Them's Fightin'
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*Follow Up Review: September 21st, 2004*
Now that Moogle1 has returned from his mission, I now have no excuse not to update my review of Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis was Moogle1's entry to what I believe was the second 528 hour contest. Sadly, all his files got deleted 24 hours before the due date, so he re-made it as quickly as possible and presented us this version. Though impressive, the game really doesn't contain much. In my opinion, it is more of a plotscripting demo then an actual full game (see, actual full RPG games have points, this one ends too abruptly so the point of the story is never revealed). However, it is still a nifty little demo, and I have yet to see a (released) game that has mastered the double npc trick as well as Moogle1 has.
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Graphics |
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The graphics do what they are supposed to do: show us a plotscripting demo. They really aren't much to look at. The npcs are colored decently but look quite flat. The maptiles are pretty bad, actually. The rocks look especially dull and repetitive. The cutscenes are a decent addition, but really don't add much to the game.
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Storyline |
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The story itself is, in my opinion, interesting but too short. Your village has turned into imps thanks to the help of an evil witch. You, the servant of a human-turned-imp, managed to avoid being changed thanks to a magic ring. So you go off to beat up other imps (?) and save the day. You make it to the castle, and the "demo" ends.
The story is an interesting start, but there isn't enough so it is just bland. The dialogue is actually pretty entertaining, but there isn't nearly enough of it. I think the best humor I got was the fact that this game had the same title as Ovid's epic, though they really aren't related at all.
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Gameplay |
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I'd love to see the gameplay extended. Overall, the engine that Metamorphosis runs under is actually quite smooth and bugless. You are made of two npcs (a top and a bottom). You run through a flat rock maze and punch imps to death before they...uh...touch you to death. There is only one map, which is pretty lousy (one might even consider it a waste of such great scripts). However, the fact that it runs smooth is great.
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Battle |
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The battles aren't difficult. You punch imps to death. It isn't TOO buggy, but I will say the enemy AI is pretty retarded (NPCs set on "Chase You"). Fun for a few minutes, then you might as well quit.
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Map Design |
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The map is...decent. Basically a rock maze with imps in it. You can't really dodge or escape too easily, which is good, but it also lacks any basic strategy besides just mashing "Attack." The rocks look pretty bad, too.
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Balance |
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Not an RPG (and there is only one enemy, and it is quite easy to kill)
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Music |
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Taken from Secret of Mana, which is oddly appropriate. It sounds decent, even though there isn't really enough of it (then again, there isn't much of this game to get excited over, so I guess it works).
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Enjoyment |
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You really can't play this for the game itself. There just isn't enough there. However, it is enjoyable to see the scripts run smoothly and to see the double NPC walk around and punch up stuff. The first time I played it I had a great time (then again, I was a beginner who didn't even know how to script). Now it isn't as fun, but it still is alright.
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Final Blows |
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For being made in 24 hours, this is quite impressive. However, there isn't nearly enough. If you are interested in making a game like this, feel free to get it (you can get the general workings of the game from the screenshots). If you aren't, don't really bother. I'd love to see this extended, but then again I'm sure Moogle1 is off to bigger and better things.
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Someone needs to fix the hero walkaround animation. It gave me a headache. |
Final Scores
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Graphics: 3/10.0 |
They aren't great. Standard "old school" Moogle1, which is maps that aren't all that detailed. The NPCs are also "old school" CN (with really bad animations). And those rocks still hurt my eyes.
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Storyline: 4/10.0
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A decent start, I suppose, but there really isn't enough to determine anything about the story. There are no twists or even a villain confrontation, so in truth there isn't even a story. The dialogue provides decent entertainment, but is unfinished. Story: 1/5 (too short) Dialogue: 3/5 |
Gameplay: 4.5/10.0 |
Again, too bloody short. However, it works out really smooth and works out just fine. The first level will probably leave you wanting more (which you probably will never get), but I suppose that is a good thing.
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Music: 2.5/10.0
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Completely neutral on this one. It's a decent selection, and decently placed, but there isn't enough of it (again, game is really short) and it isn't wonderful by any stretch of the imagination. |
Enjoyment: 3.5/10.0
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I'll quote my old review. "Fun to play, but too short. You'll be mad there isn't more. But you can always make your own; the code is included!" |
Overall Grade:
D+ |
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Final Thoughts |
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For being made in around 24 hours, it is quite good. However, there isn't really that much in this. If you are trying to script a double-npc script, you might want to have a look-see. If you aren't, there isn't really anything here for you to investigate. |
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