Shogunaria

I own all of the SEEP games on Steam, and this is the first one where I got a little bit more than I expected, more personality than just a basic tribute to retro games, and more self-aware to a point where they even brought back the main character from Katana Soul - probably the most effort they put into one project. Don't get me wrong, I can still appreciate a simple game, and SEEP games are limited by design, mostly something you would see on NES, but it's still nice to see that extra effort on top of a base game, having some strawberries on top of the cheesecake. The first really nice thing about the game is that you can pick between 4 characters, and they can unlock a few different abilities, plus you get some character-specific endings. The game is about 3 hours for 100% completion of the map, including some optional areas and secrets. Previous SEEP games somewhat struggled with personality, they were fun but also very generic, but in this game they injected a little bit more of themselves - and I mean that literally. The only thing that kinda sucks about this game is just extremely low difficulty, and I don't mind casual games, but it was pretty much no effort all the way to the end, the game could have used a few more dangerous enemies, at least one more type per area. Maybe you guys want to add more enemies with better abilities, perhaps a 3-5 projectile elites or some that dash and teleport, and proportional rewards for taking them on. I really like that you added some optional secrets into the game so it didn't feel as linear, however, you still didn't do enough of it, especially with these Zelda-like games, you really want to create a bit of mysterious exploration, even if you just did more breakable walls, it would feel even better. I do wish the secret areas gave more worthwhile rewards though, having those +3000 gold chests wasn't that interesting, if character color-swaps like +1 armor, or mods for abilities like double projectiles, it would be a lot better. Small note, the game does work with Xbox One controller, if you never played a SEEP game, use the keyboard to switch to the controller in the settings, and then it will work. [h1] Pros: [/h1] (+) 4 playable characters, with a few unique character-specific attacks (+) character-specific endings (+) taking into consideration the retro design, I think it plays pretty well, lots of unlocks (+) good achievement support, some secrets, and a few extra features like cheat mode and bestiary. [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] Nitpicks [/u] - maybe shorten the delay on the dash a little, I almost feel like it's better to just get out of the way. It's kinda odd that a key costs 250 gold, but most chests are less than that, so it should maybe be 300 and up. The I-frames on the spin attack are so helpful, it's actually better than using the special attack on the ninja that uses energy because that one does not protect you, so maybe it should have i-frames too. [u] Low Difficulty [/u] - one of the easiest games I ever played in my life, it was actually a bit boring because of it. Perhaps you could add one more enemy types per area, give it some annoying attacks like multi-projectiles or teleport, something that you have to dodge more often, you don't have to spam hard enemies, just mix them in so you not just stabbing things with relative safety. [u] Secrets [/u] - I like what you doing with secrets, but you should have made more of them, perhaps even a few optional areas, even just like another 20% more optional content, would feel much better, maybe optional boss fights, like hidden boss fights. The rewards for secrets were pretty boring, I wish it was some kind of mods or character color-swaps with perks, not just more gold. [b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10 [/b] It's probably the best game SEEP made so far and I think the actual gameplay works pretty well, but I wish you pushed it a little bit further in terms of exploration, even if you had like a few more optional areas with secret boss fights, the overall experience would be a lot more memorable. The low difficulty here is a bit of a problem, the game is just way too forgiving right now, could use a little more challenge in a form of new enemies with better attacks and rewards. I like the way the game plays, just wanted a little more exploration, and what you did so far is good, just need more of it. [code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

This game does some foundational things right. The retro feel is solid, and the graphics and music fit perfectly. Unfortunately, the actual gameplay is simple, repetitive, and boring. The lack of variety is pretty extreme. I'm about halfway through and so far: - ENEMIES: Every enemy does exactly the same thing: it makes a very slow beeline towards the player. A few shoot projectiles at slow intervals, and a few move towards the player slowly (rather than very slowly). There are 1 or 2 enemy varieties per area, and generally 5-10 per screen. - ATTACKING: You kill every enemy the same way, by pressing attack as it slowly approaches you. If you don't press attack fast enough you might have to back up after 1 or 2 hits. That's the extent of strategy. Initially enemies die in 3 hits. Then you get a weapon upgrade so they go down in 2. Then you face stronger enemies that die in... 3 hits. - MAPS: Basically all look the same in a given area. Obstacles in random parts of the screen, enemies in the rest, sometimes a treasure chest. Dungeons are even more generic: you keep going to new rooms, pass a closed gate, and eventually find a button that opens it. Then you go back to the gate and proceed. Repeat 3 times per dungeon. - MAP NAVIGATION ABILITIES: The hallmark of several of the games cited as influences. Technically, these do exist, but they are implemented in ways that make them feel like fetch quests more than movement enhancements. In part this is because there are so few places they can be used -- generally there's one backtracking opportunity per navigation ability, and one obvious place where it gates travel to a new area. Every navigation ability is granted in a dungeon -- but always at the END of the dungeon, meaning they aren't part of dungeon exploration in any way. - BOSSES: The bosses are different from regular enemies in that they move around the screen haphazardly (rather than making a beeline towards you), have some very unintuitive invincibility frames, and have a lot more HP. - TREASURE CHESTS: Almost all of the chests give money, and 90% of the time it's less money than the cost of a key. Enemies do drop keys sometimes, so that's not so bad, but they are still pretty boring. - BUYABLE UPGRADES: Except for weapon power upgrades these are all available at the start of the game. You have to wait till you get enough money drops to purchase them, but it's very straightforward -- seems like exactly 1 level of each upgrade. 3 of the upgrades are just carrying space upgrades for cash/pots/keys. 2 of them are just +1 HP and +1 MP. There aren't many that affect your actual power level. - SPECIAL ABILITIES: Although each class also has 3 abilities you can buy, they have some limits. The ones that use MP can't be used very much, because MP doesn't regenerate on its own. The non-MP ability I saw was a standard, LTTP-style whirl attack (not sure if all 4 classes get access to this) which is useful, but even there the UX isn't great -- sometimes it fails to charge (either because you moved a pixel before holding down the attack button, or because your stamina is too low), but it takes several seconds to receive an indication that you're charging successfully... which means you're standing there with enemies approaching you, _thinking_ you're charging, and then you realize you're not. There's the foundation for something really good in this game, but it's just not there on all of the above counts.

面白かったです。 ４時間弱で１周クリア（使用キャラはサムライ）。 いいところ ・ファミコン時代的なシンプルさに現代的な親切さが融合。 　シンプルに楽しめつつ、ファミコン時代と違ってとても親切。 ・グラフィックもかわいい。 ・難易度は抑えめでストレスは貯まらない。謎解きも進むのに詰まるストレスはない。 　後半の敵には鬱陶しいものもいるが、嫌になるほどの相手はいない。 　どんどん先に行けるのでどんどん進めてしまう。 　（とはいえ、ラスボスは個人的には結構鬱陶しい相手だとは思いました） ・絶対回避のダッシュが強いので、私のように苦手な人も、それに頼ればなんとかなる。 ・回転斬りは気持ちがいい。 ・ストーリーは非常にあっさりしていますが、RPGだとやっぱり欲しい日本語訳があります。 　翻訳の質は「インディーズなら十分」ぐらい。 気になったところ ・魔法は消費が大きい割に弱すぎるので、使う意味が薄い（これは使ったキャラがサムライだったせいかもしれません）。 ・攻撃を当てた時の敵のノックバックが弱いので、接近型の敵との戦闘では必要以上のヒット＆アウェイを強いられるきらいがあり、やや鬱陶しいです。 ・私が上手く見つけられなかったせいですが、武器をフル強化できませんでした。 　私が特に下手なプレイヤーな可能性はありますが、フル強化が前提のバランスにも見えるので、もっとヒントがあってもいいかもしれません（あるいは、お金だけでなんとかする道を用意してもいいでしょう） 少し不満も書きましたが、この値段でよく出来ています。 おすすめ！

While the game is charming at the beginning it quickly loses that charm as most enemies will do the same thing: walk to you slowly. This, along with the boss fights, which while being the peak of the game, felt lacking. The bosses have only ONE attack, like the normal enemies. This will be extremely irritating if you're aiming for 100%ing the game as you'll have to play the game 4 times, 1 time with each character for the achievement given for completing the game with a specific character. The game is mostly bug free in my opinion but there's a bug, especially concerning the dojo, which doesn't allow me to move my character, requiring me to close the game and lose any unsaved progress. My advice is to save before going into the shops in order to minimize time lost due to this. If you're aiming for an easy 100% you're in the right place. I've completed the game in 11.1 hours with some time wasted, a gamer who can do better than me can probably complete it under 10 hours.

So this is like zelda 1, except you can choose 4 different characters with their own powers and some of them has different attack range, it also has like snes art style. It isn't too hard for goddesses like me but since you probably are a mere mortal you might struggle. It has some eastern eggs from different seep games and guest characters from other developers as well.

I would give this a neutral review if I could, but since I can't, it's getting a negative because it just didn't have enough for me to enjoy for being $7. That's STEEP for a game that's as simple as this. If you're looking for a game with depth or difficulty, I would pass on this game (Or SEEP in general. They make simple games that are extremely easy in difficulty) If you want this feel but with some sort of variety/difficulty, try Friendzoned Archer or Shotgun Legends. Both are on Steam and cheaper than this game. I'm a veteran gamer. I've played thousands of games of varying variety. The reviews on this game don't really showcase what the situation is for this game accurately. I really believe games should have a difficulty rating. This would be a definite 1/10 in difficulty. I'll explain my pros and cons, and you can decide if it sounds too easy for you or if you want to venture into the world Pros - The game is put together well. I didn't experience any bugs while playing it. - Controls are responsive (including controller support) - Steam Achievements (Even though to 100% you have to beat the game 4 times) - Lots of Easter Eggs for those that know the SEEP universe - It makes use of save points for fast travel stations, making it so you don't have to replay areas over and over to go to different places - Each character has different attack abilities that make them all feel slightly different - I love old school graphics, and this game nails the nostalgic feel Cons - The design of the game is just too simple for an experienced gamer, which is your target audience with retro games - 1. The last area has puzzles that would be in the beginning of other games, while lacking puzzle aspects throughout the rest of the game. 2. It's very linear as well. You get upgrades from beating bosses that you use to unlock the next area and to backtrack to one task with it from before, and that's pretty much all they're good for. The layout of the areas leaves very little to exploration as well. You're locked behind a blockade every way but one, you go flip a switch, you can progress to the next area to flip a switch to progress to the next area. 3. The game makes use of enemy swarms to produce the difficulty, but the monsters are simple and lacking variety. Every area has 2 types; one melee and one with a special attack. They're all simple in design and can be easily defeated (especially after you get the whirlwind attack that uses stamina. This move puts this game on super easy mode). 4. You get WAY too much of everything the entire time you're playing. Enemies dropping potions and keys made this game WAY too easy. I maxed out my character's stores (Except for weapon level) by the second area, and there's six areas to go through. When you don't have a goal to work toward, it becomes mindless repetition. 5. Every boss had a pattern attack style that was easy to defeat. You can just potion through their attacks and kill them without much trouble if you wanted to not even try. This was a killer for me seeing as the rest of the game was lacking to start. - All the treasure chests are just money, and most of them aren't even worth opening. There's a person that you can find that will refill your treasure chests near the end of the game... why? I was running around with 9999 gold because I didn't need anything, and training in the dojo requires you to take 5 seconds to hold the button down to get 1 life or magic point, and I felt it the game was too easy to begin with - Every attack is trash in comparison to the whirlwind attack. Every character gets it, and it's way too strong. Makes each character play the same and ruins the variety in their abilities. With all this being said, I beat the game. I walked away from it a few times on, so it probably took me 2-3 hours tops, but that was 2-3 hours of half paying attention and doing something else the entire time I was playing. This game is just too simple for me to immerse myself in, which is sad because it has a great base concept.

It's like if zelda was grindy. Appeals outweigh the annoyances. solid 7/10, totally worth the price.

超シンプルでパズルもボスも簡単なアクションアドベンチャーゲーム。 全実績解除まで楽しく遊べるゲームなのでセール時はオススメ！ ボス前エリアでセーブも回復もファストトラベルもできる新設設計。 エンディングまで４時間かからないぐらいで全MAP探索可能なボリュームで遊びやすい。 ４タイプのキャラ（忍者、侍、巫女、修行僧）のどれでも問題なくクリア可能。 ２周目からチートモードが解放されるので魔法打ち放題にするとシューティングゲームのようになるので違った遊び方ができる。 ・宝箱はお金しか手に入らないので後半は無理に取る必要ないかも

Take a portion of top-down Zelda, combine with a side of Ys and sprinkle in a pinch of metroidvania seasoning and... viola, out pops Shogunaria. It's not a complicated game that reinvents the wheel. It's just a fun little time killer that pairs nicely with a podcast or audiobook.

I had high hopes for SEEP tackling a Zelda-like game, even more so as I realized one of the four playable characters, Kan the Samurai, is none other than the protagonist of [b]Katana Soul[/b] (his intro text makes clear those events already happened), although the completely different art style and atmosphere make him hardly recognizable. It's also full of references to other games of the developers, like the big bad being the Master Ghost from [b]Super BOO Quest[/b]. Even the dev duo themselves are in a hidden room. Unfortunately, it's turned out to have the same problem as others of their less successful titles: no especially glaring issues, playable from start to finish, just very bland and leaving nothing of its passage. I finished it in 3 hours and yet it felt like a slog. That is also due to the choice of having most enemies acting simply as slow-moving homing projectiles towards the player, which forces constant situations of having to strike, retreat, repeat dozens of times. The rotation attack is extremely useful, but the way the enemies work, most times you will also receive some damage because they are hardly staggered by a strike. Oftentimes in dungeons you will have to contend with rooms where after a first group of enemies, four new ones are spawned, several times, making the game quite repetitive even just halfway into the run. The plot is very thin and not important; however, the quality of the English writing is really terrible. Graphics are cute as expected, and portraits really nice (Oscar Celestini's hand is recognizable even when drawing [i]chibi[/i] characters), but the music feels out of place. And as expected from SEEP, bosses are incredibly easy, with the final confrontation being the easiest, as the boss is huge and not moving. After finishing the game once, built-in cheats are made available, but I wish such reward was given by better games, as not even that makes [b]Shogunaria[/b] worth a second playthrough. Not like even the first was worth...