Woohoo! This is such a fun game! I haven't quite nailed it down, but it feels like you could bounce pretty fluidly from one fuse to the next platform.
Since every level seems to leave you still trying to escape the blackhole, the dialogue might make more sense if it says something like "you've managed to keep from being pulled in."
Love the artwork and general feel of the game
This is amazing! GuitarHero, Jack Sparrow, Tenacious D, killer pixel art and four AA batteries all boldly sailed into a maelstrom together!
I love shanties, chiptune, and retro gaming so this game looks like a must-have in my book! I can't wait to play it on real hardware. Fingers crossed you all end up selling digital versions too for those of us collecting on flash carts.
This was bonkers hard for me to play on a keyboard since the key layout (although standard) was flipped to what my thumbs would be doing on a handheld console. I couldn't make my brain accept the flip. But that just makes me want to play on my GB all the more!
Only complaint is the flash before the portraits appear in the dialogue boxes. I love the artwork. Once it's on screen it really sells the immersion. But the flash on every new set of words became a bit jarring when reading through a conversation or a set of instructions.
For real, watching intently for the full release!
This looks incredible! Phenomenal artwork and sprite animation! Pretty brutal gameplay to start off with, but the difficulty level is not a turn-off.
Crouch feels like it's missing. I know it's not referred to or implied anywhere, I just found myself trying to crouch the entire time I was playing.
Some of the obstacles (spikes) felt a tad out of place on the stairs. Not unfair or anything like that, but they just visually didn't "fit" to me."
Aside from that, this feels well polished. Can't wait to see (and buy) the full release!
Alright I've got to highlight some more stuff I'm seeing that I love.
The movement being grid-based instead of being just free-movement is *chef's kiss*! I love tapping left and the character moves all the way over to the next square instead of just moving over a pixel or two. Such a great feature!
The taller obstacles in the map feel so smooth. Street lights for example. Being able to walk behind them, the transparency for their sprite. With a shadow below it. It's just so well done!
I mentioned the train feeling so cool. Roll City's Plaza with the cars driving under the walkway- it's visually such good story-telling and scene-setting!
And the battle mechanics all fit together so smoothly. So well though-out. I loved when I used the vampire face on a poisoned enemy that I actually took damage instead of healed! Balanced the mechanic out and just made good sense.
And the 25 turn limit fixed the ongoing battle issue in BDP. Simple, clear and more fun.
I can't get over how good this is
What a massive improvement over BDP! And I LOVE BDP! The battle mechanics are so much smoother! The underground gang is such a fun way to start! The train is so cool! That's as far as I've got just yet but I want to play all of it!
I'm sure you're working on building more content and smoothing out the content you've got already. If you're looking for suggestions:
The constantly moving sprites are a bit odd at first. I didn't notice them after a bit, but when the game first started it struck me. I don't know what your code looks like at all, but maybe the sprite animation taking place only when the sprite's speed is > 0? Idk. I'm firing blind there.
The face switching mechanic took me a bit to figure out. I think if I hadn't already played BDP I might have assumed you couldn't use the new faces yet, because I tried all sorts of buttons in the menu before I sorted out you had to have the cursor on the face you wanted to add instead of the face you wanted to replace. Not sure what the answer is there. Realized I was being dense by the time I figured it out, but just pointing out it took some experimenting.
Same topic: I think the stock would be easier to use and may give a greater sense of mystery/discovery for the player if it started with only faces that you own (or have previously owned) and new faces were added to the stock page once you pick up that new face. Or maybe they're all greyed out or something until you've found one.
One more stock menu suggestion: Categories would make that easier to navigate. Instead of scrolling through each iteration of the attack face, just have 1, and maybe an icon showing how many attack faces you have in that "box." Select it to open and then you can scroll though the different levels of attack faces?
Last one: The two different buttons to fast print text and skip text entirely was a bit awkward (to me). I'd vote for either instant print all text and have a skip button, or instant print and then skip with the same button.
Sorry for the book. I absolutely LOVE what you've got here. Hope the suggestions come across as constructive. This project is flippin' amazing! No lie! Good luck! Looking forward to buying it!
My excitement knows no bounds! How? Why? I want to donate to you!
My childhood! I'm not weeping, you're weeping!
Serious, serious thanks! I'm anxiously working out how to get this playing on my Mac. Whether I have success or not, thank you so, so much for pouring so much work into one of my very favorite games in the whole world!
Not sure what version I installed on my flashcart (6 months ago or so), but it has been one of my favorite homebrews (really one of my favorite GB games including games from back in the day). The art style and gameplay are so different from - but somehow remind me of - the GB's Donkey Kong (the puzzle/platformer where you play as Mario, not Donkey Kong Land).
I must've missed the memo that this was incomplete. I thought the cliff-hangar ending was just that. I am so excited to read these devlogs and see that you're publishing a full-feature game and that we'll have a product to pay for. I'd love to support you all. You are *the* dev dream team for GB homebrew! I am anxious to learn how to make my own games in this medium and both of you are serious inspirations.
Will we be able to purchase the digital version here or will that be exclusively available through LR?
You may be done with this game, and if so, props to a fantastic looking game! It really does feel like an F-zero game! The art, the track, the others cars, the drift during turns, it's all there! I love it!
If it's still an open project, here are my thoughts. F-zero had like a limited speed boost mechanic that's not here. And tbh, it missing makes the race feel a bit flat. And maybe the answer's not a copy of that mechanic, but it needs a little something to give the player a bit more control or something to do during the drive.
I like the damage meter. It forces a bit of control as you drive, especially on the second track. You can't just hold the gas down and try to weave through everything.
Last thing would be sprites. A left and right turning sprite for each car would help give this more visual depth and help the player "feel" the turns more.
All-in-all though, I really enjoyed playing this. It really fits that F-zero feel, but with a new look. Sound, art, feel. It's all there. Great job!
If this game is done, props on a big game with lots of varied content! If you're still polishing, I'd recommend focusing on collision. I think combat would benefit from a little knockback when taking damage and a second or two of invulnerability. There are a couple places where the player has to be really precise to walk through an area (like in shops in town) where it doesn't seem like it should be. The goblin's shop for example has a narrow stairway that's easy to get stuck on.
Overall though, great game! I bought Basketbrawl and am loving that. I was surprised by how different this game was in mechanics and style. Both are great games. You've got a broad range! Keep it up!
My mouth is watering (and not just because of the beautiful candy art). This game is going to be phenomenal. I love the attack/"boo" jump mechanic. Feels unique, challenging, and (most of all) FUN!
Can't wait for the full game. Are you publishing the full game on itch, or will you be doing a physical run and/or rom purchase somewhere else?
Cute little game! Maybe 15 minutes of playtime in here. There are a couple of situations where the character catches on blocks unexpectedly, but not bad.
I love the wind-up mechanic at the beginning of each level. The circular movement you have to make with the arrow keys feels "windy" and I can see how it would feel even more like that on a d-pad! I love it!
I feel like you could incorporate that as a timer or something. Maybe you can run out of time and the toy loses power and either have the player wind the toy back up or restart the level.
Character feels slightly floaty and slow to me. Not bad, but I think it could be sped up to feel a little better.
That and more levels and you've got a great game! I mean, it *is* a great game already. But a great full-length game. For a 24 hour jam, this is fantastic.
Artwork, animation, music and sound are all really, really good! Great job!
So I know this game's been out for a while, but I think it's worth commenting on.
This is a VERY short game, but the art, music, presentation is next level! I hope it gets revisited and turned into a full feature game. The quality of what's hear is worthy of a full-fledged purchase or even a physical cart. Just needs more content.
Character design (both sprites and splash screens) are excellent. And I love the room transitions. The art in this and Cosmic Courier is on point.
Alright, this game may be done, but if not...
I feel like some splash screens occasionally would help build the feel of the game. Not for every single event, but for starting the journey, or ending or every 10th turn or only when staying at an inn or finding an ingot or something. The story-telling via text is really really great. The artwork you have is so so good. And the music really adds to the atmosphere as well. Some full art sprinkled in would really be the icing on the already tasty cake.
If the screen would move forward looking ahead more spaces instead of being drug along behind it would smooth the play experience a lot. I find myself having to hit select to look ahead every other turn. If the screen "kept up" with the player a bit better (keeping the player icon in the lower half of the screen by default) you'd hardly have to use the select button to look at the map.
I agree with LDG above about auto-moving until a choice needs to be made or you've reached the end of the roll. Hitting A for every space slows the pace of the game down a bit and makes it less obvious that it's time to do something. I find myself hitting A rapidly to move along and then accidentally selecting the first choice because I was rapid firing to move. This feature sounds small but I think it would make a huge impact on the feel of the game.
I love the gameplay and the achievements.
Fun simple little dungeon crawler. Not sure if you're still working on this or not. If so, I hope the feedback is helpful.
Coins in chest is cool, but you might consider adding an occasional drop to monster kills. Or something to incentivize the player fighting the monsters.
Running out of health isn't really a problem. I found myself letting my health get to 1 and then trying to run the dungeon on that 1 health. I didn't want to spend that money on food because I knew if I was killed I'd just go back to the beginning of the furthest level. If dying sent you back to the menu, I'd manage my health better. That would work well with monsters dropping money and/or food. Maybe coins just come from chests and there's a finite amount and monsters drop food occasionally?
The upgraded swords didn't seem to behave differently from each other. Maybe that was a planned feature and you haven't got there yet, but increased range or speed or damage or something would be cool.
Didn't try the wizard, so I'm not sure how that character differs, and I didn't try replaying a dungeon I had already beat. It would be cool to be able to reply and fight for more coins on an easier level to buy the health upgrade to make later levels harder if the player wants to. That would give the player a bit of a strategic choice to make.
Some feedback when taking/dealing damage would be good. I bit of knockback or a sound or something to help the player feel the attack a bit more would help the game feel a bit juicier.
Anyway, I really really like what you have here. I'd love to see a complete game. Someone else mentioned a physical version of this game, and I completely agree. Once you finish it, it could totally sell. Finish the 2 dungeons you've hinted at in the menu, maybe add another final dungeon even. It would be a lot of work, but I'm certain there'd be a market ready to purchase.
Great game! I've only played the demo here and the digital version from incub8. Thanks for putting this all together. It feels like a big project. The game's atmosphere and storytelling are top notch. Artwork is unique and really helps set the scene. I especially love the ship design and love how the menu is made to look like part of his suit. Dialogue also really helps give it good depth and story. It all ties together to make the game it's own. It really protects it from feeling like a repainted clone of an older game while still existing in that retro-game-realm.
This game is incredible. Great balance between artwork, puzzle-solving, story-telling and combat. This is really high-quality homebrew.
Haha, I was going to say you should have the option for us to pay you for this, but I'm looking back and I see where you already can do that with the "Download now" button. Thanks!
Killer artwork! Combat system feels a bit linear if that makes sense. You've only got one option really. The cigarettes are the only real strategic choice. Exploration is good though. Finding the items you need to unlock the next area is well done. Overall, good game. The artwork is the real selling point for me.
Whew! Beat it! Fun Game! Thanks for building it!
I thought for sure I missed something because I couldn't find the last of the 4 relics. After building a map and retracing every step multiple times just to be sure, I decided to level grind until I could beat everything (trying to avoid spoilers). Once I got to a high enough level and beat all the things I got the final relic.
I enjoyed the game. It's a bit of a grind. Maybe more options during combat would help give the player a greater feeling of control, but might also slow the pace of the game down.
Map feels big and unpredictable. I loved that element of it. Truly felt lost and having to explore and re-explore as I went. A map system of some kind might be a good addition, but may detract from the feel of the game you're going for.
Overall, good bare bones game. Not hard per se, but requires a bit of a commitment to finish if that makes sense. I'm glad I did! Thanks again for making it. I enjoyed playing.
So this has been out for a bit. You may be totally done with this project. If so, consider this feedback for the next one.
I was surprised how much I liked this game. At first I thought it was going to be tedious tbh, but the XP system that grew into an aura really helped move the player along to a feeling of powerful progress. I loved how as one leveled up enemies offered less XP until eventually they became irrelevant. And I love that you kept those weaker enemies on the map so that the player could feel their strength grow.
That being said, I think the "aura" message could pop up once per map or once when you start a save and after that the player never needs to see it again. It would help with the flow of the game.
Also, the map felt big! I loved how many areas you had. The map size itself indicates how much work you put into this! An item that helped the player move faster (running shoes when holding B or something) that the player could find mid-way through the game would help a lot.
You had obstacles that the player could get past as one progressed. That was cool. It would help the flow of the game to use those obstacles to obstruct a playing moving into an area, but serve as a shortcut out of an area. For example, using a boulder in the rocky labyrinth area so the player could push it aside on the way out so you don't have to back track through the whole thing.
Lastly, I think the boss fight could've been longer/harder. Maybe do the ole' "You beat the boss, but now he goes into Chaos mode and you have to beat him again!" thing. Or even let him disable one of your attack choices for a bit or something.
(Sorry, one more thing.) Personal preference, but the language felt a bit out of place and unnecessary. I'd love to have this installed on my flash cart, but won't solely because of the language. I've got a kid who uses it too.
There's some UI stuff that could be filled out a bit more too, but this comment has grown too long.
I hope this feedback is useful to you, either for this or for your future games! Seriously great game!
