This is the first entry I played and reviewed, because it was on the top of my list.
The God of the Alphabet smiles upon you today! Here are my thoughts.
I really dig the Aztec world! It's a culture rarely explored in media,
so my interest is piqued from the get-go.
The intro sets up the mood nicely, and that mood is consistent.
Good use of music throughout.
Believable level design.
I chose to play as the girl, of course. :v
For the skill crystals, I'd have a text pop up as the player approaches them.
As they are, they're mysterious until you interact with them directly.
This is a minor nitpick to be sure, but every little improvement helps!
My loadout:
Maximum Attack (not including buffs/debuffs)
Maximum Enemy Flee (I abused this, not gonna lie)
Deflect (Didn't use, too lazy)
Maximum Defense (not including buffs/debuffs)
Reflect (Didn't use, too lazy)
The spending money you get in the beginning is generous and
the upgrades suit my straightforward playstyle, so thank you for that!
I like how guarding raises your SP.
Considering that all attacks are tied to SP, this is necessary,
but I'm just glad I'm not forced to reload because I didn't search for items
in every nook and cranny or something. Usually guarding is almost useless to me
in RPGs, it's nice to see it put to good use here!
I liked the puzzles. Simple, but enjoyable. Battles were fair.
The convenience of healing baths make up for the crystal-based save system.
Because of the way the game is designed, I didn't feel too set back when I lost
and had to do the first round of puzzles again. Failure is punished but not severely.
I almost didn't get the mirror puzzle at first, but I don't know how much
you can actually do about that. It worked the way I thought it did, but
RPG Maker might lack the visual cues necessary for stuff like this.
I was able to solve it easily so it's not too much of a concern in this particular game,
but in general this is a good observation to take note of when designing
complicated puzzles.
This game is a great showcase for the Aztec and Ancient Jungle graphic packs!
I like how the random encounters near the end of the game were portrayed as bushes.
It fit in the environment well and I thought it was cute. :3
I thought the game's climax and cliffhanger were done well.
Overall, this was a pleasant experience and was a good game to
start my IGMCathon with. d(^^)
TOTAL PLAYTIME: 45 MINUTES
FINAL VERDICT: If Quetzalcoatl asked me if he should check out this game,
I'd say, "Yeah man, go for it!"