Gamelist Review List Song List Watched Journals Forum IRC Gamelist Song List Review List Forum Articles IRC Log Out Add Game Edit Games Add Reviews Edit Reviews Add Songs Edit Songs Log Out Edit Games Edit Reviews Edit Songs Sign Up Log In My Journal My Game Journals Watched Journals All Journals Journal Settings All Journals About Us Staff FAQ
Castle Paradox
Title Bar
Log In Box
 
______  
[more]
 1) 4 hits
+4 Spoonweaver by Spoon Weaver
+4 Vore Day RPG by Ronin Catholic
 2) 3 hits
+2 Awegra-The Secret of the Portal by Sean
+2 Adventures of Bill, The by Mark
+3 Babel by Grandtrain
Breath of Fire -- Sea of Memories vs. LeRoy_Leo
Breath of Fire -- Sea of Memories HELP! HELP! MY HEAD IS BEING REPRESSED!
Setu_Firestorm
Download: 341 KB
V.S.
LeRoy_Leo
Play Time: 0 hours and 40 minutes
Review # 3 for LeRoy_Leo HELP! HELP! MY HEAD IS BEING REPRESSED!
Them's Fightin' Words
    Vital review info.: This is my review for Setu_Firestorm (aka George Powel)'s demo #1 of "breath of fire: Sea of memories". DEMO #1.

Setu's "Breath of fire: sea of memories has a pretty generic title with a fair-to-say typical story, but it is presented nicely. The presentation, as it stands now, is pure and pristine. A game that is surely worthy of a trial play by everyone. And, as to be expected from any of Setu's games, the music is as catchy and as well composed as ever.

Graphics
    I saw how some map tiles and ideas were borrowed from the commercial game "Breath of fire" One or Two, or both. I don't really see the purpose of the dragon/phoenix graphic in the lower right corner of the battle screen, but its slightly reminiscent of the original "Breath of Fire". As are the dragon statues, I think. Yes...

The rest of the graphics are homemade graphics. These are functional to say the most. They aren't breath taking (breath. lol), but at least I know where the floor and the wall is. Heh. Indeed.

At this point, what Setu needs to do is make a few more graphics. It needs more enemy graphics, most of all. I am sure we ALL love the adorable little blob he has created, but I think some more "mutated" looking creatures would be great and might fit in with the setting nicely.

Examples: Mutant dog, deformed monkey (shrug), A cat with talons, a bird with more than two eyes? Wierd stuff like that. Personally, I think there should also be insects of every kind scurrying into battle with the player.

 
Storyline
    An endeavoring detective investigating missing people goes off an assumption about the prime suspect, Dr. Langley. Langley has had a history of experimenting with Human and animal DNA and something like kidnapping people and using them in his experiments doesn't seem too out of his character to the detective.

The story is fairly solid. I didn't see any gaping plot holes, and, most importantly, it didn't deviate from the point or go off on a tangent.

 
Gameplay
    The game play is pretty straight forward and not confusing at all. Some features, which I will only mention, (and I love these features) are the guide and the <character> item.
The battles were fast and not too annoying. They could use a little editing, which has been said by more than just Iblis, and I.
The maps seem to be a long cry from complete, and probably could use a shop or two for starters. There currently are no ways to upgrade the characters' weapons. I hope Setu has plans for better weapons and equipment upgrades, or even some other upgrade system for his future release(s).
I used the <character> item function to see my objectives and find clues, and liked this concept particularly. The thing is their is only one text box tied to it that I could see, so it doesn't change for now.
 
  Battle
    The battles are not too hard, but the first few aren't so easy either. My first battle was visually disappointing. I'm fighting cute little blobs, I mean C'MON! Everyone is afraid to go to the blob breeding grounds (“Out-Slums”), for some unknown reason. No doubt they are afraid of being CUTED to death, or something.

Anyway, my first battle was quick and kept my attention. My HP went down quite a ways when I fought the mage blobs, and I needed to use an herb from time-to-time. Eventually, the enemies became a little bit TOO hardy (A ton of HP, but not too difficult to defeat). Point in case, the PUFF blob. The Puff blob can't even harm a fly to save its life (in fact, I bet it attracts them), let alone put a scratch on our hero. It seems to be consistent on missing or dealing 1 dmg, but DAMN, can that thing take a beating. THINK PUNCHING BAG or maybe SITTING TARGET.

Incidentally, I think the hero should have a small chance of missing his target with his gun. You know, just for a pinch of realistic...ness.

Some things with his battle formations could be fixed. For example, the enemies deal about the same amount of damage. That could be a good thing to build strategy off of. So, listen. Mage blobs deal the most damage on average, right? They should be in the back at all times. The puff blob is the hardiest by FAR, so that should be up front (first target that our hero hits by default). This might keep the player from constantly punching the enter key or space bar. They would have to move their target around with the arrow keys and select the weaker targets in back to extinguish the chance of them dealing extra damage. This could be a crucial, life-or-death battle formation for the hero and would keep the player's attention. Realistically, I'd say the hero is able to survive almost any battle anyway, because the most of the enemies a player faces are one hit wonders. Litterally too easy.

Lastly, the dragon/phoenix graphic in the battle screen is just there. I don't know if Setu can figure out how to make it part of the game, but right now I supoose it is just for decoration. It just sits there. Something for him to think about, I guess.

The Bottom line is: Make battles tougher and more interesting.
 
  Map Design
    The map design is nicely linear right now. I don't see the need for complicated maps at the start of the game, but their really isn't anything more to do than find the doctor who is carrying out these mad experiments. It could use a little more imagination and planning, but it's not the game's biggest problem as far as I can tell. My biggest nark is that there are no shops.

Also, some of the map tiles had funky passability and overhead properties, as you can see with my first screen shot. The cars cut my head off!

As to be expected, the maps are not complete. Walls block me from the overworld, which currently looks like a white plain with gray lines and invisible doors (see second screen shot). It's pretty creepy. :D

 
  Balance
    Overall, the presentation and game play were pretty balanced. It kept my interest and the battles sort of made me think. I even used the <character> function to see my objectives and find clues (and their is only one text box tied to it that I could see).

The suitcases, useful NPCs with secret items inside, are appropriately placed in out of the way locations. The player sacrifices time to get them, but it rewards them pretty well.

Obligatory chant: WOOT! 100 ZENY!!!

I think that maybe, Setu could place a few damage-dealing items that the player can use in battle to deal extra damage, but are consumed by use. Oh yeah, and maybe Setu could put a suit case enticingly in a convenient spot, but blows up if it is opened. You know what I mean? That could allow for more strategy in this game.

 
Music
    The music is probably the second greatest thing in the game. It's catchy, a little choppy (some loops don't fit snuggly enough), but it sounds great in BAM.

Oh yeah... Almost forgot... THE VICTORY SONG SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE FF I's VICTORY FANFARE, AND IT IS REPETITIVE!!! I like the backup in that particular song, but the above fact cannot be denied. It would be in Setu's best interest to make the song longer, if he can...
add on to it, man.
 
Enjoyment
    This was a worthy diversion of 40 minutes... Like I said a few times already, the presentation was solid and even fitting for the genre (1930s?). My only real nags are about the small variety of graphics and enemies as well as the uninteresting battle formations.

 
Final Blows
    If you feel like a pleasant little game of smash the blob, OR If you have 30 or 40 minutes on your hands where nothing is going on, this would be something you could consider. In fact, I recommend that people download it anyway. I DARE YOU. You probably won't be disappointed, at least with its presentation, I daresay!

Hm. I didn't think the world looked like this from above... Such wonderful printing...

Hm. I didn't think the world looked like this from above... Such wonderful printing...
Final Scores
Graphics: 5.5/10.0
Lacking variety, but they are functional. The cars' overhead tile are set funny...
Storyline: 7/10.0
A classic story mixing a detective with a mad scientist. More importantly, the dialog and characters were interesting enough to actually READ.
Gameplay: 8/10.0
Abrupt, but decent to say the least. The game could use a few more features, but I do understand that this is just a demo.
Music: 9.5/10.0
I like the music. It's original. THE VICTORY SONG SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE FF I AND IT IS REPETITIVE!!! :D
Enjoyment: 7.5/10.0
In conclusion: I enjoyed this. Yes. I can't wait to see how it develops. Don't let yourself down, Setu.
Overall Grade: C
Final Thoughts
    Well done, Setu. This is a good way to ring in the re-opening of CP. :p Best of luck on continuing this project. It has potential. I hope this review has some value in your thoughts on continuing it.  


All games, songs, and images © their respective owners.
Terms of Service
©2008 Castle Paradox