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Sacred Reviews: Finstermen

Intrdocution

I find myself in a bit of a pickle when it comes to rating "Finstermen". This is because this project is more of a tech demo than a completed game. After all, this attempt at parodying the "Pokemon" franchise comes to abrupt halt after defeating the equivalent of Brock. In fact, the developer even admitted that the original plans for this project were much more extensive but decided to drop the project due to technical issues.

author=Byah
I've got ideas to make a full game similar to this, but this one won't be extended, since some of the systems in place wouldn't work in a longer game.


Honestly, I think Byah could have gotten around this limitation by simply making the player focus on raising a single Finstermen. After all, there are players that like to challenge themselves when it comes to "Pokemon" and one of these methods is to beat the game with a specific Pokemon like Delibird or Ditto. I also think Byah could have made these seem like a more complete project by parodying the P1 Grand Prix from the "Pokemon" anime.

Though, I suppose it really doesn't matter what Byah could have done in order to make this seem like less of a tech demo. After all, I ultimately have to judge this project based on what I was presented with. Though, I can't help but feel like "Finstermen" is more comparable to "My Little Ponymon" than "Moemon".

Story

You play as young goblin named Goblin. Yeah, the lack of originality when it comes to that name is kind of surprising for some people I imagine. I on the other hand have read more than my fair share of stories where parents have given their little sprogs unbelievably bad names in order to help their kid stand out. These names include such lovely options as Fish & Chips, Tula does the Hula, and the smile emoji. As a result, I really don't see this choice in name as funny, but a testament to humanities inability to name things. I suppose some would argue I'm thinking about this too much, but I'd argue I really shouldn't have to turn my mind off in order to enjoy a joke.

Outside of learning the main character's completely uninspired name. We also learn that he wishes become the greatest Finstermen master there ever was. And while I'd normally argue a game like this needs more depth going for it than simply proving your the best. I'd argue that's good enough for a game trying to parody the Red, Blue, and Yellow Pokemon games.

Music

On the plus side "Finstermen" doesn't utilize any music from the RTP for RPG Maker VX Ace. On the other hand, the game blatantly lifts all of its tracks from Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal Pokemon games. A decision that really helps sell this project as a parody of Pokemon. On the other hand, the choice in music is a little grating for someone whose dedicated hundreds of hours to playing through Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal over the years. Though I imagine most people won't have my hang ups with the music selection.

Graphics

On the plus side the graphical assets on display in this game aren't from the RTP. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of the assets in this game are highly familiar. I just can't place where I've seen them before. Though, I suppose they could be custom graphics I'm getting confused with a game with a somewhat similar look.

Gameplay

The game features a rather simple combat system. So much so, that I tended to find battles rather repetitive. A complaint I can level at a lot of completed games on this site. In fact, I recently completed a Let's Play for "Maze of Heroes" which suffers from a similar problem. As a result, I'm kind of glad this tech demo is rather short. Since, I imagine the repetitive nature of the combat would have really worn me down after a while.

Conclusion

Ultimately, I'd say "Finstermen" is harmless fluff. On one hand, I'd like to recommend this project since I do get a kick out of parodies and knock-offs of the Pokemon formula to a certain extent. After all, I've spent hours on Moemon and am genuinely looking forward to the completion of "My Little Ponymon". On the other hand, this project is clearly a tech demo for a much longer game. A longer game that's never going to happen. As a result, I'd advice skipping over this project in favor of games that are actually finished.