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This game takes me back, it was one of the few PS2 games I had as a kid, and I've never actually gotten around to finishing it. Until now.
To start with the good, for a simple Zelda clone, this game is actually a lot better than one would think. The world is expansive and varied, challenges are usually interesting, and the lore is actually kind of varied. There are books scattered around everywhere that have useful information, like about Motes, Petpets, or how to get past that stupid Endless Staircase that stumped my entire family on how to do it until we just looked it up online.
On top of that, if you play the game properly and upgrade your equipment frequently, you actually can feel yourself getting more powerful. I really noticed it with Roberta, at first I thought that she was just not that useful in combat, but as I upgraded her wands I noticed that she was getting much more powerful, to the point where I think I actually used her more than Tor in Hero's Rest.
It's kind of a game that got better the further I got into it, like in Act 3 as I was doing all the side quests, and the entirety of Act 4, I was much more into this game than I was with the first 2 Acts. To the point I would almost say this is a good game... Almost.
It does have a few flaws, most of them minor, like some annoying enemies, some side quests that aren't really that easy to complete, and some level design not being that great, but there is really only one major flaw in this game that does keep me from calling it "Good", and that's the camera. The camera will get stuck on everything, it literally drags across the floor when you need to aim at something above you, and does become a major pain in less open areas.
That being said, all the effort put into the tiny details do make up for it, like how the luck system works, or how different effects can clue you in to what element your enemies are aligned to and therefor what mote to use, and even the Cursed effect making some enemies impossible to defeat. The amount of effort put into this game is respectable, dare I say even admirable. For something that could have just been a cheap licensed cash grab, they put a lot of care and effort into this game, and while it sucks it's not a better game, the fact that it's not a bad game is pretty amazing.
Nitro Rad, in his video about this game, which full disclaimer inspired me to actually play and finish it, brought up the potential of a remake, and I think that would be cool. Update the visuals, fix the camera and few other smaller issues, and I genuinely think this would be a good game, potentially great even. Maybe NeoPets isn't as big as it once was, but I think this game has some potential to be more, so I can't help but say that I do in fact recommend trying out this game.
Also, to anyone else who has played this, did you also ship Tor and Roberta?
To start with the good, for a simple Zelda clone, this game is actually a lot better than one would think. The world is expansive and varied, challenges are usually interesting, and the lore is actually kind of varied. There are books scattered around everywhere that have useful information, like about Motes, Petpets, or how to get past that stupid Endless Staircase that stumped my entire family on how to do it until we just looked it up online.
On top of that, if you play the game properly and upgrade your equipment frequently, you actually can feel yourself getting more powerful. I really noticed it with Roberta, at first I thought that she was just not that useful in combat, but as I upgraded her wands I noticed that she was getting much more powerful, to the point where I think I actually used her more than Tor in Hero's Rest.
It's kind of a game that got better the further I got into it, like in Act 3 as I was doing all the side quests, and the entirety of Act 4, I was much more into this game than I was with the first 2 Acts. To the point I would almost say this is a good game... Almost.
It does have a few flaws, most of them minor, like some annoying enemies, some side quests that aren't really that easy to complete, and some level design not being that great, but there is really only one major flaw in this game that does keep me from calling it "Good", and that's the camera. The camera will get stuck on everything, it literally drags across the floor when you need to aim at something above you, and does become a major pain in less open areas.
That being said, all the effort put into the tiny details do make up for it, like how the luck system works, or how different effects can clue you in to what element your enemies are aligned to and therefor what mote to use, and even the Cursed effect making some enemies impossible to defeat. The amount of effort put into this game is respectable, dare I say even admirable. For something that could have just been a cheap licensed cash grab, they put a lot of care and effort into this game, and while it sucks it's not a better game, the fact that it's not a bad game is pretty amazing.
Nitro Rad, in his video about this game, which full disclaimer inspired me to actually play and finish it, brought up the potential of a remake, and I think that would be cool. Update the visuals, fix the camera and few other smaller issues, and I genuinely think this would be a good game, potentially great even. Maybe NeoPets isn't as big as it once was, but I think this game has some potential to be more, so I can't help but say that I do in fact recommend trying out this game.
Also, to anyone else who has played this, did you also ship Tor and Roberta?
This review contains spoilers
SpongeBob SquarePants is one of those franchises that seems like it will always be around. Think of Mickey Mouse, Mario, The Muppets, Hot Wheels, and then realize that SpongeBob SquarePants is younger than all of them, in fact, there are people who predate SpongeBob who aren't even in their thirties yet, like me. So, a new video game seemed plausible, but not very likely, since most of the SpongeBob games prior have been... Well, SpongeBob game output is probably similar to that of The Simpsons, with only like, three or so good games and a lot of mediocre at best and absolute garbage at worst schlock.
That being said, with the rehydrated version of Battle for Bikini Bottom being made, it only seemed more likely that something was gonna be coming, and now, The Cosmic Shake, which is really just a shinier Battle for Bikini Bottom.
Look, I have nothing against Battle for Bikini Bottom, I respect that a lot of people like that game, and are very nostalgic for it; but I don't like it. To me, Battle for Bikini Bottom is a mediocre platformer that never gets above average. That being said, The Cosmic Shake is... okay.
Ultimately, the game has some improvements over Battle for Bikini Bottom, like now there are actually some decent platforming challenges involving the tiki crates, and there is more variety to the gameplay, involving sea horse riding, bubble surfboarding, and some other interesting twists in gameplay specific to certain levels.
Where the game suffers, is mostly in the writing. I did tag this review as having spoilers so, you've been warned, but I figured Kassandra was going to be the ultimate villain of the game. Honestly, I don't even think they tried to hide it. On top of that, the humour never really got more than a chuckle out of me. The humour ranged from meta jokes to references, and let me tell you the references are numerous. SpongeBob veterans will be able to recognize so many memes and one off characters, the snorkeling spider from the first Halloween episode even makes an appearance, and who is going to remember that?
On top of that, I feel the game also has some gameplay issues. Combat being a major one. Don't get me wrong, using the karate kick move is super helpful and made combat a lot more enjoyable. However, when you have enemy gimmicks like, "Enemy breaks in two when you hit them", or "Enemy is beefy and can only be fought like a mini-boss", it gets tiring really fast. Plus, platforming could be a weird hassle sometimes, there were some jumps that I couldn't reach specifically because I wasn't at my peak height while jumping, and some jumps I had trouble making because I was just a bit too close to the ledge, but it's stuff one could probably get used to quickly.
I guess at the end of the day, I am still kind of waiting for a SpongeBob game that makes me think; "It's the best game ever", something I can really put onto my favourite games list. That being said, I think this one is the closest I have played. It's not a perfect game, I won't say it's a great game, but it's not a game I wanted to put down and never return to. I actually do want to go back and one-hundred percent this game. I can hope this leads to more, better, SpongeBob video games, but they do play Sweet Victory over the credits, so that makes it all worth it.
I can give this game a Slight Recommendation.
That being said, with the rehydrated version of Battle for Bikini Bottom being made, it only seemed more likely that something was gonna be coming, and now, The Cosmic Shake, which is really just a shinier Battle for Bikini Bottom.
Look, I have nothing against Battle for Bikini Bottom, I respect that a lot of people like that game, and are very nostalgic for it; but I don't like it. To me, Battle for Bikini Bottom is a mediocre platformer that never gets above average. That being said, The Cosmic Shake is... okay.
Ultimately, the game has some improvements over Battle for Bikini Bottom, like now there are actually some decent platforming challenges involving the tiki crates, and there is more variety to the gameplay, involving sea horse riding, bubble surfboarding, and some other interesting twists in gameplay specific to certain levels.
Where the game suffers, is mostly in the writing. I did tag this review as having spoilers so, you've been warned, but I figured Kassandra was going to be the ultimate villain of the game. Honestly, I don't even think they tried to hide it. On top of that, the humour never really got more than a chuckle out of me. The humour ranged from meta jokes to references, and let me tell you the references are numerous. SpongeBob veterans will be able to recognize so many memes and one off characters, the snorkeling spider from the first Halloween episode even makes an appearance, and who is going to remember that?
On top of that, I feel the game also has some gameplay issues. Combat being a major one. Don't get me wrong, using the karate kick move is super helpful and made combat a lot more enjoyable. However, when you have enemy gimmicks like, "Enemy breaks in two when you hit them", or "Enemy is beefy and can only be fought like a mini-boss", it gets tiring really fast. Plus, platforming could be a weird hassle sometimes, there were some jumps that I couldn't reach specifically because I wasn't at my peak height while jumping, and some jumps I had trouble making because I was just a bit too close to the ledge, but it's stuff one could probably get used to quickly.
I guess at the end of the day, I am still kind of waiting for a SpongeBob game that makes me think; "It's the best game ever", something I can really put onto my favourite games list. That being said, I think this one is the closest I have played. It's not a perfect game, I won't say it's a great game, but it's not a game I wanted to put down and never return to. I actually do want to go back and one-hundred percent this game. I can hope this leads to more, better, SpongeBob video games, but they do play Sweet Victory over the credits, so that makes it all worth it.
I can give this game a Slight Recommendation.
Here's your game concept, hot anime babes with guns. How do you make that suck? Well, that's easy, normally you just bank on gamers inability to enjoy a game beyond tantalizing polygons and pixels that you disregard things like gameplay, story or controls, but we're used to things like Onechanbera or Dead or alive Extreme Beach Volleyball, so by the standards of "hentai games" how do you make it even worse?
Hentai vs Evil: Back 4 Waifus, is two things. First and foremost, it is a bad third-person shooter, but secondly, and worst of all, it is bad hentai. The character models are not that appealing, Lara Croft looked sexier on the PlayStation 1, heck, Samus Aran looked sexier on the 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System.
Even if you decide to play in the uncensored mode, all you're really doing is either making the characters' clothing go see-through, or just exposing how fake sexy these models are, with disproportionate bodies. On top of that, customization is limited, you can't select individual pieces of clothing for the character of your choice, only being able to select one of three or four outfits. Honestly, I can forget about a hentai game being lousy hentai if it's a decent enough game, and this game is not at all decent.
The enemy models give me asset flip vibes, and I am not accusing the developers of asset flipping, but when you have pig ogres that look like they come from a completely different game, next to reaper models that look like they came from a different game, it does not inspire much confidence in that department. At least the music is tolerable, sounds way better than I would expect music made for this game. Again, making me curious if this music was made for the game or just some asset the devs found elsewhere.
As for gameplay, two tips if you decide to play this game, one, never run backwards. You may think it is the best way to keep distance from enemies, especially when they horde on you, but you'll eventually run into something, probably another enemy and you will take damage. However, since any medkit you find on the map restores your health one hundred percent, I guess that doesn't matter. I only died three times in my total playthrough, first time was because I didn't know what I was doing, second time I fell into some water, and third time was in Survival mode where I just gave up after ten minutes and let the enemies kill me. My second tip for the game, find the Sniper Rifle, it will deal with most enemies in one or two hits, even the Reapers. Sure it only has 7 rounds before you need to reload, but since you don't have to find ammo at all, who cares?
As for game modes, you have rescue and survival, and I did all three rescue maps in about half an hour, give or take. You only have two girls to unlock, so it isn't like there is any need to do all three maps. As for Survival, I gave up after ten minutes because it was just so boring. Really, the biggest problem with the game is that it is boring, it's a boring third-person shooter that hopes you are desperate enough for some nudity that you'll buy a game where you can have sexy anime girls shooting zombies and pig ogres.
Want a good hentai game? Keep looking, or just find some porn game site online, a lot of them have moved on from Flash so...
Hentai vs Evil: Back 4 Waifus, is two things. First and foremost, it is a bad third-person shooter, but secondly, and worst of all, it is bad hentai. The character models are not that appealing, Lara Croft looked sexier on the PlayStation 1, heck, Samus Aran looked sexier on the 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System.
Even if you decide to play in the uncensored mode, all you're really doing is either making the characters' clothing go see-through, or just exposing how fake sexy these models are, with disproportionate bodies. On top of that, customization is limited, you can't select individual pieces of clothing for the character of your choice, only being able to select one of three or four outfits. Honestly, I can forget about a hentai game being lousy hentai if it's a decent enough game, and this game is not at all decent.
The enemy models give me asset flip vibes, and I am not accusing the developers of asset flipping, but when you have pig ogres that look like they come from a completely different game, next to reaper models that look like they came from a different game, it does not inspire much confidence in that department. At least the music is tolerable, sounds way better than I would expect music made for this game. Again, making me curious if this music was made for the game or just some asset the devs found elsewhere.
As for gameplay, two tips if you decide to play this game, one, never run backwards. You may think it is the best way to keep distance from enemies, especially when they horde on you, but you'll eventually run into something, probably another enemy and you will take damage. However, since any medkit you find on the map restores your health one hundred percent, I guess that doesn't matter. I only died three times in my total playthrough, first time was because I didn't know what I was doing, second time I fell into some water, and third time was in Survival mode where I just gave up after ten minutes and let the enemies kill me. My second tip for the game, find the Sniper Rifle, it will deal with most enemies in one or two hits, even the Reapers. Sure it only has 7 rounds before you need to reload, but since you don't have to find ammo at all, who cares?
As for game modes, you have rescue and survival, and I did all three rescue maps in about half an hour, give or take. You only have two girls to unlock, so it isn't like there is any need to do all three maps. As for Survival, I gave up after ten minutes because it was just so boring. Really, the biggest problem with the game is that it is boring, it's a boring third-person shooter that hopes you are desperate enough for some nudity that you'll buy a game where you can have sexy anime girls shooting zombies and pig ogres.
Want a good hentai game? Keep looking, or just find some porn game site online, a lot of them have moved on from Flash so...