Review scoopings 2/5 · Apr 29, 2024
Tight Controls And Adventure Elements Nonetheless Couldn't Hook Me
Preliminary: Another game I only found out about from Wai Wai World. RPG with side scroller platforming parts and hack and slash and more? Hopefully it pans out. The overworld top-down Look is ugly, but this first side scrolling part is pretty good (plus I gotta remember this is 1987, not 1988. The overworld tune is a jam tho!
I'm …
Preliminary: Another game I only found out about from Wai Wai World. RPG with side scroller platforming parts and hack and slash and more? Hopefully it pans out. The overworld top-down Look is ugly, but this first side scrolling part is pretty good (plus I gotta remember this is 1987, not 1988. The overworld tune is a jam tho!
I'm barely into the game and the action segments are feeling like a chore, which is too bad cuz in some ways it has that Castlevania feel, and the collision masks are pretty good and the controls are very responsive (good ol Famicom/NES) and I like how the jump becomes almost a glide if you hold the jump button - but nonetheless it was feeling chore-esque. It's like the later levels of Castlevania without that one's undeniable fun and hook for me. Hm, I'll keep trying otherwise I guess time to move on. At least it's been quite forgiving with the health drops from enemies.
Not only are the action parts feeling like a chore but somehow also the top-down overworld parts. Meh. And yet I still have an urge to press on a) in case I get used to the action segments and fall in love and b) because it has that action-adventure draw.
Yeaaaaa, these enemies are taking way too many hits to kill and tho I like the overworld tune, the Look and Sound and Feel aren't enough to push through the tedious and difficult Play. Technically a good game, but better for those gamers who take a lot of pride in their Nintendo Hard skills and enjoy games like Ghosts n Goblins.
Look: 7/10 The UI was just okay; some of the action segments had a cool Look/setting; and the overworld was downright ugly. I hopped back on just to take a screenshot of the overworld, the skulls were decent, but most of it was even uglier than this screenshot shows. 
Sound: 7/10 Mostly just okay, but the overworld tune was good good.
Play: 6.5/10 I have respect for its tight, responsive controls, but they made it far too tedious for my taste.
Feel: 6.5/10 As much as I have an urge to push through it, I don't have connections to the game, and I wound up giving up quite early which says a lot for an action-adventure. After all, it should've had everything I want--grinding for money, side scrolling action segments, and top-down overworld parts!
Attachment: 6.5/10 Again, there's a part of me that wishes I were skilled enough to enjoy this, so I have to give it a slight boost, but in the end it's really a 6/10 -- unlikely I am to return. There's a chance this series comes up again (I see there's a new release from 2022) and I will give it another try.
Overall: 6.7/10