Super Sword (Trent Seed) - retro action RPG

[undeadcow]

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[bigred447uk]

This looks interesting. Downloading now. Impressions shortly ....

[bigred447uk]

Impressions after 20 minutes play. This is a simple Zelda tribute with a naive but charming art style. Rough around the edges with unappealing menu and ugly GUI (with the d-pad switched on).

I love the graphics and despite the lack of polish and depth to this title clearly a lot of time was spent designing the characters whose charm is apparent in the screenshots and the reason I bought this game.

Unfortunately the gameplay is a bit lacklustre to my mind. Because the d-pad has left and right buttons at opposing ends of the screen I find it hard to try and outmanoeuvre the mobs and I end up just slashing away with my sword whilst being able to do little to avoid the incoming attacks.

This may be a limitation that is peculiar to me though. It will be interesting to hear anyone else's take on this aspect.

As for the gameworld I love the Zelda-esque houses but can't help feel the lack of proper narrative or interesting NPC chatter is a missed opportunity. Instead of just repeating the main objective or announcing the location name it would have been nice to hear some silly lore to make it worth exploring the houses etc. Also what's with filling the houses with purple chests that you can't interactive with. No way to break them and find items.

I'm currently stuck at what I think is the first boss of the first dungeon because I can't avoid his projectile attacks. I can't seem to move fast enough to avoid them and also hit the boss and there is no way to block an attack that I'm aware of. I'm resorting to trying to hide in a door frame or behind a bit of the environment which isn't working either lol. I'm guessing there will be four simple dungeons to explore but I can't be sure.

When you get to travel it is possible to go off piste and choose your own destination. I visited the shrine first despite being told to go to another location.

When I died inside the first dungeon it lets me start the dungeon again with full health over and over which is a good job. The first dungeon appears to contain one simplistic platformer style puzzle where you must walk along a walk way avoiding projectiles shooting from the walls.

Despite the above mentioned limitations and gripes I feel compelled to keep trying to beat the first boss for some reason. I need to explore a few tactics and see if I get any better with the controls.

I was hoping for a bit more complexity when I bought this game. There appears to be no character customisation or items/equipment. I found a health potion prior to the first boss but that's about it so far.

I will persevere and update my impressions if anything notable changes with further play. Interested to hear what anyone else thinks.

Thanks UndeadCow for an interesting find. I'd be interested in your impressions as I'm fairly sure you will have bought this title as well as creating the thread.

Edit : app description mentions items and character upgrades. Looks like I haven't got far enough to get an upgrade. That makes sense as I'm yet to beat the first boss.

Conclusion : I compelled to play on after 20 mins which is a good sign of course. I want to like this more than I do though. I'm hoping it kicks up a gear after I get through the first dungeon.

[psj3809]

I do like the look of this and would like to support it. BUT that crazy control scheme is ridiculous and i'm avoiding this because of it

Does it seriously have weird left/right buttons on either side of the screen ? No traditional d-pad in the bottom left or standard controls ?

On screenshot 3/5 are those the controls ? IF they are whats wrong with devs! Why dont they use a standard control method instead of some weird strange one, see this problem happen time and time again.

[undeadcow]

I'll be more detailed later after I have more time to play but agree with much of what bigred447uk says...

It's not for everyone but there's some clear developer passion here so well worth my single dollar. Despite having 5G optimization with clear graphics seems it uncommon in ways - some charming/eccentric novelties and others less desirable. I'd advise against Super Sword unless you're hard up for an action RPG or tolerant of semi-unpolished indie RPGs (in which case also consider Cuber Quest).

I think Super Sword could be really good (although not everyone will "get it") with some attention; I know the developer was active on Touch Arcade in the upcoming games section so hopefully we'll hear from him.

Visually your character appears (to me) slightly higher than the environmental level (barely on top of bushes that block his way) but it's no deal breaker.

Originally Posted by bigred447uk

...the lack of proper narrative or interesting NPC chatter is a missed opportunity. ...it would have been nice to hear some silly lore to make it worth exploring the houses etc.

I agree plot should be more refined. However, I love that starting out the game doesn't pull any punches. There's a town, but it's swarming with enemies; which is awesome. It's like the game it's going to bog you down with silly narrative (aside from a village begging you to stop Gandalf). Some of it does feel incomplete - what is the mystery of the ever silence NPCs?

Originally Posted by bigred447uk

Because the d-pad has left and right buttons at opposing ends of the screen I find it hard to try and outmanoeuvre the mobs and I end up just slashing away with my sword whilst being able to do little to avoid the incoming attacks.

Combat is really unique; and apparent from the trailer in first post. To attack you have to face the enemy (none of that Zenonia "autoaim" junk). Instead of pushing a button that clearly hits to make an enemy pause they just keep coming with slight pushback. This creates a novel "fan" combat system where you have to repeatedly tap the attack button to sort of wildly blade them through and through. It's different and took some getting use to; but I really like it because it demands responsive dexterity.

Originally Posted by psj3809

Does it seriously have weird left/right buttons on either side of the screen ? No traditional d-pad in the bottom left or standard controls ? On screenshot 3/5 are those the controls ?

The third screenshot accurately depicts the directional "control pad" but there is an alternative control option to "tap." By tap, it means that you can touch the border of the four cardinal directions to move in that direction. Tap removes the ugly GUI.