Despite the relatively large number of games at Square-Enix’s booth this year, their slate of Nintendo games was relatively clear with only three games. Come inside for more about their latest Final Fantasy, as well as a couple of quirky WiiWare titles.
Bearsworth Manor: Puzzling Pages
This was the first of two Bearsworth Manor games, releasing through WiiWare on June 21. The closest thing I could compare it to would probably be Boom Blox, as it involves launching bears into an environment to solve puzzles.
You control an arrow at the bottom of the screen by twisting the Wii remote left and right. Once your shot is lined up you can press and hold the A button, which locks you in to that direction. You then flick the Wii remote upwards to launch a bear, with the ultimate goal of getting the bear close enough to a red candy so the bear can pick it up.
The puzzles get progressively harder as you move along, introducing timing based puzzles and environmental hazards. The number of bears you can use to complete each puzzle is also limited, adding another level of depth to the gameplay.
It’s a pretty simple concept but it’s well executed, and definitely worth looking into if it releases at the right price point. Now word yet on just how many levels will be included in the final game, but there’s definitely lots of room to create some interesting puzzles.
Bearsworth Manor: Chaotic Conflicts
The second game in the Bearsworth Manor series is very similar to the first as far as the controls are concerned. The objective, however, is quite different. In this game you’re defending candy instead of collecting it. Enemy bears spawn inside the book and you must launch your own bears into their general vicinity.
The general goal is to overwhelm the enemies with sheer numbers, though you eventually gain access to bombs and other useful items to help you in defending the all-important blue candy.
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS)
This was the game that occupied the bulk of my time at Square’s booth. Coming from the people behind Final Fantasy 3 and 4, this DS game does a few things to shake up the franchise.
The most notable difference from the old-school Final Fantasy games is that there are no real classes. Classes are instead replaced by crowns; different styles of hats that confer bonuses to you characters. This gives you the freedom to create your own crew however you like. One example of this is a very early crown that reduces the action point cost of black magic spells. Crowns are also an unlimited resource. That is to say, once you unlock a crown you are free to put it on as many characters as you wish. Additionally, each crown can be leveled up by various gems collected from defeated enemies. There are different gem shapes, and each crown has a certain number of slots that must be filled in order to unlock the next level. Gaining a crown level could have an effect ranging from greater stat bonuses to new abilities. It should be noted, though, that levels gained apply to each character individually.
Earlier I mentioned action points. They are the ability-governing points in the battle system. Instead of having a bank of SPs, with each special move consuming a certain amount, the system has been simplified. Each character has five action points, and these can be gained by defeating enemies in battle. The more powerful the attack, of course, the more action points it will cost. It is similar to systems used in the past, but feels simpler because you only have five points instead of several hundred.
Enemy encounters are largely the standard turn-based fare that most RPG gamers should be comfortable with. The enemies are situated in a formation that has both a front and back row. Regular attacks can’t reach the back row unless the front row has been taken care of first, though magic attacks are able to bypass the first row entirely. The battles felt good, though a little easy. Of course, that is no doubt a function of the demo taking place at the beginning of the game.
Overall I like what they’ve done with it, despite not being able to see much story, and am definitely looking forward to playing more of the game when it releases in October.
