Wonder Project J (SNES, 1994)
Graphics-9 Sound-8 Control-6 Challenge-6
Level Design-5 Frustration-8 Fun-5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
Good animation and use of color, Great art direction, Anime-like presentation (small cutscenes before each chapter), Quality voices
Stylish and intuitive interface
Some memorable characters (sports judge, Add, etc.)
Comical and lighthearted
You can ask #46 for help if you get stuck
Decent dialogue
Japanese sci fi version of the Pinocchio story
Save feature
Can change message and character speeds, Skippable text
Interesting concept and control method (use a fairy to tell your robot what to do, praise/scold it to make it act how you like - borrows heavily from point and click adventures)
Huge inventory (amount of items you can drop in one screen is limited to ~5 though)
Decent length
Explores similar themes as Ultima IV (aspects that make up a human being - compassion, aggression, confidence, learning by doing),
Some surprisingly dark elements (Messala shooting his own guards, xenophobia)
+/-
Reviving costs cash
Pino sometimes acts on his own (can be funny, but also frustrating)
-
One cheap death (well outside Pino's house)
Need to wade through a lot of text in the beginning
Cursor control (fairy wand) is too picky about positioning (probably should've had different buttons mapped to object interaction and walking to a spot)
Annoying beep whenever the fairy sidekick speaks
Learning an action takes several tries - gets tedious
Trial & error (learn how to increase certain skills, need to relearn skills for many quests because focusing on one type makes neglected ones deteriorate, potentially interesting puzzles are a matter of failing and then talking to #46 about it - police man quest, ropewalk)
Slow paced
Tedious tweaking of stats for the fighting contest (can get a hint from computer but it's random - usually it talks about the princess) then AGAIN for the dragon fight
Making money the ordinary way is painfully slow (annoying pre-fighting contest and circus performance if you didn't save up)
Non-interactive events (sports contest, circus performance, combat tournament, breaking into the castle)
Tame combat (one move, long delay between command and action)
Plot weirdness (can't open the mine before Act 8 even though you've learned how to do it through the computer (and why would they activate a voice lock if the old one kept everything out?)
Conveniently placed weapons at every combat event
The island inhabitants are incredibly naive (nobody ever thinks the boy is a robot until he blatantly shows them)
Teaching Pino not to spin his head doesn't help in the meeting with the King)
Some overly expensive items (flowers, circus ball)
Level Design-5 Frustration-8 Fun-5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
Good animation and use of color, Great art direction, Anime-like presentation (small cutscenes before each chapter), Quality voices
Stylish and intuitive interface
Some memorable characters (sports judge, Add, etc.)
Comical and lighthearted
You can ask #46 for help if you get stuck
Decent dialogue
Japanese sci fi version of the Pinocchio story
Save feature
Can change message and character speeds, Skippable text
Interesting concept and control method (use a fairy to tell your robot what to do, praise/scold it to make it act how you like - borrows heavily from point and click adventures)
Huge inventory (amount of items you can drop in one screen is limited to ~5 though)
Decent length
Explores similar themes as Ultima IV (aspects that make up a human being - compassion, aggression, confidence, learning by doing),
Some surprisingly dark elements (Messala shooting his own guards, xenophobia)
+/-
Reviving costs cash
Pino sometimes acts on his own (can be funny, but also frustrating)
-
One cheap death (well outside Pino's house)
Need to wade through a lot of text in the beginning
Cursor control (fairy wand) is too picky about positioning (probably should've had different buttons mapped to object interaction and walking to a spot)
Annoying beep whenever the fairy sidekick speaks
Learning an action takes several tries - gets tedious
Trial & error (learn how to increase certain skills, need to relearn skills for many quests because focusing on one type makes neglected ones deteriorate, potentially interesting puzzles are a matter of failing and then talking to #46 about it - police man quest, ropewalk)
Slow paced
Tedious tweaking of stats for the fighting contest (can get a hint from computer but it's random - usually it talks about the princess) then AGAIN for the dragon fight
Making money the ordinary way is painfully slow (annoying pre-fighting contest and circus performance if you didn't save up)
Non-interactive events (sports contest, circus performance, combat tournament, breaking into the castle)
Tame combat (one move, long delay between command and action)
Plot weirdness (can't open the mine before Act 8 even though you've learned how to do it through the computer (and why would they activate a voice lock if the old one kept everything out?)
Conveniently placed weapons at every combat event
The island inhabitants are incredibly naive (nobody ever thinks the boy is a robot until he blatantly shows them)
Teaching Pino not to spin his head doesn't help in the meeting with the King)
Some overly expensive items (flowers, circus ball)