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

I'm a grump... I'm not so grump...

  • Stoic
  • 05/20/2013 03:10 PM
  • 1965 views
The Grumpy Knight and the Crisis in Helena's Kingdom
A RPG Maker Lite game by Blue Coral Games (Indrah & Fomar0153)



"I had fun once... it was awful."

Blue Coral Games have made some real solid games in the past year. They all seem to be part of the Arum Universe. Building your own game universe is a lot of work, and while I don't know much about it still I like knowing that each game story revolves around it. That connection gives added incentive to play all their games as you become more invested in the world and characters.

The Grumpy Knight was made for the RPG Maker VX Ace Lite Cook Off Contest so it has some limitations, although you wouldn't really notice given how polished the title is. Rather than do a standard review, I'm going to break the game into what I liked and what I didn't like.

What I liked

-The boss rush gameplay. Each battle was unique and had new "powerful" monsters. This kept encounters fresh since you weren't sure what to expect.
-No experience or grinding. You just leveled by talking to the queen after defeating one of the major bosses. Usually this is my least favorite part of RPGs as it feels like the developers are just elongating gameplay by having you fighting repetitive and boring encounters.
-9 support characters to choose from. Each character had a unique mechanic, so it was encouraged to try out each one and see which best suited your play style. The attacks were pretty inspired. For example, one character could plant a tree that the player could use as an attack or heal OR allow it to grow each turn which powered up the skills.
-Custom graphics for every portrait and enemy. Not to mention different facial expressions for the majority of the characters. This adds a lot to the overall "cutesy" feel of the game.
-Lighthearted humor. While I wasn't finding myself laughing-out-loud at the dialogue I did find it charming. The overall premise of the game is pretty silly to begin with, so the humor is fitting.
-Multiple endings. I only got the normal ending so far, but I like that there is another reason to play the game through. I plan on going through it again someday and trying out more of the characters I didn't use.

What I didn't like

-Too easy. Once you experiment with a few different characters, you'll find that some are overpowered and can dispatch bosses in a few turns. Elsa's Ice Cannon ability in particular is OP once you buy the sword that allows her to use it 3 times in a row. Ruby also has a real strong upfront damage move that can quickly dispatch enemies. With certain characters based around defense and crowd control abilities it would have been more fun to see enemies that relied on them instead of always being able to get by on brute force.
-Some characters are kind of useless. Argos in particular I didn't find useful since he focused on tanking abilities which weren't necessary.
-Characters can be too chatty. I get that Elsa is grumpy and that she doesn't want a husband, but I didn't need a long-winded intro to tell me that. Some of the conversations, like with the mother and grandmother, also feel they like go on too long.
-Little to no explanation of the systems in the game. There is a "Tips and Hints" page that I relied on heavily to explain the different combat mechanics to me. Without it I would have been totally lost since there is almost no explanation in-game of how certain mechanics work, like Elsa's rune regeneration or EX. According to the developer, this was one of the constraints of RPG Maker Lite.

Overall Score: 3.5/5

I would recommend this title despite some of the balance issues. It's short - only took me about 1h 30min - and cute as hell. The combat is novel, and while it doesn't offer much challenge it has a lot of customization that keeps things interesting. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Posts

Pages: 1
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
I get the reference in your title. Freakin' love Game Grumps.

This game seems interesting, though. Maybe I should try it! :D
Glad you got the reference. I couldn't resist.

I'd definitely recommend trying it.
Indra
YOU ARE BEING TOO AGGRO
11514
Thanks for the reviewwww~
We have a ncie thing of list to work on on the remake/revision...though I amdit it always hit me hard when peeps say the dialogs are rambly ;-;
As for the easy part...well, my fault. I accidentally borked the leveling with the ending events. Woops >< (it not skips you ahead to last level after the first boss, derp)
*likes long scenes way too much*
Pages: 1