I remember loving this game, and showing it to my partner from the game jam and going, "Oh yeah this is a winner right here!" Glad to hear you're still working on it!
Thank you! I've been trying to get the new game done, and something made me want to go back and add in a few things I wasn't able to back during the jam.
Seems like a fun game, but I have a few things to note.
1. It took me ages to realize that enemies sometimes drop hearts. They blend in really well with some of the backgrounds.
2. Checkpoints felt sparse at times—especially before difficult platforming sections. I wound up quitting the game right before the first checkpoint on the zone left of the crash site, right after the group of enemies right after the bounce-mushroom course, because I fell in the lava and realized I'd have to go through all that and then starting some from a completely different zone.
3. I am not very good at the game. I died a lot. On the bright side, this means I noticed an exploit any BUDD speedrunners could probably use—death sends you back to the last checkpoint with all progress intact. Useful for if you fall off the top layer (after reaching a checkpoint up there), and can save critical frames after getting the first attack drone thingy.
Right, so I decided to go back and play through the game, and finished it this time. Further notes:
4. The background flashing red when you die is a really simple effect, but it looks nice! Which is good, because I saw it a lot.
5. It feels weird that the player character doesn't turn when they move in midair. This occasionally has an effect on gameplay—sometimes right after landing, I throw my BUDD the wrong way.
6. The art direction is great. The way that sci-fi-industrial aesthetics are blended with overgrown green-and-pink plants really works.
7. The floating turret enemies are a pain in the butt. You can't fire in midair, so unless there happens to be a nearby platform at the right height (which there almost never is), you just have to endure or dodge the bullets. Which is fine if you're just running past, but if you're trying to precisely place the Coil or you fall in the wrong nook (with a bullet always blocking your path if you try to leave), it's...not.
8. Much as I dislike the turrets, adding them throughout the world after getting the third BUDD helps make that last segment of the game feel less repetitive. The East Forest full of fiery death bullets is WAY different than the East Forest with just fire-breathing flowers and shambling vine-monsters!
9. The controls work pretty well, but with the three action buttons be right next to each other like that, I kept hitting the wrong button by accident. Dying because a deadly flower knocked me into lava? Annoying, but that's an NES throwback for you. Dying because I switched BUDDs instead of jumping, or jumped instead of attacking? Quite annoying indeed. Why do so many games do that?
When i saw the gameplay i actually tought you used an engine made specifically to replicate old game's style, but i see that you used game maker, it's impressive how similar it looks and feels to retro games
Thanks! It isn't super hard to replicate an older system's limitations if you keep them in mind. Stuff like the palette, aspect ratio, sound effects, that sort of thing.
Fun Metroidvania, played it a couple of times and got 100% under 9 minutes. Personally I really apricate the slight delay from pressing the attack button and the attack coming out. It's like the Castlevania whip in terms of length and serves the same purpose of making the attack feel like you are attacking with something that isn't a natural extension to the player making it feel natural for the visuals. I liked how Ray was mostly used mostly used for puzzles rather than combat as it kept Boxer form being useless. The level design for the most part excellent. The figure 8 design made the exploration fun and the addition of more enemies/obstacles as you did backtrack made older parts fell fresh, especially exploring with Coil.
I do wish that Coil would stay out a split second longer as the sort length he stays out is a bit jarring the first couple of times you use him, but you do get use to it. Also the game would of benefited from a wider screen IMO, like the 4:3 retro resolution is fine for aesthetic but it does make some jumps uncomfortable. Namely the string of mushroom jumps over the lava pits, and more over the jump on the second floor where you have to jump down to the mushroom with the enemy walking in front of it, because you don't know how wide that platform is and if you jump with him offscreen he will know you down the the first floor. Also encountered a small "bug" where I deployed Coil and kept the momentum with hurt animation as I bounced off Coil covering a lot of ground.
But an all in all fantastic experience that would of fit squarely with any NES game in terms of gameplay and style. Really fun to play and a charming overgrown landscape to explore.
Thank you for playing! I definitely agree that I wouldn't have used 4:3 if I weren't going for the retro NES aesthetic, I was just in the mood for a bit of intentional jank.
Played this game a few times because it's very cute and a blast to play. I love the concept, and heck, even just 'pointing' at enemies before getting the B.U.D.D.s was fun t'do.
The game has a very good retro style, and feels very Castlevania 2 and Monster Party-esque, and succeeds at being way better than both. All in all, a great game, and definitely worth the time to download and play! c:
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Thanks to my friend Xbuster, i'm having a blast with this stellar game!
I remember loving this game, and showing it to my partner from the game jam and going, "Oh yeah this is a winner right here!" Glad to hear you're still working on it!
Thank you! I've been trying to get the new game done, and something made me want to go back and add in a few things I wasn't able to back during the jam.
Seems like a fun game, but I have a few things to note.
1. It took me ages to realize that enemies sometimes drop hearts. They blend in really well with some of the backgrounds.
2. Checkpoints felt sparse at times—especially before difficult platforming sections. I wound up quitting the game right before the first checkpoint on the zone left of the crash site, right after the group of enemies right after the bounce-mushroom course, because I fell in the lava and realized I'd have to go through all that and then starting some from a completely different zone.
3. I am not very good at the game. I died a lot. On the bright side, this means I noticed an exploit any BUDD speedrunners could probably use—death sends you back to the last checkpoint with all progress intact. Useful for if you fall off the top layer (after reaching a checkpoint up there), and can save critical frames after getting the first attack drone thingy.
Right, so I decided to go back and play through the game, and finished it this time. Further notes:
4. The background flashing red when you die is a really simple effect, but it looks nice! Which is good, because I saw it a lot.
5. It feels weird that the player character doesn't turn when they move in midair. This occasionally has an effect on gameplay—sometimes right after landing, I throw my BUDD the wrong way.
6. The art direction is great. The way that sci-fi-industrial aesthetics are blended with overgrown green-and-pink plants really works.
7. The floating turret enemies are a pain in the butt. You can't fire in midair, so unless there happens to be a nearby platform at the right height (which there almost never is), you just have to endure or dodge the bullets. Which is fine if you're just running past, but if you're trying to precisely place the Coil or you fall in the wrong nook (with a bullet always blocking your path if you try to leave), it's...not.
8. Much as I dislike the turrets, adding them throughout the world after getting the third BUDD helps make that last segment of the game feel less repetitive. The East Forest full of fiery death bullets is WAY different than the East Forest with just fire-breathing flowers and shambling vine-monsters!
9. The controls work pretty well, but with the three action buttons be right next to each other like that, I kept hitting the wrong button by accident. Dying because a deadly flower knocked me into lava? Annoying, but that's an NES throwback for you. Dying because I switched BUDDs instead of jumping, or jumped instead of attacking? Quite annoying indeed. Why do so many games do that?
10. The ending slides were cute.
See you next game, I guess!
Looks pretty good. :)
This is insanely good!
Thank you!
When i saw the gameplay i actually tought you used an engine made specifically to replicate old game's style, but i see that you used game maker, it's impressive how similar it looks and feels to retro games
Thanks! It isn't super hard to replicate an older system's limitations if you keep them in mind. Stuff like the palette, aspect ratio, sound effects, that sort of thing.
Fun Metroidvania, played it a couple of times and got 100% under 9 minutes. Personally I really apricate the slight delay from pressing the attack button and the attack coming out. It's like the Castlevania whip in terms of length and serves the same purpose of making the attack feel like you are attacking with something that isn't a natural extension to the player making it feel natural for the visuals. I liked how Ray was mostly used mostly used for puzzles rather than combat as it kept Boxer form being useless. The level design for the most part excellent. The figure 8 design made the exploration fun and the addition of more enemies/obstacles as you did backtrack made older parts fell fresh, especially exploring with Coil.
I do wish that Coil would stay out a split second longer as the sort length he stays out is a bit jarring the first couple of times you use him, but you do get use to it. Also the game would of benefited from a wider screen IMO, like the 4:3 retro resolution is fine for aesthetic but it does make some jumps uncomfortable. Namely the string of mushroom jumps over the lava pits, and more over the jump on the second floor where you have to jump down to the mushroom with the enemy walking in front of it, because you don't know how wide that platform is and if you jump with him offscreen he will know you down the the first floor. Also encountered a small "bug" where I deployed Coil and kept the momentum with hurt animation as I bounced off Coil covering a lot of ground.
But an all in all fantastic experience that would of fit squarely with any NES game in terms of gameplay and style. Really fun to play and a charming overgrown landscape to explore.
Thank you for playing! I definitely agree that I wouldn't have used 4:3 if I weren't going for the retro NES aesthetic, I was just in the mood for a bit of intentional jank.
Fair 'nuf
Played this game a few times because it's very cute and a blast to play. I love the concept, and heck, even just 'pointing' at enemies before getting the B.U.D.D.s was fun t'do.
The game has a very good retro style, and feels very Castlevania 2 and Monster Party-esque, and succeeds at being way better than both. All in all, a great game, and definitely worth the time to download and play! c:
Thank you!!
Hi just played the game.
I love the retro art style! The awkward controls remind me of old school games.
I like the concept! I felt a bit defenseless at the beginning so I would like to get the boxer guys a bit sooner.
Anyway, good job one this one!
Thank you for playing it!