I don't think there's
ever been a video game franchise with a perfect track record. Maybe
it exists. Maybe it doesn't. Keep in mind I said “Franchise”,
which means more than one game, usually more than two. Name a famous
video game franchise. Chances are that it's got at least one bad game. Plus, since
everyone's tastes are different, not everyone will like the same
games. No game is universally loved, no game is universally hated
either. There are just games that are appreciated more, or games that
are disliked more. And when you make a Top X list of your favorite games
in a franchise, your list can be radically different from another
gamer's.
And no, Drawn To Life
doesn't have a perfect track record. But it's an odd case with this
franchise. You see, I consider both versions of Drawn To Life: The
Next Chapter to be part of the same continuity. Even though, it's the
same title, so it's the same game, right?
Wrong.
The Wii version is
extremely different from the DS version. 5Th Cell
delegated another enterprise, Planet Moon Studios, to make the Wii port of The Next
Chapter, while they worked on the DS sequel to their hit game. The
result is two games that are radically different. So different that
you can't count them as one.
Now, I know the ending
of The Next Chapter (DS), and I still consider it to be the end of
the whole series. There's just no way you can add something beyond
that ending that will not feel superfluous or out of place. Which means that The
Next Chapter (Wii) is either a different continuity altogether, or an interquel set between the two DS
games (as the Wii game pretty much states it begins after the first
Drawn To Life game, with Wilfre dead, apparently, Mari having
replaced her father as Mayor, and the saved Raposa still living in
the village – yes, even some of the weirdos, like Crazy
Bark; even Mike is there!). The result is a game that you will probably not understand
unless you've played the first game on the Nintendo DS, a game that
leaves still enough story arcs open that you need the sequel for the Nintendo DS in order to get the full story. And as luck
would have it, The Next Chapter (Wii) just isn't as good as the other
two... Oh, it's not “bad”, just not up to par with the other two.
But I'm getting ahead
of myself. How about we get an idea of the plot in this game?
Hello,
and welcome back for the finale! Yeah, last Monday, I stopped after I
saw a vampire Raposa. Well, guess what? Not only is there really a
vampire Raposa, but he feeds on tomato juice! Ha! No, wait, "Tovato" juice, actually. Also, Count Choco
(yeah, that's the vampire's name... No, I haven't ever eaten Count
Chocula cereal... but I kinda see where the reference comes from) had
a page for the Book of Life. It's a page for Kaorin berry bushes,
which are dangerous. The Creator decides what they look like.
Also, Samuel apparently knows how to use the berries, so the Creator's
puppet goes to get him.
Those berries make you grow? That's berry hard to believe.
According
to Samuel, if the Creator's avatar eats a Kaorin berry, its size will
double and it will destroy everything in its path – perfect for the
last world in the game, Rapo City! The Creator erases part of the
darkness northeast of the village, revealing a new sector... with a
door!
By
the way, I should clarify something: How many levels are there in
this game? Fifty? Don't be silly. Forty? Nope! Twenty! Still a little
lower... Ten? More than that... In fact, there are fifteen actual
levels. Four in each world, with the first three worlds having an additional "boss level", and the fourt one having a final level with a boss (Wilfre) at the end. Yeah,
there are only four worlds in the game. I complained earlier about
the length of some of these levels; Well, some are still long and
tedious, but thankfully there isn't that many levels, so in a way,
it's really not as bad as it seems. Fifteen seems like just the right balance. (Plus, with one important Raposa joining the cast each time.)
Maybe you're the one who should stop coming closer!
Located
not too far from the Rapocity Gate, there's a colorless door. Wilfre
stands in front of it and enters, muttering something about finishing
his task. To anyone else, the door cannot be used if it isn't
colored, so your task in the fourth world is to find the page for
that door and put it back in the Book of Life. The Hero enters the
normal door, and upon its arrival in the first level...
...notices
it has grown to gigantic size! Wow, a perma-Mega Mushroom! Gotta send
a few of those berries to Mario! On its way through the level, the
avatar finds a young character shaped like a Raposa... but it doesn't
have the trademark ears. ...Wait, what? Also, he's got a spiky
haircut. Apparently he's called Mike.
Ah,
come on.
Nope,
try again.
Now you're not even trying. Urgh.
When
the Creator's avatar returns, everyone is baffled to see that strange
creature with hair only on the head and teeny-weeny ears. A HUMAN HAS
ENTERED THE RAPO-WORLD. We don't get answers about that just yet, but
the next installments do give an explanation. I'll get there in due
time. Well, at least Mike thinks it's a dream.
What happened to your ears?
"MY EARS ARE FINE, DAMMIT!"
Yeah, it sorta becomes a running gag for the remainder of the game.
The
Hero goes back to the Mayor and the Creator paints the colorless
door. The Mayor then asks the Hero to gather everyone, especially
Mari, who might be at the secret beach. The avatar goes there, only
to see Jowee talking to the pirate captain, He offers a place in the
pirate crew to Jowee. Mari arrives on the scene, luckily too late to
have heard any of this. Poor her... Jowee, her best friend, thinks
about leaving... When the Creator's puppet finds Mari and the Mayor
it sees the young Raposa yelling at her father! Telling him that she
isn't made to be a Mayor! That it's too much responsibility for her.
That she's afraid. She runs away, and the Mayor soon regrets
discussing that matter with her...
You
see, there's an emotional weight here. In the sidelines of the main plot,
there is a second story that unravels: The story of Mari, who is
going through so many hardships at once. Her friend would prefer to
go on an adventure than be with her. Her father the Mayor has chosen
her as his rightful successor, and her formation isn't going well. No
one listens to her, she's unsure of her capacities, she fears being
unable to solve the problem... It's not going well. Set aside all of
the main plot, with the Creator, Wilfre, the avatar... you get a believable story that could have taken place in just about any
setting. One that you feel for. You want to know what's going on,
because we've pretty much all been there at some point. Many have felt, at some
moment, like the upcoming challenges were going to be too difficult
and that we wouldn't be able to count on those we love.
Unagi is way too high-tech for this world.
Again, it feels like this game was made with young boys in
mind: What do they like? Spies? Let's put one in!
So...
after Mari has run off, the Mayor tasks the Hero with entering the
Rapocity door again and finding the page for a flame sword that will
then be used in the final level, against Wilfre. The Hero enters the
City Gate again and comes back with a page and Unagi, a... Raposa
security guard? Bodyguard? Spy? Doesn't matter, he's got a cool suit
and cool shades, so he's cool. Besides, there cannot be enough people
around to protect the Mayor and the village. But there is a bit of a
rivalry between Unagi and Officer Cricket...
We always need more security. Do you have any idea how
powerful Wilfre is? He was WINNING at the beginning!
Yes, you can even make it look like a Keyblade. What
part of "you can draw anything" don't you understand?
Oh
well. Why should we care about that when we got the page for the FIRE
SWORD? Now that this weapon of mass awesome has been created, the
Mayor thinks the Hero is ready to fight Wilfre. Okay, technically, you're the one drawing the sword, so make it whatever the Hell you want. I just make it into a Fire Sword because it looks great. There's only one
problem. In order to get Mari to become the next Mayor, she has to
write her name inside the Book of Life as official next Mayor of the
Raposa village. Sadly, that page is missing, so the Hero has to get
it. Well, on the other hand, you get to try the FIRE SWORD before the
final level!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, but before that, there's more plot: Cricket and Unagi are fighting, and Mari has to
solve the problem... but she refuses, she's at the secret beach. She
still needs some time to think about her tasks as Mayor. She still
feels unable to solve all the quarrels. She does NOT follow the Hero
when it goes to get her, so the Mayor has to solve the quarrel by himself.
You two have a simple task: Protect the friggin' Mayor!
You're not gonna achieve that if you keep fighting!
As
the Hero approaches the City Gate, we are brought to the Forest Gate.
The Mayor is walking towards it when he hears a sound. Wilfre
approaches the Mayor! He tells the Mayor that if it weren't for the
Hero, none of them would have done so well. Wilfre keeps
speaking, saying how the Mayor ruined the village, and his daughter
will ruin it even more, yaddayaddayaddaSHUT UP!
Shut
the Hell up, Wilfre! You do not possess the authority to speak about
the Mayor that way! What have YOU done for the village? Last time I checked, you covered it in eternal darkness! You are not a
responsible, level-headed Raposa who can freely criticize the Mayor.
You're an irresponsible, egotistical, despicable, rude jerkass. You do not
deserve to criticize the heroes' work. You should have no say on the Mayor's work as you've been disconnected from the Raposas' reality for too long. And we'll feast when your
defeat finally comes at the hands of the Creator's avatar.
The Mayor agrees with me! See?
Wilfre
hurries to take the Book of Life from the Mayor... And then stabs the
Mayor. Not a little stab. A fatal wound. He killed the Mayor! He
killed the Mayor, and what's worse, he did it in an E-rated game!
No... No.... it's... impossible... It can't be... No!
The
Mayor... is dead... We knew he was in danger, but things looked so
good by now... we never could have seen it coming... Oh my God... We
never saw it coming... We, never, saw, it, coming! He's not coming back, either; his death is treated very seriously, his death is final. And of course, the
Creator's avatar is unable to tell the news to anyone until this
level has been completed. Oof, this hurts. Having to complete a level
with tears in your eyes... that won't be easy. A fire sword cannot
cauterize the emotional wounds of the heart... or bring back the
dead...
You arrived too late, doctor lady.
Of course you had to be in the most painfull long level...
And
as luck would have it, the Hero comes back from the next level with a
doctor and nurses. As you might have guessed, it's too late. That
level was a freaking long maze, the Mayor could have died thrice in the time it took the Hero to reach the end! The new Rapo, Dr. Cure (no, that's seriously her name; BTW,
doctor woman FTW!), walks to the Town Hall, but the Mayor isn't
there. The Hero finds the Mayor's body and Jowee arrives. They find
his dead body on the ground. Galileo, Cricket, Dr. Cure and Farmer
Brown show up. Jowee goes to get Mari. She sees her father and tears
up. Dr. Cure was unable to do anything. After most Raposa around the
crime scene have left, Mari and the avatar stay around. Jowee
joins them and mourns with his friend. It's good to know that she can
count on him this time. Due to a video game law, the Mayor's body
vanishes, not even letting Mari touch it or live her grief. (What an awful moment for a
law of video game physics to happen, by the way...) Mari runs away,
crying.
We share your pain, Mari. We all do.
The
creations around the village start disappearing. The banya, the
lighthouse, EVERYTHING that You created since the beginning of the
game. Jowee tries to reassure Mari, telling her she can take the
responsibilities. You know what to do: Go through the colored door,
defeat Wilfre, and save the village. (And possibly the world!)
Sparring with a scorpion?
BEST BOSS FIGHT EVER!
This
last level is tricky, but remains straightforward, so only the boss
is interesting. (Also, the final boss theme is freaking awesome. Wish I could
get a version with the sound cleaned up; and maybe a better
instrumentation. Whatever. It rocks.) First, Wilfre summons a giant
scorpion! It must first be knocked out by attacking Wilfre, and then
attacked with a ground pound. Once the giant scorpion has been
defeated, Wilfre takes matters in his own hands. He uses the
Creator's creations against the Hero, attacking by throwing tridents
and stars. He uses STARS to attack the good guy! Also, he stays high
in the air, so the Hero has to jump to hit Wilfre. Wouldn't be so
bad, except the Creator's puppet can only attack once while jumping,
and Wilfre has a lot of HP, so get ready to jump a lot. By the way, if you lose against Wilfre, you have to restart the whole fight and defeat the scorpion yet again.
By the way, the tridents and stars he's using to attack?
It's the ones you designed to go through the levels.
He's using your creations from the Book of Life to attack you!
Wilfre
is eventually defeated. The evil Raposa falls to the ground and
returns to his original appearance before disintegrating. Alas, poor
traitor, you had to vanish. The Hero returns to the village with the
Book of Life, bringing everything back to normal! Except that the
Book of Life can't bring back Raposa from the dead. What an ironic name. The avatar goes back to Mari, who doesn't feel ready yet to sign
her name in the book as proof that she is the new Mayor... but she
asks the Creator to sign. Yes, You sign in the game. Sadly for Mari,
Jowee is about to leave...
The
Hero finds them near the docks, where Jowee says goodbye to Mari and
the avatar. Mari accepts that her friend is leaving. Though, had they
become more than friends over time? It certainly feels like such.
Mari then returns to the village, where she reminisces over the past
days, remembering many important moments from the game. Oh, not just
important moments. The ones that contained the most emotions. The
ones she had with Jowee, from the beginning of the adventure up to
Wilfre's defeat. The montage is very powerful, using a song to
strengthen the emotions. You feel for these characters, more than
ever.
(Watch the video here. Sorry for the audio issues, it's really the best one I could find. The last discussion between Mari and Jowee starts at 4:25 approximately, so start there and watch until the end. The music also gets a bit out of sync after a while. If you want to hear the song alone, here it is:)
I
always tear up when I see the montage. The song itself, not so much, because I've listened to it dozens of times, but the montage that accompanies it... Oh, God... I tore up the first
time I saw it. I still do. I had tears in my
eyes when I saw that ending again. It works. It just does. You see this
relationship grow between Mari and Jowee, and then you see all of the
better moments... And if you still don't feel by the end of the song,
there's a final moment just for you.
Jowee
stayed, after all. Mari saw the boat leave, and thus she believed he
was gone with the pirates. Yet, he walks towards her on the secret
beach. He chose to stay... To stay for her. Wait, that's not enough.
Let's add... yes! The Creator's avatar looking at them from a nearby
cliff... no, wait, we need more... yes! The avatar is accompanied by
the spirit of Mari's father, looking over them. It doesn't sound much when it's in written form,
but try to imagine it. It's such a beautiful moment...
Snap
out of it, Nicolas. Now that you've explained the plot and said all
sorts of good things about the plot, it's time to talk about the good
and bad points of the game.
That's funny, I never knew I created a world until I began
playing this DS game...
Do
I really need to repeat how much I love the story? It always follows
the same basic pattern, but that pattern is integrated to a plot that
unravels between the levels. Also, it brings many interesting
characters and many plot threads that we want to see resolved, though
we might have to buy the sequels to see how these storylines
continue. Also, you can tell this game treats its audience seriously. The game is emotionally heavy, deals with complicated issues, and the one character death that is part of the story is treated seriously. The game doesn't hide death from kids, treating it exactly the way most stories should. On to the next part: The playability. Personally,
I am not much of an artist, so most of what I draw in this game is
either basic or ugly. Basic as in, I just fill the drawing fields
with colors, and when I have to draw actual stuff, it's unpolished
and kind of cheap. However, the drawing tool works very well, so you
can make some pretty cool pictures if you take the time. Sadly, if
you feel in a hurry to beat the game, you will have to cut on the
creating time.
The first thing you do in the game: Draw the world.
The ga,e starts as darkness covers everything, there is no
light, snow is everywhere, and there's no hope.
As
for the overworld map of the Rapo village (which I had named
Raposamora for the sake of giving it a name), it starts off as very
small, and then grows pretty big by the end of the game. At the end,
it can take you a minute to go from the Mayor's house to the doors
leading to the next levels. Also, as you erase more and more clouds,
you discover more and more features of the village, but also more and
more trees. You can run between the trees as a shortcut, but even
then it can be easy to get lost. You heard right: The place is so big
that you can get lost. I thought it only happened in some RPGs and in
the Grand Theft Auto games... However, I really enjoy that you can
speak to all the Raposa in the village and get different dialogs
depending on where you're at in the story. A lot of RPGs don't even
bother with that.
On
to the levels: The first ones are alright. The first world is simple,
you don't have to search much to get the three Raposa and the four
parts of the page from the Book of Life. Starting with the second
world, it gets a little trickier. By the third one, it becomes a lot
harder to find them. Yeah... The problem is that the levels are
rather long, separated in a few “rooms”, with places that feel
like mazes. And the canvas make these levels even longer, because you spend a few minutes drawing.
Aside from that, while the created objects in the levels work fine
for the most part, sometimes it gets a little complicated. If you
don't take all the given space to draw the objects, you will find
yourself having problems further in the level. As an example, if you
make the clouds a little too small, you might find yourself having to
re-draw them because you cannot jump far enough between the clouds. Also to note for the platformer aspect, you get new
abilities for nearly each world (the snowball gun for the Snow Gate,
the wings and the acorn gun for the Forest Gate, the scuba diving
equipment and the starfish gun for the Island Gate, the Kaorin
Berries, and then the fire sword, for the City Gate). Sadly, there's a
little delay between the moment you press the button and the moment
the character shoots, so you may be touched by enemies before you
hurt them. This is especially bad in the underwater parts of the
Island Gate, where the character's frantic swimming makes it
difficult to stop in time to avoid underwater enemies. As for hitting them? It's kind of a pain too. Same for the
fire sword, which looks awesome, but is quite impractical, as you
need to be in close range of the enemy if you want to hit it, also
making it able to hit you as a result. Plus, the sword swings in an
odd way, so you need a lot of precision; yes, even though I praise
its awesomeness, the sword is my least favorite weapon.
Strange, huh? Also, you can look further left, right, up and
down by pressing L, R, Up or Down; it prevents some bad surprises.
Mari and Jowee in front of the Creation Hall. Here, Mari is angry,
as represented bythat black tornado of lines in her bubble.
After
the playability, the graphics. They're great! ...The ones that you
didn't create yourself, of course. The entire village is extremely
detailed, all the important Raposa have distinct features that make
them recognizable and every zone of the village has a certain feel. Likewise, I love the idea to have the Raposa express themselves with both speech and symbols, as it gives you a better idea of what they feel. Same can be said for the levels, which could have been bland, cheap,
unimaginative locations, but in many levels there are many details in
the foreground AND in the background! The enemies are very detailed,
and Heck, those are recognizable too! The Baki is a species of
enemies that appears in nearly all of the levels – and in every world they
have a different design! They wear scarfs in the ice levels, scuba and mask in the island levels, giants in the city levels, leaves in teh forest levels... you get the idea. Great, isn't it?
As
for the music: Some of it is rather basic, but there are many musical
pieces that are memorable. For obvious reasons, my favorite two are
Shadow Showdown (Wilfre's boss theme) and The End. Though, for The
End, that was kind of the point: It's the song that plays over the
game's ending cutscene. Of course you will remember it above any
other song! Luckily, you can buy all the songs in Isaac's shop, so
you can listen to all of them.
This boss fight theme is so good that it was retooled and remakes an appearance as the boss theme in the sequel, The Next Chapter, on the DS. Kinda sad we can't get a version with better sound...
By
the way, if you throw 10,000 Rapo-Coins in the wishing well, you
access the Developers' Corner. You can speak to the game developers'
avatars!
All
in all, this is a great game. I strongly suggest you give it a try. Sure, it's got problems here and there, but
the positive aspects greatly overshadow the negative ones. Now...
*sigh* I have to admit, it's rare to see a game series with a perfect
track record. No franchise has gone without at least a stinker or
two. In a way, I'm lucky, the Drawn to Life series has had only three
actual games (Four if you count the Spongebob edition, but it's a
completely different game that has nothing to do with the actual
series). With three games, the chances of having a bad game are slim.
Well... Tune in next week for my review of the Wii installment of
Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter.
Sure, this all looks fine and good...
But keep in mind, this is just a bos cover...
Number of views on this review at the time of writing this Look Back article: 639. (WOW!)
It was my first time reviewing a video game adaptation. It was also the first time a single post of mine reached beyond 3,000 words.
Thing is that, as I noticed quickly enough, sometimes I write reviews that are 2,000 words long and keep it in one part, sometimes I write reviews that are 4,000 words long and cut it in two parts... What happens when I have too much to say in a review that I need to go beyond the 2,000-word mark, yet not enough to make two parts? Special, long 3,000-word reviews. I haven't done a lot of them so far, but they're there.
Nowadays, I notice more and more precision when I'm reviewing a game - or at least, when I'm decribing the plot. More precision means, you guessed it, more words. Therefore, longer reviews. I still try to keep each review (or part of a review) between 2,000 and 3,000 words, but sometimes I either go beyond 3,000 words or stop just short of that number. My review of Super Smash Bros Brawl had over 16,000 words, which means each part had approximately 2,600 words.
As for the review of a video game adaptation? I think I did it pretty well. Another review of a licensed game will be coming to the site, either in 2015 or 2016: Rise of the Guardians (Wii). I still haven't played the game (because I found a job and, thus, my schedule is a lot busier than it used to be). But I have hopes that it won't be bad.
Hello, and welcome again to this review of the first Drawn to Life game! I explained the
basics in the first part, described the plot and went through the
first world. I think I can go through worlds 2 and 3 in this part.
When I left off in Part 1, the Hero had just saved a female Raposa
whose face was normal on a side, covered in darkness on the other.
Strange. She doesn't speak... but as soon as she comes in the village
through the Snow Fields gate, she seems to take a liking to Jowee.
Huh.
By the way, the screenshots I use in this review are taken
from a Let's Play on Youtube made by user MilesValentine.
It's a great way to see more of the game.
Since Frostwind has
been defeated, the Creator erases the black clouds blocking the east
section of the village, which leads to the Forest Gate. Now, the villagers wish there was a night (and yes, in the game it must have been a pretty long day), so the Hero will have to
get the page for the night. Also, the Raposa are planning a
celebration, but they need many core elements. The night, first;
because parties are better during that time. Duh.
"Heather?"
"..."
"I'm gonna go in the woods to find a flower. If you want me
not to do that stupid thing, say 'No'."
"..."
"Okay, I'm going!"
Except when the Hero
reaches the door, it sees Jowee entering the Forest Gate, apparently
looking for a gift he can give to Mari. Jowee, you little idiot! The
world beyond that gate is dangerous! I mean really dangerous! You
want the truth? You can't handle the truth! Here it is, the truth: You'll go really high,
and then really low, and get killed by enemies so you'll end up six
feet under! The Hero goes back to the Mayor, who says the Creator can
make wings for it. Wings to go in a forest? Guess the trees are
really big... Oh, and the forest enemies are impervious to the
snowballs, so the Hero asks Isaac to make a different weapon – and
of course, that means you have to draw a new gun for the hero. This
new weapon shoots acorns instead. Oh hey, not a bad idea. Those
things do hurt when you get hit by them.
To read the introduction for Drawn To Life Month, go here.
You are the Creator.
The creator of everything that exists in the world of the Raposa.
You, yes, YOU. As in, second-person you. As in, You-Are-The-Hero-Book
you. Talking about books, You, Creator, built everything in the world
of the Raposa using the Book of Life, which contain the very essence
of all that is. The early pages contain the drawings of the planet,
the forests... and the Raposa. I hope you have the ability to draw
with very limited tools, as all you can do at first is select a color
and trace lines. Please don't take an hour drawing each picture, it
already lengthens the gameplay enough. The book goes on to say how
darkness came around and the Creator abandoned the Raposa... You
monster! Why did you do that?
The game actually
starts as the Eternal Flame was put out, and the darkness is closer than ever. It turns out there's a young Raposa named Mari, who is
praying for the Creator's return. Almost everyone has left. You get
the choice to help her... or not. Please help her, I will not accept
explaining the story to an evil Creator. “You” tell her to get
everyone left in the village and take them to the Creation Hall. The ones left are Mari, her father the Mayor, and her friend Jowee.
Talking about the
Raposa, I have to say it again. They're friggin' adorable. chibi fox-people with huge heads and ears, small limbs, big heads...
everything to become instant cuteness for Internet. No wonder those
characters are popular! They've got everything to get the fans to
squee.
Jowee and the Mayor.
We see the Mayor as the
only other group of Raposa are leaving: One named Isaac, who is leaving with his
family. You quickly notice that the darkness covers everything,
literally and figuratively: No one is feeling good, everyone is sad, and there are black clouds everywhere preventing the Raposa from
reaching key places. Wherever there's no black clouds, there's grey
snow. That DS box lied to me with promises of a colorful game!
_(NA).jpg)
