Review Chawls 2/5 · May 12, 2024
Soul of an ambitious early 3D action adventure
As an early 3D action adventure Rising Zan suffers in all the ways you'd probably guess: difficult to frustrating camera issues and difficulties with getting stuck on 3D objects.
The core game formula definitely has all the staples of the later games to the point that I'd guess it was a likely inspiration for later 3D action games. It has …
As an early 3D action adventure Rising Zan suffers in all the ways you'd probably guess: difficult to frustrating camera issues and difficulties with getting stuck on 3D objects.
The core game formula definitely has all the staples of the later games to the point that I'd guess it was a likely inspiration for later 3D action games. It has a spunky protagonist obsessed with looking cool or sexy, a very light and goofy plot, enemies that seem to exist mostly for the protagonist to fight, and a light and short level structure that uses unlockable game modes to add content for replays to the otherwise short run time. Oh and a ton of all button mashing quick time events that definitely got old fast.
I didn't have much issue with the moveset which felt simple enough to get a handle on, but the camera issues make it hard to engage with movement around boss attacks and I felt encouraged to find approaches that felt more like cheesing the encounter than mastering the mechanics. I think longer or less linear levels with checkpoints would have helped the overall experience feel more fun to experiment with and put less pressure on being efficient with each interaction to survive the end boss of the stage and avoiding starting all over again. There is some charm to how unserious the game takes itself with the humor and music that also helps carry the overall experience.
