Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is one of the more unique RPGs on the home console. It was released for the SNES and the Genesis, but the one I’m most familiar with is the SNES version. This is one of the games that I first played on an emulator in the late 1990s, and then found a copy in the 2000s.
There are six stories in this game, and each of them has a narrative conclusion. In many ways, it is like the Sid Meier game, Pirates. While there is a story in the game, you don’t have to complete it. The game acts like a sandbox.
There is combat in this game, but it isn’t necessary for all of the stories. This is a little different from all of the other RPGs on the consoles, and it is something I enjoy about it. You can do quite a few things in this game, so it never feels boring.
I’ve played this game quite a bit. Most of the reasons why I like this game boil down to it being kind of weird. I like weird games, and because this game has so many story lines, it always feels different. It also has some things that you won’t find in the other RPGs on the SNES or Genesis.
TLDR: Despite some flaws, this is one of the Hidden Gems in the SNES library.
Narrative
There are six narratives in this game. They all have a conclusion, and you have plenty of time to complete them. Much like Inindo: Way of the Ninja, the player has to finish the story before a set date. This lets you do more exploration and lets you treat the game more like a sandbox.
Some of the stories are easier than others. Here are the six characters that you can choose from, and a brief description of what you’ll be doing:
- Ernst – A Dutch professor who works for Mercator.
- Ali – A Turkish merchant.
- Otto — A British privateer who is on a secret mission.
- Pietro – An Italian adventurer who is massively in debt.
- Catalina – A female pirate from Spain. She is on a revenge quest.
- Joao – A Nobleman from Portugal, who is looking for Atlantis.
Each story gives you about 30 years to complete the character’s story. You’ll lose the game if you don’t complete your goal by January 1554, or your character dies. There are a bunch of ways this can happen.
I like that there are six stories in this game. Some of them overlap, which is very interesting. The game gives you a lot of time and gives the player several ways to do things. Overall, the stories are very good and encourage the player to explore the game’s world.
Gameplay
The gameplay can change depending on how you want to play and the story you’re following. You can be a pirate, a privateer, a trader, or an explorer. Any of these things can be added onto the existing story that you’re playing. Some of the stories force you to learn how to fight, while others have it as an option.
Like many Koei games, this has a fairly lengthy and detailed manual. While you can figure things out on your own or listen to the NPCs in every town, the manual does help. Here is a link to it (Link).
Naval Combat is my least favorite part of the game. I’m just not a fan of this part of the game. It is the main focus of a few scenarios, but you can do it in any of them. Occasionally, you’ll run into pirates and be forced to fight. This goes along with the next section.
Dueling, along with naval combat, is something that I don’t like about the game. It can be an easy way for you to win a fight if your skill is high enough. There is a little Rock, Paper, Scissors system to this, which is explained, but isn’t all that fun for me.
Trading is fairly straightforward. Some port cities have specialty goods that can only be found at that port. You can trade them with another port for a prophet. It has a simple idea behind it: buy low and sell high. This is the focus of one scenario, but it can be done in any of them for a little extra cash.
Exploration is one of the things that I enjoy the most about this game. It is a part of all the scenarios, which makes it a lot of fun. As you sail around the world, you’ll find villages. Each village has a “discovery” that you can make. Once you have this, you can sell the information to a noble. This is one of the easier ways to get money in the game.
Mapmaking is the main focus of one story and an option for the others. All you have to do is sail around the world and report your findings to one of the cartographers. This can take some time to get enough reputation before they’ll let you do this.
There is some political intrigue that you can participate in. The game has a rank system for the “nobility” that you can have your character join. This game feels like you’re participating in a game of Genghis Khan, much in the same way that Inindo felt like there was a game of Nobunaga’s Ambition going on in the background.
Overall, I like the gameplay in this. While I don’t care much for the combat, I do love that you can do a bunch of other things. It can be a relaxing RPG that has something for everyone. You’re also given a lot of time to find something that you’ll like before finishing one of the stories.
Visuals
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is a good looking game. It isn’t as good as other RPGs on the SNES, but it is good enough. I like the look of this game more than Inindo, which is another RPG from Koei.
The world map looks great. You can see a ton of ships traveling around, there are plenty of cities to visit, and there are things to discover. Most of the port cities are the same, but with some graphic changes. The NPCs change appearance in different regions.
This game has the same awkward movements that I saw in Inindo. They’re better in this game, but everything still looks jerky in the towns. It’s like the characters are all moving too fast for their own good. This is probably the biggest flaw in the graphics. I don’t mind this when you’re sailing, because it feels more normal to me.
On the world map, you’ll run into a lot of storms. There are more of them near the equator, to the point that things become annoying. The only way you’ll know that there is a storm is through the sound and one of your characters telling you. Occasionally, there will be lightning, but that is a rarity. The storm graphics are mostly nonexistent.
The world map is a version of a Mercator Projection map. This means that not everything is in the right place, and it will look rather odd. It is one of the many problems with this type of map, as things are distorted because you’re taking a globe and turning it into a flat image.
I like the graphics in this game, but they’re a little weak overall. Once you’ve seen one port in each region, you’ve seen them all. The battle scenes look good, and it is a relaxing game when you’re just sailing around.
Memories
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is one of the many games that I first played on an emulator. Back in the mid to late 1990s, I didn’t know much about the SNES. Most of the games I played for the system were either with my friend Drew or on an emulator.
It was so much fun to go on the internet and look for ROMs for the NES, SNES, or Genesis. That was the main way I learned about video games. Having not owned an SNES, having a subscription to Nintendo Power, or really paying attention to video game news, I didn’t know what was out there.
This is one of the many games that none of my friends talked about. More often than not, Drew would turn his nose up at anything I liked. I’m not sure why, but he did stuff like that quite a bit. If he did that to this game, I don’t remember, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
I remember spending a lot of time with this game back in the day. It is in the same category as E.V.O. and Robotrek. They were games that I really enjoyed, but didn’t necessarily finish for one reason or another.
8.5/10. This is one of my favorite games on the SNES. It is right up there with Ogre Battle as being one of my favorite games on that system. It isn’t perfect, but it has great stories in it.
Pros
- Six Storylines
- Lots of things to do
- Plays like a sandbox
Cons
- Combat is on the weaker side
- Awkward graphics when in town
- Vague quest goals and locations at times
Conclusion
I like some of the stories in this game more than others. Ali and Ernst are the two characters that I enjoy playing as. The other stories can be fun, but they rely on the combat mechanics too much for me.
It is rare that I don’t like the combat in an RPG. While it is different from other games, I didn’t find it fun. Exploring the game’s world and finding the different discoveries was much more fun. They’re a little random, which is nice to see in a game like this.
My memories of this game are one of the big factors in why I enjoy this game so much. You don’t see too many games like this on the home console, and its uniqueness helps it to stand out. While the term “hidden gem” doesn’t mean much today, Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is one of the games that I feel fits that bill. It is a wonderful game.
If you like this post, please check out my other reviews of SNES RPGs. Such as Inindo: Way of the Ninja or Robotrek.