Not one of the better one button games. To many very shinny pits where you have to jump as soon as you hit the wall. Gets really old after awhile.
Reviews for "One Button Vania"
Though many seem to disapprove, I think the one-button aspect is where the game's charm, and the game's challenge comes from. This, like every other game, you have to adapt to in order to complete the levels. There are some cases where this challenge becomes incredibly irritating (the 3 Medusa heads from the right side of the screen when you can jump/sword comes to my mind.) Mastering the timing is the reward, but the reward depletes in value when it is accompanied with the annoyance of slightly coming in contact with an enemy and having to restart/ occasionally missing a jump and in some cases, causing you to go to the next screen, and reconquering those challenges in order to get back to the original room you were trying to master.
(Spoiler Alert)
Final boss was very annoying. The random switching of the bell/ball you could attack got frustrating quickly when one spends such effort to get up to it without getting hurt. I may have preferred a systematic timer, or if there already is one, lengthen the amount of time it would stay there.
Also, though it may be just me who didn't perform too well on the final boss, it would still have been nice to have a 'skip' or 'forward' option on the chat box for the bosses so we could get to our reattempts more quickly.
Music wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed the story. I thought the animation was great, only thing that bugged me slightly was the big hands of the clown. Might have used just a tad bit of shading to put it on par with the other well-animated aspects.
Those are the only things that come to mind right now, but a decent game. I feel it deserves better than its current rating.
Definitely exceeded my expectation!
Somewhat original concept. PERFECT execution.
Just gonna go point form
1. Well Polished - The graphics, sound, gameplay really came together nicely, non of them stick out negatively.
2. Well Explored - Really didn't expect so much gameplay depth from a "one button game"
3. Nice Flow - Nice balance between challenge and reward that motivates you to continue playing.
Introduction of new abilities
Pulling off the alternating shield + jump combo
Watching the flower grow under your feet as you jump
Timing jumps from the cloud
Figuring out the mini-puzzle in most rooms (Great design!)
4. Epic Boss Battles - Really enjoyed the unique boss battles.
Especially the cloud race which took me three tries but by then I could easily lead by 1 or 2 laps :3
Also took a few tries to find the trick behind the caterpillar boss, with the last being a perfect boss run.
Really rewarding when you finally figure out all these details.
5. Apparent Linear Exploration - Glad you didn't follow the metroidvania style of dynamic exploration, such as backtracking or extensive multiple path branching. Since navigation would have been a pain the ass with all the jumping.
So why a 4.5?
1. Cliche Story - Pretty much skipped it entirely, couldn't really be bothered with the cliche Hero (random knight) vs. Evil concept.
2. Lack of Quests - I thought the old man quest was fun, a bit disappointed to find no other quest NPC in the game.
3. Lack Luster Music - Not exceptional and lacking in impact. By the time the game was over, I have pretty much forgotten the general music theme of the game.
Some personal favorites of mine is the ost in Fishbane by Droqen and Enigmata Stellar War (Music currently bugged) by Kidgamez
4. Mediocre Animation - Not sure what went wrong, the animation with the random knight isn't smooth at all relative to all other animation. An eyesore.
5. Random lag - Especially irritating since the game focuses on the precision timing.
6. Clicks?! - I thought the click counter was a neat addition
BUT LO AND BEHOLD, the water stage did not agree with me.
Of course, everything written above conform to my personal opinion and nitpicking.
Apparently, many others have commented on the punishing difficulty curve.
My personal take is that it does take a little time to get used to the one button for every action control but once you have mastered it, the enriching and dynamic gameplay to follow surely does not disappoint. (Story disappoint :P)
Those who gave up early? Definitely their loss!
All in all, for 3.12 stars by 227 votes at the time of this review,
I strongly feel One Button Vania deserves better.
I'm sorry, but I share the same sentiments as everyone else here. While the game itself does look like it would be fun, the controls ruin it completely. They aren't so bad at first, but as soon as I got past the first boss I found myself wishing I had more control over my character.
Having good controls in a game is like, gaming 101. If the player doesn't feel like he is in control of the character at all times, then the game quickly becomes frustrating and annoying for all the wrong reasons. Sorry, but I really think this would of been better with standard controls. I do give you points for trying something unique, though.
This could of been an epic game.
It's got playful graphics. The single mouse button click just does not work well.
Not a game you can relax with, shame really, as it has so much potential