There isn’t any level up progression at all and instead Gail gets stronger through purchasing upgrades with money or the rare moonstones. The same can be said for towns or dungeons, where a map of unlocked areas would be nice even if just to make more of a mental note of where secrets that can’t be accessed yet are hidden. It would also be nice if there were an actual map with names of areas that have been visited, as traversing between areas early on especially can take some time. Sometimes the song is random and must be figured out by context clues in the area, leading to some creative puzzles. Along the story Gail will learn songs similarly to musical instruments in Zelda titles that when played at certain locations unlock required or optional areas. The flute in particular is a key item that helps unlock tons of side areas. Some of these require many of the items Gail obtains along her ways like the flute or bombs. There’s of course the main towns and dungeons that will be visited during the story, but many caves on the side offer additional exploration. The overworld is surprisingly filled with many places to explore. Stamina also drains even when in areas where there are no enemies, which can be tedious when trying to run quickly through some of the larger areas. Unfortunately the stamina also tends to slow down combat immensely, especially against bosses, making it an annoying matter of standing and waiting for it to refill slowly in order to continue attacking.
Running low on stamina hinders what Gail is capable to do, often leaving her only able to jump, making it an important aspect to pay attention to and increase. Using her bat, running and using any other weapons such as the slingshot or crossbow use up different amounts of stamina. Almost everything Gail can do is determined by her stamina, which recharges over time and can be increased along with her health by finding the corresponding items hidden throughout the world. Gail travels through areas from left to right, exploring every nook and cranny to find money or other secrets along the way while attacking enemies with her trusty bat.
On the outside Phoenotopia seems like a rather simple action platformer. With nothing but a bat and slingshot in hand, Gail begins her long journey to try and rescue her abducted villagers. Concerned and confused, they decide they must work together to keep the village going while Gail heads out to seek aid to help to try and figure out what exactly is going on. After venturing out in a nearby forest to gather up some of the other kids to eat, they come back only to find that everyone in their village has been abducted by aliens. Many years later as humans have long since managed to restart society, a young girl by the name of Gail is living out her simple days as one of many orphans in her home town. They planned to wait underground for many years until it was safe to inhabit once more, only being able to survive thanks to the mysterious Phoenix that has since long gone missing. The story opens with a brief history of the world, where many years ago humans were pushed underground as the world above grew too dangerous to be survived on.
The question is does Phoenotopia Awakening make a hit as a full-blown indie title or was it better off as a niche Newgrounds hit?
PHOENOTOPIA AWAKENING WEAPONS FULL
Given the surprising level of production that went into the Newgrounds version it’s no surprise it managed to gain enough interest to warrant a full release. What started out as a hit success on Newgrounds ended up creating its remake in the form of Phoenotopia Awakening which tells mostly the same story with some changes to things here and there. This includes the likes of Super Meat Boy and of course, Phoenotopia. Although these days it’s not brought up as much, Newgrounds has always been a creative outlet that saw the beginning for many people.
0 kommentar(er)
