Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:28 am
Simple, yet Elegant
It took me awhile to get around to playing this game. At first I was turned off by the graphics, and reviews that said it was basically just an RPG Maker-type game. I will admit the graphics and the menus in the game are not much to look at - however, I found the game itself to be incredibly rewarding.
About the Game
Eve of the Genesis is really quite simple in all aspects - graphics, battle system, story, skill growth, dungeons, etc. There are no side quests, no difficult puzzles to solve, no shocking plot twists. It's a very linear game, and while some people may not like that, in this game I find that it actually works quite well.
In my opinion, the game works because everything is so simple and basic. It's easy to find your way around, to know where you're supposed to go next, and to follow the basic (but not entirely rewarding) plot.
If you were to compare the game to something like Alphadia Genesis, Revenant Saga, or Asdivine Hearts, you wouldn't even think it was released by the same company. However, taken at face value Eve of the Genesis is a fun and rewarding game - provided you don't expect much in the way of challenges or surprises.
Battle System
Most random encounters provide just a small bit of challenge. You can usually Auto very encounter, but in many locations you'll fare better if you use your skills and just the slightest bit of strategy. Random encounters are fairly easy, but some of the bosses are more difficult.
One thing to be aware of is if your party dies in battle, it's Game Over. There's no "try again" or restart from an earlier point in the dungeon - it's back to the Title, and Load from your last Save. If you're not used to saving the game regularly this can be frustrating, however the game will almost always prompt you to save before a Boss encounter anyway, so this shouldn't be a big problem.
The Story
2,000 years ago, the world was run by machines and humans were slaves. Humanity defeated the machines, but now they're starting to appear in various locations, and it's up to you to track them down and stop them from taking over the world.
The main characters are Harty, Effat, Clia and Viper. None of them are very compelling, but they each have a bit of their own personality. (But, in a short game like this, that's all you really need.)
As I said there are no big plot twists or surprises, but even so the story is enjoyable, and the game moves well from each location to the next.
Skills and Equipment
Skills are strengthened using Reinforcing Gems, which must be found in treasures or dropped by certain monsters. (You can buy Gems, but not until the end of the game.) There are more availabe skills than you will ever use in one play-through, and with no information it's easy to wind up with a bunch of skills you don't actually need.
Weapons and armor are available in towns or in treasures. Generally, each town that has an Equipment Shop has stronger gear than the town before. You don't have to upgrade in every town but you will want to at least check out what each town has to offer.
Side Quests
The only real "side quest" in the game is collecting ooparts - ancient relics that add nothing to the game, except that each one contains some sort of skill strengthening Gem. Some of them are hard to find, so trying to collect all 16 will add a bit of a challenge to the game.
Final Boss
While it's true for most of the game, the monsters are not a big challenge, the Final Boss is quite another story. Even at high levels there's a chance he'll kill one or more of your party members (save all your Elixirs for this battle, just in case!) You don't need to have a great strategy to beat the boss, but you will want to be prepared for a battle that could last up ten minutes or more.
After the Boss, there's another two hours or so worth of bonus content, which is fun but nothing really amazing. (Nothing like the bonus content in the Asdivine games, for example.)
Overall
Overall if you can accept that everything about the game is basic and simple, and go into it expecting a fun, casual experience, this game is very rewarding. (Unlike some games where it looks like there may be more to the story, but then the plot line falls flat, here you know there's nothing amazing about it, and the game never leads you in a direction where you're expecting more than what's actually delivered.)
I would say this game is about as basic as you can get, and still be enjoyable.
In full disclosure, I got this game when it was Amazon's Free App of the Day, but I would gladly pay for it. I may not pay the full price of $7.99 (given that other Kemco games are 2.99 to 3.99 on Google Play), but if the game is ever on sale, I highly recommend it. Even at $7.99 it may still be worth the price, if you know what you're getting into.
It took me awhile to get around to playing this game. At first I was turned off by the graphics, and reviews that said it was basically just an RPG Maker-type game. I will admit the graphics and the menus in the game are not much to look at - however, I found the game itself to be incredibly rewarding.
About the Game
Eve of the Genesis is really quite simple in all aspects - graphics, battle system, story, skill growth, dungeons, etc. There are no side quests, no difficult puzzles to solve, no shocking plot twists. It's a very linear game, and while some people may not like that, in this game I find that it actually works quite well.
In my opinion, the game works because everything is so simple and basic. It's easy to find your way around, to know where you're supposed to go next, and to follow the basic (but not entirely rewarding) plot.
If you were to compare the game to something like Alphadia Genesis, Revenant Saga, or Asdivine Hearts, you wouldn't even think it was released by the same company. However, taken at face value Eve of the Genesis is a fun and rewarding game - provided you don't expect much in the way of challenges or surprises.
Battle System
Most random encounters provide just a small bit of challenge. You can usually Auto very encounter, but in many locations you'll fare better if you use your skills and just the slightest bit of strategy. Random encounters are fairly easy, but some of the bosses are more difficult.
One thing to be aware of is if your party dies in battle, it's Game Over. There's no "try again" or restart from an earlier point in the dungeon - it's back to the Title, and Load from your last Save. If you're not used to saving the game regularly this can be frustrating, however the game will almost always prompt you to save before a Boss encounter anyway, so this shouldn't be a big problem.
The Story
2,000 years ago, the world was run by machines and humans were slaves. Humanity defeated the machines, but now they're starting to appear in various locations, and it's up to you to track them down and stop them from taking over the world.
The main characters are Harty, Effat, Clia and Viper. None of them are very compelling, but they each have a bit of their own personality. (But, in a short game like this, that's all you really need.)
As I said there are no big plot twists or surprises, but even so the story is enjoyable, and the game moves well from each location to the next.
Skills and Equipment
Skills are strengthened using Reinforcing Gems, which must be found in treasures or dropped by certain monsters. (You can buy Gems, but not until the end of the game.) There are more availabe skills than you will ever use in one play-through, and with no information it's easy to wind up with a bunch of skills you don't actually need.
Weapons and armor are available in towns or in treasures. Generally, each town that has an Equipment Shop has stronger gear than the town before. You don't have to upgrade in every town but you will want to at least check out what each town has to offer.
Side Quests
The only real "side quest" in the game is collecting ooparts - ancient relics that add nothing to the game, except that each one contains some sort of skill strengthening Gem. Some of them are hard to find, so trying to collect all 16 will add a bit of a challenge to the game.
Final Boss
While it's true for most of the game, the monsters are not a big challenge, the Final Boss is quite another story. Even at high levels there's a chance he'll kill one or more of your party members (save all your Elixirs for this battle, just in case!) You don't need to have a great strategy to beat the boss, but you will want to be prepared for a battle that could last up ten minutes or more.
After the Boss, there's another two hours or so worth of bonus content, which is fun but nothing really amazing. (Nothing like the bonus content in the Asdivine games, for example.)
Overall
Overall if you can accept that everything about the game is basic and simple, and go into it expecting a fun, casual experience, this game is very rewarding. (Unlike some games where it looks like there may be more to the story, but then the plot line falls flat, here you know there's nothing amazing about it, and the game never leads you in a direction where you're expecting more than what's actually delivered.)
I would say this game is about as basic as you can get, and still be enjoyable.
In full disclosure, I got this game when it was Amazon's Free App of the Day, but I would gladly pay for it. I may not pay the full price of $7.99 (given that other Kemco games are 2.99 to 3.99 on Google Play), but if the game is ever on sale, I highly recommend it. Even at $7.99 it may still be worth the price, if you know what you're getting into.