Threads of Fate/DewPrism (PS1, 1999)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-6.5 Challenge-6.5 Story-6.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
2 different playable chars (pick before beginning - mostly the same but with different intros+some NPC reactions+one level+some other story scenes as well as a couple of side quests for items; Mint (spellcaster) and Rue (gains monster transformations by defeating monsters and picking up dropped monster coins, can switch between forms on the fly, many different attacks; some have abilities used to progress: pollywog can float over swamp water, gargoyle which can double jump and is used in a basic puzzle, ootang can climb certain trees, salamander can melt ice blocks, stinger/mole fits into small spaces, etc.))
Two swing types (overhead and horizontal/half circle - the latter tends to knock enemies down) - basic three hit combo with the first type (can combine this with a b-type/horizontal swing follow up but not the other way around)
Town teleporters appear at the end of visited levels/areas
Pretty nice art direction (cutesy anime; good texturing, detail and shading), pretty good animation and some nice visual effects
Shows health bars for bosses
Regain MP by attacking enemies (encourages more aggressive play)
Minor sequence breaking (can use the gargoyle's double jump to skip ahead a bit in the ruins, more?)
Various hidden items and some hidden coins in towns/non-hostile areas (most coins are placed kind of randomly and you have to stand around for a bit to see the visual hint (a quick and subtle spark) so it's good to be mashing the button while walking around)
Optional rumble feature
Some backtracking to reach new parts of previously visited levels (cliffside boulder, forest cave under the stump, etc.) and to progress
Stat increasing items and dishes (strength and defense are the only stats besides HP and MP; latter is similar to River City Ransom)
Some decent humour (silly, slapstick, melodramatic)
Pretty fast paced
Some decent bosses (ghost temple, wylaf the dragon, duke & belle)
Short escort segment which doesn't suck
Some nice visual effects
Pretty good dialogue overall (gets too wordy at times though)
Can touch most enemies without taking a hit (it's their attacks that hurt you)
Minor puzzles (one decent one before the final boss except for the flickering flame part)
In-game epilogue
Unlockable third ending (beat both mint's and rue's games)
+/-
Some mandatory side view platformer levels ending with mini-games at Mel's Atelier where you get sent back to the beginning if you fall down a pit (time limits which start during the platforming segment so you need to be fast to be able to get the best score during the mini-game itself and this is quite hard - however the best rewards are just silver coins so it's not worth it)
Save and rest in towns (6 slots per game, shows time taken+current chapter and basic stats) - can sometimes save within a sub area/level as well
Mostly linear structure (Mostly linear (sometimes 2.5D-style) levels connected to dungeons - sometimes can't backtrack into town after entering a level from where you entered it and sometimes can't go backwards when moving between rooms, Town hub (no overworld or hub map, you simply select from a list of visited areas as well as the next one to go to at the town gates), can visit Lakeside before Mel's Atelier but your char will just say a couple of lines and go back to town, can fight trap master before gorotan, mostly optional duels with Rod (and his dog) - to make extra money)
Use-based stat progression for MP and HP (use spells and get hit to raise MP or HP respectively - the latter is obviously not a good idea in an action game but you can at least buy HP and MP upgrades at a shop (expensive though))
No manual enemy lock-on - instead there's some aim assist when moving close to enemies (oddly this also makes you move towards them a bit which can be bad if you're near a platform edge)
Healing springs in some hostile area rooms (one use only though)
Frequently respawning enemies in some rooms and they seem to always respawn if you re-enter a room
Lives system (coins give extra lives and restore different amounts of MP when respawning, frequent checkpoints)
No dodge moves and no strafing - gain a block move for the final fight only as Rue (Mint gains a shield spell earlier)
Can't transform in non-hostile areas
Can't transform into bosses even though you do get monster coins from them
Sometimes Rue reverts back to "human" form automatically when entering a new room
Only one town and it's kinda small
Mostly lighthearted tone
Can't fly in bird form (just double jump like the gargoyle)
Mint (female playable char) is more assertive and childish and Rue (male) kind of passive and restrained in their interactions (Mint is reminiscent of Musashi from Brave Fencer Musashi, Rue does grow a bit towards the end though while Mint stays pretty much the same)
Can't buy HP or MP restorative items
No item drop magnet (see Sonic 3 or God of War, they're pretty small with small hit boxes)
Automatic boat ride to the lakeside ruins
The Spector form's ice blow attack and Bubba's hammer are OP against some bosses
Some new boss encounters while moving through visited areas
Optional collectathon/grinding element (if you gave the legendary gear to Jargen then he can cook stat increasing dishes for you - these require killing 50+ of one enemy type each)
Enemy drops don't disappear however there can only be 2-3 in a room at any one point (if you kill more enemies before picking them up then the previous ones disappear)
Partial boss rush before the final boss (easy)
Some silly looking outfits (Rod, Psycho Master)
-
Can only carry 4 transformation coin types at once and if you pick up a new one then the first stack you collected is lost (leads to backtracking if you want a certain monster's ability for a segment)
No maps and no mini-maps (overly zoomed in view - especially annoying in the ruins, at one point you need to enter a specific room to get the monkey form to progress in the ghost temple and there are some hidden items in hostile areas that can also be missed because of this)
Control/interface issues (the third swing in an attack combo makes you move forward a little bit - bad in some tight platforming segments (the combo can also trigger without the first two swings hitting the enemy), can't always rotate the camera - the game often locks you into side view or top down view, no full control config - can only pick between 4 settings and they all map jump+cancel to circle, no journal/quest log feature - can only repeat the last thing an NPC says to you, can't examine inventory items, the game doesn't show how much gold you have when buying from certain NPCs, sometimes overly tight camera when jumping which makes some platforming harder, can't use a horizontal swing/alternate attack in mid-air - true for transformations as well, if you try to jump while moving down the curve of a large moving ball then it won't register (platformer mini-game 1 - same with the seesaws in a downslope in the second one), no/cancel is always the default in dialogue, the imp's main attack produces a shot while in mid-air but not while on the ground, sometimes sloppy hit detection when attacked by the birds in the pre mini-game levels, sometimes you lose some mid-air control when jumping off a seesaw platform in the pre mini-game levels, can't jump or move to cancel out of a combo if you already hit the attack button 2-3 times, during the Duke fight you auto-aim at the explosive obstacles instead of the boss even if he's as close as one and in front of Rue, sometimes there's a delay before you can move again after falling into a pit or lava)
Many enemy attacks knock you down and then there's no invincibility time after getting up - annoying and breaks flow (some enemies also aren't stunned by your hits so they can knock you down mid-combo)
Some trial & error (the flickering flame in the final puzzle - doesn't make sense that you can't use the hellhound and instead have to use the jinn's tornado here, there's nothing behind the cliffside boulder reached via the forest shortcut - you can end up having to backtrack twice here if you didn't come with gargoyle+bubba+stinger equipped and didn't use the shortcut (and you can't exit the mountain area via its entrance for some reason), the moving platforms in the tower - no visual indication for which ones will knock you down/blow up?, spike ball traps in the ghost temple, while you can only choose to sell all monster coins at once you still functionally keep the last 4 ones you picked up when it comes to using transformations in the levels (the ability is kept even though the all the coins of that type appear sold), ruins is a looping maze, staircase chase segment - auto-die if the bosses catches up with you even if it doesn't touch you and it's hard to tell where on the staircase the spiked balls are, getting the monkey monster coin - no in-game hint that you need to lure it with the plant?, usually there are different rewards depending on who you give a rare item to - for example you should give the rare wine to hobbs for the best one there and save the legendary equipment for Jargen the bartender (no hints to these))
Many invisible walls (can't jump over small fences in the first town for example, levels/hostile areas that look open tend to have a path that you can't stray from besides some branching paths here and there - similar to Goemon's Great Adventure)
Some translation issues? (the game just sort of ignores the relic part in the intro and then suddenly you've been looking for it for years)
Environments aren't very interactive (can't examine doodads/unique objects)
Enemies keep dropping MP/HP even if you already have a full stock (can't keep these in an inventory for later use, MP drops aren't even that important since you can attack enemies to regain MP)
Odd invincibility time periods on some bosses where it seems like you should be able to hit them (especially bad for Duke)
Story dialogue choices don't really matter
Some story oddities ("we should work together to avoid them taking the items from you so let's split up" - Mint before the ghost temple, Rod's boat could fly apparently? - might've been good to tell us before going to the sky fortress) and plot devices (prima doll not being able to escape when he was superfast in an earlier scene)
Unskippable cutscenes (some are kinda slow, all use in-game graphics) and staff roll
No HP restoration or drops after most boss fights
Easy and simple bosses until the ghost temple (the fights with Rod are also easy until he gets the hammer and the dog starts helping him out, Psycho Master doesn't have enough HP and neither does Atenacius, second trap master and mode master also don't have enough HP if you kept fighting Rod and upgrading your stats)
Some grinding to be able to have enough MP to get an optional item in the ruins (have to melt several ice blocks in a row for a rare wine) - can come back there later though
Kinda vague directions after raging mountain (you should go to mel's atelier and then the lake)
Pretty cliché story at its core and the villains are one dimensional
The tower level is too easy overall
Buying drinks in the bar to restore MP is pointless
The reward for fighting Rod doesn't quite scale with the increasing difficulty and after the first platinum coin you get lesser coins after each fifth fight and then none at all (between these coins you're just getting 1k gold while his stats increase each time) - would've been better if it climaxed with the platinum coin and showed some sort of scene with him instead for closure
Automatic flight to the final area as Rue in dragon form (would've been more fun if it was an interactive segment or better yet if you could fly around the world, could've also been used for the final boss)
No alternate weapons and you don't learn any new combos or special moves with the one you have
Kinda basic backgrounds at times
Easy last two bosses (and I didn't max out my stats)
Sometimes slow scene transitions (10+ seconds, normally around 4-5)
Notes:
-I read in a review that you begin each new quest with the things you earned in the last one but this doesn't seem to be the case
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
2 different playable chars (pick before beginning - mostly the same but with different intros+some NPC reactions+one level+some other story scenes as well as a couple of side quests for items; Mint (spellcaster) and Rue (gains monster transformations by defeating monsters and picking up dropped monster coins, can switch between forms on the fly, many different attacks; some have abilities used to progress: pollywog can float over swamp water, gargoyle which can double jump and is used in a basic puzzle, ootang can climb certain trees, salamander can melt ice blocks, stinger/mole fits into small spaces, etc.))
Two swing types (overhead and horizontal/half circle - the latter tends to knock enemies down) - basic three hit combo with the first type (can combine this with a b-type/horizontal swing follow up but not the other way around)
Town teleporters appear at the end of visited levels/areas
Pretty nice art direction (cutesy anime; good texturing, detail and shading), pretty good animation and some nice visual effects
Shows health bars for bosses
Regain MP by attacking enemies (encourages more aggressive play)
Minor sequence breaking (can use the gargoyle's double jump to skip ahead a bit in the ruins, more?)
Various hidden items and some hidden coins in towns/non-hostile areas (most coins are placed kind of randomly and you have to stand around for a bit to see the visual hint (a quick and subtle spark) so it's good to be mashing the button while walking around)
Optional rumble feature
Some backtracking to reach new parts of previously visited levels (cliffside boulder, forest cave under the stump, etc.) and to progress
Stat increasing items and dishes (strength and defense are the only stats besides HP and MP; latter is similar to River City Ransom)
Some decent humour (silly, slapstick, melodramatic)
Pretty fast paced
Some decent bosses (ghost temple, wylaf the dragon, duke & belle)
Short escort segment which doesn't suck
Some nice visual effects
Pretty good dialogue overall (gets too wordy at times though)
Can touch most enemies without taking a hit (it's their attacks that hurt you)
Minor puzzles (one decent one before the final boss except for the flickering flame part)
In-game epilogue
Unlockable third ending (beat both mint's and rue's games)
+/-
Some mandatory side view platformer levels ending with mini-games at Mel's Atelier where you get sent back to the beginning if you fall down a pit (time limits which start during the platforming segment so you need to be fast to be able to get the best score during the mini-game itself and this is quite hard - however the best rewards are just silver coins so it's not worth it)
Save and rest in towns (6 slots per game, shows time taken+current chapter and basic stats) - can sometimes save within a sub area/level as well
Mostly linear structure (Mostly linear (sometimes 2.5D-style) levels connected to dungeons - sometimes can't backtrack into town after entering a level from where you entered it and sometimes can't go backwards when moving between rooms, Town hub (no overworld or hub map, you simply select from a list of visited areas as well as the next one to go to at the town gates), can visit Lakeside before Mel's Atelier but your char will just say a couple of lines and go back to town, can fight trap master before gorotan, mostly optional duels with Rod (and his dog) - to make extra money)
Use-based stat progression for MP and HP (use spells and get hit to raise MP or HP respectively - the latter is obviously not a good idea in an action game but you can at least buy HP and MP upgrades at a shop (expensive though))
No manual enemy lock-on - instead there's some aim assist when moving close to enemies (oddly this also makes you move towards them a bit which can be bad if you're near a platform edge)
Healing springs in some hostile area rooms (one use only though)
Frequently respawning enemies in some rooms and they seem to always respawn if you re-enter a room
Lives system (coins give extra lives and restore different amounts of MP when respawning, frequent checkpoints)
No dodge moves and no strafing - gain a block move for the final fight only as Rue (Mint gains a shield spell earlier)
Can't transform in non-hostile areas
Can't transform into bosses even though you do get monster coins from them
Sometimes Rue reverts back to "human" form automatically when entering a new room
Only one town and it's kinda small
Mostly lighthearted tone
Can't fly in bird form (just double jump like the gargoyle)
Mint (female playable char) is more assertive and childish and Rue (male) kind of passive and restrained in their interactions (Mint is reminiscent of Musashi from Brave Fencer Musashi, Rue does grow a bit towards the end though while Mint stays pretty much the same)
Can't buy HP or MP restorative items
No item drop magnet (see Sonic 3 or God of War, they're pretty small with small hit boxes)
Automatic boat ride to the lakeside ruins
The Spector form's ice blow attack and Bubba's hammer are OP against some bosses
Some new boss encounters while moving through visited areas
Optional collectathon/grinding element (if you gave the legendary gear to Jargen then he can cook stat increasing dishes for you - these require killing 50+ of one enemy type each)
Enemy drops don't disappear however there can only be 2-3 in a room at any one point (if you kill more enemies before picking them up then the previous ones disappear)
Partial boss rush before the final boss (easy)
Some silly looking outfits (Rod, Psycho Master)
-
Can only carry 4 transformation coin types at once and if you pick up a new one then the first stack you collected is lost (leads to backtracking if you want a certain monster's ability for a segment)
No maps and no mini-maps (overly zoomed in view - especially annoying in the ruins, at one point you need to enter a specific room to get the monkey form to progress in the ghost temple and there are some hidden items in hostile areas that can also be missed because of this)
Control/interface issues (the third swing in an attack combo makes you move forward a little bit - bad in some tight platforming segments (the combo can also trigger without the first two swings hitting the enemy), can't always rotate the camera - the game often locks you into side view or top down view, no full control config - can only pick between 4 settings and they all map jump+cancel to circle, no journal/quest log feature - can only repeat the last thing an NPC says to you, can't examine inventory items, the game doesn't show how much gold you have when buying from certain NPCs, sometimes overly tight camera when jumping which makes some platforming harder, can't use a horizontal swing/alternate attack in mid-air - true for transformations as well, if you try to jump while moving down the curve of a large moving ball then it won't register (platformer mini-game 1 - same with the seesaws in a downslope in the second one), no/cancel is always the default in dialogue, the imp's main attack produces a shot while in mid-air but not while on the ground, sometimes sloppy hit detection when attacked by the birds in the pre mini-game levels, sometimes you lose some mid-air control when jumping off a seesaw platform in the pre mini-game levels, can't jump or move to cancel out of a combo if you already hit the attack button 2-3 times, during the Duke fight you auto-aim at the explosive obstacles instead of the boss even if he's as close as one and in front of Rue, sometimes there's a delay before you can move again after falling into a pit or lava)
Many enemy attacks knock you down and then there's no invincibility time after getting up - annoying and breaks flow (some enemies also aren't stunned by your hits so they can knock you down mid-combo)
Some trial & error (the flickering flame in the final puzzle - doesn't make sense that you can't use the hellhound and instead have to use the jinn's tornado here, there's nothing behind the cliffside boulder reached via the forest shortcut - you can end up having to backtrack twice here if you didn't come with gargoyle+bubba+stinger equipped and didn't use the shortcut (and you can't exit the mountain area via its entrance for some reason), the moving platforms in the tower - no visual indication for which ones will knock you down/blow up?, spike ball traps in the ghost temple, while you can only choose to sell all monster coins at once you still functionally keep the last 4 ones you picked up when it comes to using transformations in the levels (the ability is kept even though the all the coins of that type appear sold), ruins is a looping maze, staircase chase segment - auto-die if the bosses catches up with you even if it doesn't touch you and it's hard to tell where on the staircase the spiked balls are, getting the monkey monster coin - no in-game hint that you need to lure it with the plant?, usually there are different rewards depending on who you give a rare item to - for example you should give the rare wine to hobbs for the best one there and save the legendary equipment for Jargen the bartender (no hints to these))
Many invisible walls (can't jump over small fences in the first town for example, levels/hostile areas that look open tend to have a path that you can't stray from besides some branching paths here and there - similar to Goemon's Great Adventure)
Some translation issues? (the game just sort of ignores the relic part in the intro and then suddenly you've been looking for it for years)
Environments aren't very interactive (can't examine doodads/unique objects)
Enemies keep dropping MP/HP even if you already have a full stock (can't keep these in an inventory for later use, MP drops aren't even that important since you can attack enemies to regain MP)
Odd invincibility time periods on some bosses where it seems like you should be able to hit them (especially bad for Duke)
Story dialogue choices don't really matter
Some story oddities ("we should work together to avoid them taking the items from you so let's split up" - Mint before the ghost temple, Rod's boat could fly apparently? - might've been good to tell us before going to the sky fortress) and plot devices (prima doll not being able to escape when he was superfast in an earlier scene)
Unskippable cutscenes (some are kinda slow, all use in-game graphics) and staff roll
No HP restoration or drops after most boss fights
Easy and simple bosses until the ghost temple (the fights with Rod are also easy until he gets the hammer and the dog starts helping him out, Psycho Master doesn't have enough HP and neither does Atenacius, second trap master and mode master also don't have enough HP if you kept fighting Rod and upgrading your stats)
Some grinding to be able to have enough MP to get an optional item in the ruins (have to melt several ice blocks in a row for a rare wine) - can come back there later though
Kinda vague directions after raging mountain (you should go to mel's atelier and then the lake)
Pretty cliché story at its core and the villains are one dimensional
The tower level is too easy overall
Buying drinks in the bar to restore MP is pointless
The reward for fighting Rod doesn't quite scale with the increasing difficulty and after the first platinum coin you get lesser coins after each fifth fight and then none at all (between these coins you're just getting 1k gold while his stats increase each time) - would've been better if it climaxed with the platinum coin and showed some sort of scene with him instead for closure
Automatic flight to the final area as Rue in dragon form (would've been more fun if it was an interactive segment or better yet if you could fly around the world, could've also been used for the final boss)
No alternate weapons and you don't learn any new combos or special moves with the one you have
Kinda basic backgrounds at times
Easy last two bosses (and I didn't max out my stats)
Sometimes slow scene transitions (10+ seconds, normally around 4-5)
Notes:
-I read in a review that you begin each new quest with the things you earned in the last one but this doesn't seem to be the case