Torneko: The Last Hope

Torneko: The Last Hope File:Torneko The Last Hope ntscbox-front.jpg
American boxart Developer(s) Chunsoft, Matrix Software Publisher(s) Enix Designer(s) Yuji Horii Artist(s) Akira Toriyama Composer(s) Kōichi Sugiyama Series Mystery Dungeon Platform(s) Sony PlayStation, Game Boy Advance Release date(s) PS1
^JP September 15, 1999
^NA November 15, 2000
GBA
^JP December 20, 2001
Genre(s) Console role-playing game, roguelike Mode(s) Single-player Rating(s) ESRB: T (Teen)
Media CD-ROM, cartridge

Torneko: The Last Hope, is a console role-playing game for the Sony PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix in both Japan and North America in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

Torneko: The Last Hope is a spin-off title of the Dragon Quest franchise and the second Mystery Dungeon game to star the Dragon Quest IV character Torneko. It is also the second game in the Mystery Dungeon series to be released in North America, after Chocobo's Dungeon 2. Like in Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon, Torneko (or Taloon, as he was known in Dragon Warrior IV) explores dungeons in search of items, while fighting of hordes of monsters. In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001, renamed Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibouken 2 Advance.

Gameplay

The main gameplay involves Torneko exploring maze-like dungeons in search of items. Each dungeon is full of monsters from the Dragon Quest games that Torneko can fight. The monsters can only make one move for each of Torneko's moves.

Music

The musical score for Torneko: The Last Hope was composed by Dragon Quest series alumnus Kōichi Sugiyama. The original game soundtrack was released by SPE Visual Works on January 21, 2000 in Japan on a single 21-track disc.

Reception

Torneko: The Last Hope was a financial and critical success in Japan. The PlayStation version of the game sold over 578,000 copies in Japan the year of its release. The Game Boy Advance version of the game had sold over 181,000 units in Japan by 2007. The game was well-received by Famitsu magazine, with a score of 37 out of 40 for the PlayStation version and 36 out of 40 for the Game Boy Advance version. Additionally, the game was voted by the publication as number 31 in its top 100 PlayStation games of all time.

Torneko: The Last Hope did not sell well in North America and garnered mixed reviews within the region. It received a decent 89/100 from RPGFan. The reviewer called the game "frustratingly difficult," but that its "addictive gameplay elements and top-notch soundtrack" make it a marvelous game. The game received a "fair" 6.9/10 from GameSpot, which states that a lot of role-playing game players would be turned off by its lack of story and randomly-generated dungeons, but those who are looking for some lighter fare of role-playing game may like it. Other critics scored the game much lower, however. PSM Magazine gave the game a score of 1/10 and the Official PlayStation Magazine gave Torneko a 2/5.

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