Generica

Griever plays Generica:

Gameplay: 8/10

Balancing - not just of enemies, but of the monetary and equipment elements as well - is the area of greatest strength in Generica. So much so that the game flows at a constant and enjoyable pace because of it. Each new area is set-up so that enemies are challenging enough to force you to get the latest equipment being offered to you in the nearest town. This means that you have to grind for gold and sellable items against the enemies in that area. As you grind you obviously gain experience, and by the time you have ground enough to get the money you need for new equipment you are usually at a high-enough level to cope with lengthier excursions into the area around that town. If you then explore properly - whilst slowly progressing towards your objective - you'll end up at the right level to find things too easy just as you're about to leave for the next town. It all fits together perfectly, and this well-balanced process repeats itself until the end of the game. Brilliant*.

Exploration is also important in Generica, which you'd probably expect if you've already played Hero's Realm (Kentona's flagship project). Exploration is tackled in a very old-school way, in that every map is basically a straight path towards the exit that has dead-end areas branching off it (areas that usually contain treasure). Sometimes there are areas that loop around instead of becoming dead ends and sometimes there are treasure chests that are blocked by something you can only release by pulling a switch deeper into the dungeon, but you're mostly gonna be walking to the end of a path, opening a chest and then returning to the main path. This doesn't bother me so long as it is properly rewarded but, as with the balancing, if you wanna see something flashier then this probably isn't for you. I'll admit that I would've liked more puzzles but - this being the type of game it is - I didn't exactly go into it expecting them.

The only problem that I have with the gameplay in Generica is the lack of boss battles. More boss battles would've added an extra element of difficulty to the game and their absence was definately missed. Old-school games are supposed to have bosses at choke points for no apparent reason, damn it!

*Of course, this kind of balance will only appeal to you if you're into old-school role-playing games that involve a lot of grinding. If you're not into that kind of thing then you're probably gonna hate Generica no matter what.

Classes: 6/10

The classes are balanced against each other pretty well. Each class does what their name suggests and each has the stat-growth and skill-growth mechanisms you'd expect to see. The fact that this game doesn't have a "hero" character filling in for any gaps you might create by picking a bad party is also a plus-point as it makes it possible for you to try to get through the game with stupidly unbalanced parties (thus adding a decent amount of replayability). It is also a plus-point because I thoroughly believe the player should find it more difficult to get through the game if they pick a bad party and this lines up with that belief.

Admittedly, the "Freelance" class does destroy a bit of this balance (just as the equivalent "Red Mage" class does in most other games with similar choose-a-class mechanisms) but this isn't too bothersome. What is far more annoying is a white mage who learns status-effect spells (and other such class-crossovers). These crossovers, although seemingly trivial, take away the challenge of operating without the classes you choose not to take with you: If I didn't choose a status-effect mage then I shouldn't have access to status-effect spells as a result, I should have to work around the results of my own decision!

Fortunately, there aren't too many crossovers, so this isn't as big a problem for me as it was in Dragon Fantasy II.

Storyline/Dialogue: N/A

Save the world, heroes!

Graphics/Mapping: 7/10

The graphics are old-school, so much so that they have retro coming out of every orifice. I like old-school, high-contrast graphics but - at the same time - some of the choices in this game are a little annoying. Bright green grass, for example, bugs me quite a bit, as does any instance where the character sprites blend in with the colour used for the floor tiles (this, of course, being the complete opposite of high-contast). Fortunately, this doesn't happen too often, meaning that the graphics are usually fine, although I guess I should point out the system graphic used because it seems far too "advanced" in comparison to the rest of the graphics used. A font/border without shading would've definately looked a lot better, although anything with a Courier style font would've also sufficed.

The mapping, as explained in the gameplay section, works really well considering the type of game Generica is trying to emulate. You are coerced into exploring, properly rewarded for doing so and the labyrinths utilised are never so complex you're going to get frustratingly lost. Extra points for using a torch system in dark-cave areas: although certain spells kinda negated how useful the torches were towards the end of the game. Perhaps the spell should've only given you the extra amount of vision the torches gave you in order to balance the two out (and give the player something to think about; save MP or save gold). I think I would've preferred that instead ofgetting the whole dungeon illuminated when using the spell (it would've definately added a little more challenge to finding your way around).

Music/Sound: 9/10

Beep-beep-boop-boop. This game uses the exact kind of music you'd expect if you picked up this game on a NES cartridge (which is also what the game looks like). The tracks chosen are usually appropriate and the exact same goes for the sounds. Basically, the sound department in Generica is functional, old-school and (considering the graphical choices made) extremely fitting... but people who want a game that sounds more like an RPGMaker game and less like a NES game will probably hate it.

Personally, I don't have too many complaints in either department.

Overall: 8/10

For what it is trying to be (a short romp through a classic role-playing environment), Generica ticks (nearly) all of the boxes. If you love NES-era RPGs and you have a couple of hours spare then you should definately give this a go.