![]() More than mobility or combat, these games focus on locating key items and determining their single special use somewhere in the game world, and so it goes here. Knowing Bado grew up with the ZX Spectrum, it's easy to trace Mystik Belle's origins to the Dizzy series and its ilk, which remain largely unknown in the States. ![]() It's reminiscent of a certain breed of Western games of yore that used leniency to patch over dodgy design, like the life meters in so many Euroshmups.įortunately, the action isn't all there is to Mystik Belle in fact, it's more of a means to a very different end, which is its adventure game elements. So it's not hard, but it still doesn't feel very satisfying to go about tanking damage just because there's no reason to avoid it and doing so frequently seems impossible. Even in the event of death, you're just sent back to the beginning of the current room (the game states you also lose accumulated experience, but I never noticed any drain from my gauge). ![]() Note this doesn't actually translate to difficulty, as Belle suffers no hit stun or knock-back and has a generous life bar that can weather a preposterous number of collisions. The moment-to-moment action is also undermined by enemies and bullets that crowd the screen, leaving your somewhat slow character and her oversize hitbox little choice but to soak up hits left and right. Gaining your bearings is a little harder than it needs to be due to an early game populated with several similar-looking vertical shafts, the edges of which sink into darkness thanks to some omnipresent complex lighting effects-good for the game's spooky aesthetic, but not so much for identifying room exits without referencing the miniscule auto-map. Your move set is mostly limited to jumping and shooting fireballs, which are upgraded via a rudimentary experience system, and your progress is marked by unlocking additional abilities such as a charge shot and a double-jump, which then allow you to explore more of the game world. It's good to have friends in relatively high places.Īs for Mystik Belle itself, it projects the appearance of any other non-linear side-scrolling platformer (a Metroidvania, that is) with a design as simple as you might expect of a side project. As it happens, Bado has contributed pixel art to WayForward games in years past, so it comes as little surprise that they would lend a helping hand to bring one of his to a wider audience. Now they've branched out even further, filling the role of publisher for fellow indies' games-games like Mystik Belle, which they just brought to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (with stated interest in a Switch version, before you ask). In keeping with their rise as a driving force in the retro scene, WayForward have grown from an exclusively for-hire developer to an autonomous body capable of promoting and releasing their own games (digitally, at least-they got help from XSEED for the physical versions of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero). A year later, he released Mystik Belle on Steam with the same goals in mind-and here's where WayForward comes back into the picture. When that date slipped (as they often do), Bado put together a game called Ultionus to generate additional development funds and allow him to refine tech ultimately intended for Iya. In 2013, Bado successfully Kickstarted Legend of Iya, a pet project he'd been formulating for most of his life, with plans to release in 2014. ![]() One such outfit is Last Dimension, which is essentially the nom de guerre of one Andrew Bado. Without ever specifically setting out to make something "retro," they just continued making the kind of games they'd always made until that became retro-and in doing so, they helped create a model that's been imitated by many up-and-coming studios. Founded during the 16-bit era, they shifted to portable platforms once the console space went all-in for 3D fare, toiling in obscurity until pixel art became cool again. Among this crowd, WayForward stands out as a major player, as well as one who gave rise to the scene in the first place. I love pixel art and old games in general! Please send inquiries to years now, retro games have provided the go-to style for the passion projects of indie developers, owing both to their enduring love for the classics and to the relatively straightforward nature of planning and creating such games. Contributing author and lifelong Mega Driver. ![]()
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