ChronoNomad's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sushi Cat 2]

Great game!

It was cute, quirky, and best of all...fun! I really appreciated the addition of a "Fast Forward" button for this game, too. Sometimes Sushi Cat would get hung up for a while, so that kept things going. Most of the time.

I did hit a problem on level 22 however, when the two large, green oval-shaped spinners got me caught in an infinite loop against the wall. This happened more than once, and it happened on both sides. It's not fun having to hit the "Restart" button when you're doing so well just because you can't progress. And yes, I had "Fast Forward" held down for a while each time it happened see if he would get unstuck. It didn't happen.

Besides that, the game is A+ material! The music and sound effects were fun and appropriate, graphics were adorable, physics were awesome, and the inclusion of a story (albeit very simplistic) was a nice way to maintain the flow. I guess all I have to say in conclusion is that if you want a perfect game, I would suggest making those particular spinners a little smaller or something.

[Smiley Popper]

Familiar, but still fun

This plays just like MaciGame, which was created by my good friend Takeshi Takahashi in 1996. I have always enjoyed MaciGame, so it's not surprising that I enjoyed playing this, too. The inclusion of background music is a nice touch, and the remix of "What Is Love" that you chose is an intriguing choice. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the secret medal is for taking out all the smileys...which is very hard to do. I came very close in my third game, but nailing them all requires not only skill, but also more than a little luck.

Anyway, fun stuff here. I can't really offer higher marks with a clear conscience due to the fact that it copies an existing game, but for something slapped together in a day you did a nice job! It's a pretty simple premise overall, and there are plenty of matching games out there with a higher level of complexity. Then again, it's the simplicity that makes it fun to play. Not to mention the fact that busting a huge chunk of the Smileys at one click is rather satisfying.

I do have one question: did you get your inspiration for this from MaciGame? It still circulates the web as a casual yet fairly addictive game, so I'm curious. I guess I actually like the original MaciGame better because it lets you create your own character sets. They're not as animated as your Smileys, but it's fun to make and play your own version of the game. Well, best of luck with this game and all future endeavors. Cheers!

[Shadow Rising]

Great potential, but rather tarnished

For the most part, I have to echo the statements by 852054 (see review below). I encountered all of the same issues, and some are fairly large bugs that need to be dealt with. I'd feel like a jerk if I asked if there even was a Beta Testing phase, but seriously I was forced to wonder at some points during gameplay. Then again, perhaps we *are* the testing phase...

I will readily acknowledge that a whole lot of work was put into this project. I can see it in the designs of the characters, backgrounds, HUD, main UI, and so on. The animations are fluid and tight, and generally hit detection seems pretty good (sans the everything-after-the-first-hit-is-sup erfluous glitch in gauntlet rounds). The special moves, power-ups, finishers and so on are pretty great and they definitely add a real arcade feel to the overall game.

There is some very annoying yet quite logical enemy AI (can we say hit-and-run bowmen?), and I found that the difficulty curve ramped up tremendously as I wandered through the forest level. Enemy HP levels were often shockingly high for anything in the double digits, and there are too many with undeniably cheap attacks. When you're getting mobbed by several different types of enemies, there's just no strategy that doesn't include getting pounded on mercilessly as you attempt to repay the favor.

The main story is based around the fairly standard "save the girl" idea that we've seen a hundred times, but there's a deeper story that revolves around the main character that I didn't really get into as much as I would like to due in no small part to the glitches and imminent frustration they cause. The music is pretty...or exciting...or whatever is required at the time. In other words, the music fits and does its job well without taking center stage away from what really matters: the action. Sound effects are similarly - pardon the slight pun - effective, and they lend themselves well to what's going on without being too intrusive. That also includes the voice acting, which was also quite good as far as I'm concerned.

In conclusion, I really love the artistic side of this game; the aural and visual aspects really stand out. What's needed is more polish on the technical side of the game. Find and fix the bugs that take away our very important ability to view our Health, Soul, and Experience meters. Without additional tweaking, the coveted "fun factor" just isn't there when it comes to extended gameplay. When a game stops being fun, people stop playing. I can see the hidden potential for a truly impressive Flash gaming experience, but for now it is being marred by gameplay issues, the need to gravitate to a different site for additional content, and the aesthetic lack of medals here on Newgrounds that would most certainly increase interest. Best of luck!

[Epic Bungee]

I like playing this, but...

...I've never played a game that literally hits a wall of lag every couple of seconds. It's absolute murder on the fun factor. Otherwise, the physics are nice and it's a pretty original idea. I know that others have said it before me, but it's true--if you were to fix that painful lag the game would be much more enjoyable. It's a constant source of annoyance.

[Icy Cave of Frustration]

Aptly named

I must admit, I really like the less-is-more stance that this game takes. Single-button controls, and an easy to understand premise. Incredibly simple in theory, but a whole lot trickier than it originally seems. The difficulty curve is quite impressive.

Level progression is quick; you either kill a caveman... or you miss and start all over from the beginning. You can get in quite a few plays in a matter of minutes, which is good since it's easy to foul the whole thing up on higher levels, not to mention just plain blowing a good drop early on by having a twitchy button-pushing finger.

Snagging a few medals for playing always makes for a nice incentive, too. Thanks for a fun and interesting diversion! I can't say I've played anything quite like this here on Newgrounds before, either. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with in the future.

tomdeaap responds:

Haha thanks! Really enjoy these positive reactions!

[Crossroads:2D]

Not perfect, but then...what is?

I enjoyed this long enough to snag each of the medals in turn. It was interesting and engaging, though I heartily concur that increased walking and map scrolling speeds would be a solid plus to make things progress a bit faster. Your game is an entertaining pixel-based romp, and it frankly accomplishes precisely what it purports to. To that end, well done!

The menu options were maybe a little clunky, and I did find myself accidentally exiting shops a couple of times. Oh, and what was up with the menu arrows pointing at non-option lines? Yeah, kind of minor and mainly aesthetic issues, but every little touch matters. Anyway, thanks for creating such a fun little time-waster...with medals!

kcnh responds:

Thank you for your review!

[The Raven, shadow subject]

Cool idea...

Really not enough variety for my taste, though. I got pretty well fed up by level 2 after getting smoked by the broken bot that flickers. Can't seem to land and stand still in the shadows before it blasts me into oblivion since I'm basically still airborne from jumping up to the platform. It's too big of a pain in the butt, honestly. Pity. Still, I'm sure the rest of the game is great; I just don't have the patience today for such twitchy AI. Trippy idea, though! The graphics are quite nice, but after a while the music had me wanting to rip my ears off due to extreme repetitiveness. I opted to remove my headphones instead. :)

It would have been nice to have some other form of defense besides just hiding and sneaking around. Weapons are always nice, too, and a guy whose only ability seems to be playing Hide & Seek doesn't make for much of a hero (anti-hero?) imo. Maybe that kind of upgrade gets introduced later, eh? Ah, well...good luck!

[Super Pixelknight]

I hate to rain on the parade...

But there are still some major issues right at the start. As someone who has tested games for a living, there's clearly a problem when the PC can't even jump high enough to get over the first big rise. You know, the one at the beginning where there's a sign telling you to press H to view the controls. I found that if certain conditions were met with my browser (i.e. the page was scrolled all the way to the top), I could actually jump the rise. The same problem arose at any required jump of the same unfortunate height. That's pretty bad, especially right when you're trying to get into the game. The bug exists in both the normal and pop-up modes. It really is a serious issue; especially for anyone not using a very high screen resolution since it cuts off a large portion at the bottom of the play area.

Aside from that, I felt that the enemy attack patterns were often too fast and just plain annoying since they obviously have some form of super PC-homing AI. God help anyone being chased by a mob of assorted creatures. An interesting game in theory, but I was hoping for more. I'm glad that so many other people are finding it enjoyable. Unfortunately, I just didn't find the experience very appealing. Sorry, but I hope that you appreciate my honest opinion.

I can understand and relate with how frustrating it can be to create and code a game, and I give you props for doing so even if it makes you tear your hair out and scream "This shit doesn't work!" I did also find the graphics to be decent, and the background music fits the theme. My suggestion would be further improvement to create a more polished game. Best of luck!

[Wizard's Run]

Good...but far from great

As was previously mentioned, this game is an enjoyable time waster. For a while. Then it just gets boring. After completing the Pyromancy spells and beating the end boss I have to say, that's plenty for me. I *could* go back and master the Frost and Divinity tiers. I *could* play the Survival mode. Truth be told, though...I just plain won't. I have no desire to play this after beating the boss, and while I am a little sorry to say that, I simply don't desire a replay. Lack of any kind of coherent story didn't help. I can accept the lack of plot in the name of gameplay, but I generally prefer something with a little more meat on its bones.

The graphics lack variety and aren't anything special in all their 8-bit glory. The music kind of takes center stage, and while I enjoy a good soundtrack as I hammer away at evil minions this one lacks variety and loops so frequently that I even got sick of the tunes. It was also mentioned before that the landscape has no variation: it's just grass, grass, and more grass. Dullsville.

The level cap isn't really such a bad idea in my opinion, but level 15 does seem like a really weird place to end the experience gain. Why not something that seems to make more sense, like 25 or 30? I do think that it would be nice to increase the leveling rate a little while raising the limit so that all three magic tiers can be mastered at the very least. To me that just seems like a no-brainer that will easily please all the completionists out there.

The last problem is kind of a big one for me, and that was how much the graphics slowed down the further I got in the game. It was awful, and the game is already a little on the slow side to begin with. By the time I got to level 8 it felt as though everything - main character, spells, enemies - were slogging through a stagnant bog. Considering the simplicity of the graphics this didn't really make sense...even when there were two dozen enemies on screen and I was constantly strafing magic spells to wipe them out.

Overall opinion: 6.5/10. I feel that the work put into this deserves more than a 6, and yet I also think that 7 is kind of generous at the same time. I'm being nice and rounding up on the stars, and really generous by voting 4 out of 5. Like I said early on, I enjoyed playing Wizard's Run through the boss. Good luck, and I hope you see these critical reviews as a challenge to ramp up your mad skills! Peace.

[Trick-or-Treat Adventure!]

Interesting...until it glitched

I was honestly enjoying the high randomness factor of this game...that is, until the Butterfree kid was eaten and the spider completely failed to die. So now I have the choice of being done or starting over, and I just don't feel like erasing my data to start from scratch again. Kinda sucks, but this is the end of my road. Thanks for making it fun up until that point!

I would have rated higher if I could have completed it/the glitch had not screwed me over. Sorry.