Genre: RPG
Developer: Climax Graphics
Publisher: Sega

Technically, Time Stalkers is not a very good looking game at all- it looks more like an N64 game than a Dreamcast game; player models lack polygon count, animation is very sub-par, and the game has a general blurry look to it due to poor textures. The artwork is incredibly bland and unremarkable, even if the colors and palette occasionally add some atmosphere to the boring dungeon designs. Still a pretty poor looking game by Dreamcast standards though.

There are two sets of music in this game: the town music, and the dungeon music. The town music is horrible, almost unlistenable. The dungeon music however is fine, and actually adds a touch of atmosphere to the experience. The selection of music and sound effects in the game is really nothing special, and if it weren't for the obnoxious town and shop music, this game would get a better score here.

Time Stalkers features a number of innovative ideas. First off, only one character can be taken into a dungeon, so the player must choose between the various adventurers that joined them before they enter a dungeon. Within the dungeon, the player can capture any enemy and stick it on their side, where it gains levels and ranks just like your regular character. Every time the player enters a dungeon, their character starts over at level 1. However, as the characters gain levels in dungeons, they gain ranks when the dungeon is beaten. Ranks are like levels, except that they carry over between dungeons, giving the character more skills and spells as it becomes stronger. On top of the dungeon fare, there are a multitude of enjoyable VMU mini-games to play. Altogether, Time Stalkers features some unique ideas, but is not really innovative in that it doesn't progress the genre or anything. A solid but not truly remarkable set of gameplay rules.

Despite featuring some interesting mechanics, Time Stalkers not a classic title in any sense of the word. In fact, its slow pacing, uninteresting stage design, and poor artwork mean it's largely disapppointing considering that it came from the same people who made the classic Shining in the Darkness for the Genesis so many years ago. Interestingly, the game has a lot of references to the old Genesis days, such as a kid who is known as "Kid Chameleon", since he blends in with comic books in one of the shops, and an item called "Bear Knuckle" (Bare Knuckle was the Japanese title for Streets of Rage). The game is solid and has redeeming factors, is really no more than a small footnote in RPG history when stacked up against other titles of the era.