An impressive first RPG

  • Gibmaker
  • 05/04/2009 10:00 PM
  • 773 views
Wild Wings is a traditional RPG based on the novel Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, about a bat named Shade who goes on a rollicking cross-country adventure. It's the first game released by Nocturna (billed as "Jake Productions" in the game) and has many of the trappings of a beginner RPG, but it is fleshed-out and complete, and also almost bug-free. (Mention of "bugs" will lend itself to puns in a bat-themed game.)

Story

Wild Wings follows the general plot arc of the source novel, but with many new characters and outlandish subplots of Nocturna's invention. Some of these embellishments depart into anything-goes logic (such as an alien invasion, and a task force of brainwashed Nintendo characters) but the core storyline stays true to the source novel. Shade is still the hero, and Goth is still the final villain; Nocturna didn't Marty Sam the story to pieces. Fans of the source novel will find familiar locales like Tree Haven and the Echo Chamber, and characters from the novel like Frieda, Chinook and Zephyr. Nocturna's original contributions are included alongside the canon characters without overshadowing them, starting with Shade's "roommate" Dick Tracy (no reason is offered for this choice of name) and a variety of new towns and subplots not in the source novel. (This includes the aliens.) Except, I think, in the case of Marina, who gets displaced as the central love interest in favour of ... well ...

The attitude of the game is that kind of tongue-in-cheek quasi-seriousness often seen in beginner RPGs. Design shortcomings are excused by a scoff of dialog. ("You will also forget your flying technique cause flying inside dungeons is just cheap.") Lolspeak abounds. ("I don't want to hear that freakin' "OMG WHAT ARE Y00s DOING HERE?" anymore.") Non-specific "forces" can do almost anything. ("Some force outside the castle takes off your Roc's Feather quickly!") The game unexpectedly becomes scary at the Wolf Ears cavern, however, switching from a midi soundtrack to samples from Silent Hill and foreshadowing the aesthetic that Nocturna would use for his Death Proclaimed series.

Game Systems

The game uses the default battle and character systems, but refreshed with a bat theme--the healing items are insects, for example. The difficulty arc is well balanced up to the final Goth battle which is just right for a final battle--a little shocking in terms of the sudden spike in difficulty, but passable by mustering all the resources you've been saving up.

Nocturna did introduce a new game system in that Shade can "fly" via a skill menu choice, but it's rather crudely implemented--all it does is switch on SlipThrough for the player character. The purpose of this skill is to give you access to areas not reachable on foot, but it also creates some ugly sprite draw-order effects when you fly close to ceilings and objects. Not to mention it's no longer supported after about the first third of the game (there aren't any more incentives to use flight after Varias town) and in most dungeons it's disabled completely.

You eventually acquire the Roc's Feather, an item that lets you jump one square forward in certain maps, and this ability (while logically unnecessary for a bat) is much better supported in the game. There are also some benign extras like the ability to customize the system graphic and battle music.

The most complex custom game system is an area called Slime Utopia, a monster-training minigame where you power up a slime creature and engage him in battles. This minigame is, sadly, entirely auxillary to the main storyline, and the only thing you can take back to the main game is decor for your bedroom. Nevertheless, its execution is a supreme effort.

Graphics

Not to be understated is the fact that Nocturna created a whole series of custom sprites for the bat characters. They're mostly colour modifications of four or five basic models, but even that much effort, as well as the tree-and-field themes of the towns, is enough to give the entire game a fresh feeling that sets it apart from other beginning RPGs. Nocturna also created custom face graphics for your party members and custom monsters for the final battles.

Bugs

There are a few annoying bugs in the game that should have been rooted out in playtests. For example, at one point the character Zephyr follows you through the mountains using the classic Step-Towards-Player follow system that has pinned countless RM2K heroes into dead-ends and crannies. This and other beginner-esque gaffes restrict the score that Wild Wings can earn, but for Nocturna's first offering, it's shockingly refined and fleshed-out.

(I happen to have the insider knowledge that while Wild Wings was Nocturna's first released game, it's actually the second he made. The first game was, according to testimony, consumed in a calamitous map tree error mere hours after being completed. A veritable tragedy, but I'm sure the experience gained from making the first game was the reason this one rises above the level of most RM2K users' first releases.)

My rating: 3.5/5

Best feature: Bat-themed facelift for the RTP graphics.

Needs-improvement feature: Poor support for flying skill

Feature that made me happy: Super-easy postlude battle against aliens.

Best dungeon: Wolf Ears Cavern

Best slime colour: Stale brown

Phrase I want to use in real life: "It's impressive that you got through my traps of death."

History-making item description: "Rotten fish. Ewwwww. Big waste? Yes!"

My slashfic fantasy: Zixinvfa/Hospibat

Posts

Pages: 1
What a great review! You should write more. I especially love your superlatives.
Pages: 1