Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Aggelos

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Sumez
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

Post by Sumez »

The graphics are good looking, well drawn etc. But even with better animations than your typical Flash game, they have this unsettling, polished "zynga" style look it that's off-putting to me.

But still looking forward to being able to play my preorder...
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Shelcoof
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

Post by Shelcoof »

evil_ash_xero wrote:I've been playing this, and have been enjoying it. I'm still stuck as the pig, and he's frustrating to play.
I definitely like it better than Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, even though that was drop dead gorgeous. It was just too simple. It was OK though.
This is more complex.
The graphics are nice, but there's a few parts where they look a bit too "flash-y". Particularly, Monster Boy's swimming animation.
A little more story than I'd like. But it's not like Iconoclasts or anything.

So far, very promising. I'm hoping it ends up being better than Half Genie Hero. That game was good, but too linear. I don't think it's gonna beat Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, but I'm really early on.

It's weird there's not more coverage on it. Seems like a real labor of love. Even has the anime opening, and you can change the lyrics to Japanese. Seems kind of like something that Working Designs would have published, back in the day.

I'm dying to get out of this pig form though. :lol: He's not very good at the melee. I want a sword, god dammit!
Dragon's Trap remastered was merely just a face lift. The game still is at it's heart the same game that came out in 1989. Monster Boy better have at least improved on a number of things since then lol.

I'm glad your enjoying the game so far.... I haven't had time to touch my copy seeing how busy I am with work and Smash bro...... :oops:

I was surprised too there isn't much coverage for this game so of course I did what I could to spread the good word to Wonder Boy fans!

That said the adventure isn't over once you finish Monster Boy... get in on Aggelos!
I can't stress this hard enough but I really enjoyed that game so much. It was awesome!


Sumez wrote:The graphics are good looking, well drawn etc. But even with better animations than your typical Flash game, they have this unsettling, polished "zynga" style look it that's off-putting to me.

But still looking forward to being able to play my preorder...
You still haven't received your order yet? Must be a pain to wait for mail during the holidays. I feel you on this because I've been waiting for a number of items to show up in my mail box. The Postal strike here doesn't help either :(
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Sumez
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

Post by Sumez »

Shelcoof wrote:The Postal strike here doesn't help either :(
Well, I ordered from Canada, so I guess that could explain it.
It usually takes really long time to receive anything from there, though.
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Shelcoof
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

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Sumez wrote:
Shelcoof wrote:The Postal strike here doesn't help either :(
Well, I ordered from Canada, so I guess that could explain it.
It usually takes really long time to receive anything from there, though.
Did you at least get tracking?

If I were you I would have ordered from Amazon.com or something.
I don't know what else to say other than get yourself some tissue paper... the wait maybe long :?

Edit:
Oh here is one recommendation I had pick up Aggelos on Steam and soon to be on Switch
Trust me you won't regret it!

Play it now while you wait for your physical copy of Monster Boy
It's soo much fun!
Last edited by Shelcoof on Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Sumez
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

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Shelcoof wrote: That said the adventure isn't over once you finish Monster Boy... get in on Aggelos!
I can't stress this hard enough but I really enjoyed that game so much. It was awesome!
That game looks really cool, but if I'm not wrong, all there's available is a demo, even though the game is described as a 2016 release?
Does that mean the game is only intended to be this "demo", or is there a full version coming out? The info online is really vague.
Shelcoof wrote: Did you at least get tracking?

If I were you I would have ordered from Amazon.com or something.
I don't know what else to say other than get yourself some tissue paper... the wait maybe long :?
Both of those options would have cost me twice as much, so no. :) VG+ is by far the best place to import video games from for anyone in Europe.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by Shelcoof »

Aggelos is done!

The game was completed some time ago. I only discovered it about maybe a month and a half ago and I had three sessions and I finished it. If you know me then you know I never ever am able to finish or complete a game.

That is saying something trust me lol.

When I played the game it felt like I played a different version of Monster World. The combat in that game was really fun and the platforming wow..... amazing!

It's complete and the game will run you about 20$ ish.. I can't remember how much I spent but it was worth every penny and more.

If there is a physical release I'll buy that too mount it on my wall. I'll pick it up on Switch when it comes out next year. That's how much I love the game.

If you put Wonder Boy in the title you'd easily think the game was actually a Wonder Boy game.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by FinalBaton »

yeah post office strike here is quite annoying :( oh well

didn't know about video game plus being import friendly for our european friends, that's interesting!
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

Post by evil_ash_xero »

Shelcoof wrote:
Dragon's Trap remastered was merely just a face lift. The game still is at it's heart the same game that came out in 1989. Monster Boy better have at least improved on a number of things since then lol.
I knew this bit. I appreciate them being so true to the original...but it is too simple. Not enough platforming. Too many long stretches of you just walking and hitting things.
But the art and music...yowza. I did buy the physical copy though.
I had an OK time with it.
Didn't the original dude that worked on Wonder Boy work on Monster Boy? I read it didn't have the license, but Dragon's Trap did. But the original creator still worked on Monster Boy.
God, like that series could get any more confusing, when it comes to names.

EDIT: It says on their site that it was "Created in cooperation with series creator Ryuichi Nishizawa (former Westone Bit Entertainment)".
I wonder how much he really had to do with it? It certainly plays like Wonder Boy/Monster World. I thought it was a sequel, until I read it didn't have the license.
It even says on the site that a "Legendary Game Series Returns with an All New Adventure".
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by Shelcoof »

When I read the original creator had a hand in it and them not being able to get an "official" license for the game says one thing to me. Next installment under a different name :)

No one cares about the title... all that really matters is the experience and that is what Monster Boy is all about.

I still get all gitty when I collect coins after defeating an enemy :D
I'm in Wonder Boy Heaven right now!
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

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Shelcoof wrote:Aggelos is done!

It's complete and the game will run you about 20$ ish.. I can't remember how much I spent but it was worth every penny and more.
Weird
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

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Got Monster Boy this weekend and have been playing it a bit on and off since then. Running around as the frog now, which is fun.
Overall I'm enjoying the game a lot, and it feels even more like the original Monster World games than I had imagined it could.

That said, I'm also struggling to look past all of its flaws.

There are so many annoying aspects to it - the overall world design is nice, but the moment-to-moment level design is mostly really poor, with a terrible sense of flow, and something is off about most of the enemy patterns, and whenever an obstacle does come across as somewhat challenging, it doesn't feel like it was meant to be that. In many ways it feels like a bit of an amateur product.
Other minor annoyances show up throughout the game - I think your moveset often feels unintuitive, with no real logic to what button does what (but thankfully you can disable the wheel menu), and the short loading times between screens whenever you switch area (or occasionally within an area with no apparent change) really pile up over time and test my patience. Especially when backtracking, or going back and forth between those screen. I have no idea why a simple 2D game in 2018 has to load so much? Even equipping a new pair of boots (which is something you'll do a lot through the few few minutes of the game) requires loading.
The bossfights seem creative and varied at first sight, but usually play out quite clumsily, much in line with the regular enemies. They aren't hard though. I refuse to get the potions that revive me when I run out of hearts, so some of the bosses have taken me two attemps. On one instance I managed to die twice to a boss before taking it down, and apparently already at that point the game takes pity on you and has a guy come in with hearts to replenish your health. And he doesn't just fly in and drop one or two - he stays there throughout the entire battle, constantly dropping them faster than you could even get hit on purpose. What the hell is up with that? It's like the game doesn't want me to possibly lose.

If I weren't giving the game a lot of leeway for being what it is, I'd say it's a really bad game. But I also would be lying if I said I'm not having fun with it despite everything I said. I'm gonna try to see it through to the end.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by evil_ash_xero »

I've been playing this, and made it to the Dungeons.

I have some seriously mixed feelings on this. There's a lot of nice things, but wow...it is REALLY a puzzle platformer. Heavy emphasis on the puzzles. Almost every freaking screen is a puzzle. And you have to change forms CONSTANTLY. Sometimes in mid air.
They kind of overdid it with those two things. They're clever, but it's not exactly fun stuff.

I'm mixed on it. More balance in platforming and puzzling, and not such a heavy emphasis on changing shape constantly would make this far more enjoyable for me.

The graphics are a mix. They do have a flash look going on. Sometimes they look quite good. The swimming animation is awful. You look like a cutout just moving around the screen.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by No_not_like_Quake »

I made it to the volcano a few weeks ago and dropped it, for now.

Definitely too much emphasis on puzzles for my liking. There's also some Super Meat Boyish design that creeps in here and there which is annoying. Nothing is all that challenging, just a pain in the ass to do. It's like the designers were trying to please people nostalgic for the Monster World series while simultaneously going for the younger crowd who go apeshit for stuff like Celeste.

I imagine the ex Westone guy's involvement is something like playing a bit and giving it a thumbs up.

With all that though, it still feels enough like Monster World to be worth playing, even if some of it is a slog. OST is nice, too.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by Shelcoof »

Here I am still not completely able to play much of the game. Hearing all these negatives really hurting me as I haven't fully experienced the game yet....

If your really having a hard time enjoying Monster Boy go for Aggelos on Steam or wait for the Switch Port. Game's puzzles are very simple yet super fun. Game feels very action packed as well.

There is one section though that has a crazy puzzle section based on memory. Other than that everything else requires skillful platforming.

I'll be able to sit down and play some Monster Boy next weekend hopefully
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by No_not_like_Quake »

I'd like Game Atelier to make a sequel and condense things. Go less crazy on the puzzles and improve combat. Also cut the length, no need for this kind of game to be 18 hours long. I think they have the talent.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by Ruldra »

I'm glad people is aware of Aggelos. I tried the demo and instantly fell in love with it, to the point of finishing it several times and even attempting a speedrun just for fun. Beat it in 18 minutes and there's still room for optimization. Might even record and upload a run at some point.

Aggelos has a weird control scheme though (EDSF keys instead of WASD for movement and IOP keys for attack/jump/ability). Also no way to rebind keys and no controller support. That might be a turn off for many players.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by Shelcoof »

I bought Aggelos on steam and was able to use a controller plus re- map my buttons.
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Re: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom also shout out to Agg

Post by evil_ash_xero »

No_not_like_Quake wrote:I'd like Game Atelier to make a sequel and condense things. Go less crazy on the puzzles and improve combat. Also cut the length, no need for this kind of game to be 18 hours long. I think they have the talent.
Yeah, you can tell they can make a better game. But the puzzles...Jesus.
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