witch.rpg - Gomie v. 2015

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Gizmog
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witch.rpg - Gomie v. 2015

Post by Gizmog »

Witch.rpg was Feenicks' entry to the Halloween Witches and Boobs and Costume contest of last year. Yeah, that's right, a contest you guys weren't invited to. How's it feel now, huh?! You punks and bums! At any rate, it's a neat game and maybe the perfect short-form OHR Game. I loved it!

The story follows these two witches Feenicks has a crush on, Verdi and Wyrd. Verdi wants to go out and cause some trouble on Halloween Night, Wyrd wants to stay in. They're a classic fool and straightman routine, only with lesbian undertones (or maybe I'm just shipping them.. whatever). Their banter is a good fraction of the game's comedic payload, with just a bit of fourth wall breaking for flavor. How does Verdi convince Wyrd to go out? We'll never know, that scene is "missing" and when we return they're on their quest. You get a good sense of the game's comedic flavor in the first few minutes and it tastes great!

What I really like is that the Laurel and Hardy megaslime isn't limited to the narrative, it carries over into gameplay mechanics. As witches, an important accessory is your spellbook (never leave home without it!) and the game has a few varieties to try. Verdi can only equip a blank notebook, but Wyrd can equip anything from Tolstoy to the Voynich Manuscript. It's little, but it's clever. Feenicks always does good stuff like that.

While we're on gameplay mechanics, I'd be a bastard if I didn't mention the costumes. All of the armor you can equip has a special character portrait for Verdi. Wyrd won't wear anything "interesting" so we don't get to see her (Another great integration of character into the mechanics!). This could potentially be offensive or objectifying, but I think the author does a good job of keeping it classy. It never feels like you're being forced to wear something skimpy for the stats, but it never feels like you're punished for wanting some eye-candy either. There's nothing obscene but maybe don't play it with your mom in the room just to be safe?

Anyway, as you wander around looking for the ultimate costume and trying to win a bet, you'll take on various monsters to steal their costumes and candy. The battle balance is exceptional. You can win the entire game without ever buying anything! Not to say that the game is easy, but you can save anywhere. If you get in too deep, go to a previous area and grind battles till you gain a level and the sweet free HP/MP refill that goes with it. There's one boss that's really easy to trigger and could lead to a cheap death, but since you can SAVE ANYWHERE, you're a jackass if you lose too much progress to it. Some people might be put off by this philosophy, but I thought it was pretty cool.

The two girls are opposites in combat: Verdi focuses on fire attacks and Wyrd on ice, though they both eventually branch out. Finding the right element to use on each enemy is an important part of strategizing and the different equipment gives you a few possible alternate strategies as well. It doesn't get terribly, terribly deep but this isn't that kind of RPG. This is about saving the world, it's just a night of treats and tricks and for that kind of a game this is perfect.

Almost forgot the music! The music is weird, it's poppy, but it's not? It's like... experimental soft jazz. It's at once square and yet also anti-commercial? It makes me feel things I don't understand and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Is this the Vapor Wave I've been hearing about? Whatever it is it's cool.

I do have a few complaints: The Game Boy inspired palette is cool, but it breaks the equipment menu a little and makes it impossible to tell in a shop who can equip which item (because those things are displayed by default as flashing colors). I'm also not a huge fan of the equipment menu dumping you back to the map after you've equipped, mostly because it makes it harder to play dress up, but still! Is this something all OHR Games do? I've never noticed it before.

Yeah, that's all my complaints! It's a good game! I'd suggest it to anyone whose mother isn't the room (Not that it's obscene but well... you know how moms are). If you're looking for a porn game, a Fetish Quest, or anything like that, you're not going to find it here. But if you're looking for a good RPG time with just a little bit of that PG-13 "watchin Baywatch when Mom isn't home" thrill, witch.rpg is worth an hour of your time.
Attachments
I saved this screenshot to make a "and ran out of textbox" joke, but the game beat me to it! Son of a bitch!
I saved this screenshot to make a "and ran out of textbox" joke, but the game beat me to it! Son of a bitch!
witch0004.png (15.74 KiB) Viewed 3137 times
Twins, Basil! Twins!
Twins, Basil! Twins!
witch0003.png (9.03 KiB) Viewed 3137 times
Any excuse for dressing up is fine
Any excuse for dressing up is fine
witch0000.png (6.52 KiB) Viewed 3137 times
Feenicks up to his invisible door tricks again!
Feenicks up to his invisible door tricks again!
witch0045.png (18.95 KiB) Viewed 3137 times
Smut Review: The dark lines on her crotch/pubic area are weird with the mummy wrap. It looks like she wrapped her crotch seperately from her legs, like an N64 Controller
Smut Review: The dark lines on her crotch/pubic area are weird with the mummy wrap. It looks like she wrapped her crotch seperately from her legs, like an N64 Controller
witch0025.png (19.01 KiB) Viewed 3137 times
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Feenicks
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Post by Feenicks »

re; the mummy outfit: dunno what I was thinking there [well, I know exactly what I was thinking there but that's not the point at hand. I guess I was considering it a bit like a patterned bodysuit instead of actual pieces of cloth you'd have to put on [but considering Verdi can just magic on her outfits it's not like it matters all too much; for all we know she could be wrapping her crotch separately]. Anyway, I attached something resembling a solution to the problem.

Might as well say another thing or two, now that I'm here.

- Even if the way of doing enemy graphics I used here does have some issues, it's a fast and easy way to get down stuff, and I'm probably going to use it whenever the next contest with a heavy time constraint comes around.
- I was going to add a secret dungeon in a rerelease of some sort, but realized that it would be a bit out of character for both Verdi/Wyrd and the game as a whole. The crypt at the end is a fitting end to the game, and throwing a generic bonus dungeon place into the mess would dilute that.
- The demon boss doesn't actually summon anyone in the uploaded version, right? Seems a bit more fitting than the actually working boss.
- Probably going to do a re-release for next Halloween with the special Game Boy palettes, but there's not much point doing that sort of thing now.
Attachments
Maybe a bit more of a dress situation? Covers up the problem, at least.
Maybe a bit more of a dress situation? Covers up the problem, at least.
mummya.png (21.52 KiB) Viewed 3086 times
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