Posts : 78 Join date : 2011-03-05 Age : 27 Location : Florida
Subject: Lost in Shadow [Wii] Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:50 pm
Recently, I went to Gamestop just wanting something new. Its times like these when I find the best games. Example, Arc Rise Fantasia. Fantastic RPG (the Wii needs more), I posted about it in the forum a while ago. Anyways, about a week ago, I went to Gamestop and noticed a game titled Lost in Shadow, which looked like it was an RPG with potential, and it also had a 2D platforming concept to it. It seemed like an okay game, and I figured if I didn't like it, I had a week to return it. So I got it, and it's fantastic. It opens up with a boy at the top of a tower, and someone walks up and swings a large sword, and his shadow falls from his body, disconnected from the body. And you're thrown off of the tower, and rather a distance away. And you need to get back to your body.
But the interesting concept is this: You are stuck in the shadow world, you can only move where something casts a shadow. This makes for a fantastic platforming game. And you have Spangle. You move Spangle with pointing the wiimote at the screen. By holding B, you can search for things that can be moved in the real world, and Spangle moves them, which changes the shadow cast by it and may allow you to access something else or just change the world you're in somehow else. In other situations, you can use Spangle to move the light source which moves the shadows, or a lamp which swings back in forth, making the shadows constantly move.
Also, you get introduced almost immediately to the concepts of Memories and Monitor Eyes. You randomly find memories throughout the game, and they increase your weight, which is your HP in this game. Usually by .1 or .2 grams. You start out with about 3 grams and finding all 90 memories will likely help you survive. Killing enemies helps you gain weight back and EXP. Once you get enough EXP, you go up a level, and if you have full HP, you only get EXP from enemies. Monitor Eyes are necessary to complete the level. You find 3 of them throughout each level, and after collecting all three you can disband the shadow wall at the exit and progress further or higher in the tower.
Shortly into the game, you get a sword, and have to fight various monsters; or their shadows rather, as you climb the tower, and slowly a story unfolds. There's no voice acting in this game (as far as I've played into it, about 70%) and it's just a really fantastic game. The graphics are great (even though you mainly look at just the shadows) and it's just a really amazing concept and Hudson Entertainment did a fantastic job on this game. It got good reviews and isn't that expensive even though it's still relatively new. There isn't much music in the game, besides subtle background music on different levels. But when you do hear the music pick up, it's fantastic. I don't want to spoil when this happens, though. It thoroughly shocked me and I was just pumped and it was a great moment and level. Several floors later, it happens again and it was just as fantastic.
As the game progresses you can interact with the real world even more, and it introduces you to some moments of 3D platforming that work along side the 2D. It works perfectly, and the art of all of it is fantastic.
I'd reccomend this game to anyone who enjoys 2D platforming, or platforming in general as well as just the RPG genre; granted I prefer turn based RPG (Skies of Arcadia, Arc Rise). This is different obviously but amazing. It's a great and challenging game. I haven't had trouble solving platforming puzzles in a while (save a few chambers in Portal 2) and it's all around a fantastic and enjoyable game. I can't give it enough praise (excect for when I can't solve it and rage quit). I hope you can try it for yourself and enjoy it as much as I do.
The rest of this review is spoiler-tastic so I'll hide in case you want to play it for yourself.
Spoiler:
Once you get deep enough into the game you'll see very short 'cutscenes' if you will. But there's no voice acting of course so it's text over pictures. The opening and ending cutscenes had actual animation so I think the little scenes between areas (usually about 10 floors, give or take) could have been a little more than they were. But, as I'll probably address several times when explaining how I feel on this game, the story was very simplistic. It had one twist, which I will get to, and I think that made me expect more out of the ending and story as a whole, and when I expected that, I got disappointed.
But that's not to say it's a bad game, it's a great game, if you like 2D platforming. It has amazing gameplay, puzzles, a collection side of it (finding all 90 memories) and a simple story. It focuses more on the gameplay I think and the simple story gave the game more room to focus on that gameplay. I can explain the story in a few sentences. A boy's shadow is cut from his body and he climbs a tower to get back to his body. He finds himself saving the tower from this massive Shadow Soul in order to get his body back.
There are a few more details to the story which you learn from the little area cutscenes and the memories you collect. Mainly how they've made several shadows try this before and they've all failed.
Anyways, after getting to the top of the tower, you have to go back down and find 5 pieces of stained glass to finish something at the top- where you see your body in the beginning. After doing that you make a dark tower appear and you have to climb that. It's not nearly as long and it resembles the shadows corridors in the game. And at the top of it is the third time in the game you have to run from the Shadow Soul.
Personally, these floors that you have to run through, away from the shadow soul are so enjoyable. My favorite part of this game. The third time especially. Along the way you hit switches to turn on a light, which stops it for however long the light lasts. Usually longer if there's a lot of distance between you and the next one. Just being around the soul drains your weight/health. Something about running from it, and platforming for you life, so to speak, is just amazing to me. I wish there was a way to replay those, but the floors are empty when you go back. Only the creepy and adrenaline pumping music remains. And I can't hear it without running through and turning on all the lights, even though I know it's not after me.
And after those, the final boss was a little bit of a let down. You just fight the shadow soul, and after some of the puzzles, it was really easy in comparison. Through out the whole game, everything you destroy gives you HP, or weight, but the final boss's attacks shouldn't. After hitting you they stick to the ground and if you destroy them you get health and experience like every other enemy in the game. Considering you have constantly respawning spiders that do the same, I don't think was necessary. It seemed too easy is all.
And the ending was pretty simple. After the shadow soul is defeated, killed by light, the boy (in his light body at the moment) passes out as the man (never really talked about, but he's the one that removed the shadow from the the boy, and I guess runs the tower) brings the boy's body. The boy then wakes up and leaves. That's it. That is not acceptable to me. I mean, I don't know what else I was expected. He went to get his body, he did, the end. But I suppose I expected something else.
Especially after escaping the shadow soul the third time, you witness a cutscene, because you've reached the top of the tower and you're trapped there with the shadow soul. Then, the one and only twist happens, Spangle summons a door and opens it, and it sucks in the Shadow Soul and it grabs the shadow boy and Spangle does nothing. Just watches, and then the door closes after we're both gone and then the door disappears. And you see Spangle with the man who runs the tower. And I was just. Flabbergasted. I found myself yelling at my television, first, "WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU SPANGLE?." then "WHAT NO SPANGLE HELP ME." then "WHAT WHY WHAT HAPPENED SPANGLE WHYYY." and then you see Spangle with the man saying 'There is one more thing you have to do' and then you're in the second to the last area of the game, the Garden Labyrinth. The last one is the well, which is only the fight with the Shadow Soul.
So after playing this game, I really enjoyed it, but the lack of a really good story gets to me. It could have had a much better story than it did, or just more complex story, or something. I'd give it a 9/10, honestly. I enjoyed it, if you like 2D platforming, or platforming in general, it's a great game. 90 memories to collect, several challenges, several hours of gameplay. Great game. Not much else to say.
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Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:58 am by Laleccy
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