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Nice amount of Ohrrpgce releases this month,
most of which I had not heard of before, and many (about half) of which
were actually released in August (although I somehow missed them).
Game of the Month for this month is Tremor, because
I really like that game (see review).
Changes: Due to request, I have added a new part
to the stats: a grade in overall recommendation. Keep in mind the
grades are my opinion only, and if you are the kind of person who plays
every ohrrpgce game available, you can safely ignore them. Also, a download
category has been added for organization, which quickly gives you info
on where I found the game (if I remember)
Another new part I have: genre.
And btw- Next month I'm expected a lot of new
releases due to the Halloween Ohrrpgce Contest (sponsored by Ben-Ohki).
A huge number of people (including me) have already said that they intend
on releasing a Halloween genre game on October 31. If you want to draw
the cover, and like Halloween, here is your chance. (email
me if interested).
Standards in
Difficulty Ratings
none - no difficulty, no battles, no challenge
at all. Example:
Mario Paint
low - you probably won't die no matter
how badly you play. Examples:
Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Cross
medium - you won't die unless you are
new to rpgs. Examples:
Final Fantasy 4j, Final Fantasy 5j
high - you'll probably die several times.
Examples: Revelations Persona, 7th Saga, Gauntlet (NES)
Standards in
Grading
When I give an overall grade, I take into account
a game's main qualities 1) how fun the game was, 2) how much work and talent
has gone into it, 3) how original and interesting the game was, 4) lack
of annoying but persistent distractions, 5) how much game there is. A grade
can be considered to by my perception of its level of quality, the group
I mentally categorize a game when I think about it. There is an intential
bell curve distribution, most games will be C and D, less games will be
B and E, and only very rare games are A or F. No games have gotton and
S grade yet, which I reserve for titles which are 'A' quality, and complete
(not demos).
Letter grade examples (for reference of comparison):
S - none so far
A - Wingedmene: Part One, Lolsidothaldremobine,
Origin
B - Ends of the Earth, Ends of the
Earth 2, Paladus
C - Paranoia Star, Rinoath, Penumbra
D - Bahamut's Breath, The Virus and
the Pizza, Joke
E - SWaC, Zelda: The Chronicle Destiny,
Magnus
F - Ashs, DBZ: Small Super Saiyan,
Blockman
Games and Game
Demos Released in September 2000
Key: Demos have grey
backgrounds, full games have green
backgrounds, and games of less than 10 minutes of game time have orange
backgrounds.
Darkwing
Duck RPG
This is not really a new release, since its release
date has not been disclosed, however I thought I'd put it in here nonetheless.
The game starts out promsing more than it can deliver, and there is nothing
to do but wander the streets and say Hi and fight a few random enemies
(unless I missed something)
Name: Darkwing Duck
RPG
Author: John Renard
Genre: Fangame
Difficulty: low
Grade: E
Release date: ???
Demo Length: about 10 minutes
Size: 2,340 KB
Download: homepage
(+)Darkwing
Duck fangame.
(-)Needs
more. |
The streets, I suppose |
Dor-Ithil
This is a new release of Dor-Ithil... there game
is basically the same as before, but now there is a rather lenghly cave
with an insane amount of enemies. The game is also available in French.
This game isn't bad... its just not great. The story and dialogue are above
average, but the grammar and spelling are so bad that this is distorted.
The graphics are good in some areas, worse in others.. The game is fun
to an extent... however the huge enemy density (a battle every 2 steps)
makes you want to give up, or cheat with the walk-through-walls trick.
Music is ripped, but at least its from Dragon Warrior 4 and Final
Fantasy 4 and other games that have music I like, and not the typical
Final
Fantasy 6,7,8 type.
Name: Dor-Ithil
Author: Melnazar
Genre: Traditional RPG
Difficulty: low
Grade: C
Release date: 8/22/00
Demo Length: about 30 minutes
Size:2120 KB
Download: RPG-Online
(+)Concept.
(-)Needs
a bit more time in development. |
A Library. |
Duck
and MJ
Not exactly as boring as I expected it to be...
but still boring. Obviously inspired by games like Monterey Penguin
and Wandering Hamster, but... If you can play games like Tremor
and Never Forget instead, I don't see why one would play games like
this. Given a lot more development (following some time spent reading the
articles on RPG-Online maybe?) it might be worth playing, bur right now
I can't recommend it. And the ripped music (from Final Fantasy 6,
etc.) is really annoying too.
Name: Duck and MJ
Author: JSH Games
Genre: Cartoony RPG
Difficulty: low
Grade: E
Release date: 8/18/00
Demo Length: 15 minutes
Size: 4,496 KB
Download: RPG-Online
(+) Nothing
particular.
(-) Not competetive
with other Ohrrpgce games. |
A battle with butterflies and some other enemies. |
Invasion
This game is in French. I cannot speak French!
However I still played the game, which I found fun, mainly because I didn't
know what was going on, and because the main character (named Bob again)
looks so wacky. I can't really grade it because I can't read the story,
so I got J'sang'spar, who knows french, to guest review it. Thanks go from
me to him.
| Whoooa. French is officially a 'scary' language now. Invasion is the
story of Bob- an alien. Really. Bob crashes his spaceship. The princess
in Bob's ship is stolen by something that looks like a lizard. Bob 'abandons
his potatoes', I think, and looks for her. Did I mention that Bob is a
red block?
This is a bad game. BAD! BAD BAD BAD! Of course, I enjoyed it for some
reason. Bob is apparently invincible and possesses superhuman strength
and speed, so you don't need to worry about losing. You'll meet various
public figures, including but not limited to Pokèmon and the Teletubbies,
until the game just... stops. You're stuck in a room. Poof. It was an interesting
10 minutes, though, comprised of wandering around, talking to a warp block
or something, wandering around, killing two or three people who then join
you, wandering around, and wandering around. While looking at bad graphics
and listening to amusing yet ripped music. Even though it's french, it
has poor grammar. But I dunno. I liked it. 6 out of 10. |
Name: Invasion
Author: Turkey Productions
Genre: Tell me if you figure it out.
Difficulty: Low
Grade: "6 out of 10"
Release date: 8/23/00
Demo Length: 10 minutes
Size: 4,657 KB
Download: I found it on the Turkey Productions
message board.
(+) N/A
(-) N/A |
Okee dokee pokee! |
Kozakk
the Destroyer
Yet another game. Kozakk's hometown was destroyed
by something called THE FORCE WITH NO NAME and that's where the story begins
and ends. Yet another game where the graphics are average, the music is
ripped, and the gameplay is nonexistant. Play it if you like these types
of ohrrpgce games.
Name: Kozakk the Destroyer
Author: Mythtek
Genre: RPG
Difficulty: Low
Grade: D
Release date: 8/21/00
Demo Length: 20-30 minutes
Size: 3,596 KB
Download: RPG-Online
(+) The walkabouts
are okay, in a small non-face style which seems to fit the game.
(-) Nothing
to give this game identity besides the walkabout style. |
Overly dramatic? |
Monkey
Quest
Another Wandering Hamster clone. The main character
is even named Bob the Monkey. There isn't much to this game yet, and I
don't particularly like the genre... but if you really liked Penguin and
Wanding Hamster, and have some free time, you might want to try this game.
Name: Monkey Quest
Author: KS Software
Genre: Cartoony RPG
Difficulty: None
Grade: D
Release date: 9/17/00
Demo Length: ~15 minutes
Size: 2,130 KB
Download: ???
(+) Not too
many glaring mistakes in game design.
(-) Takes
too much from Wandering Hamster |
Well, that's one way to end a demo. |
Never
Forget
Never Forget is very reminiscent of the current
standard RPG formula set by Final Fantasy 7. There is ultima weapon,
gaia which is fighting it, a female main character whe dies, a corrupt
organization led by an ambitious leader, and so forth. Nonetheless, it
is done well, has a good amount of original music, and even some things
not seen in other Ohrrpgce games, like a Phantasy Star IV-style
job system. However, this update doesn't really add too much new gameplay.
Hopefully the next update will make this game longer.
Name: Never Forget
Author: Moogle1
Genre: RPG
Difficulty: medium
Grade: B
Release date: 9/3/00
Demo Length: ~1 hour
Size: 2,091 KB
Download: Red
Murdock Software
(+) Music
and job system.
(-) Not unique
enough to distinguish it yet. |
The world changes in 5 years. |
OHR
Millionare
I have never seen the game/tv show/whatever that
this game is based on (who wants to be a millionare), however this game
is really fun. I haven't scored 1,000,000 points yet, but I intend to keep
trying until I do. The first person to reach 1,000,000 points was Moogle1,
the author of Never Forget, followed by Red Baron, both finishing
it the same day it was released.
Name: OHR Millionare
Author: Specplosive
Genre: Quiz game
Difficulty: Depends on how well you know your
Ohrrpgce games.
Grade: B
Release date: 9/23/00
Demo Length: N/A
Size: 743 KB
Download: Here
(+) Lots
of replay value.
(-) I only
wish there were more games covered in the questions and more people to
phone for help. |
I answered this question wrong... |
Secret
Milkshake
No, really, is this game a joke or not? If so,
whose? Anyway, the dialogue and entire concept are funny (see screenshot).
Too short of a 'game' though.
Name: Secret Milkshake
Author: Troy (?)
Genre: Time Travel RPG
Difficulty: None
Grade: E
Release date: 10/01/00
Demo Length: 1-3 minutes
Size: 465 KB
Download: ???
(+) The graphics
are actually rather good, if hurried.
(-) Short
and pointless. |
I... am at a loss. |
Tremor
Mere words cannot describe the startling aptitude
of this game. It uses first person perspective battles. It is an adventure
game similar to King's Quest, and also a rpg, in one. It is probably the
hardest game I've ever played on the Ohrrpgce (harder than last month's
'And'), and maybe even the hardest game I've ever played anywhere: I have
yet to finish the game (so I can't comment about the demo length). The
writing is good, although sometimes overly and overtly frilly and descriptive,
but that's just the style... the closest Ohrrpgce comparison I can think
of for this game is Pain meets Evildead. I haven't even gone into most
of what makes this game so good. This game is not about telling a story,
so if your attention is held with lots of dialogue and plot events and
no real game look elsewhere (Final Fantasy 7?). This game is not about
graphics, special plotscripting FMV, or music. This game is about the game.
I like it that way. Play this game, if you can.
Name: Tremor
Author: Adam Kroeker
Genre: Adventure Game and RPG
Difficulty: high
Grade: A
Release date: 9/04/00
Demo Length: !!!? (a lot longer than you expect)
Size: 4375 KB
Download: RPG-Online
(+) An overabundance
of design creativity.
(-) I haven't
finished it yet (can't finish day 2...). Presentation is not the best it
can be. Some ripped (?) graphics and music. |
First person perspective battle |
Wandering
Hamster
This month, along with the new version of the
Ohrrpgce, there came a new version of Wandering Hamster. The most famous
game on the Ohrrpgce now is playable up to and including Broaste's Castle.
It is not a really major update, but it does show that the game hasn't
been abandoned.
Name: Wandering Hamster
Author: Hamster Republic Productions
Genre: Cartoony RPG
Difficulty: Medium
Grade: A
Release date: 9/15/00
Demo Length: 20-25 minutes more than what
it was previousioly
Size: 3,023 KB
Download: Hamster
Republic
(+) What
is not a (+) about this game?
(-) Not enough
new to get really excited about. |
James seems happy |
Xerian
Last month's coverage was of the beta version,
this month demo 1 has been released. There are some notable improvements,
including a new mountain area, new additions to the town, and lots more
plotscripting. The basic ideas have not changed though. I have a feeling
that this game will be even better as more development time goes into it.
Name: Xerian
Author: DGP/Jigglypuff/Xerian Master
Genre: Tell me if you find out.
Difficulty: Low
Grade: C
Release date: 8/21/00
Demo Length: 20-30 minutes
Size: 3,084 KB
Download: ???
(+) More
Xerian-style funness.
(-) I Why
are there so many bathrooms in that first house? |
Battles have rarely been this colorful |
Dragonball
Z: Small Super Saiyan
This is, in all probabilty, the worst DBZ Ohrrpgce...
rpg file... that you can find. One battle (which isn't done that well),
then you go to a blank map with no walkabouts without even so much as a
'this demo is over'. I have no idea why it was submitted for review at
Ohrrpgce monthly... Not as bad as ashs.rpg, but a close second. Also,
I'm pretty sure that the gfx and music were ripped... i know i recognize
the clouds and that background from somewhere... And of course the story
is also ripped. So basically we have something that took absolutely no
creative effort at all... I wish I could say something good about it, but...
lets just say it took you longer to read this paragraph than it will take
you to finish Small Super Saiyan.
Name: DragonBallZ: Small
Super Saiyan
Author: Son Goten
Genre: Fangame
Difficulty: low
Grade: F
Release date: 8/26/00
Demo Length: about 40 seconds
Size: 955 KB
Download: RPG-Online
(+) N/A
(-)All |
The only battle in the game |
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