Video Game / Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side

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Released on April 23, 1998 by Nihon Systems in Japan only, Ancient Roman: Power of Dark Side (アンシャントロマン～Power of Dark Side～) is a turn-based RPG in a fantasy setting.

The game revolves around The Hero, Kai Orpheus^note (カイ・オルフェアス Kai Orufeasu), who was kidnapped out of his mother's hands as a child by a monster. He is sent to work in the mines until he works his way to freedom at 17. With the help of his friends Michelia Almeyer^note (ミシリア・アルマイヤー Mishiria Arumaiyā) and Burke Schwartz ^note (バーク・シュワルツ Bāku Shuwarutsu), he finally wants to explore the world outside of the town he has worked his entire life in, to discover his true origins. Shortly after, he finds the ruins of a fortress and a town, and he discovers that a virus is turning the world's inhabitants into monsters. Other playable characters in this journey include:

• Fara Misuchiru^note (ファラ・ミスチル): Fairy
• Minna Ernoroa^note (ミミーナ・エルノロア Mīna Erunoroa): Elf
• McLeod Escher^note (マクロード・エッシャー Makurōdo Esshā): Mercenary
• Selina Genatos^note (サリナ・ジェナトス Sarina Jenatosu): Swordfighter
• Baroa Kite^note (バロア・カイト Baroa Kaito): Sailor

An English fan translation was released on July 10th, 2024, and can be downloaded on GitHub.

This game examples of:

• All There in the Manual:
  • A good chunk of the direct backstory, including the relevant context for the Big Bad, are only detailed in a Drama CD, The End of the Forsaken Castle, that was released alongside the game.
  • The manual of the game is the only source of information for what functions each of the stats serve. Due to a Game-Breaking Bug however, the functions of MG and IQ are effectively swapped from what is described in the manual.
• Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Completely subverted. The cutscene before the final boss implies that the fight should very well take place on an Amazing Technicolor Battlefield, but the actual battle takes place in the same, empty, detail-lacking room made of bright yellow brick as the previous battle.
• Combat Hand Fan: One of the enemies toward the end of Disc 1 fights with a fan.
• Death Throws: Upon defeat, characters are flung to the corner of the screen, accompanied by the damage number of the attack that killed them. This applies not just to common mooks, but even to the final boss and player characters.
• Disc-One Final Dungeon:
  • The most straight-forward version of this trope appears when Kai climbs a tower when he returns to his hometown, which is also the last dungeon, and contains the last boss, of the game's first disc..
  • Another example occurs at the two towers right before the final boss, as the music, aside from the docks, is ominous, including a new song that is introduced in one of the dungeons. This is also after a MacGuffin hunt that has been going on throughout most of the second disc.
• Duel Boss: Each character in the second disc must fight the God aligned to them one-on-one to each get their respective Ultimate Weapon and advance the plot..
• Dying as Yourself: Very frequently happens, as many of the protagonist's family members have been corrupted in one way or another by the darkness of Gizafael, and are released from it moments before they fully die after being defeated.
• Empathy Doll Shot: When a town is vaporized in the opening sequence, the only thing miraculously left intact is a wooden doll.
• First Girl Wins: Michelia and Fara both openly express an interest in Kai throughout the game, though before Disc 1 is over, it's the former whom Kai reciprocates her feelings toward.
• GIS Syndrome: The Overworld battles use a real-life image of a hill with hay bales in the background.
• Good Morning, Crono: The gameplay proper begins with Kai having a nightmare, before being woken up by an old man.
• Guest-Star Party Member: There are two who join during Disc 1 only to leave for varying reasons:
  • Fara the pixie joins shortly before visiting New Heinrogue castle for the first time. She leaves the party after being struck down and injured by a paranoid Minna, though she does survive. She's replaced by a remorseful Minna immediately after that.
  • McLeod joins for a brief moment when investigating Barrows May and Old Heinrogue near the end of Disc 1, leaving to resume his duties afterward.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: The protagonist, Kai, fights with a sword, along with several other party members.
• Hot Springs Episode: One of the early-game towns has a hot springs, which unlocks a bonus cutscene involving the hot springs after the end of the game.
• Inn Security: Discussed in the game, and later averted. The party stays at an inn in an abandoned town, and they ultimately decide on Burke staying in front of the door and while Kai and Michelia sleep. While Burke notices a sound in the room, it turns out to be a person turned into a monster by The Virus, who asks them to search for the cure.
• Intoxication Ensues: In an early optional scene, which follows if you've examined the hot spring in the Sanitas Village before sleeping at the inn, the party cooks a dish from some weird mushrooms that Burke picked up back at the camp, and goes all giggly. Michelia then suddenly decides to bathe in the hot spring, and Burke forces Kai into it as well. Que Pervert Revenge Mode.
• Level-Locked Loot: Each character must be at least a certain level in order to use certain spells.
• Loads and Loads of Loading: While the game's individual loading times are short, the amount of times that the game needs to load is quite frequent. This is especially notable during battles, as not only does the game lock up for a bit while loading any encounter, the game freezes for 2-3 seconds every time anyone attacks.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: Downplayed, as it still features art of five of the playable characters^note Specifically Kai, Michelia, Burke, Fara, and Mina, but the background is still just white.
• Never Trust a Title: There seems to be no Ancient Romans or Ancient Rome in the entire game, despite it being part of the title. But very much, this could all be lost in translation^note This is the use of 'roman' in the sense of 'romance', or an epic tale of a chivalrous hero. Romancing SaGa uses the word the same way..
• Non-Standard Character Design: The face of a male character that explodes into polygons in the opening notably stands out for looking much more realistic than the manga-inspired designs of the main party.
• Permanently Missable Content:
  • Kai's Infinity +1 Sword, the Dragon Saber, requires you to obtain the Dragon Sword from the Dragon Shrine earlier in the story. Unique to this ultimate weapon, failing to obtain it by the time of the Divine Power quest renders it unobtainable for the rest of the game.
  • As soon as you finish Old Heinrogue Castle and exit it McLeod returns to lead his garrison at the Rune Gate, and leaves your party for the rest of the game. There are some special events that occur only when McLeod is in your party, so you must go out of your way to detour to specific areas if you wish to see them.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: The game has inconsistent use of kanji that can make the text difficult to read. This issue also extends to the game's title ("Ancient" is spelled as "アンシャント" (anshanto) instead of "エンシェント” (enshento) or "エンシェント" (einshento)).
• Soundtrack Dissonance: The game doesn't have unique tracks for overworld cutscenes, nor does it silence the regular area music, leading to situations of heavy emotional scenes being set to unfittingly calm town themes, or regular dialogue between two characters being set to the more intense cave tracks.
• Summon Magic: One of the game's higher-level magic spells summons a Chariot that runs over all the enemies.
• Sword of Plot Advancement: Each party member on the second disc has their own weapon, considered their ultimate weapon, that is needed to complete the game. To get each one, each character must first fight the God that is aligned to them one-on-one.
• Tyop on the Cover: The 'Ancient' part of the title is rendered in katakana as "アンシャント" ("anshanto"), which technically isn't incorrect, but stands out as a very unusual way to spell the word.
• The Virus: One of the antagonizing forces in the game is when the party finds out that a virus is turning people into monsters. This is first revealed when the party chooses to rest at the abandoned town toward the beginning of the game, when they find someone who is dying and is revealed to be turning into a monster.
• Vague Age: While averted for most of the cast, Fara and Minna, presumably due to their species being Long-Lived, do not have listed ages. Fara spoke to the old king of Heinrogue as he was about to kill baby Kai in the Drama CD, implying she's lived for a long time in spite of what her appearance and mannerisms may suggest.
• Vehicular Theme Naming: Most elemental spells are all named after cars, including Toyota and Porsche.
• What the Hell, Player?: While browsing a shop's wares, a member of the party will occasionally chime in asking for the item you've selected. While buying it will make them happy, backing out of this menu has the character call you a cheapskate, regardless of if you even have the funds to purchase it. Even Kai, the leader of the group, is one of the eligible members for this system.