Its good to be a pirate

It’s good to be a pirate is a puzzle game that has you pushing boxes and thwarting traps in mind-boggling puzzles. Although short, this game is intriguing enough and difficult enough to hold its own.

The Graphics:

According to a reliable source, the game’s stage graphics come from Lufia 2. The game is set entirely in a cave, and the same chipset is used throughout the whole thing. There are only three characters, and two of them come from the RTP. The third (our hero) comes from somewhere else. The charsets don’t quite match each other because of this, but the clash is very minor and doesn’t hurt things much. The game maintains a semi-consistent graphical style throughout, and there’s nothing too vague or confusing. Nothing you wouldn’t expect from an RM game, I’m sure.

The Audio:

The soundtrack is even smaller than the game itself, but it works wonderfully. There are two songs in the whole thing; the main theme and the dungeon theme. The first was custom made, I think, and rather reminds me of Trigun somehow. The second comes from Wild Arms, and sets the mood for exploration and plunder. You might think listening to the same two songs for the whole game sounds like a pain, but the entire thing only takes an hour or two to get through, and the tracks chosen fit so well it doesn’t make a difference. The game makes good use of its sounds as well. There’s a distinct noise for each event; whether it’s the explosion of a bomb or the “Yippee!” you’re rewarded with for picking up a key. A lot of the sounds come from the RTP, but they’re all used properly and to good effect.

The Story:

Not of much concern here. Although the game’s title clearly indicates piracy, you’d be surprised at what a limited scope of pirate-ing you do. The whole premise is that you and your pirate buddies are after the gold stashed in the back of Jack’s hazard-filled cave. The cut scenes are all kept short, and there isn’t much story to tell. The ending might surprise you, but beyond that the story isn’t the game’s focus. It does just fine without it, anyway.

The Characters:

Again, not an important area for this game. The characters don’t get very much development, as the most they ever talk is in the short (very short) introduction sequence. This game was translated from Czech (and lets you pick which language to play it in), so the dialogue doesn’t always read the way it’s intended to. Fortunately, the story and dialogue are downplayed and unimportant, meaning the bad translation can be easily overlooked.

The Gameplay:

Why, it’s a block-pushing puzzle game reminiscent of The Adventures of Lolo! The whole game is comprised of puzzle rooms where your goal is simply to pick up all the keys and progress deeper. Sometimes there’s more than one key, and more often than not you need to hold down switches by pushing boxes on them. Along the way, there are bombs, ghosts, and extending spike traps to slow you down. Saving is restricted to the start of every other puzzle, which was a very wise decision as this prevents you from saving in an impossible situation (most of the time). There are limited on-touch recovery items placed throughout the cave to help you when you slip up, but you have to be careful not to waste them. Sometimes you’re forced to step on a bomb or set off a trap to find the solution, so leaving healing items around as a backup is never a bad idea. The gameplay is very simple and compliments the puzzle focus well.

The Design:

The puzzles in this game are all designed brilliantly. The placement of the items you need, the traps you must work around, and the free space you have to work with are all tailored into a perfect tapestry of trickiness. Even when the solution seems obvious, the method to reaching it is rarely straightforward. You’ll really have to wrap your brain around each puzzle and consider everything in your approach. As if the great puzzle design wasn’t enough, the mapping is coherent and there are no errors to be found. The only arguable problem with the game’s design is the failure to restore the player’s health between puzzle rooms. Brickroad mentioned this as well; being careless with your exploration could put you in an unwinnable state if you have to hurt yourself to move forward (but lack the health to take the hit). I don’t think it’s such a big problem, though. The player should avoid taking unnecessary damage in the first place, but being unable to endure another hit and having to start over is not a big consequence. The game is very short and lost progress can easily be made up.

This is a fun little gem that’s definitely worth a look. The simplistic premise is just enough to get things going, and the solid puzzle designs are worth more than the short play time. I’m only sorry it’s not longer!

7/10