King Colossus
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-8 Story-6.5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+ The gladiator fights, lots of different magic & weapons (bow, morning star / dash, smart bomb), lots of different enemy types, some funny characters, good dialogue overall, you can choose where to go right away from 3 areas, gets right into the action (no slow clichéd RPG intro), some simple puzzles, you can jump (platforming sequences), 3 save slots, hidden items, unusually grim story,
- Dungeon rooms are often too large, pretty simple dungeon designs, can't use bombs as weapons, some weapons suck (most swords and axes) and ball & chain ones are overpowered, pretty linear throughout, some trial & error (dead ends, cheap hits), no dungeon maps, uneven difficulty curve, your character's melee attack is very slow despite the quick animation, somewhat sloppy hit detection, you'll auto-use herbs if you already have one (can only hold one at a time), starts out quite hard (very short attack range, expensive spells, you have to clear rooms to get bombs/keys), no MP restoratives, somewhat archaic menu system (accessories have to be equipped in a separate menu called "other items", spells are hidden 3 levels down in the equipment menu), no second quest, some annoying enemies (bats and spiders), plot holes (the hero not becoming suspicious of his adoptive father having a "mark of a believer" or a generic soldier telling him his destiny), some slowdown (second boss, 7+ enemies on screen), you lose the death scythe after the gladiator fights (but keep the other weapons so what gives?),
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+ The gladiator fights, lots of different magic & weapons (bow, morning star / dash, smart bomb), lots of different enemy types, some funny characters, good dialogue overall, you can choose where to go right away from 3 areas, gets right into the action (no slow clichéd RPG intro), some simple puzzles, you can jump (platforming sequences), 3 save slots, hidden items, unusually grim story,
- Dungeon rooms are often too large, pretty simple dungeon designs, can't use bombs as weapons, some weapons suck (most swords and axes) and ball & chain ones are overpowered, pretty linear throughout, some trial & error (dead ends, cheap hits), no dungeon maps, uneven difficulty curve, your character's melee attack is very slow despite the quick animation, somewhat sloppy hit detection, you'll auto-use herbs if you already have one (can only hold one at a time), starts out quite hard (very short attack range, expensive spells, you have to clear rooms to get bombs/keys), no MP restoratives, somewhat archaic menu system (accessories have to be equipped in a separate menu called "other items", spells are hidden 3 levels down in the equipment menu), no second quest, some annoying enemies (bats and spiders), plot holes (the hero not becoming suspicious of his adoptive father having a "mark of a believer" or a generic soldier telling him his destiny), some slowdown (second boss, 7+ enemies on screen), you lose the death scythe after the gladiator fights (but keep the other weapons so what gives?),
