spells, effective at getting you out of sticky situations.
If I'm being honest, Twinkle Tale doesn't make for a particularly exciting shoot 'em up. The stages in which you roam around on foot are still prescriptive experiences and, despite the occasional side room, it's still a mostly linear affair. While you might discover branching paths during certain sections of each stage, the discrepancies between these paths in gameplay terms are brief and mostly inconsequential; you might find a couple of bonus items, but that's about it.
Where the game truly excels, however, is the art department, because the graphics and art direction are exemplary; Twinkle Tale is really quite stunning to behold. The quality of the pixel art, artistic design and use of colour is incredibly impressive and, dare I say it, one of the best looking games in the Genesis library. The level of detail worked into character sprites and background graphics is some of the best, at least in my opinion, from this generation of home console hardware. It's certainly what kept me engaged throughout the course of the game, and it's the main reason you should give this game a try.
Video Notes
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Recorded using English fan translation patch
Chapters
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00:00 Intro
04:53 Stage 1: Talon Plain
13:39 Stage 2: Vine Ravine
23:20 Stage 3: Rield's Cave
29:53 Stage 4: Elan Castle
37:19 Stage 5: Zard Mountain Range
44:21 Stage 6: Diamond Palace
53:46 Ending