Hameln no Violin Hiki
Genre: puzzle - platform
Publisher: Enix
Year: 1995
System: SFC
Gameplay Score: 3
Gameplay Notes:
Well, it's an escort mission, but done fairly well. The puzzles get obtuse quickly but most of the game is just platforming. You've got a short projectile attack to get rid of the infrequent enemies but the real challenge is navigating the platforming sections using an ever growing assortment of transformations for your companion. It's like a really slow mashup of Kirby, Poochy from SMB2, and The Lost Vikings. Very slow movement which makes enemy avoidance difficult.
Level Design Score: 3
Level Design Notes:
As you might expect, the levels are carefully crafted to make you find a solution with the transformations in mind. Each level has a hard to reach 1UP to ensure you can basically have unlimited lives. However, there's a restrictive time limit which I HATE in a puzzle platformer like this. I want to like it, but it's not a game I'll be playing.
Theme Score: 5
Theme Notes:
Musical theme. You're basically the pied piper come to destroy the monsters to protect a village. You enlist the help of a young villager gurl who then becomes your prop and primary weapon. The game makes jokes about this throughout. Funny cutscenes play between stages. High production values.
Art Style Score: 5
Art Style Notes:
Looks a lot like DoReMi Fantasy with its clean pixel art and detailed backgrounds. What clinches a high score are the plethora of fun animations for you, your companion, and the enemies. It's as cartoony as could be.
Audio Score: 4
Audio Notes:
For a game with a musical theme this one has a good but not great soundtrack. Small segments use classical music which is adapted beautifully but these sections are infrequent. Nice sound effects.
Overall Score: 68
Review ID: 1664
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