This was a PC-88 game...

But on the Super Nintendo! 

Tengai Makyō Zero is a spin off of the other Tengai Makyō games. It’s usually translated as Far East of Eden, but there’s some contention about whether that’s good. I’m probably just gonna use FEoE or Zero anyway. I don’t know anything about the rest of the franchise, other than it’s on the mythical platform of the Japanese Turbografx-16. Specifically, the CD-Rom-Rom (that’s the actual name) add on to play cutting edge disk games. It was 1988; things were weird. Usually, when these types of games are ported over, there’s some clear degradation of core game elements like graphics. Zero is not a port, but even if it were, there would be no loss of principles. 

Most retro gamers know that the SNES had several types of booster chips to make certain games run better. Star Fox is probably the most famous, with Star Ocean being another commonly stated example, and there are dozens more. Zero used two of them. But were they worth it? 

Yeah, kinda. 

The story isn’t all that exciting. You play as Higan, a twelve-year-old boy who lives with his grandfather in a sorta post apocalypse. 100 days before the start of the game, the evil god Niniji took over the world by using a defamed emperor’s hatred against him. Now Niniji’s army rules the seven regions of the planet, destroying the natural landscape and corrupting the minds and bodies of men as each sees fit. Sadly, Higan is a silent protagonist, so he’s just kinda along for the ride. His four companions do all the heavy lifting in dialogue and get plenty of screen time because of it, but one is just kinda cookie cutter. Two of them, though, are hella rad and do something I don’t think I’ve seen done before. In fact, all the twists revolve around those two. After the army comes to Higan, as well as the herald of god’s chosen king, he must now reseal Niniji and save the world. 

The story we play is guided by the creation of the world 600 years ago, when Niniji and his sister, Agni, first formed the world. That story is more interesting to me and had more riveting points that I kinda wish that was the game. But it isn’t because that was the start, and we’re at the grand finale! 

It doesn’t take too many swings at forks or jaw dropping moments, but the themes took a turn and properly explained things that other of its ilk failed to do. Specifically, what true freedom from gods means. Subaru, the fairy who looks like a chipmunk, does something she isn’t supposed to do. And she does that because Subaru, like children and their parents, is not the goddess Agni. ”...For a child’s life is independent of its parents.” What really is fate or free will? It’s further expounded by there being two endings, with the decision coming after the final battle. 

Gameplay mechanics make Zero stand out. The game is turn based, with speed being a vital stat, and all characters play differently. Mostly, at least. Subaru is clearly a mage with her summons and healing, but I couldn’t figure out a proper “class” for Mizuki and Tenjin. DPS/supports? Everyone has unique skills, and half of them have different ways to find them. Each character also has slightly different access to scrolls, which are Zero’s form of magic spells. Most dungeons have a gimmick to them to vary them up. 

But what’s most interesting is why Zero needs a chip: to add an internal clock. There are about fifty different events that can only be experienced during certain times of the real world day/year. Yearly festivals only happen during specific months or days of the week. Shops give discounts or change their wares every twenty minutes or on weekends. Higan can have a birthday party if you play on the day you set it to and visit home. So don’t play in March! Nothing was happening, and Higan’s birthday was in February, so I chose the worst time to boot this game up. But it’s a game that might be worth coming back to. Even a few secret bosses require the correct use of time. 

Some of them make me feel kinda icky, though. There’s a mini game where you can strip a geisha of her clothes. If you do this “after midnight,” she’s naked, covered only by her arms. The daytime version had a censored stamp over her. Higan can also spend time with an NPC(s) called the Looker(s) once per day, which gives off sexual connotations. Higan is twelve. This is a theme of the tea party mini game, which results in a sham marriage to seven women. Higan is twelve. I’m asexual, so I’m not big on sexy sex. I’d usually overlook it, but our main character isn’t even a teenager yet. It gives off slime. Fortunately, it is all optional and clearly stated that this is gonna be gross, so I’ll do the mental gymnastics to not deduct points. 

And the graphics are the reason for another chip. It took additional hardware and seven people to compress Zero into the Famicon cartridge. There has got to be over 100 mobs in the game, and none of them are palette swaps. Absolutely zero! No two dungeons look alike. There are even animated cutscenes! They’re not too expansive, and I think Mystic Ark had better ones, but Zero’s were smoother, more colorful, and looked like they were ripped off the PC-88. Eat your heart out, Emerald Dragon! It’s the wide array of colors in Zero that stick out, even if you don’t realize the enemy variety. NPC sprites get cycled around, though, but there’s still plenty there, and they’re quite expressive. 

The music is, likewise, outstanding. It seems to be of higher quality than the average SNES soundtrack, but I can’t tell for sure. Judging by the three hour YouTube video, there’s definitely more of it! A few of them kinda suck, all of which are of the joke category, but you’ll be hearing them a lot. Finding hermits to get their magic scrolls was rewarding, but also annoying because their theme is borderline mutable. 

The charm follows the same path as the overall story. It has plenty of fluff but isn’t super deep. The lack of memorable NPCs being the most obvious. That’s not totally true, as the real world time allows a few to shine here or there, but unless you’re keeping track of minute details, you’re gonna forget about them. It’s a problem with the Dragon Quest exploration style of regional/monster-of-the-day subplots. 

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Plot: too SNESy. Characters and enemies are slightly shallow, and the story isn’t particularly deep either. I also have a few questions about Higan’s dad and the fate of my two favorite characters. Fortunately, there’s just enough here to keep it from tanking. 7/10

Gameplay: there’s the depth. The use of a real world time mechanic helps differentiate playthroughs. Events and mini games you experience will be different from mine. There are even a few life simulation elements here with raising pets and Subaru’s best summon. I never got it because I didn’t play long enough, though. Lotta spells, too! The enemy design variety has its flaws, believe it or not. Most dungeons just had mobs for the sake of it, and they didn’t seem to fit the theme. I also didn’t like the limited timeframe for certain events. I don’t play during the day, so I couldn’t get one of Higan’s skills. Even then, the basis for the game is as traditional as it gets. 8/10

Music: more chips! I wish more devs had expanded their games with the chips. The soundtrack is high quality and quantity and enhances the overall experience like a Square title. It’s probably a reason Zero never made it out of Japan, though, and by 1995, the console was nearly dead. Just too expensive. Nothing stuck with me, though, and I really hated the hermit theme! 8/10

Art: the standard bearer for the console. Chrono Trigger has the best soundtrack. FFVI stands above the rest with its story. And now Tengai Makyō Zero can take a chair on the dais with its graphics. 10/10. 

Charm: almost there. One, maybe three, long term NPCs prevent perfection. The penultimate region also grated on me, making the game slightly too long. It didn’t help that the random encounter frequency felt too high at times. I finished the game at level sixty three. You did not need to be at level sixty three. And you get crazy rich at the end. The unanswered questions and straightforward plot also kinda dampen the It Factor. But the world is absolutely expansive and filled with cute stuff to look at. 7/10


Far East of Eden Zero is absolutely worth playing. Just skip the gross scenes. The gameplay is polished but unremarkable, though highly enchanted by the two booster chips. The graphics alone make this a must play, and being able to showcase the true strength of the SNES is amazing. I could knock off some points, but I had fun. Tengai Makyō Zero gets 40/50 points. 

Now to hope a tornado doesn’t kill me in the next twelve hours...