Septerra Core | |
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Developer(s) | Valkyrie Studios |
Publisher(s) | Monolith Productions |
Designer(s) | Brian Babendererde |
Composer(s) | |
Platform(s) | Windows, OS X, Linux |
Release | WindowsOS X
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Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator is a role-playing video game developed by Valkyrie Studios and published by Monolith Productions. It was originally released in 1999 for Windows; since then, it has been re-released via GOG.com for Windows in 2009, for OS X in 2013, and for Linux in 2017.
The gameplay area has two different depths: the world map and the location maps. The player is given the opportunity of interacting with other characters, visiting stores, fighting battles, and so forth, while the world map serves the purpose of transporting the player from one location map to the other. At some points in the story, such as the beginning, the game is linear on the world map; at other times the player can move to battlefields to gain more experience for the characters. Within dungeons there is a choice of movement to pick up the required magic items in any order, but one cannot rest to full health within. Each combat sequence is accompanied by a random battle-music track, during which the player characters and their opponents leap to their stations on an isometric grid. The player cannot alter their location during the game, not even if the villain directly in front of one is defeated. There is a "dial" for each of the three player characters, which moves past two break points, and ultimately to a maximum power level, as time goes along. After the first break point, the player may choose to have that player attack at a low level, or join with another character for a combined attack. Spells, either for a given character or combo, may be set up and cast at low, medium, or maximum power level as well. While the player chooses to wait until the characters are powered-up, the enemy attacks.[5]
In total there is 9 playable characters to be unlocked. The player gets the choice to customize their roster of 3 characters at once. Certain characters have different interactions with different people, objects or scenery.[6]
There are a ton of non playable characters, or NPCs, that the player can interact with which have countless reactions to various playable characters which makes talking to the same NPC when playable characters are swapped always worth a try. Below some of the NPCs who are integral to the story are mentioned.[7]
Septerra Core was originally being developed by Rabid Entertainment.[8] After Rabid Entertainment closed its doors, Valkyrie Studios took over and finished development. The game was released by Monolith Productions in November 1999 for the PC. The game was scored by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, and featured minor voice work from Steve Downes.[9]
According to IGN, "Many of the Valkyrie Studios team had previously worked on the Beavis & Butthead game for Viacom, a highly acclaimed graphic adventure."[10]
In 2006, version 1.04 was released, addressing compatibility issues with the game and newer versions of Windows operating systems.[11]
In 2009, the digital distributor GOG.com released a version of the game pre-patched to v1.04.
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 72/100[13] |
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
CNET Gamecenter | 6/10[15] |
Computer Games Strategy Plus | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Computer Gaming World | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Eurogamer | 4/10[18] |
GamePro | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GameRevolution | A−[20] |
GameSpot | 6.7/10[21] |
GameSpy | 78%[22] |
IGN | 8/10[23] |
Next Generation | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PC Accelerator | 5/10[25] |
PC Gamer (US) | 86%[26] |
RPGFan | 95/100[27] |
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[13] John Lee of NextGen said, "You don't see many console-style RPGs on PC, but Septerra Core should make you look."[24]
Jason Lambert of GameZone gave it 8.1 out of 10, saying, "If you are wanting an exciting RPG while waiting on the other greats to hit the shelves, then you would want to pick Septerra Core."[28]