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A short review of what is now one of my favorite games.

  • TEO
  • 05/20/2013 02:06 AM
  • 1464 views
The plot is pretty simple. There is this village with a huge multi-floor deep dungeon beneath it packed with monsters, and you play the stranger who is going to dive right in there.

The graphics, music, and sounds are mostly rips and recreations of those found in the NES Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games but they are well placed and well chosen. Keep in mind the game is deliberately low graphic, don't expect fancy explosions when you cast a spell as everything is presented in 8-bit form. And it isn't just the graphics that are retro - this game really nails its goals in feeling like D&D meets Dragon Warrior. With the plot from Diablo.

Hellion has a ton of replay value, with 7 classes (each with unique skill trees) and multiple ways to handle many situations. For example, you can build up your stealth ("hide" skill) and try to avoid battles rather than fight everything and even pickpocket the monsters and townspeople. Your alignment matters too, to a lesser extent. If you get caught doing evil deeds the good people of the town will be wary of you and less likely to trust or help you. Some secrets will only be uncovered by players with the right kind of reputation. A certain item shop comes to mind.

Most encounters are not "random encounters". You can see the enemy, and often it will run towards or away from you. The stronger you are, the more likely lesser foes till flee in terror. Once your party comes in physical contact with a monster you get the traditional battle screen for your two parties to fight it out on.

I have played through multiple times as multiple classes with quite a variety of party members (henchmen) and the game is fairly well balanced. Not perfectly balanced but enough to be impressed when you consider factors like the item drops and character stats being in ranges rather than static values and the wide variety of possible gameplay styles.

The old RPG staples will see you through: Save often, talk to everyone, explore everywhere!

Posts

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Thanks for playing and thanks for the review! I can't believe this game is over 3 years old now. Balancing was a bitch to do in this game, but I am glad I got close enough to the ideal to be enjoyable.
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