Albert Odyssey

Albert Odyssey (アルバートオデッセイ) is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Sunsoft and released for the Super Famicom in Japan in March 1993. The game features strategy-based combat in addition to traditional role-playing game elements in two-dimensional environments. It is the first game in the Albert Odyssey series, and was followed by a sequel, Albert Odyssey 2: Jashin no Taidou, in 1994. In June 1996, Albert Odyssey was made available as a full game download on the Super Famicom's Satellaview add-on as BS Albert Odyssey (BSアルバートオデッセイ).

Players assume the role of Albert, the eponymous hero and young swordsman who lives in a fantasy world filled with monsters and mythical creatures. While much of the world remains in relative peace following a great war many years before the start of the game, a military faction led by the dark magician Globus has emerged to conquer the newly pacified nations and expand their empire. With the help of Albert's friends as well as hired mercenaries, the player must travel the world and eventually confront Golbus and his forces to prevent another large-scale conflict.

Gameplay
Albert Odyssey is a traditional console role-playing game with strategy elements where players must travel through a fantasy environment battling monsters and other enemies to advance the story. The game uses two-dimensional character sprites and environments accompanied by the Super Famicom's Mode 7 graphics capabilities that give the impression of three dimensions. Players move their characters from a top-down perspective through towns and other peaceful areas, while the game's overworld and dungeons are rendered as large battlefields laden with enemies. Throughout the game, players take part in the story by interacting with non-player characters and performing story-driven quests that continually expand the game's narrative.

Using a turn-based system, both the player and computer opponent take turns moving and attacking across the field. A player may choose to move, attack, perform magic, use an item in their possession to aid themselves, or retreat to the nearest safe area to rest or restock supplies. Once two characters come in contact with one another, a battle sequence ensues where the attacking character deals damage to the opponent, lowing their health. When the player or enemy's health reaches zero, they are defeated and ejected from the field. Player's advance by confronting and defeating enemies, gaining experience points in the process that go towards making characters stronger and learn new abilities. A character can be further augmented with progressively more powerful weapons and equipment can be purchased in towns or found on defeated enemies. Progress is recorded by using save points found in set areas throughout the game that utilize the Famicom's battery backup-up system. If all of a player's characters are defeated at any time, they are forced to restart the game from the last recorded save file.

Audio
The music for Albert Odyssey was written and programmed by Sunsoft in-house composer Naoki Kodaka, with the game being his first Super Famicom and role-playing endeavor. On June 25, 1993, Sunsoft released an official soundtrack titled All Sounds of Albert Odyssey in Japan published by Datam Polystar featuring all background music and jingles from the game. Later that year, selected music from Albert Odyssey was performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the third Game Music Concert series in Tokyo, Japan, later made available as a commercial album the following December. The two tracks represented were "The Road Walked by Heroes" and "Hometown Tibelis", retitled as "Albert Odyssey Theme" and "God's People" respectively.