hated it! when will launch the juggernaut II?
Reviews for "JUGGERNAUT: Awakening"
I really hate this kind of combat system...
Disapointing. Very slow and cumbersome to start. And just about the time I think I'm starting to get somewhere, the game ends. Graphics are simple, but suit the gamestyle. Music is a bit repetitive, but decent. Battle system is classic, and works. Game progression, advancement, equuipment, all fail to exist. Has potential, but isn't much yet.
TheEnkian responds:
Next time around expect a lot quicker progression and less "setting the scene" in the first few minutes of the game.
This review is for players, that like RPGs but don't have much time to invest into a single flashgame on NG. It may seem QQ, so beware.
Alright, it looks like a classic one. You know, one of those old 8-bit-games, love 'em. The story seems deep, you have three kids in a forest village, bored out of their minds, so they wanna start exploring and go deeper into those forbidden woods and beyond. Backgroundwise you can find bits and pieces about an old war, three countries and lost tech laying around all over the world.
But every single RPG is judged by its Battle-System. This one is Round based, with Attack, Magic (which you don't have from the beginning), Item and Flee, pretty standard. There is no auto-attack and the characters seem to have a high chance to miss their targets (around 25%, I guess). The kids only have a stick to bash the monsters with and they have no magic (which everybody in the village seems to have, also the game tells you, that it's kinda like Avatar Elementalbending for them). So sadly, battle is a) terrible slow paced b) not rewarding.
This makes the beginning pretty dull. The first Level-Up is around 7000 EXP and every fight on the first map seems to give only 200-300 EXP with no money and bare to none items, so you have to grind.I played it until all three kids had their first level-up to see if maybe they would learn some kind of attack to make the fights less tedious (and more interesting, I mean: MAGIC, yay!). Nope, you get nothing besides higher stats
I then checked, if maybe I could sell the loot to get better weapons, but everything costs 1000 or more (and I barely reached 500 Gold including the 400 Gold from the Start). This is, where I stopped playing, because I didn't see any point in it.
This game needs a way bigger carrot for beginners, to motivate them to play. Giving each character a single elemental spell would help. If not (maybe it's storywise not rational), the loot should be sold for way more than 10G ea. Otherwise battling is too dull: 2-3 Fights, run back to village and heal up, 2-3 Fights, run back to village and heal up, 2-3 Fights, run back to village and heal up...
Thus, it's only 2.5 Stars :(
Very bad game balance issue at the start. It's obvious the "intended" strategy is that the kids should flee all but 1 fight per level, but as RPG gamers expect fleeing might fail or imply at least one enemy volley causing damage, and all RPG NPCs warn of the same "gave dangers" of the forest, this is not at all an obvious or natural strategy.
Grinding isn't a viable strategy until the 4th member joins and bolsters the fighting performance of the team. There is no way to make -any- income sufficient to replace the potions you spend to grind. (Yeah, the side quests are stingy.)
*** Starting at level 5 is -NOT- an improvement. You need to level a few times for "skills" to be a viable alternative to the weak stick attack, and starting at a higher level means more grinding.
solns:
- The NPCs should give more foreshadowing of the "flee" strategy. The parents could say. for instance, "the local animals are slow and scared of you, so running away is ALWAYS a safe option."
- Start at level 1, but make the base attack of the kids stronger.
- Put save/heal spots/shelters mid-level, so grinding isn't about the boring hanging near the level entrance and going back to the village after each battle.
- There should be a safe spot near the village where the kind can gain elemental skills under adult supervision... and earn potions or $ for chores. Repeatable chores, unlike the side quests.
Final note: in the inventory/party menus, having to "select" before the icons in the grins appear mean a lot a tedious in & out navigation. The interface could and should be streamlined, all options could be made accessible and visible from top level, and the up/dn cursor keys could double for select/deselect.
This game has real potential, and shows a massive amount of effort, but needs serious play testing before being posted here. These flaws will alienate RPG addicts, and many will not give a flash RPG a second chance.