Sunset Over Imdahl Developed by: Teo
Overview:
You are Lohn, a young boy who finds himself the lone survivor from a town ravaged by a plague. Devastated by this, a strange man gives you the chance to go back in time, and stop the plague before it happens. So begins your quest. You can travel to any of the four seasons to reach your goal, meeting interesting characters and playing enjoyable mini games along the way. In addition, where most games fall short in NPC character depth, Sunset Over Imdahl still stays stong.
A Review By: Kwij
Well, first things first. If you are looking for a run-of-the-mill adventure RPG quest. I don't think that "Sunset Over Imdahl" is for you. However, if you'd like to play a short, fun, visually stunning and creative game, look no further. I think this game is a masterpiece, from the storyline, to the events, to the graphics, to the music. I wouldn't be surprised if this game was added to our "Top Games" list in the near future. Its already got my vote.
But enough of my preamble, let's get on with the review!
The Story
Imdahl's story is much different than your Average-Joe RPG game. I seriously doubt that the game would have been half as good as it was if the creator had chosen the main problem to be overcome differently. In the game, you are Lohn, a young boy who finds himself the lone survivor from a town ravaged by a plague. Devastated by this, a strange man gives you the chance to go back in time, and stop the plague before it happens. So begins your quest. You can travel to any of the four seasons to reach your goal, meeting interesting characters and playing enjoyable mini games along the way. This may sound rather generic to you but trust me I haven't seen mini games executed this well in a long while. It was quite a nice change of pace from the games I usually play. In addition, where most games fall short in NPC character depth, "Imdahl" still stays stong. I suppose having the story take place in a town where you know most everyone helps conversation between NPCs, but in the end I think Teo should get some credit for keeping things interesting while you quest.
Imdahl is not for everyone, sadly. As previously stated, if you're looking for a high tension, action packed game with lots of battles and drama, I suggest you look elsewhere. There are no random encounters in this game (YAY!), but there also is a lack of battle throughout the entire game. To me, this did not pose a problem though...mainly because I was too engrossed in winning drinking contests and bagging rats to care. But if you absolutly need fights in all games you play, I don't suggest you play this one...psycho.
The graphics
Imdahl truly shines on all things graphical. First, lets take a look at the screenshots shall we? The first thing that caught my eye was the mapping style. Upon closer inspection, I found that the maps were not actually maps at all! I was walking on panoramic backgrounds, drawn by the creator himself! This alone shows the effort and hard work Teo did to make this game different. While other games painstakingly create maps within the limitations of tiles given to them with chipsets, Imdahl has an endless potential to add in anything in the maps that a mind could desire. These full color maps were hand-drawn, and must have taken a lot of work to create. That extra effort was what really made this game so great for me. Once again, I did not need to worry about seeing the same graphics used in other games here. Imdahl's mapping style, although more work, could really revolutionize the way all rm2k games look. I think that we could all learn something from bother watching and playing this game.
The sprites chosen appear to be ripped from chrono trigger, though I really didn't mind. They all fit into the rest of the world quite well. My only complaint about the graphical aspect of Imdahl would be that sometimes, with this different style of mapping , it was hard to tell where I could and could not walk, since the tiles did not perfectly blend in with the backgrounds. This problem never actually affected my gameplay too much. I just thought that it would be right to let the future player know about it.
Sound
Sound was definitely not the strongest aspect of the game, but if all a game had was good music it wouldn't be a very good game now would it? All I'm trying to say here is that yes, Imdahl did have a limited selection of music ; but that is not to say that it detracted from the game. The game's music consisted mainly of four tracks, changing only when you changed seasons. What little music Imdahl did play was used in a very effective manner, often setting the mood (which got continually more dismal the closer you got to winter) in whatever time in which you happened to be. In my mind, the point of music in a game is to aid in the telling of the story...it is to be felt, not heard if you will. I believe that Imdahl does just that.
Mechanics
Like sound, I feel mechanics and eventing should not be there just for the sake of "wow-ing" your audiance, but should somehow enhance the overall telling of the story. Once again, Imdahl delivers. The game sports a custom menu system, which is flawless as far as I can tell, as well as a nice little dialouge system. Both of these things not only gave the game more of an original feel, they also helped keep the story consistant. It would be strange if the menu showed Lohn as a level one hero, when there is no aspect of leveling up in the game, no? It was these little fixes that truly impressed me the most at times. There were also several mini games throughout the course of playing that kept me well entertained. I won't reveal them all, but the drinking contest was perhaps the most comical of them all. Imdahl's mechanics perfectly complimented its storyline. They were an aid to the story, not just there to be fancy, like other amature games (though Imdahl is anything but amature) I've played.
Conclusion:
Sunset Over Imdahl is beautiful, both in the telling and the viewing. It is a rarity to get both in one game, and for that reason, I highly suggest playing it.
4.5 out of 5
|
|
|
