Ratty, here's my feedback of the remake (I hope to be submitting the review of the original later today!):
For those playing the remake: WARNING, CONTAINS SPOILERS!
General comments:
- Some of the background music (including the retro Title screen's) sounds mono and give its a Nintendo/old school arcade feel. The only problem with it, though, I found it to sound much quieter than the stereo music.
- Despite the fact you are using DSAR for the background music, it's probably the first game I can remember using it where the sound did sound scratchy or get cut out intermittently.
- It's also the first time I've seen a moving background for the menu screen. I think it's nice and different detail.
- For the sprites of the characters in the menu screen, the transparent parts which let the background show makes them look creepy. I would guess you probably meant to fill them in with white color instead.
- I guess this remake will be different in many ways than the original.
- I noticed a few typing or spelling mistakes.
Test field comments:
- Jumper directions should say need to press action when in front of object facing a particular direction to get boosted, not just next to it.
- Where there's sign explaining character selection, the character you're using can walk past the edge in the tiles in the back and their sprite gets cut off.
- I assume that the special actions such as Slimy's ability to swim are engage automatically if the character you are using have them and step in some particular types facing a certain directions. I'm wondering if you plan to put a message if you have the wrong character selected, to hint that a change needs to be made.
- I found that when you get hit by the bomb the damage it did to your party doesn't show until you access the menu.
Test special stage comments:
- At first, I had a hard time collecting the blue balls and ended crashing very easily into the red ones. I felt and still feel somewhat that the speed at which things come at you is a little bit too fast.
- Once I started to get the hang of it and figured that you needed to hit one of the green balls with the star to avoid dying when hitting the barrier of red balls right after it, I was having trouble collecting the blue ball behind the barrier of black balls since I overcompensated and move too far to the left by 1 or 2 spaces. Eventually I was able to collect them all.
- The difference between 1 and 2 are the colors used and the rails on top of 2. I personally don't care for the rails on top, since they distracted me.
- What ever happened to 3 through 7? Regardless, I would guess you intend this to be a secret bonus min-game, so making it a bit tough, doesn't bother me as long as you explain to the player what the rules are. I don't know whether you intend to let the player replay until they beat it and what kind of reward you are giving for beating it.
Test battle comments:
- The bestiary appears to be well implemented.
- It's nice to be able to toggle background battle music if it gets to repetitive. Will you implement this in the main menu as an option?
- The sprites of your characters in the status bar during battles makes them look crazed, if not angry.
- I found the battles to be fast paced, which is good when using active ATB. However, because it's active, battles tend to get hectic: it's easy to fall behind with the turns of your characters if you make the wrong choice and have to press escape to re-select. I would keep the battles fast paced, but using a passive ATB instead.
- I did notice the use of focusing on the enemy being attacked, which I first saw in the Master of the Wind series.
- When a character levels up and learns a new skill this gets flashed in the screen a bit too quickly.
- The Ghoul, Crabad and Starbuck are relatively weak and can beat easily at level 2 with the right strategy.
- The Banaku fighter was harder to beat, although I need to reach level 5 to beat it easily. Basically, since Slimy had no armor, he was vulnerable to being hit twice and dying.
- I had to get to level 9, for Slimy to learn the feint attack and Milly to learn eagle claw to finally be able beat the Bot Buster duo. I guess you only get three of their "ticks" before they self-destruct and wipe out your party.
- I found it was good that you changed the stats compared to the original so that HP and SP, Str, Dex, Int and Agi didn't have the same values.
View Island comments:
- Is your intention here to eventually show where in the island you will be traveling to?