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Puzzles & puppets, dolls & deaths!
TheRpgmakerAddict- 07/15/2023 08:08 AM
- 105 views
Hello, players!
mightydarkchocolate is the author of various games I already reviewed, from the recently examined Roaches, to Densha Soul, that I analyzed one year ago. Despite some differences, being one game about roaches (well, of course!) and the other about a train, they were both unrelated horror games with likable protagonist facing some unknown menaces. And this Ningyo Heart, that was the first game submitted by this developer in 2013, makes no exception, but in this case the focus or theme of this RPG Maker XP adventure is another: dolls! (ok this is not a spoiler since it's right on the title: Ningyo is the japanese for doll!).
The game starts presentin the two main charcters of the story: Mamoru, a sensitime and quite boy, and his friends Ami, a brash tomboy. Despite their differences they get along very well, and like each other a lot. Unfortunately one day something terrible happens: Mamoru falls into a coma due to a degenerative heart condition. Anyway he luckily wakes up after two weeks, but he learns that Ami disappeared mysteriously... and it seems that she was last seen near the abandoned mansion of the Dollmaker! So Mamoru is determined to go to the place and find Ami, if she's still alive, and he will soon face the mysteries, secrets and horrors of the Dollmaker's mansion!
Ooooh how stupid I am! I believed it was because it's a headless doll!
Ningyo Heart is a sort of puzzle/survival horror game (just like the other games from this developer, more or less) that took me about 3 hours and 30/35 minutes to complete, considering also the deaths, since the game features no classic rpgmaker battles, but some instant Game Overs if an evil being touches you. The game features both chase sections and ... uhm battle-chase sections? Let's say that there are some boss battles where you cannot harm directly the opponent, but you have to solve some kind of puzzle while dodging the attacks.
Anyway the game includes also some more classic (and relaxing) puzzles where there are no opponents involved.
The game includes also exploration and collecting the Dollmaker's diaries, that are a needed item if you want to obtain the canon good ending, otherwise you will get the bad one instead. The story is overall pretty good and the characters are likeable, but I noticed the usual problem of mightydarkchocolate's games: the dev's english isn't perfect and this means that there are many typos, but I know that some players may overlook them to enjoy the adventure of a weak, meek boy that becomes strong to face the adversities.
Unfortunately the game has some more serious issues, for example the part with the lettuce where you may get stuck, besides this there are some hints found during the game that aren't really useful, so I needed to check the walkthrough, and that's not really good being a game that the player should be able to solve by himself... anyway I may be terrible with puzzles, so it's ok, but it's still true that this is the dev's first game and it shows.
For example also the graphics, while not really bad, are surely better in the other games, especially concerning the hand drawn art. The Rtps and edits do their job. Music is ok, the game is unnerving more than scary, and there are also some jumpscares. A classic.
The game has some chase sections, but also boss battles that includes chase sections! I mean, you defeat the opponent solving a puzzle!
Final Verdict
In the beginning I wrote that Densha Soul and Roaches were unrelated, anyway Ningyo Heart is connected to BOTH! Mamoru and Ami make a small cameo in Roaches, where they became a couple, while Densha Soul metiones Miku and Ichirou (the Dollmaker’s assistants), that are encountered in this game, and apparently the Dollmaker appears also in another game I did not play yet, Akumu. Nice, I liked this series of games all set in the same universe, anyway this still shows the limit of being one of the first game of this developer.
In the end this isn't bad for a first game, despite some flaws probably due to the inexperience. Densha Soul for me it's a similar but superior game, anyway if you like this genre, if you like classic rpgmaker horror games and if you like puzzles this may be not a perfect, but still a nice adventure to play!
mightydarkchocolate is the author of various games I already reviewed, from the recently examined Roaches, to Densha Soul, that I analyzed one year ago. Despite some differences, being one game about roaches (well, of course!) and the other about a train, they were both unrelated horror games with likable protagonist facing some unknown menaces. And this Ningyo Heart, that was the first game submitted by this developer in 2013, makes no exception, but in this case the focus or theme of this RPG Maker XP adventure is another: dolls! (ok this is not a spoiler since it's right on the title: Ningyo is the japanese for doll!).
The game starts presentin the two main charcters of the story: Mamoru, a sensitime and quite boy, and his friends Ami, a brash tomboy. Despite their differences they get along very well, and like each other a lot. Unfortunately one day something terrible happens: Mamoru falls into a coma due to a degenerative heart condition. Anyway he luckily wakes up after two weeks, but he learns that Ami disappeared mysteriously... and it seems that she was last seen near the abandoned mansion of the Dollmaker! So Mamoru is determined to go to the place and find Ami, if she's still alive, and he will soon face the mysteries, secrets and horrors of the Dollmaker's mansion!
Ooooh how stupid I am! I believed it was because it's a headless doll!
Ningyo Heart is a sort of puzzle/survival horror game (just like the other games from this developer, more or less) that took me about 3 hours and 30/35 minutes to complete, considering also the deaths, since the game features no classic rpgmaker battles, but some instant Game Overs if an evil being touches you. The game features both chase sections and ... uhm battle-chase sections? Let's say that there are some boss battles where you cannot harm directly the opponent, but you have to solve some kind of puzzle while dodging the attacks.
Anyway the game includes also some more classic (and relaxing) puzzles where there are no opponents involved.
The game includes also exploration and collecting the Dollmaker's diaries, that are a needed item if you want to obtain the canon good ending, otherwise you will get the bad one instead. The story is overall pretty good and the characters are likeable, but I noticed the usual problem of mightydarkchocolate's games: the dev's english isn't perfect and this means that there are many typos, but I know that some players may overlook them to enjoy the adventure of a weak, meek boy that becomes strong to face the adversities.
Unfortunately the game has some more serious issues, for example the part with the lettuce where you may get stuck, besides this there are some hints found during the game that aren't really useful, so I needed to check the walkthrough, and that's not really good being a game that the player should be able to solve by himself... anyway I may be terrible with puzzles, so it's ok, but it's still true that this is the dev's first game and it shows.
For example also the graphics, while not really bad, are surely better in the other games, especially concerning the hand drawn art. The Rtps and edits do their job. Music is ok, the game is unnerving more than scary, and there are also some jumpscares. A classic.
The game has some chase sections, but also boss battles that includes chase sections! I mean, you defeat the opponent solving a puzzle!
Final Verdict
In the beginning I wrote that Densha Soul and Roaches were unrelated, anyway Ningyo Heart is connected to BOTH! Mamoru and Ami make a small cameo in Roaches, where they became a couple, while Densha Soul metiones Miku and Ichirou (the Dollmaker’s assistants), that are encountered in this game, and apparently the Dollmaker appears also in another game I did not play yet, Akumu. Nice, I liked this series of games all set in the same universe, anyway this still shows the limit of being one of the first game of this developer.
In the end this isn't bad for a first game, despite some flaws probably due to the inexperience. Densha Soul for me it's a similar but superior game, anyway if you like this genre, if you like classic rpgmaker horror games and if you like puzzles this may be not a perfect, but still a nice adventure to play!
