Battle Hunter (1999). Play online

Summary

Battle Hunter (known as The Hunter in Europe) drops you into an anime‑styled tactical RPG on the PlayStation, where a random grid‑based dungeon forces you to out‑maneuver three rival hunters for a hidden relic. The game leans heavily on classic board‑game mechanics—dice rolls, tile movement, and a deck of 100 Battle Cards that are visible to everyone, each color cueing a specific effect.

When setting up your hunter you spend 11 ability points among Movement, Attack, Defense and Hit Points, and the deck deals you five random cards. Blue and Yellow cards can tilt the map or fight, while Red works only in combat and Green only on the field. Turns are a blend of moving, attacking, or resting, which grants two new cards and a quarter of your HP back.

Combat is a single‑exchange duel; most fights end with both sides still standing, unless a panic or stun status forces the AI to take over. After clearing a dungeon, relics can be sold, examined for buffs, or handed to rivals to cripple them, and a tough monster called GON appears if the card supply ever runs dry. Level caps at 15, with each promotion nudging HP and a stat of your choice.

Critics were split, earning a mixed aggregate on GameRankings and a modest 24/40 from Famitsu, but the blend of card strategy and dungeon crawling still earns nostalgic nods from retro fans.

Storyline

In Battle Hunter you take the role of a lone warrior hired by a shop owner to dive into ancient ruins turned dungeons. Your mission is to locate a specific relic and bring it back, while fending off monsters that patrol the corridors. If you linger too long, a powerful boss emerges to end the run. You can also clash with rival hunters to steal their loot, giving you a shortcut to the target item.

The game’s setting is a scarred Earth after a devastating world war. The remaining scientists are racing to perfect a formula that could save humanity from extinction. To gather the data they need, they dispatch the elite task force known as the Hunters to retrieve information hidden among the ruined cities.

As you complete jobs, a shadowy organization called B PHS appears, competing for the same relics and turning each expedition into a race. The clash between the Hunters and B PHS drives the story forward.