Ambassador to Earth

tl;dr Don't. There's a long intro which is somewhat interesting but a bug breaks the game just at the point where things might start to get good.


Since it's been three years since the dev has been around and the game is currently cut short by a game-breaking bug, the whole review part feels like a bit of a waste. So, to hell with form, I'll just tell it straight.

The story is more ambitious than most and, thankfully, more successful too. The dev is able to weave humor and seriousness fairly well, though I was left feeling a bit confused over how they could be subtle in some areas and way too over the top in others. Nevertheless, a few details not withstanding, I was sold on the game world and wanted to know more...but, the bug...

Gameplay virtually does not exist, at this point. There's the walk around and interact with stuff bit, yes, and that is mostly okay. There is a point or two where a lack of direction could prove fatal, but a few hints will smooth that out right away. There are a few possible battles and they are intentionally super easy. Impossible to lose or feel threatened. I only managed to learn one skill but the particulars of it (Stronger normal attack for no cost) do not bode well for combat in general.

The art and mapping are both pretty good, though, it is a mapping bug which ultimately renders the game unplayable.

When all is said and done, this looks like it was shaping up to be an above-average project, but as is...




-The opening screen invokes thoughts of space, which is probably appropriate given the title of the game. The music adds to this mood.

-There's some TEXT-ON-SCREEN exposition about the setting right off. It is brief.

-Also, Planet Zi? Zoids?

-Next up, I am apparently a WANDERING SOUL and a fairy of some sort is asking for my name, nickname, the name of my crush and so on. It feels totally disconnected from what came before it, though not all that bad. Working all that name entering into the narrative would have been nice, if possible.

-The scene shifts to a HOUSE which is very interactable...in the bedroom. It is a demo, though, so that's a very good sign.

-The toilet is also interactable.

-DAD seems to have no purpose other than a stock one-liner at first, but he pulls a fast one and gives a barely concealed SAVE BOOK as I leave the house.

-Outside, the town is fairly lively. Notably, the NPCs are actually rather interesting and tend to give world details in a totally natural way.

-People from CABOT, a nearby? town are referred to as 'stupid bible thumping racist pricks,' which could be interesting if such themes are explored later on. It'd be a lot less interesting to have that as an oddly inciting throw-away line.

-After reading one grave, which is implied to be someone important to me, BEST FRIEND shows up. Turns out MOM is dead, though I refuse to admit it. We then POOF and some other characters on the other side of the screen do some things. Could use a bit of a screen shift to show that the focus has shifted characters, though.

-I talk to BEST FRIEND about LOVE INTEREST and stuff and then set off to ask him on a DATE to the THEATRE.

-I find RIVAL's house and pluck flowers off of her bushes after calling her something VERY RUDE.

-At the THEATRE, RIVAL sees me and immediately begins acting VERY RUDE.

-She also calls herself 'GOREGOUS,' which I imagine means 'filled with gore.' GORGEOUS, on the other hand, means beautiful.

-She's really over the top in her MEAN GIRL style RUDENESS. I don't see how she could be a functioning human being.

-LOVE INTEREST overhears some RUDENESS and comes to my defense. He totally shuts down RIVAL, completely removing any tension surrounding the possibility that she will be a RIVAL in any true sense of the word.

-I'm escorted home and given a bit of exposition about the TERRIBLE ACCIDENT that happened not too long ago. Almost everyone lost someone and this is given as a somewhat unconvincing reason for RIVAL's attitude.

-I'm dropped off back at home and go UPSTAIRS as it was blocked off before. I find items and more in-context clues about how DAD and I feel about MOM's death. There is a door with a FAIRY behind it, but it is locked. Instead, I go to my BEDROOM and find INFINITE CLOVERS in the bookshelf.

-I then grab MAMA's dress. At some point, I lost half of my hp, though I have no idea where. NEVERMIND...seems finding clovers causes my hp to drop by 10 points...?

-I change into MAMA's dress, for some reason.

-Sure enough, the key to the LOCKED DOOR is in its pocket. Were I not an RPG MASTER, I might have been stuck on that part for a very long time with no clue on what to do.

-The FAIRY is the last wishes of my MOTHER who was apparently an ALIEN. DAD married her after teaching her how to speak and has now run off to COMMIT SUICIDE because he sees her when he looks at me. At least, I find that out from the books in the room. THANKS DAD.

-I walk out onto the MAGICAL BALCONY and some ROBED GUY tries to explain some stuff. I assuming HALLUCINATIONS and go back into the house, where I have somehow changed into my old clothes rather than MAMA's dress. Trying to go back tells me that I need to sleep.

-Intro is a touch over 15 minutes long now.

-The house burns down in the night and a MYSTERIOUS STRANGER saves me?

-On the SPACESHIP, trying to enter my room just puts me behind the door, not actually in the room.

-On the HOLODECK (which is said not to be finished while the first person I meet up there says it IS finished), some guy has a shop with two pieces of armor. One is for neither of my party members while the other is weaker than the starting EQ.

-The CRYSTAL BALL LADY BATTLE INSTRUCTOR spells 'battle' as 'batle.'

-She makes me a BRAWLER and then POOFS. Her disembodied voice tells me about some GLOVES that I now have.

-Turns out I can use the other ARMOR in that shop now.

-On the MAIN DECK, I learn about the COMPLICATED MONEY SYSTEM? It'll probably be easier to just dive into it.

-I find a guy selling CLOVERs. Little does he know that I already have tons from back home. Although, I still don't know what they do.

-When talking to the GENERAL, LANCE spells 'clearance' as 'clearence.' I spell 'fought' as 'faught.'

-The GENERAL says I should be taken to the HOLODECK, even though I went there already and got a class and everything.

-Also, MONSTERS apparently have GOLD for blood, or something. I guess that works.

-So we go to fight the HOLODECK monsters. I outdamage the first enemy I find by a ratio of 138 to 1. Neither I, nor LANCE, have any skills.

-There are three battles where the enemies are totally ineffective and I have nothing to do but SPAM ATTACK. Really didn't need that much practice...

-Each battle gives me a level and at level 3 I learn DUAL ATTACK, which promises to be better than ATTACK every time since it has 0 cost.

-I am oddly unconcerned over my DAD's suicide.

-The LADDER on the MAIN DECK across from the STORAGE AREA does nothing. No transfer or notice at all.

-It seems I have to go REST now, as nothing else happens anywhere on the ship. Unfortunately, to the BROKEN TRANSFER, I am unable to do so. Thus, the game ENDS.