missions at the behest of the ruling Drakkhen elite. A player may also wander around without having a particular goal or destination, perhaps in the spirit of adventure, or exploration, or to fight wildlife, monsters, and strange supernatural entities, who may yield loot if they are defeated. Serious setbacks can easily occur through the death of one or more party members in combat, and bringing them back to life will often involve difficult and arduous travel in order to reach an Anak, where healing and resurrection are performed pro bono. If all four characters succumb to injury or drowning, the player will be informed of the dire consequences for the game world, before being returned to the title screen. Storyline The story differs depending on which version is being played. The original versions Long ago, the magic of "the world" faded away with the slaying of the final dragon by a selfish paladin all the while a plague is decimating humanity. Long after, a caravel ship of foreign countrymen shipwrecked on the island where the final dragon died, only to be attacked and sunk by a foe unknown and unseen from their perspective. These foes revealed themselves to be lizard-people, thought to be the evolved survivors of the ancient dragons and the dominant people of the island. Four survivors made it ashore and vowed to stick together. They soon discovered that to take back the island in the name of humanity and to end the curse, they will need to pillage the nine gem tears and use them to summon the dragon god. To their surprise, certain princes and princess of the Drakkhen clan offer their support—even their life—for the party, believing that their kind was never meant for Earth. As such, the four heroes get caught up in an ongoing war between those acting for the survival of their own kind, and those who see themselves as abominations. An included short story book expands the backstory. SNES alternate storyline The storyline for the SNES game is the result of a broken translation and rewrite of the original, as well as lack of supplemental stories. Drakkhen was developed by a French team, which was then translated into Japanese for the Super Famicom, which was then translated to English and further rewritten with help from the original French developers. To exemplify the telephone effect of all this, the original game contained