NoJoTo
2018
i love me a sylvie and hubol game!
very light spoiler warning, in case you want to go into the game completely blind. if you know you like sylvie's/hubol's games, or if a strange exploration platformer sounds up your alley, then i'd honestly recommend playing that way. it's free in your browser at https://sylvie.website/JIGGLYZONE/, so why not give it a whirl?
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the game is an exploration, metroidvania platformer. though the majority of the game's world is comprised of only blocks and spikes, with stationary npcs and treasure sprinkled in, sylvie and hubol do a wonderful job making each place feel varied and unique. the level design has a messy, cluttered feel to it, though is never careless; the levels are very deliberate in their overall design. the messiness meshes well with the impressionistic approach the level design uses to depict its environments; the city is represented with simple pillars of blocks, the underwater area conveyed through enclosed levels. each of these varied level design styles creates a unique navigational feel, with players naturally moving differently depending on where they are.
you always have to be thinking about your movement, because the game gets difficult. there's just so many spikes everywhere! you have see and then weave your way through these deathily cluttered places. once you're able to see through the spikes, the levels are rather open. this makes the few places that seem blocked off stand out more. see, the game does have key items required for progression, that grant you new abilities. these abilities are rather simplistic, mechanically, but once you unlock one, you understand the game's level design in a new way; things open up in a way that feel pretty distinct from your standard metroidvania.
there are also plenty of items that do absolutely nothing for you, besides being silly; this game has some fun item descriptions.
the game's presentation is on point.
the messy feel is exemplified through the game's visual style. there are a number of tile graphics for both spikes and blocks, all being rather simple designs, but they're applied seemingly at random. so, parsing the game's levels becomes a challenge requiring the player stay engaged. the backgrounds further add to this, often having a nice scrap-book-y look to them.
hubol and sylvie's color choices are solid throughout, giving each locale a lot of character.
a good soundtrack does a lot for me, and hubol's soundtrack sure as heck is good. while the songs are short, they go a long way towards giving the game its character, with a fun, offbeat, peculiarly catchy sound.
i've mostly neglected, so far in this review, to talk about the characters spread throughout the game world. they're always stationary, the guards never moving from their post, the hooligans never sneaking around, as their dialogue is the point. they're usually amusing, with strange rhymes and random capitalization, but also helps you understand the complexities of this admittedly simple world. you pick up hints of these different cultures, of tragedies that have transpired; you see characters from one place in another, implying they've travelled. i dunno, it's arguably simple, but i feel like they're done really well here.
the game certainly had its flaws, but i didn't care about them. they never subtracted from my experience (though i see how they could for someone else). i quite liked this game. again, it's free and can be played in your browser (https://sylvie.website/JIGGLYZONE/), so if you haven't played it, and it sounds fun, why not try it?
or why not check out the soundtrack on bandcamp? https://hubol.bandcamp.com/album/jiggly-zone-ost
very light spoiler warning, in case you want to go into the game completely blind. if you know you like sylvie's/hubol's games, or if a strange exploration platformer sounds up your alley, then i'd honestly recommend playing that way. it's free in your browser at https://sylvie.website/JIGGLYZONE/, so why not give it a whirl?
-
the game is an exploration, metroidvania platformer. though the majority of the game's world is comprised of only blocks and spikes, with stationary npcs and treasure sprinkled in, sylvie and hubol do a wonderful job making each place feel varied and unique. the level design has a messy, cluttered feel to it, though is never careless; the levels are very deliberate in their overall design. the messiness meshes well with the impressionistic approach the level design uses to depict its environments; the city is represented with simple pillars of blocks, the underwater area conveyed through enclosed levels. each of these varied level design styles creates a unique navigational feel, with players naturally moving differently depending on where they are.
you always have to be thinking about your movement, because the game gets difficult. there's just so many spikes everywhere! you have see and then weave your way through these deathily cluttered places. once you're able to see through the spikes, the levels are rather open. this makes the few places that seem blocked off stand out more. see, the game does have key items required for progression, that grant you new abilities. these abilities are rather simplistic, mechanically, but once you unlock one, you understand the game's level design in a new way; things open up in a way that feel pretty distinct from your standard metroidvania.
there are also plenty of items that do absolutely nothing for you, besides being silly; this game has some fun item descriptions.
the game's presentation is on point.
the messy feel is exemplified through the game's visual style. there are a number of tile graphics for both spikes and blocks, all being rather simple designs, but they're applied seemingly at random. so, parsing the game's levels becomes a challenge requiring the player stay engaged. the backgrounds further add to this, often having a nice scrap-book-y look to them.
hubol and sylvie's color choices are solid throughout, giving each locale a lot of character.
a good soundtrack does a lot for me, and hubol's soundtrack sure as heck is good. while the songs are short, they go a long way towards giving the game its character, with a fun, offbeat, peculiarly catchy sound.
i've mostly neglected, so far in this review, to talk about the characters spread throughout the game world. they're always stationary, the guards never moving from their post, the hooligans never sneaking around, as their dialogue is the point. they're usually amusing, with strange rhymes and random capitalization, but also helps you understand the complexities of this admittedly simple world. you pick up hints of these different cultures, of tragedies that have transpired; you see characters from one place in another, implying they've travelled. i dunno, it's arguably simple, but i feel like they're done really well here.
the game certainly had its flaws, but i didn't care about them. they never subtracted from my experience (though i see how they could for someone else). i quite liked this game. again, it's free and can be played in your browser (https://sylvie.website/JIGGLYZONE/), so if you haven't played it, and it sounds fun, why not try it?
or why not check out the soundtrack on bandcamp? https://hubol.bandcamp.com/album/jiggly-zone-ost
2017
sometimes, you play a game, or watch a movie, or otherwise experience a thing, and finish that experience quite liking and respecting it, but quickly move on; only to, a while later, think back on that thing, and just be like "wait darn that thing's really good, oh my /gosh/ it's so good"
i had that experience with the movie ghost in the shell recently. i'd really enjoyed it, thought it was really cool, but when thinking about it alone while driving somewhere, i just had the realization that "darn, it nailed everything."
solid level design, cute characters, vibrant art, a wonderful soundtrack; one of the best platformers on mobile platforms,
i had that experience with the movie ghost in the shell recently. i'd really enjoyed it, thought it was really cool, but when thinking about it alone while driving somewhere, i just had the realization that "darn, it nailed everything."
solid level design, cute characters, vibrant art, a wonderful soundtrack; one of the best platformers on mobile platforms,
you explore a moon, and mend broken equipment.
everything lovely about bitsy games adapted perfectly to the exploration platformer.
everything lovely about bitsy games adapted perfectly to the exploration platformer.
2023
i've never had as much fun dressing up and taking pictures in a game before!
1996
really chill
2022
a fantastic little game, that presents a friendlier take on some of atlantis no nazo's essence
D A N G is this game /good/!
the actual gameplay can be a bit rough, occasionally, but the game's story and characters more than make up for it. the way the game ties its characters together is probably why it left such an impression on me.
the actual gameplay can be a bit rough, occasionally, but the game's story and characters more than make up for it. the way the game ties its characters together is probably why it left such an impression on me.
2019
while i played this a while ago, i remember really digging the aesthetic and overall vibe while finding the gameplay a bit too difficult at times.
1990
the complexity in puzzles allowed by the game mechanics seems less than that of sokoban, though that doesn't stop some of the them from being fun. still, perhaps to compensate for that simplicity, enemies populate the levels. this can introduce a different form of puzzle/strategy, in pathing your way around the enemies or crushing them, but more often just annoys, as their seemingly random walking patterns lead to a lot of re-trying for better luck.
that being said, the character is so cute!
that being said, the character is so cute!
i don't get the handling; why does it feel more slippery than the time i accidentally slid over 90 degrees on ice in real life?
(everything else seems cool, i just don't get how to actually play it!)
maybe i've just been kart-racer-brained
(everything else seems cool, i just don't get how to actually play it!)
maybe i've just been kart-racer-brained
1983
a vehicular destruction arena in all its cute, early 80s arcade-game glory!
(i haven't played destruction derby for ps1 yet, but i'd still call this the that of then).
at the start a little guy comes out, waves the start flag, then rushes out of the arena before the cars get moving. a ditty starts playing as you're off, trying to ram your opponents into a wall, or crush them beneath you by jumping off a ramp. on top of avoiding the other cars, you have to deal with the occasional hippo or bulldozer that's let into the arena.
i haven't gotten past the third level yet, but who cares, i've had fun!
(i haven't played destruction derby for ps1 yet, but i'd still call this the that of then).
at the start a little guy comes out, waves the start flag, then rushes out of the arena before the cars get moving. a ditty starts playing as you're off, trying to ram your opponents into a wall, or crush them beneath you by jumping off a ramp. on top of avoiding the other cars, you have to deal with the occasional hippo or bulldozer that's let into the arena.
i haven't gotten past the third level yet, but who cares, i've had fun!
1990
even more sokoban, and i love sokoban! i feel like some of the levels were of a different flavor than the original boxxle, but they weren't worse.
2017
i saw this on here and was like 'oh yeah i played this!!,'
though i played it long enough ago that i'm now left only with a lingering sentiment of 'yeah that was pretty fun'
though i played it long enough ago that i'm now left only with a lingering sentiment of 'yeah that was pretty fun'
1983
this review is messily structured, but i'm too tired to fix it and don't want to have to make a google doc to store it in, so:
it's reputation as a bad game, specifically the fragility of the player character, drew me in.
that fragility encourages intentional gameplay, i think; the traps, also often viewed as unfair, lead you to progress deeper and deeper into the cave each time, as you memorize and refine your route.
while the game is still flawed, seeing it in that way made the flaws forgivable, and gave me a new perspective on game design/playing (i mean, wow, that idea of 'progressing deeper each time' is how most older games work, just not contextualized as clearly as spelunker's cave!)
pretty important note!: i haven't even completed this game yet, so maybe there is some outright stupid stuff later on, i dunno.
also: the c64 version seems pretty cool too, i should check it out (like i think it has title cards for different areas?!)
it's reputation as a bad game, specifically the fragility of the player character, drew me in.
that fragility encourages intentional gameplay, i think; the traps, also often viewed as unfair, lead you to progress deeper and deeper into the cave each time, as you memorize and refine your route.
while the game is still flawed, seeing it in that way made the flaws forgivable, and gave me a new perspective on game design/playing (i mean, wow, that idea of 'progressing deeper each time' is how most older games work, just not contextualized as clearly as spelunker's cave!)
pretty important note!: i haven't even completed this game yet, so maybe there is some outright stupid stuff later on, i dunno.
also: the c64 version seems pretty cool too, i should check it out (like i think it has title cards for different areas?!)
TBD
the gameplay is incredibly simple, but that's perfectly fitting a game as adorable as this! you control a boat, with the goal of catching the waddling ducks before they splash from their houses into the water, all while avoiding a submerged hippopotamus. the colors are cute, the ducks are well animated, and the music is pleasantly quacky.
you can play it on the internet archive (https://archive.org/details/Ducks_Ahoy_1984_CBS_Software_cr_Danish_Crackers, just press f12 and fiddle around in the joystick settings to change the controls), where you can also view the cute manual (https://archive.org/details/ducks-ahoy-cbs-software/Ducks_Ahoy_Activity_book_CBS_Software/) that doubles as a children's book! ...i suppose this /is/ the most children's book video game i've ever played, after all!
you can play it on the internet archive (https://archive.org/details/Ducks_Ahoy_1984_CBS_Software_cr_Danish_Crackers, just press f12 and fiddle around in the joystick settings to change the controls), where you can also view the cute manual (https://archive.org/details/ducks-ahoy-cbs-software/Ducks_Ahoy_Activity_book_CBS_Software/) that doubles as a children's book! ...i suppose this /is/ the most children's book video game i've ever played, after all!