Jojiro's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Alaska]

A decent game with smooth controls when I played it. Loses a star for the glitch (which really should be fixed when you can). Loses another half-star for a problem in the gameplay area. I see what other people mean when they say this is a game about memory rather than skill: beating any bullet hell on a first playthrough should be possible, albeit hard. With this game, when the mines and the bullets come at once, you basically die if you're in the wrong position.

Solid work though, especially for a work in a day. I think people are more critical when you say it defines a new genre, which is a bit of a lofty claim for this particular game.

[Red Rogue]

Jojiro here. With such an in-depth game and with so many plot twists that are hard to fully explore without multiple replays, I really wish you'd mesh this in with Newgrounds achievements. I recognize that this is a finished product and adding those seems terribly unnecessary since it is also a downloadable game, but those NG awards provide some direction for players who are perhaps newer to roguelike games.

I'm...new to roguelikes, myself, and honestly really enjoyed myself. For those who are having trouble getting beyond the later floors, keep in mind that when you open a portal to the overworld, it stays, even after death, so you can go to a tough floor and level up faster (solving a trap on floor 10 when you are level 1, for example, causes you to go up 4-5 levels).

My formula for success was swapping between a heavily enchanted Drow Face and a decent Wizard Hat while using ranged weaponry. Drows can see in the dark and detect enemies with Infra Vision, so it makes the game that much easier.

Other small changes that you probably won't make. Haha. :P
-Multiplayer should allow @ to be able to see. This would be so much fun in multiplayer if that were possible
-The musical score honestly got old really quickly for me. Acquired taste maybe. Sorry Poxican...the droning nature of the music just irritated me
-Quickening enemies kill you. This is fantastically unhinted at and horrendous to behold-though it adds challenge I guess.
-You are amazing. Please develop another game like this (is this a sequel or prequel to another game?)

[Reverie]

Beautiful and atmospheric game.

I for one would have loved more of a narrative. Sometimes less is more, but sometimes less simply is confusing. The symbolism as the levels progressed could have been more embellished, and a lot more could have been done with the dream mechanic than simple platforming aspects. If you polished this up, added a more comprehensive storyline, and maybe dabbled with the dream mechanic (like with Braid's time mechanic) you'd have a legendary game.

As is...I'd say it's decent, but feels unfinished, honestly. It left me wanting more rather than with a feeling of accomplishment. And that lack of fulfillment with the ending is what stops it from truly reaching its potential. 4.5/5

ladace responds:

Did you try pressing F at the end of the game? Maybe..Er....

[Wilt: Exordium]

For one thing, I do agree that the game tries too hard to generate an atmosphere that belies the content. It felt forced, not natural. Art is about contrast, and starting with a gritty environment and keeping that continuously just tires the player out. setuF and Gyossait are two games that are great examples of games that tire the user out with their grittiness. Start brighter and get darker, or have bright scenes in between to break up monotony. Beat your predecessors. You have a team of three. You should be able to do it.

The boss has inconsistent deaths when hit by a grenade. Sometimes it explodes into all the clones, sometimes only 7, sometimes only 4. If this variation is intentional, then the player should be able to cause it, but I see no pattern to it. It seems as if the residual explosion from the grenade just kills more of the clones sometimes. Either delay the explosion of have the clones disperse faster, maybe? Or, if it is intentional, have it seem that way instead of having it be some random inconsistent thing.

Consider having the grenade control be separate from the gun control. Also, I felt as if there could be a better animation for the use of a grenade (think Terraria) instead of just having a spherical lump jump out of a gun.

Aiming is also awkward. There should be a better way of implementing that, such as holding shift to lock the character in place while they aim, instead of having it be interchangeable with movement.

An excellent start, but I hope that the final product isn't recognizable as merely this. You can take it way farther than this! :)