Alchemist

Alchemist is an originally created real-time strategy game depicting the fierce war between 5 different forces. Using FDS (Fight distance A.I. system), requires players making important strategic decisions and reacting to computer or human enemies' tactical movements at the same time, challenging both the minds and reflexes of any gamemaster. supports IPX network games for up to five players battling simultaneously, with each player commanding owns unique crews and characters.

Alchemist by Hongkong developer Warp Power, one of the pioneer of interactive multimedia software industry in Asia, must be one of the least known games of all times. The only place on the web where you could find something about it (except here) was Warp Power's Alchemist Homepage, which, however, contained little more than the quote above, and a full-sized version of the image to the right. And meanwhile the Warp Power webbsite is gone, too; it was last cached by google in September 2005.

Alchemist is the only native 32-bit Windows game I ever encountered that uses low-res VGA mode (320×200, 256 colors). Alchemist was originally released in 1997 as a DOS game under the name Animos a contraction of Anim-Cosmos (Cosmos of a different life form). In 1999 it was re-released as a Windows game under the name Alchemist without any further changes.

Another interesting aspect is that the five parties you can choose deliberately vary in difficulty level, rather uncommon in the RTS genre. From easiest to hardest, the five parties are:

Sainthood

Jeanne, the young leader of SAINTHOOD, saw divine visions of Heavenly Angel Garpio since the age of four. She dedicates her young, beautiful life to defend the Sanctuary and restore the broken world. As revealed by Garpio in her dream, Jeanne has to collect the Seven Holy Treasures in order to open "The Gate of the New Universe." With her Holy Prayer, Jeanne can easily heal the wounds and agony of Sainthood warriors after every fierce battle. It is this great power of Faith that has summoned numerous heroes from every corner of the Realm to join this last crusade.

Animalizer

Yahoo, the adopted human child of the forest, has never seen his parents' faces. He grew up as the strongest and most intelligent "creature" of the wilderness and became the young leader of all wilderness beings. The ANIMALIZER, his raging troops from the wilderness, swear to take revenge on Mankind whose civilization is seriously endangering the Ecology. With Throwing Torches as weapons, Yahoo's attacking power is superior to all other Alchemists.

Bloodsucker

Vlad Dracula the 34th was once the noblest noble of all lands. But he betrayed the Path of Light and gained eternal life from the evil ancient rite of Vampirism, to wait for the reincarnation of his lost love, Carmillar. This ruthless Prince organized his army of BLOODSUCKER from the condemned souls of his victims, bringing unspeakable horror to Earth for thousands of years. Dracula can regenerate his life energy by attacking and draining blood from his prey, or he can morph into the form of a bat to increase his mobility. The Prince of Darkness can also recover his magic power rapidly by sleeping in his own Coffin. Hunting down this Undead Prince is considered the hardest task on Earth.

Scientific Myth

The brilliant scientist Dr. Gate took his research subjects to the extreme, finally creating the Ecology Re-design Project (ERP). This plan was designed to mend the imperfect world with his inventions, including Cybotic Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engineering. Deep in the desert he commands a vast Cyborg Force, the SCIENTIFIC MYTH, packing a wide range of hi-tech weapons. Though born with his legs disabled, Dr. Gate designed for himself a highly mobile Caterpillar Track Seat and thus can move more swiftly on land than any other Alchemist.

MaskEvil

The little girl Medusa lost her parents when her hometown was assaulted and burnt down by ruthless bandits. Hatred and fear took control of her young mind, and the only escape was her own imagination. She transformed into the seductive but lethal queen of MASKEVIL, a band of strange characters generated from her imaginary dimension. She decided to bring total destruction to the real world she hated so much. Medusa's Spinning Strike, as elegant as ballet, has the effect of knocking back most opponents and makes her safe from their attacks.

That's about all I can say; I was not all that impressed, I mention it mostly as a curiosity. There was a sequel of sorts in 2000, unlike the original, you may find some info about it here and there.