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By the Seventh Book vs. Pictoyaya
By the Seventh Book J'aime le français, vous savez.
Uncommon
Download: 195 KB
V.S.
Pictoyaya
Play Time: 0 hours and Aprox. 30 minutes
Review # 2 for Pictoyaya J'aime le français, vous savez.
Them's Fightin' Words
    By the Seventh Book is an OHR movie (other OHR movies, I suggest to play Zetes' 914), inspired by the theme of corrupt churches and heresy from Final Fantasy Tactics. Note that isn't necessarily a rip-off. It originally came from history. Look at the eleventh century, if you're interested. Uncy was disappointed that my last attempt to write this review wasn't saved. Though at least this will remedy that. By the Seventh Book was going to be entered for a contest with the theme of translation, though I think it was late when the contest ended.



Graphics
    We can excuse Uncommon for considering himself as a writer and not an artist for this game. The NPC's are proportioned with bigger heads then the norm, which is an interesting, style. Though the stances for standing left and right seemed unnatural, because Sylvester's legs seemed to be leaning. The shading on the skin was low colordepthed too, so it was difficult to notice. I was amused that the characters had extra frames for other poses. Though I vaguely saw the spear that Eris pulls out of Geoffrey... it was difficult to see because it was the same colour as the floor and the blood. The maptiles satisfied me compared to the other graphics. The houses and the bookcases are drawn at a different perspective, which is nice compared to seeing a 1-dimensional house in other OHR games. The bridge outside of the Mayor's house was as good too. But some had a few flaws... the floor for the church seems blurry that it clashes with the game's style. The campfire in the introduction isn't animated, and it seemed misplaced that the flame wasn't 'flickering'. The bushes in the Mayor's garden are too rectangular. Despite the graphics are what least satisfied me, they have a lot of potential to improve. ^^;

 
Storyline
    Note-y: spoilers.

A quick synopsis: The Seventh Book asks to punish whoever disagrees with the teachings of Saint Kornav, though this contradicts with the third book's rule not to kill other people. Sylvester works with his co-worker Geoffrey to execute heretics, but he suspects there is an error in the Seventh Book's translation. He goes to see Mordecai from the church, who is fluent in the original language, and requests a re-translation.

Seventh Book revolves around its story a lot since it's an OHR movie. Despite the theme of corrupt churches and such aren't original as they used to be, it's presented really nicely. I liked the characterisation because the characters were believable. Sylvester is a compassionate person who seems to look at the logic in people's decisions, and he also attempts to remedy the error of people's ways (example when he was convincing the mob not to kill Geoffrey). Geoffrey prides himself in his job executing heretics, and it comes before a fall. He seems disillusioned about them, especially when Eris takes his soul. Eris is my favourite character because of her witty, but manipulative attitude. And qui, French sounds nicer in my opinion. ^.^; The dialogue isn't boring either, and I think it's nice that the font uses italics and accented characters sometimes. The text boxes have colours, which reflect the ones the characters are wearing, and sometimes I think that the colours are respresentive to them. Red is nice for Eris because it reminds me of the blood from Geoffrey's massacre.



 
Gameplay
    Seventh Book doesn't focus on gameplay a lot, though it has mingames. The first one is a dance minigame. I heard on the forums that some people think it's too fast, though I didn't have a problem with it. As far as I can remember, I think my average score was 80+. You play it by going in the direction the arrows prompt you to, and you get points for each successful turn (or lose some for unsuccessful ones). Second minigame is when you have a few minutes to convince the mob on your side - I think it's interesting and fun that there is a particular order you to have to talk to them in, or else some people won't join you. It fleshes out the NPC's attitude Okay.



 
  Battle
    There aren't any battles with the default OHR battle system, though there is a custom minigame one. It's similar to the one from Byako's Matricx, though funner. You choose which height you are defending in - lower, middle, high (I think the respective keys are A, S and D). You are timed before you get attacked, though you shouldn't be too hasty with your decision - or you will maybe get full damage.



 
  Map Design
    The map design is boring. A majority or maybe all of them seem symmetrical and a little... uninspired. I didn't mind the garden's design. Though I think map design didn't really matter, seeing you can't walk around a lot.



 
  Balance
    The difficulty of the minigames is Okay, though it's really unfortunate that you benefit nothing from winning them. Hence there is no replay value. Though this could have been fixed if you got some easter eggs or a longer ending, if not a different one.



 
Music
    BAM doesn't work-y. =P



 
Enjoyment
    I enjoyed it, and look forward to an update that could improve in the aspects I was disappointed with. The characters are believable and aren't mellodramatic at all, unlike I have seen in OHR games that lasted longer. I didn't really feel accomplished because the minigames don't benefit a lot either, though By the Seventh Book isn't a waste of anyone's time, to say the least. This guarantee's that Where Gods and Mortals Dance will be good.



 
Final Blows
    It wouldn't suprise me if other OHR movies were made inspired by this template. The Seventh Book is a nice example, and it would be nice to see other games that did as good, if not nicer.



I giggled when this reminded me of the guy Uncy was talking about in his journal. ^^;;

I giggled when this reminded me of the guy Uncy was talking about in his journal. ^^;;
Final Scores
Graphics: 3.5/10.0
The isometric houses are good.
Storyline: 7/10.0
Coincidently, it gets a 7.
Gameplay: 5.5/10.0
It lacks replay value sometimes.
Music: 1/10.0
"BAM doesn't work-y. =P"
Enjoyment: 6.5/10.0
The minigames guarantee fun, and the storyline will have your attention.
Overall Grade: C-
Final Thoughts
    I'll plagarize this review by stealing from the author:

Teleute.
 


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