FLEX

Introduction

Flex was created using RPG Maker VX Ace and is among the harder titles I've ever had to review since the game has very little to offer in terms of story or mechanics. In fact, if I had to classify this game I'd call it a baka game or in English, it's a stupid game. As such the only thing the game tests if your sense of humor. But does Flex really warrant that much of an appeal even on that front? The short answer is no. The long answer is stick around for a bit and allow me to explain.

Story

The story of Flex is that you play as Eric, a muscle man, who has been kidnapped under mysterious circumstances and left in a mansion of unusual decor. The only path open to you is to advance up the stairs which leads to you doing battle with yet another muscle man. In order to prove yourself the greatest muscle man in the universe you'll have to work your way to the top of the building and defeat every muscle man that gets in your way.

Is the Game Funny?

If I were to put Flex on a laughing scale of zero to ten with zero being an impenetrable frown and a ten being uncontrollable laughter. The game would come it at around a four and thus be deserving of a mild chuckle, but the game fails to truly go completely over the top with it's own ideas which hinder it from being anything truly laugh worthy in my opinion. I think the best example of this is the fact that the final boss is a slime. And a simple slime being the most powerful being in existence has been done before in previous games and has been done better. A good example of this is Atelier Iris 3 where the super mini puni wields the pacifier of death!

Gameplay

Flex utilizes your standard turn-based battle system, but adds a follow up attack system on top of it so that the player may dole out additional damage while also increasing the rate at which the player's muscle gauge fills up. The player can then spend those muscle points in order to execute potent special attacks, but the only one that I've ever found worth utilizing is explosive punch since it can potentially one hit kill your enemies and even if it doesn't kill them. It tends to hit for around 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 points of damage. I guess this adds to the whole stupid concept to a point, but it also feels extremely limiting as well. Though the special attacks may be better balanced then I realize. Since, I've only ever really utilized the strongest ability and the weakest ability with any level of consistency.

Graphics and Sound

On both of these fronts the game just feels average. This isn't a bad thing per se, but it does mean the game fails to standout from the crowd which in conjunction with the lack of any real substance can make this game something easy for people to skip over and not feel like they are missing out on much.

Conclusion

Flex is a rather average game as it stands. And as I said that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does make this a hard game to recommend if you aren't looking for a short, stupid game that might get a laugh out you.