Anachronox (video game)

Anachronox is a 2001 role-playing adventure game developed by the Dallas division of Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. The first in what was intended to be a trilogy, the game follows the story of private investigator Sylvester "Sly Boots" Bucelli, who accidentally finds himself caught in the middle of a quest to save the universe after looking for a job. The story has Boots forge a group of unlikely heroes as they hop across various planets in their quest, with the help of powerful artifacts known as MysTech. It's heavily inspired by various sources such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Ender's Game, and combines elements of noir, science-fiction, and the superhero genre. Gameplay is primarily made up of exploration and turn-based battles.

The game went through a long and turbulent development cycle. Conceived by Tom Hall of Commander Keen and Doom fame, it was announced in April 1997, and was originally intended to release in the third-quarter of 1998, but wouldn't be finished until the later half of 2001. Much content was cut from the game during the expensive development that was intended to be used for the sequel, and the studio closed near the game's release. It suffered poor sales despite being critically acclaimed, and the rest of the game's story was never finished. Over time it amassed a small cult following.

Gameplay
Anachronox is a role-playing game that takes many of the cues and tropes of the JRPG genre, and is heavily inspired by games such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger in terms of the gameplay style.

Exploration
The bulk of the game has the player control Boots and company through the world, exploring the environment and progressing the story. Using a special item called a LifeCursor, the player will guide the characters throughout the world to interact with environment, talk to various characters, pick up items, and solve puzzles and play minigames. Boots will usually always be in the party, though some sections of the game will follow one different party member in their own escapade. Up to three party members can be in the party at one time, and each of them will have their own WorldSkill to use on parts of the environment to progress the story or as a side option. Each WorldSkill can be leveled up to Master, opening up more areas of exploration. The game will occasionally open up outside of the typical adventure game exploration, such as flying a special fighter into a hive or escaping a planet via a stolen space shuttle. After a certain point, the player can travel to various planets using said space shuttle and revisit most locations.

Combat
When encountering an enemy/enemies, the game will immediately transition into a combat phase. The party members and the opponents get into a pre-set position in the battle arena and combat begins. The battles are done through an ATB system, where the party members are able to execute an action like attacking or using an item once the meter fills up. Enemies will execute actions in-between. Upon their turn, the characters can either do a physical attack, use MysTech (the game's form of a magic system), use a BattleSkill once one becomes available (the equivalent of a Limit Break from ''Final Fantasy'), use items in a shared inventory, move across the battlefield, or interact with an object found on the battlefield if one is available. The latter two options are unique to Anachronox, and is what sets the battle system apart from its inspirations. Each party member has their own set of health points that are reduced from taking damage, and can be restored in various ways. Special items called cells can be used for being an extra layer of protection in combat and/or be directed to a second bar, which powers MysTech attacks. A third meter called Bouge powers the BattleSkill attacks, and is filled out over time like the ATB meter. Winning a fight will award the party with experience points, which will eventually level them up and increase their stats, while losing a fight will result in a "Game Over" and will require restoring a previous saved game.

MysTech
Throughout the game, a mysterious technology called MysTech is present and has unknown origins and purpose until a certain story event. There are 8 different types of MysTech, each of which represent a different element and a different use. Each slag of MysTech varies in quality, with some being more powerful than others. While it is primarily used to attack enemies, the technology can also be used on a party member defensively. For example, a slag of fire MysTech can be used to either burn an enemy or remove the burning status effect from a friendly.

Halfway through the game, the player is able to create their own MysTech using items called Elementor Hosts and special bugs. There are 8 different bug types that can be found in mounds on certain locations on the various planets. The player inserts the various bugs into slots on the Host to create MysTech attacks of varying power. The effect of various bugs can be amplified by feeding them petals from LifeFlowers. 8 special bugs known as Cobalt Crawlers also exist, which target multiple targets instead of one per usage, and a Host filled with all 8 Cobalt Crawlers will unlock a secret spell.

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