the 16-bit era of video games is considered by many to be the “golden age” of Japanese

RPGs.

But for me, I tend to think of the 32-bit era as more worthy of that distinction, in

large part due to the plethora of amazing titles released on the original PlayStation.

Back in the PS1's prime, the genre attained genuine mainstream popularity outside of Japan

for the very first time, Squaresoft was in top form with its newly arranged partnership

with Sony, and Namco's Tales series hadn't yet adopted the Madden NFL approach to game

release schedules.

A few of my favorite role-playing offerings on the system include the fantastic spiritual

successor to Landstalker, Alundra, Konami's epic, one-hundred and eight star-studded Suikoden,

and the game that is pretty much solely responsible for the world-wide JRPG boom of the era, Final

Fantasy VII.

These three titles, like so many other great Japanese role-playing games, saw international

releases much to the delight of RPG fans like myself.

However, to no one's surprise, there were quite a few great RPGs on the PlayStation

that never ventured outside of their home country, such as the Zelda and Sim City-inspired

Community POM, Love-de-lic's debut title and possibly the single best case for the “games

as art” argument, Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, and then there's the little-known game that

is the subject of this video: London Seirei Tantei-dan.

Published on May 20th, 1999 by Bandai and developed by Unit, whom I hadn't heard of

previously, the game advertises itself as a “nostalgic adventure RPG.”

London Seirei Tantei-dan is translated into English as "London Holy Agency," at least

on its official website.

However, a better, more accurate translation that also captures the spirit of the game

would be "London Spirit Detective Team."

Most role-playing games take place in fictional lands and time periods, but London Spirit

Detective Team bucks that trend with its 19th century Victorian era English setting.

The hero of this tale is a lionhearted, energetic ten-year old orphaned boy living on the streets

of London all alone.

At the onset of the story, he is wandering aimlessly, surviving the best he can and fending

off dangers with his trusty slingshot.

But all that changes through a chance encounter with a man named John Everett Millais.

While he may share his name with a famous painter who also lived in England during the

1800s, this John Everett Millais, who often just goes by “Everett,” is London's most

skilled and respected detective.

After witnessing the young hero successfully defend himself from a lowlife trying to steal

the boy's only loaf of bread, an impressed Everett extends an offer to take him under

his wing as a detective's assistant.

After accepting, the player is able to choose a name for the youth.

Naturally, for my playthrough, I went with “Jimmy.”

Come on, he certainly looks like a Jimmy, don't you think?

From that day forward, the boy is given a room in the spacious attic of Everett's splendid

home, and becomes a full-fledged apprentice to London's great detective.

With that setup, you may be thinking that London Spirit Detective Team sounds a lot

like Sherlock Holmes meets Oliver Twist, two characters in classic literature who coincidentally

sprung from the era the game takes place in...and you'd be right, after you toss in some steampunk,

anime, and supernatural elements.

The protagonist, who we'll just refer to as Jimmy from here on, is only an assistant detective,

but more often than not he's responsible for solving cases independently from Everett,

who is usually pressed with larger affairs of his own.

Jimmy won't be alone in his work, however, as he soon forms a small detective team comprised

of two other kids.

First off, there's Aries Ivory, a cute, sometimes charming, but often times brash and bossy

12 year old girl with an iron will.

Her motivations for becoming an assistant detective mostly revolve around her desire

to work with her crush, Everett, and being bored.

But to her disappointment, she ends up partnering up with Jimmy, and will often voice her displeasure

of having to work with the boy two years her junior.

Despite her minor character flaws, though, she is a loyal friend and a vital member of

the detective team.

The other teammate is a pudgy six-year old boy who acts as Jimmy's sidekick, affectionately

addressing him as “big brother” and following him around anywhere and everywhere he goes.

This little guy is never named throughout the entire game and is just known as “Aibou,”

which means “Partner” in English, though I think “Buddy” suits the situation best.

His never ending devotion and admiration for the protagonist and his childish demeanor

serve to provide much of the game's comedy relief.

Buddy is a pure joy, so odd, amusing, and cute as a damned button.

Most of the time he's either eating, sleeping, falling from high places, or landing on the

receiving end of some slapstick violence.

He's pretty much oblivious to the weight of the serious events taking place around him,

and will often just doodle pictures of fish as the characters go off on their important

dialogue.

The amount of punishment he takes is flat-out comical, and his antics are responsible for

more than a few laugh-out-loud moments.

It seems that he's an orphan or run-away child, too, which makes his role as a punching bag

seem kind of sad, but he always bounces back from everything as if nothing happened and

in high spirits.

Buddy is the best sort of buddy you can have, and is definitely my favorite character in

London Spirit Detective Team.

This trio of children make up the main team, but there is one more person that will join

up from time to time, an enigmatic young man named Virgil.

He's meek, soft-spoken, shies away from large groups of people, and generally lacks any

sort of confidence or vigor, but with Virgil, there's more than meets the eye, as his knowledge

of ghosts, spirits, and otherworldly beings is second to none, knowledge that is far and

beyond what any human should realistically possess.

As mentioned earlier, London Spirit Detective Team breaks from its RPG peers by centering

its narrative around an actual time period and place in the real world.

While the specific dates in which everything takes place are never really mentioned, it

can be inferred that the year is 1851, since many of the events in the game revolve around

the opening of The Great Exhibition, or the first ever World's Fair.

This period in British history is often considered its “golden age,” a time of great advancement

for the island nation, especially in industry and technology.

The art direction of London Spirit Detective Team captures that feeling, though it does

take quite a bit of artistic license in its representation of Victorian London.

Nearly every street in the great city is lined with long stretching networks of pipes that

provide power to steam-operated machines and mechanisms, most of which could never have

existed in the mid-19th century, much less in the century that would follow.

I mean, in this game's Victorian London there are huge mechanical humanoid war machines

and robotic maids, which gives the atmosphere a steampunk anime kind of feel.

It's not all portrayals of high fantasy, however, as the lifestyles of the budding middle class

of the time, as well as the impoverished, are on full display, and overall there's a

good balance of realism and imagination in its presentation of the period.

The isometrically drawn environments are very easy on the eyes, although in some places

there are some ugly compression blemishes resembling low quality JPEG images.

Another big way in which the game separates itself from others in the genre is by focusing

on a smaller, more restrained story that unfolds entirely in just one city, that city being

London, of course.

There's no grand globe-trotting, save-the-world adventure to be found here, which is a breath

of fresh air in my opinion.

London Spirit Detective Team plays out like a television series, split up into a prologue

and 19 different episodes.

Each episode focuses on a single case that needs to be solved by the team, though a larger,

overarching plot is woven little by little until it culminates at the very end of the

game.

The first few cases start off rather grounded in reality, but eventually the team will start

unraveling a secret plan to take over the city of London, as well as experience the

paranormal phenomena the title of the game suggests.

Throughout their many adventures, the trio of kid detectives will meet a memorable cast

of supporting characters and villains.

I'd say the most prominent NPC other than Everett is William Blake, a older gentlemen

who epitomizes the manners and values of the previous era but also lives a double life

as the Specter, a retired thief shrouded in mystery with a long history of dealing with

Everett as a rival, and perhaps even more.

There's Young Ghost, a new thief on the block who is as beautiful as she is clumsy.

Then there's Professor Siddal, a female scientist working at the Great Exhibition who has captured

the heart of London's most skilled detective, but wants nothing to do with him.

As stated before, Everett has the same name as a famous painter from 1800s, but his is

not the only case of a character named after a famous English artist from the era.

Others such as Professor Siddal, the Specter, and the ultimate antagonist of the game, Dante

Gabriel Rossetti, aka the Man of Steam, all derive their names from prominent figures

in the 19th century art scene.

London Spirit Detective Team takes the player through a lot of touching and emotional moments...padded

with a whole lot of humor along the way.

This game delivers a message of the potential dangers of becoming overly reliant on technical

innovations, but it never takes itself too seriously.

There are a lot of gags that seem like they're straight out of an anime from the 80s or 90s,

though they never hit you over the head so much that they become annoying.

Everett is the consummate professional, but his Achilles' heel is his aforementioned love

of Professor Siddal, a weakness that will eventually be exploited by his enemies.

A visiting detective from America, Miss Holstein, is the definition of a goofy stereotype, with

her cowboy attire, manner of speaking that just screams “bimbo,” and rather generous

assets.

And there's a character the team meets in chapter 15 named Wayne Campbell who is the

president of Wayne and Garth Industries...hold up, a Wayne's World reference in a JRPG?

And it wasn't something that Working Designs had to toss in with a localization job?

FLABBERGASTING!

Aside from the storyline cases, Jimmy and friends can accept jobs from a detective agency,

as well help out random people out and about in the city.

These side quests have objectives ranging from the classic lost cat scenario, helping

a man court the woman of his dreams, reconnecting a mother and son after a decade of lost contact,

and even playing the role of dad at a make-believe tea party with some little girls.

Yup.

Since this is a game about detective work, most of the optional cases require searching

areas and talking with several people.

They're never too difficult, and completing them often rewards the player with a healthy

sum of British pounds.

You won't receive your payment immediately, though, and you'll have to visit the bank

to get the cash, where you also get paid for your work on the storyline missions.

With his earnings, Jimmy can purchase items to help him and his friends survive the many

battles they'll face throughout the game.

Pubs take the place of the inns found in traditional role-playing games, since you can order meals

at them to completely recover your health.

You can also buy edible items here like bread and tea to-go.

You won't save here like you typically would at an inn, but that's fine, because London

Spirit Detective Team is one of those rare JRPGs that lets you record progress anywhere

and any time you'd like outside of battle.

Tool stores are stocked with things that cure ailments and are used to attack foes, and

the tailor is where headwear, footwear, and body apparel are purchased, all which serve

as armor.

At the antique shop, you can buy weapons and accessories for your party, as well as sell

rare items to line your pockets with even more money.

If you're in the mood for reading, you can buy newspapers for five pounds a pop, though

a lot of the news will just celebrate the exploits of the heroes.

Finally, there's a small Chinatown area which sells many of the items you can find in greater

London, but also provides special goods imported from the Far East.

Aside from shops, other items in the game world can be found on the ground, marked with

a faint yellow sparkle.

The locations of these items and what you're able to find change every episode, often tailored

to align with the path the story mission will take you on, so it's a good idea to keep an

eye out for them with each new case.

Enemy encounters in London Spirit Detective Team are random and will usually only occur

at locations that serve as dungeons, as well as on the streets when night falls.

If you're even remotely familiar with JRPGs, you'll immediately know what to do during

these turn-based fights.

Each character has standard attacks, may use restorative or offensive items, and has the

option to execute special moves that consume SP, or “spiritual points.”

Up to three weapons can be equipped per party member, which can in turn be cycled through

during battles, providing the player with different types of attacks and special moves.

The speed at which a character can perform his or her next move is dependent on their