So what's this Tina of the Stars thing all about anyway? (Story)

Tina of the Stars isn't your typical RPG: rather, it's somewhat of a Pac-man clone featuring a cute fairy trying to save her world from monsters. Considering the kind of game it is, the story is surprisingly fleshed out. I didn't get to see how it ends (see the gameplay section for details) but I enjoyed what I did see.

Score: 4/5 (I know what I've seen so far isn't the most involved story ever written, but I have to give a few bonus points to Ratty524 for managing to make me feel so much empathy for what is essentially Pac-man in a cute outfit)

Tina, who are your friends? (Characters)

There are only a few main characters in Tina of the Stars, the most important being the eponymous Tinabom, or Tina for short. She's more or less alone on her quest; she was called to save Pix by another fairy called Dori, but aside from the opening cutscene I didn't see her in the game itself. I'm sure she'll play more of a part later on. There's also Lord Grimm, the antagonist, whose motivations basically seem to be that he has nothing better to do than terrorise the innocents.

Bonus points for not only having custom graphics, not only CUTE custom graphics, but cute custom graphics with phenomenal animation. The range of emotions and moods Tina shows just in the intro is hilarious, and everything (including the monsters) is beautifully animated to the point where I was wondering if there were more than the standard three frames at play.

Score: 4/5 (Props for managing to make even the normal run-of-the-mill enemies interesting to watch.)

Where are we going and how do we get there? (Mapping)

There are 9 levels in total in the game: 6 normal levels, 2 bonus levels, and the final level. Each is slightly more complex in arrangement than the last, which is a nice complement to the increasing complexity of the enemies present. The general mapping approach is more or less pre-defined by the medium of the game, so there's not a lot to say there, but there are three very different areas depicted and each has its own unique feel.

Score: 3/5 (The score here is more for the strategic design of the maps than how nice they look, but everything is cohesive and nothing looks out of place.)

Stars? What gives? (Gameplay)

The whole point of Tina of the Stars is to...well, collect stars. Once you've collected all stars on a level, Tina powers up, allowing her to punch the monsters into oblivion and turn them into sweet loot.

Originally I got to level 6 before I got a game over; I was going to call it a day there and write this review. But then while I was writing it, it was bugging me that I never got past that damn level, and I wasn't sure how many more there were to go. To my delight, after finally beating it (with 1 life left) I got to the final level! Thank god there's a save point coming u- what? No save point? If I lose this 1 life I have to start back at level FIVE?

So yeah, there's my one sore point with this. I would have loved to have a save point after every level, but I could have lived with just having one after the end of each "world" and one before the final boss fight. Why, Ratty524? Why did you not put a save point before the final level? I tried three times to beat him, I honestly did, and at one point I had him down to 4 health. However, having to start over from level 5 and only having as many lives for the final battle as you can keep over the previous 2 levels is frustrating at best, gamebreaking at worst, and I really don't have the energy to go through those same two levels again to try the final fight one more time.

Score: 2/5 (The game is fun, but necessary repetition when you get a game over really drags the score down as it stops being fun and becomes work)

I love the sound of chiptunes in the morning. (Music and sound)

The soundtrack in Tina of the Stars, while not entirely memorable, is pleasant to the ears and always fits the situation. Each "world" has its own theme, which goes nicely with the aesthetics. Sound effects are few, but there's something oh so satisfying about the sound of Tina punching a monster into next week and the clink of a coin that for some reason puts me in mind of blue hedgehogs and rings...

Score: 4/5 (Everything fits, nothing out of place, but no earworms.)

So what you're saying is... (Overall comments)

If you break Tina of the Stars down into its most basic components, it's Pac-man with makeup on. However, if you break it down that far you'll be doing a disservice to a deceptively well-made game that, aside from a few issues with save availability, is fun enough to make me continue after a game over (which doesn't happen often). Short enough that it's definitely worth at least a cursory glance.

Averaging out the scores, Tina of the Stars scores 3.4, rounded up to 3.5. Ratty, this could easily be a 4 or 4.5 if you just put in a save point before Lord Grimm. You have a beautiful game here that's a lot of fun to play, but I'm concerned that there will be a lot of people like me who'll get to the last level with a single life remaining, get a game over, have to start over at level 5, and just put the game down. It's a shame, because I really want to see the ending.