Shapeshifter (PCE CD, 1992)
Graphics-6.5 Sound-6.5 Control-7/6* Challenge-7 Story-6.5
Level Design-5 Frustration-9.5 Fun-5.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-5.5
*Panther
+
ARPG/Platform Adventure gameplay (towns w/ shops and other NPCs, gain transformations which let you explore new areas: panther - move faster and jump further+fast attack, ; the transformations' attacks can also be upgraded 2 times)
Eclipse cycle (seems to only affect the HP refills)
Alternate weapons (no weapon inventory though, the next one replaces the previous one)
Upgrading/enchanting a melee weapon also changes its attack (for example you can use the axe like a boomerang making it a stronger ranged weapon than the regular bow; each weapon can be upgraded twice and these can be bought or found)
New armor shows on your avatar
Decent cutscenes and voiced NPCs
Some decent bosses (quicksand monster)
+/-
Automatic HP refill when the moon covers the sun (no HP refill after boss fights) - this would've worked better if health drops weren't super rare+if cycles were a bit faster+if there wasn't also a timer while transformed (which is required to progress) so your gems keep draining
Linear? (starts off linear, can go east of the first cave but it's very tough)
Can't hit more than one enemy at a time without a weapon equipped
Can't move while attacking or while crouching
Can save but only in the first town?
Pretty cheesy music
Lives system - can't gain new ones? (checkpoints where you entered the rooms you died in)
No upwards attack for the axe (can kick upwards)
Some off screen enemy respawning (generally they respawn when re-entering the room)
Get auto-killed if you enter the inca temple and then attack one of the NPCs as a panther (the queen here opens up a path for you)
-
Some control/interface issues (kinda stiff jumping in some ways (can't move backwards in mid-air - only stop, if you make a high jump without pressing forward then you can't steer yourself forward but it does work if you press forward right after jumping), some movement delay after landing from a jump or fall, can't jump down through platforms which you can jump up through such as the elevator in town, unforgiving hit detection near platform edges and when you fall off you can't really control your fall - gets worse in panther form however if you hold the jump button it generally won't fall down (works ok but isn't explained by the game), can't turn around during an attack and there's a minor delay after the swing/kick, can't use your weapon while crouching - instead you use the kick again, no mid-air control as the panther, can't see how many attack power ups a form is holding (blue gems - automatically used if picked up while transformed), attacking in mid-air as the panther cuts your jump short)
No maps
Trial & error (bullshit hit detection on some platforms in the cliff area+some crumbling platforms, start dying almost immediately underwater, some unintuitive sub area entrances (above where the old lady east of town was for example), sometimes hard to tell what is a path and what is a death pit - same with some doors in the backgrounds, can't enchant a weapon twice in town before getting a power up, if you enter the town while transformed you get attacked by invincible guards without warning - if you transform in front of them they keep attacking and if you then re-enter the town they act like nothing happened, at the entrance to the area east of the first cave there's a leap of faith to get to the bottom without dying, some skull traps in first cave placed above gems on small platforms, more leaps of faith at the cliffs - can't look up/down, etc.)
Spikes and some pits kill instantly
Some backtracking
Some unavoidable damage (the skeleton enemies that shoot out tentacles and the ones that jump and spit AND the skull traps in the first cave)
Easy second boss
The fortune teller is pretty useless
Can't sell previous weapons
Some gold grinding (single gold coins are the norm early on, tougher enemies don't necessarily drop more money)
Transforming costs gems which have to be found and they don't regenerate?
Can't talk to the wandering NPCs in town
Level Design-5 Frustration-9.5 Fun-5.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-5.5
*Panther
+
ARPG/Platform Adventure gameplay (towns w/ shops and other NPCs, gain transformations which let you explore new areas: panther - move faster and jump further+fast attack, ; the transformations' attacks can also be upgraded 2 times)
Eclipse cycle (seems to only affect the HP refills)
Alternate weapons (no weapon inventory though, the next one replaces the previous one)
Upgrading/enchanting a melee weapon also changes its attack (for example you can use the axe like a boomerang making it a stronger ranged weapon than the regular bow; each weapon can be upgraded twice and these can be bought or found)
New armor shows on your avatar
Decent cutscenes and voiced NPCs
Some decent bosses (quicksand monster)
+/-
Automatic HP refill when the moon covers the sun (no HP refill after boss fights) - this would've worked better if health drops weren't super rare+if cycles were a bit faster+if there wasn't also a timer while transformed (which is required to progress) so your gems keep draining
Linear? (starts off linear, can go east of the first cave but it's very tough)
Can't hit more than one enemy at a time without a weapon equipped
Can't move while attacking or while crouching
Can save but only in the first town?
Pretty cheesy music
Lives system - can't gain new ones? (checkpoints where you entered the rooms you died in)
No upwards attack for the axe (can kick upwards)
Some off screen enemy respawning (generally they respawn when re-entering the room)
Get auto-killed if you enter the inca temple and then attack one of the NPCs as a panther (the queen here opens up a path for you)
-
Some control/interface issues (kinda stiff jumping in some ways (can't move backwards in mid-air - only stop, if you make a high jump without pressing forward then you can't steer yourself forward but it does work if you press forward right after jumping), some movement delay after landing from a jump or fall, can't jump down through platforms which you can jump up through such as the elevator in town, unforgiving hit detection near platform edges and when you fall off you can't really control your fall - gets worse in panther form however if you hold the jump button it generally won't fall down (works ok but isn't explained by the game), can't turn around during an attack and there's a minor delay after the swing/kick, can't use your weapon while crouching - instead you use the kick again, no mid-air control as the panther, can't see how many attack power ups a form is holding (blue gems - automatically used if picked up while transformed), attacking in mid-air as the panther cuts your jump short)
No maps
Trial & error (bullshit hit detection on some platforms in the cliff area+some crumbling platforms, start dying almost immediately underwater, some unintuitive sub area entrances (above where the old lady east of town was for example), sometimes hard to tell what is a path and what is a death pit - same with some doors in the backgrounds, can't enchant a weapon twice in town before getting a power up, if you enter the town while transformed you get attacked by invincible guards without warning - if you transform in front of them they keep attacking and if you then re-enter the town they act like nothing happened, at the entrance to the area east of the first cave there's a leap of faith to get to the bottom without dying, some skull traps in first cave placed above gems on small platforms, more leaps of faith at the cliffs - can't look up/down, etc.)
Spikes and some pits kill instantly
Some backtracking
Some unavoidable damage (the skeleton enemies that shoot out tentacles and the ones that jump and spit AND the skull traps in the first cave)
Easy second boss
The fortune teller is pretty useless
Can't sell previous weapons
Some gold grinding (single gold coins are the norm early on, tougher enemies don't necessarily drop more money)
Transforming costs gems which have to be found and they don't regenerate?
Can't talk to the wandering NPCs in town