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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Amazing Island
9 years ago
“The Jet Gamer” Game Review:
Some GameCube games for a change. Neat.
Amazing Island
I had never heard of this series before, but it did come up in a list of Sega games for the GameCube and I got it for cheap, so I figured I would give it a shot. It is always nice to get a hold of some Sega game series that I have never heard of before. Though there also may be a reason I have never heard of this series as well. Is that the case, or is this another hidden Sega gem? Let us find out together.
Gameplay
Amazing Island is basically a game that when it comes down to it that reminds me of sort of a mix of Mario Party and Spore Creature creator, just not as fun. The game reminds me Mario Party in that this game is pretty much nothing but mini games. To progress in this game, you play mini games, and honestly, not even that many of them. Most of them are either very simple, which can be okay if done right, or they are quite hard or not explained well enough. Not many of the games are bad though, it is just neither are many of the mini games that fun either. Most of them involve just pressing the button real fast or in the right timing to get enough points to move onto the next mini game. You don’t even have to do that well at them, as long as you get enough points, you will advance to the next one. There are mini games like pressing the button fast enough to get to the goal line. There is one where you are shooting baskets and have to angle your shots right for them to go in. There is also one where you have to flick the control stick to skip along the water. As you can see, these sound pretty simple, and many of them are. However, some of them are not exactly well explained, or they don’t exactly tell you the best tactics on how to play all the games well. Mario Party will often times give you tips on the mini games to show a player how to play the game, or give a video example. This game just gives you a few pictures and a button explanation. There were a few games I had to look up how to play properly because they were not playing right or I was losing them over and over again. Yes, you luckily do have an option of going and playing a practice version of each and every game whenever you want, but you shouldn’t need to practice these games, as these games shouldn’t be hard enough to need that. I didn’t need it much, but it was there in case I needed it. This game though does have another part besides the mini games, but it is going to be up to you if you use it a lot or not. There is the monster building part. The monster is who plays the mini games, so you are designing the character you want to be controlling as you play the mini games. You have various body types, designs and accessories you can use to create your monster, but you need to unlock or buy these throughout the game to get more of them. You only have so many at first. However, you don’t even need to make the monster yourself, and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend trying it yourself. The game will ask you some questions and prebuild a monster for you, that you can then decorate as you please. Believe me, this is much easier. This is nothing like the Spore Creature Creator that is so easy to use. This I would just let the AI build a monster for you and then decorate yourself, at least with the options you have available or can afford. You earn more money by playing the mini games, so you do need to play the games if you want more stuff to accessorize your monster with. So really, other than that, that is what you do in this game. You play simple mini games, and make monsters. I wish there was more to this, but that is about it. You have this nice over world you can roam around in for a bit as the main character sometimes, but there is almost nothing there and it is really just used to save your game and get from mini game areas, the shops and the creature creator. You really are almost never there. You are just playing mini games. If you like that, that’s good, but there could have been a lot more to this game, that’s for sure. So really, the game is just a bit boring and dull at times. It is really short as well. Give it about five or seven hours and more than likely, depending on your luck, you will be done with this game. That’s about all I would give this. So really, just expect mini games, and your expectations will be set.
Story
The story of this game isn’t any better and honestly, is a bit too simple. It sounds like it could turn into something, but it doesn’t. Pretty much, the main character, a boy or a girl, that honestly from their looks, looks like they could be like a kid human version of sonic, if you pick the boy, finds a mysterious book. He strangely hears someone calling out to him the next night while he is asleep, and he then finds himself being transported the strange island that was pictured in the book he just found. This land was apparently a long lost land that humans and the inhabitants of the island, named Maboo, used to inhabit together. Now though, Black Evil, and his evilings have taken over the island and has slowly corrupted all the Maboo to be under their control. Humans had long stopped coming to this island, and it is up to you to free the Maboo from Black Evil and return everything back to the way it used to be on the island. You do this by gather the seven vision orbs, which are used to help the Maboo and to eventually face Black Evil for control of the island. That is sort of the general gist of what is going on in this game, maybe with some smaller details left out. This sounds like it could have some potential doesn’t it? Yet, that’s it really. There are no twists. There is nothing extra at all. There are no other scenes in the game that even expands on this. Other than beating the final boss and right at the beginning of the game, the story is almost nonexistent. If you are going to go to so much trouble to create such a good backstory, at least do something with it. I was really disappointed with this. I give them credit for a good start, but minus everything else to them for not doing anything at all with it.
Graphics
This game actually doesn’t look that bad if I say so myself. I think this may be one of the few saving graces of this game is that it actually doesn’t look that bad. It is nothing to just go wow at, but it does seem like they did actually put some time into making the game actually look decent at least. The island is bright and sunny, and the colors of everything look to shine brightly and look very cartoony as you would expect from it. All the characters look well designed, and even though making the monsters isn’t easy and best left up to the AI, they do look nice and well designed. There are times where things aren’t connected very well though on the monsters so do keep that in mind. There aren’t a ton of things in the background of the mini games, but the games themselves look nice. At the very least when you play this game, you at least get to feel like the atmosphere is done properly and that they did pay some attention on making the game look good. However, this may be one of those games where the game has the looks, just not the substance to back up the decent looks.
Sound
The sound effects and music in this game aren’t that bad either. They are sort of like how I mentioned in my last review of a game, that the music is good, but it is nothing amazing, nor is there really much bad about it either. It is just slightly above average, non-memorable music. You at least can tell they tried to make the music sort of have this magical and dream like setting, but also have this tropical feel to fit the scenario you are in. Since many of these games either take place in a forest, beach or volcano, the music does sound very tropical and vacation like. So really, there is not much to say here, than the music is just okay, but nothing spectacular or bad either. It is just tropical music, and monster competing sound effects, simple as that.
Control
The controls of this game are just okay really. Most of the game is pretty much just press the A button or whatever button the game asks you really fast or at the right timing. I don’t even think you even use the X and Y button at all in this game. This is pretty much just all A, B, and the control stick. They certainly went simple on the controls, that’s for sure. That isn’t exactly a bad thing of course, as simple can be better in some cases, but in this case, it is just okay. As I mentioned in the gameplay section, not all the controls or best practices with the controls are always explained. This means that some mini games are going to be harder than others, especially the timing ones, because you haven’t been taught the best practices with the controls at all. I know some of this is still down the gameplay’s fault, but I do think the controls actually suffer because of the gameplay, and not just because of the controls themselves. I’m sure someone has seen this before, where it is more explanation of the controls, or lack thereof that is the problem not the controls themselves.
Replay Value
The replay value in this game is honestly, crap in my opinion. Just like the story, once you are done with the game, that is honestly about it. Unless you want to spend the time playing these mini games over and over again to collect all the accessories and items, there is nothing else to do in this game when you beat the main story mode of the game. There is a GBA connect game, but I didn’t play it, nor did the game make it sound like this game was worth playing, as there were no incentives to go try it out. Unless you really like collecting things, just for the sake of collecting things or being a completionist, I don’t see people wanting to keep playing this game after they beat the main story mode. Why would you, when there is nothing in it for doing so? Unless you just like playing the mini games, I see this as one of those games you beat once and likely shelve for a long time before trying it out again for a short time. It is so short as well, that it will be a quick first playthrough and revisit if you so choose to do so. So really, this game lacks severely here. I doubt many people came back to this game after beating it once. There is just really no incentive to do so.
Overall, I would Say Amazing Island is one of those games that is all visual and sound appeal with just none of the substance to really hold it together in the long run. This isn’t the worst game I’ve ever played. It is nowhere close to that. It is just a little boring, and lacking the deep substance that would make it a better game. It just seems like a lot more effort could have been put into this game. If they had expanded on the story mode, and given you a reason to want to keep playing, things may be a bit different. With the way things are though, I would likely pass on this game, unless you enjoy games that focus around mini games quite a bit. Otherwise, if you are looking for something more like Mario Party, I would suggest go playing that, which I may do soon.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Amazing Island a five out of ten.
Gameplay: 4
Story: 3
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Control: 6
Replay Value: 3
Overall: 5
Some GameCube games for a change. Neat.
Amazing Island
I had never heard of this series before, but it did come up in a list of Sega games for the GameCube and I got it for cheap, so I figured I would give it a shot. It is always nice to get a hold of some Sega game series that I have never heard of before. Though there also may be a reason I have never heard of this series as well. Is that the case, or is this another hidden Sega gem? Let us find out together.
Gameplay
Amazing Island is basically a game that when it comes down to it that reminds me of sort of a mix of Mario Party and Spore Creature creator, just not as fun. The game reminds me Mario Party in that this game is pretty much nothing but mini games. To progress in this game, you play mini games, and honestly, not even that many of them. Most of them are either very simple, which can be okay if done right, or they are quite hard or not explained well enough. Not many of the games are bad though, it is just neither are many of the mini games that fun either. Most of them involve just pressing the button real fast or in the right timing to get enough points to move onto the next mini game. You don’t even have to do that well at them, as long as you get enough points, you will advance to the next one. There are mini games like pressing the button fast enough to get to the goal line. There is one where you are shooting baskets and have to angle your shots right for them to go in. There is also one where you have to flick the control stick to skip along the water. As you can see, these sound pretty simple, and many of them are. However, some of them are not exactly well explained, or they don’t exactly tell you the best tactics on how to play all the games well. Mario Party will often times give you tips on the mini games to show a player how to play the game, or give a video example. This game just gives you a few pictures and a button explanation. There were a few games I had to look up how to play properly because they were not playing right or I was losing them over and over again. Yes, you luckily do have an option of going and playing a practice version of each and every game whenever you want, but you shouldn’t need to practice these games, as these games shouldn’t be hard enough to need that. I didn’t need it much, but it was there in case I needed it. This game though does have another part besides the mini games, but it is going to be up to you if you use it a lot or not. There is the monster building part. The monster is who plays the mini games, so you are designing the character you want to be controlling as you play the mini games. You have various body types, designs and accessories you can use to create your monster, but you need to unlock or buy these throughout the game to get more of them. You only have so many at first. However, you don’t even need to make the monster yourself, and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend trying it yourself. The game will ask you some questions and prebuild a monster for you, that you can then decorate as you please. Believe me, this is much easier. This is nothing like the Spore Creature Creator that is so easy to use. This I would just let the AI build a monster for you and then decorate yourself, at least with the options you have available or can afford. You earn more money by playing the mini games, so you do need to play the games if you want more stuff to accessorize your monster with. So really, other than that, that is what you do in this game. You play simple mini games, and make monsters. I wish there was more to this, but that is about it. You have this nice over world you can roam around in for a bit as the main character sometimes, but there is almost nothing there and it is really just used to save your game and get from mini game areas, the shops and the creature creator. You really are almost never there. You are just playing mini games. If you like that, that’s good, but there could have been a lot more to this game, that’s for sure. So really, the game is just a bit boring and dull at times. It is really short as well. Give it about five or seven hours and more than likely, depending on your luck, you will be done with this game. That’s about all I would give this. So really, just expect mini games, and your expectations will be set.
Story
The story of this game isn’t any better and honestly, is a bit too simple. It sounds like it could turn into something, but it doesn’t. Pretty much, the main character, a boy or a girl, that honestly from their looks, looks like they could be like a kid human version of sonic, if you pick the boy, finds a mysterious book. He strangely hears someone calling out to him the next night while he is asleep, and he then finds himself being transported the strange island that was pictured in the book he just found. This land was apparently a long lost land that humans and the inhabitants of the island, named Maboo, used to inhabit together. Now though, Black Evil, and his evilings have taken over the island and has slowly corrupted all the Maboo to be under their control. Humans had long stopped coming to this island, and it is up to you to free the Maboo from Black Evil and return everything back to the way it used to be on the island. You do this by gather the seven vision orbs, which are used to help the Maboo and to eventually face Black Evil for control of the island. That is sort of the general gist of what is going on in this game, maybe with some smaller details left out. This sounds like it could have some potential doesn’t it? Yet, that’s it really. There are no twists. There is nothing extra at all. There are no other scenes in the game that even expands on this. Other than beating the final boss and right at the beginning of the game, the story is almost nonexistent. If you are going to go to so much trouble to create such a good backstory, at least do something with it. I was really disappointed with this. I give them credit for a good start, but minus everything else to them for not doing anything at all with it.
Graphics
This game actually doesn’t look that bad if I say so myself. I think this may be one of the few saving graces of this game is that it actually doesn’t look that bad. It is nothing to just go wow at, but it does seem like they did actually put some time into making the game actually look decent at least. The island is bright and sunny, and the colors of everything look to shine brightly and look very cartoony as you would expect from it. All the characters look well designed, and even though making the monsters isn’t easy and best left up to the AI, they do look nice and well designed. There are times where things aren’t connected very well though on the monsters so do keep that in mind. There aren’t a ton of things in the background of the mini games, but the games themselves look nice. At the very least when you play this game, you at least get to feel like the atmosphere is done properly and that they did pay some attention on making the game look good. However, this may be one of those games where the game has the looks, just not the substance to back up the decent looks.
Sound
The sound effects and music in this game aren’t that bad either. They are sort of like how I mentioned in my last review of a game, that the music is good, but it is nothing amazing, nor is there really much bad about it either. It is just slightly above average, non-memorable music. You at least can tell they tried to make the music sort of have this magical and dream like setting, but also have this tropical feel to fit the scenario you are in. Since many of these games either take place in a forest, beach or volcano, the music does sound very tropical and vacation like. So really, there is not much to say here, than the music is just okay, but nothing spectacular or bad either. It is just tropical music, and monster competing sound effects, simple as that.
Control
The controls of this game are just okay really. Most of the game is pretty much just press the A button or whatever button the game asks you really fast or at the right timing. I don’t even think you even use the X and Y button at all in this game. This is pretty much just all A, B, and the control stick. They certainly went simple on the controls, that’s for sure. That isn’t exactly a bad thing of course, as simple can be better in some cases, but in this case, it is just okay. As I mentioned in the gameplay section, not all the controls or best practices with the controls are always explained. This means that some mini games are going to be harder than others, especially the timing ones, because you haven’t been taught the best practices with the controls at all. I know some of this is still down the gameplay’s fault, but I do think the controls actually suffer because of the gameplay, and not just because of the controls themselves. I’m sure someone has seen this before, where it is more explanation of the controls, or lack thereof that is the problem not the controls themselves.
Replay Value
The replay value in this game is honestly, crap in my opinion. Just like the story, once you are done with the game, that is honestly about it. Unless you want to spend the time playing these mini games over and over again to collect all the accessories and items, there is nothing else to do in this game when you beat the main story mode of the game. There is a GBA connect game, but I didn’t play it, nor did the game make it sound like this game was worth playing, as there were no incentives to go try it out. Unless you really like collecting things, just for the sake of collecting things or being a completionist, I don’t see people wanting to keep playing this game after they beat the main story mode. Why would you, when there is nothing in it for doing so? Unless you just like playing the mini games, I see this as one of those games you beat once and likely shelve for a long time before trying it out again for a short time. It is so short as well, that it will be a quick first playthrough and revisit if you so choose to do so. So really, this game lacks severely here. I doubt many people came back to this game after beating it once. There is just really no incentive to do so.
Overall, I would Say Amazing Island is one of those games that is all visual and sound appeal with just none of the substance to really hold it together in the long run. This isn’t the worst game I’ve ever played. It is nowhere close to that. It is just a little boring, and lacking the deep substance that would make it a better game. It just seems like a lot more effort could have been put into this game. If they had expanded on the story mode, and given you a reason to want to keep playing, things may be a bit different. With the way things are though, I would likely pass on this game, unless you enjoy games that focus around mini games quite a bit. Otherwise, if you are looking for something more like Mario Party, I would suggest go playing that, which I may do soon.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Amazing Island a five out of ten.
Gameplay: 4
Story: 3
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Control: 6
Replay Value: 3
Overall: 5
