The boss took me about 4 attempts, I ended it with like 38? or so MP, all of it was spent by the time I got out of the dungeon. I was so relieved when I got to the exit from the vine cliff area, only to have a sinking feeling when I realized there was more lol. I was convinced the run was cooked but I somehow made it.
Reading through the other replies here and I'm shocked to learn that there's supposedly drops because I don't think i got ANY drops after the boss lmao. I saved all my MP for christs love and faith, didn't even realize quote scripture might do different stuff to enemies. That's cool
The jumping off the cliff to meet the dragon in the middle is hype. good scene
By the Six Christs I have somehow passed through the shadow of the southern ravine of death. It got tense at the end there but thank you for letting me slay
There's a lot going on here! The main premise is obviously a cool idea, the way the story is structured is smart and even when moving backwards in time it feels like new info is revealed in a natural way that builds toward the ending in a satisfying way where everything really comes together. The end is nice and I got a kick out of one particular bit of it.
At first the high encounter rate seemed intimidating, especially coming off a bunch of low-resource management focused games, but I eventually realized that stats and items are generous enough to encourage being fast and aggressive with magic and attacks, and the escape rate is pretty consistent if you get stuck, at the cost of not getting any money. So that definitely streamlines things and lets you feel cool and powerful while doing them, while not quite slipping into it just feeling free. You did a good job making those later bosses feel more tense despite them technically taking place "earlier" in the timeline (which in a way makes sense since the characters have less experience - why wouldn't it be harder?)
All in all you made a very cool thing and I'm so glad you pushed through and got something in for the jam!!!
this one is so so beautiful. ive played it twice and cried both times. the way you have to come right up on the edge of death and then get given exactly what you need. the way you write about these memories. the way the background falls out to show the sky. the ending
I went into this one knowing it would be particularly challenging, which I think actually helped because I was like "ok I'll probably die a lot and it's fine, no need to stress about it." I actually ended up getting a lot farther than I expected! I suspect the writing is on the wall for my current run, but I've already said that like twice and decided to keep going just to see what would happen and somehow pushed through. Maybe I've been lucky. There's a lot going on with each party member to the point where I've just been going with the flow and not been super concerned about what form they're taking at a given point. It's enough just to try to survive with the limited resources available. Strategic use of Sound Dampeners has saved me at times. This ended up being some of the most fun I've had with any game in the jam just because it pushes the limits and I'm forced to just be like "fuck it we ball". All this to say I'm just now at the point where I can go to the tower...surely there won't be anything more fucked up in there right? I find myself thinking "I kinda hope there is."
Theres been a few entries in the jam that have featured majorly downscoped or incomplete material, but they've all presented them in novel ways that make something of that incompleteness, all showcasing what you can do in RM2K3 and still meeting the requirements of the jam, and this one is no exception! Splitting it into a menu that lets you choose between cutscenes or gameplay or extras makes it feel almost like a classic DVD menu. The premise of the story is a neat idea and the writing so far is snappy and funny. The bit at the "end" of the gameplay segment is extremely quotable and breaks in a delightful way. Exploring a game in its early dev like this is a neat texture in its own way, seeing what little things might be broken or missing. Definitely interested to see how this shapes up in the future if you get around to working on it more!
Haven't finished this one yet, but it gets my vote for sickest "tutorial" out of the jam. I like that no one actually says shit, it's just battle text at best, it feels like some cold-open in-media-res action movie intro or something. There's a lot number of mechanics here and some of which aren't made explicit (e.g. rest mechanics or some attacks only doing damage when out of the fray) which has been addressed elsewhere, but I'm looking forward to digging into this one further as well as the previous OI games. I got as far as Scissorhawk in this one on my first attempt. Heavy hitter.
The whole conceit of this game is very cool and clever, I felt immersed in this comfy rpg experience until the story really played its hand and showed there was more to this game than meets the eye. A lot of small details add up and really make it impactful. The party members coming in and out adds a good bit of variety and keeps you on your toes in terms of strategy. This ones real good
Short and sweet! Once I had my eureka moment with figuring the fights out I was kicking myself for not getting it sooner lol. Appreciate a story that gets right to the point and says what it needs to say, and makes you feel cool doing it
Really digging what this one's doing with its presentation and mechanics, had a comfy crunchy time with it so far, looking forward to seeing how it develops!
I think it'd be cool to stay like all the things forever but it's also nice that i got to wake up
this ones such a heavy hitter. such a unique navigation puzzle and all the scenes felt really impactful. gonna be thinking about this one for a long time
Probably the hardest I laughed in the whole jam. The chicken house, the beach dog, HELL- o, Wet Fredrick, THAT coworker, just the ever-increasing absurdity of this whole interminable fetch quest. Turbo Banger
The whole idea of controlling one party member while reining in the other is so cool...I dig the resource management focus. On my first run I made it to the boss but ended up having to restart my run so I could have like, enough potions or MP for like one more heal, because I ended up buying more dispel herbs than I ended up needing lol. Looking forward to giving it another shot soon! (I played on the "confident enough" difficulty.) The original music is awesome too
Kind of a dreamlike feeling to sit here inside the process and have a glimpse (but only a glimpse) into some possible worlds. Kaeru in particular is cool as hell in concept right out the gate, with the cool secrets and shortcuts and hidden chests, and Sparrowsong v3 with how it remixes the map connections. Very interesting to see what's carried over between the various versions and where they diverge. Would be very interested in checking these out if any of them every get finished!
This one is genuinely incredible. A banger among bangers. A Turbo Banger. Clever and funny and charming and sweet. The music choices are perfect and I've had So Quiet So Still stuck in my head on and off for weeks now. Just a pure delight
Even if this was heavily downscoped, I think it's framed in an interesting way here. So much of the maps being left untouched might feel weird but in this context it works in a weirdly reflective way for me. Juxtaposed against other games using these maps in different ways or filling them with a bunch of stuff, its interesting how haunted it feels to just walk around them on their own, turning on what isn't here and on what it's not, knowing something could be here but isn't. There's a melancholy to it and it's kinda cool! In any case, I am looking forward to checking out the first game some time as well.
Had a good time with this one!! Always interesting when you have to plan out your build early and then try to roll with it for the rest of the game. My winning build was base ATK 13, DEF 10, INT 7, AGI 11, equipped with steel sword + hand axe + chainmail + iron helm + agile boots, along with cyclone slash/firebreather/hypnosis, and the rest of my money devoted to potions and antidotes. By the time I reached the top of the tower I was out of MP but had enough potions left over to triumph in the end. That end screen is a welcome reward lol
Breaking up the tower rooms into smaller chunks and rearranging the connections was such a good idea, and this game gets a ton of mileage out of that alone. This was maybe my favorite of the more dungeon crawly ones in the jam. Really satisfying pace of going into a new floor, getting smacked around, having to decide how much deeper you can afford to go in and how well you can survive the trek back, only to gradually get stronger so you can go deeper. I found I was able to get a good handle on every arrangement of enemies except for one troop in particular, which had me pulling my hair out in the best way whenever I encountered them. It's a banger
Oh to walk a mile in the scales of a kindly The Dragon. Feels good to be a The Dragon with a wife, lady, who is my lady wife. A delightful day is the one in which i acquire the things for to make dinner with lady my wife who is mmy wife
also shoutout to the title screen art which i love very very much
Love how much this one plays with its scenes, the direction and choreography with the characters and scene/background changes is on point. So many little touches that push it over the top. And the dialectic between the two perspectives at the heart of it is so real. Charming and funny and it all rings true
So I haven't finished this one yet but already i find the Violence! to be snappy and satisfying, the writing is fun and unique, and I have acquired multiple Twelve Logs. Based on my experience with certified banger Danger Zone Friends I'm not surprised this one is a banger too. My favorite thing so far has been reading the blog excerpts. All of the above only makes me more interested in checking out this game's predecessors and getting to know these characters better in addition to finishing up this one.
This one is hypnotic. Really distinctive and impression presentation, and boy does it give you plenty of time to take it in lol. I liked the bits where you have to maneuver around the boulders. The tower segment was particularly striking, I couldn't help but find it funny what it's asking you to do, and I kinda loved it. I didn't see the ending coming but that was also really cool. The Arkhouse soundtrack does a good job setting the mood as well.
Complete the 5 Thong Challenge in Corris ~Soul of the Goddess~ today! You won't regret it!
Is it any surprise Jetstorm has put out another banger. Loved all the little references to past games but it can be enjoyed as a standalone story. The secret boss was also fun....
I lose count of how many good bits there are in this. Wouldn't be a Polly deal if I didn't get got by at least one fart joke. The whole tower segment is some peak looney tunes shit. One of the funniest ones. I rate this nightmare as Excellent
First couple runs it was fun to blaze through with reflect+normal bite but then it was even more fun to try to see what kind of movesets I could put together based on who I lost to. Some enemies are harder to lose to than others! That whole angle became a playground in itself. Super cool game
