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Grey reviews "Bit Boy! Arcade"; Grey's indie review Summer
Topic Started: Aug 24 2015, 09:09 AM (146 Views)
Greymon57
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Are you ready for some NES Difficulty without the need of an NES inspired game? Ready for a game that will make you wonder just what the heck is going? Ready for a game that will make you both hate it and love it? Well then kiss your Play Coins good bye cause here comes Bit! Boy! Arcade.

BIT BOY!! ARCADE

Story: 4/10 Okay so as far as Plots go, this one is definitely original. It breaks the 4th wall often but let me try to explain it. Bernd is a game designer, he designed the game "Bit Boy". However he witnessed the star of his creation, Kubi, killed at the hands of the final boss. Realizing Kubi is dead, whom he views as his own son, he decides to turn back time to an earlier build of the game. In doing so he can give Kubi buffs so that when he reaches the boss again he will have a better chance. However Kubi does not lose his memories and realizes he is part of a game. Thus begin demanding Bernd to make the game better and add a whole bunch of stuff. In the process Bernd teaches Kubi about game design.

Now if you think that's a lot to take in, it gets worse. First of all, why are extra lives not part of the game's plot? I mean they are part of the game. So why is kubi dying once such a big deal. Also kubi tends to break the 4th wall with these questions a lot. In one level, Bernd says he can't program any upgrades because the main villain is limiting his powers. Kubi points out that makes no sense because he is the programmer so there's no excuse not to be able to program. Bernd just dodges the question.

Now plot wise the story is terrible. And Yet.... The games cutscenes serve as a great lesson of the game design process. Use of textures and lighting, difficulty, map size, camera angles, risk/reward, having to change a concept late into development, making a leap from 2D to 3D, etc. Oddly enough, that part of the plot actually seems enjoyable. In fact, if I were judging the story just on these, I'd give it an 8.5/10.

Gameplay: 9/10 Ah the gameplay. I love so much, BY WHICH I MEAN I HATE THE DIFFICULTY SO MUCH. But when you beat those levels you feel like the man. :D Now how to explain the gameplay. Imagine playing pacman, except where there are no dots, about 20 ghosts on the map, no dots to collect, and the sole objective is to collect 8 power pellets, but they only grant you powers when you collect them all. Can you imagine that? No? well here is a photo to help you out.
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You have to collect the colored boxes while avoiding jagged edges. Yeah it's no walk in the park. Each world has 4 levels and a boss level, and each level has 20 phases. So yeah.... It's a long game. But they do many things to change it up.

Level Design: 10/10 Well I give them credit for all their Kooky level designs. The levels are huge, and the first few phases take place in small corners of the map, and the more you advance in the phases the more the map opens up. They also give you more enemies and gameplay mechanics to make the phases more challenging, ridiculously challenging. So challenging that I felt like a kid again. A kid that can't get passed a level.

Because the game is about game design, you can really see the gameplay evolve as you progress. The final world, which focuses on the leap to 3D gaming, really pushes your limits. Half the time you die it's the camera's fault.

Then there is the enemies. -__- At first they are simple, just figure out their pattern. But in big maps, with tons of them, calculating their patterns might be difficult to figure out. Sometimes the map seems empty cause all the enemies ended up in one corner. Other times you find yourself in the middle of an enemy swarm. Sometimes you are about to collect the last cube, when BAM! an enemy pops out of nowhere. Oh yeah, one hit and you are dead. So you need to make a perfect run each and every time. In the final world, you run into shadow dogs which have no attack pattern, they just chase you. The problem with this is that to get past them you have to run at full speed. Often causing you to run into another enemy or trap, and since the final world is the 3D world, you have camera angles to worry about. I hate them shadow dogs with a passion. -__-

Oh and the pixelflies. Each phase has 20 pixel flies for you to collect. problem is they blend in with the ground. So finding them is tough. But you need them in order to advance. Seriously they are like notes in Banjo-Kazooie. So even when you beat a level, you find yourself going back for more pixel flies. And in order to get the good ending, you need them all. Oh and this is the only game where the good ending is bad, and the bad ending in good.

Characters: 7/10 So really there are only 2 characters here. Bernd and Kubi. Bernd is the mild mannered, humble creator. While Kubi is quite frankly a jerk. He is pretentious, believes he is indestructible and all powerful, has a huge ego, and constantly is rude to Bernd. Considering Kubi is the protagonist, I really didn't feel he was relatable. Plus his voice makes him sound evil. But as the game progresses Kubi does begin to grow on you. And then I saw him not as a jerk, but as a kid who is ignorant of the dangers around him.

Overall the juxtaposition between them wasn't as great as intended.

Music: 9/10 The music in this game was very diverse. Most of the tracks were surprisingly good, others not so much. But for an indie game it has a decent playlist.

Bosses: 10/10 Oh the Boss phases... Arguably the most original and frustrating levels in the game. The bosses here are not so much fought, as much as you have to solve little puzzles per phase, solving the puzzle hits the boss. So it's not really direct contact. And yet it's quite fun. :)

Abilities: 5/10 Well you don't have much. Moving, turning into bombs or rockets by using panels, jumping across large distances by using panels, and turning invinsible by collecting all cubes.

Replay Value: 10/10 The game really is huge. And there is a lot to do. If you play it casually then this game will have tons of content for you to play. But if you are like me and try to beat the game as soon as possible so you can write a review.... Well the game still offers lots of content to revisit. So you will enjoy replaying all them impossible phases.
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Overall: 10/10 Despite my love/hate relationship with this game, it truly was great for what it was trying to do. It's truly the most original gaming experience I've had in years. The difficulty, the game design lessons, the music, the challenges, the high scores, the ever so annoying pixel flies, the community, and the cliff hanger ending. OH that's right. There is a cliffhanger ending. They are making a sequel, well two more. Apparently as you approach the game's ending you find out that there was another plot going on. A typical game plot, involving a good guy, a bad guy, and kidnapped royalty. Since this plot is not resolved and.... stuff happens, the game really ends in a terrible way. Almost making you think all you did was for nothing. Or was it?

But hey, like I said the game is truly original.

4th wall: ?/10 Okay this is funny. In the Game, Bernd the Programmer serves as the mild mannered guide to help you clear the game. Well as it turns out, Bernd is a real person who actually programmed this game. And I bring this up because....
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That moment when real life Bernd replies to you on Miiverse. Apparently he hangs there alot helping people clear the game. WHOA! GAMECEPTION! Imagine chatting a real life Bottle for help on Banjo-Kazooie. My mind was blown. Even though I never met the guy in person, I seen and heard him plenty on the game. So I felt like I already knew him. It's a pretty surreal thing.
Edited by Greymon57, Sep 15 2016, 12:49 PM.
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Greymon57
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FYI this concludes my indie review Summer. There is still one indie game on my 3DS that I haven't reviewed. But I'll review it independently some time in the future.
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CcJj09
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GET IN THE BAG NEBBY
Great review Grey, sounds like an interesting game :) ! Also neat that the programer messaged ya on miiverse!
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