Jojiro's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Kitty Dream]

The match of music to the game really turns what would otherwise be "just another platform puzzler" into a cute little game with lots of ambiance. I love the detail work on the characters and tiles despite the limited palette. It shows a degree of care and polish that is rare in games made for jams.

My only complaint is that the room with 5 blocks seems to be impossible. I have 2 secrets, I've managed to completely leave the map with block-hackery, I've talked to the guy who says it's been a long time since he got visitors, I've tried bringing in blocks from other screens...

Nothing is working. Is it impossible or a bug? Or am I missing something obvious? Or is it not even a trick, and I just can't solve puzzles? :(

Anyway, it's the little things that keep me playing. The puzzle elements may not be innovative, but the lines when he jumps, the puffs of smoke...it's those things that make the game scream out how polished it is, despite how understated those effects are. Truly a work of art.

And a work of frustration, for me. XD

Raiyumi responds:

Thanks. :)

Hint: The blocks don't need to stay in place. They just need to all be touching at the same time. Good luck. :)

[sisteR]

Trolling like a baus.

Improve your English.

[Panda Rush]

I'd love to see a version of this game that increased the sense of progression as you moved along. Power ups would be welcome. A plot would be welcome. The ability to finish a level would be welcome.

This has a lot of potential to grow, and could be a lot more exciting and better executed as a result. I look forward to see what you have in store for the future.

AndrewEkeren responds:

Great, thank you very much for playing and the feedback! I'm keeping a list of possible additions for a sequel.

[... :D]

Considering it's made from dots, it's really nice eyecandy. The gameplay is kind of standard and level design is uninspiring at best, tedious at worst.

However, considering that it isn't terribly ambitious and involves little in terms of graphics work, it looks really beautiful. I know a lot of other people that try to shoot for something prettier that often looks a lot messier, even if the graphics and gameplay are 'more complex' or whatever.

Execution, besides level design, which I found too simplistic, was well-done, in the sense that the game is polished and plays well.

What do I mean when I say I'm not a fan of level design? I more or less played the whole game without pausing to think, kinda on autopilot and just enjoying the flashes of pretty colors.
I stopped briefly on levels 12, 14, 16, 18, and 23, oddly enough. I'm not saying those were the only well-designed levels, but those were the ones that stood out to me.

[TF: Survival Mode 3]

For some reason the rectangle is "magnetized" toward the falling spikes if they are close enough. Movement currently is limited and the falling spikes appear a little jerky.

The main menu and the game graphics could definitely use a bit of polish, and the game itself could use goals, benchmarks, and powerups.

Perhaps, instead of having in-game powerups, after every trial the player would be able to "purchase" powerups?

Very lacking game, but executes well for what little it has.

[Astronauticus]

The choice to reduce the 'star' value per try is one of the stranger design decisions I've seen for a while. All it does is cause the player to waste time hitting the "restart level" button if they want a high-score. Either base it off of timing of one run or some other "in play" parameter, rather than having it reduce with every try.

Also, the 'slow' and 'accelerate' keys should be somewhere stationary, instead of following the ship around. That just artificially inflated the difficulty and was annoying.

Good game...some odd decisions made about ranking and button placement.

[Warfare: 1917]

I could definitely do without the strobelights at the beginning, or the occasional freeze when I click through the info-menus too quickly.

Bugs aside, the game functions wonderfully and is a fantastic testament to war and strategy. Definitely one of the best WWI games out there, and one of the best military basics simulations as well. Love the gritty art, realistic terrain, use of trenches and morale, and just everything about the game.

Sans the bugs.

[Micro Thief]

A great and small game that functions well.
It's not very in-depth, but LD games rarely are.

My only complaint is that the medals aren't all-inclusive. If you beat the game in 140 seconds, like I did, for example, you have to also beat it in over 200 seconds, and between 150-200 seconds to get the less skillful medals. This seems like bad achievement design to me.

As for getting under 110...gah. Can't do it.

[Ultimate Super NES Quiz]

The lack of hints and more than that small screenshot's worth of information make this needlessly difficult, and in the end it's not informative to the quiz-taker...either you know everything already, or you get stuck and have no way of moving forward at all.

Having said that, the musical score of this game alone gives it huge nostalgic value, and the collection of games you've chosen accurately and faithfully represent the Super Nintendo era of gaming.

The points given aren't as much for execution as they are for the memories. Thank you!