Ningyo Heart

An excellent first game for rpgmaker submitted by mightydarkchocolate, Ningyo Heart is a simple yet thoughtfully designed game. I look forward to seeing more complex and challenging games from this developer in the future. I have written this review not as a specific play-by-play of events in the game, but I hope it will give you a sense of what the game is like. You can read this review without worrying about plot spoilers. The fun of the game after all is to discover the secrets and solve puzzles in your own time.

The basic plot and characters in this game are well-done. With a short game play time of around 1 hour, the characters are likeable and well developed, especially the protagonist Mamoru. English is not the developer's first language in this game, and this shows. However, it does not impair the overall game-play or the story. The horror elements (including a few jump-scares, chase-scenes, a bit of blood and many creepy dolls all around you) are scary, but not too scary or disturbing. I would recommend this game for players who are hesitant or new to the genre, because I felt that it was more fun and exciting than scary.

The story itself memorable and compelling to play through as the story of a boy who "becomes strong" when he's forced to save a friend who was willing to give up everything to save him. Mamoru leaves his school to find his friend in a delightfully creepy gothic mansion. What makes this story interesting is the romance between the antagonist Dollmaker and the woman he loves. It's a very sweet story of a misguided man trying to save the one he loves without realizing that you can't bring back those who are gone. It was genuinely creepy to me to see the idea presented where it had become possible, through black magic, to bring a person back to life and transfer their death and sickness onto a doll.

The four main characters are wonderfully tied together. To uncover the "heart" of the Dollmaker will require getting to the "heart of the mansion" - it comes to a beautiful finale that's well worth the journey it took to get there.

I really did enjoy this game, especially because I could play it quickly without getting stuck too man times or spending too much time trying to solve a puzzle when I wanted a story to advance. There are several helpful hints in a "flaming" book at each floor of the mansion to help the player's quest. In terms of how challenging this game is, I would have to put it below most of the other horror games I have played. However, the puzzle element of the battles is unique, and because I had to take time to figure some of them out I saw the "game over" screen more than once. There are many small details that make the game a delight to play, and the rooms of the mansion are filled with dolls of all sorts from a variety of design styles. Not all they dolls are scary, but they make the experience more involved and enjoyable. If you get stuck there are tutorials to check.

Finally, the many doll characters in this game make it unique and interesting. The enemies are easy to avoid and the puzzles are not impossible. I especially enjoyed the Dora end fight and the decently challenging puzzle required to beat her. The maid and butler pair that serve as the story's main antagonists are fantastic, and beautifully designed. In boss fights you do not fight with these characters directly, but they are well-established as the most powerful enemies in the house through their ability to control the other characters. I especially enjoyed the Three Sister dolls, because they were quite challenging to beat, cute, small but deadly too! To see some original art in the cut-scenes would have been nice, however with what we do see the design creates a nice atmosphere. Attention to detail and varied use of sprites and characters make the game more than ordinary. From spider-like, gothic, big and small or basic style there's more than enough to fill the game. I enjoyed the smaller details like paintings, clustered dolls and eerie looking windows. Smoke, flash and fire effects are used very well. The soundtrack of the game is a bit repetitive, but works where it works.

After testing this game and playing it through, I'll give the whole thing 4/5!