Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis

The Good:

Please note that my review may include some possible spoilers. I’ve tried to minimize them as best as I can, however it’s not practical to hide them all, especially since this review attempts to compare the differences between this version and the original game it was modeled after. However, I’ve made sure that anything to do with specific plot points has been kept out.

For anybody who has ever seen or played the original version of Alter A.I.L.A. (Beginnings on Terinos), they will immediately recognize the similarities and differences between the two games.

It’s not simple enough to say this game is a remake, or even an upgrade to the first game: both share a very similar if not compelling tale, a recognition of familiar characters, places, and events, and a comparable battle interface involving similar enemies.

However, there are a lot of notable differences as well. For example, the plot, while essentially staying true to the original, has received a heavy facelift. Unlike the previous installment where you were forced to play the story three different ways before you could uncover the true path, Neok has managed to bring the story together into one nice package, while creating new plot threads along the way. The player still gets a feel of the different story angles from the first game (Rebellion, Neutral, Opposition), but rather than playing them as a “What If” scenario, they now get to play them from the perspective of actual characters as the story unfolds, meaning that all the different paths from the previous game are considered true paths, not just the fourth. If you are confused by this, it probably means you have not yet played Beginnings on Terinos, and I would strongly recommend that you do. It may not have the hype that Genesis currently has, but it is still a great game and different enough to be enjoyable on its own merits.

There are other changes, too. For example, all of the characters, with the exception to a few, have all been given names now. The original game provided colors for character names (Blue, Orange, Yellow, etc). While I came to accept those names in the first game, I always found it kind of odd, as if I was associating a character to a color verses a personality. By giving them actual names here in this version, Neok sort of gives them a lifelike quality that was missing from the first game, and I found myself appreciating them more. A few characters (Violet and Black, for example) carry the same name as they did previous, whereas other people carry a resemblance of their original names: for example, Indigo is now Indy, and Red is now Dread. I’m not sure if Neok had a plan in mind when he created these names in this version, but the names fit perfectly with the characters you meet, thus providing an extra oomph of life that was missing from the first game. Of course, in both games you have the ability to change those names, so the point is rather moot, but I tend to stick with the default names wherever I can, as I come to view the defaults as the author’s intended version.

Another thing that made this version quite unique was the cut scenes, which included still animation pics to help push the story along. This was a lot different than watching typical in-game scenes, and I hope to continue seeing this style in Neok’s future games as well.

The Bad:

However great Genesis is, it was not without its flaws, although for the most part the flaws were not enough to turn me away. First, the level design, while not terrible, needed some work. Early stages are fairly linear, with a few optional areas to venture through, and Neok does a pretty good job of easing the player into the game. Unfortunately, the style of levels really doesn’t change all that much. It’s usually a rinse, cycle, repeat method that carries over throughout the rest of the game involving the player running through a level, collecting items, fighting enemies, and looking for the level’s boss fight so they can progress the story and move on to the next level. The levels do become a bit more complicated and less linear, but for the most part there is just one path to the boss, and the rest of the paths typically lead to an item, a switch to a puzzle, or some other dead end.

The real pain, however, comes by way of game play, and it seems I may not be the only one to feel that way. While it was unique in itself and attempted to break new grounds, there were times when I literally wanted the game to be on a cartridge so I could eject it and throw it against a wall. Remember the good ole days of NES platforms? Yeah, this game can be just as frustrating, except there’s no cartridge to throw.

This is more a less a fault of the battle interface and character design than anything else. Enemies in general aren’t too vicious, and characters level up rather quick early on. But some of the later characters that join your group are so under-leveled that they prove worthless against the types of enemies you are currently facing. Either you take them along and spend an excruciating amount of time trying to bring them up to a an acceptable level, while hoping that they can stand on their own for that time, or you ignore them in favor of other characters and hope you never have to rely on any of the weaker ones. Unfortunately, often enough, you will have to take some weaker character along as part of a story plot, only to find out that they can barely even hit the enemies for any amount of damage, thus making battle time that much more exhausting. Generally, battles can last two to three rounds (not including boss fights), and since it’s based on a slow ABS system, those three rounds can seem like eternity. Throw a weak character into the mix, and the time quickly builds up. In turn, this causes some people (like myself) to either escape or skip over battles, eliminating the potential for much-needed level grinding. But even if you do level grind some of these weaker characters, it still doesn’t amount to much, since they will more than likely still be weak, with low amounts of HP and defense, even at high levels.

Boss fights can be even worse, especially considering the high amount of HP they have, which seems to border on ridiculous. It’s not that they are that much more powerful than the normal enemies, although they are to a degree, it’s that it seems like you are fighting them for several minutes before you get anywhere. And almost all of the bosses have some sort of status effect against your characters (whether it’s against your HP, defense, strength), so you are spending extra time trying to keep your stats up when you should be forming a good offense.

Other things that get bogged down in the game are your abilities, weapons, and armor. It’s an interesting design and would typically call for a good strategy, but the problem is you really don’t know what enemy you are going to face and you have no ability to swap out your weapons if, for example, you bring a knife to a gunfight, as the saying goes. By this, I mean, each enemy has a type of weakness and strength, and it’s your job to ensure your characters are equipped to accommodate for that. In order to do this, it’s recommended that you equip your party with a variety of different weapon/armor types so that you can find one that exploits the enemy’s weaknesses/strengths. While this works okay for normal enemy fights, it creates an even larger problem for boss fights if one of your characters is equipped with the wrong tool, since they become useless.

For the most part, abilities are automatically provided by the time a character joins the party, and they do not gain any additional abilities no matter how often they level up, with the exception of a few characters and a “shards” side quest. So whatever abilities you have at the start of the game are with you throughout the rest of the game. Part of why I love rpg’s so much, in addition to leveling up my party, is to see what new abilities they will learn as they progress throughout the game. By removing this option, the game play quickly becomes dry and repetitive. To be honest, the starting abilities you gain are perfect for the first half, but not so much during the second half of the game. Some stronger abilities as you progress would have definitely gone a long way.

But while I seem to be complaining a lot about the game play, let me also address some of the finer points. Rather than using MP, the game relies heavily on energy that you gain during encounters. This typically begins at an average level for each fight and you either gain or lose energy based upon the types of attacks you use. You also have a sort of overdrive tool that once it reaches a certain level will allow you to use a more devastating attack (assuming you have the energy to do so). This is fairly unique as it breaks away from the traditional HP/MP mold of other games, and I would like to applaud the effort it must have taken to design this system.

So there you have it. If you can set aside the time and frustration to truly appreciate what this game has to offer, you will not be disappointed. The story is well written, the game is unique, and the levels are nicely constructed, even if they are a bit linear. However, if you are looking for something quick and easy, this may not be the game for you. Expect to want to hurl your computer into a wall at least once.

The Nitty Gritty:

Story: A definite solid 5. The story is very well developed, the cut scenes are excellent, and I was eager to play if for nothing more than the story.

Game Play: An unfortunate 1.5. Note that I’m basing this primarily on the agonizing boss fights, under-leveled and weak party members, the inability to fully strategize, boring and repetitive encounters, and lack of decent abilities for later levels.

Resources: 4. While there were a few areas where resources seemed to clash or music became repetitive, over all these worked without much problem. The visuals worked well, especially in stages like No Man’s Land and the Underwater Facility. The music pieces were well chosen to fit the mood of this game and I’m hard-pressed recalling any of them, although it appeared based on the credits that they’ve come from a variety of games I’ve played myself.

Mapping/Level Design: I rated this at 3.5 for the following reasons. While Neok does a great job trying to ease the player into the style of game, by making initial levels easy and later levels more difficult, over all, the levels themselves were never terribly complicated and usually involved going from one place to another, all in the name of looking for the next boss to kill. There were, however, a couple of levels that involved some really complicated puzzles and switches that broke away from the norm, especially in the final couple of phases.

In Conclusion:

I definitely agree with the 3.5 rating, however I decided to add one additional category that I normally don’t consider, and that is “Creativity” which I put at a definite 5, pushing this to a final score of 4. Too many games focus on the limits of what the maker provides and don’t attempt to go beyond that or, if they do, never make it passed the demo stage. Although I’m not one for inflating a score, I really think that Neok should be acknowledged for her creativity in trying to create something that was different. Whether or not some people feel this worked as well as it should have is beside the point. What truly matters is that Neok made the attempt, giving courage to others who may have wanted to try a similar approach, and she can learn from these flaws to make the next game even better.

If I were to offer a suggestion to help improve the overall gaming experience, I’d encourage Neok to start by fixing some of the game play elements that made this frustrating to begin with by increasing late party member’s initial levels, increase the weaker characters HP and defense, add a system to unlock new abilities late in the game, and shorten boss HP by at least one third. Other tweaks with level design and resources would be icing on the cake, but not really necessary at this point. Speaking of new abilities, we already have the semi-complicated “shards” side quest, but perhaps some additional skills can be gained based on story progression, leveling up, or even additional side quests.

Otherwise, great job. I can’t wait to see whatever else Neok may have in store, but so far she’s 2 for 2, not including the demo to Variant.