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23 Jun 2015 - 27 June 2015
Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5
The great and powerful wizard, Versimos, has been imprisoned in Castle Looter. It's up to his three apprentices to work together to overcome all obstacles and release him.
The trick to a good metroidvania is to present a sealed door and then make it obvious that the new pickup you've just acquired will help you open that door. This seems really simple and straightforward, but it can be difficult for some players to remember all of the locked doors that had previously been in the way. It helps to design levels as mazes, where people are bound to do a lot of backtracking anyway.
There's some of that in this game, but I still found it very easy to get lost and confused about where I was supposed to go next. The aquired items were nice, and definitely provided new abilities, but I didn't necessarily know where to go next once I had gotten them. For instance, once I have the boots of speed, now what? How does that help me get anywhere? And does it only apply to the current hero, not the other two?
There is a distinct difference in each of the character's fighting styles, but essentially it boils down to the same ideas: attack, dodge, jump. One character jumps higher than the others, another has a shield instead of a dodge, but it's very similar. That makes it easy to switch between characters, but also can make it seem a little silly that there's even three characters at all. Wouldn't it have been better to have one who could switch methods on the fly instead of having to go back to base to switch out?
As to the plot: it's silly. Even notwithstanding the fruit magician, it definitely understands that fantasy worlds are all a little silly even if they don't mean to be, so it embraces that silly and runs with it.
The controls are solid, the map is handy and easy to read, and then it's just a matter of whether or not I feel the need to finish it. I haven't decided; maybe? There's that one part that was (fortunately) at the end of the final video where I'm just not sure where to go. I might need to backtrack significantly, but, story-wise, it seems like I need to press forward somehow. So I'm a little lost. But, if it's a well-designed metroidvania, the solution should present itself sooner rather than later.
Fun, but possibly frustrating. The humor can be a little hit-or-miss, but the game mechanics are solid. Worth trying if you want something a little new.