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David, the Dreamwalker
Ilan14- 09/04/2015 11:41 AM
- 1792 views
THE GAMEMAKER PRESENTS THE REVIEW OF:
NOTE: This review only reflects my personal opinion, and people may differ from what I think of the game. Some people may think that this is the best game ever, some people may think that this is a piece of crap that must be burned to ashes immediately. If you, the developer, agree with the points in my review or not, it's up to you.
I've been looking to make this review for a while, but lately new games have been taking a lot of my time. Still, I promised that I was going to review this game, and you can be sure that's what I intend to do! Because you see, this is the second review I make for a game of the same developer. Since I reviewed and liked the previous game, I said to myself than when his next game came, I was going to review it. So, without any more delays:
Let's get this shit on the road!
Plataforming Games. A genre that I came to like a long time ago thanks to Crash Bandicoot in my old PS1. It's the kind of genre that can have you playing for many hours non-stop because of the special element that can generate this, and certain other game genres (when they're good, that is...): Addiction. Whenever you're trying to get all of the collectibles in a level, or just stuck in a really hard part, you can feel how the addiction consumes you, and still, you go on. The classic "just one more turn/round/life" effect, and just for that, the genre already gains many points. Now, just as the Tactical RPG's, plataforming games are really hard to do in RPG Maker, so naturally, once one of these appears as a RPG Maker game, my attention is caught. And so, I started playing Eling: First Dimension with the hope that I would feel that same sensation of addiction that with other games of the genre.
And you know what: I felt it.
WARNING: There are high chances of finding bad jokes in the screenshots below.
Just like in Shindra Duel Adventures, the develpoer's first game, the story is minor in this game, perhaps even more. Basically, you take control of a boy named David (the name can be changed), who's part of a experiment that has him trapped in Dreamland, and you have to complete levels and collect crystals in order to escape. There's also a girl there named Sandy (name only mentioned in the PDF Manual) who's part of the same experiment and for extension, your rival in the race for freedom. And well... that's pretty much it. XD
But that doesn't really matters, since as Shindra Duel, the gameplay is the core of Eling: First Dimension. As for the dialogue (at least, in the few parts when there's actual dialogue), I didn't noticed any particular grammar mistakes. Every letter and capitalisation is where it has to be, so kudos for that. :)
Well, that was easy. :P
And now comes the meat of the review which is the gameplay. The controls in the game are almost the same as the default configuration, except that the number 0 on the numpad is for jumping and the Shift key is to look at your item inventory. At first I wasn't really sure about this configuration of keys, but it will end up becoming natural in no time.
Anyways, once you complete the tutorial level, you're sent to the Overworld, which works as a Hub level. In the Overworld, you'll be able to go to the shop and buy stars with the coins you collect on the game (more on that later), save and go back to the main menu, and of course, enter a world and choose a level to play. See, the goal of the game is to get Crystals. These crystals can be gained by completing levels, gaining them in the Overworld, and in the Free Mode (which I'll also talk about later). By gaining these crystals, you'll be able to unlock passages to other worlds, including the one with the final level, which obviously finishes the game once completed. You don't have to collect all the crystals to win the game, but is nessecary if you want to get the best ending. ;)
Now, each word has 5 levels each, and the objective of each level is always to get to the crystal at the end. Between you and victory, there are two things:
Enemies... : Critters that roam the levels. You can't kill these by any way, and if you touch them, you lose one of your three hearts, lose all of them, and it's Game Over!
...and Obstacles: These are usually in the form of longer gaps to jump, lava and acid, and you can only pass these by collecting stars that give you effects that last until the end of the level (longer jump distance, and inmunity to lava and acid), inmediate effects (full heart recovery), and temporary effects (invulnerability to enemies for 20 or 60 seconds). If you have stars in your inventory you can also use them.
But there's something special about these worlds. And is that all of it's levels happen on the same map corresponding to each world, but the catch is that each level has a variation on how you complete it. For example, in some levels you'll have to compete in a race with Sandy to get to the end before she does, in others you'll have to make a time-attack run of the map, and in the final level of each world you'll have to defeat bosses in some pretty creative ways. So in general, the way the worlds and levels are structured is top notch and makes for a great play.
As I said before, with the coins you collect in the levels and in the overworld, you can buy two types of stars in the Overworld Shop: Inventory Stars, which are consumable, and can only be used during levels, and Overworld Stars, which have unlimited uses and can be used to reach parts in the Overworld that can't be reached otherwise.
When you go to the main menu, you'll find a selection of different options:
- Adventure Mode: Choose this anytime to go to the Overworld.
- Free Mode: Unlocked once you beat the game for the first time. This option takes you to a level in which the maps of the first 5 worlds are merged in one, and in each map there's a crystal to collect. Honestly, I thought that this mode worked more like filler than anything else, since it's sole propose was to contain 5 more crystals to collect. Once these are collected, there's not much point to keep using this mode.
- L.J. Ware Mode: It has the same function as in Shindra Duel Adventures. In this menu, you can exchange codes posted in the gamepage blogs for adittional stars and coins. Simple, but useful.
- Status: In this menu you can see how many crystals you have collected in each world, the Goals, which are special objectives you can complete in order to get stuff in the Gifts section, in which almost all of the rewards are stars and coins except for a very special reward if you complete all 14 goals and collect all 50 crystals... ;)
- Main Menu: This one simply returns you to RM2k3 main menu.
All of this together makes for one of the best experiences I had in an RMN game. The jump command may be a little bumpy sometimes, and there were a few points in my playtrough where invulnerability stars didn't worked properly, but it never stopped the game from being as fun and addictive as it was.
And there's nothing more important in a videogame than the fun. :D
When it comes to graphics, the game uses mostly RTP chipsets and sprites (except for a few custom sprites for the main characters and the final boss), but these couldn't have been used better here. Whatever is in interiors or exteriors, the maps are beautifully crafted in really creative ways that allow them to fit their propose in a plataforming game. It helps that there are no passability errors or anything of the sort that hinders the exploration.
Another thing to note is the custom graphics used for the menus and HUDs of the game, since they are pretty good, the images used give the whole game a "cool" vibe that contributes to the whole experience.
One of the virtues of Shindra Duel Adventures carries over to this game, which is the music. The music is just great, all of the tunes are really catchy (probably helped by the retro style of these) and you'll hardly get tired of hearing them.
Seriously, I don't get tired to hear the victory theme at the end of the levels. :P
There are some custom sounds also, but honestly, I didn't cared about these because of the music! Is just that great. :D
By the end of this review, one thing was left clear: I loved Eling: First Dimension.
I loved it because this game has most of the things that make a plataforming game great, excellent gameplay, creative maps, cool soundtrack, and the way it encourages you to complete the game in it's entirety. The developer really hit gold with this game, which makes a little weird the lack of attention his projects usually get, because I'm not lying when I say that his games deserve it.
And I guess that after hearing all this, you'll ask: Why I gave this game a 4.5 stars, and not a 5 stars? Well, for me, finding a game that fills the requirements needed to get a perfect score for me is hard. And while this game is really good, I just don't feel that I can give him a 5 stars score. Don't ask me why, because what it would take for a game to get the highest note is something I cannot express in words, and it's more of a personal viewpoint in which not everyone may agree with me.
There's one thing I can say for sure, though: That I'll be waiting for the developer's third game. And that when it get's released, I'll happilly play it and review it once again...
- Excellent gameplay worth of a plataforming game.
- Nice-looking custom menus and huds.
- A great example of RTP mapping.
- Really neat soundtrack, fitting of the style of the game.
- The sensation of acomplishment when completing the game at 100%.
- The Free Mode was perhaps an unnesecary adittion.
- A couple of minor annoyances regarding the stars and the jump command.
Final Rating: 4.5 Stars
For future reference, here's a list showing what I consider the stars to mean:
NOTE: This review only reflects my personal opinion, and people may differ from what I think of the game. Some people may think that this is the best game ever, some people may think that this is a piece of crap that must be burned to ashes immediately. If you, the developer, agree with the points in my review or not, it's up to you.
I've been looking to make this review for a while, but lately new games have been taking a lot of my time. Still, I promised that I was going to review this game, and you can be sure that's what I intend to do! Because you see, this is the second review I make for a game of the same developer. Since I reviewed and liked the previous game, I said to myself than when his next game came, I was going to review it. So, without any more delays:
Let's get this shit on the road!
Plataforming Games. A genre that I came to like a long time ago thanks to Crash Bandicoot in my old PS1. It's the kind of genre that can have you playing for many hours non-stop because of the special element that can generate this, and certain other game genres (when they're good, that is...): Addiction. Whenever you're trying to get all of the collectibles in a level, or just stuck in a really hard part, you can feel how the addiction consumes you, and still, you go on. The classic "just one more turn/round/life" effect, and just for that, the genre already gains many points. Now, just as the Tactical RPG's, plataforming games are really hard to do in RPG Maker, so naturally, once one of these appears as a RPG Maker game, my attention is caught. And so, I started playing Eling: First Dimension with the hope that I would feel that same sensation of addiction that with other games of the genre.
And you know what: I felt it.
WARNING: There are high chances of finding bad jokes in the screenshots below.
Just like in Shindra Duel Adventures, the develpoer's first game, the story is minor in this game, perhaps even more. Basically, you take control of a boy named David (the name can be changed), who's part of a experiment that has him trapped in Dreamland, and you have to complete levels and collect crystals in order to escape. There's also a girl there named Sandy (name only mentioned in the PDF Manual) who's part of the same experiment and for extension, your rival in the race for freedom. And well... that's pretty much it. XD
But that doesn't really matters, since as Shindra Duel, the gameplay is the core of Eling: First Dimension. As for the dialogue (at least, in the few parts when there's actual dialogue), I didn't noticed any particular grammar mistakes. Every letter and capitalisation is where it has to be, so kudos for that. :)
Well, that was easy. :P
Congratulations! Now we know 50% of the title's meaning!
And now comes the meat of the review which is the gameplay. The controls in the game are almost the same as the default configuration, except that the number 0 on the numpad is for jumping and the Shift key is to look at your item inventory. At first I wasn't really sure about this configuration of keys, but it will end up becoming natural in no time.
Anyways, once you complete the tutorial level, you're sent to the Overworld, which works as a Hub level. In the Overworld, you'll be able to go to the shop and buy stars with the coins you collect on the game (more on that later), save and go back to the main menu, and of course, enter a world and choose a level to play. See, the goal of the game is to get Crystals. These crystals can be gained by completing levels, gaining them in the Overworld, and in the Free Mode (which I'll also talk about later). By gaining these crystals, you'll be able to unlock passages to other worlds, including the one with the final level, which obviously finishes the game once completed. You don't have to collect all the crystals to win the game, but is nessecary if you want to get the best ending. ;)
Now, each word has 5 levels each, and the objective of each level is always to get to the crystal at the end. Between you and victory, there are two things:
Enemies... : Critters that roam the levels. You can't kill these by any way, and if you touch them, you lose one of your three hearts, lose all of them, and it's Game Over!
...and Obstacles: These are usually in the form of longer gaps to jump, lava and acid, and you can only pass these by collecting stars that give you effects that last until the end of the level (longer jump distance, and inmunity to lava and acid), inmediate effects (full heart recovery), and temporary effects (invulnerability to enemies for 20 or 60 seconds). If you have stars in your inventory you can also use them.
But there's something special about these worlds. And is that all of it's levels happen on the same map corresponding to each world, but the catch is that each level has a variation on how you complete it. For example, in some levels you'll have to compete in a race with Sandy to get to the end before she does, in others you'll have to make a time-attack run of the map, and in the final level of each world you'll have to defeat bosses in some pretty creative ways. So in general, the way the worlds and levels are structured is top notch and makes for a great play.
As I said before, with the coins you collect in the levels and in the overworld, you can buy two types of stars in the Overworld Shop: Inventory Stars, which are consumable, and can only be used during levels, and Overworld Stars, which have unlimited uses and can be used to reach parts in the Overworld that can't be reached otherwise.
When you go to the main menu, you'll find a selection of different options:
- Adventure Mode: Choose this anytime to go to the Overworld.
- Free Mode: Unlocked once you beat the game for the first time. This option takes you to a level in which the maps of the first 5 worlds are merged in one, and in each map there's a crystal to collect. Honestly, I thought that this mode worked more like filler than anything else, since it's sole propose was to contain 5 more crystals to collect. Once these are collected, there's not much point to keep using this mode.
- L.J. Ware Mode: It has the same function as in Shindra Duel Adventures. In this menu, you can exchange codes posted in the gamepage blogs for adittional stars and coins. Simple, but useful.
- Status: In this menu you can see how many crystals you have collected in each world, the Goals, which are special objectives you can complete in order to get stuff in the Gifts section, in which almost all of the rewards are stars and coins except for a very special reward if you complete all 14 goals and collect all 50 crystals... ;)
- Main Menu: This one simply returns you to RM2k3 main menu.
All of this together makes for one of the best experiences I had in an RMN game. The jump command may be a little bumpy sometimes, and there were a few points in my playtrough where invulnerability stars didn't worked properly, but it never stopped the game from being as fun and addictive as it was.
And there's nothing more important in a videogame than the fun. :D
It had to be slimes, didn't it?
When it comes to graphics, the game uses mostly RTP chipsets and sprites (except for a few custom sprites for the main characters and the final boss), but these couldn't have been used better here. Whatever is in interiors or exteriors, the maps are beautifully crafted in really creative ways that allow them to fit their propose in a plataforming game. It helps that there are no passability errors or anything of the sort that hinders the exploration.
Another thing to note is the custom graphics used for the menus and HUDs of the game, since they are pretty good, the images used give the whole game a "cool" vibe that contributes to the whole experience.
Home, sweet dreamworld.
One of the virtues of Shindra Duel Adventures carries over to this game, which is the music. The music is just great, all of the tunes are really catchy (probably helped by the retro style of these) and you'll hardly get tired of hearing them.
Seriously, I don't get tired to hear the victory theme at the end of the levels. :P
There are some custom sounds also, but honestly, I didn't cared about these because of the music! Is just that great. :D
By the end of this review, one thing was left clear: I loved Eling: First Dimension.
I loved it because this game has most of the things that make a plataforming game great, excellent gameplay, creative maps, cool soundtrack, and the way it encourages you to complete the game in it's entirety. The developer really hit gold with this game, which makes a little weird the lack of attention his projects usually get, because I'm not lying when I say that his games deserve it.
And I guess that after hearing all this, you'll ask: Why I gave this game a 4.5 stars, and not a 5 stars? Well, for me, finding a game that fills the requirements needed to get a perfect score for me is hard. And while this game is really good, I just don't feel that I can give him a 5 stars score. Don't ask me why, because what it would take for a game to get the highest note is something I cannot express in words, and it's more of a personal viewpoint in which not everyone may agree with me.
There's one thing I can say for sure, though: That I'll be waiting for the developer's third game. And that when it get's released, I'll happilly play it and review it once again...
Being called awesome is awesome. :D
- Excellent gameplay worth of a plataforming game.
- Nice-looking custom menus and huds.
- A great example of RTP mapping.
- Really neat soundtrack, fitting of the style of the game.
- The sensation of acomplishment when completing the game at 100%.
- The Free Mode was perhaps an unnesecary adittion.
- A couple of minor annoyances regarding the stars and the jump command.
Final Rating: 4.5 Stars
For future reference, here's a list showing what I consider the stars to mean:
N/A - Not Available: This game has not a note. This is probably because either the game is a demo, is a joke game, or the game is simply sooooo horrible that giving it a note would be doing it a favor...
0.5 - Abysmal: The lowest grade possible in an RMN review. For a game to get this note, it must have failed in absolutely every aspect that makes a game to the point of not having any redeemable qualities. I wouldn't give this game even to my worst enemy.
1 - Terrible: This game sucks badly. Whatever it was trying to accomplish gets lost in a sea of badly designed and/or implemented game elements. It may have very few good qualities which is what saves it from being Abysmal.
1.5 - Bad: This game has some good qualities, but sadly, these end up overweighted by the many flaws that surround it. You may find some enjoyment in this game, but don't expect it to last much.
2 - Mediocre: There was a clear potential for this game, but it ended up failing to live up to it's premise. Only recommended if you like the game's genre.
2.5 - Subpar: While this game isn't exactly bad, there were a few important flaws that leave this game below the average standards. It's still enjoyable, but only to a certain extent.
3 - Average: Basically, a game that has a fair share of pros and cons. It could be better, but is still worth a shot.
3.5 - Good: A game that with a couple of good qualities, manages to stand up between the Average games. It still has a long way to go, but it's a step on the right direction.
4 - Great: This game gets a lot of things right and manages to be an enjoyable experience. It's still not exempt of cons though, which deprives it from getting a higher score.
4.5 - Awesome: A game that regardless of the genre, it's totally worth the play. You'll have fun with it from beginning to end, and the memories of it will remain fresh in your head for a long while. It doesn't get the perfect score by this much.
5 - Epic (Win): The perfect score. This game is sooooo great that you probably won't believe me until you play it. So, no matter what you're doing right now, stop it, download the game, and PLAY IT! Trust me, you won't regret it... :)
0.5 - Abysmal: The lowest grade possible in an RMN review. For a game to get this note, it must have failed in absolutely every aspect that makes a game to the point of not having any redeemable qualities. I wouldn't give this game even to my worst enemy.
1 - Terrible: This game sucks badly. Whatever it was trying to accomplish gets lost in a sea of badly designed and/or implemented game elements. It may have very few good qualities which is what saves it from being Abysmal.
1.5 - Bad: This game has some good qualities, but sadly, these end up overweighted by the many flaws that surround it. You may find some enjoyment in this game, but don't expect it to last much.
2 - Mediocre: There was a clear potential for this game, but it ended up failing to live up to it's premise. Only recommended if you like the game's genre.
2.5 - Subpar: While this game isn't exactly bad, there were a few important flaws that leave this game below the average standards. It's still enjoyable, but only to a certain extent.
3 - Average: Basically, a game that has a fair share of pros and cons. It could be better, but is still worth a shot.
3.5 - Good: A game that with a couple of good qualities, manages to stand up between the Average games. It still has a long way to go, but it's a step on the right direction.
4 - Great: This game gets a lot of things right and manages to be an enjoyable experience. It's still not exempt of cons though, which deprives it from getting a higher score.
4.5 - Awesome: A game that regardless of the genre, it's totally worth the play. You'll have fun with it from beginning to end, and the memories of it will remain fresh in your head for a long while. It doesn't get the perfect score by this much.
5 - Epic (Win): The perfect score. This game is sooooo great that you probably won't believe me until you play it. So, no matter what you're doing right now, stop it, download the game, and PLAY IT! Trust me, you won't regret it... :)
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Luc
3235
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CloseThank you so much for this review. I enjoyed reading it. I worked so hard on this title and I was disappointed by how little it has been downloaded. So it's great to read that people like you recognize the effort I've put into this game and just had a great time with it. Even with the standard tileset.
The other 50% of the title meaning is that the word 'Eling' comes from the Dutch word 'Eenling', which means a lone individual. ;)
The other 50% of the title meaning is that the word 'Eling' comes from the Dutch word 'Eenling', which means a lone individual. ;)
Glad you enjoyed the review! And don't worry, if your games keep being as good as this, your time to shine will eventually come... :)
Luc
3235
author=Ilan14
Glad you enjoyed the review! And don't worry, if your games keep being as good as this, your time to shine will eventually come... :)
Thanks! But I'm happy with every player that enjoys my game(s) of course. :) I hope that you're gonna enjoy my third game, Twell: Sword of Light, just as much when it comes out.
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