Review: Charles Conquers the Universe

[Cecillia 652]

Thread Link:: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/20131-charles-conquers-the-universe/

Creator:: Neuromonster

Reviewer:: Cecillia Belle Lacroix

 

Introduction:: Nobody had reviewed this game yet so I decided to test it out due to the game being advertised as "dark" which is my cup of tea, HOWEVER this totally mislead me and I was thrown into a very comedic game.

Pros:

-Opening image is humorous

-Sound effects funny and fully custom

-Backgrounds aren't static, but scroll

-HP enemy bar helpful during battles

-Party balanced (No overpowered characters)

-Humorous custom faces

-Battles challenging and gratifying

-NPCs interactive and interesting

 

Cons:

-If one didn't read the summary, they wouldn't know what Eris Esoterica is (The ship).

-The robots on the Eris Esoterica would have been more interesting if they didn't all say the same thing

-Lack of music makes the game feel awkward especially in battles.

-Characters rely on Psychic, Vampire, and Improv in battle.

-Jump Scare in the Cave of No Return was a definite no-no for me.

-Inconsistent portraits

 

How many times have we seen a story like this?

Story:: After reading the synopsis, I knew that this story was going to be one hell of a ride in comedy land. The opening scene already got me giggling with the cliché setting - There are 8 jewels known as gnostic rubies that allow god to grant you wishes. Despite being a comedic game, the cliché story mixing with the random type of characters pull the story into interesting directions. 

 

Characters actually have bios!

Characters:: The characters are quirky, varying from robots, dragons, and vampires. They speak utter nonsense most of the time which adds onto the comedic aspect of the game, but they always manage to create engaging conversations. 

Charles: The psychic of the group who wants to collect all the Rubies.

Christian: The vampire of the group with an intimidating appearance, but he acts as the healer of the group.

Rob: Rob is a powerful character in the party who uses Improv to fight in battle. He doesn't really talk much.

 

Random elements placed together

Aesthetics:: The game utilizes default windows/fonts which in my opinion should have been changed, but since this is a demo I'll let that pass. The maps are comprised of large amounts of negative space and purchased tilesets from the official RMW store, but sometimes have randomly placed objects making the mapping appear mediocre. Charles conquers the universe additionally contains a diverse amount of battlers and inconsistent custom portraits.

 

Little font glitch!

Gameplay:: The game begins onboard the Eris with a straightforward yet eloquent conversation between Charles, Christian, and Rob. They immediately give you the goal of the story (to find the Gnostic Rubies) which allows player to understand the objective and not wander around aimlessly. The player must visit to four different lands with the teleporter to search for the Gnostic Rubies. From Nazi Headquarters in lava to a Battle Arena with dragon believers; Charles, Christian, and Rob venture while undergoing trials. The maps contain interactive objects with peculiar information, but would have been more fair if some objects contained items. 

 

Random battles are present which may annoy people whom abhor this type of system, but the monsters are extremely diverse depending on your current location. The battle system is the default RPG Maker front view style, however the battles are challenging and definitely make the time spent in the battle worth it. The equippment additionally has an interesting type of system where you equip, Sockets to increase your power which you can obtain from enemies. You can however only use 1 socket at a time. I did not find the sockets indulging at all due to the little power they give to the party.

 

Besides fighting enemies to obtain the Rubies, the player can interact with NPCs whom add exceptionable additions to the story and may offer you items depending on what you tell them. For example: If you tell an NPC you do not believe in dragons, the dragons will disappear alongside the dragon believers. It is quite random, but it is much more preferable than seeing fish-eyed NPCs which most games suffer from.

 

Conclusion::

What did I just play?

Overall, this game was enjoyable for me despite my abhorrence towards the default system and non-serious games. I ran into a few bugs and text getting cut off, but that did not stop me from being entertained. I had to stop at the cave of no return after finishing the Nazi headquarters and the arena. The treasure box along with the jump scare of Jeff the killer was definitely not my cup of tea due to my faint heart and I could not continue. 

 

Score

Story: 4/5 - Definitely cliché story, but adds more humor to the ludicrous nature of this game.

Aesthetics: 2/5 - Could have used more custom materials instead of default windows/font. The diverse amount of battlers is a +, however the game lacks of consistency in terms of portraits.

Music/Sounds: 1/5 - There was no music used in the game which made some areas feel boring, but the game contained full voice acting in the sound effects. (The author stated that it was due to file size, score can be edited later)

Overall: 3/5

 

I reccomend this game to those who want want to enjoy a good laugh and not have to think through a complex story, but not to those who have a faint heart like me!

Edited February 10, 2014 by Cecillia

[neuromonster 1]

Hey, I just found out about your review today and wanted to thank you, if belatedly. I'm not going to get into why I haven't been around lately but it involves medical issues and one of the characters in this game.

 

I want to make a few points, just for the record. Overall I found your review really thorough and honest, this isn't a criticism of it just some comments.

 

1) I guess I did go a bit overboard with the disclaimers and gave the impression the game is darker than it is, but while it is a comedy game it has a very dark sense of humor. You also didn't finish the cave of no return and I'm guessing skipped the derelict spaceship as well, which have some of the darker jokes. I didn't want people expecting a lighthearted good time to be put off by all the blasphemy, nazis and cold blooded murder of characters with sympathetic backstories for personal gain.

 

2) I realize you have to review what's in front of you, but for the record there will be music in the final version. I left it out of the demo for the sake of filesize, and have been recommending people listen to their own music while playing it (which you'll probably like more anyway).

 

3) While most of the interactive objects in the game contain joke descriptions, that's just to lull you into a false sense of security. There are hidden items but they're pretty rare. For example there's a small puzzle in the hoarder-house in the Nazi hell basement involving interacting with objects that can get you the most powerful Rob weapon in the demo. They're all deliberately hard to find, though. You basically have to interact with everything you see.

 

4) The areas are all different, so there are only random encounters in the Nazi land. You can also buy repels like in Pokemon, and there are a few lying around Nazi land. I'm aware a lot of people don't like them, but I wanted to do a bunch of different styles in the game and "Random Encounter Gauntlet" is something that I think can work if done well. Whether I did so is certainly up for debate.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughtful review. The picture you included at the start of the conclusion made me very pleased with myself. That's basically what I was going for.

Edited February 4, 2014 by neuromonster

[Jodl 10]

Hey, I just found out about your review today and wanted to thank you, if belatedly. I'm not going to get into why I haven't been around lately but it involves medical issues and one of the characters in this game.

 

I want to make a few points, just for the record. Overall I found your review really thorough and honest, this isn't a criticism of it just some comments.

 

1) I guess I did go a bit overboard with the disclaimers and gave the impression the game is darker than it is, but while it is a comedy game it has a very dark sense of humor. You also didn't finish the cave of no return and I'm guessing skipped the derelict spaceship as well, which have some of the darker jokes. I didn't want people expecting a lighthearted good time to be put off by all the blasphemy, nazis and cold blooded murder of characters with sympathetic backstories for personal gain.

 

2) I realize you have to review what's in front of you, but for the record there will be music in the final version. I left it out of the demo for the sake of filesize, and have been recommending people listen to their own music while playing it (which you'll probably like more anyway).

 

3) While most of the interactive objects in the game contain joke descriptions, that's just to lull you into a false sense of security. There are hidden items but they're pretty rare. For example there's a small puzzle in the hoarder-house in the Nazi hell basement involving interacting with objects that can get you the most powerful Rob weapon in the demo. They're all deliberately hard to find, though. You basically have to interact with everything you see.

 

4) The areas are all different, so there are only random encounters in the Nazi land. You can also buy repels like in Pokemon, and there are a few lying around Nazi land. I'm aware a lot of people don't like them, but I wanted to do a bunch of different styles in the game and "Random Encounter Gauntlet" is something that I think can work if done well. Whether I did so is certainly up for debate.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughtful review. The picture you included at the start of the conclusion made me very pleased with myself. That's basically what I was going for.

I object you that i must know to get to nazi land! I must object evrything the fuhrer is saying while he is planning!

[Cecillia 652]

Hey, I just found out about your review today and wanted to thank you, if belatedly. I'm not going to get into why I haven't been around lately but it involves medical issues and one of the characters in this game.

 

I want to make a few points, just for the record. Overall I found your review really thorough and honest, this isn't a criticism of it just some comments.

 

1) I guess I did go a bit overboard with the disclaimers and gave the impression the game is darker than it is, but while it is a comedy game it has a very dark sense of humor. You also didn't finish the cave of no return and I'm guessing skipped the derelict spaceship as well, which have some of the darker jokes. I didn't want people expecting a lighthearted good time to be put off by all the blasphemy, nazis and cold blooded murder of characters with sympathetic backstories for personal gain.

 

2) I realize you have to review what's in front of you, but for the record there will be music in the final version. I left it out of the demo for the sake of filesize, and have been recommending people listen to their own music while playing it (which you'll probably like more anyway).

 

3) While most of the interactive objects in the game contain joke descriptions, that's just to lull you into a false sense of security. There are hidden items but they're pretty rare. For example there's a small puzzle in the hoarder-house in the Nazi hell basement involving interacting with objects that can get you the most powerful Rob weapon in the demo. They're all deliberately hard to find, though. You basically have to interact with everything you see.

 

4) The areas are all different, so there are only random encounters in the Nazi land. You can also buy repels like in Pokemon, and there are a few lying around Nazi land. I'm aware a lot of people don't like them, but I wanted to do a bunch of different styles in the game and "Random Encounter Gauntlet" is something that I think can work if done well. Whether I did so is certainly up for debate.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughtful review. The picture you included at the start of the conclusion made me very pleased with myself. That's basically what I was going for.

Thank you for the clarifications especially with the music! Nevertheless I really enjoyed your creative game! It made me laugh a bunch xD

[INDOJIN 70]

My favourite part of this game has to be the sound design. The inherent lack of music made the sound effects have a musical quality to them, kinda like in Black, the PS2 shooter.