When we think of the all-time great action RPG developers, Quintet is a name that tends to be forgotten. And yet, their games are some of the most creative and thought-provoking in the history of the genre. This is an ongoing series that intends to cover both the history of Quintet, as well as analyzing all their major works. In this episode, I cover Soul Blazer, the first entry in what fans describe as "The Heaven and Earth Trilogy." It's a very simple game by action RPG standards - nevertheless, it has a surprising amount of depth to it.

Works Cited -
Hippon Super (February 1992), “Soul Blazer - 1992 Developer Interview,” https://shmuplations.com/shortcuts/

Indigo Gaming, “Terranigma, ActRaiser, Illusion of Gaia & Soul Blazer | Complete Quintet Retrospective,”    • Terranigma, ActRaiser, Illusion of Ga...  

John Szczepaniak, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers

Kyle Seeley, “The Cycle of Isolation and Connection: A Thematic Analysis of Soul Blazer,” https://www.rpgfan.com/feature/the-cy...

Peklo, “Quintet: Heaven and Earth,” https://talking-time.net/index.php?th...

Quintet, “Soul Blader,” https://web.archive.org/web/200503060...

Sophocles, Antigone

Soul Blazer Instruction Booklet

Thewellredmage, “What ever happened to Quintet?,” https://www.the-pixels.com/2021/09/17...

w.atwiki.jp, “Where Is Quintet Now?,” https://w.atwiki.jp/quintet1989/pages...

Timecodes -
0:00 - Introduction
1:00 - Soul Blazer Plot
1:47 - Similarities and Differences Between ActRaiser and Soul Blazer
3:59 - Gameplay Loop and Combat
8:33 - Music
10:19 - Graphics and Setting
11:30 - Thematic Analysis
17:00 - Credits and Patreon Shoutouts