Energy Breaker

Energy Breaker (エナジーブレイカー) is a Japanese tactical role-playing game released by Neverland Co. in 1996. It was awarded 30 out of 40 points in a review by Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. The game was not released outside of Japan.

Setting and plot
Energy Breaker is set on a small, fictitious island called Zamuria. There are a few hints that Zamuria exists on the world that the Lufia series takes place in; namely, the presence of Priphea flowers, some terminology and conventions, an obtainable sword named after the Dual Blade, and a cameo by Lufia and Roman in the ending.

The story begins with Myra, a 21-year-old girl who has lost her memory. She keeps having dreams warning that she must hurry to avert a catastrophe. After visiting Selphia, a fortune-teller who has just come to the town Myra lives in, Myra gets a lead on her identity when she is told to seek out a man called Leon, the "Whirlwind General" in a nearby forest cave known as the Erutowa Forest. She is then gifted a jewel called the Emerald of Light. While looking for Leon, she runs into a local scientist and inventor, Renard, and his robot assistant Gulliver. She then comes to join him on his adventure to find a flower called the Reincarnation that can bring the dead back to life.

After their adventures in Erutowa, Selphia gives Renard another jewel: the Sapphire of Light. As Myra and Renard travel on, they cross paths with foes such as Parasite, the Flame General and Limits, the Twilight General, who are on a mission to capture the jewels given to them by Selphia...

Main Characters

 * Myra (マイラ): The main character. 21 years old. She starts the game without any recollection of her past life, and sees the fortune-teller Selphia to find some clues about who she is. She uses whips to fight.
 * Renard (ルナルド): An inventor aged 60. Slightly lecherous, but is also warm-hearted and kind. He initiates the adventure with his quest for the Reincarnation. He fights using a bazooka and his robot helper, Gulliver. Was given the Sapphire of Light by Selphia.
 * Gulliver (ガリバー): Renard's robot assistant. His nickname is Gully, and he speaks in a funny dialect. He cannot fight directly, but he is invulnerable to attacks and can block off enemies' paths.
 * Star (スタア): A young man who meets the party after their encounter with Parasite. He was thought to be dead, but automatically revived thanks to his self-healing cells. He appears to be a young man, but he is actually just as old as Renard. He transforms his body to attack, using a gigantic claw for physical attacks and taking on enemy forms to use magic. Was given the Topaz of Light by his girlfriend, Marion.
 * Dorothy (ドロシー): A young girl traveling on her own who was given the Ruby of Light by Selphia. 10 years old and something of a precocious brat. She attacks using a pogo stick and Pigma, a baby dragon.
 * Pigma (ピグマ): A baby dragon befriended by Dorothy. She and Parasite fought for his affection, but Pigma favored Dorothy in the end. The last dragon on Zamuria.
 * Leon (レオン): One of the four Generals of Darkness. Aged 24. Known as the Whirlwind General, he encounters the party early on. He seems to know both Myra and Selphia from somewhere.

Non-Player Characters

 * Selphia (セルフィア): A blind fortune-teller who appears in town at the start of the game. She sends Myra on her quest and distributes the jewels sought by the Generals of Darkness to the party members. Prefers to go by her nickname, Selphie.
 * Parasite (バラサイト): One of the four Generals of Darkness. Known as the Flame General, he is on a mission to capture the Ruby of Light. He was also ordered to kill Renard. A reptilian humanoid.
 * Limits (リミッツ): One of the four Generals of Darkness. Known as the Twilight General, he is on a mission to capture the Topaz of Light. He takes the form of a golden robot.
 * Unalef (ウナレフ): The guardian of the Waterfall of Wishes, where the souls of the dead are said to gather. She sent Renard on his mission to retrieve the Reincarnation.

Gameplay
The game is something of a hybrid of tactical RPGs and standard console RPGs, in that between battles the player can explore towns and cities freely. Exploration is rewarded by the many items hidden around the island.

Battles take place on the same screen they are initiated, and are played out across a grid. The majority of battles are scripted, but returning to the site of a previous battle may cause it to start again as a random battle.

The distance a character can travel and the actions they can take in battle are determined by Balance (Bal), which recharges every turn. However, if the character has taken damage, their Bal will not recharge fully, limiting what they can do in the following turn. At first characters can only use a basic physical attack, but come to learn new attacks and magic through items scattered throughout the game and by accumulating Energy. On levelling up, the player is prompted to assign a point to one of eight Energy columns, being those for light and dark water, wind, fire, and earth. The moves available to a character at any time are determined by their Energy distribution.

When talking to NPCs, the player can choose which attitude to approach with and which questions to ask. However, the system is very basic and the attitude used rarely makes a difference to the conversation.

Art

 * The game features illustrations and character designs by Yasuhiro Nightow of Trigun fame.