The Story of Thor (or Beyond Oasis in the U.S) is an action-adventure title released on the Mega Drive back in 1994. The game begins with a young prince, who happens to discover a gold armlet in a cache. With the powers of the gold armlet, the prince travels to the land of Oasis to defeat the mastermind with the bipolar silver armlet of evil.

Not enough adjectives can describe how immersive The Story of Thor can be (not story wise, which you’ll read later in the review). After the cartoonish ancedotal cutscene, the game puts you straight in the action. Easily compared to the likes of the Secrets of Mana game, The Story of Thor is a action-adventure (and somewhat role-playing) title that balances exceptional action and gameplay mechanics.

Retaining a sky-view camera angle of our protagonist, the player will transverse over the lands of Oasis, defeating dungeon bosses and aquiring all the elemental spirits, which can be controlled with the gold armlet. The spirits are used in numerous ways, such as unlocking simple puzzles and engaging in combat. While the Mega Drive controllers consist of only three buttons, The Story of Thor creates an excellent command list for the player to use in battle. The combat almost feels like Streets of Rage or Final Fight, just a lot more intuitive though and you engage in a much more massive enviorment. The world of Oasis is incredible, ranging from towns, dangerous forests and bodies of water. The Story of Thor is definitely one of the better looking games of the past.

This near-perfect title falls shallow with a number of flaws. Being an old-school game, it’s peculiar that a game of it’s nature is a tad too easy. Just like Act Raiser (SNES), The Story of Thor will walk with you, literally pointing out where you must quest off to next (it’s always labled on the map with a white flag). Enemies who reside in the lands are easily avoidable, and you can take on bosses insouciantly without suffering the ramifications of starting the battle all over. But if you are an amateur player of adventure games like me, this is a great start.

In relevance to difficulty, the entire concept of the campaign is too simple. Despite being a legacy-type game, there is nothing epic about the missions. Your adventure doesn’t do enough justice, because the player will find him/herself goose stepping for the elemental spirits. The town castle is basically your head quarters, where the king will tell you of your next quest…and it’s not hard to figure out because you can already predict what’ll happen next. Because of this, the story is vaguely touched upon, only shelling out excerpts here and there.

The Story of Thor is a mix of great concepts patched together for one excellent title. The fast paced action will keep the player off the couch, but some will reconsider after dragging their feet through repetitious missions. If you are looking for an adventure that challenges your gaming abilities, don’t buy this game. For everyone else, the qualities are enough for a definite purchase.

Overall Score: 8/10