Throughout the many years, I've been collecting NES titles, I've often come across underrated gems that were never properly given their due. It always puzzles me, as I play them, as to why they flew off the radar. Perhaps, when it was their time to shine, they were overshadowed by the release of a game whose series was well known? Maybe they didn't get the proper marketing, so the masses never knew very much about them? More often times than not, these games were actually never even released over here in the states. Chronicles of the Radia War is a game that falls under the unreleased category, and its a shame too, because the game is absolutely fantastic. Chronicles of the Radia War is an action RPG title, developed by Tecmo, that came out in 1991. The player takes on the role of a character (whom you name) that gets shot down in a cut scene reminiscent in style to Ninja Gaiden (also developed by Tecmo). As the cut scene ends, the main character wakes up, with his ship destroyed, only to realize that he has no idea who he is, or where he came from. As he asks himself questions as to his origin, hes greeted by another character, who thinks hes a sky bandit. Theyre about to battle, when they are suddently attacked by monsters. From here on out is where the game begins. The action of Chronicles takes place in an overhead view, ala Zelda. When walking around the overworld, battles take place randomly, but instead of turn based, the game is in real time action (also like Ze

Game is a must for fans of NES era RPGs. I am normally a fan of turn based battles but the real time battles are very fun. I give it a 4 instead of a 5 simply due to the frustrations of my party's AI. They are somewhat annoying in battles as they will get in your way, but this kind of frustration is the stuff that classic NES games are made of and a good gamer will learn to work effectively around it. Awesome game and awesome service from OCD Reproductions!