this might be the first video game where you havemore than zero yet less than real life control over your movement when you're jumping or falling.
and i hate it for that. it made it feel absolutely horrible.
Reviews for "Future Knight Remake"
The challenge is not well thought out. Retro is about the core gameplay and not pixels and sounds. The gameplay is not designed to require skill. The game is too easy because of non-existent level gameplay design choices.
I think this game was fairly good. I admit to being confused by it a lot. It just didn't seem to have much purpose. It was just that these enemies kept reforming. That really got annoying. I can still appreciate how good the designs are.
It's a game that moves very fluidly. You can understand what's going on. The medals didn't show up for some reason. I know I died once! The sounds were pretty good too.
i was really into until I failed to get across the room with the two slopes for the 23rd time. at that point I gave up.
I managed to get the superbomb by somehow jumping at the end of the slide but for the life of me I cannot repeat it.
If you change the sliding mechanic to be easier (or if there's some trick to it, let the player know about the trick), then I'd love to see what this game has to offer.
I never played the original so I have no idea how good a remake it is, but I liked everything that I was able to see.
I like retro games, because I grew up in that era playing them. They bring back a lot of nostalgic memories for me. I like remakes of them to, if they are done well. But there are certain things I don't miss , and those are clunky controls, and confusing levels.
I never played this particular game before, and I can see you put a lot of work into it. The music, sound, and graphics, all seem well done, and they really fit the look of an old 8bit computer in the 80's. So well done on that.
However, I can't find myself liking the floaty and clunky controls. I understand you're in space, and there is low gravity, and all that, but it rarely works well in confined spaces, where precision is sometimes required. I understand from your description that the controls are a slight improvement from the original, but then, from the sounds of it, you also changed the level design. Whether that helped, or not, I can't really say. I just hate the jumps you have to make over the sliding platforms onto the blocks, and the jump you have to make at the end of level 2. I also dislike how you can't jump farther when turned backwards, or how it's a pain to jump off ladders.
The level design itself is not bad, but there are some very confusing aspects to it. It may not be entirely your fault, as I didn't read the instructions for the game, and forgot how some of these games worked back then. I spent a lot of time trying to precision jump over the slide platform onto the block, thinking that it was the only way to progress further into the game. It wasn't until a dozen attempts later, after hitting the slide and falling down into the screen with the "EXIT" sign, that I played around with it and found myself on the next level. Similarly, I found I could change guns on the gun sign, which I found out by dumb luck on the 2nd level. So, maybe you could point out what those signs are for in the opening screen with the control layout. That may help reduce confusion, because.... well, people are dumb, and I am part of that group who won't read instructions unless they are forced in front of them. I also like all the hidden levels in the game, though some of them are hard to get to.
In all, you did a great job in resurrecting this game from the past. But, the clunky controls, and the dated meanings behind the signs, may deter many players away from the game.
jonhdimi responds:
Thanks,
Yeah, I get what you mean, but I wanted to have as little tutorials as possible and leave the controls somewhat restricting to follow the spirit of the original game. after all, this whole game is an homage to one of my childhood first games, and games of that era were cryptic af.
I know it's not for everyone, as this game is not considered "fun" by today's standards. But I just had to do this game. :-)