30多年前的“缝合怪”竟是无数玩家公认的神作？

如今的游戏若想做得有趣并获得玩家认可，着实颇具难度。毕竟发展至今，各类游戏类型的界限已逐渐模糊，常常能在一款游戏中寻到其他游戏的踪迹。于是，游戏厂商顺势而为，众多“缝合怪”产品纷至沓来。不过，玩家们更在意的并非融合了哪些元素，只要融合得恰到好处，还是能够接受的。这便是“好消息，全缝了”这一梗能在游戏圈流传至今的缘由。

早在30多年前，有一个曾在SFC平台被埋没的品牌。它自身品质卓越，玩法丰富且有深度，可惜在当年众多大作的映衬下并不出众。然而，玩过的粉丝对其赞不绝口、念念不忘，这就是解谜RPG神作《四狂神战记》。

1993年在日本成立的游戏开发商neverland，这个名字对新玩家而言或许较为陌生。其最知名的作品当属NDS掌机上的《符文工房》（Rune Factory），而最早的作品则是1993年6月25日在SFC主机发售的《四狂神战记》（Estpolis，Lufia & the Fortress of Doom）。

游戏的故事围绕“四狂神”（Sinistrals）展开。四位邪恶的魔王道斯（Daos）、亚蒙（Amon）、埃里姆（Erim）、盖德（Gades），企图在全世界散播恐怖与混乱。他们盘踞在一座名为“末日堡垒”（Fortress of Doom）的浮岛上。为拯救世界，同样是四位勇者马克西姆（Maxim）、塞兰（Selan）、阿尔蒂亚（Artea）、盖伊（Guy），踏上冒险之旅，前往末日堡垒。经过一番苦战，四狂神被击败，但浮岛开始坍塌。战斗导致的虚弱使塞兰无法行动，马克西姆选择留下来陪伴她，最终两人双双牺牲，阿尔蒂亚和盖伊惊险逃离。

时间来到99年后，玩家扮演的主角与神秘女孩卢菲娅（Lufia）登场。主角是英雄马克西姆的后代，两人一同在阿莱基亚（Alekia）小镇长大，是极为亲密的好友。附近的雪兰（Sheran）王国遭到怪物袭击，传言其首领酷似曾经的四狂神之一盖德。作为马克西姆的后代，主角亲自调查雪兰袭击事件，发现幕后黑手果然是盖德。在雪兰，双方展开了一场激烈战斗，我方被轻松击败，侥幸存活。为再次击败四狂神，主角一行人开启了冒险征程。

本作采用经典的JRPG玩法，玩家在世界地图上移动探索，进入城镇等场景，与形形色色的NPC交谈、收集、交易、接任务，通过不断推进主线剧情，最终完成拯救世界的使命。角色可通过战斗获取经验值并升级，提升基本能力的同时还能解锁新技能。

游戏中，玩家的队伍会随机遭遇敌人，即俗称的“踩地雷”。战斗采用回合制形式，敌方在上我方在下，中间设有攻击、魔法、物品、防御、撤退等菜单指令。战斗中有个较为蹩脚的设计，若给多人下达指令攻击同一敌人，敌人被消灭后，尚未执行命令的同伴不会切换目标，仍对空位执行，导致白白浪费一个回合。新玩家可能会觉得此规则甚是奇葩，闻所未闻。实际上，这个规则在早期JRPG游戏中颇为常见，后来已基本被淘汰。

《四狂神战记》拥有不错的故事背景，玩法系统易于上手，但与16位主机同期作品相比，各方面都显得较为粗糙。例如，遇敌进入战斗后连专门的背景都没有，直接在当前地图开战，给人感觉很别扭，即便黑屏也比这种情况要好。整体感觉像是《勇者斗恶龙》的模仿之作，《FAMI通》给出了28/40的评分，对于一个1993年SFC成熟期的作品而言，只能算是中规中矩。

尽管初代整体表现一般，但neverland仍继续在故事基础上探索新玩法。1995年2月24日，SFC版《四狂神战记2》（Estpolis 2，Lufia 2 Rise of the Sinistrals）发售。

本作虽以续作形式登场，但故事情节实则是前传。1代开始的末日壁垒之战便是2代的结局。此次玩家将扮演英雄领袖马克西姆，他原本是一位生活在小镇的怪物猎人，猎杀怪物后交给当地店主蒂亚（Tia）获取报酬。某天，一个巨大的光球划过北方的天空，马克西姆前去调查时遭遇怪物，击败敌人后遇到了名为艾瑞斯（Iris）的女子。交谈后得知四狂神的威胁以及自身使命，从此踏上冒险之旅。2代增加了可使用角色数量，同时也讲述了人类与四狂神之间战争的起源。

游戏玩法在传统JRPG基础上有显著变化，最大特色是所有敌人在地图上可见，且随着主角移动，敌人也同步移动。根据双方面朝方向，接触进入战斗后会形成有利的先发制人或不利的被伏击情况。玩家需精心规划每一步行动，控制队伍移动逐个消灭敌人或绕行。这种模式与经典的迷宫探索系列《风来的西林》颇为相似。

除敌人外，地牢中设置了丰富多样的解谜挑战。不仅有推箱子、华容道这类需动脑思考徒手解决的，还有借助道具完成的，包括用弓箭射击远处开关、用炸弹摧毁墙壁、用火焰快速清除草丛防止再生、用钩子连接对面跨过深沟、用链锤击碎岩石等。部分道具还可将敌人击晕方便玩家通过，有些谜题甚至要利用敌人协助完成。熟悉《塞尔达传说》的玩家相信能轻松上手。

本作战斗依旧采用回合制，在1代系统基础上增加了IP值设计。战斗中受到攻击IP会不断增长，攒满后可使用威力强大的IP技能，既有攻击技能也有治疗技能。此次魔法设计有趣，可指定实施对象数量，针对单一目标能得到最大化效果，针对多个目标则会分摊，让玩家有更多策略选择。同时，战斗会根据场景设有专门背景，各种魔法效果更加华丽，在SFC生涯末期堪称豪华制作。

胶囊怪物是本作新增元素，类似宠物散布在世界各处，获取后会以AI形式辅助战斗。每个怪物有等级和能力，需通过喂养不断提升，最终达到终极形态。这一设计为游戏增添了新乐趣，使玩家有动力探索整个世界，不再局限于主线剧情。

游戏中，若玩家对自身冒险和战斗能力充满自信，可挑战远古洞穴（Ancient Cave）。这是一个有99层的地牢迷宫，其中98层地形随机生成，最后一层是BOSS战。玩家进入洞穴时会重置到1级并失去所有装备，中途无存档机会，需连续征战多个小时才能到达最终层。其最大吸引力在于众多可在洞穴内外永久使用的强力装备，堪称本作的终极考验。好在最终BOSS只是一个HP超高的巨型果冻，不会攻击玩家。

《四狂神战记2》融合了故事冒险、动作解谜、类Roguelike迷宫等多种玩法。虽如今看来有“缝合怪”之嫌，但在当年的硬件环境下，很好地展现了各方面优点。玩家也不太在意是否模仿了某作品，因有限资金只能购买少量卡带，只要好玩就行。

在此之后，系列继续发展。在GBC和GBA掌机推出的两部作品反响平平。neverland沉寂多年后与SE社合作，选择在NDS掌机对SFC版《四狂神战记2》进行全面重制。

2010年10月12日，NDS版《四狂神战记》（Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals）发售。游戏中玩家仍扮演马克西姆，冒险过程中会结识众多同伴，最终击败企图摧毁世界的四狂神。本作除故事背景基本与SFC版一致外，画面表现和玩法系统均有彻底改变。全3D画面取代了系列传统的2D像素，这也是当时NDS掌机的主打卖点之一。游戏核心玩法变为动作RPG，不再有经典的回合制战斗。玩家团队虽仍由多人组成，但只能控制一人，通过点击触摸屏头像切换角色。

SFC版中的几种解谜道具，变成了多个角色不同的特殊能力。马克西姆主要负责用长剑战斗，其余几位负责远程开关、粉碎障碍物、空中悬停等功能。另一个新系统是GRID，玩家可通过在网格平面上放置方块，提升角色各项能力，有些类似《最终幻想》系列中的人物晶球盘。毕竟是与SE合作。

本作发售后未获预想好评，当年的诸多精妙创意，在3D时代表现平庸。最终导致neverland在2013年宣告破产，《四狂神战记》暂时告别江湖。

《四狂神战记》系列在2D像素画面时代口碑颇佳，尤其是SFC版2代，凭借优良的画面表现和丰富多样的玩法内容，至今仍有大量爱好者重温回顾，其魅力可见一斑。在这个品牌中能找到诸多经典影子，开发者未直接照搬，而是巧妙融合，整体流程节奏统一，无割裂之感，充分发挥了几种玩法的优点。期待未来能看到《四狂神战记》有新发展，哪怕只是将SFC版进行高清重制，也令人期待！

关注“碎碎念工坊”，传播游戏文化，让游戏不止是游戏。

关注“碎碎念工坊”，传播游戏文化，让游戏不止是游戏。

Nowadays, it’s really not easy for games to be fun and gain players’ recognition. After all, as they’ve developed to this point, the boundaries between various game types have gradually blurred, and you can always see the influence of another game in one. So, game developers simply go with the flow, and a flood of “Frankenstein’s monster” products have emerged. However, what players care more about isn’t what’s been stitched together. As long as it’s done well, they can accept it. This is why the meme “Good news, it’s all stitched” has endured in the gaming circle.

In fact, over 30 years ago, there was a brand that was buried on the SFC platform. It had excellent quality, rich and deep gameplay, but unfortunately, it didn’t stand out among the many great games of that year. However, the fans who played it raved about it and couldn’t forget it. This is the puzzle RPG masterpiece, “Estpolis, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom”.

The game developer, neverland, was founded in Japan in 1993. This name might be unfamiliar to new players. Its most well-known work is probably “Rune Factory” on the NDS handheld, and its earliest work was “Estpolis, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom”, which was released on the SFC console on June 25, 1993.

The game’s story revolves around the “Sinistrals”. Four evil demon lords, Daos, Amon, Erim, and Gades, plan to spread horror and chaos across the world. They are located on a floating island called the “Fortress of Doom”. To save the world, four brave individuals, Maxim, Selan, Artea, and Guy, embark on an adventure to the Fortress of Doom. After a fierce battle, the Sinistrals are defeated, but the floating island begins to collapse. The weakness caused by the battle leaves Selan unable to move, and Maxim chooses to stay with her. Eventually, they both sacrifice their lives, while Artea and Guy manage to escape惊险ly.

Ninety-nine years later, the protagonist played by the player and the mysterious girl Lufia make their appearance. The protagonist is the descendant of the hero Maxim, and the two grew up together in the town of Alekia as very close friends. The nearby kingdom of Sheran is attacked by monsters, and there are rumors that its leader resembles Gades, one of the former Sinistrals. As Maxim’s descendant, the protagonist personally investigates the Sheran attack and discovers that the mastermind is indeed Gades. A fierce battle ensues in Sheran, and our side is easily defeated but manages to survive. To defeat the Sinistrals again, the protagonist and the group start an adventure journey.

This game uses the classic JRPG gameplay. Players move and explore on the world map, enter scenes like towns, talk to various NPCs, collect, trade, and take on quests. By continuously advancing the main storyline, they ultimately fulfill their destiny of saving the world. Characters can gain experience points and level up through battles, unlocking new skills while enhancing their basic abilities.

In the game, the player’s party will randomly encounter enemies, which is the so-called “stepping on landmines”. The battle uses a turn-based format, with the enemy on top and our side below. There are menu commands such as attack, magic, item, defense, and retreat in the middle. There’s a rather awkward design in the battle. That is, if you give multiple people the command to attack the same enemy, and then the enemy is defeated, the companions who haven’t executed the command won’t switch targets and will still execute on the empty space, resulting in a wasted turn. New players might find this rule so strange that they’ve never heard of it. In fact, this rule was quite common in early JRPG games but has since been mostly phased out.

“Estpolis, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom” has a good story background, and its gameplay system is easy to get started with. However, compared to the contemporary works on 16-bit consoles, it seems rather rough in all aspects. For example, there’s no dedicated background when encountering an enemy and entering battle, and the battle just starts on the current map, which feels very awkward. Even a black screen would be better than this. Overall, it feels like an imitation of “Dragon Quest”. “FAMI通” gave it a score of 28/40, which is just mediocre for a game in the mature stage of the SFC in 1993.

Despite the mediocre overall performance of the first installment, neverland still continued to research new gameplay based on the story. On February 24, 1995, the SFC version of “Estpolis 2, Lufia 2 Rise of the Sinistrals” was released.

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