official Oc Reviews: The Guardian

[Ocedic 249]

Game Title: The Guardian

Game Author: Relic

Version: Complete

Review by: Ocedic

 

 

Introduction

 

The Guardian is an RPG that focuses on classic-style exploration, character building and minimalistic desgin.

 

Graphics

 

Perhaps the greatest disappointment with The Guardian is its lackluster visual design. It's not that they're bad. In fact, the graphics are consistent, well-used and fit the theme of being an old-school style RPG. However, the modern interpretation of this type of game realizes that players should be mystified and awed by visual splendor. Such examples include the likes of Metroid Prime and Dark Souls. The game manages to somewhat capture the haunting, bleak atmosphere of these games in all categories with the exception of visuals. They're simply too bland and fail to keep the player eager to explore and see new sights.

 

On the other hand, the UI elements are completely custom and combine simple, functional design with a nostalgia-inducing vibe. The presentation of the game's menus are clean and economical, without any superfluous or unnecessary elements taking up real estate.

 

Verdict:

 

Mapping

 

The mapping in The Guardian is proficient and, likes its visuals, focused on fundamentals rather than flash. Unlike many RM games, which throw doodads around haphazardly and without purpose in order to take up space, The Guardian conveys a sense of purpose with each and every one of its few details. The reserved mapping harkens back to NES style top-down games; it's hard not to feel a Legend of Zelda-esque vibe when traversing the overworld map. Maps look good, but not exceptional.

 

Verdict:

 

Audio

 

The music is definitely the best part of the game's presentation; it conveys a sense of haunting desolation and foreboding. It feels a bit reminiscent of Dragon Warrior, but has a unique feel of its own. Sound effects are minimal and forgettable, but that's mostly due to the lack of cutscenes in the game. Overall, there's not much to complain about in regards to sound and music.

 

Verdict:

 

Gameplay - Exploration

 

Exploration in this game attempts to recreate a Legend of Zelda style of progression. There's a large world for you explore, and you go from location to location finding equipment that helps you progress, much like the tools in Zelda allow you to unlock new areas and paths. The screens even transition in the same style as Zelda, which is a nice touch. However, the main criticism I have is that the world feels very barren. Part of this is that the world map is very large. There's basically nothing to do on the overworld except for walk to your next destination, and you'll find yourself wondering why there's so many screens that exist simply to be there.

 

And while The Guardian mimics the exploration style of adventure RPG titles, it fails to fully capture their essence. In Metroid games, for example, you will often find secrets and treasure early on that you cannot access until you gain new powerups. This game fails to create that same feeling of "I must go back there" that other games do. Exploration doesn't feel as rewarding or interesting as it should be. I'm actually surprised that some other players had expressed criticism about a lack of direction, as I found the game surprisingly linear for the type of game it is. There just needs to be more... stuff. Places to explore, secrets to find and things to do.

 

Verdict:

 

Gameplay - Battles

 

The Guardian has a very unique combat and leveling system compared to most RM games. Instead of levels, you simply had stat points in the form of AP, BP and GP. AP is used to increase your stats, BP allows you to upgrade your abilities and GP is a general resource that can be converted to either. These stat points are regularly allocated throughout the game, giving you a constant sense of character progression and a fair amount of playstyle customization. Battles themselves are very interesting. When you touch an on-screen enemy, the battle initiates immediately (it doesn't even transition to a separate battle scene.) The order of moves is visible to you; unlike the normal turn-based battle system it's possible for your agility to grant you additional turns. This allows you to mix and match your offense and defense. For example, say you have two turns before your enemy can act. You can either choose to deal damage twice, or deal damage on the first turn and guard on the second, taking reduced damage from your opponent's counterattack.

 

Enemies also have weaknesses, so it's up to you to find out which attack works best in each scenario. The overall system is fun and simple, but felt a bit limited. After clearing the first cave, I felt like there weren't many surprises or opportunities for further progression with the system (aside from increasing your stats.) It definitely could have been improved with some more depth, but what's there works well and is interesting enough to keep you motivated through most of the game.

 

Verdict:

 

Story

 

The game has a very bare-bones and simple story. After the intro is finished, exposition and dialogue becomes rare except for the occasional NPC that appears to lament the state of the world. While that in itself is fine, the lack of an interesting world or narrative does work against the player's drive to continue (though it certainly isn't a fatal flaw.) The game could have abstained from an apparent story but still offer a rich setting to explore in the form of logs such as those found in Metroid Prime or Dark Souls. But seeing as the author did not go down that route, there really isn't much to say about the plot.

 

Verdict:

 

Polish

 

In spite of its many custom systems, I didn't come across any bugs. The game feels delicately crafted and purposefully laid out. Some portions are a bit obtuse in terms of how you progress, but I never felt hopelessly lost or frustrated. The game was well tested and fairly well balanced. My one complaint is that loading between maps felt like it took an inexplicably long time, almost as if it were load times.

 

Verdict:

 

Overall

 

This game got me excited for an adventure RPG borrowing elements from some of my favorite games. It's definitely a solid title, but I would like to see the author expand on the idea in a future iteration or sequel. There's a lot of potential here that seems untapped. In spite of that, this is a polished, fun game with a unique premise in the realm of RM games.

 

Score: 7.4/10

[reLic 4]

Thanks for the review! Since Im a fan of the Metroid style exploration kind of games, it's very possible that you will see more games of this kind from me in the future. The Guardian was made in just 2-3 months. It is a proof to myself that I can make a complete rpgmaker game. Next time I can focus more on making the ingame design really interesting