marble_arble
2023
This review contains spoilers
I wasn't ever scared playing this game but there were a lot of moments where I went “Thats pretty cool!”
A lot of that is in the presentation. I grew up on the GBA, so I'm familiar with big sprites made to make up for small screen space as an aesthetic I remember fondly. And Bunny Graveyard captures that look and charm to a t. The game also boasts cutscenes with incredibly sharp compositions and directing that i don’t think any GBA game could pull off, which is a nice modern touch.
What also reminds me of the GBA is tha you only have two buttons and a d-pad at your disposal. This game is about simple mechanics that test your ability to hit Z with various mini games. And the various mini games they do with them are fun! Boxing was definitely the highlight with the fishing mini-game a close second. The final round of the fishing mini-game was probably the most tense I got during my playthrough.
Cause like I said, I was more impressed by the sleek spritework and craft even during the scary bits. The jumpscares I ran into during the final act, (where the game goes into more modern horror game territory with the usual stealth sections that reward failure with said jumpscares), they left me more impressed and loving the effort put into them rather than any sense of being rattled by the well crafted monster that caught me.
And that can be a big issue with this game for a lot people. I never thought it was that scary, but I don’t think it’s out of any attempt to appeal to the growing mascot horror audiences. I also fear with this game being assigned this genre by some that many will assume this game has the worst tropes that proliferate the genre, (cheap, uninspired, begging for lets players to lose their shit at it for videos upon videos)
Cause I think The Bunny Graveyard is anything but that. I didn’t leave game thinking “That was such a scary take on a haunted GBA game” but rather “Man wouldn’t it be cool if there were horror games on the GBA?”
And if there are any worth noting, do tell! I was five when I had my GBA, no way my parents would let me have any (if they exist).
A lot of that is in the presentation. I grew up on the GBA, so I'm familiar with big sprites made to make up for small screen space as an aesthetic I remember fondly. And Bunny Graveyard captures that look and charm to a t. The game also boasts cutscenes with incredibly sharp compositions and directing that i don’t think any GBA game could pull off, which is a nice modern touch.
What also reminds me of the GBA is tha you only have two buttons and a d-pad at your disposal. This game is about simple mechanics that test your ability to hit Z with various mini games. And the various mini games they do with them are fun! Boxing was definitely the highlight with the fishing mini-game a close second. The final round of the fishing mini-game was probably the most tense I got during my playthrough.
Cause like I said, I was more impressed by the sleek spritework and craft even during the scary bits. The jumpscares I ran into during the final act, (where the game goes into more modern horror game territory with the usual stealth sections that reward failure with said jumpscares), they left me more impressed and loving the effort put into them rather than any sense of being rattled by the well crafted monster that caught me.
And that can be a big issue with this game for a lot people. I never thought it was that scary, but I don’t think it’s out of any attempt to appeal to the growing mascot horror audiences. I also fear with this game being assigned this genre by some that many will assume this game has the worst tropes that proliferate the genre, (cheap, uninspired, begging for lets players to lose their shit at it for videos upon videos)
Cause I think The Bunny Graveyard is anything but that. I didn’t leave game thinking “That was such a scary take on a haunted GBA game” but rather “Man wouldn’t it be cool if there were horror games on the GBA?”
And if there are any worth noting, do tell! I was five when I had my GBA, no way my parents would let me have any (if they exist).
2024
hmm :/
I still adore this games presentation. The sprites and backgrounds are gorgeous, designs are incredible and sound across the board is great!
But the gameplay. I heard people complain its a mash light attack game. I can see that for the first 3 stages, you can coast pretty well with some C and D ranks throughout with mild issues.
Then you get to chapter 4 and the difficulty spikes. Parrying goes from being something to strive for to something you'll need to do if you want to get good scores or even beat the game, trust me. You also really need to grasp how to keep a good combo and meter going as some of the later enemies become total damage sponges.
I don't want it to come off as complaining "Oh game that aims to be hard is too hard" No that's part of the appeal, just the game really doesn't prep you beyond loading screen tips, a basic training mode, and a very brief rundown at the very beginning. A better difficulty curve that preps the player for what the latter half of the game will be asking of them and maybe some tutorials to help people with the parry mechanics would help.
Maybe I need to get good, maybe I need to finally play SF III so I can learn to parry in this game, but I digress. I like this game, I just wish I liked it enough to beat the final boss.
I still adore this games presentation. The sprites and backgrounds are gorgeous, designs are incredible and sound across the board is great!
But the gameplay. I heard people complain its a mash light attack game. I can see that for the first 3 stages, you can coast pretty well with some C and D ranks throughout with mild issues.
Then you get to chapter 4 and the difficulty spikes. Parrying goes from being something to strive for to something you'll need to do if you want to get good scores or even beat the game, trust me. You also really need to grasp how to keep a good combo and meter going as some of the later enemies become total damage sponges.
I don't want it to come off as complaining "Oh game that aims to be hard is too hard" No that's part of the appeal, just the game really doesn't prep you beyond loading screen tips, a basic training mode, and a very brief rundown at the very beginning. A better difficulty curve that preps the player for what the latter half of the game will be asking of them and maybe some tutorials to help people with the parry mechanics would help.
Maybe I need to get good, maybe I need to finally play SF III so I can learn to parry in this game, but I digress. I like this game, I just wish I liked it enough to beat the final boss.
2020
2024
2020
I always hear stories about how this was the remake made to satisfy fans asking for one instead of Game Freak wanting to remake it. And yeah you can feel that from the game remaking just the bare essentials of RS but also having that entire post game which feels like the thing Game Freak was most interested in doing. Either way I'm enough of a Hoenn baby to still love it
2014
2014
2020
2022
2016