• Add Review
  • Subscribe
  • Nominate
  • Submit Media
  • RSS

Still has a very long way to go.

  • Decky
  • 07/07/2012 09:55 PM
  • 3155 views
Let's get right down to it: a basic demo calls for a basic review, as well as a few general notes about uploading a conceptual demo prematurely. The game in question is a Dragonball Z Active Battle System demo (and I emphasize the word "demo"). Frankly, it's a long way from even being a true gameplay demo, let alone a game demo in its own right. I don't want to offend or disappoint the creator—for all I know, this system could become great—but it is what it is.

Players start by selecting a character using a giant orange sphere as a cursor. (I think that sphere has significance in DBZ, but I'm not sure.) You are then thrown onto a map without any details: it's a huge map with just a tutorial, character selector, and an enemy on the screen. The map goes far in every direction, but there's no other NPCs or details anywhere. You can talk to the tutorial NPC for instructions, but it's all pretty self explanatory.

Gameplay is very simple: you press enter to attack, and shift to perform some sort of special move with a rather...unique animation. (Goku looks like he's leaning back to do the limbo.) I was unable to use that shift move, because once the enemy character dies, it doesn't respawn—even if I change characters! (Edit: I restarted the game, tried the move, and it did nothing.) Some characters don't seem to have access to the special shift move. Moving on, the HUD showing health and two other unidentified gauges does not change at all: the only way I could determine my current health was by checking the default menu. It seems that actual HP amounts are used for the current incarnation of this ABS. You walk around a map of grass tiles and punch the enemy (keyword: "the" enemy) into submission before it kills you; if you want to try another character, you will have to restart the game per above.



There's practically no music or sound effects, either. The sprites seem to be DBZ classics, and some of them look decent (but then again, I'm not a follower of DBZ). The character selector is too slow and it does not allow me to select the three characters to the right of Goku. Still, I appreciate the attempt to do something custom. It's just nowhere near where it needs to be as a system. There are also a few spelling, capitalization, and wording errors, as you can see in the image above. Overall, there's really nothing here except the unpolished character selector and the very basic attack mechanic: a classic RPG Maker 2k3 hack 'n slash motif that we all know and love from previous games.

It was far too premature to upload a demo: you want to put something of substance out there to develop an audience and a following. To the creator: keep at it! Perhaps you can make something good once the pieces come together. To the rest of us: it's not worth playing yet. Normally I would give something virtually unplayable like this a 0.5/5, but given the circumstances an N/A is more appropriate. Overall: N/A

Posts

Pages: 1
Well this is still the demo,I know it is not that good but I'm working at the charecters hp and mp right now,if you want to have something custom,say your suggestion for this to be better.
Deckiller's got reviewing skills, yo!
Pages: 1