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Silver <3 <3 <3

  • Liberty
  • 03/01/2016 02:17 AM
  • 848 views
Presentation
Graphics are the default RTP and there are sample maps used, which is a pity. It is understandable, though, as not all people have the ability to map well and sometimes focus is spent on other aspects of games. That said, it would be wonderful to see the finished product have maps made for the game that fit the world, but what is there at least fits well.

Some of the sprites have custom poses which is really nice to see and adds a lot to scenes.

The menu aspects of the game are really well done, and is streamlined and easy to use. The layout of menus is fresh but simple and you'll never get lost wondering how to use them.


Pretty menu layout~


The story seems to be a simple 'evil is trying to destroy my race' but the way it is presented and the quality of the writing makes a tire trope interesting, and I definitely wanted to know more about the world, the reasons behind said evil doing what he's doing and the relationship between he and your party member.

Unfortunately the game is a short demo so none of this gets answered, but I very much appreciated the way the story was being told, delving into the question of why someone who was well-known and -loved would change so much.


Gameplay
This is the meat of the game and the main draw. TDS is a whiz when it comes to scripting and it really shows as he turns the typical aspects of jRPGs on it's head whilst still maintaining the basic details.

There's still HP and death. Still items to heal with and skills to use. Levels and experience points are still present, but the battles themselves are fun and fresh.

You have little control over your abilities in battle - indeed, the only control you have is using skills/items, using Rush and escaping. The whole time your characters are constantly running from one side of the screen to the other, pushing the enemies back (and being pushed back, too) in order to either force them to the edge or deplete their HP completely.

As this is going on you can interact in real time to what is happening. HP getting a bit low? Duck into the item scene and throw a healing item out - mind that whilst in the menu time does stop in the battles, but outside of them you continue to attack non-stop (minus the time it takes to show a battle animation for healing/skills).


Die, you stinky flower! DIE!


There's also the rush command which increases your abilities in battle. It is a gauge that depletes as you use it and fills up as you don't. Each battle it starts at full, and holding Confirm will drain it whilst upping your battle capabilities.

Skills were accessed through the menu and much like items, worked as you continuously pushed against the enemies.

It is a simple system that is fast-paced and fun. You can't just ignore your party thinking that they'll just sweep the board because the balance is such that you will need to be on the ball with healing, and using Rush to your advantage. It's fun, furious and very fresh.

Outside of battles there is little of note. There's shortcuts to certain parts of the main menu - Alt+Down took you straight to the Save scene and Alt+Up opened the Item scene - which is nice but I didn't find myself using it.

On the world map you would fight pre-set enemies who you could see the position of on the minimap. There were also healing points scattered around that you could step on and use up.


Battles aren't your typical 'on map' or 'random encounters'.


There was one thing I didn't enjoy about the game, though and that was FORCED FULL SCREEN! :/




Overall, the game is a lot of fun. It's very fresh, the story is interesting and draws you in despite playing a silent hero, and the gameplay is very neat and, well, fun. I really enjoyed myself. The maps do need some work, being as of the three shown, one of them was definitely a sample map, but all told, it's a great little demo that I'm looking forward to seeing more of in the future.

If I were scoring this, I'd give it a solid 4.