A Game That Should Be On Modern Consoles: Koudelka
Continuing this week with Games That Should Be On Modern Consoles, we're going to go over Koudelka. A relative unknown game that came out in the late 90's on the Playstation One. This game melded survival horror with role playing games and gave birth to the Shadow Hearts series. Staring as Koudelka Iasant in the late 1800's as she goes to discover the mysteries of the Nemeton Monastery.
Why Does It Need to Be on Modern Consoles?
Koudelka as stated was a relatively unknown game. While it's relatively unknown as to how well it did when it first came out however at this time there are only ten known copies of the game that are existence. Looking on Amazon, each one is being sold for almost $500, which is close to the amount of a new laptop or a new PS5. Infogames who published it went under years ago, and Sacnoth later became Nautilus went under a few years ago as well.
Like Xenogears, it's a spiritual predecessor to a known game series. It's kind of crucial for fans of Shadow Hearts to play the game in order to know the plot of the second half of the game.
What Made It Special?
Courtesy of Sacnoth
What made Kouldelka special was a few reasons. It was one of many Playstation One games that had a FMV sequence, had a good ending as well as a bad ending. And I think a true ending at that. Had voice acting, and a three way conversation for banter that made it seem like it was ahead of its time.
The battle system made you feel like you were in a horror game where your weapons would slowly start to break and there was something lurking behind every corner. It's what gave way to the sanity points system in Shadow Hearts.
It paved the way for a creative way to combine two different genres. I wish that there were more survival horror and rpg games combined. Though with Pennyblood on the horizon, here's hope that it comes to fruition. Though time will tell.