Delicious FruitLatest Reviews
ElCochran90
For: I wanna stop the Simulation
For: I wanna stop the Simulation
WARNING: As this is the end of the journey, this review will contain unmarked spoilers regarding all FM Blind Races: Run The Marathon, Warp The Worlds and Find A Cure, including Stop The Simulation.
The journey has come to an end. The blind races are over(?) and the story comes full circle, as it all turned out to be a computer simulation, duh. That's the concept from which the final boss derives, but so does the whole adventure.
There is an interesting debate here and it is that, with every new FM Blind Race entry, the game "stops being less of a fangame and more a copy-paste of original games". I find this of relevance because it would seem that our preconception of a fangame is unconsciously attached to the usual The Kid stuck in his engine and a 21 X 11 pixels hitbox. Not only with each entry, but also with every new event, the Fangame Marathon has welcomed even other roms and hacks, such as Hyper Metroid. It also started to give publicity to new indie games, such as Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Bit.Trip Runner, The End Is Nigh, Baba Is You, Celeste, Cuphead, Spelunky, among others, all of them with varying popularity. The immortal trilogy that became tradition in the fangame community is VVVVVV, Undertale and Super Meat Boy. However, there is not necessarily a positive correlation between a new indie game being represented in every FM Blind Race and a copy-paste engine. Isaac does copy-paste, but Celeste doesn't. Neither does Baba Is You. However, Contra does, whereas Super Castlevania II doesn't. There is no rule. The Doom segment of Warp The Worlds revolutionized the capabilities of a 3D quality fangame and blew everyone's minds. It is one of the best moments in fangaming history.
To what extent is the essence of fangames being lost? I say it isn't. That would be an exaggeration, and you see it with the stages that retain the original engine, such The End Is Nigh, Super Mario Bros., etc., and even with the nods, such as Guy Rock (er, Guilty Gear Isuka's Home Sweet Grave for the 9000th time) or a Miku cameo during the final boss of Warp The Worlds. It's been a long time since over 9000 (heh) variations of an original game became a universe of their own, featuring all types of genres, and I think new ones are being born. That's called evolution. I welcome it. Experimentation is for the bold ones.
So, is a fangame good because it retains the original engine and mechanics, or because it experiments? In my humble opinion, I say both as long as they are done well, but the latter is necessary for exploring possibilities and expanding horizons. I encourage makers to keep doing it despite the negative opinions.
What is holding this back as a personal favorite from my super-elitist and demanding list in my exaggerated rating system mocked even by The Wannabes during their streams, then? The little wrong decisions. Those that harm gameplay. Decisions such as not having a save before each boss in Isaac, having the freaking Up key as a jump key besides Shift in Super Castlevania IV (which wouldn't matter if you didn't use the Up key for aiming your damn whip!), making all of the first Runner2 screens trivial as you cannot die, and having a very disappointing and ugly final boss (even if the idea is cool and retro). The ones that hurt Find A Cure, such as the first phase of the final boss being harder than the second one, having Super Metroid too long and cryptic to decipher at points (still my favorite stage of Find A Cure though, because wow), and having repetitive and frustrating level design in Celeste and The End Is Nigh. Well, what can you expect from experimentation? Trial and error.
I repeat: I ENCOURAGE IT.
The whole Konami section was miraculous and it was awesome to see the concept of The Kid being reinvented at every section while reminiscing of our childhoods. Contra contains one of the best traps seen in fangame history if you use the Konami code, obviously replacing B and A with their respective input equivalents, and the final boss is long and fun, which is something rare to accomplish, since it contains react-able action and a fair challenge. It also had me laughing with its traps. Were there traps in Contra?? Well, maybe it had soldiers hiding in bushes, but not a P switch lol! Super Castlevania IV is something I particularly thank, because it was the dream of many finally come true. It does make some mistakes (Up key damn it!), but graphics and level design is great. The boss of the area is nothing amazing but, again, there is a nod to the original I Wanna Be The Guy.
Production design leaves nothing else to be desired, so expect the highest quality everywhere. Baba Is You was particularly well implemented to the engine we know, with smart puzzles and a chill atmosphere. Isaac replicates the game to astonishing levels thanks to Erik's usual commitment, and the secret orange boss was a brilliant troll (which also scared the Bejesus out of me); the nightmare for ending Stage 1 was hilarious). It shines at many instances.
What does 2020 store for us? I wish I knew, but if blind races are over, please just say to me that a new game will be released to commemorate the new decade.
This whole odyssey gave me two good games and two new favorites to my clear list. The final boss, when read between the lines (er, the names of the folders), has jokes commemorating what characterize us: MIKU, private fangames, roms, hacks, clear lists, bookmarks... Good stuff. I like the makers reminding us we belong to something worth being noted.
I do believe that fangames are art as well; that is why I rate them as normal games. I make no distinction. Otherwise, I would have rated I Wanna Be The Overlord with 12.4/10 I guess.
Thanks for listening.
[4] Likes
The journey has come to an end. The blind races are over(?) and the story comes full circle, as it all turned out to be a computer simulation, duh. That's the concept from which the final boss derives, but so does the whole adventure.
There is an interesting debate here and it is that, with every new FM Blind Race entry, the game "stops being less of a fangame and more a copy-paste of original games". I find this of relevance because it would seem that our preconception of a fangame is unconsciously attached to the usual The Kid stuck in his engine and a 21 X 11 pixels hitbox. Not only with each entry, but also with every new event, the Fangame Marathon has welcomed even other roms and hacks, such as Hyper Metroid. It also started to give publicity to new indie games, such as Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Bit.Trip Runner, The End Is Nigh, Baba Is You, Celeste, Cuphead, Spelunky, among others, all of them with varying popularity. The immortal trilogy that became tradition in the fangame community is VVVVVV, Undertale and Super Meat Boy. However, there is not necessarily a positive correlation between a new indie game being represented in every FM Blind Race and a copy-paste engine. Isaac does copy-paste, but Celeste doesn't. Neither does Baba Is You. However, Contra does, whereas Super Castlevania II doesn't. There is no rule. The Doom segment of Warp The Worlds revolutionized the capabilities of a 3D quality fangame and blew everyone's minds. It is one of the best moments in fangaming history.
To what extent is the essence of fangames being lost? I say it isn't. That would be an exaggeration, and you see it with the stages that retain the original engine, such The End Is Nigh, Super Mario Bros., etc., and even with the nods, such as Guy Rock (er, Guilty Gear Isuka's Home Sweet Grave for the 9000th time) or a Miku cameo during the final boss of Warp The Worlds. It's been a long time since over 9000 (heh) variations of an original game became a universe of their own, featuring all types of genres, and I think new ones are being born. That's called evolution. I welcome it. Experimentation is for the bold ones.
So, is a fangame good because it retains the original engine and mechanics, or because it experiments? In my humble opinion, I say both as long as they are done well, but the latter is necessary for exploring possibilities and expanding horizons. I encourage makers to keep doing it despite the negative opinions.
What is holding this back as a personal favorite from my super-elitist and demanding list in my exaggerated rating system mocked even by The Wannabes during their streams, then? The little wrong decisions. Those that harm gameplay. Decisions such as not having a save before each boss in Isaac, having the freaking Up key as a jump key besides Shift in Super Castlevania IV (which wouldn't matter if you didn't use the Up key for aiming your damn whip!), making all of the first Runner2 screens trivial as you cannot die, and having a very disappointing and ugly final boss (even if the idea is cool and retro). The ones that hurt Find A Cure, such as the first phase of the final boss being harder than the second one, having Super Metroid too long and cryptic to decipher at points (still my favorite stage of Find A Cure though, because wow), and having repetitive and frustrating level design in Celeste and The End Is Nigh. Well, what can you expect from experimentation? Trial and error.
I repeat: I ENCOURAGE IT.
The whole Konami section was miraculous and it was awesome to see the concept of The Kid being reinvented at every section while reminiscing of our childhoods. Contra contains one of the best traps seen in fangame history if you use the Konami code, obviously replacing B and A with their respective input equivalents, and the final boss is long and fun, which is something rare to accomplish, since it contains react-able action and a fair challenge. It also had me laughing with its traps. Were there traps in Contra?? Well, maybe it had soldiers hiding in bushes, but not a P switch lol! Super Castlevania IV is something I particularly thank, because it was the dream of many finally come true. It does make some mistakes (Up key damn it!), but graphics and level design is great. The boss of the area is nothing amazing but, again, there is a nod to the original I Wanna Be The Guy.
Production design leaves nothing else to be desired, so expect the highest quality everywhere. Baba Is You was particularly well implemented to the engine we know, with smart puzzles and a chill atmosphere. Isaac replicates the game to astonishing levels thanks to Erik's usual commitment, and the secret orange boss was a brilliant troll (which also scared the Bejesus out of me); the nightmare for ending Stage 1 was hilarious). It shines at many instances.
What does 2020 store for us? I wish I knew, but if blind races are over, please just say to me that a new game will be released to commemorate the new decade.
This whole odyssey gave me two good games and two new favorites to my clear list. The final boss, when read between the lines (er, the names of the folders), has jokes commemorating what characterize us: MIKU, private fangames, roms, hacks, clear lists, bookmarks... Good stuff. I like the makers reminding us we belong to something worth being noted.
I do believe that fangames are art as well; that is why I rate them as normal games. I make no distinction. Otherwise, I would have rated I Wanna Be The Overlord with 12.4/10 I guess.
Thanks for listening.
Rating: 6.6 66
Difficulty: 50 50
May 31, 2020
clablbkao
For: I Wanna Be The EASY The EASY Game1
[1] Like
For: I Wanna Be The EASY The EASY Game1
[1] Like
Rating: 0.0 0
Difficulty: 10 10
May 31, 2020
clablbkao
For: I wanna be the Arcfox Needle
For: I wanna be the Arcfox Needle
This game is MUCH easier than the current difficulty(68 / 100 Advanced).The length of the game should NOT be one of the criteria for judging the difficulty of the game.
[0] Likes
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 50 50
May 31, 2020
Sasuke
For: I wanna be the Noesis
For: I wanna be the Noesis
Bosses aren't bad but they're so boring
[0] Likes
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: 88 88
May 30, 2020