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Ends of the Earth vs. Shadowiii
Ends of the Earth The graphics, beautiful when the game was released, just aren't as fantastic as they were a few years ago.
Valkayree
Download: 1.61 MB
V.S.
Shadowiii
Play Time: 3-6 hours and minutes
Review # 46 for Shadowiii The graphics, beautiful when the game was released, just aren't as fantastic as they were a few years ago.
Them's Fightin' Words
    I actually played this game series in reverse order. EOTE2 was probably the fourth of fifth OHR game I ever played, and it'll always hold some nostalgic value to me. After discovering it, I attempted EotE as well. In my opinion, EotE was much more original then the second. The sprites were not based off of anything (unlike EotE, where the sprites were based off of Final Fantasy 5). Also, I personally thought the dialogue for EotE was superior to EotE2's (the part in EotE2 about resurrecting Elvis still hurts me). In many ways, EotE was superior to EtoE2.

However, even a great game is not without flaws. Sadly, this game hasn't aged very well. The graphics which were drop-dead gorgeous when the game was first released now pale in comparison to games released recently. The story, though unique, is bland and cliched. The maps and story are also quite linear, with little to go back for (even the ability to go back is removed). When compared to recent games, it may not rank up. However, this doesn't stop it from still being a great game, in it's own right. So hang on, and travel back with me to when I first played this game, who knows how many years ago.




Graphics
    As stated, they haven't aged well. However, for their time, they were BLOODY BRILLIANT (see transferred O:OHR reviews). The best part is that they are all original. There are, of course, some downsides. First off, the NPC's aren't animated beautifully. Also, the imported screens aren't imported as best as they could be (though they still are decent). Maptiles appear somewhat flat. Also, there is a lot of airbrush tool used (and I mean a LOT of airbrush tool), which degrades from it's overall appearance.

Another annoying thing was that some maps (I'm thinking of the starting village map now) had a LOT of npcs, including wandering bugs and such. At first these seemed pretty cool, but after a while they got really annoying. Still, it all looks pretty nice.

One final thing I'd like to add is how colorful this game is. You'll probably notice this from the beginning...this game has a LOT of colors in it! So many, in fact, it might seem a bit cluttered at times. But very beautifully colored just the same.

NPCs

They look quite good, actually. Their animation's aren't wonderful, but there is a wide variety and they are (I'll say this again), in an original style. This is fantastic. The coloring is a bit wacky sometimes (again, airbrush inspired no doubt), but it still turns out just fine. Overall, not bad.

Battle

Battle graphics look...ok. Enemies are quite flat and consist of solid blocks of color. Backdrops are actually pretty nice, though nothing special. Hero graphics are similar to enemies: flat. However, they are all drawn quite well. The attacks and animations are very nice (though the airbrushed blood attack it a bit stupid), and the overall effect is very...colorful. When it was made, this game was the most beautiful thing any OHRer had ever seen. Now, it ranks about average.

Maptiles

These aged the worst, in my opinion. Mountains look fine, but very, very thin. There are shadows here and there that look pretty, but not many. Buildings are also semi-3D, but not polished. Overall a wide range of colors and whatnot make the world very lush, but unfortunately not very realistic or multi-dimensional.







 
Storyline
    Story

EOTE is a brilliantly original game, crossing many different mythologies including Greek and Roman. The story goes that a centaur named Centaurus is on a quest to find more of his kind, and in doing so has to leave his village (which he therefore can never re-enter), and adventure into the world of the unknown. He meets birdmen, fishmen, talking trees, and one big, friggen metal dragon. Yeah, that's a big dragon. His main goal is to meet Camarawn, the only other centaur he knows in existance. Too bad it turns out Cemarawn wants to destroy the world, so you obviously have to take him out. There is a rather cliched ending, but the overall experience is good-hearted and fun. The story does have quite a few low points, however. In fact, I don't think it ever really got too exciting. It was just a valley of story, that is, no climaxes or rifts, just...story. It proved dull after replaying it, though the first time it manages to keep interest up for a while. A horrible plot point, however, was when you had to choose which of your heroes died, and you couldn't avoid this. It was...stupid and pointless, and didn't add anything to the plot except frustrating the player (why did I bother leveling this person ANYWAY?).

Dialogue

Dialogue is certainly above average, but the question is how much so. There are a few cheesy lines (especially the one with the tree, as posted below)

However, the style is quite good. Though what the people are actually saying isn't very interesting, the way they say it is actually quite good. They seem to be talking in a general "old english" style (like the font :P), and it fits beautifully. The dialogue, though shallow in actual words, is entertaining in style.





 
Gameplay
    EOTE has some good points and bad points regarding the gameplay. Unlike its sequel, which has probably the most polished battles I have ever seen, EOTE is quite difficult. Up until you get the limitless potion, battles are well near impossible. You'll be running quite a bit, to say the least.

Another gameplay hole (mentioned above in the story section) is the scene where the guardians won't let you pass unless you sacrifice one of your characters. This was extremely frustrating, especially after leveling ALL my characters up quite high. It's like saying "Oh yeah, we need a new, more plot important character now. Kill one off, please." It also messed up the ending, because rather then use tags to determine who was alive or dead, so you see ALL their endings, with the comment "If you didn't kill them off." Stupid, and completely unimportant.

Yet another pet peeve about this game was that it was incredibly linear. You could rarely go back to even the previous map. This made it hard to level, as well didn't pace the game well. RPGs should NEVER be this linear. It was very frustrating.

Finally, the elemental dungeon. Yes, it is reasonably well designed, but it is also extremely large and mazelike. Pepsi mentioned in his review that it might take up to a quarter of your entire playtime just to tackle this dungeon. He was not lying. The dungeon is EXTREMELY long, tedious, and very, very hard. The random battles make it even worse. I will admit its design in theory was brilliant, but executed it was just too long.





 
  Battle
    Battles work out decently well. Your characters learn spells the "boring" way (that is, when you level up enough, you get some spells), but it works out just fine. Experience is given somewhat liberally, and money also. Shops are quite expensive, so you'll need to fight a lot of battles. Spells actually did more damage then normal attacks (what? impossible!), so they were actually worth the MP. Heroes were also very well balanced, except Areolys, who had extremely low HPs (see screenshot), even at high levels (you can guess who I killed off when I had the choice :P). Overall, it works out decently.




 
  Map Design
    Maps, as said, are far too linear for my taste. There are only a few side areas at best to explore, and the path you follow basically will just lead you out in no time at all. The sheer fact that it was so linear really made the game duller then it should have been. I want a game where I can go back to my hometown near the end and see what people are saying about me. Heck, just let me go back to level. Sadly, most of the time, if you went through a map THAT WAS IT. You'd better just keep facing forward, because there is no turning back now (or ever).

Also, the elemental dungeon gets a little section here. It is huge. It is mean. It is one awfully huge, mean, dungeon. You will spend upwards of and hour or more in this abomination. It is very repetitive and really frustrating, and random battles just make the experience worse. If it had been broken up into sections it would have worked amazingly better. As for now, it is an enormous map, which is extremely easy to die in, not to mention get LOST in (which I did, frequently).





 
  Balance
    Not nearly as good as EotE2 (which has probably the best balanced battles I've played yet, in terms of enjoyment). They start out very difficult, and they get worse. However, if one is up for a challenge, this game is totally for you. The one thing I didn't like about the balance is it fluctuated. For example, the game starts off really hard. But once you get the infinite life potion, the battles in the forest are really easy. Then you get to the lava place, and they are hard again. But you get a new party member, so it is ok! And on and on. There is no consistent balance overall, rather, enemies seem to be made on a whim rather then having being playtested multiple times. This inconsistency makes the game's battles frustrating and bizarre (though defiantly an...um...interesting experience...)




 
Music
    The music is all original, placed nicely, and overall improves the overall gameplay. The tunes aren't as catchy as in EotE2, but then again, the fact that they ARE all original really makes the neon QUALITY sign shine just a little brighter over this game. Great songs, make sure you have your speakers turned on. They are all placed quite well, I might add. If you ever put music in your game, do it like this game series does it.




 
Enjoyment
    A great game, especially in terms of originality. Proves you don't have to steal ideas from Final Fantasy or popular RPG cliches to make a game that is fun, entertaining, and just an overall blast. This game was on the OHR Top 30 for a LONG time (and high up there too, even months after its release), and for a very good reason. The game is fun. Unfortunately, however, this fun is only up to a point. The point for me the first time was that awful element dungeon. My second and third playthroughs the weird battles really threw me off. However, it is definitely worth taking a look-see. The game plays nice, and the extent of its originality still impresses me. If you make an OHR game, make it the same quality as this (just balance the battles a little better, and don't make a really impossible dungeon :P).




 
Final Blows
    EOTE is a fantastic OHR game. It was especially impressive on its initial release, back in the days of "fake plotscripting" and where high quality games basically looked like Secret Milkshake or Magnus. The game leapt out of the box that OHRers had been stuck in for so long, and thanks to its daring leap we now have some of the great games we have today. It proved that you don't need to borrow or mime other games to make a great looking and fun to play game. It is one of the most original games I've played to date, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Though I will warn you, it hasn't aged wonderfully.




The heros are quite balanced. Except stupid Areolys. 500 hpts at level 50? What is this?!

The heros are quite balanced. Except stupid Areolys. 500 hpts at level 50? What is this?!
Final Scores
Graphics: 8/10.0
Like the game, the graphics haven't aged well (they take the hardest hit, I believe). However, this doesn't stop them from looking just great. The style they take on is wonderfully original and very colorful. It just, as I said, isn't as brilliant as it was when the game was first released.
Storyline: 4.5/10.0
Very linear, and somewhat dull. The real downer of this game was that the story, though original, wasn't exciting at all. The sequel also suffers from this. Where are the twists, the emotional eruptions? Where are the parts when the villain destroys a village, leaves you for dead, and then laughs? This game falls into the pit that most OHR games are still in...a not particularly dull but poorly executed story. The dialogue also isn't wonderful, but I do love its style (and that font!). Story: 2/5 Dialogue: 2.5/5
Gameplay: 7/10.0
Another thing that wasn't very enjoyable, though it is more enjoyable then most OHR games (I tend to nit-pick the good ones, I noticed ^_^). Balance fluctuates, which is very annoying. Also, that last dungeon is brilliant, but far too difficult for a casual OHRer like me. However, compared to other games of its time, this thing was a marvel. Valkayree should just spend a few months touching this baby up, and we could have a modernized epic on our hands. Also, WHY DID A HERO HAVE TO DIE?
Music: 10/10.0
All original, all great sounding. Original music really changes the feel of an OHR game. For those who don't believe it, play this then play Timestream Saga. Ripped music just doesn't set the mood that original music does, and this game proves that.
Enjoyment: 8.5/10.0
Great fun, especially if you were a person who played it back around the time it was first released. A beautiful, fun, and incredibly original experience. Few OHR games now-a-days manage to maintain the amount of originality this game has. Despite a few minor flaws (most attributed to aging), this game is a masterpiece.
Overall Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
    An epic that will surely last until the Ends of the Earth.  


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