Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Castelian (NES Game)


Castelian is one trick pony, and the trick gets old pretty fast. In this game you play the role of a frog-pig (unrelated to man-bear-pig) who slowly ascends various towers. The cool thing about this game is that your character remains in the center of the screen as the tower scrolls around. It's a pretty cool-looking effect, and pretty much the only reason I bought this game. This effect, though nifty, does not a good game make.

Here's why this game sucks: some of the platforms will just disappear out from under you without warning. This turns the game into a trial and error-fest, and that's not really what you want in a game. Also, your character is ploddingly slow. There's this blue enemy that appears out of nowhere that is very difficult to avoid with your little slowpoke. You have the ability to shoot, but many of the enemies are impervious to your projectiles, making them fairly worthless. The design of the towers is not consistent. There is one point where you have to get hit so you can drop down and get to a platform you can't reach otherwise. There is no way for you to learn this without either consulting an FAQ or playing this frustrating game 3,000 times. I could go on and on, but what's the point?

Castelian appears charming at first, but quickly wears thin. I suppose it's playable, but it's certainly not enjoyable.

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