Equinox (1993)

Beat. This was some of the worst gameplay I have ever experienced. The isometric camera angle did not work well for platforming because of how difficult it was to tell depth; to know where exactly the platforms and hazards were. Add to that the insane level of pixel perfect jumps required, quick timing, moving/falling/disintegrating platforms, hidden stuff, conveyors, and the health value being continues rather than actual hp. It seemed like the camera should have been able to rotate like in the overworld, which would have helped offset the frustrating gameplay. There were some parts where I was loading the save state every couple of seconds for minutes on end. I am talking dozens of failed platforming attempts for a single puzzle. I never would have been able to tolerate this game without save states. If I had the cartridge it would probably be smashed. But not all of the game was frustrating. I was very quick to consult a walkthrough when I had trouble with a puzzle; often times it was red herrings deliberately put there to mess with the player while the actual solution was invisible. Other times it was just mechanically difficult to pull off. I think trying to push blocks off a conveyor while being on the same conveyor was the most obnoxious challenge. I made use of online maps after the first dungeon because there was no in game map; an unacceptable shortcoming.

I did get all the weapons and spells, while only killing 1 troll. I didn't need to improve max health or grind to restore mana due to save states. The overworld felt mostly pointless and a little annoying to navigate, but at least it actually had a map. The enemy variety was lacking and the bosses were either very difficult or easy. I upgraded to each new weapon but a few times switched to the twin knife to shoot behind while moving. The rest of the weapons only varied by damage, speed and number of projectiles, and all were thrown melee weapons. No javelin, bow or anything like that. I felt the weapons could have used more diversity, such as a bow arcing over obstacles or different patterns of projectiles, or different ranges. I occasionally used the slow spell to help in combat, and zap to kill enemies that were difficult to reach. I used the basic damage spell for that early on too. Reveal was slightly useful in the later puzzles but of course I loaded the state after to conserve mana. Never tried freeze so not sure what it even did. The final 2 dungeons were the worst by far and there were several times where I felt this was the quitting point, but nothing took more than a few minutes to solve. The game was not poorly made but it was poorly designed.

4.5/10