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    1) Sword of Jade: Parallel Dreams reviewed by JSH357
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    4) Tightfloss Maiden reviewed by yhposolihP
    5) A Blank Mind reviewed by Dorumagesu
vs. Fenrir-Lunaris
RedMaverickZero
Download: 22B
V.S.
Fenrir-Lunaris
Play Time: 0 hours and 30 minutes
Review # 2 for Fenrir-Lunaris
Them's Fightin' Words
    Every once in a while there comes a fan game that gets it right. Playability, Graphics, Music, Design... This isn't one of them, but it lasts about as long as you'd expect.

The premise here is to take RockmanX4, and place its entire story into an OHR rpg format. While it fails as a concept, it succeeds as a worthwhile try.
Graphics
    One of it's strongpoints, to say the least, and none of them are ripped. X and Zero look roughly as they do in the series, complete with varying degrees of shading. It's not picture perfect, as a sprite ripping job may have had better results, though the hero sprites are passable, and the walkabouts translate sufficiently well.

The backdrops and the maptiles are all drawn with either the OHR engine, or in MSpaint, and given his skill, can only be described as adequate, if lacking. Everything has the stark, metallic feel of the series it's based on, including ladders, and at times, overpassing ledges to conceal X and Zero as they walk under them. They benefit of having not ripped any graphics, is that they don't stretch, or become misaligned, so a few points should be given for an effort to go with some degree of originality, even though the concept isn't.
 
Storyline
    The story is more or less that of Rockman X4, for the PSX. It deviates only slightly in that both of the series' main heroes are playable at once, and as such some of the dialogue has changed somewhat. The dialogue itself, as the creator assures us, is roughly similar to the actual game's itself, though there are some slight differences. Depending on whether or not you liked the game it's based on will largely affect your own opinion of this one.

We'll know whether or not the creator is a true Zero fan if he starts adding a variety of Bishounen references, or has an aversion to any sort of Zero-iris relationship. While these are NEVER hinted at in the series, there's a whole world of fan works that share these concepts, so only time will tell if these parts will make it into the game at all.
 
Gameplay
    Passable. Negligable. Could have used a bit more effort....

But at least it's not a button mashing contest...
 
  Battle
    The flow of battle itself has its strongpoints. Both characters have 4 options to choose from, a standard attack, a charged/random attack, and a space for enemy attacks, as well as the traditional "item" space. Charged attacks take more time to charge than a normal attack, and are generally learned through leveling up, rather than aquired from defeating enemies. Zero's random slashes are somewhat more reliable if only for their larger range of damage.

Most everyone dashes in to attack, which is a nice touch, considering that some enemies are closerange fighters, and others distance fighters. Most every enemy can be killed within one to two hits, except for the bossess which take more. The bosses even drop a few much needed pieces of equipment which both characters can equip, and recovery items are given out at a nice pace.
 
  Map Design
    Sidescrolling. Most of the action is left to right, with quite a few parts where dropping down ledges is done automatically. Because there are no random battles to speak of, every enemy you encounter should be rapidly disposed of to ensure a safe journey through the game. True to the PSX game, there are hidden capsules throughout the maps.

An actual use of a sidescrolling script may have been more helpful, but since this is a game without any scripting at all, I doubt the creator would have been able to pull that off. Instead, 90% of the enemies in the game HAVE to be fought, with the rest being unavoidable. This isn't exactly a lack of poor map design, but given the fact that there are no random encounters, and instead everything is fought ala Lunar style, it's a mixed blessing. So rather than risk underdeveloped characters, the game's design more or less ensures the characters will be at the level they have to be to defeat the game's bosses.
 
  Balance
    This is where it gets tricky. Since there are only so many recovery items to go around, and only so many powerups and armor parts, players may have to strike a sharp balance between healing and risking defeat at the expense of surviving to get to the next level where HP is refilled.

The only save point is at a central location, where the party returns to after a succesfully completed mission, and at the occasional midpoint for each level. Defeat more or less ensures a long trip back to that same location, and this may be a turnoff for many players.
 
Music
    Since it's ripped from the series, there's not much to go on here. It would have been nicer to hear the actual music from the game it's based on, as the creator is apparently missing a few tracks, and has to substitute others.
 
Enjoyment
    Passable. Better than half the "games" on the gamelist, but it's nowhere near the top. It's a quick diversion though, and is a welcome change of pace from the standard fare we see from most newcomers.
 
Final Blows
    If only it were longer, then a better review could be given. The graphics, which were supposed to be the strongpoint are only barely fitting. More detail, an a larger variety of them within each stage would have been welcome. Adding an EXTREMELY low encounter rate, say 1 or 2 would also allow some much needed leveling up, or even the addition of a combat simulator would be welcome in case you ran from too many battles or needed those extra supplies. There's no purchasing system to speak of, but as with most Rockman games as of late, I could expect to see one in the future.


Final Scores
Graphics: 4/10.0
They're not ripped, though they pass as an all-right job. I'd like to see a bit more detail in them, and a larger variety for each area.
Storyline: 4.5/10.0
It's Rockman X4. In an RPG format.
Gameplay: 5/10.0
Better than most new games I've played. Better, but not by much.
Music: 6/10.0
Passable. BAM isn't exactly the best format in the world, but the tunes fit with the game.
Enjoyment: 3.5/10.0
Add a shop system, more savepoints, and through in the occasional Rockman X yaoi scene to satisfy the huge fanbase, then you'll be cooking.
Overall Grade: D+
Final Thoughts
    Arfenhouse could spoof this so well...  


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