Delicious FruitLatest Reviews
YaBoiMarcAntony
For: Needle Hatena
For: Needle Hatena
(Rating and Difficulty based on 100%)
I was a tester for this game and saw it go through a lot of changes, so I'll admit that I have an undeniable amount of bias for the game; however, I do not believe that changes facts, and it's a fact that this is a genuinely excellent collab.
Before I get into stages, I'll discuss the overall presentation which is excellent. There is no hub area as you're just given a menu screen which lets you choose whichever stage you like, although the extra stages and credits stage are blocked until you've beaten every main stage. Some people seem to take issue with these stages being unlocked, but I personally don't mind it at all. In a typical game featuring an extra stage, you don't just have access to them without clearing the main game first. It's supposed to be a reward for putting in the effort to do everything the game asks of you. Nonetheless, the visuals outside of the stages are excellent. They feel warm and cozy, giving off the nintendo vibe that Dono was clearly going for.
Now, I'll go ahead and organize my stage ratings based on their quality.
Cream of the Crop:
Egg Extra (10/10) - This is one of the best screens of trigger needle I've ever played. The visuals are phenomenal, the music choice great (for this sort of thing), and the gameplay itself? Well, it's not the weakest link, let me assure you. It's a fairly difficult stage, but given that it's only one screen, it doesn't stick out negatively in that respect. I played this three or four times in testing and then again for post-release clear and I never tired of it.
Princeoflight Extra (10/10) - The dopamine-inspired visuals combined with the absolutely banging tune makes this stage my absolute favorite aesthetically. Luckily, it's also a stellar stage gameplay-wise to boot. Like it's normal stage, catharsis water line needle is the norm, though with the added bonus of some killer gravity switch usage. Every screen is one save, but it was easy enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind but just hard enough to be supremely satisfying.
Chrisay (10/10) - A lot of people dunked on this stage for being quite difficult and gimmicky, but I loved it from the start. Sure it's hard as shit, sure it deals exclusively in cycles, but what a satisfying stage to clear! Every save is perfectly crafted to let you feel like a total God on beating them, and though the learning process does take a while, it was all worth it in the end for me.
The Second-best (Though Still Superb):
Egg (9.5/10) - The mood here is just phenomenal, aided by the Crimson Needle 3 type music and jaw-droppingly gorgeous visuals. The needle itself is quite interesting and fun, using at times catharsis water though being more typical needle than not. Nonetheless, it still has that usual Egg feel to it, so you more or less know what you're getting into when going into this stage.
Princeoflight (9.5/10) - Though not as good as extra, this is still one hefty stage, quality-wise. There's no gravity-flippers, so the catharsis water line needle is at it's purest. It's fairly easy, so each save is more about satisfaction than really being a challenge, excluding the last jump of the last save on screen one and the last jump of the last save on screen 3.
LemonGH (9/10) - Despite being fairly claustrophobic, Lemon's screen has a sort of airy feel to it, aided by the cave-like visuals. There may not be wide open spaces, but there's still a lot of room to move around in, give or take a couple sections here and there. Each save is quite lengthy, but they're also easy enough that the length is un-noticeable unless you're paying attention.
Artimax (9/10) - During testing, this was my least favorite stage - in fact, I could never will myself to actually complete it, I'm ashamed to say. I let the other testers discuss that stage and I just left it at "I don't like it." Now, I'm happy to say I've seen the error of my ways and know now that this stage (screen) is phenomenal. The core issue of it being uncomfortable to play remains, but otherwise I found this a really fun screen to play through. The vibes too are totally unique, giving off a carnival-esque feeling.
KittyGame (9/10) - The easiest stage by far, but it still is quite good fun to play through. The second screen is more enjoyable due to its length, but overall this is fairly interesting no-frills needle with lovely visuals. I'd like a longer stage of this, but the two screens shall do nicely.
Shign (8.5/10) - If the second save of the final screen were removed or changed heavily, this would be an easy 9. As it stands, that is the one solitary blight on an other-wise excellent stage. This one's about unique usage of most of the core fangame gimmicks (vines, water, jump refreshers), so there's rarely any sections not using these three gimmicks. They're put to use wonderfully, and though it's a hard stage, I felt no stress or irritation with any save (aside from the previously-mentioned one).
The Pretty Good:
TheJPEGDemon (8/10) - This is rightly noted as being generic needle, but people beat it up too much in my eyes. Though it is a bit generic, I find it to be really nice to play through. It's easy, so there's no worry of a grind, and people don't give it enough credit for the novel jumps littered throughout. The visuals are basic, but that's no skin off my back in the end.
Starzor (7/10) - Now THIS is a lot more generic than Demon's stage, being total corridor needle with only a couple interesting jumps here and there; yet, I still do have some love for this stage thanks to the great visuals and my own enjoyment of generic corridor needle. It gets the job done, but that's about it.
KittyGame 2 (7/10) - The second screen is wholly superior to the first and would garner its own little ranking of 8 or 8.5 out of 10. The first screen alright, but a couple jumps really irked me, both being the last jump of both saves, funnily enough. Otherwise, this is fairly generic and without the touch of love that KittyGame's normal screen had.
The Low-tier:
Starzor 2 (5/10) - This is one screen of more or less the same as the normal stage, but now it's a lot more irritating. It ends with a v-string/v-align/whatever the fuck diagonal that really just cuts my grass. Nothing else to say, really.
The credits stage having needle is a nice touch, but I won't rate it amongst the other stages.
All in all, I think this is a highly successful collab, being made up almost entirely of banger stages. Aside from Starzor 2, there's not an ounce of low-quality design to be found for miles - at least, not for the duration of a stage. Dono did an excellent job in organizing this collab, and every one offered something of worth.
[2] Likes
I was a tester for this game and saw it go through a lot of changes, so I'll admit that I have an undeniable amount of bias for the game; however, I do not believe that changes facts, and it's a fact that this is a genuinely excellent collab.
Before I get into stages, I'll discuss the overall presentation which is excellent. There is no hub area as you're just given a menu screen which lets you choose whichever stage you like, although the extra stages and credits stage are blocked until you've beaten every main stage. Some people seem to take issue with these stages being unlocked, but I personally don't mind it at all. In a typical game featuring an extra stage, you don't just have access to them without clearing the main game first. It's supposed to be a reward for putting in the effort to do everything the game asks of you. Nonetheless, the visuals outside of the stages are excellent. They feel warm and cozy, giving off the nintendo vibe that Dono was clearly going for.
Now, I'll go ahead and organize my stage ratings based on their quality.
Cream of the Crop:
Egg Extra (10/10) - This is one of the best screens of trigger needle I've ever played. The visuals are phenomenal, the music choice great (for this sort of thing), and the gameplay itself? Well, it's not the weakest link, let me assure you. It's a fairly difficult stage, but given that it's only one screen, it doesn't stick out negatively in that respect. I played this three or four times in testing and then again for post-release clear and I never tired of it.
Princeoflight Extra (10/10) - The dopamine-inspired visuals combined with the absolutely banging tune makes this stage my absolute favorite aesthetically. Luckily, it's also a stellar stage gameplay-wise to boot. Like it's normal stage, catharsis water line needle is the norm, though with the added bonus of some killer gravity switch usage. Every screen is one save, but it was easy enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind but just hard enough to be supremely satisfying.
Chrisay (10/10) - A lot of people dunked on this stage for being quite difficult and gimmicky, but I loved it from the start. Sure it's hard as shit, sure it deals exclusively in cycles, but what a satisfying stage to clear! Every save is perfectly crafted to let you feel like a total God on beating them, and though the learning process does take a while, it was all worth it in the end for me.
The Second-best (Though Still Superb):
Egg (9.5/10) - The mood here is just phenomenal, aided by the Crimson Needle 3 type music and jaw-droppingly gorgeous visuals. The needle itself is quite interesting and fun, using at times catharsis water though being more typical needle than not. Nonetheless, it still has that usual Egg feel to it, so you more or less know what you're getting into when going into this stage.
Princeoflight (9.5/10) - Though not as good as extra, this is still one hefty stage, quality-wise. There's no gravity-flippers, so the catharsis water line needle is at it's purest. It's fairly easy, so each save is more about satisfaction than really being a challenge, excluding the last jump of the last save on screen one and the last jump of the last save on screen 3.
LemonGH (9/10) - Despite being fairly claustrophobic, Lemon's screen has a sort of airy feel to it, aided by the cave-like visuals. There may not be wide open spaces, but there's still a lot of room to move around in, give or take a couple sections here and there. Each save is quite lengthy, but they're also easy enough that the length is un-noticeable unless you're paying attention.
Artimax (9/10) - During testing, this was my least favorite stage - in fact, I could never will myself to actually complete it, I'm ashamed to say. I let the other testers discuss that stage and I just left it at "I don't like it." Now, I'm happy to say I've seen the error of my ways and know now that this stage (screen) is phenomenal. The core issue of it being uncomfortable to play remains, but otherwise I found this a really fun screen to play through. The vibes too are totally unique, giving off a carnival-esque feeling.
KittyGame (9/10) - The easiest stage by far, but it still is quite good fun to play through. The second screen is more enjoyable due to its length, but overall this is fairly interesting no-frills needle with lovely visuals. I'd like a longer stage of this, but the two screens shall do nicely.
Shign (8.5/10) - If the second save of the final screen were removed or changed heavily, this would be an easy 9. As it stands, that is the one solitary blight on an other-wise excellent stage. This one's about unique usage of most of the core fangame gimmicks (vines, water, jump refreshers), so there's rarely any sections not using these three gimmicks. They're put to use wonderfully, and though it's a hard stage, I felt no stress or irritation with any save (aside from the previously-mentioned one).
The Pretty Good:
TheJPEGDemon (8/10) - This is rightly noted as being generic needle, but people beat it up too much in my eyes. Though it is a bit generic, I find it to be really nice to play through. It's easy, so there's no worry of a grind, and people don't give it enough credit for the novel jumps littered throughout. The visuals are basic, but that's no skin off my back in the end.
Starzor (7/10) - Now THIS is a lot more generic than Demon's stage, being total corridor needle with only a couple interesting jumps here and there; yet, I still do have some love for this stage thanks to the great visuals and my own enjoyment of generic corridor needle. It gets the job done, but that's about it.
KittyGame 2 (7/10) - The second screen is wholly superior to the first and would garner its own little ranking of 8 or 8.5 out of 10. The first screen alright, but a couple jumps really irked me, both being the last jump of both saves, funnily enough. Otherwise, this is fairly generic and without the touch of love that KittyGame's normal screen had.
The Low-tier:
Starzor 2 (5/10) - This is one screen of more or less the same as the normal stage, but now it's a lot more irritating. It ends with a v-string/v-align/whatever the fuck diagonal that really just cuts my grass. Nothing else to say, really.
The credits stage having needle is a nice touch, but I won't rate it amongst the other stages.
All in all, I think this is a highly successful collab, being made up almost entirely of banger stages. Aside from Starzor 2, there's not an ounce of low-quality design to be found for miles - at least, not for the duration of a stage. Dono did an excellent job in organizing this collab, and every one offered something of worth.
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 70 70
Oct 20, 2020
Pyure
For: You give me butterflies, and I take them away
For: You give me butterflies, and I take them away
Others have already done a fine job describing the gameplay and possible meanings behind it all, I don't have much to add there. Even if there was no deeper meaning to it, the mechanics, visuals, and music came together to create an effectively uneasy atmosphere and a unique experience that was intriguing and enjoyable. Wish it was much longer.
Rating based on Normal.
[3] Likes
Rating based on Normal.
Rating: 8.8 88
Difficulty: 53 53
Oct 20, 2020
moogy
For: I wanna Chill Out
For: I wanna Chill Out
One stage of somewhat difficult jtool needle, featuring Catharsis water here and there.
Has a lot of the same problems as Amaranth -- overly precise jumps, annoying placement of apples, poorly placed S saves, etc. -- but the saves are short enough that it doesn't really matter for the most part. If you enjoyed the easier parts of Amaranth, it's probably worth playing, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else on its own. The last save in particular is quite annoying.
At least the visuals aren't eye-searingly hideous like in Amaranth.
[1] Like
Has a lot of the same problems as Amaranth -- overly precise jumps, annoying placement of apples, poorly placed S saves, etc. -- but the saves are short enough that it doesn't really matter for the most part. If you enjoyed the easier parts of Amaranth, it's probably worth playing, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else on its own. The last save in particular is quite annoying.
At least the visuals aren't eye-searingly hideous like in Amaranth.
Rating: 5.5 55
Difficulty: 62 62
Oct 20, 2020