I think a sequel that is more user friendly would be enjoyable. If you could speed up the reaction times on everything from hitting to moving it would be a lot more enjoyable, maybe bow and arrow weapon also lol I did like the "cutting grass" technique.
Reviews for "Land of Enki"
TheEnkian responds:
Funny that you mention a bow weapon, I was thinking that maybe some sort of non-bomb ranged weapon could be cool, specifically a boomerang weapon. Weak attack, but it's ranged and never runs out. Glad to know that you think a sequel could be a good idea, a fair few people have said that they'd like to see an improved sequel. We'll see, we'll see :)
As much as I'd love to give this game a higher score, I feel like I can't because of some basic flaws I found in the gameplay. I really enjoyed playing this, the graphics are nice the and soundtrack is pretty badass, however it has some problems with the controls a plataformer really shouldn't have.
Attacking is so wierd. It takes so long for the guy to swing the sword and it's troublesome since the range of the attack is so short. This could have been solved by a weapon upgrade which gave a quicker strike or a larger ranged one, but instead you guys made it about an increase in power; a bad move, in my opinion.
Also, you can't attack mid air and that's a real bother. Several times I found myself instincitvely trying to jump attack only to remember this game doesn't have that feature. You can't attack while climbing,neither,which can be a problem in some situations.
Finally,throwing bombs could have been done a bit better as well. While it works fine for still targets,moving enemies are a different story. The arc is a bit too long, which makes it near impossible to use against enemies coming towards you, since by the time you notice them, they are too close to throw the bomb. Perhaps this wouldn't be a problem if the blast range was larger, but it's also small. An alternative solution could've been making the bombs cheaper or making them more easily attainable while roaming.
Another small problem was that to achieve the weapon upgrades, I found myself farming for the kupons, which is a total pain in the ass. Maybe they could've been done a bit cheaper, or getting money could've been slightly easier.
Please understand this is not meant to insult your work in any way, but to improve it, if possible.
TheEnkian responds:
Don't worry, I don't take it as an insult. Getting feedback can only make us do better in the future so it's always appreciated.
A fair few people have mentioned that they felt the attacking was too slow and would have liked some more options with it like attacking while walking or attacking in mid-air. I agree, they'd be good additions. Something I have in mind at the minute is maybe some sort of combo system to do different types of attacks like attacking while pressing down in mid-air will make Kon fall straight down with his sword pointed to the ground to get enemies from directly above, maybe pressing the opposite direction that you're facing makes him do a back attack if you're surrounded by enemies and turning takes too long. Being able to rapidly slash would also be a nice one to add as well.
As far as weapons go, an increase in range and speed for new weapons is a good idea. It'd also give extra incentive for people to go back to previous weapons depending on whether they like playing with a fast character or a character who can hit from a bit more of a distance.
Yeah, I realise in retrospect that some of the upgrades were a bit too pricey. Granted, they aren't all necessary, but for people who like to achievement hunt, it shouldn't be about grinding and farming for ages. It should be more about completing a challenge as opposed to collecting for ages.
Thanks for the review!
This is a nice retro game. Overall level design and difficulty is good, however, the bosses are far too easy.
The first boss is, well, okay as a first boss. The second boss actually get easier each time you hit it, because when he's moving faster, you can jump over it without accurate timing. The final boss, well, you can easily beat him without losing any health.
The problem with the bosses is that there isn't any randomness. (Apart from the second boss which randomly hops out of the water from the left or right pit, but you can just wait until he jumps from the pit you're targeting). You can tell exactly what the boss is going to do based on your actions. The fish will always match the height level you on (on a ladder? on the ground?). The final boss will always target you with his fireballs. Seriously, you can just run back and forth, making the battle downright boring.
I think the boss battles need at least some elements of randomness. Let the final boss spawn some more fireballs that are just falling from the ceiling at random positions while he shoots for you, or something like that.
Also, it gets boring collecting 999 Kupons, I'll skip that medal.
TheEnkian responds:
Thanks for the compliments :)
Yeah, a bit of randomness would be a good thing to have added. Maybe have Bagyo always appear at the same height as the player, but if it was random which side he came from the player may find it a little trickier and possibly make the ground below smaller and shorter ladders to make the jumping part something that needs to be more precise. Similarly with Blazer, maybe have something attack you down below while you're trying to dodge and have him switch the side he flies in from be random.
Haha, fair enough. The 999 kupons may have been a bit much to ask, something between 600 and 800 may have been a bit less of a grind.
All good points, thanks for the feedback!
I had a few issues. Mainly I think the sword should not switch when buying a heart, or other item from the store (If you press 1 when buying a heart your sword switches to the default one). That can cause some serious "Oh crap. What the hell?" type situations like the fight before Bagyo that is right after the shop. Especially if people don't remember 1,2,3,4 to switch weapons since the first upgrade is not for quite sometime so that command isn't memorized by the player yet. I also had the same issue as NeonSpider but it was in Zone 3 - 2. My character would keep walking on his own for a bit after a press. I could jump when I wanted during it but he wouldn't stop, or attack until he felt like it. Hearts are easy to come by, and cheap in the store compared to the blue potion which honestly was hard to afford anyways. It was really hard to collect Kupon's in the later stages. I ended up being able to grind the most out of Zone 1 -2 getting anywhere from 50 - 100+ per run through where as later stages I got anywhere as low as 15. Perhaps in the later stages 1 Kupon drops should be removed completely from grass?
I really enjoyed this game. The main character reminds me a bit of Majin Buu if he was Blue, and appeared on the Simpsons. But I think it's just the art style that makes me think of that. The boss fights were by far the best parts of the game though. The patterns were great. The medals were also quite awesome. I got almost all of them naturally without having to grind except to hit 999, and buy the last 2 Red potions that I couldn't afford my first time through the level's. Although I can't figure out what the last secret medal could be. I got everything, and I even went back to beat all the bosses again just to see if that had anything to do with the medal.
TheEnkian responds:
Ah, that must be a bug. I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that in a few earlier versions, we'll get it fixed as soon as we can and then update the file :) Hmm, I'm not sure what causes the sliding problem. Was the game lagging at all at the time?
I think something in the way of more optional power ups and items would be a good call, that way we can maybe put a few of them in the shops but for cheaper prices. Also have more levels to let the player earn more kupons as they play rather than just having to replay the same levels to grind. Glad you really enjoyed the boss fights! I was very happy with how they turned out, Bagyo and Blazer in particular.
Ha, I never really thought of the Buu comparison. He's meant to be a mostly regular guy except with a few fins on his head and no pupils...and he's blue! I'll give you a hint about the last secret medal, it's got something to do with a hidden breakable wall in 1-3 ;)
Fascinating world with shoddy controls. Make a more functional and responsive control scheme, and you should be good!
TheEnkian responds:
Yeah, should the game get a sequel then I'd like to add different attacks like while moving, jumping, etc. I reckon that'd make the gameplay flow a little better. As for the control issues, we can't switch space and up because it would be awkward moving up and down on vines/ladders with space and a down arrow. I'm trying to think of a way to utilise up for both, maybe when not in contact with a vine or chest, up and be jump as well as space?