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First Look 003

This is First Look where I review a game solely by my first play session of it. Normally its not best to judge a book by its cover yet sadly thats what people do. Even if you can get people to pick up their game if they are unwilling to come back to it after the first play session then our goal as designers to make a satisfying experience has failed. So here are some pros and cons that could keep somebody hooked to play it out till the end or have them simply add the game to our ever growing folder of RPGMAKER games we will never touch again. For Reference my first play session spanned from the beginning of the game to the boss fight of the second Dungeon.
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Pros~
- Engaging Puzzles: The puzzles were intuitive and fairly easy to solve yet they brought high amounts of satisfaction when completed whether is was some trick block pushing or using bombs in a creative way that made you feel accomplished for discovering it the puzzles were always simple but rewarding.

- Immersion: Immersion may be a stretch when talking about a 2D dungeon crawler with minimal story but the sounds, the art, and even the little dialog you have with the townspeople really set the mood of the game. It's not much but it is worth noting.

- Epic Boss Fights: One thing I have always looked for games is combat with a trick. I highly dislike games where every battle is just a stat check that takes five minutes with both sides using their most powerful spell or attack over and over until the battle is done with Noras Tale that is not the case. Each enemy the bosses in particular have some gimmick to exploit in order to win the fight which is something that is satisfying to discover and use.

Cons~
- Minimal Story: If you are looking for an epic tale where you learn to love the characters and watch them over come great adversity then this is not the game you are looking for. This games strengths are the gameplay not the story it is telling so go into it with this as your expectation.

- Lacking in Guidance: For some this is a pro but for a lot of people this would fall under the con category. The give no guidance to the player beyond telling them that they must collect three Charms before claiming the Spirit Blade. It does not tell you exactly where to go or what will happen once you get there it leaves that to you to find out. This is not a major issue as the paths are fairly clear but for some it would cause issues. This is in no way something that needs fixed but I figured it deserved a mention.
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Final Rating: 4/5 would play to completion

Posts

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SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

I didn't mind the lack of story. Zelda games usually don't have story or a very minimal one. Link to the Past is a great example of this.

Yes, I agree this is not a game that needs story and it works wonders without it, I was simply stating that for some people it could be a turn away.
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