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Mini-Game Review
18 years ago
I just picked up a copy of Folklore, which was made Game Republic ( Genji, Genji 2: Days of the Blade) - here are my thoughts on it.
The short version (for those of you with distance-challenged attention spans): Folklore is a true gem. Go get it. Play it. You'll love it.
The long version: This is precisely the kind of game I've been wanting to play for a long, long time. It's an eclectic concoction of one part action-adventure, one part RPG, and one part strategic creature collecting and management, drenched in spellbinding visuals and audio. Or, to put it another way, this would be the result if Jim Henson, Brian Froud, and Neil Gaiman were to re-imagine the Pokemon franchise, using Irish lore and legends as its basis. Essentially, Folklore is the video-game equivalent of Labyrinth, but without David Bowie's flamboyant bouncing crotch.
Yes, it's that good. Even without the infamous Magic Dance pelvic thrust that rent many a theater screen in twain, you'd be hard-pressed to find another game quite as captivating as this one.
The story follow the exploits of two strangers who are pulled into the mysterious Irish town of Doolin, a sort of hub between our world and the netherworld. Ellen, a frail young woman, has come having received a letter from her long-deceased mother of seventeen years. Keats, a reporter for an occult investigative magazine comes with the intent to do a bit of reporting after getting a disturbing phone call. Both arrive and find what appears to be the scene of a murder, and the game takes off instantly from there.
The core gameplay mechanics involve you defeating foes ("Folks," as they're called in the game)by using their Ids (souls), and thusly collecting more - and the collecting part is a great use of the PS3's motion sensing controller. After you've beaten an enemy senseless, their red ID reveals itself, and by simply pressing the RI Button and giving the SIXAXIS a quick yank up, you rip out the soul and have thus added a new "weapon" to your armament. Boss creatures don't give up their Ids quite as easily; a mini game is implemented for both Keats and Ellen in extracting their Ids, which is also incredibly fun. Additionally, each Folk that you capture and use has a certain elemental property, and may or may not be effective against other Folks. The real joy is in figuring out not only how to capture new Folks, but also in how to defeat them.
As the game goes on, you essentially will be traversing the many realms of the Netherworld with both Keats and Ellen, and returning to the actual town of Doolin (as a between-missions hub) to advance the story. Some may find this a bit repetitive, but each character plays slightly differently, and there are different Folks for each world to keep things mixed up.
I'm going to keep playing through this, and when I do, post a more comprehensive review of the game. So far, it's grand, grand in the same sense of Shadow of the Colossus and Okami. Unless this game unleashes a plot that somehow ends with a Frasier's Magical Unicorn High School Shopping Spree Musical, I really don't see how or why this game shouldn't be in every gamer's collection.
It's just that awesome.
The short version (for those of you with distance-challenged attention spans): Folklore is a true gem. Go get it. Play it. You'll love it.
The long version: This is precisely the kind of game I've been wanting to play for a long, long time. It's an eclectic concoction of one part action-adventure, one part RPG, and one part strategic creature collecting and management, drenched in spellbinding visuals and audio. Or, to put it another way, this would be the result if Jim Henson, Brian Froud, and Neil Gaiman were to re-imagine the Pokemon franchise, using Irish lore and legends as its basis. Essentially, Folklore is the video-game equivalent of Labyrinth, but without David Bowie's flamboyant bouncing crotch.
Yes, it's that good. Even without the infamous Magic Dance pelvic thrust that rent many a theater screen in twain, you'd be hard-pressed to find another game quite as captivating as this one.
The story follow the exploits of two strangers who are pulled into the mysterious Irish town of Doolin, a sort of hub between our world and the netherworld. Ellen, a frail young woman, has come having received a letter from her long-deceased mother of seventeen years. Keats, a reporter for an occult investigative magazine comes with the intent to do a bit of reporting after getting a disturbing phone call. Both arrive and find what appears to be the scene of a murder, and the game takes off instantly from there.
The core gameplay mechanics involve you defeating foes ("Folks," as they're called in the game)by using their Ids (souls), and thusly collecting more - and the collecting part is a great use of the PS3's motion sensing controller. After you've beaten an enemy senseless, their red ID reveals itself, and by simply pressing the RI Button and giving the SIXAXIS a quick yank up, you rip out the soul and have thus added a new "weapon" to your armament. Boss creatures don't give up their Ids quite as easily; a mini game is implemented for both Keats and Ellen in extracting their Ids, which is also incredibly fun. Additionally, each Folk that you capture and use has a certain elemental property, and may or may not be effective against other Folks. The real joy is in figuring out not only how to capture new Folks, but also in how to defeat them.
As the game goes on, you essentially will be traversing the many realms of the Netherworld with both Keats and Ellen, and returning to the actual town of Doolin (as a between-missions hub) to advance the story. Some may find this a bit repetitive, but each character plays slightly differently, and there are different Folks for each world to keep things mixed up.
I'm going to keep playing through this, and when I do, post a more comprehensive review of the game. So far, it's grand, grand in the same sense of Shadow of the Colossus and Okami. Unless this game unleashes a plot that somehow ends with a Frasier's Magical Unicorn High School Shopping Spree Musical, I really don't see how or why this game shouldn't be in every gamer's collection.
It's just that awesome.
Risu_kun
~risukun
nice! i knew it was gonna be a great game, glad your digging it. can't wit to hear how the story goes
