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Mazes of Fate: Official Thread (GBA 1st Person RPG)
- Thread starter Mejilan
- Start date
ninjaurbano
Member
So, the Search skill is only a waste as long as you download maps ?
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
Got my copy in yesterday, very fast shipping from Graffitti via ebay.
I put about 2 hours into it last night and I must say I'm impressed. Awesome old-school feel from it, big time. Mejilan is right, once you get to the Temple dungeon you really get an idea of how awesome the dungeons can become.
I love how the game doesn't just let you go all over from the start, yet it doesn't really feel linear either. Once you leave the starting town you have quite a few places that you can visit, including two new towns (albeit small towns) and a couple of other locales. I enjoyed how the game didn't hold your hand either when trying to complete quests to even enter the first big dungeon. Then again, you don't have a lot of people to talk to either so a little trial and error solves most stuff fast.
The few nits that I would pick would first be the sound, it's low-sampled and very harsh and grainy sounding. I was expecting it but it was still a downer. However, after I got rolling in the game I didn't even notice it. The other thing I would have to gripe on is the cyclical conversations that you can easily get into that end up costing you money. It's good to hear that money isn't tight after a bit into the game, because I've already cost myself at least 40 crowns by accidentally selecting conversation topics more than once, particularly with the bartender.
Overall though, and just based on 2 hours of play, I would say that it is a well-constructed dungeon crawler that any fan of the genre should buy immediately. I cannot wait to see what these guys do with the DS! I'll post some more impressions when I complete the game, which may go onto the back-burner for a bit until I get FFVa finished.
I put about 2 hours into it last night and I must say I'm impressed. Awesome old-school feel from it, big time. Mejilan is right, once you get to the Temple dungeon you really get an idea of how awesome the dungeons can become.
I love how the game doesn't just let you go all over from the start, yet it doesn't really feel linear either. Once you leave the starting town you have quite a few places that you can visit, including two new towns (albeit small towns) and a couple of other locales. I enjoyed how the game didn't hold your hand either when trying to complete quests to even enter the first big dungeon. Then again, you don't have a lot of people to talk to either so a little trial and error solves most stuff fast.
The few nits that I would pick would first be the sound, it's low-sampled and very harsh and grainy sounding. I was expecting it but it was still a downer. However, after I got rolling in the game I didn't even notice it. The other thing I would have to gripe on is the cyclical conversations that you can easily get into that end up costing you money. It's good to hear that money isn't tight after a bit into the game, because I've already cost myself at least 40 crowns by accidentally selecting conversation topics more than once, particularly with the bartender.
Overall though, and just based on 2 hours of play, I would say that it is a well-constructed dungeon crawler that any fan of the genre should buy immediately. I cannot wait to see what these guys do with the DS! I'll post some more impressions when I complete the game, which may go onto the back-burner for a bit until I get FFVa finished.
Fio Maravilha said:
Bump up the skill related to the weapon being wielded. Long sword = one handed weapon, for example. Crossbow = ranged weapon. Etc.
Jefklak said:
:*
thorns said:
I made the mistake ordering both. Awful game. Avoid.
Schafer said:
Yep. Mazes of Fate appeals to the same crowd. Wizardry, oldschool Ultima, Dungeon Master, Stonekeep ,etc.
ninjaurbano said:
Not exactly. The higher the Search skill, the better the chances that your characters will notice a hidden button or illusionary wall and notify you about it. But you do NOT need for your character to so "notice" the anomaly before triggering it. Press B next to a wall, and if the hand icon pops to your inventory quick-toolbar, then there's nothing there. If the hand icon shows up on the wall somewhere, push A to trigger the hidden switch. Push against suspicious walls, and if your character walks through it... well, you found the illusionary wall. So with a bit of trial and error (OR the downloading of maps), Search becomes a complete waste of point-spending.
Big Nate said:
Fantastic game. I'm about 10 hours into it, my guys (three of them now) are level 11 or 12, and I've got a firm grip on the combat and gameplay now. Dungeons are GREAT!! I really love them. Some sick hidden secrets and some really fun puzzles. Odd that you got stuck in money-draining loops. Every time a character gives me an opportunity to pay him for something, he also gives me a chance to say no as well. Every time.
Either way, in a game like this, you should be saving often.
BTW, I've got about 10k crowns now, and am relying on pure exploration (and enemy item drops) for my equipment upgrades. I don't even bother buying gear.
Beat it! About 25 hours on the clock. Close to 300 saves, and 147 loads. My guys were level 34-36. Despite a couple of rough edges, the game was SOLID.
Perhaps a bit too ambitious for the GBA. Gorgeous environmental graphics and enemy sprites, but the game suffered from menu and input lag. Didn't bug me in the beginning, but by the end, it had me gritting my teeth. The programmers apparently realized that the lag was an issue, so they incorporated a button press buffer, but without any kind of sound effect to accompany the button press, sometimes you're caught mashing the buttons until the game responds, only to see menus pop up and out, slashes come out when you meant to cast a spell, etc. Can be frustrating to the impatient.
My only other gripe is that you can easily forge ahead with all warriors, never bothering with spells. I had a nice selection of spells from 3/5 schools, only because I wanted to, not because the game required it. Still, an excellent and very unique RPG on the GBA. Couldn't get enough. And there's a promise of a sequel in the game's "good" ending. (It has 2, not including the gameover screen).
Perhaps a bit too ambitious for the GBA. Gorgeous environmental graphics and enemy sprites, but the game suffered from menu and input lag. Didn't bug me in the beginning, but by the end, it had me gritting my teeth. The programmers apparently realized that the lag was an issue, so they incorporated a button press buffer, but without any kind of sound effect to accompany the button press, sometimes you're caught mashing the buttons until the game responds, only to see menus pop up and out, slashes come out when you meant to cast a spell, etc. Can be frustrating to the impatient.
My only other gripe is that you can easily forge ahead with all warriors, never bothering with spells. I had a nice selection of spells from 3/5 schools, only because I wanted to, not because the game required it. Still, an excellent and very unique RPG on the GBA. Couldn't get enough. And there's a promise of a sequel in the game's "good" ending. (It has 2, not including the gameover screen).
lord_ebonstone
Banned
Damn, I'd never heard of this game and now I must have it.
ccharla said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mazes-of-Fate-f...ryZ62053QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
Their official eBay store. Straight from the publisher. I believe.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
nvm I suck
Tempted to get this. My backlog is sort of clean now so maybe I'll check into it.
Tempted to get this. My backlog is sort of clean now so maybe I'll check into it.
Lost Fragment
Obsessed with 4chan
Wow, this is actually good? I might have to pick it up. I love the atmosphere that's conveyed in the screens.
Unfortunately, ****ing unfortunately my brother deleted my 17 hours save. =/
Currently i'm replaying Mario & Luigi: SG, after beat it, i will play and BEAT once for all MoF, the game is very good to be ignored.
And i realized something annoying on the middle-end of game, backtracking. But looking at impressions above, this don't broke the game.
Currently i'm replaying Mario & Luigi: SG, after beat it, i will play and BEAT once for all MoF, the game is very good to be ignored.
And i realized something annoying on the middle-end of game, backtracking. But looking at impressions above, this don't broke the game.
Fio Maravilha said:
Backtracking? You've got to be kidding me. You realize that those "connecting" dungeons (El Paso, the Forest) that link the different regions can be used as shortcuts after you've cleared them once, right?
Using them as such, you can get from any one map location to any other in less than a minute.
Sucks about the save. Didn't even know that they could be erased. Unless you mean overwritten.
Mejilan said:Backtracking? You've got to be kidding me. You realize that those "connecting" dungeons (El Paso, the Forest) that link the different regions can be used as shortcuts after you've cleared them once, right?
Using them as such, you can get from any one map location to any other in less than a minute.
Sucks about the save. Didn't even know that they could be erased. Unless you mean overwritten.
I'm not talking about the overworld. I'm talking about late dungeons, the process to beat it. I don't remeber exactly the name, but in the dungeon where you have to talk with 3 'statues' with very similar names to solve a puzzle, in this dungeon backtracking is necessary. Not a major issue, but it bother me.
Yes, the save was overwritten. =/
There are puzzles who's solutions span multiple levels. But there's nothing at all in the game that can be considered overt backtracking. Hell, monsters don't even respawn... ever. And the levels, for the most part, are carefully designed so that if you explore enough, you can open up/discover all of these neat shortcuts and whatnot. Even if you do need to hike back up a floor or two to use a key you just found in a lock that was previously inaccessible, it won't take you more than two or three minutes to get back there. Maximum.
Jarosh: Extremely solid. I have a gameplay gripe, and that being that the gameplay itself doesn't evolve. Spells are almost completely irrelevant, and there aren't enough weapon upgrades. Tons of weapon categories (knives, daggers, short swords, long swords, 2-h swords, hammers, maces, staves, axes, 2-h axes, slings, bows, crossbows, etc.) but perhaps only 4 levels of power, 4 upgrades to each weapon. I generally stuck with one class of weapon throughout the whole game, because of how the skill system worked.
I'll be replaying it, but it could have used a bit more variety and flow.
The game remained a pleasant surprise, though.
I'll be replaying it, but it could have used a bit more variety and flow.
The game remained a pleasant surprise, though.
A Black Falcon
Member
6.6 review at Gamespot... no, this game is definitely better than that... *checks Gamerankings* Yeah, the other two reviews are a lot higher.
http://www.gamespot.com/gba/rpg/mazesoffate/review.html
But they still have it at Amazon too...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I1ONLS/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.gamespot.com/gba/rpg/mazesoffate/review.html
jarosh said:
But they still have it at Amazon too...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I1ONLS/?tag=neogaf0e-20
A Link to the Past
Banned
GS is full of shit
And I'm gonna get my own copy of Mazes of Fate to own for free :>
Also, I'm getting Back to Stone for free, although I heard from the guy sending it that it's kind of average.
And I'm gonna get my own copy of Mazes of Fate to own for free :>
Also, I'm getting Back to Stone for free, although I heard from the guy sending it that it's kind of average.
A Black Falcon
Member
A Link to the Snitch said:
They didn't used to be, but these days, yeah, they are. Some other recent GBA games did not exactly get scores they deserve either... 8.0 for Yggdra Union or 7.3 for Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2? Uh, no.
Back to Stone is lower budget... the password save system is one hint towards that fact...
1) Back to Stone is awful
2) Definitely glitchy. But nothing game-breaking.
3) GS is full of crap. Ok, so the combat IS simplistic (I griped about it). But "never leaves its dungeon crawler trappings"? It IS a dungeon crawler, as it was intended. A throwback to earlier (and better) PC RPG times.
Bah.
Edit - :lol
Also, the joke's on GS. They complain that there's too much key-hunting?! All but MAYBE 8 locks in the game are pickable. Not just chests, GS, the door locks too! You don't HAVE to hunt for keys at all, practically. I finished the game with TONS of extra keys I never used! :lol
2) Definitely glitchy. But nothing game-breaking.
3) GS is full of crap. Ok, so the combat IS simplistic (I griped about it). But "never leaves its dungeon crawler trappings"? It IS a dungeon crawler, as it was intended. A throwback to earlier (and better) PC RPG times.
Bah.
Edit - :lol
Also, the joke's on GS. They complain that there's too much key-hunting?! All but MAYBE 8 locks in the game are pickable. Not just chests, GS, the door locks too! You don't HAVE to hunt for keys at all, practically. I finished the game with TONS of extra keys I never used! :lol
A Black Falcon
Member
Graphic adventure games get hammered in reviews for being graphic adventures, classic-style RPGs get marked down for being classic-style RPGs... the problem is not the games, it's the reviewers. They need to stop reviewing games because of what they were never meant to be and instead actually review the games that were made and compare them to other similar titles... just like how adventure games are not bad when they have no combat or pixel-hunting puzzles, dungeon crawlers are not bad for being about, well, wandering around dungeons hitting monsters...
They also complain about too much backtracking, you might have noticed. Apparently they couldn't figure out the puzzles quickly enough and got annoyed at running around empty dungeons until they figured out what they were supposed to do next...
Admittedly, some of the hidden switches and illusionary walls were tough as hell to find. And the classic-style pressure plate puzzles were a blast. But seriously, the game has precious little backtracking.
In regards to the "dozens" of misses? Pump up the right skills and that problem will become increasingly scarce.
Slow leveling? That's ridiculous. My guys were level 36 or so after 20 hours. That's almost 2 levels an hour, average. And, strangely, you'll get comparatively more experience later in the game, SPEEDING up leveling. (It starts off slow).
In regards to the "dozens" of misses? Pump up the right skills and that problem will become increasingly scarce.
Slow leveling? That's ridiculous. My guys were level 36 or so after 20 hours. That's almost 2 levels an hour, average. And, strangely, you'll get comparatively more experience later in the game, SPEEDING up leveling. (It starts off slow).
TekunoRobby
Tag of Excellence
Demi still hasn't sent me his game.
Ok, i played a little more. This is by far one of the best games on the GBA. As i said in my previous post, it's a very amiga like rpg. Has enough depth but not so much that it is daunting and making decisions on your character that hard.
If you like eye of the beholder plz get this. Well worth the trip back to the past when rpg games that good.
If you like eye of the beholder plz get this. Well worth the trip back to the past when rpg games that good.
junkwaffle
In Front and Drawing Away
Another one sold! Willy Loman has nothing on you, Mej.Okay, I'm about 8 hours in and think it's time to post what I feel about this game.
Outside of directly saying this game RAWKS I can say that any review who rates a 1st person dungeon crawler low for being a 1st person dungeon crawler is kinda missing the point.
This game, while not nearly complex as PC or Amiga dungeon crawlers before it, is a blast. First the bad: the game has a delay between when you hit your buttons and when the action occurs. The delay isn't long but noticeable enough to mildly distract me. The sound in general is low quality, though I am a fan of the music. Setting the music to the highest volume setting, saving, and restarting the system causes the music volume to be muted. The text reads awkward--completely understandable but definitely not from a native speaker. The character art, while talking, isn't as good as it could have been.
The story, for a GBA game, is pretty good. The conversation system is pretty good, although cyclic conversation trees and the ever present vibe of a non-native translator might annoy some. Conversations flow from one topic to another quickly with very little filler. So far, the quests are all fun and interweave together, often creating moments where you are roaming the over-world map and accepting 5 or so separate quests that all synergistically work together to remedy each other. The quests are also great for giving a purpose to the dungeon crawling.
Magic, however, isn't as important as I would have liked..it's not that the magic system is bad, but just that the melee system is too effective. Setting up camps without fear of interruption is the primary reason for this, in my opinion, so while the game includes a great system of buffs, debuffs, and damage spells to master and use, the effectiveness of bash, run, camp tactics lessens the effectiveness of the magic systems.
The dungeons, now, is where this game shines. Even from the grannies basement the hints at how awesome the dungeons will become are all there. Smooth scrolling walls (running through the dungeons is also an extremely brisk process), floors, and ceilings; detailed enemy sprites; chests; moral choices during adventuring; hidden passages--it's all there from the VERY FIRST time you enter the 1st person perspective in this game. The dungeon complexity increases rapidly enough so that you are never left wanting for more, since, at exactly the same time you grow tired of the single floored labyrinths you are able to enter a three storied puzzle laden dungeon filled to the brim with foes and loot. The mini-map is perfect for quick navigation and the full map is detailed, HUGE, and even includes a ****ing legend so you can make sense of all those symbols. Hell, I was glad to know how much was represented on the map...even the individual switches are visible (save for the hidden switches).
The puzzles are all nice and varied running the gamut from human disputes, timed puzzles, logic puzzles, pressure plates, and more. The skill system works as expected though (as mentioned) is limited so that specialization is the best choice. Character creation is not as in depth as I would have liked but when you play a game where the only aspect of the character you'll ever see is a portrait and a SNES-styled super-deformed RPG sprite, any more customization options would have largely been wasted.
The only reason I'm not playing this game right now is because I felt the need to post about it's awesomeness in this thread. It's a refreshing change from my previous experiences with following through on previous GAF game recommendations.
Mejilan, thanks
Outside of directly saying this game RAWKS I can say that any review who rates a 1st person dungeon crawler low for being a 1st person dungeon crawler is kinda missing the point.
This game, while not nearly complex as PC or Amiga dungeon crawlers before it, is a blast. First the bad: the game has a delay between when you hit your buttons and when the action occurs. The delay isn't long but noticeable enough to mildly distract me. The sound in general is low quality, though I am a fan of the music. Setting the music to the highest volume setting, saving, and restarting the system causes the music volume to be muted. The text reads awkward--completely understandable but definitely not from a native speaker. The character art, while talking, isn't as good as it could have been.
The story, for a GBA game, is pretty good. The conversation system is pretty good, although cyclic conversation trees and the ever present vibe of a non-native translator might annoy some. Conversations flow from one topic to another quickly with very little filler. So far, the quests are all fun and interweave together, often creating moments where you are roaming the over-world map and accepting 5 or so separate quests that all synergistically work together to remedy each other. The quests are also great for giving a purpose to the dungeon crawling.
Magic, however, isn't as important as I would have liked..it's not that the magic system is bad, but just that the melee system is too effective. Setting up camps without fear of interruption is the primary reason for this, in my opinion, so while the game includes a great system of buffs, debuffs, and damage spells to master and use, the effectiveness of bash, run, camp tactics lessens the effectiveness of the magic systems.
The dungeons, now, is where this game shines. Even from the grannies basement the hints at how awesome the dungeons will become are all there. Smooth scrolling walls (running through the dungeons is also an extremely brisk process), floors, and ceilings; detailed enemy sprites; chests; moral choices during adventuring; hidden passages--it's all there from the VERY FIRST time you enter the 1st person perspective in this game. The dungeon complexity increases rapidly enough so that you are never left wanting for more, since, at exactly the same time you grow tired of the single floored labyrinths you are able to enter a three storied puzzle laden dungeon filled to the brim with foes and loot. The mini-map is perfect for quick navigation and the full map is detailed, HUGE, and even includes a ****ing legend so you can make sense of all those symbols. Hell, I was glad to know how much was represented on the map...even the individual switches are visible (save for the hidden switches).
The puzzles are all nice and varied running the gamut from human disputes, timed puzzles, logic puzzles, pressure plates
, and more. The skill system works as expected though (as mentioned) is limited so that specialization is the best choice. Character creation is not as in depth as I would have liked but when you play a game where the only aspect of the character you'll ever see is a portrait and a SNES-styled super-deformed RPG sprite, any more customization options would have largely been wasted.The only reason I'm not playing this game right now is because I felt the need to post about it's awesomeness in this thread. It's a refreshing change from my previous experiences with following through on previous GAF game recommendations.
Mejilan, thanks
A Black Falcon
Member
Does anyone actually know how to write a good review anymore?
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/767/767599p1.html
"It's oldschool and difficult and doesn't have good enough graphics and sound, so we're giving it a 6.5 despite saying that it's a good game" seems to pretty much sum it up... I don't think that it deserves to be marked down that much simply because some people won't like it because it is what it tries to be, an classic-style PC-ish RPG.
The game was developed in Argentina, so this makes sense.
http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/767/767599p1.html
"It's oldschool and difficult and doesn't have good enough graphics and sound, so we're giving it a 6.5 despite saying that it's a good game" seems to pretty much sum it up... I don't think that it deserves to be marked down that much simply because some people won't like it because it is what it tries to be, an classic-style PC-ish RPG.
The game was developed in Argentina, so this makes sense.
Thanks for that summary Gattsu. I never saw it. I'm happy that you were thrilled with the game, and I echo most of your complaints as well. They're fairly minor, in the grand scheme of things (save for the general uselessness of magic).
And a great 'pah!' to IGN's review.
And a great 'pah!' to IGN's review.
BrokenFiction
Member
Another one sold and on it's way. Thanks, Mejilan!
Thanks, Mejilan!
A Black Falcon
Member
Mejilan said:
At least the actual text of the review is better than IGN's Izuna review... (note: this isn't saying much.
)http://ds.ign.com/articles/767/767542p1.html
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