Hi RMN, this is Treason89 monthly review, this time with Zu. The title of this game reveals almost nothing about it, I found it because of a random picture and even having a lot of things to do I still decided to play it and review it first. And that's it because this game is almost a masterpiece. Why? Here is why:

Story (4/5):
The story is concise, short and nice even when sad. I won't reveal anything here about it but I have to say that, even influenced (probably) by some other works like Terranigma, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kingdom Hearts and Zelda, this makes a story and game on its own. Thats something to praise. The only drawback I found is that the story is very shallow and some things (probably important but not essential) remain a mystery.

Graphics (5/5):
If you want beautiful mapping with very coherent places then this games is what you are looking for. The few characters that interact have unique and very original graphics. For what I saw, I think the developer has even more skills than the ones used for the main character, it is very beautiful but compared with his human form or with Mono and so, he looks less beautiful. The enemies are very surreal and made the right atmosphere. I loved the naked guy in the tree: It was very artistic. The HUDs and the special menu is carefully crafted.

Battle Animations(3/5):
Sometimes colors mingle and battle animations don't outstand of the background. I can't tell but I'm almost sure that they are default animations. Even being nice and carefully chosen, they don't fit with the unique and original style of the game.

Music and Sound Effects(5/5):
The music is as lovable as the graphics. The tunes work for the game atmosphere and to provide a vivid experience. I can't tell which are original and which not, but I know some of them are. Kudos for the composer and also for the developer's taste.

Gameplay (4/5):
I found this game hard at first, then easy at the end. For a player that is not the "explorer" type, this game would result a bit more difficult, as things ain't obviously lying around there. Here Light is used to unlock skills. Each is different so it's an original system. I just missed a final spell, a secret hidden skill tier, something to go after the character was "complete" as, for example, an outstanding single enemy skill were nowhere to be found.

Later on the game, Light becomes currency to get final equipment. That was a good surprise as I was wondering why I had that much unused Light. Weapon and armor had no upgraded versions. I missed that too. There is also an crafting system to fuse ingredients. It was very nice but having that much raw materials (8) of the possible combinations (28+8=36) only 8 items are possible, thus its really below it's possibilities becoming an underused system.

The puzzles are always possible and the hints are right, so the game gives the right indications when needed.

Regarding the harp system it was cool. I found it obvious, and probably after a few tries even a novice would, but the lack of instructions about which glyph/rune/symbol was each key/note was a negative surprise for me.

My experience on the game was about two and a half hours of gameplay, all the skills before the first boss and probably 100% completion for the final boss at level 7.

Side notes:
I saw in the game page, and in the game itself, that there are some problems with the english. I could notice some words in the wrong place and specially some phrases in the original language. I don't care because I can read portuguese, so I don't know if my opinion is biased. I find this an issue to solve, but nothing that renders this game an unplayable or not understandable product.

Summary (4.5/5):
For having a good story in a beautiful place with enjoyable graphics and music that give this game the right atmosphere; while also providing original gameplay and a short but memorable experience I think this game is almost a masterpiece. No need of 80+ hours of gameplay or 100+ characters to be a good product. It has some issues to solve, some areas to improve (or that could have been improved) but I would recommend it for both new and experienced players.

Thanks to Cronus for developing this game and allowing this review. I'll be looking forward for more of this tasteful developer. I hope you like this as I did!