Beyond Oasis
Sega Genesis
Nostalgia Factor:
This is one of those games that I rented on a whim when I was a kid. Blockbuster didn't have anything I wanted, so I decided to take a chance on Beyond Oasis, which I had never heard of before. I remember taking the game home and accidentally loading someone's old save file without realizing it. The player left off on the part of the game where the castle is being attacked, and you have to sneak in through the sewer area. To me, this seemed like a logical starting point for a game. I must have played it for several hours before it finally sunk in that something wasn't right. I turned the game off, and did something else for a little bit. When I returned to the game, I noticed my mistake and felt like the world's biggest idiot.
I spent a lot of time with Beyond Oasis that weekend. I beat the game from beginning (yes, the actual beginning) to end. I even started it up again and nearly made my way through it a second time. I was in love. I thought the game was freaking amazing.
Although I enjoyed the game, I would never end up buying it. Why waste the money on something I'd essentially beaten twice already? It wasn't long before the Saturn came out and I was able to play its sequel, The Legend of Oasis (check out my 2017 review of the game HERE). I loved Legend of Oasis as well. Now, that game I did own, and I would return to it quite often. Beyond Oasis, however, became a distant memory to me.
I would end up getting the game later on in life on the Sonic Genesis Collection for the PS3. I played through it again at some point before starting this blog. I'm guessing 2011 or 2012. That was the last time I had played Beyond Oasis prior to playing through it again for this review here in 2026.
When people ask me about underrated Genesis gems, this is a game I like to bring up. Hopefully my review brings more awareness to Beyond Oasis, and encourages more folks to check it out. Because it is a title that never seems to get the credit it deserves. Keep reading to see why.
Story:
This game has a story, but it's not really its strong point. This game is more about beautiful graphics and fun gameplay that anything else. And that's totally cool. Most Zelda games aren't really known for their stories either.
In the game, you play as a young prince named Ali. He is a an adventurer and treasure hunter. On one of his excursions, he unearths a mythical golden armlet. Years ago, the wearer of the golden armlet went to war against the wearer of its evil counterpart, the silver armlet. Ali puts on the golden armlet, which allows him to convene with the four elemental spirits residing in the land. Unfortunately, this draws the attention of the evil silver armlet wearer, whose identity is kept a mystery until the very end of the game.
The evil armlet person attacks Ali's home, killing his parents and terrorizing the villagers. Ali gathers the elemental spirits and brings them to his side in a battle against the silver armlet dude. Only, Ali finds out that it is not a man after all when he emerges from the fight victorious. Spoiler alert: it is his long, lost sister who is referenced occasionally throughout the game. She's been under the spell of this evil silver armlet, unable to break free of its curse. Knowing she'll be met with scorn for all the deaths that happened while she had the armlet on, she sacrifices herself for Ali and the kingdom by entering the spirit world with both the silver and golden armlet, where they are sealed away forever.
Gameplay:
The obvious comparison most people make is to The Legend of Zelda 8 and 16-bit games. I suppose I can see why. It's an action RPG. It takes place from an isometric perspective. You control a guy with a sword. The areas are broken up into "square" like segments. You travel around the map, going to temples and gaining new items and abilities.
But this game is very different from Zelda. The controls are a lot more fluid. You can run, jump, walk slowly, crawl, etc. Combat seems familiar to what you'd see in a beat 'em up, like Streets of Rage. Stab with your sword, punch, kick, jump kick, run and kick, etc. I also really like the magic system. Your armlet allows you to summon spirts to help you. Like, if you are near a torch on the wall and you are getting overwhelmed by enemies, you can blast the torch with your armlet to summon Efreet, the fire spirit. He will join you as you fight enemies side-by-side. And he's a big help, too! Not just a useless side character. You even have some control over him. You can press the A button to have him blow fire, double tap it to have him do a charge attack, or hold it and let go to have him do a screen-clearing attack. He runs on a magic meter, so you have to be careful it doesn't run out, or he'll go away.
You can summon other beings to help you also - such as the shade spirit, the plant spirit, and the water spirit. They each have their own special regular or screen-clearing attacks. I like the water spirit because she heals you when you double tap the A button. The way you summon her is very clever. If you see a drip coming down from the ceiling, or a puddle on the floor - that's enough. Blast it with your armlet to summon her. All you need is a little bit of water. I also discovered that if you need Efreet to help you in battle, and there is no fire around, you can throw a bomb and use your armlet on the ensuing explosion to summon him. Honestly, this game is much more clever than people give it credit for.
The game is not too difficult. Where I struggled the most was the platforming sections. I hate when games from this perspective make you do precision platforming. It's not as bad here as it is in a game like, say, Landstalker, but it isn't great. It's the weakest part of the whole game. Luckily, it's still not bad enough to make me think negatively of Beyond Oasis. I really do enjoy this game.
What else don't I like about it? Having to pause to access the menu and use an item. Also, temporary items that break after a limited number of uses. These are minor complaints though, and none of these truly get in the way of my enjoyment of the game.
Before we move on, I should mention the puzzles. Nothing too hard here. Lots of switches to throw and pressure panels to stand on. The game does incorporate your items into the puzzles. Like, if you are up on a high perch and you see a pressure platform below, you can toss a bomb onto it to weigh it down and open the door you are trying to open. The game incorporates the spirits into the puzzles as well. If fire blocks your path, the water spirit can extinguish it. Efreet can melt any ice blocking your path. The shade spirit helps you cross long gaps. The plant spirt eats entire fucking doors that are blocking your path. They all serve a purpose not only for combat, but for the puzzles you encounter throughout the game. They way they incorporate the spirits into the game is very well done.
Graphics:
This is a beautiful game. Just look at that pixel art. To be honest, it is one of the better looking Genesis games out there, if not THE best. I'm hard pressed to find a better looking title on the console. The colors are just so bright and beautiful. The art style is top notch.
Not only does it look good, the animation is great, also. The characters move well, and there are a lot of little things moving in the background. The world of the game is very simple, but it is filled with this sense of magic and wonder that fills your soul as you wander around and explore the world.
This is a very atmospheric game, and the music plays a large part of that as well. There are big, sweeping scores when exploring the overworld. When within the dungeons, things can be quiet and more restrained. I prefer the overworld music. Several songs on there that can go on my gaming music playlist, particularly the "main" theme you hear a lot. I wish I could say something (or even anything) about the sound effects, however. They are very average. Ali doesn't speak or really make any noise whatsoever. This leaves him a bit underdeveloped and forgettable as a main character.
Overall:
This isn't a long game. I only put an hour or two of time into this per day, and I still managed to beat it in under a week. Looking back, I didn't have much trouble with this when I was a kid, either. I beat it in one weekend. But it's not about the length. It's about how much fun you have playing it. And I really liked this game.
This is probably a controversial opinion, but I enjoyed Beyond Oasis MUCH more than Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo. Maybe it's a system-bias thing. I didn't have a Super Nintendo as a kid. Nor did I play A Link to the Past. So there is no nostalgia there. I didn't play that game until I was an adult. But I grew up with Beyond Oasis. But even trying to separate my pre-existing feelings for the game, I still think I legitimately prefer this game to A Link to the Past. And it's not even particularly close. I gave that game a C+. This one is closer to an A. I enjoyed it more in pretty much every regard. I understand that is a controversial opinion that would probably get me roasted if more than 5 people read this blog. But that's how I feel.
If you've never played Beyond Oasis, you need to check this game out. It looks the part, it sounds the part. It's super fun to play. I loved exploring this bright and colorful world and getting lost in the music and the atmospheric effects. The combat is great. The elemental spirits add a lot to the game - both as an aide in combat and in puzzle solving.
There are a few things holding this game back from true greatness, but as far as action RPGs go, this may be the best the Genesis has to offer.
THE GRADE:
B+
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