Cadash (PCE, 1991)
Graphics-7 Sound-6.5 Control-6.5 Challenge-6.5* Story-5.5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-6.5* Fun-6.5/?** Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*Ninja
**2-player
+
2-player co-op (4-player in some versions of the ARC original)
4 different classes to choose from (fighter - strong melee attack/no magic, mage - strong magic/weak physical attack, priestess - ranged attacks+some magic, ninja - ranged attacks/no magic+moves really fast (also high def but slower to level? ARC ver.); only the first 2 are available in the MD ver.)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land/Ys III/Zeliard-style gameplay (towns (some shops and NPC quest givers) and dungeons/hostile areas, exp point leveling, basic item inventory (healing and antidotes - used automatically when about to die or when poisoned respectively), background doors, buy new weapons and armor which also shows on your avatar (WBiML), upgradeable life bar w/ life bells (besides leveling up) although they can only be bought in one or two shops, a few hidden items (one or two on detour paths))
Can go back to previous towns (not needed though besides for restocking consumables)
Some shortcuts back to previous towns
Several sequence breaking possibilities (can skip a minor part in dungeon 2 (underwater path) - lets you reach gnome village before the second boss but it's kinda pointless for a casual player since you'll be underpowered and unable to go back and restock healing items for a while (in the MD ver. this is easier to pull off due to a much shorter underwater path so might be more useful there), can skip most of dungeon 3 with a damage boost jump (let a spider hit you to skip getting the thread from the worm boss), can skip the fourth boss (plant) but you'll miss an elixir which is a stronger version of the herb (there are only three in the game), can skip part of dungeon 5/graveyard with a damage boost jump)
8-way aiming (Contra), Can jump onto and off of ropes
No time limits in this ver. (nor on MD, were used in the ARC ver. though you could buy hourglasses for more time)
New weapons can increase your range/add a spread shot/add projectiles to melee weapons
Some NPC encounters within dungeon areas
Some decent boss fights (first boss - black pudding)
Some less spongy enemies compared to the ARC ver.
Not that much grinding required as you level up pretty quickly+the changes are immediately noticeable
Fast text speed
Minor tool gating (scales to let you move through water without taking damage - no swimming and you move as normal in water, ) - otherwise tools and abilities are used like keys (the thread for climbing a specific wall by placing a rope next to it, the potion that makes you small is automatically used only while in the gnome village, the magic flute only opens the two paths leading towards the next area, etc)
Some large and detailed sprites
Pretty good variety (in the final stage where bosses are repeated - pudding/blob and worm)
Faux ending before the real final boss
+/-
Linear overarching structure (some points of no return inside the dungeons, no alternate paths leading to new towns or bosses)
No backtracking with gained tools/abilities to open up optional paths for items
Password save (no continues - can buy 1-ups in the MD ver. though they are pretty expensive (ARC ver. allowed for credit feeding as you'd respawn on the spot), can resurrect the other player at inns in 2-player however)
Rest at inns for healing
Fairly easy to stock up on a bunch of herbs by grinding
A bit less gory
Can't move while crouching nor shoot while moving
Can't move while shooting/throwing
Very frequent off screen respawning (a bit annoying in a new area in that you need to move backwards to pick up loot but then more enemies spawn)
Enemies don't drop health
No block or dodge moves (some enemies can block)
Can't attack as fast as you can press the button while using the spread shot as the Ninja (only one volley can be on screen at a time) - not the case for his single shot weapons
Elixirs are used before herbs
No hidden gnome familiar? (zombie town, short time/health limit)
Lower difficulty than in the ARC ver. after the first three areas
Fighter still gets the most gear to buy early to mid-game? (Priestess might be equal here)
Weird jab at Carl Sagan by the final boss (working designs...)
-
The ninja becomes very OP around lvl 12 (makes the final level and boss too easy) - no difficulty options here
Some control/interface issues (no jump height or mid-air control, can't see your item inventory nor how much money you have outside of shops, huge knockback from certain attacks, if you jump next to a wall/hedge then you can't steer your jump forward in mid-air, odd way of selecting spells (hold the button down to make it cycle through the spells), can't see how much exp is needed for the next level, no area maps - generally pretty straightforward though, no weapon inventory - generally not an advantage to using a previous weapon but some like the spread shot have situational uses)
Some trial & error (boss patterns, the swinging ball and chain hazards - can jump through the chain)
Some unavoidable damage (in 1-player anyway)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (tough first boss - easier on MD, easy second boss, some tough early hazards and enemies - some of these are slower on MD, easy fourth boss (plant), )
Third boss is more of a battle of attrition since it's very hard to dodge its roll move (same with the fifth boss (fire elemental) although that one's pretty easy unless you didn't level up at all in the area, same with the first form of the final boss)
Some grating music (particularly the track that plays when near death and the graveyard underground area track)
Inconsistent town dialogue updates (the woman who asked you to save her orphan daughter for example)
No real choice between what to buy when it comes to equipment
Looks bad how you have to attack to talk to NPCs, Sometimes odd color choices
Mage kinda sucks in 1-player
Various NPCs talk like pieces of a walkthrough/manual
Some boring backtracking (zombie town/graveyard area, castle) - no new enemies or hazards appear
Weird how the thread used to get past a wall near the gnome village is removed and then placed again when revisiting that room (would also be more interesting if you could use this and the gnome transformation at will - especially since there are many small doors within that dungeon and for the thread it could remove most of the backtracking in the next area)
Pretty spongy graveyard area enemies and very spongy tree enemies in the castle
Pointless false wall in the graveyard area maze
Kinda short (about 1h if you know what you're doing)
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-6.5* Fun-6.5/?** Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
*Ninja
**2-player
+
2-player co-op (4-player in some versions of the ARC original)
4 different classes to choose from (fighter - strong melee attack/no magic, mage - strong magic/weak physical attack, priestess - ranged attacks+some magic, ninja - ranged attacks/no magic+moves really fast (also high def but slower to level? ARC ver.); only the first 2 are available in the MD ver.)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land/Ys III/Zeliard-style gameplay (towns (some shops and NPC quest givers) and dungeons/hostile areas, exp point leveling, basic item inventory (healing and antidotes - used automatically when about to die or when poisoned respectively), background doors, buy new weapons and armor which also shows on your avatar (WBiML), upgradeable life bar w/ life bells (besides leveling up) although they can only be bought in one or two shops, a few hidden items (one or two on detour paths))
Can go back to previous towns (not needed though besides for restocking consumables)
Some shortcuts back to previous towns
Several sequence breaking possibilities (can skip a minor part in dungeon 2 (underwater path) - lets you reach gnome village before the second boss but it's kinda pointless for a casual player since you'll be underpowered and unable to go back and restock healing items for a while (in the MD ver. this is easier to pull off due to a much shorter underwater path so might be more useful there), can skip most of dungeon 3 with a damage boost jump (let a spider hit you to skip getting the thread from the worm boss), can skip the fourth boss (plant) but you'll miss an elixir which is a stronger version of the herb (there are only three in the game), can skip part of dungeon 5/graveyard with a damage boost jump)
8-way aiming (Contra), Can jump onto and off of ropes
No time limits in this ver. (nor on MD, were used in the ARC ver. though you could buy hourglasses for more time)
New weapons can increase your range/add a spread shot/add projectiles to melee weapons
Some NPC encounters within dungeon areas
Some decent boss fights (first boss - black pudding)
Some less spongy enemies compared to the ARC ver.
Not that much grinding required as you level up pretty quickly+the changes are immediately noticeable
Fast text speed
Minor tool gating (scales to let you move through water without taking damage - no swimming and you move as normal in water, ) - otherwise tools and abilities are used like keys (the thread for climbing a specific wall by placing a rope next to it, the potion that makes you small is automatically used only while in the gnome village, the magic flute only opens the two paths leading towards the next area, etc)
Some large and detailed sprites
Pretty good variety (in the final stage where bosses are repeated - pudding/blob and worm)
Faux ending before the real final boss
+/-
Linear overarching structure (some points of no return inside the dungeons, no alternate paths leading to new towns or bosses)
No backtracking with gained tools/abilities to open up optional paths for items
Password save (no continues - can buy 1-ups in the MD ver. though they are pretty expensive (ARC ver. allowed for credit feeding as you'd respawn on the spot), can resurrect the other player at inns in 2-player however)
Rest at inns for healing
Fairly easy to stock up on a bunch of herbs by grinding
A bit less gory
Can't move while crouching nor shoot while moving
Can't move while shooting/throwing
Very frequent off screen respawning (a bit annoying in a new area in that you need to move backwards to pick up loot but then more enemies spawn)
Enemies don't drop health
No block or dodge moves (some enemies can block)
Can't attack as fast as you can press the button while using the spread shot as the Ninja (only one volley can be on screen at a time) - not the case for his single shot weapons
Elixirs are used before herbs
No hidden gnome familiar? (zombie town, short time/health limit)
Lower difficulty than in the ARC ver. after the first three areas
Fighter still gets the most gear to buy early to mid-game? (Priestess might be equal here)
Weird jab at Carl Sagan by the final boss (working designs...)
-
The ninja becomes very OP around lvl 12 (makes the final level and boss too easy) - no difficulty options here
Some control/interface issues (no jump height or mid-air control, can't see your item inventory nor how much money you have outside of shops, huge knockback from certain attacks, if you jump next to a wall/hedge then you can't steer your jump forward in mid-air, odd way of selecting spells (hold the button down to make it cycle through the spells), can't see how much exp is needed for the next level, no area maps - generally pretty straightforward though, no weapon inventory - generally not an advantage to using a previous weapon but some like the spread shot have situational uses)
Some trial & error (boss patterns, the swinging ball and chain hazards - can jump through the chain)
Some unavoidable damage (in 1-player anyway)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (tough first boss - easier on MD, easy second boss, some tough early hazards and enemies - some of these are slower on MD, easy fourth boss (plant), )
Third boss is more of a battle of attrition since it's very hard to dodge its roll move (same with the fifth boss (fire elemental) although that one's pretty easy unless you didn't level up at all in the area, same with the first form of the final boss)
Some grating music (particularly the track that plays when near death and the graveyard underground area track)
Inconsistent town dialogue updates (the woman who asked you to save her orphan daughter for example)
No real choice between what to buy when it comes to equipment
Looks bad how you have to attack to talk to NPCs, Sometimes odd color choices
Mage kinda sucks in 1-player
Various NPCs talk like pieces of a walkthrough/manual
Some boring backtracking (zombie town/graveyard area, castle) - no new enemies or hazards appear
Weird how the thread used to get past a wall near the gnome village is removed and then placed again when revisiting that room (would also be more interesting if you could use this and the gnome transformation at will - especially since there are many small doors within that dungeon and for the thread it could remove most of the backtracking in the next area)
Pretty spongy graveyard area enemies and very spongy tree enemies in the castle
Pointless false wall in the graveyard area maze
Kinda short (about 1h if you know what you're doing)