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Worth playing!

  • Darken
  • 07/18/2008 09:36 AM
  • 1352 views
I'm going to start off by saying this game is more than meets the eye. I really enjoyed the demo and want to see the full game.

Story
The story takes place in a futuristic setting in which earth was wiped out by monsters called Geists. Theres a lot of digital stuff involved much like the Hack series and is a little confusing. The story itself isn't AMAZING but it sure is decent enough to keep you interested. The pacing is fast and doesn't waste time. The dialogue is entertaining and can be humorous, however I noticed a few grammar errors so that keeps me from enjoying the story a little more. Theres a lot of noticeable interaction between the characters but other than that the characters are pretty average. Though I feel Zoei (or Zoie I think) is really the only character with actual depth. Another thing that keeps me from enjoying the story is probably the presentation in the cut scenes. When characters talk, theres not a whole lot going on, they just stand still and let the text go by, I wish there was more actual movement implemented to enhance the dialogue.

Graphics and Presentation
Average is all I can say about the graphics. The game sports standard edited RTP charsets that you'd expect from Charas. The chipsets have been taken from various other games which shows a lot of clash against the charasets. But even so, they do the job well and aren't really harmful on the eyes. The battles have mostly BoF monsters and Tales of battle charsets (which match well with the charsets I must say) and really they work pretty nicely. The graphics aren't terrible enough to be on the same level as say.. ABL. But really, it's simply just average.

As for presentation, I personally feel some parts could have been done better while others were fine. The battle animations are good and do the job well, I really liked the use of sound effects. Again the cut scenes could use more work, theres pretty much almost nothing going on when the characters talk.

Gameplay
What can I say? This is the big highlight of the game. First off, you really get the impression that the creator put A LOT of effort into forging the battle system and the battles themselves. I don't want to spoil any surprises but I guarantee you won't be mashing the attack command over and over. The boss fights are fun and challenging and its very rewarding if you decide to level up or explore a bit more for items. This game does not fuck around sometimes, so you better be ready. Fortunately the game actually has a small "SAVE HERE" indicator when you come close to a boss battle. Which is what I like, you can save anywhere in the game, yet it's still fairly hard. There are no random battles, but simply monsters that slowly wander around, but suddenly go after you if you're spotted. Probably the best crafted encounter system I ever witnessed in an RPG maker game.

Another thing I like about the game is the puzzles, they're not confusing but at the same time pretty fun to solve. Lot of clever design was done, especially the Data Restore puzzles. Basically one of the main characters has the ability to restore certain sections, or even remove, which allows you to open up secret areas with loot. It's a nice touch and fits well with the story.

The only problem I have with the game play is that I wish there was more customization with the characters. There are these special items called EXEs that teach characters new skills. The thing is though, theres almost the same number of EXEs as the characters, so you pretty much end up assigning them as if there was no choice to begin with. But this is only a small problem.

Music and Sound
Definitely make sure the midi/sw synth in your audio options are lower than the WAV. The music is borrowed from a lot of popular games and are OKAY. Some of them however, like the battle themes are really loud (hence my audio options tip) and obstruct the sound effects from enhancing the battles. But other than that this is what you'd expect from an average rpg maker game, stolen music EVERYWHERE.

Conclusion
Overall this is a fun and exciting game. while the story could use some work I think this game deserves to be mentioned more often. The screen shots might show this to be an average looking game, but don't let them fool you. Inside the game's crusty core theres a well designed DBS and clever made puzzles ready to be consumed.

Posts

Pages: 1
Nice review, I didn't know what to expect of this game but at least I have a better understanding now. Definitely will be try this when I get the chance.
Pages: 1