2012 In Review 018 - No More Villains

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Gizmog
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2012 In Review 018 - No More Villains

Post by Gizmog »

Pre-Thoughts:
Oh boy, this is a real gem. One of the most heartfelt games I've ever seen, the whole thing read kind of like Fenrir's diary. At times I worried it was like his suicide note... It was the wrap-up to the Terrible Games Contest and is the most memorable results show I can think of. He borrows back some of the ideas he loaned to Charbile for My Little Gahn and the result is a lot of Fuhn. Yeah, I know that's terrible. Best just to get to the game. Long story short here: Played it, loved it.

Thoughts-During:

Music is soooooooooo good.

Battles kinda slow. It does give you time to enjoy the jokes but really, could be faster.

...got caught up in the game again, heheheheh

Post-Thoughts:

I don't know where Fenrir ripped his music from, but he uses it in a way that makes every scene pop and really evokes the despair, the determination, basically all the emotions of the villains. The battle music makes each fight seem like a last stand. In comedic scenes, the music adds a silly energy to the punchlines. In every scene you understand the emotion that Fenrir is trying to make you feel. This is a game with atmosphere.

Since this was supposed to be Fenrir's final experience with the Terrible Games Contest, which he'd been running for a number of years, the tone is super grim and dark as the villains wander through the hellscape that is Terrible Games trying to find the Heart of the OHR. They run into pretty much every joke and reference Fenrir could scrape up and even though a lot of 'em miss, the ones that hit hit hard. Vlad and Billy are my particular favorites, but even Dr. Mu and Slither get some good lines in. One downside is that a lot of the humor is referential in nature, so if you didn't play the OHR game or Starcraft or Symphony of the Night you're not gonna really know what's going on. Maybe it's silly enough to laugh at even if you don't understand, but I could've done without some of it.

I mentioned the battles start out a little slow. Later battles speed up a bit more, you're never fighting too many enemies at once and they don't sop up a million hits (With the exception of the Surlaw/Narwhal battle. That one is kind of a grind), but I'd still say they're just a little bit too long. The villains each have their own unique set of abilities with Dr. Mu filling in the role as team medic, Slither as the debilitator, Billy, Cthulhu and Vlad being various kinds of damage inflictors and Charbile's Little Gahn as the buffer. Your line-up changes as the story progresses, and while you can buy equipment for the party it's never too necessary so you aren't cheated if the guy you just kitted out splits in the next scene. Eventually the parties sync up and you can choose your own team and it's at that point that the game really starts to shine and you come to appreciate all the options available. It would've been really easy to half-slime this, so kudos for making it fun.

Through a lot of different mapties and a lot of battle backdrops Fenrir keeps each scene looking great as you go throughout. I believe he reuses stuff here and there from Vikings but it all fits together very nicely. The villains are well animated, the enemies suitably threatening, a whole hell of a lot of cool cutscene type stuff going on. Fenrir's always been a great artist so it feels pointless to remind you that he continues to swing for the fences and succeed. The game looks great.

It's rare to find a game whose tone is so dark, yet whose protagonists display such resolve in accomplishing their mission. Rarer still a game that does this while throwing in dumb as hell jokes and rarer on top of that a game that doesn't use those jokes as an excuse to not take the battles at least semi-seriously. They're not the most strategic, or even tactical of affairs but they aren't an after-thought either. The whole thing is a very nicely balanced product and I'd recommend it to anyone whose been around long enough to get the references, anyone who wants to see one of the nicer looking games that've been produced, or anyone who ever entered the Terrible Games Contest.
Attachments
...to the reviewers?!
...to the reviewers?!
nmv20120417.png (9.24 KiB) Viewed 2093 times
Pandering?!!
Pandering?!!
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More like Willy Adventure
More like Willy Adventure
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It's that kind of a game.
It's that kind of a game.
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That's good advice.
That's good advice.
nmv20120317.png (32.81 KiB) Viewed 2093 times
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
nmv20120300.png (41.23 KiB) Viewed 2093 times
I took over 400 screenshots. I have tried to condense them to only the absolute best.
I took over 400 screenshots. I have tried to condense them to only the absolute best.
nmv20120240.png (11.33 KiB) Viewed 2093 times
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing
nmv20120106.png (47.09 KiB) Viewed 2093 times
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