Beyond Oasis (Sega Megadrive)

Beyond Oasis

You are the young Prince Ali in a desperate fight to defeat the evil that is threatening your island empire, Oasis.

Long ago, a war raged between a wicked sorcerer who used a silver "armlet" to unleash destruction on the island and a wizard who defied him with a gold armlet that could summon four powerful spirits. Both armlets had been lost until recently when someone unearthed the silver band and began using it for their evil gain.

Just when you think all is lost, you discover the precious gold armlet and finally have the power to combat the wearer of the silver band but can you stop them in time?

Beyond Oasis Review

By Damo

This was another late Megadrive/Genesis release but thankfully it avoided the fate of games like Comix Zone and sold pretty well at the time. It's easy to see why - graphically it's one of the best looking games on Sega's 16-bit console. It looks even better in motion, with some superb animation and effects. Sonically, things are great too - Yuzo Koshiro, the talented chap behind the music on Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage created the epic soundtrack, and as you might expect it's well up to the standards set by his previous games.

Story of Thor plays very much like games such as Zelda and Landstalker, but the focus is on action as opposed to item collection or exploration. The player isn't given much scope for wandering around the lavish game world (as you can in the previously mentioned titles) but the combat system is way beyond anything else seen in this type of game. Your character is capable of some seriously impressive combos and attacks, and at times it feels like you're playing a 2D scrolling fighter! As well as several attack options, including swords and projectile weaponry, our plucky hero also has access to a rather neat magical armlet that allows him to summon helpful spirits and perform spectacular spells.

If you're an RPG fan you might find this a little lightweight, but for those of you that turn pale at the thought of indulging in a role playing adventure, this should serve as a gentle introduction to the genre. Regardless of your stance you'd have to be pretty sad and shambling not to enjoy this game. It represents one of the finest VC games yet seen and deserves to downloaded.

On a side note, a sequel was released for the Sega Saturn a few years later and although it improves on the original in terms of graphics and sound, it didn't really take the already excellent concept any further. It's still worth looking out for if you're after a decent 32-bit adventure, though.

5/5

Average reader rating: 4.12 (51 ratings)

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Screenshots

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Beyond Oasis (Video Clip)

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Have your say about Beyond Oasis

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1. RetroGuy United Kingdom 25 Feb 2007, 18:11 GMT

This is really quite excellent and the music is astounding - if you never played this the first time around, you should defo spend 800 points on it this time.

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2. Manaman United Kingdom 03 Mar 2007, 15:30 GMT

This will probably be my next Megadrive VC download. The only other RPG offering 'Sword of Vermillion' proved to be quite disappointing on the Sega Mega Drive Collection, and this is one of the very few games that's not already in a compilation.

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3. dualj United States 04 Mar 2007, 04:19 GMT

You know, this was a good game. I had a lot of fun playing this one back then. I personally cant wait.

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4. Levi United Kingdom 04 Mar 2007, 22:03 GMT

Even though this game does look a bit interesting and i might look into d/ling, no one can deny that the third pic on the right looks like Axel from Streets of Rage sooooooooooo much XD!

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5. Warsong United Kingdom 06 Mar 2007, 09:47 GMT

Bright and loaded with personality, this is not only attractive but a gem of an RPG. Where the "adventuring" part of Sword of Vermillion is weak, here it is the heart of the game--and done superbly. It is easy to enjoy by a wide range of gamers, a classic that was overlooked by many.

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6. Wolf United States 06 Mar 2007, 16:15 GMT

OMG! I first game across this game on the PC but I couldn't believe how much fun this was and the amazing art style was so great. 5/5 definitely!

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7. Zee United Kingdom 19 Mar 2007, 16:36 GMT

This is what I love about VC! Every single time I see a game I'd never heard of before get a 5 star review like this one I just jump with glee in anticipation to download it and play it for myself :D

Nintendo was a little short-sighted putting in such a small 512 MB flash drive into the Wii, since mine is nearly full, as I'm sure is the case with many other people as well

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8. MrP Norway 19 Mar 2007, 20:42 GMT

I might get it once it's out in Europe. IF Sega starts doing the right freakin' thing and letting me play it fullscreen at the correct speed.

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9. Masuyo United States 19 Mar 2007, 20:44 GMT

dreams do come true XD

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10. Blottie United States 20 Mar 2007, 11:00 GMT

Downloaded the game on a whim and on the recommendations of this site. So far, it's a pretty good little action-RPG. It's not going to break any ground with it's storytelling, so if you're looking for a solid story, this probably isn't where you want to go. However, the action itself is quite good. Not "Zelda" good, but more "Crystalis" good.

If you're on the fence with this one, definitely pick it up; it's a nice little surprise. Just don't expect Link to the Past-level quality here.

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11. The Hero United States 20 Mar 2007, 20:53 GMT

I was wondering if this game would be worth it and now it seems like it is. Once I get some money, I will deff. get this game.

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12. lavkian United States 21 Mar 2007, 04:43 GMT

While I wasn't as world-aware during the 16-bit era as I have been in recent generations, it really saddens me that Nintendo dominated as much as it did when it was just Nintendo vs Sega, because each of their systems has had such fantastic games such as this, which could have easily been hyped up as a "Zelda killer," had such terms existed back then (or did they?).

Here's to more under-the-radar games coming out. Where's the NTSC MSX support, Nintendo? Where's Metal Gear 2?

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13. Cam Australia 26 Mar 2007, 11:13 GMT

Come on Sega - Put the Shining Force games up on the VC!!

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14. Jazzem United Kingdom 05 Apr 2007, 22:44 GMT

I do quite like this, but the sound isn't very good at all... The music is really blotchy and forgettable, quite annoying too :( And the SEGA yell! It's all scrumpled up!

It's a nice game though, very playable :)

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15. Jadelouise United Kingdom 10 Apr 2007, 19:06 GMT

Why oh Why is American artwork on games rubbish. Marvel and DC among others prove that American artwork is some of the best in the world. Yet despite this American videogame art nearly always stinks. Beyond Oasis is also a rubbish name, I m glad I have found out about the name change as when I finally get a USA Wii I want to download this as I loved it on the Megadrive. If I remember rightly is Sonic in this?

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16. Bazoon Israel 17 Apr 2007, 00:14 GMT

"It's still worth looking out for if you're after a decent 32-bit adventure, though."

Its a 32 bit game? I thought Genesis/Mega Drive was only 16 bit, or it was a game that played on the X32 addon?

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17. Damo United Kingdom 17 Apr 2007, 11:53 GMT

Bazoon - I was talking about the Saturn sequel.

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18. Ratso United Kingdom 17 Apr 2007, 12:49 GMT

Sonic appears in Soleil, another MD RPG that appeared around the same time as Story of Thor.

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19. PresidentLeever United Kingdom 22 Apr 2007, 00:01 GMT

I personally can't make myself like the soundtrack. It's probably Koshiro's worst MD OST after Streets of Rage 3, with bad sound quality and poor (maybe just unfitting) melodies.

Also, the level design lacks the polish of the Zelda series but the fighting is a bit more fun imo.

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20. Mendez United Kingdom 22 Apr 2007, 00:57 GMT

I'm strongly considering the download now. I have 6000 Wii points at the moment, which I want to last about 4 months. I also want a game that's a lot of fun to play but not TOO in depth.
I have GCSEs coming up so I want something I can play in short bursts too, and not think about too much.
Should I get it?

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21. PresidentLeever United Kingdom 22 Apr 2007, 22:00 GMT

Well, it sounds like Kid Chameleon or some other long platformer like Kirby's Adventure would be the best choice for you, as this one does require some brain work later on. There's lots of exploring to do and different abilities to use at the right spots.

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22. stephan beal Germany 03 May 2007, 20:55 GMT

Careful: i just downloaded this game and the download SAYS it works with the Wii remote controller... but that's only partially true. After getting to the end of the first quest, i couldn't figure out how to continue... 15 minutes of trying and googling before i finally tried with my gamecube controller and what do you know... one of the buttons on that controller activates an ability (using the spirit powers) which the Wiimote does not account for.

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23. chriss Germany 16 May 2007, 17:46 GMT

Omg
This game is so frustrating
When you die on a Dungeons Boss, you have to START THE WHOLE DUNGEON OVER AGAIN!!!
I got very pissed a few times.

Now to some kind of review:
Graphics are nice, and its fun to kick the hell out of enemies , the spirits you can summon are also nice. Graphics are okay. There are just a few things that i didn't like:
You can't enter many buildings, and talking to people is pretty much useless. It really is no RPG , dont expect one and you won't be disappointed.
One cool thing is the rewards you get if you explore a bit more: You can upgrade your Summons, and its very motivating to find secret entrances. (there are many !!!)

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24. comefrutas Mexico 04 Jun 2007, 19:46 GMT

is the botton "A" in the wii remote stephan beal

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25. http://MrDexterm.bebo.com United Kingdom 05 Jun 2007, 19:58 GMT

hm.... well I downloaded this cause' you said it was gurrd, well at first I thought it was a breathe of fresh air and was pretty good but I don't know, the player just moves really slow and it I found that really annoying, haha don't even know why and I got stuck on it and I wasn't very interested in the game so i guess that's why I haven't played it since. Sorry Sega but Story of Thor just wasn't my cup of tea

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26. Drake Netherlands 24 Jun 2007, 18:15 GMT

Good game, but it's hampered a bit by controls and the (Pretty terrible, if you ask me) music.

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27. GS United States 15 Jul 2007, 00:07 GMT

I didn't really like it.... I think the sound effects, Music, story, fighting, design, bosses and everything else are not even in the same league as Zelda ALTTP. Zelda is just to damn good, it doesn't even seem like it is over 10 years old, let alone 15!!! Does sega have a crappy sound card or something why do the sounds always sound so muffled... never quite understood that- Except in sonic, the sounds were great quality.

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28. PresidentLeever United Kingdom 13 Aug 2007, 22:24 GMT

^Yuzo Koshiro tried to do something orchestral and ambient sounding, which was obviously very hard to accomplish on the genesis. I like the ost, but it doesn't really fit the pace of the game.

I thought the graphics were way ahead of LoZ:ALTTP technically, but the art direction isn't as interesting.

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29. Jonno United States 14 Aug 2007, 01:37 GMT

This game is even better than A Link to the Past! ^.^

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30. Mendez United Kingdom 14 Aug 2007, 22:56 GMT

Wow, I downloaded this a couple of months ago and never really got into it, but I've been investing more time into it recently and I love it!
Easily one of the best games available for VC!

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31. Denivire Canada 12 Nov 2007, 06:24 GMT

This was the game I played the most as a kid. I remember coming home from school, starting a new game, and beating it just before or just after supper because I played it so much. Wonder if anyone found the infinite Omega Sword, that thing rapes!

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32. hfhfgh United Kingdom 06 Dec 2007, 23:19 GMT

Same sound effects as streets of rage 2 :o

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33. TwinCross United Kingdom 22 Dec 2007, 17:59 GMT

Enjoyable and colourful, but the contols feel a little sluggish, the music is forgettable, and having to restart an entire dungeon if you die is just frustating.

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34. The shoemaker Canada 21 Jan 2008, 00:06 GMT

It's been a while since I've played this game, I don't know why, Maybe It's because light crusader Is a way better game (no clue why I compared it to that)

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35. Mad Bomber United States 22 Jan 2008, 16:29 GMT

Just about as awesome as I remembered it.
Beyond Oasis was pretty slick for its time and gave us Genesis owners a game that was at least somewhat comparable to SNES' Zelda.
This game is nowhere near as deep but it’s still very fun and well worth 800 points.

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36. The shoemaker Canada 25 Jan 2008, 02:53 GMT

I just started playing it again. Simply great fun. The music is just like I remember, ok but not too great. But the game is really fun, and challenging. I'm in some Big cave like temple thing after I stowed away on that guys ship. I just gotta get a key.......

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37. JJ United States 26 Jan 2008, 05:10 GMT

Never played this back in the day. just discovered it on the VC. My favorite game on the VC so far.

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38. The shoemaker Canada 28 Jan 2008, 02:06 GMT

Compared to Breath of Fire ll, this game is nothing

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39. President_Leever Sweden 30 Jan 2008, 14:20 GMT

^They're not even comparable, BoF2 is a turn based RPG game with a lot more focus on characters and storytelling..

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40. The shoemaker Canada 01 Feb 2008, 07:28 GMT

Yeah I was just comparing in my mind of how much better BOFll is compared to beyond oasis because Before I got BOF I was playing beyond oasis like there was no tomorrow

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41. President_Leever Sweden 03 Feb 2008, 01:28 GMT

Well, opinions are like a*ses and all that, but still there is no comparison as they focus on different things.

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42. Nigel Canada 09 Feb 2008, 03:08 GMT

This is fun. I got it a few months ago and played through a few levels/areas and moved on to other games. I'd like to come back and finish this in a weekend or something, I enjoyed what I did play.

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43. The shoemaker Canada 30 Mar 2008, 18:59 GMT

I'm stuck in some temple thing. I always die when trying to get to a certain part, or when I get there, I forgot the key. I haven't played it for two monhs though

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44. The shoemaker Canada 30 Mar 2008, 18:59 GMT

I'm stuck in some temple thing. I always die when trying to get to a certain part, or when I get there, I forgot the key. I haven't played it for two monhs though

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45. Atlantis1982 United States 07 Apr 2008, 04:33 GMT

I have to agree with the majority; there should be a music off option since it grates inside my ears painfully.

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46. The shoemaker Canada 26 Apr 2008, 00:54 GMT

@Atlantis

You could just turn the volume down :) But honestly I don't mind the music.

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