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Needs Some Work...

DISCLAIMER: I am aware that this was made for a contest where you only have a limited amount of time, so I'm not going to sound too overcritical here.

ALMOST HEROIC REVIEW

Okay, for reviews, I like to look for several things: story, game-play, design, and game flow.

STORY: 2 out of 5
The story seems a little weak, but it's straight-forward and clear to follow. What really gets me is that the story is a little too predictable and dry. What I mean is that the "girl gets kidnapped, hero goes to save her" bit is a tad cliche, and the dialogue is bland. The twist at the end was a surprise, and turned the story on its head; it really fit the Ludum Dare theme.

GAME-PLAY: 2 out of 5
The battle system is a nice innovation, but it seems a little difficult to initiate a successful attack sometimes; the rhythm-based mechanics seem to speed up rather quickly. There was a chest that was unreachable; not sure if it was intended to be unreachable or not. The menu system was okay, but the diary command seemed more like an "objective" command in the game. Overall, the game-play was basic and solid, but the battle mechanics or system need to be reworked a bit.

DESIGN: 3 out of 5
The graphics were good, very original if I have to say. All of the art assets blend well together, and it feels like a retro RPG, but to me, it feels more SNES than NES graphics-wise. The layout of the maps were passable, and the water effects were great. Could use a little more work on certain parts, like said chest being blocked by certain misplaced(?) tiles. All in all, very good with mapping and design.

GAME FLOW: 3 out of 5
The game's flow of play was somewhat smooth, but its pace felt too wavering. Battles could quicken or slow the pace, the game felt too short (again, totally aware that it's short because limited development time.) and, factoring in the battle system, the game could be lengthened by the constant failure of the later enemies. Also, the said objectives in the "Diary" command seem a little unnecessary in certain parts; the "find the thief" is one such objective. Nevertheless, the game progressed rather smoothly.

FINAL SCORE: 2.5 out of 5
The game was okay, but needs some work. There's a few bugs, such as a emotion balloon popping out of thin air, with no person attached to it, but I think you could work them out, depending if you're going to update this game, which you might do or not. It's a good game to finish quickly if the player has little time to finish a lengthy game, so extra points there!