Developer : Nihon Falcom

Publisher : Sega Falcom

Platform : Sega CD

Release Year : 1995 NA

A Magical ‘90s Adventure

The side-scrolling 2D action roleplaying game, which is quite a mouthful, is a genera I don’t have a lot of experience with. Really, the only title that I put any time in is Super Adventure Island 2 on the SNES, and I don’t even know if folks consider it an RPG or just a classic action-adventure game. So, I didn’t know what to expect much when I jumped into Popful Mail, but by the time the credits rolled, I was a big fan of the genera now. Now I am on the hunt for more titles to play like this one, because I know I am missing out on a treasure trove of titles; this game has very much given me the itch for the side-scrolling RPG, and I am looking forward to trying other titles like Exile and Cadash, just to name a few. But what was it about this delightful game that grabbed my attention, and why did it light a fire inside me?

Let’s take a look and jump into this delightfully ‘90s adventure.

The Working Designs’ Touch

Back in the ‘90s, Working Designs was one of the few companies localizing somewhat obscure Japanese games, for better or worse depending on who you ask. They were quite liberal with their translations, including quite a lot of very ‘90s lingo, which is something I have discovered I love with all of my heart. I totally understanding though that some folks to this very day, cannot stand it the changes Working Designs made with their English translations, and I am not going to dismiss those criticisms, but I revealed in the old 1990’s slang. I found the translation endlessly entertaining, and the voice acting was also not half bad most of the time. Yes, there are some less than stellar recordings here and there, but if nothing else, I found it added to the old school feel of the whole package. There is something about these old school translations, and the liberal choices that were made, that will always have a special place in my heart.

The other thing Working Designs tended to do when they brought these games over to the west was rebalancing the game, and almost always making everything harder and far less rewarding. I didn’t have to deal with this thankfully, because the ROM I was playing reverted the changes back to their original Japanese values, which I feel is the right thing to do. So, it will be good to keep this in mind when I am talking about the gameplay later on, because for those of you who played Popful Mail on the Sega CD back in the day, from what I understand, you had a very different, and much harder, experience than me.

I get that it’s a little hypocritical of me to love the language and story changes Working Designs made but then go out of my way to play with the original Japanese stat values. I get it, I really do, but it is what it is. For me, the numbers behind the scenes matter so much more when it comes to actually playing the game than how the story is told to me, especially when it comes to these old games.

A Two Dimensional Beauty

I am in love with Popful Mail’s visuals and soundtrack, and it is easy to see how the whole ‘CD thing,’ which was new and amazing at the time, was being used to its max. The sprite work here is awesome, with the characters and enemies being large, wonderfully animated, and chalk full of detail, colour, and personality. The levels and their backgrounds are also really nice, but I would have like for a lot more parallax scrolling, because after a bit, the stages do start to feel static. It does help that just like the sprites, the levels and backgrounds are bursting with vibrant colours and details, even if they don’t scroll, or have a lot going on. It’s a minor gripe, because the visuals here are just so good.

The sound design here is also pretty good, if a bit limited. The background music is overall really catchy and has that early ‘90s JRPG sound, so it’s a shame then that it only changes when you’re in a new zone. Sure, the tunes are good, but I would have loved more level to level variety, because hearing the same BGM over and over gets old. The sound effects as well are not too bad, nothing to write home about, but they get the job done.

I was amazed at the animated cut scenes that played at the start of the game, and in-between each of the worlds. I bet players back in the day were blown away by them and thanking the CD-ROM for making it possible; this was something you weren’t going to see on the SNES, that’s for sure. They have that classic early ‘90s fantasy anime look that I love to bits, and I would have died to see an actual anime based on this game and its art style. The cutscenes help move the story along, even if the narrative is pretty standard JRPG fare; it’s the whole save the world from an ancient evil trope, but the memorable cast of characters make it so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s not going to blow you away, but it is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination.

Three’s a Party

The cast of playable characters here in Popful Mail is great, and I really wish we got to go on more adventures with them, because I thought they were all super charming and genuinely hilarious. The main character, and titular hero of the game, is the red haired bounty hunting elf Mail. She is constantly on the hunt for treasure, and she is not about to help anyone, or even save the world, unless she gets paid. Gold is her language, and it’s a running gag from the start to the end of the game that you can get her to do anything for a nice pile of treasure.

The first character to join Mail on her adventure is the Tatt, a magician and former apprentice of one of the game’s villains, the evil mage Muttenhead (yeah, that is totally his name, and it gave me a chuckle). Tatt is a soft spoken young man and is more level-headed than Mail, and he is very much the party’s voice of reason throughout the adventure. He is the party’s ranged attacker, and I used him quite a bit when it came to some of the more difficult boss fights, because staying at range is always a good idea.

I love how the lady elf is the warrior here, and the human dude is the magic user, especially giving the time when this game was made. It’s a fantastic change of pace, and something I still don’t see often. Good times.

The last character to join Mail and Tatt on their journey is the little winged monster Gah. His speciality is his high jump, which lets you explore those hard to reach places scattered about the game’s many levels. Aside from his high jump, I found myself using him only when the game basically demanded it from me. There are probably a few areas I could have gone back to so I could explore a bit more, but since the only treasure you ever find is food, I never found myself wanting to go back. He is cute enough, but I felt that he was half-baked and that he could have been more, but don’t ask me how I would do that, because I have no idea. Just a feeling.

Now sure, having a party here was something I wasn’t expecting (coming into Popful Mail basically blind), and it is totally a cool addition, but I found it to be lacking. Only a few of the bosses needed a specific character, and a couple of environmental puzzles too (like Gah’s high jump), but for the most part I was really only ever playing as Mail. Maybe that’s because she is a redheaded elf who is an absolute menace with her sword, but it’s still kind of a shame, because Tatt and Gah are charming in their own right, and their sprites are just as colourful and as animated as Mail’s. There is one reason to play as every character though, and that is the fact that they all say different things during the little character moments after battle the bosses or when you meet certain NPCs out in the world. Thanks to the fantastic writing and the deliciously ‘90s Working Designs translation, I can see myself replaying this game eventually so I can see what everyone has to say. Even then, I wish there was more reason to use Tatt and Gah over Mail.

Let’s Play the Game

As I have said already, Popful Mail is a side scrolling action RPG where you visit 15 levels across 5 worlds. Now, I know 15 levels doesn’t sound like much, but each of these stages are pretty expansive with you moving not only from left and right, but also up and down. The early levels are easy enough to navigate, with the designs and layouts of the stages becoming downright devious mazes towards the end. They also look so good and are some of the best sprite and pixel work I have seen. Sure, more parallax scrolling would have been great, but even without it, the levels still look fantastic. You’ll see the usual suspects here: the forest where the elves live; the mines, which are of course home to the dwarves; the icy tundra; and of course, the final boss’s trap filled castle. Nothing out of the normal here, but they all look great, and I enjoyed adventuring my way through them.

For me, the highlight of the gameplay are the boss fights. The bosses are visual treats, and from the start, each of the boss encounters are engaging and not easy. Maybe it’s because I am rusty when it comes to the 2D side-scrolling boss battles, but I died more than a few times to basically every encounter. I liked that they all gave me a good challenge, and even by the end, I never felt like Falcom was getting lazy. I was always looking forward to the next giant sprite, and they never failed to impress.

The boss fights are so good. Like, so God damn good.

A Newfound Favourite

I was not expecting to love Popful Mail as mush as I did, and I am so happy that I played it during my summer vacation this year. The fact that I got to play it during my yearly trip to Maine reinforces how special this game is to me now, and I can see myself playing it again next year. This could be a part of a new yearly ritual, and I am all for it.

I am so looking forward to diving into other 2D side-scrolling RPGs, and I will be forever grateful to Falcom, Sega, and Working Designs for gracing the world with this wonderful gem. I know more than a few folks are going to turned off by Working Designs, but at the end of the day, I loved the English script and all its ‘90s anachronisms that Working Designs brought to the table. What can I say? I’m a millennial who is always chasing those memories of a time long gone.

Always chasing the dragon, ya know?

Hopefully I find more ‘hidden’ gems in this retro quest of mine, and I can continue to relive a time that I miss so, so much.