The Unconverted

Developer: Capcom Year: 1992 Genre: Quiz

Darran revisits a selection of Capcom games that never received home ports

It’s easy to see why quiz machines have become so popular over the years. After all, who wouldn’t want a chance to turn all that useless knowledge rattling around their head into some quick and easy cash? Capcom’s own take on the popular genre doesn’t reward you with cash, but it does manage to meld the traditional quiz structure to a Dungeons & Dragons-styled board game and the end result is strangely satisfying.

Set in the far off land of Capconia the paper-thin plot requires you to retrieve the seed from the tree of knowledge, which has been stolen by the despotic Gordian. There are four distinct heroes to choose from and each has their own useful abilities that should hopefully make your journey a little less treacherous.

The fighter (who looks similar to Golden Axe’s Ax Battler) recovers vitality far quicker than the other three heroes, while the ninja has the ability to sometimes deal double damage. The wizard uses his knowledge to occasionally let the player choose a specific category of spells to answer, while the Amazon’s ability to drop one or two of the answers is arguably the most useful.

Each level takes place on a board game-like layout and a die is rolled to determine how far you can travel during a turn. Some squares contain an Inn where you can rest, or an elf that will give you a useful gift when defeated, but most squares contain dangerous monsters, including ferocious dragons. Battling enemies couldn’t be simpler. You’re asked a question and are given four possible answers, answer correctly and you’ll deal damage; fluff the answer and you’ll lose vitality. Once you’ve dealt enough damage you’ll enter a new turn and face another potential enemy, or receive a useful item to help you on your way. While there is a decent range of categories on offer and the static visuals are quite nice in places, it’s easy to see why Capcom’s game was never ported to home systems at the time of its release.

This is the amount of time you have to answer each question. Your available points are linked directly to this dwindling bar so be sure to answers questions as quickly as possible. Two-player mode is highly recommended because you take on your opponent together, which heightens your chances of winning. Just remember that whoever answers correctly nets all the available points.

Defeat the elf in combat and you’ll receive a useful item that will be activated during your next battle. They range from rubbish medicine that restores a single health bar to the super cheaty Ring Of Knowledge that handily flashes the correct answer for you. Dragons are immensely powerful and act as bosses on the earlier stages. Unlike other enemies they are impossible to bypass so you’ll always land on their square, no matter what you may have rolled at the start of the turn.