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my opinion on el shaddai (the game)
First off, there are no plot spoilers in this post. I'm gonna make a separate post for things like that, because the game just released yesterday. This is mostly about the gameplay and some of the things I liked/disliked about what they did with the game.
Note: If you're on my Plurk timeline, you've probably seen most of this. |D;;
So, El Shaddai. I've been looking forward to this game, mostly because of the El Shaddai meme that flooded Nicodouga and Pixiv for a while. My expectations were knowingly skewed, but I didn't exactly expect to hear any characters break out in song or whatever. I knew better than that (but secretly hoped for it anyway, shhhh). I did try to speed through the game (as best as I could) and managed to finish it in 13 hours. If what one of the characters says is correct, the game could possibly be finished in 7 hours. I started off on Normal mode with English voices.
What I Liked:
→ The game definitely has it's own style and has some very beautiful levels. I love the watercolor-looking effect they did with the environments and the detail in some of the backgrounds of certain stages. There was a particular 2D platforming part that used the flowing clouds as objects to jump on and I thought that was just awesome. Whatever graphics seen in the trailers has also improved, including the main character's ridiculous face. Other than one or two instances when the frame rate dropped everything flowed smoothly and looked great in action.
→ The variety of gameplay they threw in was absolutely great. They tried to do all kinds of stuff and not fail at it... and I think they pulled it off well. The game switched between 2D and 3D platforming, threw in a surprise genre, and none of it was really jarring at all. Except for the surprise genre, although that was more LMAO surprise than actually jarring. My favorite parts were definitely the 2D platforming ones, though. I thought it was a lot easier to see the watercolor effects and easier to control overall.
→ The game didn't take itself seriously like I feared it would. There were some HILARIOUS and LOL MOMENTS that were just great. I was so happy to see themand can't wait to see more fanart in the game. Most of these parts came in the middle of the game, which was excellent in both picking up the pace and being slightly more coherent storywise.
→ The voice acting is really easy on the ears. I didn't have a problem with any of the characters. Speaking of which, the game has DUEL LANGUAGE which I greatly appreciate. I was somewhat disappointed with Catherine being English only (although the English voices were great), so I was afraid this game would be the same.
→ I liked the fighting sections once I got used to it. It was kind of reminiscent of Devil May Cry. The weapons took some practice, but figuring it out wasn't too bad. I don't think the learning curve is super steep, which is good for a dense person like me, but I still haven't been able to figure out how to pull off some of the moves I wanted. I'll admit that I was rushing through the game and didn't take the time to figure it out well enough. I accidentally did some cool tricks though! 8D;
→ I think the music was great. I've been playing Demon's Souls lately, which has some of the worst music I've heard in a video game. THIS MUSIC WAS LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.
→ There's unlockables for finishing the game the first time around! Like concept art and the addition of life bar gauges. This was a great idea on their part, given the length of the game.
What I Disliked:
→ THE CAMERA. I pretty much bitched about the camera the entire game. The developers made the decision to take the control of the camera out of the gamer's hands. I think this is because they wanted to be a little cinematic/artsy about it -- sticking the camera at an angle that will show the platforms you need to jump to while showing off the environment at the same time. They never give you control of the camera, ever. Even during fighting parts, which was the worst. I started off the game trying to hit enemies that were off screen because the camera focused on the main character and not the enemies I was trying to whack at. It also proved troublesome during third person platforming levels, when I couldn't move the camera to get a good view of where I needed to go.
This is also a negative when trying to backtrack. I had a few moments when I wanted to go left instead of straight and needed to jump some platforms to get there. The camera was all right, showing the platforms to the left and allowing me to go without trouble. Coming back was a different story! Because the camera was fixed to show the platform to the left, I had trouble jumping back to where the path forked. I'd just run and jump, hoping I'd manage to land safely. That's... kind of bad, especially for platforming. I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this problem, but I really would've liked to be able to at least move the camera to the side so I can get a clearer view of where I'm going. I'm pretty sure most of the 13 hours it took for me to finish the game was me falling off platforms like an idiot because I couldn't see.
To anyone else who is playing/has played this game: did you have a similar problem? I'm wondering if it was just me. :\a
→ No lock-on button. I know, I know, that's kind of a novice thing for me to complain about. But, seriously, I'm the type of person who really appreciates a good lock-on indicator if available. And I really think this game could've used one especially since I couldn't control the camera! There were way too many times when I would swing at an enemy, only for it to be a few steps to the side and I'd completely miss. The flying enemies were really frustrating because I just couldn't seem to aim at them properly. This might just be due to my own lack of skill, but I really would've liked the ability to lock onto targets.
→ Too stylish for its own good. This is probably an Unpopular Opinion, but there's a couple parts where the game just went overboard with trying to look too special. One level had a negative color scheme, making it hard for me to tell whether the puddle-looking hole in the ground was a puddle or an actual hole. Another level looked like someone tried to layer three different textures (grunge, crosshatch, and splatter), added noise, and overlayed a pastel-colored rainbow gradient on top. My brother and I couldn't see where some ledges began or ended. Things like this sometimes messed with my depth perception, and I was left using the main character's shadow to judge where I was landing. I reeeeeeeally had to focus on the background action and ignore the textures in the foreground (they made it so that it was like the textures were on the screen).
→ I can't help but feel like they sacrificed some gameplay practicality for graphic design. Some of it just didn't work with me (and, again, it might be just me).
→ The beginning and the very ending. I think those were the weakest parts in the storytelling of the game. Overall, the story seemed a little disjointed. Like we were given more of a story outline with neat graphics rather than a fleshed out, flowing story. Then again, this is an action game. Maybe this is sufficient enough? :\a
→ If you're playing the game in English, the lip syncing will be off. I think it's because the game has duel language, so they didn't try to change the mouth movement or anything. It's not a BIG negative. There's just a couple parts where it's starting to look like an old Godzilla film.
What I Didn't Expect:
→ I didn't realize the game was going to be so... arcade-like. When I heard it was lead by the dude who did Okami I thought the gameplay would be more like that. I assumed we'd be able to explore the environments a little and get to know the characters more. This was my mistake, really. Just because it was lead by the dude doesn't mean it has the same setup. The game itself is actually very linear with no real exploration into the world. It's not bad! I just didn't realize it would be an all action game.
→ Sixty fucking dollars. I've been buying nothing but cheap Steam games and used games lately, so paying full price was like OW OW OW.
Overall:
I don't think it's The Game of the Year or anything, but it's pretty fun and had some good ideas. I hope they make another El Shaddai game to continue the story or expand on the world. I was kinda getting into it during the middle portion and wanted more when it ended. I feel like there's a lot that can be worked with, and I'm definitely gonna end up replaying the game because of the unlockables so I wouldn't say it's a waste of money (like a certain Square-Enix purchase that I might rant about later). I wouldn't mind recommending it to other people, either.
"There's no problem. Everything's fine."
And that's my opinion. :3c
Note: If you're on my Plurk timeline, you've probably seen most of this. |D;;
So, El Shaddai. I've been looking forward to this game, mostly because of the El Shaddai meme that flooded Nicodouga and Pixiv for a while. My expectations were knowingly skewed, but I didn't exactly expect to hear any characters break out in song or whatever. I knew better than that (but secretly hoped for it anyway, shhhh). I did try to speed through the game (as best as I could) and managed to finish it in 13 hours. If what one of the characters says is correct, the game could possibly be finished in 7 hours. I started off on Normal mode with English voices.
What I Liked:
→ The game definitely has it's own style and has some very beautiful levels. I love the watercolor-looking effect they did with the environments and the detail in some of the backgrounds of certain stages. There was a particular 2D platforming part that used the flowing clouds as objects to jump on and I thought that was just awesome. Whatever graphics seen in the trailers has also improved, including the main character's ridiculous face. Other than one or two instances when the frame rate dropped everything flowed smoothly and looked great in action.
→ The variety of gameplay they threw in was absolutely great. They tried to do all kinds of stuff and not fail at it... and I think they pulled it off well. The game switched between 2D and 3D platforming, threw in a surprise genre, and none of it was really jarring at all. Except for the surprise genre, although that was more LMAO surprise than actually jarring. My favorite parts were definitely the 2D platforming ones, though. I thought it was a lot easier to see the watercolor effects and easier to control overall.
→ The game didn't take itself seriously like I feared it would. There were some HILARIOUS and LOL MOMENTS that were just great. I was so happy to see them
→ The voice acting is really easy on the ears. I didn't have a problem with any of the characters. Speaking of which, the game has DUEL LANGUAGE which I greatly appreciate. I was somewhat disappointed with Catherine being English only (although the English voices were great), so I was afraid this game would be the same.
→ I liked the fighting sections once I got used to it. It was kind of reminiscent of Devil May Cry. The weapons took some practice, but figuring it out wasn't too bad. I don't think the learning curve is super steep, which is good for a dense person like me, but I still haven't been able to figure out how to pull off some of the moves I wanted. I'll admit that I was rushing through the game and didn't take the time to figure it out well enough. I accidentally did some cool tricks though! 8D;
→ I think the music was great. I've been playing Demon's Souls lately, which has some of the worst music I've heard in a video game. THIS MUSIC WAS LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.
→ There's unlockables for finishing the game the first time around! Like concept art and the addition of life bar gauges. This was a great idea on their part, given the length of the game.
What I Disliked:
→ THE CAMERA. I pretty much bitched about the camera the entire game. The developers made the decision to take the control of the camera out of the gamer's hands. I think this is because they wanted to be a little cinematic/artsy about it -- sticking the camera at an angle that will show the platforms you need to jump to while showing off the environment at the same time. They never give you control of the camera, ever. Even during fighting parts, which was the worst. I started off the game trying to hit enemies that were off screen because the camera focused on the main character and not the enemies I was trying to whack at. It also proved troublesome during third person platforming levels, when I couldn't move the camera to get a good view of where I needed to go.
This is also a negative when trying to backtrack. I had a few moments when I wanted to go left instead of straight and needed to jump some platforms to get there. The camera was all right, showing the platforms to the left and allowing me to go without trouble. Coming back was a different story! Because the camera was fixed to show the platform to the left, I had trouble jumping back to where the path forked. I'd just run and jump, hoping I'd manage to land safely. That's... kind of bad, especially for platforming. I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this problem, but I really would've liked to be able to at least move the camera to the side so I can get a clearer view of where I'm going. I'm pretty sure most of the 13 hours it took for me to finish the game was me falling off platforms like an idiot because I couldn't see.
To anyone else who is playing/has played this game: did you have a similar problem? I'm wondering if it was just me. :\a
→ No lock-on button. I know, I know, that's kind of a novice thing for me to complain about. But, seriously, I'm the type of person who really appreciates a good lock-on indicator if available. And I really think this game could've used one especially since I couldn't control the camera! There were way too many times when I would swing at an enemy, only for it to be a few steps to the side and I'd completely miss. The flying enemies were really frustrating because I just couldn't seem to aim at them properly. This might just be due to my own lack of skill, but I really would've liked the ability to lock onto targets.
→ Too stylish for its own good. This is probably an Unpopular Opinion, but there's a couple parts where the game just went overboard with trying to look too special. One level had a negative color scheme, making it hard for me to tell whether the puddle-looking hole in the ground was a puddle or an actual hole. Another level looked like someone tried to layer three different textures (grunge, crosshatch, and splatter), added noise, and overlayed a pastel-colored rainbow gradient on top. My brother and I couldn't see where some ledges began or ended. Things like this sometimes messed with my depth perception, and I was left using the main character's shadow to judge where I was landing. I reeeeeeeally had to focus on the background action and ignore the textures in the foreground (they made it so that it was like the textures were on the screen).
→ I can't help but feel like they sacrificed some gameplay practicality for graphic design. Some of it just didn't work with me (and, again, it might be just me).
→ The beginning and the very ending. I think those were the weakest parts in the storytelling of the game. Overall, the story seemed a little disjointed. Like we were given more of a story outline with neat graphics rather than a fleshed out, flowing story. Then again, this is an action game. Maybe this is sufficient enough? :\a
→ If you're playing the game in English, the lip syncing will be off. I think it's because the game has duel language, so they didn't try to change the mouth movement or anything. It's not a BIG negative. There's just a couple parts where it's starting to look like an old Godzilla film.
What I Didn't Expect:
→ I didn't realize the game was going to be so... arcade-like. When I heard it was lead by the dude who did Okami I thought the gameplay would be more like that. I assumed we'd be able to explore the environments a little and get to know the characters more. This was my mistake, really. Just because it was lead by the dude doesn't mean it has the same setup. The game itself is actually very linear with no real exploration into the world. It's not bad! I just didn't realize it would be an all action game.
→ Sixty fucking dollars. I've been buying nothing but cheap Steam games and used games lately, so paying full price was like OW OW OW.
Overall:
I don't think it's The Game of the Year or anything, but it's pretty fun and had some good ideas. I hope they make another El Shaddai game to continue the story or expand on the world. I was kinda getting into it during the middle portion and wanted more when it ended. I feel like there's a lot that can be worked with, and I'm definitely gonna end up replaying the game because of the unlockables so I wouldn't say it's a waste of money (like a certain Square-Enix purchase that I might rant about later). I wouldn't mind recommending it to other people, either.
"There's no problem. Everything's fine."
And that's my opinion. :3c