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Query Part II- What Am I? vs. MultiColoredWizard
Query Part II- What Am I? Lava is uncool.
JSH357
Download: 732 KB
V.S.
MultiColoredWizard
Play Time: 6 hours and 12 minutes
Review # 2 for MultiColoredWizard Lava is uncool.
Them's Fightin' Words
    I remember before, Query II had an ANNOYING bug that prevented me from passing a certain boss. I was never able to pass. I watched as JSH released a second demo of Query, I was bugged by the bug, so I informed JSH, but he never found a remedy for it. Though eventually, he did! It's a good thing he did, because this game is one for me to remember. It's no Final Fantasy H, and it's no Magnus. It's Query II, that's what.
Please note that I will refer to this game as "Query II".

Graphics
    The graphics aren't very hot. They're below OHR standards(example: Cloudburst64's Autumn Dream), but above average(example: The Lone Chimaera's ORBituaries). They're not anything special, they're just there.
Look at the tree tiles(in P-Town). They're just one side done, shaded, reversed, and then given a shadow underneath it. That's not very neat looking. The form of the tree actually looks pretty nice, it's just reversed and gives that annoying mirror-like reflection. On the bright side, I thought it made a large root pointing at me, but I noticed it was just an effect of the tile's reversing. Regardless, it looked nice.
I did like how Josh's sprites changed depending on his guild. They weren't just a change of pallettes(which I believe is what it was like in Cube's Dimensions III), they were re-done sprites. If someone plays the game, and sees every guild, then I can guarantee they can match every guild with every graphic. The only exception is the Theif and Base guilds. The reason for this is because Josh is originally a Theif, so the sprites are exactly the same. I don't understand it, though, because I thought Josh became a Ninja in Query I. A lot happens in a year's time, though...

 
Storyline
    As it should be figured, this is a sequel. You know how sequels are. They're a continuation of a story previously told. This game has only shown me about three or four references to the first. The references should be obvious to anyone who has played the first(HIGHLY RECCOMENDED). Heck, I wouldn't TOUCH this game without playing the first in the Query series.
The story starts off pretty vague, but it gets interesting over time. The fact that one second Josh is using a dagger capable of destroying planets in seconds, and then one second later he's stranded on the Planet CeeEll. It's pretty fun how he gets put there. He was supposed to be dropped of at "The Planet". One of the villains mistakes this as CeeEll, except that the space ship he lives on is named "The Planet". This proves how... flawful the enemies in the game are.
The game mostly revolves around Josh, and how he's trying to retrieve the Ow dagger(Why does he want the dagger so much? We'll find out..) and return to his home planet.

 
Gameplay
    Gameplay is definitely one of the most likable aspects of this game.
If you've ever played Final Fantasy III or V, then you'll notice that the guild system is VERY similar to the job system. It has its additions, though. One of them, is that you can learn skills from a guild, and they apply themselves to your base level. For example, say I am in the Adventurer guild. If I have enough experience points to where I get to Rank #2, Josh's Base guild will learn the "Give Life" technique. Keep in mind that different guilds will require varying Ranks in order to master, or learn any technique from that guild.

 
  Battle
    The basic setup is your standard OHR-ATB system, with enemies and heroes racing to have their atb gauge fill up so they can perform actions. While there's normally mass space bar/return key mashing for most people, it doesn't apply to this game.
The boss fight in the Fields of the Dead is a good example. It was TOUGH. I could not go through it holding down the space bar. I had to resurrect my heroes AT LEAST five times. Five times. Five times to make my people come back to life. And if you think that is a lot, then it would be unfair to count the amount of Cookies(hp restorative item) I had to consume in the battle. I started with 57. I ended with 29. You do the math. Heck, A round without using Jarvon or Shadow was annoying. The main boss had annoying spells, but its defenders were the attackers. The attackers were easy to take out, but they were a real pain. Also, Roy's stat boosting spells were VERY HELPFUL. You want more? Well let me say that Josh was level 12, and Roy was level 14. To make it worse, this is only the beginning to what will await you.
Yeah, that's right, you heard me; this game is NOT anything you can breeze through like Final Fantasy VII. It is difficult, not simplistic.
 
  Map Design
    Map Design seems to be a big flaw for JSH357.
The best map I remember in that game is shown in the upper-right side screenshot. You have to plan the direction you are going to take, or else you will lose a tremendous(but not ridiculous) amount of HP. Still, it is a poor map design(and a common one).
Map Design is the WORST part of this game. PERIOD(No offense to the females :P). No maps in this game I remember have any puzzle sense. They all consist of the typical "run through and grab treasure" styled maps. JSH, I know you've read books and articles on Game Design, now play games such as Golden Sun or Lufia II with puzzle dungeons and observe how they work. No one likes boring maps. You just got lucky because you have such an interesting plot to back you up. That will not cut it, though.

 
  Balance
    Balance is one of the strongest points in Query II.
Take Roy for example, Roy is obviously a VERY strong character, and he comes from a town that teaches the adventurer(like a fighter, only not) guild. It'd be common knowledge that he'd have good physical strength(Although he can never change guilds). This puts back some of his other stats, though(They call this balance..).
Josh is also a drawback to this. Sure, he may be able to change guilds to be an adventurer, sage, etc., but that's not the issue. The problem I have is that he misses around seven times in a row. I can understand missing every four or five BATTLES, but not SEVEN, count them, SEVEN times in a row. It could just be my luck. Heck, I've even talked to him about it. He's told me that he has no idea why this is happening, but it's still one of the "errors" that eat at me whenever I'm playing.

 
Music
    Music in this game is what you would call.. inspirational.
I absolutely LOVE the battle theme. It fits PERFECTLY. It does not consist of the drums(Heck, that would be the victory theme, which is also good.) and all of that "battle theme" stereotype mess. It is more like a happy upbeat piece with a neat piano line. About 33 seconds through, it changes guitary, then at 42 seconds it returns to its piano beat(Note: Since I don't know much about music, my descriptions are awful. Give me a break! I'm a graphic artist, not a musician.).
Also, I'd like to add that some of it is *gasp* original. Not only is it original, but it sounds incredible for original music. Most(or maybe all) of the unoriginal music is composed by Bjorne Lynne(bjornelynnemusic.com) or Bomi Lee(http://mediasketch.net/rpeg/). Anyways, it's a good soundtrack.

 
Enjoyment
    This game's enjoyment level is like &And. It depends on the person. If you're a masochistic RPG player, then this is the one for you. If you were raised on games that are easy to pass through, then please go away, right now, and play REAL games. I've made my mind that a game is hardly a game if it doesn't challenge me.
The game kept my attention all the way through. From the difficult battles to wondering how the people of CeeEll speak Boblian like the Bobs.

 
Final Blows
    I have a gripe about the font. Sometimes the letters don't fit in the same styles. I can hardly tell if a letter is a "w". Another thing that annoys me is that they don't always have their bottoms at the same row(which is excusable for q, g, y, etc.), but I recall the "W" being about a pixel up from the bottom of most letters. Another annoying thing is the "n"'s boldness. Everything else was so thin, but this "n" stood out so well.
Oh yes, download this game when you are done reading this review. That's a command.

It's like my school, only that everyone is a bear.

It's like my school, only that everyone is a bear.
Final Scores
Graphics: 7/10.0
They're bland, but I'll give them an above average grade for being unique.
Storyline: 9/10.0
Although somewhat straightforward, it's still one of the greatest parts of this game. JSH has left so many questions in my head, it bugs me sometimes. This is why I'm happy for the new demo.
Gameplay: 10/10.0
Should I go here? Scroll back up if you don't know why this is given the grade of ten.
Music: 8.5/10.0
Good, a mix of original and ripped, but credit is given, and they fit. Bonus points to JSH.
Enjoyment: 8.5/10.0
In fact, you will enjoy this game. Try it.
Overall Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
    If you can recall Query I, you would know that it was a game that became popular before Zantetsuken's OHR Forums were taken off the site. Query I made JSH a famous game designer in my eyes, and Query II's currently doing that.  


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