5th December 2017, 11:47 AM
(This post was last modified: 5th December 2017, 11:58 AM by A Black Falcon.)
So to add a bit more to this. First, on a controls note, the New 3DS (or New 2DS) is definitely recommended for this game, as you can use the right stick to move the camera around. You can't move the camera at all without a New 3DS, so have one for this game. The New 3DS also duplicates some functions onto ZL and ZR that you'd otherwise have to hit the d-pad or touchscreen for, which is handy.
As for the game itself, at first this game seems pretty hard, but that does not last. At the beginning you start with 10 hit points and die in about two hits, you can only save in town, and when you die the game is kind of harsh -- you have to go back to your last save. You have a dodge-roll button, though, so using it in combat to avoid attack is key.
However, once you really get going things get easier. Pretty early on you get Rainbow Protection, referring to the rainbow over the oasis, which gives a huge boost to your health (I went from 11 HP to 41), varying based on how happy your oasis's residents are. Rainbow Protection also allows you to resurrect after dying, once only at first but more time as you progress. This is really important, given how easy it is to die. But yes, keeping your little town's people happy, by doing quests for them and providing them with the stuff they need to sell at their stores, is a key part of this game.
You get benefits, though, not only in health from Rainbow Protection, but also financially. See, you pick up stuff, like plant or monster parts, but you can't just sell it for money, and you'll need money to build new shops for your residents, synthesize items for yourself (it's simple crafting, thankfully, you just get the items for the listed formulas and it makes them, no guesswork required), and such. Instead, you get money from revenues from sales at the shops. That is, as shopkeepers sell items to the other people in your oasis, they collect a part of the profits and you can collect those revenues once a shop has sold enough. It's an interesting mechanic which fits well with the 'you're the mayor' element of this game.
Returning to the combat and dungeons and such though, your character starts with a sword but you eventually get several weapon types. You can also shoot out small tornadoes, which you use to activate switches for dungeon puzzles, blow away small piles of sand that pile up around and often have items in them, and such. And once you get party members you can also switch between them, and they each have their own weapon and ability for use in puzzles. You also eventually get the ability to warp between where you are and town; I don't have this yet, but it'd be very useful. Overall this isn't an especially complex game once you get used to it, as most puzzles seem simple and the gameplay is fairly straightforward and repetitive -- fight enemies, collect stuff, build town, repeat -- but it's a lot of fun and is a definite challenge. Sure, the game gets a lot easier once you have the Rainbow Protection benefits and party members, but I think there is still definite challenge to be found. Even with boosted health and such, losing a lot of it quickly is easy if you don't dodge well, and healing items are limited. Losing health is particularly easy in battles against multiple enemies, as dodging all of them is much harder with more than one foe at once.
Anyway though, this seems like a very good game that deserves attention.
As for the game itself, at first this game seems pretty hard, but that does not last. At the beginning you start with 10 hit points and die in about two hits, you can only save in town, and when you die the game is kind of harsh -- you have to go back to your last save. You have a dodge-roll button, though, so using it in combat to avoid attack is key.
However, once you really get going things get easier. Pretty early on you get Rainbow Protection, referring to the rainbow over the oasis, which gives a huge boost to your health (I went from 11 HP to 41), varying based on how happy your oasis's residents are. Rainbow Protection also allows you to resurrect after dying, once only at first but more time as you progress. This is really important, given how easy it is to die. But yes, keeping your little town's people happy, by doing quests for them and providing them with the stuff they need to sell at their stores, is a key part of this game.
You get benefits, though, not only in health from Rainbow Protection, but also financially. See, you pick up stuff, like plant or monster parts, but you can't just sell it for money, and you'll need money to build new shops for your residents, synthesize items for yourself (it's simple crafting, thankfully, you just get the items for the listed formulas and it makes them, no guesswork required), and such. Instead, you get money from revenues from sales at the shops. That is, as shopkeepers sell items to the other people in your oasis, they collect a part of the profits and you can collect those revenues once a shop has sold enough. It's an interesting mechanic which fits well with the 'you're the mayor' element of this game.
Returning to the combat and dungeons and such though, your character starts with a sword but you eventually get several weapon types. You can also shoot out small tornadoes, which you use to activate switches for dungeon puzzles, blow away small piles of sand that pile up around and often have items in them, and such. And once you get party members you can also switch between them, and they each have their own weapon and ability for use in puzzles. You also eventually get the ability to warp between where you are and town; I don't have this yet, but it'd be very useful. Overall this isn't an especially complex game once you get used to it, as most puzzles seem simple and the gameplay is fairly straightforward and repetitive -- fight enemies, collect stuff, build town, repeat -- but it's a lot of fun and is a definite challenge. Sure, the game gets a lot easier once you have the Rainbow Protection benefits and party members, but I think there is still definite challenge to be found. Even with boosted health and such, losing a lot of it quickly is easy if you don't dodge well, and healing items are limited. Losing health is particularly easy in battles against multiple enemies, as dodging all of them is much harder with more than one foe at once.
Anyway though, this seems like a very good game that deserves attention.
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