| Square's Tom Sawyer | |
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| Developer(s) | Square |
| Publisher(s) | Square |
| Released | JPN March 19, 1989[1] |
| Genre | Console role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Famicom |
| Media | Cartridge |
| Input methods | Game controller |
Square's Tom Sawyer (スクウェアのトム・ソーヤ Sukuwea no Tomu Sōya?) is a console role-playing game for the Nintendo Famicom (known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) game console. The game is directly based off of Mark Twain's renowned novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and was developed in the role-playing game niche that made Square famous with its acclaimed Final Fantasy series of video games. Although the game was never released outside of Japan, its prominent display of blackface has earned it dubious notoriety across some video game-oriented message boards, with posters comparing it to more recent racially controversial topics, such as LocoRoco and the Dutch "PlayStation Portable White is Coming" advertisements.[2][3] The game is featured in GameSpy's retrospective overview of the Nintendo Famicom; Benjamin Turner and Christian Nutt's Square column concludes that "one of the most amusing Square games that didn't come [to the U.S.] was Square's Tom Sawyer, an RPG starring the happy-go-lucky boy wonder that featured a...racially insensitive...character." On December 10, 1998, Kikuyama released an unofficial English translation patch for Square's Tom Sawyer. However, the patch only partially translates the game, and the project has since been abandoned.[4]
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Setting
Square's Tom Sawyer takes place on the Mississippi River in 1855 the fictional St. Petersburg, Missouri (modeled after Twain's boyhood home of Hannibal, Missouri). The game features the iconic whitewashed buildings from the novel and retains most of the main characters. Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Jim, Injun Joe, Aunt Polly, and Sid are all present, although Becky Thatcher is replaced by a girl named "Amy", possibly Amy Lawrence, Tom's ex-girlfriend. The game centers around Tom's search for treasure.
Gameplay
The presentation of Square's Tom Sawyer only loosely mirrors that of traditional Japanese role-playing games. The game's sidescrolling navigation is less open-ended than most RPGs, while the absence of an overworld map separates it from games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The game retains a traditional battle system, where character performance in combat is determined by numerical values for attributes such as health, power, and speed. The values of the characters' attributes increases as the characters gain experience through successive battles. Although Square's Tom Sawyer boasts a large item inventory, it eliminates the system of equipment; players instead fight monsters using their fists.
Audio
Square's Tom Sawyer was scored by famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.[5]
See also
References
- ^ (Japanese) Square Enix site staff. スクウェアのトム・ソーヤ. www.square-enix.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
- ^ bort. Airheads... they're out of control!. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
- ^ Juicy. Square is racist too.... Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
- ^ Spinner 8 (19 June 2005). Square's Tom Sawyer. RomHacking.net (note: successor to The Whirlpool). Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
- ^ Square Enix site staff (2003). Uematsu's Music. www.square-enix.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
External links
- (Japanese) Square Enix Square's Tom Sawyer Page
- Square no Tom Sawyer at GameFAQs
