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Deeper Middleground!

Hello!
And welcome to Sweet Middleground 5 - The Cave the last entry of this series made by Zorga with RPG Maker VX Ace. I reviewed all the previous episodes, that are really worth of playing so you MUST try all these games to learn the story since there are also some dialogues that mention the past adventures of Antigone and Vincent (in Antigone's room there's also the homemade mini-catapult used in the previous episode!).

Like the two past episodes we have a new location, even if it's one it was already seen in some flashbacks: Antigone's parents' house. It's summer and Antigone, the first protagonist of the series, is spending her days of vacations with her parents, that are really eager to know her new boyfriend Vincent, the other protagonist that we met in the first chapter of the series.
All starts normally, when something weird happens: a stone wall in the garden breaks down revealing a cave. And who wouldn't explore a cave that mysteriously appeared in their garden? So the adventure begins!


Absolutely true. This is a reference to the first episode of the series but can be referred also at other games. Ahem...

Sweet Middleground 5, after a series of puzzles and quests about making cakes, retrieving keys and building sand castles, change the rules and turns the slice of life adventures into an action rpg about facing the creatures from the deep. No, I'm not joking, this time Antigone and Vincent (but especially Vincent, and we'll soon see why) will have to defend themselves as they explore the underground!

The game, concerning the battles that will be an important part of this adventure, does NOT use the classic RPG Maker VX Ace systems but a custom made real-time fighting system: normally we control Antigone, that can walk, push and pull boulders, and kiss Vincent. The kiss has healing properties and heals both characters, and it's not useful, it's EXTREMELY useful to survive! She also has a flashlight, so pay attention because if Vincent is too distant he will be enveloped in darkness!
Vincent is controlled like Antigone but only if you hold the Shift key, and he is the only character that can attack (using different weapons with various properties) and destroy the object that have cracks on them, like rocks that block our path, but he cannot move boulders like Antigone.


NICE!!! But I am not so sure this is a sword, in any case it will be extremely useful and necessary to progress!

Both characters, like in old classic rpgs, will earn experience points after killing opponents (feat that only Vincent can do), BUT there are two important aspects: first is that experience points are shared, second is that there are no level but skills that can be improved paying a determinated cost of points: Vincent for example starts with more Hitpoints than Antigone, and each increase cost less compared to the cost in that his fiancee has to pay. Some stats that can be increased are in common (like walking speed) and other are exclusive (Antigone can increase the light of her torch, while Vincent can increase the damage and speed of his attacks).

Let's start with the good things: custom made assets, portraits that are animated and are really a lot better compared to the first episodes of the series. Mapping isn't something over complicated but it's ok since most of the time we are exploring caves, and most maps are also functional to some puzzles in which we have to push and pull carts and boulders. Oh yes, the game isn't just limited to combat but like in the previous episodes there are puzzles that requires some thinking and planning. Moreover the different weapons that Vincent will find are useful to unlock new path destroying the obastacles, creating a sequence of levels: first let you get a "sword", the "sword" let you unlock the path to the "polearm", the "polearm" is useful to create a path to... ok, you get the idea. You can also save anywhere and enemies respawn so you can farm experience, by the way if you die there is no game over screen, but you're just teleported outside the cave. Enemies are varied and possess different attacks, some attacks in melee, others have a reach that covers one or more tiles, and so on.


Good question! Looks like a cute, chubby little blue Nemesis: all mouth and almost no eyes! And trust me, he is not as dangerous as the Nemesis, but you will hate this guy! (even if now he looks like he's just having a bath)

Now, the bad things: game is frenetic, and it's rather hard controlling two characters at the same times during the most concitated moments: enemies usually (but not always) target Antigone, so you have to redirect Vincent's attacks while escaping with Antigone and healing both at the same time using the kiss! Add to this some obstacles like the brambles that NOT only damages you when you walk over them, but they do damage continuatively as you stand over them, and in a particular map this is really a nuisance.
I admit that a great solution was save-scumming, since you're free to save anytime, anyway looks like that in some areas enemies like the blue humanoids keep respawning every minute, so you have few moments of respite, and sometimes even if I saved while there was no one present, when loading there was an enemy already attacking the two. Yikes!

Luckily the upgrades will make things a little easier, but as I wrote before the healing kiss needs to be spammed to keep the team alive, and this happens also later because you will meet different enemies with stronger attacks that can destroy the team in few hits. Or maybe it's me, that I did not grind enough, but despite that I was able to proceed exploring cautiosly.


Vincent was right! Pushing and pulling these carts is the only way to proceed. Anyway see how on the left the two important keys are displayed under the experience count: S to attack, and D to ̶p̶a̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶ ehm kiss for healing!

Final Verdict
I admit I liked this Sweet Middleground a bit less than the two last episode, maybe because I prefer a more quiet nature of the game. That's not to say that this game is bad, on the contrary I found no errors, except a funny thing: when Antigone's mother asks her daughter to kiss Vincent, you may even kiss the wall behind her and the game will treat as she kissed Vincent! Hilarious. By the way the game was a bit difficult for me because I'm not really fond of action battles, on the other hand there are still the old good push/pull puzzles. And the art? AWESOME! The portraits and animations really improved, music is also very good even if I suspect is the same from one of the previous episodes, anyway it's good, so who cares? My only gripe is that the game is really frenetic and I am a bit nostalgic of the old relaxing adventures, but I suspect that some (more adventurous) players will like this game more due to these changes, even if it's true that no matter how skilled is the developer, rpgmaker isn't exactly a great engine optimized for action games, so it's ok, good but no exceptional or memorable.

Anyway despite all my complaining I must assure you that this game is pretty good and fun to play, despite some battles were a bit annoying (but at least this is a totally new element for the series, so kudos for introducing something new!). Anyway all about the rest is good! Real good!

Posts

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Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781


This exact room was giving me a lot of issues/headaches, trying to figure out how to get through to where this screenshot is positioned at. I ended up throwing my hands up, and editing the map with Ace. So, good on you for figuring it out!


After playing the other games in the series fairly recently, (and the fourth entry yet another time because that's where I was introduced to it), I can agree that the music here is modified version from previous entries. You could say the whole game is like a giant throwback to the previous entries, though, there is a kind of reasoning behind that other than pure nostalgia value.
author=Marrend
This exact room was giving me a lot of issues/headaches, trying to figure out how to get through to where this screenshot is positioned at. I ended up throwing my hands up, and editing the map with Ace. So, good on you for figuring it out!

After playing the other games in the series fairly recently, (and the fourth entry yet another time because that's where I was introduced to it), I can agree that the music here is modified version from previous entries. You could say the whole game is like a giant throwback to the previous entries, though, there is a kind of reasoning behind that other than pure nostalgia value.

Heheheh I admit that that puzzle took me one or two tries (had to reset it a couple of times, the biggest problem for me here was the darkness!) before finding the right combination but these were by far my favourite parts because I love these kind of puzzles (I remember that many people had also trouble with the 2nd Repent Loci game and its puzzles, but for me it was ok), well I liked them a lot, as much as I hated the part there you have to fight the blue guys in the lake with the spiral path full of brambles! Argh that was terrible (since they actually shoot!) anyway I did it.

Yep, it's a throwback, but still the rpg elements are totally new and while I didn't like these so much, I must compliment Zorga for actually adding something new instead of simply making a game that's "more of the same", because you know after 4 other titles the puzzle can become stale (well this doesn't happen with this series and does not happen with Repent Loci either!).
That was a bit of a wild bet, an action game in the Sweet Mid series, wasn't it? ='D...

author=Addict
that are really worth of playing so you MUST try all these games

If you knew how much it warms my heart to read that.

author=Addict
Mapping isn't something over complicated but it's ok since most of the time we are exploring caves, and most maps are also functional to some puzzles

Yeah, that's very much the idea. The main purpose of the maps was the puzzle and enemy distribution.

author=Addict
game is frenetic

Seems like a consensus, I shall have to review the difficulty.

author=Addict
I admit that a great solution was save-scumming

I think it's perfectly fair, I did it while testing too =P

author=Addict
despite that I was able to proceed exploring cautiosly.

This was sort of how I intended the game to be played, actually. It would have lost its narrative value if you could overlevel your way through it easily, yknow. Was it wise of me, though?...

author=Addict
when Antigone's mother asks her daughter to kiss Vincent, you may even kiss the wall behind her and the game will treat as she kissed Vincent!

xD I'll need to correct that.

author=Addict
And the art? AWESOME

Thanks~

author=Addict
rpgmaker isn't exactly a great engine optimized for action games, so it's ok, good but no exceptional or memorable.

I'll humbly take it, I faced the challenge knowing the tool wasn't made for it. I'm glad enough it's not straight up a mess.

You know the drill, thanks for playing, without your reviews I'd be walking in the dark, and I'll certainly reevaluate my decision making after this~
author=Marrend
This exact room was giving me a lot of issues/headaches, trying to figure out how to get through to where this screenshot is positioned at. I ended up throwing my hands up, and editing the map with Ace. So, good on you for figuring it out!

I was hesitating to furnish a solution for this dungeon's puzzles, you're confirming that there's a need for it. I'll do it.

author=Marrend
I can agree that the music here is modified version from previous entries. You could say the whole game is like a giant throwback to the previous entries, though, there is a kind of reasoning behind that other than pure nostalgia value.

Spot on~ the tracks are remixes of tracks throughout the other games, with the exception of the beginning and ending.
author=TheRpgmakerAddict
actually adding something new instead of simply making a game that's "more of the same", because you know after 4 other titles the puzzle can become stale (well this doesn't happen with this series and does not happen with Repent Loci either!).

Exactly. I have a core theme for Sweet Mid to which I'm faithful, but the content must be renewed for the theme to be enriched. (and also, if I don't try stuff, I won't improve)
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