Wheeeeee!


Amazingly you're not dead when you hit the ground and make a crater.

Difficulty: In this department it's a mixed bag. At first when you're literally dropped from the sky into the world, you get attacked by horned beasts. I must have repeated this scene at least six times. Why? Because I kept getting thrashed by said horned beasts. I'd usually make it to the town but didn't have money to buy weapons and armor. The player starts out with 100HP and that might seem like a lot when horned beasts only deal 2 damage. But consider these screen shots.



Yes, until you have money for armor and weapons you'll most of the time wiff and then receive 2 damage. This next image is my HP after the first fight.



Yeah... ouch ;_; Anyway, things get much more manageable in the enemy fighting department once you get weapons/armor. Just be prepared to go about your battles cautiously. When facing the boss of the first dungeon I had to make it in three trips: left side (for key), right side (for exploration) and finally the middle path to the boss opened with the key. Each trip I had to go back to town, get healed and get healing supplies.

Economics: Props to TestZero for being different! Instead of the incredulous (yet quite standard for the RPG world) monsters drop GP we're treated to a bounty system. You get X gold for X beast horns when turning them into the mayor. Might take a bit of grinding to get sufficient gold to buy all the armor and weapon you need.

Gameplay: This game employs your standard turn system that's present in just about every RPG. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Of course the requisite "talk to the villagers" is used but I find their conversation for the most part to be dry and not super helpful. I suppose it would be weird if you went to town and this super complex storyline with extensive cutscenes were used. That would be almost contrary to the feel and look of the game.

A drawback to this game it's pretty non-linear. You're free to explore and do whatever to a certain extent. Again, it's harkening back (forward?) to Legend of Zelda. If you've never played LoZ and were handed the cartridge for the first time with no instructions or maps, you'd find yourself doing the same. In fact, that's pretty much how I felt the first time I played Legend of Zelda. Be prepared to feel lost at times and feel overjoyed when you learn a spell that transports you back to town.


PROTIP: When a sign tells you don't drink the water... don't.

Animation: It's very simple yet effective. Don't expect it to dazzle you but it works for the style. I can't help but be reminded of Mother (Famicom)/Earthbound Zero in its style. It too had simplistic animation but it used them effectively. In this game the monsters' eyes "glow", the punch of the player smacks, and enemies surround you like angry bees.

Graphics & Sound: Why am I grouping these two together? They're both very much the same - basic and circa 1980. I can't really fault him with anything here since that's the whole mood he was trying to set. If you come into this game expecting to be dazzled in either department, you're looking to play the wrong game.

Nice touches are included though. There's "face portraits" when you speak to others. If you've been around the internet, you'll recognize >:( , :) , and the like. One other mention... Monochrome is a misnomer, there's a few shocks of colors in there.



Summary: If you enjoy RPG adventures in a similar vein as the original Legend of Zelda, this might be the game for you. Just be prepared to spend some time at the beginning of the game dying and starting over again. Once you get past that first hurdle it's a lot easier to go through the game.


Didn't we learn our lesson last time about following signs?