Starwish [http://www.kongregate.com/games/xdanond/rpg-shooter-starwish?acomplete=starw] is a free play game on Kongregate. To me, it is perhaps one of the best-ever Flash-created video games, and will probably go down in memory for me as one of the better games I've played.
Gameplay
Paradoxically enough, despite this being a game, the actual game *play* was a rather forgettable experience. Starwish is a horizontal-shooter type game, with very repetitive levels, unimaginative and copy-pasted enemies (and bosses!), and an anachronistic WASD control scheme. In this day and age, in my opinion, no bullet-hell/horizontal-scrolling shooter/you name it should ever ever EVER be played with WASD controls when you have access to a mouse. Period. I see a lack of mouse control as poor game developing skill. Secondly, for a shmup, rather than revolving around dodging attacks, some of the most vital upgrades to your ship are multiple options of improving its defenses, so while dodging is important, the ability to take multiple hits later on (with a regenerating shield, no less!) becomes even more so.
Overall, therefore, I feel that the gameplay, while passable, was very uninspiring--although in the game creator's defense, this was his first ever game programmed, and he did it with the help of Kongregate's shootorials. And in terms of gameplay, in my opinion, it shows. The lack of mouse control coupled with copied and pasted enemies, bosses, and ultimately forgettable levels show that the game's creator, has a long road ahead of him in improving his game developing skills.
Music, Art, and Story
Now this is where this game truly shines brilliantly, putting (in my opinion), every single other flash game to shame (and it isn't even close in this regard), and rivaling (at least hour per hour) the games of the golden age of RPGs, such as Chrono Trigger and Seiken Densetsu 3.
The music, while not being on the level of Junichi Nakutsuru, Nobuo Uematsu, or other legendary composers, goes a huge distance in setting the atmosphere for the game. The compositions themselves are not bad at all, but in my opinion, they are not as memorable as things like Chrono Trigger's "Corridors of Time", "Yearnings of Wind", or "Battle with Magus". However, once again, for an indie amateur composer, they are very well done.
Art: full out visual-novel quality. One of the characters actually reminds me of Fate/Stay Night's Rider by virtue of her appearance (long pink/purple hair, glasses), and the rest of the characters do not disappoint either. Art is one of the game's strongest suits, and in fact, really sets it apart from most other games, whether Flash or professional.
Story: This is the game's selling point. You will in all likelihood spend more time reading the close to 60,000 words in the game as opposed to actually playing through the rather forgettable levels. All of the characters possess an immense amount of depth, and the endings range from tear-jerking bittersweet to...tears-of-joy-jerking sweet. Overall, it is the interactions between characters and discovering their secrets that drive the game, as opposed to "that next mission".
Overall
Overall, after playing this game, I'm once again reminded of the fact that there are games with good gameplay that people may play over and over again because they're fun. And that's perfectly fine. However, in my opinion, if a game truly wants to stand out and pass the test of time, then it isn't the tour-de-force-for-its-time graphics (all of which become outdated eventually) or the quirky gameplay innovations that will give a game its place among the greats. Instead, it is a deep story full of vibrant characters that keeps you emotionally invested the whole way through, not wanting to put the game down not because of some operant conditioning Skinner Box technique, but because you really want to see what happens with these fictional people you have grown so attached to. Starwish is light years ahead of any other flash game in this regard, and it also has me questioning:
If a novice game programmer, an amateur indie composer, and a few game testers/proofreaders can create such a wonderful experience...
How is it that AAA studios with tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding continue to churn out the same repeated drivel?
What I hope for in the next game from this man
Overall, the storyline was nothing short of beautiful. However, the gameplay leaves much to be desired. I feel that if this were addressed, and perhaps the game follows the "show don't tell" rule a little more, than it would truly be spectacular.
Gameplay
Paradoxically enough, despite this being a game, the actual game *play* was a rather forgettable experience. Starwish is a horizontal-shooter type game, with very repetitive levels, unimaginative and copy-pasted enemies (and bosses!), and an anachronistic WASD control scheme. In this day and age, in my opinion, no bullet-hell/horizontal-scrolling shooter/you name it should ever ever EVER be played with WASD controls when you have access to a mouse. Period. I see a lack of mouse control as poor game developing skill. Secondly, for a shmup, rather than revolving around dodging attacks, some of the most vital upgrades to your ship are multiple options of improving its defenses, so while dodging is important, the ability to take multiple hits later on (with a regenerating shield, no less!) becomes even more so.
Overall, therefore, I feel that the gameplay, while passable, was very uninspiring--although in the game creator's defense, this was his first ever game programmed, and he did it with the help of Kongregate's shootorials. And in terms of gameplay, in my opinion, it shows. The lack of mouse control coupled with copied and pasted enemies, bosses, and ultimately forgettable levels show that the game's creator, has a long road ahead of him in improving his game developing skills.
Music, Art, and Story
Now this is where this game truly shines brilliantly, putting (in my opinion), every single other flash game to shame (and it isn't even close in this regard), and rivaling (at least hour per hour) the games of the golden age of RPGs, such as Chrono Trigger and Seiken Densetsu 3.
The music, while not being on the level of Junichi Nakutsuru, Nobuo Uematsu, or other legendary composers, goes a huge distance in setting the atmosphere for the game. The compositions themselves are not bad at all, but in my opinion, they are not as memorable as things like Chrono Trigger's "Corridors of Time", "Yearnings of Wind", or "Battle with Magus". However, once again, for an indie amateur composer, they are very well done.
Art: full out visual-novel quality. One of the characters actually reminds me of Fate/Stay Night's Rider by virtue of her appearance (long pink/purple hair, glasses), and the rest of the characters do not disappoint either. Art is one of the game's strongest suits, and in fact, really sets it apart from most other games, whether Flash or professional.
Story: This is the game's selling point. You will in all likelihood spend more time reading the close to 60,000 words in the game as opposed to actually playing through the rather forgettable levels. All of the characters possess an immense amount of depth, and the endings range from tear-jerking bittersweet to...tears-of-joy-jerking sweet. Overall, it is the interactions between characters and discovering their secrets that drive the game, as opposed to "that next mission".
Overall
Overall, after playing this game, I'm once again reminded of the fact that there are games with good gameplay that people may play over and over again because they're fun. And that's perfectly fine. However, in my opinion, if a game truly wants to stand out and pass the test of time, then it isn't the tour-de-force-for-its-time graphics (all of which become outdated eventually) or the quirky gameplay innovations that will give a game its place among the greats. Instead, it is a deep story full of vibrant characters that keeps you emotionally invested the whole way through, not wanting to put the game down not because of some operant conditioning Skinner Box technique, but because you really want to see what happens with these fictional people you have grown so attached to. Starwish is light years ahead of any other flash game in this regard, and it also has me questioning:
If a novice game programmer, an amateur indie composer, and a few game testers/proofreaders can create such a wonderful experience...
How is it that AAA studios with tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding continue to churn out the same repeated drivel?
What I hope for in the next game from this man
Overall, the storyline was nothing short of beautiful. However, the gameplay leaves much to be desired. I feel that if this were addressed, and perhaps the game follows the "show don't tell" rule a little more, than it would truly be spectacular.
