Like Bringing a Caterpie to a Dragonite Fight
Video Review
Game Details and Transcript of Review
One of the things I like about going to indie events in Japan is that you occasionally see a game that tries to do something new. They're not always successful, but I applaud the effort because at least they're attempting to resuscitate innovation in an industry where imitation has rendered it comatose.
ViseRest by 832carnival is such a game, and while not perfectly executed at least it tries to push boundaries.
Here are the game's highlights. You and your opponent start on opposite sides of a 2D field, and summon monsters of various types to defeat each other. Summoning monsters costs mana, and each monster costs a different amount to bring to the field. There also doesn't seem to be a limit to how many of your summoned pals can be on the field at the same time.
While your mana pool begins small, you have the option to increase its limit up to five times. The higher the mana limit, the faster it regens. Later in the game, you gain the ability to use support spells. These effect the entire field, and let you do useful things like slow all enemies, attack all of them directly, or heal all of your own units. Each use of an ability increases the mana cost for the next use. After completing a stage, you receive a point that can be used to upgrade one of your units. Interestingly, you can downgrade units freely. This allows you to get back any points you've spent on them to invest in other units, which is a nice touch as it means you're not locked into any permanent choices. As you can see, ViseRise is....well, it's hard to classify in terms of a single genre. It's really a chimera or composite. While the action takes place on an oversized 2D field, it's not really a side-scroller or platfomer in any traditional sense. It's more like an action game, but all the action is done by the summoned monsters, which you don't directly control. Likewise, while there are RPG and strategy elements, they're fairly basic. Of these elements, the strategy ones are most the promising in theory, but in practice require more development. Now, while I imagine that in the intended strategy aspects of the game will involve which units to deploy and when to deploy them, the Digige version limits you to one unit, the imp, while your opponent has access to all units and then some. At first glance, being able to only summon imps while your enemy summons succubi and knights may seem a little like bringing a caterpie to a dragonite fight, that isn't the case. In reality, the strategy elements amount to a test of your ability to zerg rush. Leveling up units helps this merely by making your units less squishy. I'm not sure how this overall dynamic would change if the other units were unlocked and available for use. Don't get me wrong: this is a fun demo. And hell, the purpose of Digige is for devs to receive feedback on their games from gamers. That's why it's one of the few events in Tokyo specifically set up for playing demos at the event itself. I like the fact that ViseRest draws elements from different genres together in an attempt to make something new, but more reflection on how these elements can operate synergistically would create a killer experience. Related Content
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9/22/2017 0 Comments ITOYUI Game Review (C91 ver)
A Horror-Themed SPRG In Initial Development
Gameplay Video
Game Review
ITOYUI is a short one-stage SRPG that first appeared at C91. This version is basically a proof-of-concept that demonstrates the atmosphere of the game, its style, and future features. An updated version that includes expanded features was released at C92.
In the C91 version of ITOYUI, players battle a few monsters by summoning allies of their own. There are three types of allies to summon, and they are the only way the player can attack enemies -- the main character cannot directly attack.
The enemies are made of yarn and summoned allies reminiscent of marionettes, hinting, possibly, at the overall aesthetic of the game. As there's nothing outside of this one stage, however, this is pure speculation, although my interview with the developer suggests something like this through the other, yet to be implemented, abilities of the main character.
The C91 demo is short, but I certainly plan on playing the C92 demo to see where the game is going.
In the second half of the interview with Japanese indie game developer Pon Pon Games, we talk about the indie dev scene in Tokyo and challenges facing Japanese developers in getting their products overseas.
Clerics Shine in this Resource Management SRPG
The following is the first half of an interview with the Japanese indie developer Pon Pon Games about the game A Healer Only Lives Twice. This interview focuses mainly on the game itself, while the second interview focuses on the developer and the state of the Japanese indie game development.
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