so, this is "franken"...?

huh?

(Just play it, its free and short!)

Games like this are always a bit of an odd one for me because oh how irritating I find them if they’re done even slightly wrong. Self-aware games that basically serve to parody existing titles and genres always run the risk of coming off as insanely annoying due to feeling totally misguided in how they approach the comedic aspects of the games. Thankfully Franken is a game that avoids a lot of this with the way it’s another of those games that feels as if any fun its poking is entirely in good spirits and from a position of pure admiration from the art. It also helps that the game is only an hour long to make sure it never really outstays its welcome, keeping the jokes about silly aspects of JRPGs present in a way that consistently still feels fun to play through and having some jokes that honestly feel pretty funny and original. The 4th wall breaks are also kept to a minimum, thank god. Just a really fun time that ends on a high note with some of the dumbest and greatest “plot twists” possible, would recommend it especially if you’re into old school JRPGs like the original Dragon Quest and this style of quirkier game.

An incredible parody of typical JRPG games while still being great in it's own right. The combat in the game isn't anything special much like said JRPGs. I can't tell if it's just clever to cover up for it or not. I enjoyed the actual content of most battles though so I guess that's what matters. The actual story that goes on is fantastic. Like I said it just pokes fun at mainstay JRPGs of old but still manages to be its own thing enough to be enjoyable. No spoilers from me though.

I also want to point out every other aspect of this game is incredible. The characters are all funny even when they have one line. Most of the monsters have unique and excellent looking designs in an art style I really dig. Anything that wasn't that was part of a joke and still good because of it. The music in this is phenomenal. I don't think there's a track on the whole game that isn't a banger. The game is just straight up funny too. I loved it.

I don't really want to cover much more on it than that. This game should be enjoyed and explored with fresh eyes. Easy to do when it's free, lasts two hours max, and can probably run on any computer made in the last decade. Excellent time if you can appreciate humor and have played some old school RPGs. HUGE recommend.

Cute lil parody thing. It's smarmy about itself but moreso in the charming hehe scrunkly side rather than the "h i yes do you gett this one???", although there's still a bit of that which kind of makes me roll my eyes. But it's kind of like the roll your eyes when your friend's making that really dumb in-joke you have together, that you've probably heard like 10+ times from them but still kind of makes you internally smile because it's coming from that genuine point in history you two share. In this case we've both played moon and we really liked moon, we're giggling about moon's jokes that are (really harmlessly) riffed right off. It's cute, we had a good time, extended metaphor included. That being said if you made it past that really lame joke (I've been inspired) and feel like this game might be a bit underwhelming I'd suggest trying out Magic Wand cuz that game's really cool.

Pros:
+ the writing is often funny and remarkably irreverent
+ stripped down combat leads to smart inversions of RPG tropes
+ soundtrack is colorful and the final fight track slaps hard
+ original Final Fantasy sprites are a cute homage (but don't tell Square...)
+ Three Man fight is the best
+ battle sprites have a distinct style ...

Cons:
- ... but the character portraits are rough
- unwinnable fights cannot be skipped
- sprite layer issues and scrolling is choppy
- a word map would have been nice
- late stage story twists are pretty silly and lack cohesion

Magic Bit of Writing: "I see the makings of an autocracy, and have been branded a dissident."


Verdict:
This is clearly a labor of love by creatr Samanthuel Louise Gillson, who released this for free for anyone to enjoy. The homages to and inversion of 2D RPGs of the past will make fans of the genre rejoice and the attention to detail and just plain love for the genre is felt at every turn and every new suprise, of which there are plenty. However, as great as some of the early writing is, the ending feels like a missed opportunity to actually say something about the genre and its tropes and felt like a missed opportunity. If you can look past that, Franken is certainly worth a quick, 30+ minute playthrough.