Deltora Quest: The Seven Jewels Official Thread

[DQA]

Okay, I've played a little bit more since my last post. I'm now up to the Shifting Sands arc, and there were so many missed opportunities. By now, all the environments are starting to look similar (apart from Rithmere, which looks freakishly close to the anime). It's strange they didn't mix up the level layouts and backgrounds. There's so much diversity throughout Deltora and yet they make the environments the same just with different colour palettes. Not only are the backgrounds starting to repeat, but the music too. That doesn't matter so much to me, only because they sound so good.

Now, as I mentioned before, there were so many missed opportunities. They should've made 'Beat the Bird' into a mini-game instead of a scripted event. It just comes off as really lazy. Same with the Rithmere Games. First off, why is the arena so tiny? And it was really careless explaining what happened during the beginning of the games too. It skips straight to the part where Jasmine defeats Doom. There could've been so many exciting scenes, but instead, just like many aspects of the game, it ends up feeling stripped down and outright apathetic. And then after the games there's a lengthy conversation with Doom (which I regretfully skipped). I found it extremely strange and out of character for Barda to lash out and purposefully hit him with his sword. It all comes back to how the development team skipped Tom's Shop saga. At this point, the trio is asking Doom who he is, but if they had included Tom's Shop in the story, it would've been much easier to make Rithmere better in terms of gameplay and story.   

Also, I find some of the fanfares REALLY jarring, because they're so overly positive that they don't fit with some situations (Jarred jumping onto the horse-drawn carriage to escape Del Castle warranted an uber happy fanfare).

Aha, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I was going to mention the same thing. It was a really strange decision.

I have to ask, was the Enigmatic Giant's section only represented through text? It's VERY odd, since later in the game (Chapter 7), you fight monsters that look exactly like the anime adaptation's Enigmatic Giant. Why didn't they take the opportunity with all the cool puzzles within the books? It feels very lazy.

Nope, there's no mention of the Enigmatic Giant at all. Which is ANOTHER missed opportunity.

I found the characters teleporting from place to place somewhat humorous (you move so fast with the stylus!).

Haha, me too! In some ways, I think it's better, though. It would be painstakingly boring if there was a set speed. I like having the ability to go at your own pace.

At Tom's shop, you can draw the Resistance symbol to reduce the cost of items (I found this a neat little feature).

Wow! That's actually really cool. Pity the same creativity didn't go in to other parts of this game.

Perhaps a personal beef, but some of the sounds are so obviously stock sounds. DX The Ak-Baba at the beginning use that infamous 'dinosaur screech', and Prandine/Fallow use sound effects that I've heard in comedy shows! Sort of jarring. XP

Yeah, I agree. This isn't a stock sound, but am I the only one who found the "Clean Churunai (Noradzeer)" sound really jarring as well? Definitely NOT how I imagine the Ra-Kacharz to speak.

[Cass]

It's scary - I'm finding myself agreeing with every single you've said, and it's a bit of a shame. I mean, I DO like the game, but it could've been so much better.

I feel that the environments can get a bit boring, however I don't think it's uncommon for these sorts of games to reuse graphics. At least more important areas are given original graphics.Is there anything else to do in Rithmere City other than going straight to Mother Brightly's? When I first got to that part of the game, I felt a sense of a relief, only to realise there was nothing to do!

There are only 32 or so musical pieces in the game. Each chapter is given its own theme. I think Chapter 5 has quite a few pieces that aren't used elsewhere in the game. I get the feeling the budget for this game was limited.

I know, right?? XD The arena looked so silly! They could have at least showed the MEAT of that arc - it's like the complete opposite of the manga. That, and Neridah is completely written out of the story. I also don't think Jinx appears. It surprises me they include characters like the Queen Bee lady, but not Neridah!

Oh, yes. The Ra-Kacharz chant is quite puzzling, since it's so high pitched. I think it would've been so much better if it hasn't included voice grunts. They don't really add anything.

Oy, vey. Though it might sound like I'm complaining about every single detail, it just baffles me how much they cut corners. Why cut out characters/plot elements, while adding their OWN characters??

I think you'll find little nuggets to nitpick about in Chapter 5, definitely.

[DQA]

Alright, just finished Dread Mountain.

Well first off... Purple Crocodiles? Giant Yellow Lizards? What is this?!

Purple Kin? Pink Kin? You get to fly a Kin? There's floating bush obstacles too?! You can DIE from floating bushes? So Kin can crash through trees in episode 25 of the anime, but not touch flying bushes. I've got it.

Okay, so, umm... Where's Ailsa, Bruna and Merin in all of this?

Also, why does the Vraal look like something from Jurassic Park? And where did Prin get the Purple Moss from to defeat the Vraal? And where's the Carn Squad? So many unquestioned answers ;_;

Honestly, though, controlling Kin was actually a nice little distraction from the actual game.

This saga starts off with a cutscene with Lief's parents imprisoned by Fallow, but how are we seeing this? At this point, Lief and the others haven't even heard of the Dreaming Spring. Talking about that, the spring is tiny! And what's with the lack of Kin? I mean, I'm glad Prin and Krenn made an appearance, but in the anime, there's quite a big group of them compared to the five that show up in the game. Also, why does the Dread Gnome's lair look like a concrete building? I also find the lack of Gellick's relationship with the gnomes saddening to. They're just like: "Follow me, I'll go show you where Gellick is so you can defeat him even though we just tried to kill you with deadly poisonous arrows!" It's starting to become apparent that there's barley any character development in this game, possibly due to its young target audience. Oh, and I should also mention Gellick looks hilarious.

Right after I finished this section of the game, I went to the cinema, so my thoughts have sort of drifted. But I think this image sums up my thoughts:


(Talking about this image, why isn't there a person in that Kin's pouch?)

Is there anything else to do in Rithmere City other than going straight to Mother Brightly's?

You can talk to the townsfolk, but that would prove useless if you can't read Japanese. Talking about that, how did know what to do half the time?! How did you know to buy the rope from Tom during the Shifting Sand's saga? Or had you already bought it at that point?

[Cass]

I don't really mind the strange wildlife in this game, even if it doesn't make sense. XD I think some of it is actually pretty interesting looking. Also, I thought the Vraal had a faithful design to the original. The anime's Vraal looked to mucky and boring for me.

I was wondering what was going on with the Fallow scene. Couldn't they have just put some sort of breather at the Dreaming Spring? I think that's what this game is lacking. In depth cutscenes. And I'm guessing that means there's no conflict of Lief wondering about his parents? A bit of a shame.

You know, Gellick's official art looks amazing. I mean, beside the fact that a TOAD has a belly button, I absolutely love the character design in this game. Just the style draws me in! That's something I think it has over the anime and manga - no offence, but they look so... bleh. I suppose it depends on the animation team in the anime, but the manga is full of bleh.

I thought the flying stage was silly. I mean, why are there hovering bushes that hurt you?

Is what the townsfolk say interesting? I mean, there are so many unique NPCs, unlike other 2D games that reuse lots of NPCs. I'd already bought most things at Tom's shop by that point. XD I'm sure there are plenty of moments when I needed something but I didn't realise I used it because I'd already bought it.

[DQA]

Yeah, I actually love the enemy design, but it's getting to the point where the same enemies are appearing throughout each chapter but with different colors, which is a shame. I prefer this games Vraal to the anime and manga, but in my opinion, it's too small. And I also completely agree with Gellick's design in this game. I just found it funny how he literally vomits poison all over you, compared to the anime, where he spits tiny amounts.

Yeah, I kind of wished they focused more on the story in this game. It could've been really amazing, I mean, all the amazing art work and music was there. All they needed was a better combat system and character development.

It's funny, because if they worked a little more on the flying stage, it could've been quite good. But instead, it lasts 30 seconds and the sprites are all over the place. Like the story, it just feels a bit incomplete. If they had another year and a bit more money, this game could've been amazing. I still love the game so far, I'm just always wishing for more.

Is what the townsfolk say interesting?

Take a look (click to enlarge):

[Cass]

Oh wow, did you just edit those in some graphic editor, or actually in-game? 8o I have to say, though, that they're saying things completely different to what I expected. For example, I thought that guy behind the tree was perving on the dancers. XP It makes more sense than talking to a tree!

Yes, some particular enemies crop up several times over the game, though that's not really uncommon in RPGs. I found most of the bosses to be really lazy in combat design. I mean, it's mostly 'dodge, go in and hit a few times, then quickly get of the way' over and over again. I think Gellick and Reeah were the worst in this respect, while Thaegan was at least more complicated.

I at least assume the 3 main characters were given decent character development? There are quite a few little scenes here and there where they chatter about something. Most usually ending with Barda shrugging and Jasmine laughing.

It's just so strange how this game has so many problems, yet is also sort of enjoyable. Though I think the art on a whole looks spectacular, some of it seems a bit jarring and not up to par with the rest of the game. For example, the incredibly pixelly Ak-Baba at the beginning of the game. I mean, it doesn't look bad from afar, since it's meant to be a silhouette. However, some appear closer, and all they've done is resize the sprite. That, and the Fallow/Thaegan boss sprites look pretty strange when compared to other characters. Mostly the fact that their heads are two pixels in length.

I'm not sure how far you've gotten into the game since your last update, but I do think Chapter 6 was at least a step up in terms story quality. XD Though the pirate saga wasn't looked at, I think it retained most of the major scenes?

[DQA]

Finally got the time to finish Chapter 6.

This was my favourite section of the game so far. In terms of environments, it was much more diverse than previous levels. Despite the lack of pirates, seeing the River Queen steamboat was a very nice addition. It was kind of a pity to see Steven as a mere tradesman rather than an actual character, though. Would've been pretty cool to control Nevets. It was disappointing that the The Glus (which had amazing artwork, by the way) was only seen in a easy running minigame. I found it strange how Thaegan only just showed up now. Not to mention the fact that she's killed without the loss of her magic finger. Still, she's been the most difficult enemy in the game so far. With Steven's introduction came a knew kind of shop. The items in there are, in my opinion, far better than the ones in Tom's Shop. I actually found it surprising how much money I had earned throughout the course of my journey! I had enough to buy the Golden Bracelet which gives you twice the amount of speed when you attack, which I found quite cool. Did you end up buying anything? Because I regretfully didn't read the descriptions for the other items. Also, Dain is finally introduced! I just love how Lief attacks him with his sword and then feels guilty afterwards *chuckle*. Oh, not only that, but Ols show up too. I much prefer their artwork in this game than the anime. In the anime they look like a child's drawing of a ghost :/ 

Oh wow, did you just edit those in some graphic editor, or actually in-game? 8o I have to say, though, that they're saying things completely different to what I expected.[color]

Photo editing software (Photoshop). I found out that hacking roms is... extremely hard. I'm sure I could learn, but there's not that much information about it.

For example, I thought that guy behind the tree was perving on the dancers. XP It makes more sense than talking to a tree!

Bahahaa! I'm not sure what you mean. I talk to trees all the time xD

I at least assume the 3 main characters were given decent character development?

Yeah, they were. But not nearly as much as the books, for obvious reasons.

[Cass]

You seem to beat the levels with relative ease. When I last played through, I died I don't know HOW MANY times. I probably wasn't playing correctly, but all battles are long with moves that are hard to dodge. I only barely defeated Thaegan.

I also had problems with the Glus game. I didn't know what you were meant to do, since he kept catching me very quickly. Are you just meant to tap the screen really fast? I think a stealth minigame would've been more appropriate.

I don't think Nevets ever appears visually within the game. Is he mentioned?

I didn't have enough money to buy anything from Steven. He was way too overpriced.

The next chapter is definitely my least favourite, if only because I can only barely defeat the enemies. You're just meant to hack and slash them, right?  The 'poison' status is very grating.

[DQA]

You seem to beat the levels with relative ease. When I last played through, I died I don't know HOW MANY times.

That's probably because I'm still playing on an emulator. I do have an actual copy of the game, I just can't find it. I think it's much harder playing on a DS, considering I died many times when I had my physical copy.

I also had problems with the Glus game. I didn't know what you were meant to do, since he kept catching me very quickly. Are you just meant to tap the screen really fast? I think a stealth minigame would've been more appropriate.

Yep, you're supposed to tap really fast (or in my case, click really fast).

I don't think Nevets ever appears visually within the game. Is he mentioned?

Nope.

[Cass]

Oh, does the emulator make it easier to play? D; I wish my emulator would get its act together and run faster! Then again, I'd think it'd be harder to play the combat sections with a mouse (never had the will to go that far with such slowness).

[DQA]

Well, it does for me. But that's probably because I play PC games a lot. There's probably some settings you can change to make your emulator run faster.

Now, where's that purple of yours gone?

[Cass]

It's difficult to use the brackets on the iPad. XD I'll ensure to edit my posts later on, though.

[DQA]

Haha! Okay. I'll attempt the next chapter tomorrow.

[DQA]

Oops! Sorry, I got caught up subtitling episode 23. I swear there will be an update tomorrow.

[DQA]

Alright!~ Finally finished Chapter 7. (Sorry, this is going to be a short post. I don't have much time to express my opinions.)

Looks like we're going to disagree here, but this was my favourite section so far! I loved the minigame-type-puzzle elements that were present during the ending boss. Though it was incredibly hard, I still liked the variety. The beginning was rather bland, much like most of the other chapters, but I loved the dialogue in this saga. I'm really starting to see some solid character development now. You can tell Lief is jealous about Dain and Jasmine. Oh and I finally got all my character's sword levels to 10! Yay! Oh and the ending boss was frustratingly hard. I'm honestly not sure if I would've been able to beat it if I played it on a DS. I'm really starting to get into the game now, which is a shame because I'm going to finish it soon ;_:

You're just meant to hack and slash them, right?  The 'poison' status is very grating.

Umm, I just tap on them really fast... Not sure if this is correct or not, but I don't do any slashing movements.