Yet, I truly believe the crown jewel of the latest Switch Online update has to be the addition of Beyond Oasis (aka The Story of Thor).
First released in 1994/1995, Beyond Oasis had the great misfortune of making its Genesis debut at a time when many gamers already had their eyes on the next generation of gaming consoles. Mind you, it doesn’t seem like the game was that heavily marketed in the first place. Those who did give Beyond Oasis a passing glance may have even written it off as a poor attempt at a Zelda-like adventure for the Genesis. Mind you, that’s not inherently a bad thing, but Genesis owners just had so many other games to choose between by the end of the console’s run. It was hard for a new game not made by a major studio to make a name for itself without a serious publicity push.
Yet, Beyond Oasis most certainly deserved to make a name for itself. While Beyond Oasis‘ classic adventure game elements (i.e. Zelda-like features) will likely appeal to anyone with any fondness for that genre, the game’s real strength was its fantastic combat system.
Beyond Oasis‘ unique combat system combined elements of arcade beat-em-up titles and retro fighting games. It’s an incredibly active take on adventure game combat that forces you to make the most out of your character’s entertaining array of abilities. I don’t know if I’ve ever played another top-down adventure game from that era that makes every fight feel so satisfying. Even some of the best adventure games from that time sometimes treat combat as a small part of the more epic journeys they offered. In Beyond Oasis, you’ll find yourself smiling every time you run into a new foe simply because they’ll give you a chance to refine your fighting style and appreciate how both you and your character have grown.
It also must be said that Beyond Oasis is one of the absolute best-looking games on the Genesis. Granted, I’m usually part of the “graphics don’t really matter” crowd, but there’s something to be said for the way this game’s visual design encourages you to keep exploring new areas just to see what visual wonders they feature. Besides, the visual style of that era of gaming has aged fantastically well, and Beyond Oasis is a pretty great example of why that style is damn near timeless.
Beyond Oasis is one of those games that you may not have grown up with but will still feel instantly nostalgic the moment you play it thanks to its pure (yet refined) form of retro gameplay. It’s the kind of game that not only deserves the love it didn’t necessarily receive upon its initial release, but it’s the kind of game more people need to champion simply to increase our odds of getting more modern titles that follow in its footsteps.