Nepiki
2017
Positives:
- Surprisingly excellent monster designs.
- Plot is quite interesting.
Negatives:
- Annoying to collect every single monster because of bad in-game tools. Had to constantly criss-cross between excel and guides to find every single Nexomon.
- Status effects are really overpowered to the point they remove any challenge.
- Every Nexomon's experience curve is the exact same, and there are only 7 types, resulting in a slightly too simplistic combat system.
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''It's tough to talk about this game without addressing the elephant in the room: it is a clone of the popular media franchise Pokémon. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not. But because of that, there are also some expectations begging to be met. Nexomon ends up meeting some... and not even coming close to others.
What it does meet is that I really enjoyed most of the monster designs in this game. Often I had a genuinely tough time sticking to just six Nexomon for my team just because I came across others that I also wanted to use. A subjective opinion, but I can say that I liked this set of monster designs more than what we've seen from the inspiration for a long time. Shout-out to my Robin Hood bird--it was just too bad that your stats were so underwhelming. Another positive that I wanted to mention is the story, which won't blow your mind at all but I thought it was an interesting take on how the Nexomon ended up in this world. Lots of 4th-wall-breaks too which I'm not a fan of but whatever, it's not that impactful.
But then we get to the gameplay, and here is where Nexomon succeeds at the very bare minimum. For example, I do like that instead of there being a limited usage to moves, there is a general stamina meter for all moves, and they can also be switched at any time for a maximum of 4 at once. There's no HM moves to worry about, and moving around the world is generally pretty quick. And that's unfortunately where most of my compliments end. The Nexomon all share the exact same experience curve and a mostly similar moveset, so the only thing that truly distinguishes them from each other are the stats. With there only being 7 types, it was also far less strategic as a result. What I also didn't always like was how a new enemy Nexomon got sent out and it attacks immediately, and switching your own Nexomon also causes them to attack instantly. This wouldn't be a problem, if all damage moves didn't inflict a huge amount of damage. But then again, status effects are so completely broken so you can just use that instead. It genuinely made supposedly tough or even unwinnable battles a complete joke.
But the absolute worst aspect was that there were no good in-game tools to learn what Nexomon's habitat was in what place of the world. I constantly had to criss-cross between an excel sheet to find the best locations, and it made completion a massive chore. But even ignoring that, if I saw a trainer use a Nexomon I liked, I just had no idea where I could get it. And that's just unacceptable for a monster collecting RPG, I'm sorry. I can look past most of the other issues but this one is just unforgivable. Also, no PvP or any other post-game content beyond the post-game story makes it kinda pointless to train and collect all these Nexomon.''
- Surprisingly excellent monster designs.
- Plot is quite interesting.
Negatives:
- Annoying to collect every single monster because of bad in-game tools. Had to constantly criss-cross between excel and guides to find every single Nexomon.
- Status effects are really overpowered to the point they remove any challenge.
- Every Nexomon's experience curve is the exact same, and there are only 7 types, resulting in a slightly too simplistic combat system.
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''It's tough to talk about this game without addressing the elephant in the room: it is a clone of the popular media franchise Pokémon. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not. But because of that, there are also some expectations begging to be met. Nexomon ends up meeting some... and not even coming close to others.
What it does meet is that I really enjoyed most of the monster designs in this game. Often I had a genuinely tough time sticking to just six Nexomon for my team just because I came across others that I also wanted to use. A subjective opinion, but I can say that I liked this set of monster designs more than what we've seen from the inspiration for a long time. Shout-out to my Robin Hood bird--it was just too bad that your stats were so underwhelming. Another positive that I wanted to mention is the story, which won't blow your mind at all but I thought it was an interesting take on how the Nexomon ended up in this world. Lots of 4th-wall-breaks too which I'm not a fan of but whatever, it's not that impactful.
But then we get to the gameplay, and here is where Nexomon succeeds at the very bare minimum. For example, I do like that instead of there being a limited usage to moves, there is a general stamina meter for all moves, and they can also be switched at any time for a maximum of 4 at once. There's no HM moves to worry about, and moving around the world is generally pretty quick. And that's unfortunately where most of my compliments end. The Nexomon all share the exact same experience curve and a mostly similar moveset, so the only thing that truly distinguishes them from each other are the stats. With there only being 7 types, it was also far less strategic as a result. What I also didn't always like was how a new enemy Nexomon got sent out and it attacks immediately, and switching your own Nexomon also causes them to attack instantly. This wouldn't be a problem, if all damage moves didn't inflict a huge amount of damage. But then again, status effects are so completely broken so you can just use that instead. It genuinely made supposedly tough or even unwinnable battles a complete joke.
But the absolute worst aspect was that there were no good in-game tools to learn what Nexomon's habitat was in what place of the world. I constantly had to criss-cross between an excel sheet to find the best locations, and it made completion a massive chore. But even ignoring that, if I saw a trainer use a Nexomon I liked, I just had no idea where I could get it. And that's just unacceptable for a monster collecting RPG, I'm sorry. I can look past most of the other issues but this one is just unforgivable. Also, no PvP or any other post-game content beyond the post-game story makes it kinda pointless to train and collect all these Nexomon.''
2017
Positives:
- Adorable take on the ARPG genre, making it a very good start for (young) people trying to get into the genre.
- Exploration is highly encouraged, and also very rewarding (as indicated by me accidentally stumbling across the most powerful weapon halfway through the game).
- Good gameplay combining magic and melee, with monsters indicating how they will attack.
Negative:
- Slightly overdoes it with the meta/fourth-wall breaking content, especially to build up a sequel.
- Until learning the ability to fly, getting around takes a bit too long.
- Mew Game, the post-game runs with additional modifiers, could have been made a bit more appealing by removing or allowing the player to skip cutscenes.
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''If someone came up to me and asked to be introduced to the ARPG genre, particularly the ones where looting dungeons for epic gear is involved, Cat Quest would definitely be one of the first games I would recommend, no matter the age of the player. The difficulty and plot are both very appealing for the younger audience, but none the less appealing for veterans like me. Not always the biggest fan of fourth-wall-breaking/meta content though, but it's a nitpick more than anything else. This game does have a big obsession with summoning demons from circles and all that though, not sure what to think of it. Almost feels like I'm playing Fullmetal Catchemist or something.
All joking aside, Cat Quest's more simple approach to the genre works to its advantage. There aren't classes to worry about, no skill trees, and no specific gear attributes aside from their stats--although a shop to randomly gamble for gear is still available. Instead, we're just playing as an adorable cat who has access to a sword and magic, clears every dungeon they can find once for the treasure chest inside, and helps out the inhabitants of this world with quests in each town. All done on a cutesy hand-drawn world that the cat can freely walk around on. It does take slightly long to get around though, specifically until you get an upgrade later on. But it was a really fun- and rewarding world to explore, as indicated by me getting some extremely powerful gear pretty early on that... kind of trivialized a lot of the game but hey, I felt rewarded!
The combat, as mentioned earlier, revolves around a sword and magic. The combat itself is pretty satisfying with the enemies indicating their attack and the cat being able to roll away at all times. While I limited my magic choices to only a few, they made combat a lot more fun as well due to having to balance mana usage. The maximum amount of mana never increases, and you have to physically attack the enemies to get mana back. A pretty good combat system that I feel I had to master for the optional challenge runs, also called Mew Game, where you had to limit yourself by not using gear, permanently being level 1 etcetera. Really enjoyed that mode too, though it would have been even better if it was made a bit more appealing by removing cutscenes and such, because those took up a surprisingly long time of those runs.''
- Adorable take on the ARPG genre, making it a very good start for (young) people trying to get into the genre.
- Exploration is highly encouraged, and also very rewarding (as indicated by me accidentally stumbling across the most powerful weapon halfway through the game).
- Good gameplay combining magic and melee, with monsters indicating how they will attack.
Negative:
- Slightly overdoes it with the meta/fourth-wall breaking content, especially to build up a sequel.
- Until learning the ability to fly, getting around takes a bit too long.
- Mew Game, the post-game runs with additional modifiers, could have been made a bit more appealing by removing or allowing the player to skip cutscenes.
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''If someone came up to me and asked to be introduced to the ARPG genre, particularly the ones where looting dungeons for epic gear is involved, Cat Quest would definitely be one of the first games I would recommend, no matter the age of the player. The difficulty and plot are both very appealing for the younger audience, but none the less appealing for veterans like me. Not always the biggest fan of fourth-wall-breaking/meta content though, but it's a nitpick more than anything else. This game does have a big obsession with summoning demons from circles and all that though, not sure what to think of it. Almost feels like I'm playing Fullmetal Catchemist or something.
All joking aside, Cat Quest's more simple approach to the genre works to its advantage. There aren't classes to worry about, no skill trees, and no specific gear attributes aside from their stats--although a shop to randomly gamble for gear is still available. Instead, we're just playing as an adorable cat who has access to a sword and magic, clears every dungeon they can find once for the treasure chest inside, and helps out the inhabitants of this world with quests in each town. All done on a cutesy hand-drawn world that the cat can freely walk around on. It does take slightly long to get around though, specifically until you get an upgrade later on. But it was a really fun- and rewarding world to explore, as indicated by me getting some extremely powerful gear pretty early on that... kind of trivialized a lot of the game but hey, I felt rewarded!
The combat, as mentioned earlier, revolves around a sword and magic. The combat itself is pretty satisfying with the enemies indicating their attack and the cat being able to roll away at all times. While I limited my magic choices to only a few, they made combat a lot more fun as well due to having to balance mana usage. The maximum amount of mana never increases, and you have to physically attack the enemies to get mana back. A pretty good combat system that I feel I had to master for the optional challenge runs, also called Mew Game, where you had to limit yourself by not using gear, permanently being level 1 etcetera. Really enjoyed that mode too, though it would have been even better if it was made a bit more appealing by removing cutscenes and such, because those took up a surprisingly long time of those runs.''
2018
Positives:
- Really engaging and unique story.
- Breath of fresh air with Robin having a lot of Metroidvania ''mobility options'' right from the start, with upgrades focusing almost exclusively on weapons.
- Excellent boss battles.
Negatives:
- The story loses steam near the end, starting to randomly introduce- or brush off characters without the deserved attention.
- More often than not, there is no visual indication when there is a collectable nearby. Doesn't matter too much for breakable walls, but it does matter for underground areas where a see-through platform or ladder is... somewhere.
- Didn't really care for the tweaks for the majority of the game, so my desire to explore wasn't too high.
- Really engaging and unique story.
- Breath of fresh air with Robin having a lot of Metroidvania ''mobility options'' right from the start, with upgrades focusing almost exclusively on weapons.
- Excellent boss battles.
Negatives:
- The story loses steam near the end, starting to randomly introduce- or brush off characters without the deserved attention.
- More often than not, there is no visual indication when there is a collectable nearby. Doesn't matter too much for breakable walls, but it does matter for underground areas where a see-through platform or ladder is... somewhere.
- Didn't really care for the tweaks for the majority of the game, so my desire to explore wasn't too high.
Positives:
- Very characteristic, embracing the luchador culture and mythologies originating from South-America very well.
- Higher emphasis on combat, which makes stringing combos together a joy.
Negatives:
- 100% in-game completion is locked behind perfect scores on optional challenges. Nothing against challenging content, but it should not have affected in-game completion.
- Pretty linear for the most part.
- Very characteristic, embracing the luchador culture and mythologies originating from South-America very well.
- Higher emphasis on combat, which makes stringing combos together a joy.
Negatives:
- 100% in-game completion is locked behind perfect scores on optional challenges. Nothing against challenging content, but it should not have affected in-game completion.
- Pretty linear for the most part.
2005
Positives:
- For me, the absolute best Mario Kart has ever been when appealing to solo players, partially due to mission mode but also just the amount of content there is from the cups.
- Great selection of maps (Tierlist: https://twitter.com/NepikiGaming/status/1489664567768723458?s=20&t=yPxZr-Vgkz4Zbk5qfgOdEw)
- Great controls, with a lot of cars- and characters to choose from.
Negative:
- The start of the Blue Shell Hell era.
- For me, the absolute best Mario Kart has ever been when appealing to solo players, partially due to mission mode but also just the amount of content there is from the cups.
- Great selection of maps (Tierlist: https://twitter.com/NepikiGaming/status/1489664567768723458?s=20&t=yPxZr-Vgkz4Zbk5qfgOdEw)
- Great controls, with a lot of cars- and characters to choose from.
Negative:
- The start of the Blue Shell Hell era.
Positives:
- The tracks are fun to race on.
- Controls well.
- Despite me not liking the look of the karts, there is a good amount of customization.
Negatives:
- Campaign is inconsistent in pacing with cup length.
- Big item pool with too many items that lacked impact or that overlapped with each other.
- Online is dead. Not the game's fault, but it does remove one core aspect of replayability.
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All-Star Fruit Racing has a pretty clever mechanic of combing fruits like a juicer for specific power-ups. 1 colour of fruit is specialized in one department like boosting- or attacking, and combining them with each other will also combine the effects. In theory this sounds really fun! ...But a lot of power-ups tend to either be insignificant or overlap with each other. There are a lot of power-ups that just home in on the person in front of you, so I didn't even use the majority since I felt it was pointless. What makes this even worse is that every racer has a unique all-star move, but they too overlap with regular power-ups--specifically the ones that home in on enemies. And this is probably just me, but I also felt they didn't really make much of an impact. It is a shame because it definitely is the main selling point of the game, and it wasn't as good as I hoped it to be.
But aside from that, it was actually a pretty fun kart racer! The tracks all look and play fun, all being very colourful and different from each other. While it took me some time, the drifting eventually clicked with me and was a major aspect of getting the fastest times in the Time Trial mode, since it functions almost identical to snaking in Mario Kart DS specifically. Time Trial mode was also where I spent most of my time and where I had most of my enjoyment. I would love to say that the career mode entertained me as much too, but it sometimes has pacing issues where a cup would be around 6 different courses or have a specific long course take 5 laps. Racing on a single course for 9 minutes while in a cup simply isn't fun. All of this took me around 6 hours, and that was unfortunately also when I was mostly done with the game. I hate to be this person, but online multiplayer... unless you have friends, it simply won't happen in the current day and age. And that's definitely something to take into consideration when thinking about buying this game, since the enjoyment gained out of the main game is entirely based on what you desire from a game like this.
- The tracks are fun to race on.
- Controls well.
- Despite me not liking the look of the karts, there is a good amount of customization.
Negatives:
- Campaign is inconsistent in pacing with cup length.
- Big item pool with too many items that lacked impact or that overlapped with each other.
- Online is dead. Not the game's fault, but it does remove one core aspect of replayability.
-----------------------------------
All-Star Fruit Racing has a pretty clever mechanic of combing fruits like a juicer for specific power-ups. 1 colour of fruit is specialized in one department like boosting- or attacking, and combining them with each other will also combine the effects. In theory this sounds really fun! ...But a lot of power-ups tend to either be insignificant or overlap with each other. There are a lot of power-ups that just home in on the person in front of you, so I didn't even use the majority since I felt it was pointless. What makes this even worse is that every racer has a unique all-star move, but they too overlap with regular power-ups--specifically the ones that home in on enemies. And this is probably just me, but I also felt they didn't really make much of an impact. It is a shame because it definitely is the main selling point of the game, and it wasn't as good as I hoped it to be.
But aside from that, it was actually a pretty fun kart racer! The tracks all look and play fun, all being very colourful and different from each other. While it took me some time, the drifting eventually clicked with me and was a major aspect of getting the fastest times in the Time Trial mode, since it functions almost identical to snaking in Mario Kart DS specifically. Time Trial mode was also where I spent most of my time and where I had most of my enjoyment. I would love to say that the career mode entertained me as much too, but it sometimes has pacing issues where a cup would be around 6 different courses or have a specific long course take 5 laps. Racing on a single course for 9 minutes while in a cup simply isn't fun. All of this took me around 6 hours, and that was unfortunately also when I was mostly done with the game. I hate to be this person, but online multiplayer... unless you have friends, it simply won't happen in the current day and age. And that's definitely something to take into consideration when thinking about buying this game, since the enjoyment gained out of the main game is entirely based on what you desire from a game like this.
2017
Positives:
- Interesting innovation on the Platforming genre that controls well.
- Very characteristic and a beautiful game all around.
- There are enough checkpoints to reduce the frustration from failure.
Negatives:
- The novelty wears off too quickly, with little changes made to keep it appealing.
- Levels become very, very long and just drag on as a result.
- Minor camera issues.
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Snake Pass is an incredibly tough game for me to review because I am very mixed on it. On one hand I want to recommend it for the innovation it brought to the genre, and on the other hand, I want it to stay the hell away from me. That is a slight overexaggeration of course, but it's not too far from the truth. But let me begin by going into detail on what I like about Snake Pass.
Snake Pass is a charming platformer where one key feature is missing: jumping. Instead, you're a snake who gets higher up the stage by wriggling and coiling around wooden poles. Noodle is a long snake, so it is important that his entire body makes the movement to push him forward. This results in a physics-based game, and I can say that the controls are pretty good. The camera can sometimes be a hindrance though, but it happened only a select amount of times for me. Of course, it still revolves around physics which usually leads to frustration, and Snake Pass is no exception to that. The game gradually becomes harder, and deaths are becoming more and more frequent. Fortunately checkpoints are usually nearby more difficult sections so the reset is pretty much imminent.
But me throwing my controller through the room out of frustration is not the reason I partially dislike this game. That reason is simply because the novelty wears off really quickly. Pole climbing is the entire game, and it barely ever changes from that. Sure, it becomes more difficult, but a lot of it is still pole climbing. The only changes to the gameplay are some switches to use and a few stage hazards, and that's it. Is that an issue when the pole climbing itself is good? Not necessarily, but the levels themselves really begin to drag on the further into the game you are. They become very long, frustrating, and just very sameish. While the first few levels were all very fun because this idea was fresh and new, the later levels just weren't fun to go through. And we are talking about 3 to 4 hours of content here, not necessarily including completion. And besides, Noodle is just a very slow character to control, even when constantly wriggling to increase speed. If the gameplay evolved then I probably would have liked this game a lot more, but now? I can recommend it for two hours and that's it. But recommending a 20 euro game for 2 hours doesn't exactly sound ideal so I hate to say it but I'm sorry. I would love to recommend this for the concept alone, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend people to go out and buy it.
- Interesting innovation on the Platforming genre that controls well.
- Very characteristic and a beautiful game all around.
- There are enough checkpoints to reduce the frustration from failure.
Negatives:
- The novelty wears off too quickly, with little changes made to keep it appealing.
- Levels become very, very long and just drag on as a result.
- Minor camera issues.
-----------------------------------
Snake Pass is an incredibly tough game for me to review because I am very mixed on it. On one hand I want to recommend it for the innovation it brought to the genre, and on the other hand, I want it to stay the hell away from me. That is a slight overexaggeration of course, but it's not too far from the truth. But let me begin by going into detail on what I like about Snake Pass.
Snake Pass is a charming platformer where one key feature is missing: jumping. Instead, you're a snake who gets higher up the stage by wriggling and coiling around wooden poles. Noodle is a long snake, so it is important that his entire body makes the movement to push him forward. This results in a physics-based game, and I can say that the controls are pretty good. The camera can sometimes be a hindrance though, but it happened only a select amount of times for me. Of course, it still revolves around physics which usually leads to frustration, and Snake Pass is no exception to that. The game gradually becomes harder, and deaths are becoming more and more frequent. Fortunately checkpoints are usually nearby more difficult sections so the reset is pretty much imminent.
But me throwing my controller through the room out of frustration is not the reason I partially dislike this game. That reason is simply because the novelty wears off really quickly. Pole climbing is the entire game, and it barely ever changes from that. Sure, it becomes more difficult, but a lot of it is still pole climbing. The only changes to the gameplay are some switches to use and a few stage hazards, and that's it. Is that an issue when the pole climbing itself is good? Not necessarily, but the levels themselves really begin to drag on the further into the game you are. They become very long, frustrating, and just very sameish. While the first few levels were all very fun because this idea was fresh and new, the later levels just weren't fun to go through. And we are talking about 3 to 4 hours of content here, not necessarily including completion. And besides, Noodle is just a very slow character to control, even when constantly wriggling to increase speed. If the gameplay evolved then I probably would have liked this game a lot more, but now? I can recommend it for two hours and that's it. But recommending a 20 euro game for 2 hours doesn't exactly sound ideal so I hate to say it but I'm sorry. I would love to recommend this for the concept alone, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend people to go out and buy it.
1988
Positives:
- A mix of top-down shooter and shmup that blends really well together.
- Excellent performance on the NES; shots and special shots can be fired at the same time no problem.
- A good world to explore with a map available at any time.
Negatives:
- The difficulty has the tendency to go up- and down pretty frequently, and not in a good way.
- Can potentially be a bit confusing at first. Or I'm just dumb. Probably both.
-----------------------------------
The Guardian Legend feels like a game way ahead of its time, which shouldn't be all too surprising when the developer, Compile, has always been able to master the tech behind the NES to their advantage. In comes a blend between one of the most popular genres at the time, the shoot-em-up's, and the explorative side of the adventure genre with top-down shooter gameplay. And they blend together very, very well, as both sides of the game compliment each other. Special weapons found in the exploration part can be used during both these sections, and the same also applies to health, attack- and defence power etc.
I like the adventure part a lot because it's mostly non-linear. There's always only one area that you can explore before the next unlocks, but how you go about that area is up to you. They can also be revisited at any time, though there usually wouldn't be a reason for that unless you missed a shop or boss fight. The main objective here however, is finding the corridors that lead to the Shmup stages. What I like about them is that they are all locked, and the hint to open them is usually found in the same area--which fortunately are all clear understandable hints. I was admittedly confused at first about all the symbols I saw on the floor though, which apparently were keys but they are shaped like typical Shmup upgrades so I just assumed that's what they were for. I was pretty confused for the first half an hour for that reason, but to be fair, I feel that’s also partially my own fault. Could the keyholes have been marked with better identifiable symbols? For sure. But if I just did what the games asked me to do and open up the first corridor, I would have realised it much sooner.
The Shmup sections all controlled well, and since it shares all the stats with the adventure sections, it's one that's not too punishing if you go out of your way to collect everything. Special weapons are available to switch between at any time, and enemies drop health-related items often enough to recover from failure if needed. But… you know what, never mind, I lied. I did say it wasn't punishing but that's only half true. The Guardian Legend has one real flaw if you ask me, and that's the constant difficulty curves. Corridor 3 is infamous for having a boss that deals massive amount of damage and also takes ages to kill, while the next corridor has a dragon boss that almost can't hurt you. Until Corridor 7 this low difficulty remains, where it starts introducing green enemies that just won't die, and other enemies that do massive damage. Don't get me wrong, these difficulty curves are all doable but they're so... sudden. Fortunately, there are enough checkpoints that keep your progress even after a death, so trying again usually isn't too big of a problem. Also props to the very in-depth password system that is… very long to say the least, but it saves literally everything. And the same system can be used for neat secrets, like hidden worlds never meant to be seen, or a mode that is just the Shmups sections and nothing else.
- A mix of top-down shooter and shmup that blends really well together.
- Excellent performance on the NES; shots and special shots can be fired at the same time no problem.
- A good world to explore with a map available at any time.
Negatives:
- The difficulty has the tendency to go up- and down pretty frequently, and not in a good way.
- Can potentially be a bit confusing at first. Or I'm just dumb. Probably both.
-----------------------------------
The Guardian Legend feels like a game way ahead of its time, which shouldn't be all too surprising when the developer, Compile, has always been able to master the tech behind the NES to their advantage. In comes a blend between one of the most popular genres at the time, the shoot-em-up's, and the explorative side of the adventure genre with top-down shooter gameplay. And they blend together very, very well, as both sides of the game compliment each other. Special weapons found in the exploration part can be used during both these sections, and the same also applies to health, attack- and defence power etc.
I like the adventure part a lot because it's mostly non-linear. There's always only one area that you can explore before the next unlocks, but how you go about that area is up to you. They can also be revisited at any time, though there usually wouldn't be a reason for that unless you missed a shop or boss fight. The main objective here however, is finding the corridors that lead to the Shmup stages. What I like about them is that they are all locked, and the hint to open them is usually found in the same area--which fortunately are all clear understandable hints. I was admittedly confused at first about all the symbols I saw on the floor though, which apparently were keys but they are shaped like typical Shmup upgrades so I just assumed that's what they were for. I was pretty confused for the first half an hour for that reason, but to be fair, I feel that’s also partially my own fault. Could the keyholes have been marked with better identifiable symbols? For sure. But if I just did what the games asked me to do and open up the first corridor, I would have realised it much sooner.
The Shmup sections all controlled well, and since it shares all the stats with the adventure sections, it's one that's not too punishing if you go out of your way to collect everything. Special weapons are available to switch between at any time, and enemies drop health-related items often enough to recover from failure if needed. But… you know what, never mind, I lied. I did say it wasn't punishing but that's only half true. The Guardian Legend has one real flaw if you ask me, and that's the constant difficulty curves. Corridor 3 is infamous for having a boss that deals massive amount of damage and also takes ages to kill, while the next corridor has a dragon boss that almost can't hurt you. Until Corridor 7 this low difficulty remains, where it starts introducing green enemies that just won't die, and other enemies that do massive damage. Don't get me wrong, these difficulty curves are all doable but they're so... sudden. Fortunately, there are enough checkpoints that keep your progress even after a death, so trying again usually isn't too big of a problem. Also props to the very in-depth password system that is… very long to say the least, but it saves literally everything. And the same system can be used for neat secrets, like hidden worlds never meant to be seen, or a mode that is just the Shmups sections and nothing else.
2001
Positives:
- Manages to bring the spirit of Spyro over to the Game Boy Advance very well.
- Good presentation when it comes to the music and graphics.
- Spyro himself controls good, as indicated by his playstyle barely changing throughout the next games.
Negatives:
- The isometric perspective and clashing background colours of some levels causes severe depth perception issues.
- Generic level goals that are part of every level, only very rarely changing up.
- No memorable set pieces to levels which makes getting lost a very common occurence.
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''Spyro the Dragon was a massive hit on the PlayStation 1, having a total of three beloved games on the system. The franchise, although commonly associated with Sony, was never first-party, which meant that there was no problem bringing it to other systems. Many studios back in the day also saw potential by transitioning their franchises to a handheld system, as it was a completely different market full of potential new fans. In comes Spyro the Dragon, having a total of 6 games on the Game Boy Advance alone. Though out of those 6 games, the most known ones are the... Advance Trilogy? Seasons Trilogy? The trilogy never got an official name, but are canonically seen as an alternate ending to the first three games on PlayStation 1. The one I'm talking about today, Spyro: Season of Ice, is the first game in this trilogy.
Of course, the Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit platform, so full 3D was never really considered as an option aside from specific cases like racing games. To keep in the spirit of Spyro, the logical decision was made to transform it into an isometric platformer. It's perhaps not everyone's favourite perspective when it comes to platforming, and Season of Ice is arguably a good game to list as an example why people don't like it. As much as I have fond memories of the game, I can't deny that there are multiple levels that have terrible clashing backgrounds while the stage itself is random floating platforms, occasionally at different heights which is something that is very hard to make out; Hummingbird Ford and Twilight Bulb Factory are prime examples of this. Furthermore, jumps of faith are also often part of the levels, some where even the moving camera can't help out. And it really is a shame because it makes some levels unnecessarily hard. And these unfortunately aren't the only issues with these levels, as there are only a small handful of levels that have interesting set pieces in them for easier navigation. I got lost way too often because the levels didn't have memorable locations to indicate if I've already been there or not.
But to not sound too negative, there are enough other levels that don't deal with either the perspective issue or the memorability issue, like Market Mesa and Panda Gardens which are both two of my more favoured levels from this game. Also because both of them are slightly more original when it comes to level design philosophy as it has a few more original missions. The levels overall feel like a mix of the first two Spyro games on PS1, taking the goods of the second game by having a more characteristic feel to them because of the residents, but the bads from the first game by most levels also feeling a bit more on the generic side; find crystals, kill every enemy, and hit various things scattered through the level without dying, rinse and repeat. Placing a lot of emphasis on that last point by the way because god, that was so annoying with how easy it is to die and some levels being so confusing. And that's ultimately what it comes down to: the level design is decent overall, but hard to remember due to no set pieces and generic level goals. Let's put it on a 25% pretty good to 75% just decent scale, and the end result isn't looking that good.
Buuuuut it is still a Spyro games from the golden age, and it controls well overall. Given that it's one of my favourite platforming series ever, being ''just decent for Spyro quality'' means it is still a game I personally really enjoyed despite its shortcomings. And hey, it did try some original stuff as well, like converting speedways to a Space Harrier-like gameplay (which I personally actually really enjoyed), and Sparx is also back with his top-down shooter segments from Spyro: Year of the Dragon--not as fun, but still decent overall. And all in all, the game just really suffers from that ''first-game syndrome'' which, spoiler alert, the next two games will fix in one way or another. But that is something we will be finding out next time!''
- Manages to bring the spirit of Spyro over to the Game Boy Advance very well.
- Good presentation when it comes to the music and graphics.
- Spyro himself controls good, as indicated by his playstyle barely changing throughout the next games.
Negatives:
- The isometric perspective and clashing background colours of some levels causes severe depth perception issues.
- Generic level goals that are part of every level, only very rarely changing up.
- No memorable set pieces to levels which makes getting lost a very common occurence.
-----------------------------------
''Spyro the Dragon was a massive hit on the PlayStation 1, having a total of three beloved games on the system. The franchise, although commonly associated with Sony, was never first-party, which meant that there was no problem bringing it to other systems. Many studios back in the day also saw potential by transitioning their franchises to a handheld system, as it was a completely different market full of potential new fans. In comes Spyro the Dragon, having a total of 6 games on the Game Boy Advance alone. Though out of those 6 games, the most known ones are the... Advance Trilogy? Seasons Trilogy? The trilogy never got an official name, but are canonically seen as an alternate ending to the first three games on PlayStation 1. The one I'm talking about today, Spyro: Season of Ice, is the first game in this trilogy.
Of course, the Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit platform, so full 3D was never really considered as an option aside from specific cases like racing games. To keep in the spirit of Spyro, the logical decision was made to transform it into an isometric platformer. It's perhaps not everyone's favourite perspective when it comes to platforming, and Season of Ice is arguably a good game to list as an example why people don't like it. As much as I have fond memories of the game, I can't deny that there are multiple levels that have terrible clashing backgrounds while the stage itself is random floating platforms, occasionally at different heights which is something that is very hard to make out; Hummingbird Ford and Twilight Bulb Factory are prime examples of this. Furthermore, jumps of faith are also often part of the levels, some where even the moving camera can't help out. And it really is a shame because it makes some levels unnecessarily hard. And these unfortunately aren't the only issues with these levels, as there are only a small handful of levels that have interesting set pieces in them for easier navigation. I got lost way too often because the levels didn't have memorable locations to indicate if I've already been there or not.
But to not sound too negative, there are enough other levels that don't deal with either the perspective issue or the memorability issue, like Market Mesa and Panda Gardens which are both two of my more favoured levels from this game. Also because both of them are slightly more original when it comes to level design philosophy as it has a few more original missions. The levels overall feel like a mix of the first two Spyro games on PS1, taking the goods of the second game by having a more characteristic feel to them because of the residents, but the bads from the first game by most levels also feeling a bit more on the generic side; find crystals, kill every enemy, and hit various things scattered through the level without dying, rinse and repeat. Placing a lot of emphasis on that last point by the way because god, that was so annoying with how easy it is to die and some levels being so confusing. And that's ultimately what it comes down to: the level design is decent overall, but hard to remember due to no set pieces and generic level goals. Let's put it on a 25% pretty good to 75% just decent scale, and the end result isn't looking that good.
Buuuuut it is still a Spyro games from the golden age, and it controls well overall. Given that it's one of my favourite platforming series ever, being ''just decent for Spyro quality'' means it is still a game I personally really enjoyed despite its shortcomings. And hey, it did try some original stuff as well, like converting speedways to a Space Harrier-like gameplay (which I personally actually really enjoyed), and Sparx is also back with his top-down shooter segments from Spyro: Year of the Dragon--not as fun, but still decent overall. And all in all, the game just really suffers from that ''first-game syndrome'' which, spoiler alert, the next two games will fix in one way or another. But that is something we will be finding out next time!''
Positives:
- Improves on almost all of the weaker aspects of Spyro: Season of Ice.
- Level designs are much better and distinguishable.
- A more minigame/mission-based structure in the levels themselves that keep in line with how Spyro plays.
Negatives:
- Depth perception issues are still present, though fortunately in a far lesser degree.
- If you didn't like how Spyro controlled in Spyro: Season of Ice, you won't like it here.
- Animal friends to play as can lead to mixed results.
-----------------------------------
''Spyro: Season of Ice was well-received overall, so a sequel was bound to happen. Looking at the game from the outside, it doesn't look much different from it's predecessor. Fortunately though, Spyro 2: Season of Flame is an almost direct reflection to how Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage was a marginal improvement over the very first game. Not to discredit the first game of each trilogy of course, but the developers listened to the feedback on the first games of both and tried to improve on them. People who know me also know that Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is my favourite Spyro game in general, so if Season of Flame does the same as what that game did to the first game, is it able to hit such heights as well? In most cases, definitely, but there are still some aspects holding it back just slightly.
Let's get the negatives out of the way right from that start. Season of Ice's biggest downfall was that the isometric perspective caused depth perception issues and... they're still here. Fortunately though, it's in a far lesser degree thanks to the level design simply being much better and not often requiring to make leaps of faith. If you were not a fan of how Spyro controls in the original game though, then you're out of luck; nothing has changed to his movement. There are new elemental breaths though, that can also be temporarily enhanced to accomplish feats like freezing up shallow water to walk across which is pretty cool.
And that's it for the negatives really! Wew, that ended surprisingly quickly. But yeah, my other major complaint with the first game was the level design itself, and no memorable setpieces to make levels memorable. Neither are really a thing anymore, as the level design itself has seen a major improvement. They are slightly more linear but in a good way, meaning that there aren't just random platforms that all look the same and you can go in any direction you want from there. There are indoor areas now, and far more setpieces to make levels memorable. Minigames in levels also return and like in Spyro: Year of the Dragon, they are secluded in their own area of the level. And probably most important of all: you don't lose your progress on the flameable objects throughout the level upon dying, thank god.
But yeah, I am overall a much bigger fan of these levels than the ones from the game before--special shout-out to Shamrock Isle, Tiki Tropics and Haunted Hills. I never really got lost in these levels or the hub world, and I feel that's very important in a game where you might be missing out on just that one gem for completion. Though there are a few levels that I'm a bit mixed on--specifically the ones where the animal friends come into play. Both Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent-9 make their appearances, with the former having QBert-like movement and the latter being a 2D Shooter. I generally enjoy Sheila's levels, but Agent-9... I dunno, I just am not feeling them. I don't hate them, but whenever I see a gate leading to his levels, I usually am not excited. Yet again proving for me that I'd rather play exclusively as Spyro, but at least neither can really be considered bad.''
- Improves on almost all of the weaker aspects of Spyro: Season of Ice.
- Level designs are much better and distinguishable.
- A more minigame/mission-based structure in the levels themselves that keep in line with how Spyro plays.
Negatives:
- Depth perception issues are still present, though fortunately in a far lesser degree.
- If you didn't like how Spyro controlled in Spyro: Season of Ice, you won't like it here.
- Animal friends to play as can lead to mixed results.
-----------------------------------
''Spyro: Season of Ice was well-received overall, so a sequel was bound to happen. Looking at the game from the outside, it doesn't look much different from it's predecessor. Fortunately though, Spyro 2: Season of Flame is an almost direct reflection to how Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage was a marginal improvement over the very first game. Not to discredit the first game of each trilogy of course, but the developers listened to the feedback on the first games of both and tried to improve on them. People who know me also know that Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is my favourite Spyro game in general, so if Season of Flame does the same as what that game did to the first game, is it able to hit such heights as well? In most cases, definitely, but there are still some aspects holding it back just slightly.
Let's get the negatives out of the way right from that start. Season of Ice's biggest downfall was that the isometric perspective caused depth perception issues and... they're still here. Fortunately though, it's in a far lesser degree thanks to the level design simply being much better and not often requiring to make leaps of faith. If you were not a fan of how Spyro controls in the original game though, then you're out of luck; nothing has changed to his movement. There are new elemental breaths though, that can also be temporarily enhanced to accomplish feats like freezing up shallow water to walk across which is pretty cool.
And that's it for the negatives really! Wew, that ended surprisingly quickly. But yeah, my other major complaint with the first game was the level design itself, and no memorable setpieces to make levels memorable. Neither are really a thing anymore, as the level design itself has seen a major improvement. They are slightly more linear but in a good way, meaning that there aren't just random platforms that all look the same and you can go in any direction you want from there. There are indoor areas now, and far more setpieces to make levels memorable. Minigames in levels also return and like in Spyro: Year of the Dragon, they are secluded in their own area of the level. And probably most important of all: you don't lose your progress on the flameable objects throughout the level upon dying, thank god.
But yeah, I am overall a much bigger fan of these levels than the ones from the game before--special shout-out to Shamrock Isle, Tiki Tropics and Haunted Hills. I never really got lost in these levels or the hub world, and I feel that's very important in a game where you might be missing out on just that one gem for completion. Though there are a few levels that I'm a bit mixed on--specifically the ones where the animal friends come into play. Both Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent-9 make their appearances, with the former having QBert-like movement and the latter being a 2D Shooter. I generally enjoy Sheila's levels, but Agent-9... I dunno, I just am not feeling them. I don't hate them, but whenever I see a gate leading to his levels, I usually am not excited. Yet again proving for me that I'd rather play exclusively as Spyro, but at least neither can really be considered bad.''
Positives:
- A slight shift in genre (Adventure/Metroidvania) while still keeping the Spyro gameplay intact.
- Fun level themes, like the egg thieves guild.
- Platforming issues from the past two games are basically non-existant.
Negatives:
- Levels are a bit on the basic side, with almost no platforming involved.
- Agent Frickin 9.
-----------------------------------
''We arrive at the final game in the Spyro GBA trilogy, and perhaps the most interesting game to talk about as well--which is funny to say since, on first look, it looks exactly like the past two games. But I'm here to tell you that, surprisingly, that's only half true. The gameplay--or rather, the game design is completely different. To put it simply, the first two games in this trilogy tried to bring the feel of the Spyro PS1 games to the Game Boy Advance, while Attack of the Rhynocs tries to be its own original adventure. The game's title in PAL territories is Spyro's Adventure, so don't blame me, blame them.
The biggest criticisms with the past games have always been that the isometric perspective made platforming not that fun to do, and depth perception made it worse. I don't agree with the statement that platforming wasn't fun to do, but it was a general criticism. So Digital Eclipse came with a compromise to still make it an isometric platformer... but at the same time make platforming itself basically irrelevant. There are barely any situations where Spyro has to jump over long bottomless pits, and when he does need to jump, the platforms are either in close sight or there is solid ground underneath him. Given that there is no life system anymore either, this was all a deliberate decision to make the biggest criticism a non-issue anymore--and that's a valid strategy! But I must also admit that most levels are now far less fun to go through, despite still having interesting themes like a rabbit hole with rabbit magicians, or the thieves guild where our favourite egg thieves live.
But if platforming isn't really prevalent anymore, then what makes Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs an interesting game? Well, it went with a more Adventure approach, not unlike a ''fetch quest'' game or even a Metroidvania in design. And I'm not even kidding there since all levels are connected to the Dragon Shores, and you can't finish a level on first visit due to needing other items or even abilities, like new elemental breaths or a ground pound. Levels will have to be revisited multiple times, but if you just follow the storyline, you won't ever really be stuck because you missed out on an ability or something. It also has a few interesting collectables aside from what is needed for completion, like different colours for Spyro and such. Good thing is that you also need nowhere near everything to just beat the game if you're not a completionist--you just aren't my friend anymore but that's okay right :D?
There is one aspect I didn't really like though. In every level, there are multiple different coloured chests that can only be opened when a key has been assembled from two parts. These are obtained from the animal friend levels, in this case Sgt. Byrd and the returning Agent-9. They uh, aren't really good. Sgt. Byrd is the least offensive at least since it's similar to how he plays in Spyro: Year of the Dragon; fly around, kill enemies and bring the army back to base. Agent-9 though... they made his stages into super annoying 2D Stealth levels. I hate them, I really, really hate them. Yet again, just like the last review, enforcing that I just want to play as Spyro.
To close off this review, I would say that I really enjoyed the game, but it's slightly behind Spyro 2: Season of Flame for me. The main reason for that was simply because I thought it was a shame that platforming here barely exists anymore. The reason why is understandable, but I'm also of the opinion that they got pretty close to having it work very well with Season of Flame. At the same time though, I can also appreciate this game for trying to be its own thing and on that front, they did a pretty good job. And with that, we reach the end of the Spyro GBA Marathon! Overall a pretty solid set of isometric platformers, with some lows but also a lot of heights. Thank you for reading!''
- A slight shift in genre (Adventure/Metroidvania) while still keeping the Spyro gameplay intact.
- Fun level themes, like the egg thieves guild.
- Platforming issues from the past two games are basically non-existant.
Negatives:
- Levels are a bit on the basic side, with almost no platforming involved.
- Agent Frickin 9.
-----------------------------------
''We arrive at the final game in the Spyro GBA trilogy, and perhaps the most interesting game to talk about as well--which is funny to say since, on first look, it looks exactly like the past two games. But I'm here to tell you that, surprisingly, that's only half true. The gameplay--or rather, the game design is completely different. To put it simply, the first two games in this trilogy tried to bring the feel of the Spyro PS1 games to the Game Boy Advance, while Attack of the Rhynocs tries to be its own original adventure. The game's title in PAL territories is Spyro's Adventure, so don't blame me, blame them.
The biggest criticisms with the past games have always been that the isometric perspective made platforming not that fun to do, and depth perception made it worse. I don't agree with the statement that platforming wasn't fun to do, but it was a general criticism. So Digital Eclipse came with a compromise to still make it an isometric platformer... but at the same time make platforming itself basically irrelevant. There are barely any situations where Spyro has to jump over long bottomless pits, and when he does need to jump, the platforms are either in close sight or there is solid ground underneath him. Given that there is no life system anymore either, this was all a deliberate decision to make the biggest criticism a non-issue anymore--and that's a valid strategy! But I must also admit that most levels are now far less fun to go through, despite still having interesting themes like a rabbit hole with rabbit magicians, or the thieves guild where our favourite egg thieves live.
But if platforming isn't really prevalent anymore, then what makes Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs an interesting game? Well, it went with a more Adventure approach, not unlike a ''fetch quest'' game or even a Metroidvania in design. And I'm not even kidding there since all levels are connected to the Dragon Shores, and you can't finish a level on first visit due to needing other items or even abilities, like new elemental breaths or a ground pound. Levels will have to be revisited multiple times, but if you just follow the storyline, you won't ever really be stuck because you missed out on an ability or something. It also has a few interesting collectables aside from what is needed for completion, like different colours for Spyro and such. Good thing is that you also need nowhere near everything to just beat the game if you're not a completionist--you just aren't my friend anymore but that's okay right :D?
There is one aspect I didn't really like though. In every level, there are multiple different coloured chests that can only be opened when a key has been assembled from two parts. These are obtained from the animal friend levels, in this case Sgt. Byrd and the returning Agent-9. They uh, aren't really good. Sgt. Byrd is the least offensive at least since it's similar to how he plays in Spyro: Year of the Dragon; fly around, kill enemies and bring the army back to base. Agent-9 though... they made his stages into super annoying 2D Stealth levels. I hate them, I really, really hate them. Yet again, just like the last review, enforcing that I just want to play as Spyro.
To close off this review, I would say that I really enjoyed the game, but it's slightly behind Spyro 2: Season of Flame for me. The main reason for that was simply because I thought it was a shame that platforming here barely exists anymore. The reason why is understandable, but I'm also of the opinion that they got pretty close to having it work very well with Season of Flame. At the same time though, I can also appreciate this game for trying to be its own thing and on that front, they did a pretty good job. And with that, we reach the end of the Spyro GBA Marathon! Overall a pretty solid set of isometric platformers, with some lows but also a lot of heights. Thank you for reading!''
Positives:
- A good attempt at bringing lore into the game.
- The gameplay is alright.
Negatives:
- No progression. Puzzles don't change much over the course of the game.
- Unnecessarily heavy grinding required to buy/upgrade everything. Heroic mode makes this even worse than it already is.
- The game becomes really hard to see when it's night in-game.
-----------------------------------
''Shalnor Legends: Sacred Lands had been on my wishlist for quite a while--pretty much since its release actually. After all, the 2D Action-Adventure genre--or for a lack of better words, 2D Zelda-likes--is one that I feel is underrepresented in the current day. Any upcoming game in this genre doesn't have to do much to end up on my wishlist. Unfortunately for this game though, my experience with it wasn't one that I'll look back on fondly.
Let's get the positives out of the way first. Although it was something I overlooked for most of the game since the graphics for books never stood out to me, I do like the good attempt at world building for this game through lore not touched upon in the main story. I wish it was the main story though, since that basically came down to our main protagonist wanting to clear a trial and get out of the sacred lands alongside every other human that's still alive--and that's saying it nicely because it really is just her trying to get a bow and get out. The lore is good, but I would have liked for it to be a bit more in the spotlight. Regardless, it builds up to more, and while I normally am not a fan of that since sequels depend on the first game's success, there is certainly more to be discovered here. Despite my opinions on this game, I do hope that this lore ends up being expanded in future, hopefully better games.
But that short paragraph is unfortunately all I really had to say when it comes to positives. Shalnor Legends lacks one major aspect of the genre it comes with, and that is progression. Over the entire course of the game, nothing ever changes to the puzzles. It comes down to the same traps being used over and over again with very slight alterations, and it becomes repetitive very quickly as a result. New elemental arrows are obtained from dungeons, but they are only used for no reason other than to open up doors, completely avoiding what games such as The Legend of Zelda have been doing with new items to introduce new puzzles. They're good for combat sure, but even the bosses don't need these specific arrows; in fact, they just need to be whaled on and that's it. So yeah, you're essentially doing the same things over and over again for a game that can easily last 8 hours on a first playthrough.
Perhaps the worst aspect about the game though, is the unreasonable amount of grinding asked from the player. There are a lot of merchants to buy one-time stuff from, and both weapons- and armour can be upgraded through distinct skilltrees. Every node on these skilltrees need materials to be upgraded, which are mostly fine to get. On the other hand though, they also cost a lot of money. The only way to get money is to go in a room, break barrels, leave, rinse and repeat for a few coins at a time--or at least, that's the case for almost 90% of the game. As you can imagine, that's a drag and takes way too long--especially given the big amounts needed for upgrading. There is a minigame after obtaining all of a specific collectable that makes getting money pathetically easy, but not only does the game never indicate that getting these (paid) collectables leads to such a minigame, but unlocking it happens near the very end of the game. If you're like me, you probably already wasted countless hours just upgrading everything simply because you didn't expect a minigame near the end of the game. This could have easily been solved if the game had alternative ways to get materials- and money, like sidequests. But as mentioned before, there is little to do in this game outside of trap-avoiding adventuring. Oh, and to add insult to injury: Heroic mode, a higher difficulty unlocked after beating the game once, has reduced material- and money drop rates. Why.
The gameplay loop itself is alright I suppose. It feels a bit clunky at first, but combat and dashing around do both work--it's just not really super satisfying or anything. I do at least like the archery combat, but it is hampered by every arrow consuming so much mana that you can only shoot a few before having to wait again. Exploration itself is also alright, though I'm not the biggest fan of invisible chests that appear only when you're very close to them. There's also a day-night system, but that is basically only used for ghost merchants who appear on the map at night. The game is really dark at night though--a bit too dark for my liking, making it tough to walk around and even find these ghost merchants in the first place. There's not really a distinct map with icons that would make it easier to find them on there either, but the game isn't too big and you still have a general world map to look at that also has teleporting options. It's more on the nitpicky side, though please don't make the game too dark next time.''
- A good attempt at bringing lore into the game.
- The gameplay is alright.
Negatives:
- No progression. Puzzles don't change much over the course of the game.
- Unnecessarily heavy grinding required to buy/upgrade everything. Heroic mode makes this even worse than it already is.
- The game becomes really hard to see when it's night in-game.
-----------------------------------
''Shalnor Legends: Sacred Lands had been on my wishlist for quite a while--pretty much since its release actually. After all, the 2D Action-Adventure genre--or for a lack of better words, 2D Zelda-likes--is one that I feel is underrepresented in the current day. Any upcoming game in this genre doesn't have to do much to end up on my wishlist. Unfortunately for this game though, my experience with it wasn't one that I'll look back on fondly.
Let's get the positives out of the way first. Although it was something I overlooked for most of the game since the graphics for books never stood out to me, I do like the good attempt at world building for this game through lore not touched upon in the main story. I wish it was the main story though, since that basically came down to our main protagonist wanting to clear a trial and get out of the sacred lands alongside every other human that's still alive--and that's saying it nicely because it really is just her trying to get a bow and get out. The lore is good, but I would have liked for it to be a bit more in the spotlight. Regardless, it builds up to more, and while I normally am not a fan of that since sequels depend on the first game's success, there is certainly more to be discovered here. Despite my opinions on this game, I do hope that this lore ends up being expanded in future, hopefully better games.
But that short paragraph is unfortunately all I really had to say when it comes to positives. Shalnor Legends lacks one major aspect of the genre it comes with, and that is progression. Over the entire course of the game, nothing ever changes to the puzzles. It comes down to the same traps being used over and over again with very slight alterations, and it becomes repetitive very quickly as a result. New elemental arrows are obtained from dungeons, but they are only used for no reason other than to open up doors, completely avoiding what games such as The Legend of Zelda have been doing with new items to introduce new puzzles. They're good for combat sure, but even the bosses don't need these specific arrows; in fact, they just need to be whaled on and that's it. So yeah, you're essentially doing the same things over and over again for a game that can easily last 8 hours on a first playthrough.
Perhaps the worst aspect about the game though, is the unreasonable amount of grinding asked from the player. There are a lot of merchants to buy one-time stuff from, and both weapons- and armour can be upgraded through distinct skilltrees. Every node on these skilltrees need materials to be upgraded, which are mostly fine to get. On the other hand though, they also cost a lot of money. The only way to get money is to go in a room, break barrels, leave, rinse and repeat for a few coins at a time--or at least, that's the case for almost 90% of the game. As you can imagine, that's a drag and takes way too long--especially given the big amounts needed for upgrading. There is a minigame after obtaining all of a specific collectable that makes getting money pathetically easy, but not only does the game never indicate that getting these (paid) collectables leads to such a minigame, but unlocking it happens near the very end of the game. If you're like me, you probably already wasted countless hours just upgrading everything simply because you didn't expect a minigame near the end of the game. This could have easily been solved if the game had alternative ways to get materials- and money, like sidequests. But as mentioned before, there is little to do in this game outside of trap-avoiding adventuring. Oh, and to add insult to injury: Heroic mode, a higher difficulty unlocked after beating the game once, has reduced material- and money drop rates. Why.
The gameplay loop itself is alright I suppose. It feels a bit clunky at first, but combat and dashing around do both work--it's just not really super satisfying or anything. I do at least like the archery combat, but it is hampered by every arrow consuming so much mana that you can only shoot a few before having to wait again. Exploration itself is also alright, though I'm not the biggest fan of invisible chests that appear only when you're very close to them. There's also a day-night system, but that is basically only used for ghost merchants who appear on the map at night. The game is really dark at night though--a bit too dark for my liking, making it tough to walk around and even find these ghost merchants in the first place. There's not really a distinct map with icons that would make it easier to find them on there either, but the game isn't too big and you still have a general world map to look at that also has teleporting options. It's more on the nitpicky side, though please don't make the game too dark next time.''
1999
Positives:
- Great amount of fanservice to the Chocobo/Final Fantasy franchise.
- The controls are good overall, with characters making a difference.
- Lots- and lots of unlockables.
Negatives:
- Unbalanced when it comes to (upgraded) magic and Magicite of opponents.
- The magic system is fun, but racing against someone like Goblin makes it irrelevant.
- No indication ever when it comes to unlockables.
-----------------------------------
''Chocobo Racing is a Kart Racing game set in the Chocobo series, a spin-off of the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. This game is actually my first endeavor into the Chocobo games, a series that has a surprising amount of games underneath its belt, such as Mystery Dungeon games and more. As a result, I'm not too familiar with all of the named characters in this game, but since the series as a whole is a spin-off of one of my favourite franchises ever, all of the fanservice and mechanics all made me very happy. Almost all of the music tracks are remixes from all across the Final Fantasy franchise, like Mysidia from Final Fantasy 4 and the Town theme from Final Fantasy 1. They even teased me with Kefka's theme but he was nowhere to be seen, and that was a sin. But it's not just limited to music either, as some of the tracks themselves are love-letters to the games too. I'm specifically talking about the very final one called Fantasia, a track set in the Esper world with summons on the side of the track from all across the franchise. It made my Final Fantasy heart melt to say the least.
But that's cool and all, but fanservice alone won't make a game. Though fortunately, I had a good time playing Chocobo Racing aside from just the fanservice. There are several modes to choose from, like a short story featuring all of the characters that also goes through all of the game mechanics and items, to a Grand Prix where you can select which races you want to go through instead of having pre-defined cups. The story itself is more aimed at children and therefore not really anything noteworthy, but a story is the last thing I'm looking for in a kart racer anyway. There are also a few other modes which can be played alone, but are obviously geared towards multiplayer which I unfortunately couldn't really do.
As for the controls themselves, I like them. That said, there are a few aspects that can make- or break the game for some people. First of would be drifting, which can be tough to master. I personally found it easier to tap the X button a few times instead of holding it, which made drifting far more comfortable for me. Also, while not shown in-game, what character you choose definitely matters, as they all have invisible stats like handling and speed. The Fat Chocobo, even though they may not look like it, is easily one of the best characters when it comes to handling for example.
And characters also matter when it comes to the Magicite they come with as opponents--special moves that can vary from a boost to stealing magic of other racers. And this is a nice segue into what I consider to be Chocobo Racing's biggest flaw: the balancing issues. Aside from these Magicite, the tracks themselves have magic orbs that function as this game's items. They are all a direct representation of Final Fantasy's spells, like Fire, Mini and Reflect. What's more, all of these can be upgraded up to three times by picking up the same coloured magic orbs again, upgrading them to Fira and Firaga for example. While this is a very cool system that I love... it's almost completely pointless because of the fact that if you're racing against Goblin, he'll just keep stealing your orbs before you can even get three. If you're not racing against him, then you're probably facing someone like Bahamut who can use an unavoidable Megaflare at least two times per race that leaves you uncontrollable in place for at least 5 seconds while he speeds by. Upgraded magic leaving you immobile for at least 5 seconds are very common in general--especially that forsaken Blizzaga. Being hit by multiple of these upgraded spells back to back is not too uncommon, and being unable to move for 15 seconds? Yeah, that's not fun. But at the very least, the game is not too difficult and you can ruin their day as hard as they ruin yours. Rubber banding is not a thing in this game at all.
Finally, I wanted to cover some slight spoilers when it comes to unlockables. The game may not seem very long because of the short story and the Grand Prix being a customizable one, but that's surprisingly far from the truth... kinda. There are a lot of unlockable characters--and I mean a lot. Not only that, but there's a complete bonus setting that unlocks after racing on all difficulties on the Grand Prix. And while I love this a lot, it's also very unknown. You can play story mode again for a total of 10 times and each time you do, you unlock a new character. The first one is actually very obvious as you're racing against that character, but from there onward, there is no indication at all that you unlocked a new character. Not a simple screen, not any instructions, nothing. The same goes for the unlockable bonus setting. And I know, this is the 90s, schoolyard rumours are the way to go. And for how completely random these characters are, yeah, I can definitely see the rumours happening. But a simple visual indication would have been nice, because who even thinks of replaying story mode for a total of 10 times? And it's not like these characters appear on the selection screen, as you have to hover over the first bonus character and then press a button combination you're somehow supposed to know. I'm probably nitpicking here, but I am a completionist so that's a given.''
- Great amount of fanservice to the Chocobo/Final Fantasy franchise.
- The controls are good overall, with characters making a difference.
- Lots- and lots of unlockables.
Negatives:
- Unbalanced when it comes to (upgraded) magic and Magicite of opponents.
- The magic system is fun, but racing against someone like Goblin makes it irrelevant.
- No indication ever when it comes to unlockables.
-----------------------------------
''Chocobo Racing is a Kart Racing game set in the Chocobo series, a spin-off of the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. This game is actually my first endeavor into the Chocobo games, a series that has a surprising amount of games underneath its belt, such as Mystery Dungeon games and more. As a result, I'm not too familiar with all of the named characters in this game, but since the series as a whole is a spin-off of one of my favourite franchises ever, all of the fanservice and mechanics all made me very happy. Almost all of the music tracks are remixes from all across the Final Fantasy franchise, like Mysidia from Final Fantasy 4 and the Town theme from Final Fantasy 1. They even teased me with Kefka's theme but he was nowhere to be seen, and that was a sin. But it's not just limited to music either, as some of the tracks themselves are love-letters to the games too. I'm specifically talking about the very final one called Fantasia, a track set in the Esper world with summons on the side of the track from all across the franchise. It made my Final Fantasy heart melt to say the least.
But that's cool and all, but fanservice alone won't make a game. Though fortunately, I had a good time playing Chocobo Racing aside from just the fanservice. There are several modes to choose from, like a short story featuring all of the characters that also goes through all of the game mechanics and items, to a Grand Prix where you can select which races you want to go through instead of having pre-defined cups. The story itself is more aimed at children and therefore not really anything noteworthy, but a story is the last thing I'm looking for in a kart racer anyway. There are also a few other modes which can be played alone, but are obviously geared towards multiplayer which I unfortunately couldn't really do.
As for the controls themselves, I like them. That said, there are a few aspects that can make- or break the game for some people. First of would be drifting, which can be tough to master. I personally found it easier to tap the X button a few times instead of holding it, which made drifting far more comfortable for me. Also, while not shown in-game, what character you choose definitely matters, as they all have invisible stats like handling and speed. The Fat Chocobo, even though they may not look like it, is easily one of the best characters when it comes to handling for example.
And characters also matter when it comes to the Magicite they come with as opponents--special moves that can vary from a boost to stealing magic of other racers. And this is a nice segue into what I consider to be Chocobo Racing's biggest flaw: the balancing issues. Aside from these Magicite, the tracks themselves have magic orbs that function as this game's items. They are all a direct representation of Final Fantasy's spells, like Fire, Mini and Reflect. What's more, all of these can be upgraded up to three times by picking up the same coloured magic orbs again, upgrading them to Fira and Firaga for example. While this is a very cool system that I love... it's almost completely pointless because of the fact that if you're racing against Goblin, he'll just keep stealing your orbs before you can even get three. If you're not racing against him, then you're probably facing someone like Bahamut who can use an unavoidable Megaflare at least two times per race that leaves you uncontrollable in place for at least 5 seconds while he speeds by. Upgraded magic leaving you immobile for at least 5 seconds are very common in general--especially that forsaken Blizzaga. Being hit by multiple of these upgraded spells back to back is not too uncommon, and being unable to move for 15 seconds? Yeah, that's not fun. But at the very least, the game is not too difficult and you can ruin their day as hard as they ruin yours. Rubber banding is not a thing in this game at all.
Finally, I wanted to cover some slight spoilers when it comes to unlockables. The game may not seem very long because of the short story and the Grand Prix being a customizable one, but that's surprisingly far from the truth... kinda. There are a lot of unlockable characters--and I mean a lot. Not only that, but there's a complete bonus setting that unlocks after racing on all difficulties on the Grand Prix. And while I love this a lot, it's also very unknown. You can play story mode again for a total of 10 times and each time you do, you unlock a new character. The first one is actually very obvious as you're racing against that character, but from there onward, there is no indication at all that you unlocked a new character. Not a simple screen, not any instructions, nothing. The same goes for the unlockable bonus setting. And I know, this is the 90s, schoolyard rumours are the way to go. And for how completely random these characters are, yeah, I can definitely see the rumours happening. But a simple visual indication would have been nice, because who even thinks of replaying story mode for a total of 10 times? And it's not like these characters appear on the selection screen, as you have to hover over the first bonus character and then press a button combination you're somehow supposed to know. I'm probably nitpicking here, but I am a completionist so that's a given.''
1989
Positives:
- Short- but sweet.
- After getting used to the controls, they surprisingly become satisfying despite the hitboxes.
- Good presentation overall, and I like the music.
Negatives:
- Takes a good amount of time to get used to.
- The hitboxes make no sense and make the game feel clunky as a result.
- Level 4-1 is a pretty big jump in difficulty, after which it goes down immediately again.
-----------------------------------
''Astyanax is a short- but sweet 2D Platformer on the NES, but one that admittedly took me some time getting used to. Part of that could be because the main character has a bigger sprite than most protagonists at the time, though I will also say that controls didn't really suffer from that. Moreso, it was the hit detection that felt off quite often; being hit while not touching any enemies, while also killing enemies even if you can see your weapon not landing on them. This made the game feel unnecessarily difficult for me near the beginning until I got used to it--especially with the amount of enemies that are on screen coming from both sides, aerial enemies being the bane of my existence, and plants loving to come out of the ground near bottomless pits that cause knockback. Level 4-1 is infamous for being a decently big spike in difficulty for every single one of those reasons.
Though all things considered, take it slow and the challenge of the game is actually... not that bad really. The life meter is very big, and there are unlimited continues that put you back at the beginning of the level you died in. And taking it slow is not a bad thing either since I beat the game in less than two hours on a first playthrough with no former experience. And while that normally would make a game too short, I think it doesn't really apply to Astyanax due to the game's structure. While the levels are very much distinct from each other, they all come down to the same idea in the end: go to the right, sometimes vertically, and beat the boss at the end. There's little change to be seen in the structure, hence why the game's length is good because it stops before it can get tiresome or repetitive. It also makes the game fun to replay every now and then, especially now that I'm used to the controls and hitboxes. I've actually been replaying the game every now and then to attempt a run without continuing, but... level 4-1. Ugh.
I actually haven't even talked about the controls in the first place have I? I mentioned that the bigger sprite makes controlling the character still pretty smoothly, but I haven't talked about actual combat. The main character has access to an axe that becomes better when upgrades are picked up. It can be swung as often as you like, but that's not what the game wants you to do because it will be far weaker that way. There's a power meter at the bottom of the screen that can also be expanded over the course of the game, and the longer you prepare for an attack, the stronger it will be--often even annihilating some stronger enemies in one hit. This yet again enforces that the game wants you to take your time instead of mindlessly going through the stages as fast as you can. And in case there are too many enemies on screen, our protagonist also has access to three magic spells--two of which take care of almost anything on-screen while the other one slows time, which is great for bosses. The bosses aren't anything special but I do like them enough at least, and they have good identifiable patterns so that when you do end up failing, you can restart and learn from it.''
- Short- but sweet.
- After getting used to the controls, they surprisingly become satisfying despite the hitboxes.
- Good presentation overall, and I like the music.
Negatives:
- Takes a good amount of time to get used to.
- The hitboxes make no sense and make the game feel clunky as a result.
- Level 4-1 is a pretty big jump in difficulty, after which it goes down immediately again.
-----------------------------------
''Astyanax is a short- but sweet 2D Platformer on the NES, but one that admittedly took me some time getting used to. Part of that could be because the main character has a bigger sprite than most protagonists at the time, though I will also say that controls didn't really suffer from that. Moreso, it was the hit detection that felt off quite often; being hit while not touching any enemies, while also killing enemies even if you can see your weapon not landing on them. This made the game feel unnecessarily difficult for me near the beginning until I got used to it--especially with the amount of enemies that are on screen coming from both sides, aerial enemies being the bane of my existence, and plants loving to come out of the ground near bottomless pits that cause knockback. Level 4-1 is infamous for being a decently big spike in difficulty for every single one of those reasons.
Though all things considered, take it slow and the challenge of the game is actually... not that bad really. The life meter is very big, and there are unlimited continues that put you back at the beginning of the level you died in. And taking it slow is not a bad thing either since I beat the game in less than two hours on a first playthrough with no former experience. And while that normally would make a game too short, I think it doesn't really apply to Astyanax due to the game's structure. While the levels are very much distinct from each other, they all come down to the same idea in the end: go to the right, sometimes vertically, and beat the boss at the end. There's little change to be seen in the structure, hence why the game's length is good because it stops before it can get tiresome or repetitive. It also makes the game fun to replay every now and then, especially now that I'm used to the controls and hitboxes. I've actually been replaying the game every now and then to attempt a run without continuing, but... level 4-1. Ugh.
I actually haven't even talked about the controls in the first place have I? I mentioned that the bigger sprite makes controlling the character still pretty smoothly, but I haven't talked about actual combat. The main character has access to an axe that becomes better when upgrades are picked up. It can be swung as often as you like, but that's not what the game wants you to do because it will be far weaker that way. There's a power meter at the bottom of the screen that can also be expanded over the course of the game, and the longer you prepare for an attack, the stronger it will be--often even annihilating some stronger enemies in one hit. This yet again enforces that the game wants you to take your time instead of mindlessly going through the stages as fast as you can. And in case there are too many enemies on screen, our protagonist also has access to three magic spells--two of which take care of almost anything on-screen while the other one slows time, which is great for bosses. The bosses aren't anything special but I do like them enough at least, and they have good identifiable patterns so that when you do end up failing, you can restart and learn from it.''
2017
Positives:
- Three distinctly different characters to play as.
- High-speed action makes it a satisfying game to speedrun.
- Good presentation overall.
Negatives:
- (PC-only) Refresh rate higher than 60hz makes the game unbeatable. Unforgivable.
- Every replay is the exact same, with only the characters making the difference... if it wasn't so easy.
- Puzzles are really bad, losing the key item on just one hit.
-----------------------------------
''Okay so, before this review starts, I'm going to go on a quick rant. Note that this only applies to PC players (I think?), and also only those with higher-end monitors. You can probably already guess where I'm going with this but yes, we are living in the year 2022 (or 2019 when the game came out), and this game is entirely unbeatable depending on the refresh rate your monitor has. I was running around the second level for almost half an hour with no idea what to do, and then I looked up guides on the internet on what other people did and they moved way faster, but for no explainable reason. It wasn't until I found a deep buried Steam post until I realized that apparently anything above 60hz causes the character to move way slower. Frankly, that's just an unforgivable flaw and yes, I will judge the game for that--even if it is something that may not apply to everyone. But for now, rant over, let's actually talk about the game.
KAMIKO is an action game starring three different characters; a fighter specialized in melee, one in distance fighting (archery), and one who does both. I appreciate the variety between the three because of the gameplay styles also enforcing how their gameplay should be--either take it up close and hack away, or care more about your positioning. Not like it really matters that much in the end since the game is really easy, only giving me one death on my very first playthrough of about six. And I can hear you thinking "...wait, six playthroughs?!" and yeah, that's indeed what I did. Not that surprising either when a single playthrough doesn't last more than half an hour, aside from maybe the first one since you need to get the hang of how the game works. And if a game is that short, is really needs to have good replayability for people to want to play it more. Given that every playthrough is the exact same with no differences, the characters here really are more important than just a preference in gameplay style.
I liked playing as two characters, being the melee fighter who goes in for quick slashes and a beyblade spin as special attack, and the jack-of-both-trades who throws her surprisingly high-damaging shield and then goes in for pokes with her tiny sword. The only reason I don't like the otherwise powerful archer character is because of her vulnerability while attacking. While the other two characters can move around all the time without any issues, the archer just can't move at all when aiming her bow. It makes sense and like I said, it makes positioning more important, but there are many enemies on screen at pretty much all times and if there's an enemy not standing straight in front of her, she's kinda screwed. But like I said, the game is really easy so it's more just her not being fun to play as rather than her being bad to play as.
With the characters out of the way, time to talk about that very short playthrough. There are a total of four stages to go through, with a high emphasis on the before-mentioned combat and a very slight emphasis on puzzles. The basic gist is to find four gates, cleanse them, and then beat the boss of the level. All stages are visually distinct but there isn't really anything making them actually distinct from each other, aside from maybe enemies but even they have very generic attacking patterns. The other objective is to just find chests for upgrades and unlock the path to the gates or the boss and... that's where my biggest annoyance lies with this game. Be it a door or a pedestal, you need to carry the item that unlocks it over your head to it. The problem is that if you get hit even once, you immediately lose the item and you have to go back to where it was placed. Given how many enemies there can be on screen or how narrow some paths can be while you cannot attack them, this is surprisingly the most difficult part about the game--but absolutely not in a good way.
I wanted to talk about the bosses too but given how easy the rest of the game is, I couldn't really find the motivation to do so. The idea behind them is at least fun but that's all I really have to say. And with that, we have a surprisingly negative review for this game... which is something I really didn't want to do, but it is what it is. But I at least wanted to end on a positive note since my time with KAMIKO wasn't necessarily a bad one. I like the presentation of the game, and also that there is an emphasis on combo's that break whenever you take too long or get hit. Everything like unlocking chests- or cleansing gates, as well as using special moves requires a specific currency dropped by enemies, and they are easier to get with combo's. Given that this game also places an emphasis on speedrunning due to it's length, making bigger combo's results in less time spent grinding for them. And hey, since this game is so short, it makes for a fun game to speedrun... except that there is no global leaderboard. So we're still ending this review negatively after all huh. Oh well, it was a decent fun experience for how long it lasted, but the characters being the only difference each playthrough makes it a really tough sell unfortunately.''
- Three distinctly different characters to play as.
- High-speed action makes it a satisfying game to speedrun.
- Good presentation overall.
Negatives:
- (PC-only) Refresh rate higher than 60hz makes the game unbeatable. Unforgivable.
- Every replay is the exact same, with only the characters making the difference... if it wasn't so easy.
- Puzzles are really bad, losing the key item on just one hit.
-----------------------------------
''Okay so, before this review starts, I'm going to go on a quick rant. Note that this only applies to PC players (I think?), and also only those with higher-end monitors. You can probably already guess where I'm going with this but yes, we are living in the year 2022 (or 2019 when the game came out), and this game is entirely unbeatable depending on the refresh rate your monitor has. I was running around the second level for almost half an hour with no idea what to do, and then I looked up guides on the internet on what other people did and they moved way faster, but for no explainable reason. It wasn't until I found a deep buried Steam post until I realized that apparently anything above 60hz causes the character to move way slower. Frankly, that's just an unforgivable flaw and yes, I will judge the game for that--even if it is something that may not apply to everyone. But for now, rant over, let's actually talk about the game.
KAMIKO is an action game starring three different characters; a fighter specialized in melee, one in distance fighting (archery), and one who does both. I appreciate the variety between the three because of the gameplay styles also enforcing how their gameplay should be--either take it up close and hack away, or care more about your positioning. Not like it really matters that much in the end since the game is really easy, only giving me one death on my very first playthrough of about six. And I can hear you thinking "...wait, six playthroughs?!" and yeah, that's indeed what I did. Not that surprising either when a single playthrough doesn't last more than half an hour, aside from maybe the first one since you need to get the hang of how the game works. And if a game is that short, is really needs to have good replayability for people to want to play it more. Given that every playthrough is the exact same with no differences, the characters here really are more important than just a preference in gameplay style.
I liked playing as two characters, being the melee fighter who goes in for quick slashes and a beyblade spin as special attack, and the jack-of-both-trades who throws her surprisingly high-damaging shield and then goes in for pokes with her tiny sword. The only reason I don't like the otherwise powerful archer character is because of her vulnerability while attacking. While the other two characters can move around all the time without any issues, the archer just can't move at all when aiming her bow. It makes sense and like I said, it makes positioning more important, but there are many enemies on screen at pretty much all times and if there's an enemy not standing straight in front of her, she's kinda screwed. But like I said, the game is really easy so it's more just her not being fun to play as rather than her being bad to play as.
With the characters out of the way, time to talk about that very short playthrough. There are a total of four stages to go through, with a high emphasis on the before-mentioned combat and a very slight emphasis on puzzles. The basic gist is to find four gates, cleanse them, and then beat the boss of the level. All stages are visually distinct but there isn't really anything making them actually distinct from each other, aside from maybe enemies but even they have very generic attacking patterns. The other objective is to just find chests for upgrades and unlock the path to the gates or the boss and... that's where my biggest annoyance lies with this game. Be it a door or a pedestal, you need to carry the item that unlocks it over your head to it. The problem is that if you get hit even once, you immediately lose the item and you have to go back to where it was placed. Given how many enemies there can be on screen or how narrow some paths can be while you cannot attack them, this is surprisingly the most difficult part about the game--but absolutely not in a good way.
I wanted to talk about the bosses too but given how easy the rest of the game is, I couldn't really find the motivation to do so. The idea behind them is at least fun but that's all I really have to say. And with that, we have a surprisingly negative review for this game... which is something I really didn't want to do, but it is what it is. But I at least wanted to end on a positive note since my time with KAMIKO wasn't necessarily a bad one. I like the presentation of the game, and also that there is an emphasis on combo's that break whenever you take too long or get hit. Everything like unlocking chests- or cleansing gates, as well as using special moves requires a specific currency dropped by enemies, and they are easier to get with combo's. Given that this game also places an emphasis on speedrunning due to it's length, making bigger combo's results in less time spent grinding for them. And hey, since this game is so short, it makes for a fun game to speedrun... except that there is no global leaderboard. So we're still ending this review negatively after all huh. Oh well, it was a decent fun experience for how long it lasted, but the characters being the only difference each playthrough makes it a really tough sell unfortunately.''