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cc vs. Shadowiii
cc Just...no.
Eggie
Download: 136B
V.S.
Shadowiii
Play Time: 0 hours and 20 minutes
Review # 9 for Shadowiii Just...no.
Them's Fightin' Words
    Even though I diss Eggie a lot, I actually showed interest in his games. Though his particular art style wasn't fantastic, it was original and intreuging. Also, his endless hype about this game made me feel somewhat obligated to play it. Well, Eggie, I did. And I gotta say, this needs some work.

First of all I'd like to comment that this is definatly a newbie game, hands down. Since it IS your first game, Eggie, I'll tell you not to take these so hard. Rather then viewing it as criticism, think of it as a way to improve so that the next game you release will be much better and recieve a much higher score. Everyone must start somewhere, and this is a decent start.


Graphics
    The graphics range from bad to decent. Many of the graphics are ripped, which is not a good thing to do. Many of the tilemaps fit together poorly (thin of the fence outside that main building) even though they obviously are ripped. The NPC's are a decent start, but undoubtably need work. The hero graphics are basically the same two pictures swapped and edited, which is typical of a newcommer's game. The enemy graphics range from flat, 2d looking things, to decently done 3d wherebear slut (just...no). It is obvious that more detail was spent on the enemy graphics than the heroes, because most of them are black-outlined and don't look half bad. The battle backdrops are all ripped screenshots from Final Fantasy 6, which hurts to look at them. Attacks are decent, though many tend to be dull and lifeless. Overall, the ripped graphics should be replaced, and more time should be spent before you release the next update of this game.


 
Storyline
    There SHOULD be one. After all the hype I'd heard, I expected something amazing, or at least decent. But there is none. Your main character appears, without any introduction, in some gray area with some army-looking guys wandering around. He is followed by four people who we have NO IDEA WHO THE HECK THESE PEOPLE ARE. Maybe they are stalkers trying to mug him. The only characters we know about is:
1. Eggie
2. Chester (a linkin park camio)

And thats it for our little 'introduction.' Aparrantly Linkin Park now works in some inn the the infamous "Gray Building" and lets you sleep there for free. Well, as long as they don't sing me "Crawling" I'm completely cool with that.

But in truth, there is no development whatsoever. There isn't even HINTS, for crying out loud. You talk to the guys wandering aimlessly around "base" or whatever and all they say is "Hey" "Hiya" "Wzzup?" "Hello Eggie." Who are these people? Why are they wearing gray? Is this camo school or some crap? I swear, I had no idea what was going on at ALL throughout the entire game.

Light Piller was cool. But it would be nice if Eggie had explained what the heck it was. Its a proven fact that heroes with bad-ass skills usually end up in decent stories, especially if they can't control them (think Terra from FF6, Vash from Trigun, etc.). So this might become an interesting development. But the entire game is filled with rotting diolouge. Eggie, go play a Pepsi Ranger game, ANY ONE, and you'll see how dialouge can be used to tell a story.


 
Gameplay
    Well, lets see. There was supossed to be some 'new' battle system integrated into the game. Say, junctioning from Final Fantasy 8 or SOMETHING. But I never figured it out. Random encounters are so high it sickened me to keep playing. The only good thing that I really enjoyed was that the hero moved fast, you should definatly keep this in. That way, even if I AM attacked very 2 to 3 steps, at least I am RUNNING there. But all the so-called "battle system" stuff wasn't integrated yet (or was done so poorly I couldn't figure it out) so I was left with only one option: my spacebar.


 
  Battle
    I held down my spacebar almost the entire time. I did check out some of their spells for fun, but why do that when you can kill them by holding down space, and its faster? Oh, and not only do all the characters look the same, they all have the same crap. Crystal (aka Magic) is your basic mp consuming spell. Katana is supossed to be some ability like Cyan's Swordtech from FF6 but it sure didn't work. The best thing about the battles was the music, which was FRIGGIN RIPPED. That shows how much I enjoyed these battles. They hurt. A lot.


 
  Map Design
    I can't say there is anything seriously bad about the maps besides the fact they are boring and undetailed. There is a room full of computers and shiny metal orbs that was pretty interesting, but the overall design wasn't fun to play at all. Its a map, no more, no less. And you walk around on it, and it takes you from place to place (kinda like a road or elevator). But there is nothing interesting about it. No puzzles, no interesting things to look at (besides some of the ripped stuff and the fence that magically gets cut off right by the door), nothing. Unbelieveably boring.


 
  Balance
    The good side: It isn't amazingly hard like many newbie games. The bad side: Its so easy and boring my mind went numb. There are no puzzles, no tricks, no interesting spells to learn. Basically you tape your spacebar down, and walk around, wait for the battle to end, walk a couple more steps, wait for the battle to end, lather, rinse, repeat. There is no variation in the battles, and most of the enemies seem bland and lifeless. Also, there is no serious reason WHY the enemies are fighting together. Why is a Wherebear Slut fighting with a soldier? Lots of dirty reasons enter my mind, but I'll leave this up to your own imagionation. The point is, there is no point. To the battles, that is.


 
Music
    Its all ripped, except the title screen music, which hurt my ears so bad I first though it was my sound card malfunctioning. The songs were almost all ripped from various Final Fantasy games. I like Final Fantasy games, so listening to those songs for the 200th time isn't really that bad a thing, but it would be nice you if ripped from somewhere else, simply for some variety. Is that why it said "Made by Eggie and Square-Enix"? Because you stole their music?


 
Enjoyment
    I'd have to say this was a major letdown. Even though, after I'd seen some of the screenshots Eggie posted up (and relying on Eggie's personality as well) I kinda know what to expect, I still was disappointed. I'll say it again: This IS a newbie game, so you can't go into it expecting Time Flies. But you can go into it expecting a semi-decent game, which I didn't experience. I personally think instead of releasing a game fast to show the community, you should have waited a few months, fine touched it, waited for your pixelation skills to have improved, finished or at least STARTED the battle system, and then relased it.


 
Final Blows
    It was released too early. If the game had been released with the new battle system in effect, many people (including myself) probably would have disregarded the poorly done and ripped graphics and focused on the new battle system. However, this game is a collection of many undone and unpolished pieces, and, overall, it needs work. You have one of two options:

1. Put in the battle-system with the bad graphics and re-release it. I can almost guarantee you a higher score if you do.
2. Do a complete overhall. The hero graphics, NPC's, and tilemaps need work. Re-release it later, after you've sharpened your skills, and when you think it will actually have a decent amount of gameplay.

Also, MAKE NPC'S INTERESTING. They are there for a reason, not to just say "hi" and other dumb crap. NPC's are the soft, chewy center of any RPG, they are what makes the game "real." Don't abuse the NPCs.

Don't give up. Too many do. Keep working on it and you will have a good game.


I couldn't belive my eyes when I saw this. That's just...wrong.

I couldn't belive my eyes when I saw this. That's just...wrong.
Final Scores
Graphics: 3.5/10.0
Ranging from decent to bad. A few enemy graphics were decently done, while many other graphics were ripped or stolen. Overall, this needs work. Take out the ripped stuff for starters, then start working on your overall graphical appearance.
Storyline: 1/10.0
I assumed there would be one, based on what Eggie has been saying on the game description as well as all over the boards. But, at least in this demo, there was no story what-so-ever.
Gameplay: 1.5/10.0
Holding down your space bar is NOT gameplay. Its just a very boring way to pass 20 minutes. Also, fighting TONS of enemies in way too many random encounters doesn't make your game funner or longer, just tedious.
Music: 4.5/10.0
Ripped, and it wasn't ripped too badly. I'm glad I didn't hear that horrible BAM version of Final Fantasy 7's boss theme. But that title screen song is awful, and ripping overall is bad. You can get decent free music off RPeG audio (under "Community" in the OHR's main paige [ha ha]) which will work pretty decently. You can keep the ripping for now, but if you even plan on finishing it you should probably take the ripped music out.
Enjoyment: 2.5/10.0
I can't honestly say I enjoyed this game. I enjoyed writing the review, because I'm weird like that. But I didn't enjoy much of this game. The Linkin Park camio might have been humorous, but it was poorly placed. If you put in cameos you should put them later in the game and not so...pointless. Linkin Park wouldn't suddenly work at an inn in some big gray building. I almost died laughing (or was it crying?) when I saw that, so please, either take it out or fix it! That just makes this game come off as childish and newbish (which, in truth, is what it is).
Overall Grade: F
Final Thoughts
    This game was released too early. Its a collection of many undone and unpolished pieces, and thus, is just a big mess. And if I EVER see a Linkin Park cameo in a game again, I may be forced to burn my computer and make crosses over it.  


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