Bunny Must Die: Chelsea and the 7 Devils (PC, 2006)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-5.5 Challenge-8 Story-4
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-6 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6
+
Some interesting traversal & movement abilities (time stop mechanic (freeze most enemies, hazards and moving platforms - similar to Scurge: Hive from the same year except your attacks are also frozen; energy/MP-based - can be upgraded once to last indefinitely and cost a fixed amount of MP per use), time reversal mechanic (upgraded time stop) - Sands of Time, hyper heels - bounce on torches to reach further+do 3x bop/bounce damage, dynamite body suit (can be toggled) - radar (hidden items, destructible blocks and invisible platforms)+double jump+break blocks you jump on but dashing and horizontal jumps are worse, booster (time spell upgrade) - time slow while dashing which works on all enemies and can be turned off at will after you stop dashing (slowly drains MP))
Some decent puzzles (time stop and reversal related, alternating wall tiles switching - kinda similar to the parallel worlds mechanic in Guacamelee)
SotN-style map system (shows the color of a locked door, doesn't show room topology)
Forward dash attack (kick) which can also be steered upwards a bit and if you run off a ledge you'll keep floating horizontally for as long as it lasts
Sprinting/dashing ability which makes you jump further but also a bit lower - Similar to Psychic World, Super Metroid and Circle of the Moon (no wind-up time like in PW/SM)
Can destroy some enemy shots (makes the giant sword very good vs some bosses)
Backdash dodge from the get go (Symphony of the Night, odd controls though and it's not that useful)
Some interesting level gimmicks (bouncing on moving lasers to climb, dolphin bouncing room)
Encourages aggressive play by refilling your MP through killing enemies and destroying torches
Breakable blocks (including some spikes) and some hidden paths
Recall ability - restart at beginning of the current room after death (costs a life doll - these are placed here and there in the world)
Recover ability (up+time spell button) - trade MP for HP so basically a healing spell (need to stand still while using it and it takes a while - very similar to what was later used in Hollow Knight)
Some sequence breaking possibilities (can bounce on some enemy shots to get to the second boss before the first however it makes the first boss a lot harder, parrying lets you skip most of the Jade Tower rooms while parrying spikes and lasers+get the time power up in Septentrion without dash boots or jump boots, some more with glitches)
Some cool weapons (spread shot w/ the default weapon when somersaulting (Revenge of Shinobi), somersault sword attack - Super Star Wars, homing missiles)
One alternate ending (find and pick up the Alternative ability - unlocks a second playable char (Chelsea - different moves, mostly new spells and somewhat different world layout with fewer save points+two new bosses while some other bosses won't be there))
Some hidden shortcuts that let you skip timing puzzles
Some decent bosses
Kind of interesting how each playable char's adventure takes place at roughly the same time as the other's but they take a different path through the world (some bosses will be dead when you get to them as Chelsea and vice versa)
Remaster: Two more combat abilities gained through the last two time spell upgrades
+/-
Mostly linear structure (areas are also pretty small and straightforward overall with minor detours for upgrades (one exception is the dark purple cave), can do area 6/dark cave before area 5/prison tower, NE area (prison tower) is basically a boss gauntlet tower)
The first area is a hub of sorts that's located in the middle of the map and connects to 3 (4 if counting one-way shortcuts back to it) other areas. Other areas connect to two others except for the NE one which only connects to one other area
Frequent save points and they also heal you (one slot per game). Enemies don't drop health but it refills from HP upgrades and beating bosses+there's the recovery ability (late game) - however this isn't really enough consider the amount of spike traps
Various instant death hazards (spikes). Some bosses (dracula) have instant death attacks
SMW-style tutorial messages
Can block shots and even spike damage with an unexplained parry move - press any direction just as you're gonna get hit (has about 2/3 of a second's hidden cooldown)
Bullet hell elements however the sword can destroy most of them - only sort of works without it via the parry ability which can make you bounce upwards if used right
Silly story and dialogue (one pre-rendered giant cat boss, dracula boss is a german stereotype and shoots with his crotch)
Rips off some stuff from older games (one of the music tracks is based on the main theme from Shadowgate, one boss rips off Dracula from CV and one enemy the medusa heads from CV, the doors in one area are ripped from Metroid)
Need to gain the ability to move to the right (you gain it almost right away, apparently a joke meant to reference the beginning of Metroid) - removed in remaster
Pretty frequent voiced lines by the avatar (very cutesy and exaggerated - a bit annoying however it can be muted as there's a separate volume slider for voices)
Can jump on enemies to attack them (you'll keep bouncing slightly) but it's pretty risky as you'll take damage if you land a bit too far to either side
Fast auto-fire
Weird how you get better control over time and can take more than one hit from spikes after the early game+heal yourself in the mid-late game - makes some parts easier than in the beginning
Shows bosses' healthbars
Somersaulting makes you jump lower than if you jump then press forward/backward
Can't move while crouching nor while attacking
Dropped items disappear after a few seconds
Can't shoot straight downwards (only as chelsea who instead can't shoot diagonally or upwards)
Some one-way shortcuts
Giant sword is kind of OP in general
Can just hold the button down to keep doing dash kick attacks one after the other - very useful in some rooms
Having a limitless source of MP in some puzzle heavy rooms is good but it's too slow at dispensing it
Touching the ceiling when dash jumping makes you stop dashing+lose momentum
Wall jumping off of one wall is unintuitive and fairly precise (can't be pressing the d-pad towards the wall - have to mash both buttons)
-
Pressing jump+attack+pause makes you quit the game and sometimes there's a glitch where it just does it automatically when trying to unpause a paused game!
Sexualized pre-teen female player char
Various control/interface issues (can't map directions to the d-pad on a PS3 controller - only the stick can be used, can't map dashing to its own button (have to press down+jump - awkward), no weapon inventory and the weapon you were carrying isn't dropped when picking up a new one (it is dropped in the remaster), automatically move forward a bit when walking off a ledge - makes finer movements annoyingly tricky, no jump height control when jumping forward - only when standing still and jumping upwards (you also automatically do a full length jump if you start shooting right after jumping), can't somersault or even jump horizontally while shooting+there's some delay after you let go before it works normally, can't turn around while shooting+some delay before you can do it after you stop shooting, double-tap forward to dash instead of mapped to a button (timing is also a bit iffy+you'll sometimes do it by accident) - fixed in remaster, if you land at the edge of a moving platform you'll likely fall off when it starts moving again or if it was moving while you landed on it, some delay before you start shooting after landing from a jump unless you start shooting before landing, unwieldy ball and chain weapon - automatically bounces back and forth kinda slowly after attacking once, if aiming upwards while shooting then your aim is locked until you press left or right and you can't jump, can't duck while attacking with the sword+can't shoot forward while ducking with the default weapon, can't aim diagonally downwards while jumping, can't turn around in mid-air, can't look up/down, weird how you keep firing for a bit if you let go of the shot button but start aiming upwards, can't bounce if you somersault jump)
Revert to the default weapon after reloading a save - fixed in remaster
Sometimes get locked inside part of an area until beating a boss (before the cat boss - bad if you didn't get all HP upgrades beforehand since you only have one save slot per game)
Uneven difficulty curve (huge spike at third pumpkin boss due to the platforming segment you have to do before it to not enter the fight with the worst weapon and its final phase where you have to time a jump+bouncing on it very precisely or basically have to luck out jumping through it/its shots to end up above it after it starts shooting or you're dead, spikes: beginning of area 4 - tricky to get to the first save point+sudden hidden enemy that stops your time power in one room, pretty hard first and second bosses unless you use the right weapon (in which case the second is easy), giant cat boss because of the bad camera that centers on the boss instead of the player and sometimes cheap paw attacks, various rooms with spikes in them in-between save points, getting to the ball and chain weapon as soon as you can by opening the first red door path - also pointless, pumpkin boss 1 without the sword; dips: second pumpkin boss)
Some trial & error (you're supposed to take the keys/orbs back out of the door locks to re-use them later on - leads to backtracking for the green orb if you entered the SW (third/lava) area via the S area and tried to get to the golem boss+for the purple orb when reaching the middle of the S area, some bosses, some false walls & spikes have no clues, some cheap enemy placements at the beginning of rooms, killing the time rabbit enemy+how it stops you from exiting the room it's in, hidden room w/ a time/MP upgrade in it that makes you fall into spikes, some rooms where you're supposed to dash jump have very small platforms, some floor traps later on, pointless timed switch puzzle in one of the prison area rooms)
Full screen doesn't work (Win10)
Stays active when not focused on
Some parts could've been better designed with dash jumping in mind to not break flow (there are also no slopes)
Music sounds like low-mid tier '90s midi music
No life refill after beating a boss and sometimes there are enemies and/or spikes in the next room
Some tedious aspects (no fast travel, one tedious vertical platforming focused room in the late game (optional), can't grab a falling object while time is stopped, backtracking for the dynamite body upgrade, the lack of unlocked elevators or teleportation+vertical focus of some areas can get annoying, some unavoidable damage?)
Repeats some enemies in several areas
The finite dolls don't necessarily refill HP - they reset your status and movement to what it was when you entered the current room. This can lead to death loops
The backdash isn't particularly useful since enemies usually shoot at you (or they have wave attacks that can't be dodged this way anyway)
No new enemies when revisiting previous areas
Bugs:
-Can get permanently stuck between an MP dispenser and a roof in the dark king's lair/area 6
Notes:
-To use joytokey you have to focus on the desktop or an explorer window instead of the game=constant windows error sounds but can lower this sfx
-Version differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBJaYjQ76Y
-Chronus Shop in the main menu (buy upgrades w/ collected items to make the game easier) was also added to the PS4/Vita version
-More speedrunning/sequence breaking tricks: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=284800752
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-6 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6
+
Some interesting traversal & movement abilities (time stop mechanic (freeze most enemies, hazards and moving platforms - similar to Scurge: Hive from the same year except your attacks are also frozen; energy/MP-based - can be upgraded once to last indefinitely and cost a fixed amount of MP per use), time reversal mechanic (upgraded time stop) - Sands of Time, hyper heels - bounce on torches to reach further+do 3x bop/bounce damage, dynamite body suit (can be toggled) - radar (hidden items, destructible blocks and invisible platforms)+double jump+break blocks you jump on but dashing and horizontal jumps are worse, booster (time spell upgrade) - time slow while dashing which works on all enemies and can be turned off at will after you stop dashing (slowly drains MP))
Some decent puzzles (time stop and reversal related, alternating wall tiles switching - kinda similar to the parallel worlds mechanic in Guacamelee)
SotN-style map system (shows the color of a locked door, doesn't show room topology)
Forward dash attack (kick) which can also be steered upwards a bit and if you run off a ledge you'll keep floating horizontally for as long as it lasts
Sprinting/dashing ability which makes you jump further but also a bit lower - Similar to Psychic World, Super Metroid and Circle of the Moon (no wind-up time like in PW/SM)
Can destroy some enemy shots (makes the giant sword very good vs some bosses)
Backdash dodge from the get go (Symphony of the Night, odd controls though and it's not that useful)
Some interesting level gimmicks (bouncing on moving lasers to climb, dolphin bouncing room)
Encourages aggressive play by refilling your MP through killing enemies and destroying torches
Breakable blocks (including some spikes) and some hidden paths
Recall ability - restart at beginning of the current room after death (costs a life doll - these are placed here and there in the world)
Recover ability (up+time spell button) - trade MP for HP so basically a healing spell (need to stand still while using it and it takes a while - very similar to what was later used in Hollow Knight)
Some sequence breaking possibilities (can bounce on some enemy shots to get to the second boss before the first however it makes the first boss a lot harder, parrying lets you skip most of the Jade Tower rooms while parrying spikes and lasers+get the time power up in Septentrion without dash boots or jump boots, some more with glitches)
Some cool weapons (spread shot w/ the default weapon when somersaulting (Revenge of Shinobi), somersault sword attack - Super Star Wars, homing missiles)
One alternate ending (find and pick up the Alternative ability - unlocks a second playable char (Chelsea - different moves, mostly new spells and somewhat different world layout with fewer save points+two new bosses while some other bosses won't be there))
Some hidden shortcuts that let you skip timing puzzles
Some decent bosses
Kind of interesting how each playable char's adventure takes place at roughly the same time as the other's but they take a different path through the world (some bosses will be dead when you get to them as Chelsea and vice versa)
Remaster: Two more combat abilities gained through the last two time spell upgrades
+/-
Mostly linear structure (areas are also pretty small and straightforward overall with minor detours for upgrades (one exception is the dark purple cave), can do area 6/dark cave before area 5/prison tower, NE area (prison tower) is basically a boss gauntlet tower)
The first area is a hub of sorts that's located in the middle of the map and connects to 3 (4 if counting one-way shortcuts back to it) other areas. Other areas connect to two others except for the NE one which only connects to one other area
Frequent save points and they also heal you (one slot per game). Enemies don't drop health but it refills from HP upgrades and beating bosses+there's the recovery ability (late game) - however this isn't really enough consider the amount of spike traps
Various instant death hazards (spikes). Some bosses (dracula) have instant death attacks
SMW-style tutorial messages
Can block shots and even spike damage with an unexplained parry move - press any direction just as you're gonna get hit (has about 2/3 of a second's hidden cooldown)
Bullet hell elements however the sword can destroy most of them - only sort of works without it via the parry ability which can make you bounce upwards if used right
Silly story and dialogue (one pre-rendered giant cat boss, dracula boss is a german stereotype and shoots with his crotch)
Rips off some stuff from older games (one of the music tracks is based on the main theme from Shadowgate, one boss rips off Dracula from CV and one enemy the medusa heads from CV, the doors in one area are ripped from Metroid)
Need to gain the ability to move to the right (you gain it almost right away, apparently a joke meant to reference the beginning of Metroid) - removed in remaster
Pretty frequent voiced lines by the avatar (very cutesy and exaggerated - a bit annoying however it can be muted as there's a separate volume slider for voices)
Can jump on enemies to attack them (you'll keep bouncing slightly) but it's pretty risky as you'll take damage if you land a bit too far to either side
Fast auto-fire
Weird how you get better control over time and can take more than one hit from spikes after the early game+heal yourself in the mid-late game - makes some parts easier than in the beginning
Shows bosses' healthbars
Somersaulting makes you jump lower than if you jump then press forward/backward
Can't move while crouching nor while attacking
Dropped items disappear after a few seconds
Can't shoot straight downwards (only as chelsea who instead can't shoot diagonally or upwards)
Some one-way shortcuts
Giant sword is kind of OP in general
Can just hold the button down to keep doing dash kick attacks one after the other - very useful in some rooms
Having a limitless source of MP in some puzzle heavy rooms is good but it's too slow at dispensing it
Touching the ceiling when dash jumping makes you stop dashing+lose momentum
Wall jumping off of one wall is unintuitive and fairly precise (can't be pressing the d-pad towards the wall - have to mash both buttons)
-
Pressing jump+attack+pause makes you quit the game and sometimes there's a glitch where it just does it automatically when trying to unpause a paused game!
Sexualized pre-teen female player char
Various control/interface issues (can't map directions to the d-pad on a PS3 controller - only the stick can be used, can't map dashing to its own button (have to press down+jump - awkward), no weapon inventory and the weapon you were carrying isn't dropped when picking up a new one (it is dropped in the remaster), automatically move forward a bit when walking off a ledge - makes finer movements annoyingly tricky, no jump height control when jumping forward - only when standing still and jumping upwards (you also automatically do a full length jump if you start shooting right after jumping), can't somersault or even jump horizontally while shooting+there's some delay after you let go before it works normally, can't turn around while shooting+some delay before you can do it after you stop shooting, double-tap forward to dash instead of mapped to a button (timing is also a bit iffy+you'll sometimes do it by accident) - fixed in remaster, if you land at the edge of a moving platform you'll likely fall off when it starts moving again or if it was moving while you landed on it, some delay before you start shooting after landing from a jump unless you start shooting before landing, unwieldy ball and chain weapon - automatically bounces back and forth kinda slowly after attacking once, if aiming upwards while shooting then your aim is locked until you press left or right and you can't jump, can't duck while attacking with the sword+can't shoot forward while ducking with the default weapon, can't aim diagonally downwards while jumping, can't turn around in mid-air, can't look up/down, weird how you keep firing for a bit if you let go of the shot button but start aiming upwards, can't bounce if you somersault jump)
Revert to the default weapon after reloading a save - fixed in remaster
Sometimes get locked inside part of an area until beating a boss (before the cat boss - bad if you didn't get all HP upgrades beforehand since you only have one save slot per game)
Uneven difficulty curve (huge spike at third pumpkin boss due to the platforming segment you have to do before it to not enter the fight with the worst weapon and its final phase where you have to time a jump+bouncing on it very precisely or basically have to luck out jumping through it/its shots to end up above it after it starts shooting or you're dead, spikes: beginning of area 4 - tricky to get to the first save point+sudden hidden enemy that stops your time power in one room, pretty hard first and second bosses unless you use the right weapon (in which case the second is easy), giant cat boss because of the bad camera that centers on the boss instead of the player and sometimes cheap paw attacks, various rooms with spikes in them in-between save points, getting to the ball and chain weapon as soon as you can by opening the first red door path - also pointless, pumpkin boss 1 without the sword; dips: second pumpkin boss)
Some trial & error (you're supposed to take the keys/orbs back out of the door locks to re-use them later on - leads to backtracking for the green orb if you entered the SW (third/lava) area via the S area and tried to get to the golem boss+for the purple orb when reaching the middle of the S area, some bosses, some false walls & spikes have no clues, some cheap enemy placements at the beginning of rooms, killing the time rabbit enemy+how it stops you from exiting the room it's in, hidden room w/ a time/MP upgrade in it that makes you fall into spikes, some rooms where you're supposed to dash jump have very small platforms, some floor traps later on, pointless timed switch puzzle in one of the prison area rooms)
Full screen doesn't work (Win10)
Stays active when not focused on
Some parts could've been better designed with dash jumping in mind to not break flow (there are also no slopes)
Music sounds like low-mid tier '90s midi music
No life refill after beating a boss and sometimes there are enemies and/or spikes in the next room
Some tedious aspects (no fast travel, one tedious vertical platforming focused room in the late game (optional), can't grab a falling object while time is stopped, backtracking for the dynamite body upgrade, the lack of unlocked elevators or teleportation+vertical focus of some areas can get annoying, some unavoidable damage?)
Repeats some enemies in several areas
The finite dolls don't necessarily refill HP - they reset your status and movement to what it was when you entered the current room. This can lead to death loops
The backdash isn't particularly useful since enemies usually shoot at you (or they have wave attacks that can't be dodged this way anyway)
No new enemies when revisiting previous areas
Bugs:
-Can get permanently stuck between an MP dispenser and a roof in the dark king's lair/area 6
Notes:
-To use joytokey you have to focus on the desktop or an explorer window instead of the game=constant windows error sounds but can lower this sfx
-Version differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBJaYjQ76Y
-Chronus Shop in the main menu (buy upgrades w/ collected items to make the game easier) was also added to the PS4/Vita version
-More speedrunning/sequence breaking tricks: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=284800752