<> is one of my favorite RPG. The game is completely in Chinese, so is the style of the tune from the game soundtrack. Give it a try, you might be surprised! *** Archive info *** Archiver: ZeroWY Type: Game Rip Format: MID (GM, GS) Original Composer: Sequencer: Num of tunes: 86 Complete: 100% (DOS version) *** Game info *** Name: Pal Game (Note: See additional info) Platform: PC, DOS Year: 1996 Genre: RPG Publisher: Softstar, Taiwan Developer: Softstar, Taiwan *** Additional info *** <> is a 1996 Chinese RPG for the PC DOS platform. It is rather unknown outside Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Lately a new version of the game is published on Chinese Win9x platform. "Pal" is the abbreviation of the word "Paladin", but the meaning hardly describes what the Chinese title of the game suggests, and no official English name (in translation) is available for the moment. The game's homepage (in Chinese) can be reached at http://www.softstar.com.tw/product/products/RPG/pal/pal.htm In summary, the story took place in ancient China. It is about the adventure of its hero, Lee; and the love stories between him and his three lady companions (heroines) Zhao, Lim, and Arn Lo. Contrary to most western and Japanese RPG, the game (at least for the DOS version) has a sad ending, where Zhao (a semi-witch, semi-human, inherited from her mom and dad respectively) sacrificed herself to save Lee, Arn Lo and the whole world - while Lim was deeply injured in another battle and her survival remains unknown. (She's also supposed to be dead, but the ending hinted that her life was prolonged or resurrected with some witch magic from Mongolians.) Lee and Zhao also had a children before Zhao passed away (actually Zhao disappeared with the boss altogether after the final battle), and the fate of that children should be revealed in the sequel of the game, which is still under development. The tunes from <> have a rather different, unique Chinese style in the composition. Gamers from the west should be able to tell the difference, which is distinguishable in style/mood from other game soundtracks from Japanese or western RPGs. Here's some guidelines for listening: (number # refers to the file Music_#.mid, for eg. 01 refers to Music_01.mid) Recommended tunes: Normal theme: 08, 12, 14, 15, 24, 30, 34, 35, 49, 51, 55, 69*, 74, 78, 86 Battle theme: 18, 20 (remix in 44, 45), 36, 39, 46, 47, 85 Here's the categories: - Battle theme 20,44,45 Boss 18 Final Battle 36,37 Normal Battle #1 38 Normal Battle #2 39,40 Normal Batlle #3 41 Normal Battle #3 42 Normal Battle #4 43 Normal Battle #5 46,47 Normal Battle #6 85 Meeting with Drunken Swordman Master 02, 03 Battle Victory 01 Battle Lost - Opening, Start Game 04, 05 - Ending Theme 17 - Emotion Theme (Light) 06, 07, 09, 13, 27, 55, 57, 60, 66, 71 - Emotion Theme (Heavy) 17, 22, 24, 54, 58, 61, 74, 75, 86 - Main Theme 15, 27, 67, 83 - Town, Market, Bar, Casino & Shop 08 Market 12 White River Town 30 Aunt Lee's Motel 48, 49 50, 73 Lim's house 51, 52 53, 63, 64, 65, 70, 72 - Big Crisis 11, 23, 25, 26, 29 - Dungeon and Cavern 10, 16, 19, 21, 28, 31, 56, 59, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 - Challenge for the bride (Lim) 14 - Go after the (crying?) demon! 33 - Mongolia 68, 69*, 76 - Mysterious, out alone in the night 32, 34, 35 - Others 62, 84 * Check this one out!