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Saturday 9 February, 2008
Note:My first attempt at entry #1 got deleted when I tried to submit so I had to rewrite this.
Entry#2
Gameplay
Continuing my quest to save the world, I am faced with daunting challenges. I find myself forced to use any 10 characters I want to face off against the computer's 50 or so soldiers. This game has made me feel 2 feelings in particular very frequently, anxiousness and anger. I feel anxious when the fate of one of my characters gets put in a situation where s/he has a 50% chance of dying in the next bout and anger when s/he has a 20% chance of dying in the next fight and then does die.
The narrative progression of the story is divided into chapters. It usually follows a similar routine, the group is on their way to their main destination until some people stop them or some villagers are getting attacked and need help. The group saves the villagers or defeats the boss that's blocking their way and they continue on their journey. I can't complain because although the premises are always simple, I am still entertained by it.
Design
The first thing I noticed is that when your character dies, they are gone for good. This adds to the strategy and forces players to think smart/safe. The time invested in building that character's level is motivation for the player to keep that character safe from harm as I believe a small bond is formed between player and character. Similar to how you don't want someone to mess up a drawing you did.
Weapon durability is another aspect I do not find common in alot of Role Playing Games. Traditionally in many RPG's, All weapons are indestructable and reliable. In this game, All weapons can break after a certain amount of use and it really forces the player to think, should he really waste a use of the weapon on that enemy? Once a weapon breaks, there is no way of repairing it so it is gone for good.
The level design was not as creative as it could have been. Most battles took place either in an open field with trees every few tiles or a castle with very slim choke points. I think the developers could have tried harder and expanded our battlefield a bit with more creative levels. Another criticism I have is that each tile type has different characteristics. However, the main complaint I have is that the only bonus that they seem to give is evasion. I would think that a forest would leave you slightly more susceptible to fire magic and less to thunder magic, or that an archer would have alot of trouble shooting an arrow from the outside of a forest at another person on the other side of the forest.
On a brighter note, the rewards system is a bit different from other Role Playing Games and I kind of like this one. When a character defeats an enemy, s/he will gain experience and level up. However leveling up doesn't gaurantee you certain statistics like other Role Playing Games. The game randomly gives your characters stat ups and that really diversifies how the character becomes by the end of the game. This adds replay value by changing up which characters become the best fighters.
So There isn't much I would change to this game besides what I mentioned earlier. This is a nice game that has alot of good points besides some minor flaws. I am able to look past the flaws and see it as a game that doesn't suck.
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