Shin Seikoku - La Wares
The worst use of mechs everGenre: rpg - japanese
Publisher: Yutaka
Year: 1995
System: SFC
Gameplay Score: 2
Gameplay Notes:
Super simplistic. You can fight in your 2-3 person party while in dungeons. You can get magic but only healing spells. So combat is litterlly just holding down A to auto-attack. Ho hum. There's nothing more to it. The overworld can't be freely explored, but instead you leave town, pick a destination, and your mech walks to it in an ugly Mode 7 animation. If attacked during this slow Yoshi's Safari walk, you must fight the monster mech with your own. The controls here are even simpler than the dungeon combat. You're a single party member and you no longer even have magic. Just pound away with Attack or a Kick option which is indiscernable from Attack. So weird. Not badm but a meh as all get out.
Level Design Score: 2
Level Design Notes:
Serious pacing issues. The tutorial last for about 2 hours before you can even fight a single battle. And the dungeons were designed by amusement park operators. Every room is full of obstacles and walls that serve no purpose other than to make you walk as much as possible. There are no visual markers or clues to help you navigate the mazes. The castles and towns are also confusing to navigate. I was lost almost the entire time I played and had to resort to a terribly written walkthrough to get anywhere. Also, most of the game's gates simply require you to talk to the right set of NPCs, which all look the same, mind you. It's very annoying.
Theme Score: 5
Theme Notes:
You're a teenager who belongs to a band of merry outlaws in a steampunk world. Basically, it's Robin Hood with mechs. The two main characters (you and a tomboy princess not to be confused with Marle) are fun and interesting. The evil threat and world-conquering villain are intriguing. I only wish the rest of the game were as compelling.
Art Style Score: 3
Art Style Notes:
I wanted to score this higher, but sadly there's not much beyond the decent pixel artwork. There are no effects to speak of. All attack in combat amount to the screen and/or the sprite flashing white for a frame. There's no magic so those sprites are the only thing worth mentioning.
Audio Score: 3
Audio Notes:
Again, I wanted to enjoy the music more than I did. It has an amateur quality, despite initially sounding appealing. And the sound effects are WAY too loud. They're jarring.
Overall Score: 47
Review ID: 1836
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