Tuesday 29 December, 2015

I had heard that the game was very pretty (it is) and that the writing was awful (I'm not sure about that yet). What I hadn't heard is that it has a really interesting (novel to me, at least) combat system that combines your typical turn-based mechanics (choose correct attack, defense, spells, etc.) with two dynamic (as in real-time) elements that combine in interesting ways.

The first element is a timeline that shows all the characters (max 2) and enemies (max 3) moving along a timeline at different speeds (depending on their individual stats is my guess). When they get to the beginning of a red zone they start a "move" (attach, spell, etc.). Depending on the speed of the move they will then move along at a different speed than before. Whoever gets to the end of the timeline first has their move happen and anyone who is in the red zone is interrupted and kicked back down the timeline. So, there's a fair amount of strategizing - ideally you want your move to trigger before your enemies, but you want it to trigger when there are enemies in the red zone (that are getting targeted by your move, so they get interrupted). There are also spells that affect how the characters move along and all that.

The second element is a light wispy thing that you move around with the right stick (or using the touch screen). If you place it over an enemy and hold down L1 - that enemy is slowed. If you place it over a friend and hold down L1 you can heal. There's also some plants that let you recover health and mana points. The wispy thing has a limited power bar too - so you can't slow an enemy forever.

Both elements combine in interesting ways because you can now affect how quickly an enemy moves along the timeline (slow him down so you character gets to the end before, or not slow down so he's in the red zone when your move triggers, etc.). I've found that it keeps me on my toes because I have to do two things at once - with different fingers and all that.

As for the story?

Yes, the characters rhyme but...while I understand the big picture elements, I'm not really "clicking" with the prose/rhyme. It seems nonsensical, but not nearly nonsensical enough to be, say, a children's fairy tale.

I should probably pay more attention to it though... I've just started chapter 5 - halfway through?

It's funny that we played through this about the same time!

What do you think about the writing? The constant rhyming took some getting used to, but I think it gels with the fairy tale story and setting. With the beautiful art, it was almost like playing through a storybook, with the sidescrolling being like pages turning. Also most of the writing that was initially "silly" or "nonsensical" grew on me and became "quirky" and "charming."

It still feels nonsensical - but I'm now taking more care when I read and trying to figure out "the voice" I should use in my head...sort of. Anyways, it's mostly thanks to your thoughts that I'm giving it an extra go. :-)