Recent reviews by Tails.155

This game isn't terribly long, but what it does with the time you spend is wonderful! It is adorable, charming and heartfelt, and without the major dramatic events that usually would set someone off, it can make you tear up at its sweet, relatable story. If you like exploration games with less emphasis on threat, and more emphasis on characters and plot, this is a great game to try out. Absolutely worth its price!

And also, it is so, so cute. You gotta check it out!

For the price, you get a LOT of game. These games are, as I would put them, reasonable to finish, unreasonable to 100%. Some of the collectibles are pretty unreasonable to get, and the replaying the same level for some of them is pretty tedious.

The art is adorable as all get out. The voices are also cute. The level designs are thorough enough to give some time to enjoy the levels without being so long as to overstay their welcome.

The amount of bonus content, even if really hard to get, on occasion, is pretty nice.

I generally feel it is worth its value at full price or on sale. I would love to see more of these localize the other Klonoa games in the future!

I like the art and the platforming, but it is really small and a bit overly retro-hard for its price tag. I wouldn't suggest this for anything over $5. Even then, you have to really want the content inside.

It has potential, and it is cute and charming, but really small and unforgiving.

This one is hit or miss. If you like its story, you'll like the game. I, personally, found the focal character rather unlikeable and the plot just okay. I like the environs. I like the way the story is told. I wouldn't call it forgettable, but I would find it "just okay" and I wouldn't pay $15 for it again. I forget if I did or I got it on sale.

This game has beauty and heart, and some really great characters. If you are looking for a story-based Metroidvania with quirky characters, gorgeous pixel art and lots of charm, this is the game for you. It can get tricky at some points, and a bit confusing, and to experience everything can get pretty challenging. However, if you want to do a simple start-to-finish, it is mostly reasonable.

I cannot rave about the art enough. It truly is breathtaking.

The game does keep you guessing, and really affects you emotionally. All the man characters are very likeable, and some of the side characters, too. You really do want things to end well.

Some of the events in the game are very ambiguous, and might disappoint some, but the overall of the game is a plus, to me. The game definitely is worth its price tag.

I am extremely torn to say this. I am still planning on playing it to completion because of the ups of the game, but I _cannot_ recommend it, at least not at full price. While it is on sale, $15 or so, definitely worth the money. At $30, you can get a lot, lot more gameplay and polish out of other indie games.

It really hurts because I want, with every fiber of my being, to love this game. I think the dinos' designs great. I love the concept. I think the farming is decent. I think the music (while slightly limited) is enjoyable. I think the exploration is fun.* I think the variety of things to collect are great! **

Just... It has some pretty crushing flaws that keep me from giving it full marks.

The smallest critique is that the humans kind of look like old wooden dolls brought to life. It is the tiniest, because that's just a personal preference thing. The other things, though, I feel the reviews even address, outside of mine.

The game has three areas, three seasons, and one town. Already rather small for a farming sim going up against things like My Time at Sandrock, or even its older, less polished predecessor, My Time at Portia.

There is an acceptable amount of the focal aspect of the game: dinosaurs. Huge marks on that one, for me. It's what I came for, and I'm here for it. However, the variety is primarily carnivorous theropods, raptors, thyreophora and ceratopsians. So, while there is a lot of variety, they all are branches of four aspects of the very vast quantity of dinosaurs out there. While they are in the code--there are no sauropods, the only hadrosaur is the mascot, etc. I do like some things they left in details-wise, such as both Compsognathus and Archeopteryx both appearing in the same area (as fossils have been confused for one another, before) and how it addresses whether dinos are loners, pack or herd varieties. It really does seem like they _care_ about the game. Again, part of why it hurts so bad that I can't recommend it.

** There are many other things to collect, which is nice, but there is no difference between carrying several of them in replacement of others, besides one aspect of individual dinosaurs' charts. I can go through most of the game on carrots, onions and potatoes, without ever collecting another crop. Further, while the farming works fine and does what it needs two, it does mean that not much farming is truly necessary, barring a couple cases I will address in the following section.

One of the two hugest issues, glaring, and a major part of the not recommending to others, is this: there is a lot of waiting, for waiting's sake, in the game. I don't mind it in some ways, as you shouldn't get everything immediately, or it'd kill the playtime. However, some lore-based quests have you waiting for one crop to grow, or one person to appear (who may only appear once every five or six thirty minute game days.) This doesn't really add to the fun, especially if you are at a lull on other goals at the time. In fact, sometimes it added tedium that legitimately had me debate dropping the game mid-playthrough. The other time it really bothers me is when it is fully RNG-based waiting. There is a place you can repair that requires an item: Pampas grass. It is insignificant, inconsequential and a decorative prop like many others. However, it shows up so infrequently I only saw it around three times in a full game year. If you don't have enough money to buy all you need on that day, you just get stuck waiting again, with no guarantee it will show for weeks.

* The other huge issue, and the one that had me almost stop a stream, one day, is that, while you can refer to a wiki, I was trying to play blind, and then... some of the quests give you so little direction you have no idea what to do, where to go, or what you need, or when you need it. Some are like "find [x person]," and while you can infer which region (i.e. which of the 3 I mentioned earlier) they are in, the area is narrowed down to "not at their house" and nothing more. I spent at least a game week, I think, looking over the same map, walking circles, only to not find them, and on occasion, since it had been so long, forgetting to bring the necessary item, which may outright not make them spawn at all. It was deeply infuriating, and felt pointless. These seem to be the only times a person does _not_ appear on the map screen (which makes sense in-story, and on the gameplay meta, but feels confusingly arbitrary from any other context, especially player-side.)

There are other things, such as recipes, which you just literally have to guess, unless it is one you are outright given. It can be any from 1-15 of an ingredient, for multiple ingredients, with no hints or guides, to my knowledge. It might have them, but, frankly, outside of achievements, the cooking feels almost pointless. They give buffs, which is cool, but they feel entirely irrelevant to every other aspect of the game, besides temporary perks.

Similar with decorating. You can't decorate an inside, so some of the furniture seems odd, since it is outside-only. Everything is snap-to-grid, so precising decor, even matching the way they are used in places such as town, are off the table. Also, it just didn't seem as compelling as something like My Time at Portia, which added perks to decorating your house that influence gameplay, sometimes a noticeable amount. It is a necessary aspect of a game like this, but it just feels rather uncompelling in this circumstance. None of the furniture, to my knowledge, does anything unless you can sit on it. I never even bothered cleaning my whole farm out of scraps and rocks.

The mission board missions (to get resources and, more importantly, money, though you can also farm and sell if you prefer) feel very redundant, because they are literally find or deliver [journal, hat, lucky trinket], or bring [usually common resource]. Little else happens, and that limited variety of item names that appear makes them feel extremely cookie cutter.

The three environs are decent for what they are in what I will conclude my major criticisms on. However, they are vast enough to get frustrating to explore (see: above) and small enough to feel like big play rooms. They have fixed, designated spots most dinosaurs appear (with a few changing during seasons, or moving somewhat wildly across the map to add a hint of welcome flavor.) There are houses you can sleep at to, I suppose, keep your exploration to a certain area, less interrupted. However, since you need to go tend to your dinosaurs and crops, you still are going to have to return home every day, anyway, so it feels a bit superfluous. The shops are _mostly_ predictable, except the person who makes outfits, who is the only one who can expand your inventory, and requires fiber and money, which might mean you have to wait a bit between purchases, even days, to try and get a pocket upgrade. The characters feel pretty classical NPC with a few boxed up dialog, minimal lore-based reward for friendships (though there are item and recipe rewards,) and I didn't even do much shopping outside of three of the stores, even still, two of which I could avoid for ups of a month.

Why I really wanted to love this game, but only ended up liking it is 1. dinos, 2. farming sim and 3. heart. The game has heart. It just feels more like a concept demo of a fuller game. You can, if you really press, get 30-40 hours out of it, but sadly, a lot of that is literally waiting or walking in circles. BUT it has heart and charm. I could see a fleshed out, polished sequel that takes the criticism to heart and addresses it being something I'd gladly recommend at the same price. This is the hardest thumbs down I've ever felt it important to give, because I love what there is, it just isn't much for the $30 price tag.

One can clearly see the inspirations written on the sleeve of this game. It follows in the footstep of other Earthbound-Like games. It has quirky humor, wit, charm, and a lot of heart. It also is good at working your emotions. Even having only gotten a glimpse of the underbelly this game seems to have from an essentially blind playthrough (I only know the characters' names and what they look like,) I can already tell that this is going to be a rollercoaster.

After finishing the game: Wow. This game is pretty intense, emotionally. I only did the one path, because it was the one I care for. I know there are alternative paths, but, for the money, I am satisfied, and I only want to experience the happiest possible route. I know from discussion, that this locks me out of a lot of character content, but I don't want the consequences that come with it.

That decision aside, as I said, I was still satisfied for its price.

[+] Beautiful art.
[+] Charming characters
[+] Good writing
[+] Genuine tension
[+] Plenty of gameplay
[+] Quirky humor
[+] Good music
[+] A lot of heart and sincerity

[] THIS GAME IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. It tackles serious, dark discussions with all the gravity one would expect.
[] _Some_ of the outcomes are ambiguous. As such, people who want a more clear and evident story may be dissatisfied. They are totally fitting with the tone of the game, however.

[-] You do have to... experience really bad things to see all he game content
[-] Some of the things you do to get everything (i.e. only a completionist thing) are a bit tedious.
[-] There's one room with rewards that is--a bit excessive.

Even in this early, EARLY form, it is very playable, replayable, I have spent over 135 hours in it at the time of writing this. There is plenty to experience, and I suspect there is only more on the horizon.

Is it perfect? No. Does it have flaws? Absolutely. However, firstly, it is early access, and secondly, I don't know any perfect game. I think there is great potential in this game, and any sequels' futures.

Are there some similar creatures to other media?
Sure. However, there are inspirations and crossovers in media going way back. This doesn't play like a simple creature catcher. It has more in common with a base builder survival craft, just with the perk of being able to have some cute (or cool) friends alongside it.

Downs (as of 3/6/2024)

Some of the geometry and landscape are janky (you can see the hollow inside of many places, some without even adjusting the camera.)
Some of the combat feels kind of funky (wait times where nobody does anything).
The "wail on it until it dies or is catchable" format of the combat is a bit basic on the player-side.
This game also suffers from the same thing as other "endless" games, that the music options are limited (especially since it is just ambiance a lot of the time) so playing solo can get awkward and lonely.
The bosses are really just kind of a "you have to do it one way" kind of boss, with the tougher ones possibly requiring multiplayer, limiting completion for some parties, I suspect.
Dedicated servers seem messed up, but there are alternative routes for online play.
Like many crafting things (though this time with monster breeding) "you have to check the wiki" on a lot of it, with over 16000 combinations that may or may not yield things you need. With 6 locked out from that fully (though there is understanding on at least three, in my mind.)
Some of the creatures, even if you love them, may become unusable in the late game, forcing you to retire companions you may love.
Monsters, ESPECIALLY larger, later-game, very useful monsters, frequently can get stuck on geometry, or even fall through the floor.
Upon spawning, YOU might fall through the floor. (To escape you seem to need a flying pal, fly up and jump off "through" the floor.)
Some moves (I'm looking at you, Lock-On Laser, ironically), seem VERY inclined to miss targets.
I feel like a cap of 4 or 5 bases would be convenient for late-game, instead of three. Especially since you can upgrade your base another 5 levels, which don't seem to do anything.
By the midgame, you end up with TONS of medium pal souls and almost no small ones, and even large ones are rare.
The frequency of invasions is somewhat tedious, and you can't reduce them, only fully turn them off.
Not every structure you have to put research points into has much value, even non-furniture ones that are supposed to.
You can only add one set of downward stairs to a roof, so leveling a ledge or making a stairway down can be, sometimes, impossible.
No matter how high above lava you fly, you will still burn and take damage, as if walking directly on top. Even if the area is starting to fade from view from how high up you are.
Getting accessories is REALLY random, and finding caves can be tedious.
The merchants all sell from only 3 or 4 pools, and the wandering merchants all carry the exact same item pool.
Getting additional item-taught moves can be very slow, with only around 2-3 locations to collect them.
Barring the few circumstances where it is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive to get something, money becomes nearly pointless for dozens of hours at a time.
Nothing is procedural except caves, the island will be the same on every save.

Neutral/No comment:
I have not touched public servers.
The base building is as one would expect, generally.
This game has upgrades.
The monsters do not metamorphose in any way.
Breeding has somewhat of a "trait roulette" in that if only some combinations make the creature, some are locked in, but the other traits are random, with some breed-to-hatch process taking over an hour, especially with cake baking being so slow even with high tier creatures.
Some areas with creatures are "illegal" and you "poach" the monsters. You can also buy monsters off the black market. I, personally, don't like it, but it is a choice. It is hypothetically possible to get every creature without going into the Sanctuaries.

Ups:

The creatures are great, many adorable and some cool creatures.
There's a decent (if somewhat small?) variety of moves. * Aside, I love the whirlwind moves.
There's a lot to do. A very lot. I frequently lose track of what I intended to do after finding 2-3 side-projects.
The sounds are wonderful. I love the li'l noises. * I wish the Paldeck also let you view animations.
There is a lot of visual diversity, though I wouldn't mind seeing an actual abandoned-high-tech or old-civilization region (Unless that is what the sanctuaries are, I never went in.) Also, a bit more swamp would be nice.
It is engaging and fun.
The devs do seem to be tending to everything, it doesn't seem like one of the many hype, drop, and ghost schemes that plague digital game stores.
Many monsters have two varieties, plus there are lucky and boss versions of every creature.
You can fuse to upgrade the same creatures to extend their viability on your team, just make sure you select the right ones!
Almost every material you come across is always useful, though a small, decently farmable few are the ones you will focus on. * The toughest two are Pal Fluids and Bone.
There is a decent amount of variety in how you can style your base.
There are lots of charming additions (like, currently, 5 spraypaint decals, many pieces of mostly aesthetic furniture, electric lights, torches and the ability to work alongside pals on certain stations.)
The fact EVERY, and I do mean EVERY creature looks adorable when they proudly inform you they are done with their work is so sweet.
The game is feasible to complete, in its current form, 100%. Even for someone looking for a moderate, but not immense challenge.
The scenery, when it doesn't have clipping issues (which have lessened since I started playing) looks very pretty.
You can reset your upgrades for both you and your pals, though it can be VERY costly.
For the most part, the areas are distinct enough that you can tell, generally what was available in a given area once you have spent enough time on the map.
Except in the very late game, progress moves at a decent enough speed you won't feel bored. (The VERY end of the game, say, above level 42, it does slow to a bit of a halt, especially if you are training more than one static party.)
You can create little viewing areas for pals, and have a pretty large storage area. You don't ever really feel like you can't hold what you need. I have never once let a pal go. Only ever fused or stored them in a viewing area.
There are some designs that are VERY, VERY lovable. I especially love the three foxes, Quivern, Ribunny, Chillet, Cremis, Nox, Dinossom, and several others.
The area is not so big that it suffers from Bethesda Syndrome, and your movement speed is, for the most part, just right. I might wish you could travel slightly faster, for much longer, on some occasions, but usually I find nothing mindnumbing.

Overall, even in its early state, despite having received this as a gift, I think it is worth the value. I would buy it today, knowing what it is, now.

This game is silly as heck, everyone should play with other players, everyone is a doofus.

+++ Overall game is fun
++ Good variety for farming sim
++ Good variety for dating sim
++ Good variety for crafting
++ Good quantity of adventure for an adventure game
++ Lots of different things to do, and most of those things feel very polished
+ Cute
+ Many hours of gameplay
+ You can ride on a treasure chest or a dragon who lives on a dragon.
+ Characters are charming
+ The voice acting is well done
+ Some minigames are fun
+ Addictive
+ You can befriend monsters
+ No continuously-present character is unlikeable

- Plot suffers from anime style clunkily hiding reveals in plain sight and then just saying they can't tell you
- Some stuff has really obnoxious RNG luck (+ not necessary for game completion)
- A couple of characters have... exactly one defining trait
- A few monsters are weirdly imbalanced with the rest of the game (mostly post-game)
- Dialog suffers from random "some lines are voice acted and the next sentence isn't" stuff
- A game like this needs a larger soundtrack since you will spend so long on the maps
- Some minigames seem like busy work at best
- You cannot befriend every boss, even ones that don't seem difficult to incorporate into the mechanics (a boar among a couple of others, specifically) and the three types that make some level of sense you can't befriend probably could have had workarounds for that with a bit more work
- Sometimes the resources (specifically lumber, stone, and fertilizer resources) can be very annoying to collect