Exile, also known as XZR, was a small series developed and published by Telenet Japan. Telenet was renowned in Japan during the late 80s/early 90s with titles such as Valis I-IV and Xak I&II. Exile was certainly no exception for them, making its debut on the NEC PC-8801 in 1988 with XZR: Hakai no Gūzō, and concluding with its fourth and final entry in 1993, Exile: Wicked Phenomenon on the PC Engine CD. While there were four entries to the series, only two of them ever came stateside: the 1991 Exile (both on PCECD/TCD and MD/GEN), and 1993's Wicked Phenomenon.
Each had facinating plotlines, following the life and seedy exploits of a Syrian assassin named Sadler. Players would journey to real world locations and, in some cases, deal with real historical figures or actual people of power, even from the time of release. XZR: Hakai no Gūzō, for example, reveals Sadler making his way through Baghdad, Persia, Babylon and a few other locations to only be warped into the 20th century where he would assassinate not only Mikhail Gorbachev, but Ronald Reagan himself. Yes. You read that correctly. There is a video game from 1988 that has you assassinate both leaders of both superpowers from the Cold War era. Holy shit, there is absolutely no way this game would ever come out in the USA. Well.. Actually, that's mostly correct. The original XZR never saw the light of day outside its home country.
The entry that will be discussed in this particular post is the third release, Exile for the PC Engine CD. Exile is a remake (of sorts) of XZR II, but part of the final act was cut, as was one of Sadler's companions by the name of Sufrawaldhi. Here, Sadler attempts to bring peace and unity to Earth, assisting the Templars in their search of the Holimax, an ancient religious artifact. The assassin travels to several locations including Japan, Cambodia, France and India in search of the Holimax, meeting real historical figures and dieties along the way, as well as performing outlandish feats such as a Masonic ritual.
Much of the game was censored for the localization:
-Christian Crusaders was changed to Klispin Crusaders.
-One cutscene where a village is set ablaze was removed.
-Consumables for healing and buffs were things like marijuana, coca leaves, opium, etc. These were changed.
-A town later in the game populated by nude women had their (nude) dialogue portraits cut.
As a matter of fact, Sadler is seen throughout the game and even on the Japanese cover smoking a joint.
During the top-down scenes, players may have Sadler wander through town, speak to different folks for hints and to learn more of the story. In some cases it's required that an NPC be spoken to numerous times for an event to trigger, as was par for the course in both action and turn-based RPGs from the era. A minor setback, but any older and seasoned RPG fan will always tell you: speak to everyone twice, no matter the game. Honestly good advice to follow as you just never know.
Once townsfolk have been spoken to, Sadler may then find equipment and item shops to stock-up (on some skunky shit of course!) for the road ahead. Walking outside of town will typically lead players to a map where they must then select their next desired location, actually not too different than the way Ys III handles travel. Exile's save system is rather forgiving in that it lets players save their game almost anywhere, except within boss rooms.
Eventually, one will find their way to the dungeon segment and will be greeted with a transition from top-down to a platformer-RPG, again, not terribly different from Ys III. Sadler runs about killing crazed and seemingly-mutated critters, strengthening on his way through winding stages toward the next boss fight. Each stage multiplies in size and challenge, but never to the point of becoming unmanagable. After defeating the boss, Exile proudly boasts one of its shining qualities: gorgeous early-90s anime cutscenes. The cycle essentially repeats until the game is complete, though figuring out what one must do as one progresses further can itself, too, begin to increase in challenge.
Exile is certainly not lacking in the audio department, with the PC Engine CD's triumphant Red Book technology. Glorious early-90s synthesizers, bangin' percussion, players will be tapping their feet and bobbing their head as they venture through this title. The sound effects are quite satisfying as well, with something to be heard for almost every action made in-game.
Control feels tight, platforming rarely, if ever, feels cheap and the game is just downright fun and feels good to play. Being able to save almost anywhere at anytime is a bonus, and really pushes the fact that this game is easily accessable by most. Where opinions really may begin to differ with the game may very well lie within the content itself. Exile is nothing short of a controversial title, although nowhere near as such as the series debut, XZR: Hakai no Gūzō. It's absolutely not for the faint of heart or easily-offended. It was intended to be played with an open and creative mind, and I personally believe that one of its strongest, lasting impressions was the subject matter.
Nothing else had, or ever has come as close as this, perhaps the only thing scratching the mere idea of Exile being the likes of Assassin's Creed. But I do not believe that Assassin's Creed or any other game that we'll see, at least, for a good while will ever accomplish what XZR/Exile has managed to. Perhaps not in terms of gameplay, of course. But there's something deeper here to be found, and I urge anyone with an open mind and a taste for niche Japanese platform-RPG hybrids to pick this one up and give it a go. It's less than likely you will be disappointed.
