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I'm staring. squinting, rapping my fingernails against my teeth trying to figure out if this is a hint… and then I woke up

I swore I looked both ways before crossing.

This was my first Sam A. game and it was love at first sight! The character design and dynamic yet consistent artwork had me appreciating on a level usually reserved for high-minded children's book illustration critique (consider Young Sam as a potential series of ZZT-illustrated books about growing pains??)

The use of ZZT was similarly scintillating—packed with details and goofery but always solidly grounded in its world. I appreciated the gameplay variety and storyline, which started to troll me into incomprehension—a combination of my unfamiliarity with both the Gadfly Goods products and isekai logic in general—but never felt boring or off-tone. 

Full disclosure: I got trapped a few times, save-locked, and couldn't finish this game myself [yet]. I lived vicariously through Dos' stream and GASPED at the final boss reveal. It made me feel!!!

STUPID: Not really, a little, on purpose I think

DSTC: There were twists, and turns—trolls is debatable

FUNNY: And sweet

ANIMALS: Undeniably

I was able to beat sections of this game through rampant use of ?health, ?ammo, ?-dark, and ?zap, but kept getting softlocked by bad save timing in rooms that seemed to want to kill me via dialogue choices. I even opened up YouTube to try and solve part of this game—what ZZT game these days doesn't just load up YouTube itself? As an Initiate to the La Vie series, part V might not be the place to start, but I enjoyed the colourful characters and intricate board design, a lot of light WEAVEry takes the classic castle vibes to bright new heights.

STUPID: Me, I guess! I couldn't figure out how to get gems, ammo, or torches—well trolled.

DSTC: Wasn't prepared for the amount of save/restore or desperate cheat entry

FUNNY: Yes

ANIMALS: ♤

I didn't see this coming, I didn't see anything; I couldn't crack the troll on this one. Maybe I'm missing some context as a non-MZXer. There's gotta be SOMETHING here, right!?  I even poked around in the game files but I didn't know what the heck I could be looking for. Someone tell me the secret!! Sorry to our gracious host.

Once in an aeon comes along a game so good, you'll forget to pee. I enjoyed every minute of this, except for a few minutes where I had to crack open the file to check something (a hint I missed due to a code error would've saved me). The concept alone makes this game something exciting and fun, but the attention to detail and fun story had me flat out chuckling. The best ZZT games are maybe ones you can play without much prior knowledge of how ZZT works, and this one hits that mark with style and charm. Nario might be one of the best mini-games I've seen and could be an entire game concept of its own. D APPROVED!

This was a fun arcade romp that I felt well-prepared for after grinding away in Freelance Dungeons for countless hours in 2023. But I underestimated how nasty centi-play can get when accuracy, ammo, and a lack of a fullscreen option come into play. I squinted my way to mediocre victory. (I ran out of ammo ONCE and cheated (Level 7)). 

It was easy to pick up, play, and I think it got easier as the levels went on. I didn't feel trolled but I was impressed by levels which appear newbie-style but elevated inside of a slick arcade engine.  STEELJAW FOR PRESIDENT!

This may have been the first time I selected a .MZX game from inside of Megazeux and figured out how to "Press P to Play" without the prompt. After touring the title board and Yum Yum Town, I was satisfied I'd seen everything. ORT IS INNOCENT! HERBITY FLERBITY NOW!

Stupidest: Pretty stupid! Bravo!

DSTC: If something came, I REALLY didn't see it.

Funny: Definitely something funny about this one!

Animals: No animals detected

I followed the instructions and checked out Part 1 but couldn't fix any of my truck and eventually stopped playing—too trolled! Then I started this one up and think I got to the end (or one of them.) I was sad to see the ruins of Porclan. Lovely scenery, thought-provoking. Will i Learn which code-hacker made this one sometime??

Stupid: Not stupid, sad!

DSTC: It was surprised, but not sure what triggered my surprise. I got 2 different endings I think.

Funny: Not funny, sad!!

Animals: Sun-bleached tropical fish bones

Weird you wrote this about me WiL :/

Loved the french language content!
Realistically long teen boy showers

Was able to wake up, save the world not so much

Very cool game my baby is better than the others!