Tail Concerto (PS1, 1998)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-6.5/6* Challenge-7 Story-6
Level Design-7/6* Frustration-7.5/8* Fun-7/6* Originality-5.5
Overall Score-6.5
*Final area, second to last boss
+
Action Adventure elements (towns and NPCs, hub map, one temporary ability upgrade, your bubble shot gets upgraded to a semi-homing laser shot for the final area and boss)
Fast movement when in the mech
Pick up and throw boxes and enemy bombs (can't roll them or control the throw length though)
Partially interactive objects inside houses (can break or pick up and throw (thus breaking) some objects and check wardrobes for items)
Nice cartoony morphing effect to some objects you hit and from some hits you take
Jet pack (fun but pretty unwieldy - if you run out of fuel then the glide jump doesn't quite work like normal so you'll fall down, fuel capacity gets upgraded later on but it still can't be used anywhere but in Air Leaf)
Partial voice acting (so-so to decent, pressing the button shows the whole text box/paragraph and stops the current voice clip during in-game dialogue with VA)
Pretty satisfying feedback during combat
Floating islands and steampunk themes (probably helped the draw distance and framerate, also features anthropomorphic animals and a dogs vs cats story)
Side dodging (with some issues - see below)
Pretty good art direction
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Audio level options (sfx and music)
Can cling to ledges and either shimmy or climb up (Tomb Raider)+climb net ceilings
Glide jumps/hover jumps (mash the button like in Decap Attack and Yoshi's Island) however you quickly lose momentum while using them
Nice FMV cutscenes (cutesy animé style, skippable)
Minecart segment
Dodge sensitivity and camera speed options (just leave them as they are)
Some innovative mechanics (lights up the pole you're facing when jumping between them in the abandoned factory area, climbing a moving ceiling while timed bombs drop in from above which you have to avoid)
One timed escape sequence
Ricochet shot (Turrican?)
Some good bosses
Panta (your assistant who always ends up trapped somehow when trying to get to the boss you just faced)
In-game epilogue (short though and you can't fly anywhere)
Skippable credits
Spinning arms move (hold the attack button to keep spinning your arms like a mad mech, can't pick cats up while doing this though and it's not very efficient vs most enemies)
Animated dialogue portraits
+/-
Partially non-linear structure at first (hub map with manual movement (similar to Soleil except you have an airship here), can visit three other locations after beating the first boss (one is rather small though but unlocks a new area which you can explore later on) and then one more after a scripted scene) but gets linear after the mines/when going to Grimto
Frequent save points (multiple slots, shows current location and time spent)
Pokemon/MM Legends-like story and dialogue aimed at kids
Many cutscenes and dialogue scenes
Trap enemies inside bubbles (Bubble Bobble, Do-Re-Mi Fantasy) - can't bounce on the bubbles though
Basic three hit combo for melee attacks but there's some delay between each hit and it's not really useful against anything
Control config (in-game you have to go to your house in Porto to use it)
Can't save healing items for later (can store whistles though which work like 1-ups and respawn you near where you died - bosses regain their health after using one)
Automatic camera in-doors and in some town areas (like in OoT)
No health refill after beating a boss
Mech avatar (similar to the ones in the MMX games with an open top so you see yourself piloting it) however movement doesn't feel like in a mech game
Shows bosses' health bars
Minor side quests (fetch quests)
Optional photo album feature (find photo pieces scattered all over to fill it in, getting all pieces rewards you with three bonus pictures)
Falling into pits only hurts a little bit (see Zelda)
Some fall damage
Frequent healing items until the late game where it suddenly stops - can't carry any of them with you for later use
Can't duck
Mostly short and straightforward hostile areas and dungeons without puzzles
No HP or AP upgrades
There's a side dodge/dive move but it has some issues
Can't revisit the archeonis airship nor the factory
-
Frustrating final area (underwater platforming in a teleporter maze, at least it's pretty short)
Collectathon element (forced capturing of all cats in most areas)
The jet pack found in Air Leaf doesn't carry over to any other area (the guy who gives it to you says he'll put it on your airship if you leave but it seems you can only use it at Air Leaf)
Various control/interface issues (no jump height control - not much of a problem until the final area though, can't strafe, no lock-on aiming when shooting - can only show the trajectory of your shots but not change it vertically unlike with throws, no camera rotation control (can only toggle the automatic camera's speed) - also can't rotate your avatar normally so you start moving as soon as you're facing the direction you pressed, no invincibility time after taking a hit, no free-look mode (Mario 64), l/r and jump to side dodge rather than pressing the shoulder buttons for example and it also screws with the camera when using it (also becomes awkward to trigger when the camera is to the side or in front of your avatar (can't do it at all when it's to the side it seems), down=forward when the camera is in front of your avatar - during boss fights the camera locks onto the boss and makes dodging harder at times, when grabbing consumable items or enemy cats you then have to hit the button again to put it in your inventory (pointless since you can't do anything else like throw them away and you auto-tow them away after a couple of seconds anyway), limited aiming (down/up only and only works for bomb throwing), huge knockback from the spikeball traps in the factory, somewhat slow turning while moving), some inconsistency in what you can and can't climb (first town), some invisible walls (some low fences in the first town, can't jump over NPCs)
No area maps besides the one in the mines
Short (~5 hrs?)
No journal/quest log feature
Can't ride the mech in Porto (movement is slower and you can't run without it)
Unskippable landing cutscenes when entering new areas
Somewhat annoying voice clips which are repeated during combat (can't turn off only these clips)
Some 3D models look pretty basic compared to others
Mostly predictable and cheesy story
Some tedious platforming parts where you have to repeat a longer segment if you miss a jump (factory, final area)
Sudden difficulty spike from the moving fortress onward after a mostly very easy game - final boss is actually easier than the previous one (megaphone cat)
Some enemies and bosses take too long to kill (breaks flow)
Can't explore most of Porto (your hometown) due to invisible walls
The crane in the first town is never repaired
The music sounds pretty midi-like despite being streamed
Notes:
-Supports analogue controllers but only uses the left stick
Level Design-7/6* Frustration-7.5/8* Fun-7/6* Originality-5.5
Overall Score-6.5
*Final area, second to last boss
+
Action Adventure elements (towns and NPCs, hub map, one temporary ability upgrade, your bubble shot gets upgraded to a semi-homing laser shot for the final area and boss)
Fast movement when in the mech
Pick up and throw boxes and enemy bombs (can't roll them or control the throw length though)
Partially interactive objects inside houses (can break or pick up and throw (thus breaking) some objects and check wardrobes for items)
Nice cartoony morphing effect to some objects you hit and from some hits you take
Jet pack (fun but pretty unwieldy - if you run out of fuel then the glide jump doesn't quite work like normal so you'll fall down, fuel capacity gets upgraded later on but it still can't be used anywhere but in Air Leaf)
Partial voice acting (so-so to decent, pressing the button shows the whole text box/paragraph and stops the current voice clip during in-game dialogue with VA)
Pretty satisfying feedback during combat
Floating islands and steampunk themes (probably helped the draw distance and framerate, also features anthropomorphic animals and a dogs vs cats story)
Side dodging (with some issues - see below)
Pretty good art direction
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Audio level options (sfx and music)
Can cling to ledges and either shimmy or climb up (Tomb Raider)+climb net ceilings
Glide jumps/hover jumps (mash the button like in Decap Attack and Yoshi's Island) however you quickly lose momentum while using them
Nice FMV cutscenes (cutesy animé style, skippable)
Minecart segment
Dodge sensitivity and camera speed options (just leave them as they are)
Some innovative mechanics (lights up the pole you're facing when jumping between them in the abandoned factory area, climbing a moving ceiling while timed bombs drop in from above which you have to avoid)
One timed escape sequence
Ricochet shot (Turrican?)
Some good bosses
Panta (your assistant who always ends up trapped somehow when trying to get to the boss you just faced)
In-game epilogue (short though and you can't fly anywhere)
Skippable credits
Spinning arms move (hold the attack button to keep spinning your arms like a mad mech, can't pick cats up while doing this though and it's not very efficient vs most enemies)
Animated dialogue portraits
+/-
Partially non-linear structure at first (hub map with manual movement (similar to Soleil except you have an airship here), can visit three other locations after beating the first boss (one is rather small though but unlocks a new area which you can explore later on) and then one more after a scripted scene) but gets linear after the mines/when going to Grimto
Frequent save points (multiple slots, shows current location and time spent)
Pokemon/MM Legends-like story and dialogue aimed at kids
Many cutscenes and dialogue scenes
Trap enemies inside bubbles (Bubble Bobble, Do-Re-Mi Fantasy) - can't bounce on the bubbles though
Basic three hit combo for melee attacks but there's some delay between each hit and it's not really useful against anything
Control config (in-game you have to go to your house in Porto to use it)
Can't save healing items for later (can store whistles though which work like 1-ups and respawn you near where you died - bosses regain their health after using one)
Automatic camera in-doors and in some town areas (like in OoT)
No health refill after beating a boss
Mech avatar (similar to the ones in the MMX games with an open top so you see yourself piloting it) however movement doesn't feel like in a mech game
Shows bosses' health bars
Minor side quests (fetch quests)
Optional photo album feature (find photo pieces scattered all over to fill it in, getting all pieces rewards you with three bonus pictures)
Falling into pits only hurts a little bit (see Zelda)
Some fall damage
Frequent healing items until the late game where it suddenly stops - can't carry any of them with you for later use
Can't duck
Mostly short and straightforward hostile areas and dungeons without puzzles
No HP or AP upgrades
There's a side dodge/dive move but it has some issues
Can't revisit the archeonis airship nor the factory
-
Frustrating final area (underwater platforming in a teleporter maze, at least it's pretty short)
Collectathon element (forced capturing of all cats in most areas)
The jet pack found in Air Leaf doesn't carry over to any other area (the guy who gives it to you says he'll put it on your airship if you leave but it seems you can only use it at Air Leaf)
Various control/interface issues (no jump height control - not much of a problem until the final area though, can't strafe, no lock-on aiming when shooting - can only show the trajectory of your shots but not change it vertically unlike with throws, no camera rotation control (can only toggle the automatic camera's speed) - also can't rotate your avatar normally so you start moving as soon as you're facing the direction you pressed, no invincibility time after taking a hit, no free-look mode (Mario 64), l/r and jump to side dodge rather than pressing the shoulder buttons for example and it also screws with the camera when using it (also becomes awkward to trigger when the camera is to the side or in front of your avatar (can't do it at all when it's to the side it seems), down=forward when the camera is in front of your avatar - during boss fights the camera locks onto the boss and makes dodging harder at times, when grabbing consumable items or enemy cats you then have to hit the button again to put it in your inventory (pointless since you can't do anything else like throw them away and you auto-tow them away after a couple of seconds anyway), limited aiming (down/up only and only works for bomb throwing), huge knockback from the spikeball traps in the factory, somewhat slow turning while moving), some inconsistency in what you can and can't climb (first town), some invisible walls (some low fences in the first town, can't jump over NPCs)
No area maps besides the one in the mines
Short (~5 hrs?)
No journal/quest log feature
Can't ride the mech in Porto (movement is slower and you can't run without it)
Unskippable landing cutscenes when entering new areas
Somewhat annoying voice clips which are repeated during combat (can't turn off only these clips)
Some 3D models look pretty basic compared to others
Mostly predictable and cheesy story
Some tedious platforming parts where you have to repeat a longer segment if you miss a jump (factory, final area)
Sudden difficulty spike from the moving fortress onward after a mostly very easy game - final boss is actually easier than the previous one (megaphone cat)
Some enemies and bosses take too long to kill (breaks flow)
Can't explore most of Porto (your hometown) due to invisible walls
The crane in the first town is never repaired
The music sounds pretty midi-like despite being streamed
Notes:
-Supports analogue controllers but only uses the left stick