[url=https://jannekeparrish.com/reviews/cat-of-monte-cristo] Full review [/url]
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44626948-Loons/] My curator page [/url]
In Cat of Monte Cristo, you play as Edmond Dantes, a cat person sailing on a trip to Alba. There, he agrees to help the captain of his ship carry a mysterious letter back to Marseilles (or Merseilles - spelling is not this game’s strong suit). Upon his arrival in Marseilles, Edmond is arrested, thrown in prison, and must think of a way to escape and return to his true love, Mercedes.
Cat of Monte Cristo is a JRPG, and as such, follows all the standard JRPG mechanics. It uses party-based, turn-based combat mechanics, and an absolutely boundless sea of random encounters. Each character has a unique set of abilities powered by a combination of mana and “TP,” with TP charging as the character takes actions and receives damage. Items and equipment augment the characters’ combat abilities, though the game is nowhere near long enough to make use of the sheer number of items I rummaged out of the chests I found.
I’ll be blunt: Cat of Monte Cristo is a game I picked up for $.73 at some point, likely because it had the word “cat” in the title. It feels and plays like a game I picked up for $.73. The various characters’ abilities aren’t particularly special, but they sync together just fine. The level and map design is fairly standard, but it too does what it sets out to do just fine. The characters, and with them the plot, are propelled from plot point to plot point without much issue. Everything moves smoothly, the art is fine, and nothing broke. While the writing is fairly terrible, it somehow manages to loop through bad and back into endearing. The whole game feels this way. There’s a soft earnestness to it and a care to its crafting that makes the game a sweet little experience.
When I write these reviews, I ask myself one question - did this game accomplish what it set out to accomplish? I judge a game not by how it compares to other games, or whether or not I liked it, but just by whether it does what it set out to do. Cat of Monte Cristo is a simple JRPG. It tells a version of The Count of Monte Cristo in a JRPG setting using JRPG tropes, and it does a good job of doing so. Nothing about it particularly excels, but all of it is exactly what it sets out to be. It is a fun little game to pull out for a couple hours, feel cozy with, and set aside again at the end. It was clearly made with love, both for the art of game-making and for its source material, and that love shines through in the end product. It’s a competent little game that would benefit greatly from a tussle with a spellchecker.
