#there is a metroidvania I dreamed up that I'd like to work on

[goldieclaws]

Me seeing a high fantasy-themed game jam that lasts for 3 whole months and it's tempting me to high heaven to make a demo of MEW's story in RPG Maker (bc I'm still a noob with Unity) which means I'll be forced to make pixel art but I will have a motivation to at least make something with him in it, but ALSO I don't want to make something in RPG Maker when the original intent was to always make his game in Unity bc transferring everything over will take A God Damn While.

[syrupspinner]

I defeated Endica VII: The Dream King

I wonder how many people can say that?

I have a weird history with this game. when I was a kid, I loved reading fan wikis, and one of my favorites was the magaman database despite never playing any of the games. since I was terrified of emulation ever since I got a virus from angelfire, my only hope was fangames. and the game that looked the coolest was... Mega Man Perfect Harmony!

id attach an image of the gameplay, but all kid me cared about was having a million (24) playable characters, thats really all you need. I'd check the website for it from time to time, and eventually I saw that it had inexplicably morphed into something called Endica, an original story. from what i can tell, its a pretty thorough reskin, but a reskin nonetheless, you can see stuff attacks and level layouts that were taken over wholecloth.

i think it was just a kcikstarter at the time, but i didnt donate. sorry dev guy. I bought it when it came to steam later though! before it was unlisted. but then it was put on the devs website for free, so you can still play it if you want.

that's it for the history. I just wanted to give a little background about it, because I'm not sure if anyone else would.

so, how'd the game turn out? I... have my criticisms. I promise I won't be some caustic asshole about it, but it's hard to recommend.

so it's pretty clearly inspired by classic megaman in the controls, only you have a melee attack zero-style. as for the graphics, I'm not sure what they were going for. it's like, kinda retro? but everything is super shaded and like... the only thing I can compare it to is the cdi. like, the gameplay sprites and backgrounds and stuff. it's kinda cool, like an oil painting on a crt, but I'm taken out of it by how the enemies squash and stretch, and how the coins look so unshaded and layered on top, and how healing is just an Adobe aftereffect... I can see what they were going for but it doesn't stick the landing

there was a huge multiplayer angle for the game too. it was designed to let you have four players simultaneously, nsmb style, so the levels are all really wide open to accommodate. I can't comment on this, BUT I can comment on all the characters they added to facilitate this. they all play just differently enough, and they all have upgradable moves, so it's pretty impressive and surprisingly fun to- holy shit is that the kid from shovel knight

so quick aside. I played this game before shovel knight, but I knew that there's no way shovel knight was referencing Endica, so I looked it up and it turns out that he's a backer character... in a loooooot of games. his creator, seizui, just funds his roleplay OC into a bunch of Kickstarter projects. it's awesome and I love him

anyway yeah, gameplay. it's kind of a metroidvania? you can get character upgrades but im pretty sure it's all combat stuff. my advice is to skip it whenever you can, I got a ring that let me crash the game at any time by hitting c

there's a plot, I've been told. it's a pretty basic "go here and kill evil" thing. surprisingly, reize gets the most character development, he has this whole subplot with his dad and stuff. yeah other than that it just kinda feels like characters say things, y'know? it's all written like a cartoon that just came back from a commercial. "oh, no! we have to stop the giant goblin before it destroys the town!" kinda thing, where it's more establishing basic stuff instead of setting up the characters

so yeah, it's hard to sugarcoat how unenjoyable this was. I respect the work that was put into it though! this game wasn't a waste of time, but it's hard to articulate why without it sounding backhanded. it's... charmingly flawed? there are games I've hovered between completely uninvensted and dispassionately frustrated the whole time, and this wasn't that. there's genuine heart here, an artistic vision with sincere effort behind it. if you have a tolerance for roughness, it's sincerely worth checking out, especially if you're a developer. since it's a game that's bad without being abysmal dogshit, I think it'll be really worthwhile to analyze what doesnt work and why if you're designing your own game.

also, check out the devs other projects! I haven't had the chance to try it myself, but Azazel looks like it'd be fun to try!

[postgamecontent]

Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the Week Ending November 30th, 2024

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the week ending November 30th, 2024. A pretty rough week this time around, but I suppose that's to be expected as we make our way into the last weeks of the year. Still, there are a few reasonably well-known games in the lot, and a few interesting oddballs. Let's check out this week in the world of Switch!

Featured New Releases

Riviera: The Promised Land ($34.99)

Sting's cult favorite tactical RPG has been available on the Switch for quite a while in Japan, but it seems like the publisher finally decided to give it a localization. There are some new quality of life features here, but the game itself remains basically the same as it ever was. I'm not sure I'd call it great, but it's certainly interesting in how it's designed. Do you want it on the Switch? Here it is.

Nine Sols ($29.99)

If you're looking for more of that Metroidvania-meets-Soulslike flavor that was all the rage a few years ago, this will likely be right up your alley. It's parry-heavy though, so make sure you're down with that kind of tight timing-based gameplay. The striking art style and over-the-top boss battles are the highlights here, but it's just a really well-made game all around. Something to hold the Hollow Knight fans over until Silksong, which is definitely, totally coming soon I'm sure.

Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 - The Dead King's Secret ($14.99)

Dungeons of Dreadrock was one of those games that seemed unassuming, but the further you played into it the more compelling it got. Well, here's a sequel and it does just about everything you would want a sequel to do. In a lot of ways it resembles the first game, but the puzzles are trickier, the story is more involved, and the dungeons are… you know, dreadrockier. If you enjoyed the original, this is an easy recommendation.

Crystal Breaker ($14.99)

Here's the latest shooter from indie developer Terarin, and this one has a bit of a Compile-meets-Star Force feel to it. The focus as usual is on the score attack aspect, and it's very well-built towards that end. You'll be rewarded for aggressive play in this game, with higher scoring potential if you get right up in the faces of your foes. I've played this one a fair bit already, and it's as good as you would expect from this developer.

The Epyx Games - Sports Collection ($11.99)

If you had a Commodore 64 back in the day like I did, then this collection probably doesn't need much introduction. You get every Commodore 64 game in the series, from Summer Games all the way up to The Games. Championship Wrestling is also in here, for good measure. Eight games all up, which is a lot of waggling and mashing for your money. The original manuals have also been included, which is very important as pretty much every event in these games has its own rules and controls. The strength of these games has always been in multiplayer, and up to eight players can compete locally here. I have a soft spot for these games, and that is absolutely nostalgia talking. You will have to decide how you feel on your own.

Arcade Archives Fantastic Night Dreams Cotton ($7.99)

Success' popular horizontal shooter featuring the charming candy-crazed witch Cotton arrives on Arcade Archives. This game has a ton of character and plays really well, too. It almost feels out of place for the year it released in. We've already had the X68000 version on Switch as an extra mode in the remake, but if you want the true arcade original, here it is.

Snow Bros. Wonderland ($29.99)

A release that presents many questions to ponder. Can Tatsujin as it exists today make a game worthy of the Toaplan legacy? Can Snow Bros. work in 3D? Is this a brand where people should even be asking for a third installment? From what I've played of this game so far, the answer to all of those questions is a surprising yes. I'm not going to say this is as good as the original, but it's rather fun.

Super Nodage World ($11.42)

Another round of Noda games for those who enjoyed the bizarre antics of the first set. Multiplayer fun locally or online, with lots of unusual scenarios offering varying degrees of entertainment. It's hard to write much about this in one paragraph, I suppose. It's a bunch of experimental game ideas, many of which riff off other games. Something for those looking for a different experience today.

Ironfall Invasion ($17.99)

This game is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it reflected the reputation of VD-DEV's games by being a technical showpiece on its original hardware, in this case the Nintendo 3DS. Second, it was the source of one of the earlier exploits on the handheld. It is not noteworthy for its gameplay quality, and there's a reason for that. Since those first two things don't really matter for this release, I think it's pretty hard to recommend in any capacity.

Sun Haven ($29.99)

Ideally this would be another good option for fans of Stardew Valley, but instead I must spend this paragraph issuing a warning. Do not buy this until it's had at least a few patches, because right now it's a broken crash-fest. I'm surprised the developer released it in this state, to be honest. There's apparently at least one hotfix incoming, but I'd very much play this as a wait-and-see until it gets its house in order.

Neon Blood ($20.99)

If I was handing out prizes for sheer graphical style, this game would fare a lot better. Unfortunately, I don't hand out any prizes at all. If I did, they would be for how many Spider-Mans a game has. This one has none, but it's an okay-ish adventure anyway. Sometimes there's some turn-based combat, and that's not very good at all. Come for the sights, if at all. You can probably do better at this price point, though.

Crown Wars: The Black Prince ($49.99)

I find when a genre doesn't have many games out in a given period, even the mediocre stuff can rise up. On the other hand, when a genre is well-represented, there isn't much reason to bother with games that are merely decent. That's especially the case when the genre involves games that take dozens of hours to finish. Anyway, this is a long way of telling you that you should probably give this particular strategy RPG a skip. It has a lot of technical issues but even if those weren't here it's hard to get enthused about what it has to offer.

Tokyo Psychodemic ($29.99)

Solve mysteries by examining footage and searching for evidence. Gather clues and put them together on your wacko board to try to come up with the real story behind each crime. This has been out on Steam for a while, and I can't remember the last time I saw a game with so many negative reviews from Japanese players. The main complaint seems to be that the story is terrible. I'm going to take their word for it, and you might want to as well.

Steam Prison -Beyond the Steam- ($44.62)

This is essentially a fandisk follow-up to Steam Prison. If you liked that game and are hungry for more, here you go. If you didn't like it or were fully satisfied with what it had to offer, then don't bother. If you haven't played the first game, you've got no business starting here. Well, that was easy. Next!

EGGCONSOLE The Scheme PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49)

What a name that is. The Scheme. You're probably imagining some kind of heist game or something, but this is actually a side-scrolling action-adventure game whose main claim to fame is its soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro. Still, it's reasonably playable even if you don't understand Japanese, and that soundtrack is pretty decent. Must you have it? Probably not. But you might want to!

Mission in Snowdriftland ($8.99)

A pretty generic platformer whose main selling point is that you can play one level per day, like an advent calendar! Of course, that means there are only twenty-four levels. Well, plus one more bonus level and the final boss. Super Mario Bros. has thirty-two levels, and if you want you can pretend it's a mega-advent calendar. I can guarantee you'll have more fun!

Glitch Hero ($11.99)

Take a bit of Zelda-ish top-down action adventure and add in some simple programming puzzles, and that seems to be the idea behind Glitch Hero. As it's something of an educational affair, I think the main target here might be the younger set. Not a terribly long game, but long enough for the idea and audience.

Leo's Fortune ($6.99)

Oh hey, it's Leo's Fortune. I remember when this came out on iOS not that long ago. Let me check exactly when. Oh, early 2014. Ha! Ha ha! Okay, well. This is a fun little platformer. It's a relatively short game, not much longer than the aforementioned Mission in Snowdriftland, but you'll have a much better experience with it. Note if you have Apple Arcade, you can play this there.

Om Nom: Run 2 ($4.99)

I guess what I will say is that if you're nostalgic for a particular era of mobile gaming, this checks off at least a couple of boxes.

That's all for this week, friends. We'll be back next Saturday as we roll into December and the final weeks of the year. Next week is a little quieter, with the biggest title so far looking to be Stray. Well, we'll make what we can of it. As ever, I will plug both my Patreon (where you can find lots of cool exclusive articles) and my Ko-Fi (tips help me run this blog). There, plugged. I hope you have a super Saturday, and as always, thanks for reading!