ALEX III: A Three-Day Collaborative Game

Wait a second… so soon?
Oh yes. I admit that after the end of Alex the 1st I couldn't wait to play this Alex III.

I'm probably sure you're wondering why... number III? And what about the second episode? Uh it seems that the guys of the old Gaming World forums skipped Alex II to make a joke, and there are many other fake game titles (that never happened) mentioned here and on the Alex I page.
Anyway here's the real important question: is this a worthy sequel?


This seems a good option, isn't it?

Before discussing the quality let's explain the story: after the dreamlike adventure of the first game Alex and his f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ... party members are going to fight the Cloak Demon, a dangerous final boss that uses a terrible last resort attack.
Both Carol (the purple haired Rtp witch) and Alex (I don't think I have to explain who is he, I hope!) are hit and thrown into the multiverse.

And here's a new feature, you get to choose your hero, and this does not mean that you just play as a different character but also that you have two completely different and parallel surreal adventures as bizarre as those seen in Alex I (and there are also a couple of references and recurring characters from the first game) that will lead to the same ending (but it's still fun playing both because it's like two entirely different games).

The goal is always the same, leaving the area solving some kind or puzzle/minigame/miniadventure and/or finding a pass to leave a particular dimension (or just witnessing a non-interactive cutscene where the hero or heroine does everything automatically), but the plot feels more coherent compared to the first episode. This game is still a surreal and bizarre adventure, but the presence of two characters that try to find each other (sometimes meeting each other temporarily during their journey) somewhat makes the story more interesting and captivating. It's in fact true that the first game was a sort of sequence of jokes and funny situations, here… not always! Expect to laugh, but also to find some serious and emotional situations. Sometimes the protagonist is fated to win, other times he or she is destined to fail and die, most of the times it doesn't matter. Sometimes the situation has a conclusion, other times it's left unknown and stops midway… it's a sequence of varied situations, I mean first you are fighting a talking chicken, and then you find yourself in a ruined city filled with dead bodies or you start playing a silly parody of Pokemon, and then you find yourself trapped inside a snowy village where peasants were turned into snowmen after death… scary isn't it?

Cameos and references to other games are present and multiplied: prepare to meet Cloud Strife (more than once!), Pikachu, Shandar (if you played Demon and Phantom Legacy you will surely recognize him!) and Yoshi. Be ready to witness many other homages to games that you may or may not know, from Metal Gear Solid to Final Fantasy VI and the Way series.

Interlude - the worlds of ALEX III!




I think that this time the quality of graphics and gameplay is superior to the first episode. Ok, not every section is a masterpiece, but I liked the 90-95% of the game.
Starting with the maps, the ones I remember and liked a lot were the monocromatic mine and forest (by Nightblade), the Towers of the dark cult (that use a particular set of assets), the warzone (both interiors that the abandoned city are great), the forest with the red trees, the casino (a nice interlude where you can play games or get drunk! And meet Pepsiotaku!), the city of fantasy cliches, and the house in woods (where you meed Archeia Nessiah).

Speaking about instead notable gameplay parts there's a pretty cool shoot 'em up in which you Alex pilots a spaceship to defeat aliens, a nice adventure game set in a medieval town, and an ingenious maze where there are hidden teleports that you won't even notice (but I was able to solve it so, no worries, you can do it too)!

Not everything is perfect, there were a couple of dimensions for each character that were a bit annoying: the stealth section when Alex is escaping from the cell is quite hard (I had to skip that!), the part in which you have to control both Alex and Carol at the same time is nearly impossible due to the timed sequences (I guess it's instead easy if there is a second player, but I have just two cats and they could not help me!)… other parts were quite challenging but I was able to finish them, in any case it's always possible to skip the parts you do not like! And, like in the first episode you can also save anywhere even if the presence of some save points will let you know when you are expected to save!

I also found a couple of bugs, I will list below:
- the first time I failed the shoot em up section in space the game crashed (the second didn't, and the third… I won!).
- in the "pool of memories" (that's a cool name I made up) second section, if you are too bad at the minigame the dialogue will loop and never end!
- in the city of fantasy clichès you have three quests available and you need to solve one, but even if I solved the treasure one, the game acknowledged I did the alchemist quest.

So it's a good idea making lot of saves, and maybe keep those before the parts you really liked. As clarified before the game it's a wild adventure of different scenes and I think everyone will have its favourites. I cannot stress how much I wish some were turned into a real game because of the interesting dialogues and situations, good use of assets and entertaining gameplay that do NOT includes the usual Rm2k combat.
Never. Not even once!


Everyone knows ALEX!!!

Verdict
I had fun with this. More than with the first one, really! It's longer, bigger and better, you should play them both, but if you have few time please play this one. I mean for the most part I saw an excellent use of the resources, music and graphics, gameplay was rarely difficult or annoying… I had fun!

Most sections are still impressing nowadays, others are really clever and witty, some are stupid and are just a filler but still are a minor part of the game. I won't list every part or mention every scene because discovery is an important part of the experience. Alex and Carol are exactly like a player that tries different games: he finds each time in a new universe, a different world with its own rules. And every place is a quest or puzzle that has to be solved, a place where you can have fun (like the casino) or a simple cutscene nothing else but I was impressed by this collection of little fragments (see the pics above, these are just a couple of samples of the adventures of Alex & Carol).

This game was a really lucky find and gets 4/5 from me. Considering the huge work, the many people involved and the short time I cannot give less, I just wonder how good will be Alex Is, the sequel that is clealry inspired by the ending of this one (ah well play it to see what I mean!). This is a mystery that has to be solved, but it's a story for another time!