Grandia (PS1) WIP
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge- Story-6.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-
+
Advanced encounter system (non random, advantages depending on placement, stealth aspect)
Dialogue options (your choices usually don't matter though)
Great use of colors
Good camera control (zoom in/out and rotate)
Compass and map for each area
Interesting battle system (initiative is modified depending on the strength of your attack, you can choose between a combo, skill/spell or a critical attack), save points also work like inns and give basic gameplay tips, great anime cutscenes, large towns, good dungeons (minor puzzles, secret paths), good animation (expressive characters), somewhat interactive environment (knock over/make objects sway, use a peer to get a better view of a town), replenish skill points over time,
-
Unskippable intro and voiced dialogue
Limited inventory (only 15 items per character)
Some enemies are near impossible to avoid (and if they touch one of your allies they get the initiative)
Some trial & error (falling traps in dungeons, the battle system discourages stronger attacks (knowing if an attack will execute is a trial & error procedure, if it's too slow the enemy will cancel it out - the same is true for enemy attacks though and you can see which ones are about to do a heavy attack))
Voice acting is a mixed bag
Mostly clichéd plot and characters (dorky adventurer, annoying sidekick with pet, love interest), begins with a fetch quest (with some annoying triggers), load times when moving in and out of houses or areas, somewhat cluttered battle menues, no battle tuorial, no indication of an area's border (you'll often exit an area by accident) - they have them for houses so why not?, annoying camera during battles (zoomed in, choppy movement), unbalanced characters, no free movement on the world map - choose locations instead (unlocked in linear fashion), some framerate problems in detailed areas, you're not told how much a pile of money is worth when picking it up (dungeon areas),
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-
+
Advanced encounter system (non random, advantages depending on placement, stealth aspect)
Dialogue options (your choices usually don't matter though)
Great use of colors
Good camera control (zoom in/out and rotate)
Compass and map for each area
Interesting battle system (initiative is modified depending on the strength of your attack, you can choose between a combo, skill/spell or a critical attack), save points also work like inns and give basic gameplay tips, great anime cutscenes, large towns, good dungeons (minor puzzles, secret paths), good animation (expressive characters), somewhat interactive environment (knock over/make objects sway, use a peer to get a better view of a town), replenish skill points over time,
-
Unskippable intro and voiced dialogue
Limited inventory (only 15 items per character)
Some enemies are near impossible to avoid (and if they touch one of your allies they get the initiative)
Some trial & error (falling traps in dungeons, the battle system discourages stronger attacks (knowing if an attack will execute is a trial & error procedure, if it's too slow the enemy will cancel it out - the same is true for enemy attacks though and you can see which ones are about to do a heavy attack))
Voice acting is a mixed bag
Mostly clichéd plot and characters (dorky adventurer, annoying sidekick with pet, love interest), begins with a fetch quest (with some annoying triggers), load times when moving in and out of houses or areas, somewhat cluttered battle menues, no battle tuorial, no indication of an area's border (you'll often exit an area by accident) - they have them for houses so why not?, annoying camera during battles (zoomed in, choppy movement), unbalanced characters, no free movement on the world map - choose locations instead (unlocked in linear fashion), some framerate problems in detailed areas, you're not told how much a pile of money is worth when picking it up (dungeon areas),