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Fan Stuff / Re: CHRONICLES OF THE WOLF
« Last post by RichterB on November 23, 2023, 05:26:53 PM »Picked up Wallachia: Reign of Dracula as I wait. The game in motion on the Switch looks much better than it does in videos. The sprite work is really incredible. I really appreciate how big the sprites are, too. It's a very well made game that is as advertised. It sort of reminds me of a beefed up version of a game I'd find in an arcade in the 90s. I think the variety of scenarios is nice.
I've made it to Level 6, but then I had to call it a day. (Been a while since I played a game where you have to start over from scratch--which produced a bit of anxiety--but I know that it wouldn't really make sense to have a save system in a game like this. Well, maybe a temporary save like in Harmony of Dissonance would have been nice, but I can respect the vision. And with what I've learned, I know I can get back to where I was quicker. This is like my Contra III and Super Ghouls N Ghosts days.) [EDIT: There is a difficulty-based Stage Select after you've beaten levels. Problem solved. This will be great for working on Trophies, too.] I like how there are bonus modes and trophies to keep some replay value on a game that, by design, will not be too long.
The voices and sound design are really good, and the music is fitting. I don't know if a specific song has totally grabbed my attention yet (maybe Stage 1 a bit), but I can see them growing on me. I think the special helper characters' powers are sort of more limited than I would like because you have to have so many gems to use any of them. Getting to Power Level 2 especially on any regular basis seems out of the question. I'm still getting the hang of switching between arrows in spots and understanding their properties. The addition of a sword is cool, and I like how there are some strategy elements in terms of the keys in the levels and such. (I'm always wondering about the rewards of saving a prisoner versus opening a chest.) The Tower Boss and the War Dragon were very clever, and Dragomir takes the award for coolest design in a game with great art direction. I love how the stages evolve in terms of day and night or weather, or how you go into a well in one of the stages. It's kind of fun to see Migami's take on a more straightforward action game. It has hints of your work on the Lecarde games, but is in a different context.
For some reason the resolution on the title screen and opening cinema seem less than the actual game, but it's not a big deal. The story is well directed and told for what it is.
Anyway, the game deserves a lot of credit. I don't know how it ended up doing, but in terms of quality, it's easily in the conversation with the best indies and deserved credit. It is honestly a much better game than I expected when I first saw the screenshots and trailers. So that's my misjudgment for having certain expectations. I think for me, personally, I would have liked to have seen more supernatural elements, but I know that this was intended to be more of a historical fiction take on the whole Dracula story. That said, I wonder how this ties into Chronicles of the Wolf. Maybe Christian starts the Rose Cross Knights or something? It feels like a separate universe so far. Maybe Elcin's wolf helper is connected somehow, too. All that said, solid, fun, polished game you should definitely be proud of. Do not doubt that you know what you're doing in terms of game design. This is good stuff, even in a different genre. Congrats on getting to flex your creativity on an original IP like this and sticking to your vision for it before Chronicles of the Wolf.
I've made it to Level 6, but then I had to call it a day. (
The voices and sound design are really good, and the music is fitting. I don't know if a specific song has totally grabbed my attention yet (maybe Stage 1 a bit), but I can see them growing on me. I think the special helper characters' powers are sort of more limited than I would like because you have to have so many gems to use any of them. Getting to Power Level 2 especially on any regular basis seems out of the question. I'm still getting the hang of switching between arrows in spots and understanding their properties. The addition of a sword is cool, and I like how there are some strategy elements in terms of the keys in the levels and such. (I'm always wondering about the rewards of saving a prisoner versus opening a chest.) The Tower Boss and the War Dragon were very clever, and Dragomir takes the award for coolest design in a game with great art direction. I love how the stages evolve in terms of day and night or weather, or how you go into a well in one of the stages. It's kind of fun to see Migami's take on a more straightforward action game. It has hints of your work on the Lecarde games, but is in a different context.
For some reason the resolution on the title screen and opening cinema seem less than the actual game, but it's not a big deal. The story is well directed and told for what it is.
Anyway, the game deserves a lot of credit. I don't know how it ended up doing, but in terms of quality, it's easily in the conversation with the best indies and deserved credit. It is honestly a much better game than I expected when I first saw the screenshots and trailers. So that's my misjudgment for having certain expectations. I think for me, personally, I would have liked to have seen more supernatural elements, but I know that this was intended to be more of a historical fiction take on the whole Dracula story. That said, I wonder how this ties into Chronicles of the Wolf. Maybe Christian starts the Rose Cross Knights or something? It feels like a separate universe so far. Maybe Elcin's wolf helper is connected somehow, too. All that said, solid, fun, polished game you should definitely be proud of. Do not doubt that you know what you're doing in terms of game design. This is good stuff, even in a different genre. Congrats on getting to flex your creativity on an original IP like this and sticking to your vision for it before Chronicles of the Wolf.
