Alundra (PS1, 1997)
Graphics-8 Sound-7.5 Control-8 Challenge-7 Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
+
Interesting dream theme puts some spark into an otherwise pretty cliché story
Unusually dark themes (cult worship and its effect on a small town, atheism being the solution, alcoholism and schitzofrenia)
Some funny dialogue (Working Designs, some is pretty anticlimactic though)
Good puzzles overall (mostly action/platform oriented, Torla mountain dungeon, Ice Manor, twin dream)
Pretty good anime cutscenes
Some memorable characters (Lurvy)
Hidden items (use to buy accessories)
Mini-games (good but too easy)
Jump and run/tackle from the get go
Challenging puzzles
Decent bosses (though they usually have a lot of HP and high damage attacks instead of good AI)
Interesting single player co-op sequence (Elenes dream - AI controlled Meia)
+/-
Linear in terms of the dungeon progression (some optional side areas in the overworld and one optional late-game dungeon (the fairy pond))
A 2-player co-op mode seems like it could've been done
Huge dungeons overall
-
Plot oddities (No one bothers to put out the fire!? (and why are the Murgg still a threat after you've cleansed their town/dungeon?), the game sets itself up to let you reveal Ronan as corrupted through Jess but then doesn't do anything with the idea, Giles and Ronan turning corrupt is done rather poorly (They both openly blame you and admit their treachery but noone reacts - Alundra and Septimus just leave the church after finding the Melzas statue, Meia doesn't even know about the Melzas statue in the church until she 'senses' it later on))
Minor hit detection problems around pillars
After Torla supposedly erupts there is no trace of the lava outside of it and you have to stand in a certain place to activate the geysers leading into it
The monkey king and the Dragon are wimps
It's possible to get completely stuck in the fairy pond
Two golem bosses in a row to start with and then three hidden eye bosses in a row later on (pretty lame bosses as well)
when you meet the captain of the ship again all he says is that he opened up a shop to lead a safer life - what happened to the others+how'd he survive etc.?
You have to go out of your way for simple herbs when some life vessels are out in the open
No dungeon maps
The villagers talk a lot about the Murgg attacking but it never happens
Annoying plot devices (Alundra doesn't talk about the monkey king or the crests, the villagers can break the grey boulders but don't help with the monkey forest part?, Alundra doesn't talk to people about the weird girl's dreams etc.)
Slow paced in some ways (can't skip/speed up cutscene dialogue (it's veery slow), slow get item jingle, slow animated scenes, kinda slow beginning)
Can't switch the main weapon without entering a menu screen (L and R buttons?)
Some really annoying puzzles (jumping puzzles later on, the elevator - you're supposed to jump on it three times but the flashing is all messed up/doesn't work properly?, the ordering of the Saints - "Brown respects me more than he needs to" implies that Brown is more important than Green but it's the other way around)
Pretty dated dramaturgy and "cinematics" (SNES style)
Cliché story ("you are the chosen one as told in your dreams to kill the destroyer yadayada")
Uneven difficulty (easy enemies AI-wise take too many hits to kill, gets easier in some ways later on)
Unbalanced weapons (flails are weak)
The Roulette game
Can't change direction while running
Awful ending song (english)
Tedious desert puzzle (warp back to beginning at every mistake)
A surfer dude in a medieval religious village setting?
You have to visit the fortuneteller to access the island map, trial & error (lots of pixel perfect jumps, puzzles that send you backwards when you make a mistake), ending cutscene contains parts of the intro
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
+
Interesting dream theme puts some spark into an otherwise pretty cliché story
Unusually dark themes (cult worship and its effect on a small town, atheism being the solution, alcoholism and schitzofrenia)
Some funny dialogue (Working Designs, some is pretty anticlimactic though)
Good puzzles overall (mostly action/platform oriented, Torla mountain dungeon, Ice Manor, twin dream)
Pretty good anime cutscenes
Some memorable characters (Lurvy)
Hidden items (use to buy accessories)
Mini-games (good but too easy)
Jump and run/tackle from the get go
Challenging puzzles
Decent bosses (though they usually have a lot of HP and high damage attacks instead of good AI)
Interesting single player co-op sequence (Elenes dream - AI controlled Meia)
+/-
Linear in terms of the dungeon progression (some optional side areas in the overworld and one optional late-game dungeon (the fairy pond))
A 2-player co-op mode seems like it could've been done
Huge dungeons overall
-
Plot oddities (No one bothers to put out the fire!? (and why are the Murgg still a threat after you've cleansed their town/dungeon?), the game sets itself up to let you reveal Ronan as corrupted through Jess but then doesn't do anything with the idea, Giles and Ronan turning corrupt is done rather poorly (They both openly blame you and admit their treachery but noone reacts - Alundra and Septimus just leave the church after finding the Melzas statue, Meia doesn't even know about the Melzas statue in the church until she 'senses' it later on))
Minor hit detection problems around pillars
After Torla supposedly erupts there is no trace of the lava outside of it and you have to stand in a certain place to activate the geysers leading into it
The monkey king and the Dragon are wimps
It's possible to get completely stuck in the fairy pond
Two golem bosses in a row to start with and then three hidden eye bosses in a row later on (pretty lame bosses as well)
when you meet the captain of the ship again all he says is that he opened up a shop to lead a safer life - what happened to the others+how'd he survive etc.?
You have to go out of your way for simple herbs when some life vessels are out in the open
No dungeon maps
The villagers talk a lot about the Murgg attacking but it never happens
Annoying plot devices (Alundra doesn't talk about the monkey king or the crests, the villagers can break the grey boulders but don't help with the monkey forest part?, Alundra doesn't talk to people about the weird girl's dreams etc.)
Slow paced in some ways (can't skip/speed up cutscene dialogue (it's veery slow), slow get item jingle, slow animated scenes, kinda slow beginning)
Can't switch the main weapon without entering a menu screen (L and R buttons?)
Some really annoying puzzles (jumping puzzles later on, the elevator - you're supposed to jump on it three times but the flashing is all messed up/doesn't work properly?, the ordering of the Saints - "Brown respects me more than he needs to" implies that Brown is more important than Green but it's the other way around)
Pretty dated dramaturgy and "cinematics" (SNES style)
Cliché story ("you are the chosen one as told in your dreams to kill the destroyer yadayada")
Uneven difficulty (easy enemies AI-wise take too many hits to kill, gets easier in some ways later on)
Unbalanced weapons (flails are weak)
The Roulette game
Can't change direction while running
Awful ending song (english)
Tedious desert puzzle (warp back to beginning at every mistake)
A surfer dude in a medieval religious village setting?
You have to visit the fortuneteller to access the island map, trial & error (lots of pixel perfect jumps, puzzles that send you backwards when you make a mistake), ending cutscene contains parts of the intro