6th-sage's Reviews

[Incident:009b RE]

Wow, this literally blew my brains out! XD Shame it had to be Deimos. Why him and not Sanford or Hank?

GabrielBarsch responds:

because sanford and hank are alot better than him

[Mario and the Penguin]

Yes, I did drop the baby penguin. Both of them, the real and fake. It was hilarious.

I think, like some other people, you took too long to get to the punch line and stretched out the animation unnecessarily by using a bit of filler scenes. The animation was enjoyable, decent, but a tad bit sketchy that could be improved a bit. And the video did lose a bit of relevance as Super Mario 64 came out like 15 years ago and it feels like you're trying to flog a dead horse or revive a dead subject.

On the good side, it was a pretty good angle to do a joke. And the music and sounds were intact and were on que, so I guess I have to give you some credit. The animation was decent. And it was pretty nostalgic to see some animations about Mario.

And the dramatic effect of Mario getting revenge kind of made the joke less funny. It would probably have been funnier if Mario gave the mother back her baby and then immediately took it away from her with an XD face and then threw the penguin off the cliff. Then proceed to take the fake penguin and throw it off the cliff, too. And finally, Mario gets the star and does a happy dance.

Good effort!

[The Muffin Man]

Very original idea with lovely artwork. This short flash movie clearly shows to prove that fairy tales and horror stories are the two opposite sides of the same coin. If the good guy wins, it's a fairy tale with a happy ending. If the bad guy wins, it becomes a horror story that makes you drench yourself in cold sweat. And this movie is clearly of the latter.

While disturbing and grotesquely detailed in gore, perhaps excessively so (which of course also serves to exemplify your artistic skills in being able to draw them in such detail) it is not the movies that leave you disturbed and make you want to smash your fist on it or run away and hide, but rather the ones that you smile at and gently put aside or shrug off and forget easily that fail to deliver its theme. Therefore, this deserves praise in the sense of being able to elicit such a response in the audience to disturb it. A movie that is either loved or hated are the ones that one can say have succeeded.

The ending and building of tension is very well done as it complements the horror theme quite well. The jokes and attempts at humor are slighty corny, but perhaps they serve to let the dark theme and environment stand out even more.

If any suggestions can be made it is that for all the best novels, movies, etc, the most brilliant writers and directors always make a meaning to every character or item that appears and emphasize them. Everything that appears in the movie will reappear again and has a purpose. While I understand the that flash movies are not hour-long movies or full-length novels, there are parts I feel could have been done better. On the controller, I've read dominos, swarm of bees, trap door #7, mansion self-destruct, etc. They may be cameos or just references to other themes, but perhaps you could have made some appear again? Also, the purpose of the VHS-bot was unclear. Clearly, he was playing a reading of the Book of Ezekiel, but what was his purpose? Was it to warn or was it another reference? And who was the VHS-bot and what was he and why did he want to help if he did? With that, it would have opened a new window of ideas and opportunities. Perhaps the boy could attempt an escape (give us a bit of hope and then snatching it away when the Muffin Man wins anyway).

Another suggestion is the "show, but don't tell method." They are far more powerful than just tell, but not show. Using your movie for an example, which is more powerful? Telling us the muffin man eats children to maintain his health or showing it to us? Without the poem in the beginning, try flashing us a few pictures, hints of his laboratories, some machines. Some bones of children. Screams. And then replay the movie. And the child is kidnaped, dies and eaten in a muffin. Then perhaps you could show us the poem then, in the end, rather than at the beginning and then we finally understand what is going on. Don't you think that is a much more powerful way than just telling us the muffin man eats children in the form of muffins in the beginning?

So in summary, let every object or character have a purpose and emphasize it. Show, but don't tell.

4.5 stars for the originality and wonderfully fresh, while disturbing idea. The last 0.5 stars will be reserved for when you perfect everything. Everyone has room for improvement and those 0.5 stars will be given by me to the special few who can surpass themselves and constantly improve.

Recommendation for film: Viewer discretion advised. Keep away from children except during Halloween. And perhaps those that are too fat and you want him or her to lose weight. Or if you want to stop them from eating those muffins that keep disappearing.

Gi-go responds:

Dang thanks for the giant review sir, I appreciate it!

I have bigger plans for Muffin Man, and I wanted this short to be a brief introduction to the characters and atmosphere so whoever watches asks the same questions you're asking. I didn't put anything in that doesn't have further purpose really. I never really enjoyed explaining things too much though, I like movies that let me fill in the gaps, so that's what I end up doing in my own stuff.

Thanks again, take care!

[Swords and Souls]

This is an excellent game with a lot of potential, especially for a (hopeful) sequel. I understand the game was made 2 years ago, so you may not get to read this, but I hope you do. I'll list out below the pro's (what I enjoyed), the cons (what I didn't enjoy), and suggestions.

Pro's:

Art Style: I really, really liked the animation style you went for. It brings out a lot of nostalgia from old newgrounds that I really enjoyed back then - such as thing-thing arena, Madness Combat, EBF, etc. The characters are memorably drawn and very colorful. And I love the wide array of characters and enemies that I encounter. I feel like I'm immersed in your limitless imagination of fantasy, world, and characters and this is definitely one of the parts where I felt you shined the most.

Music: The music really helps bring out the feel of the art style, world, combat, training, and interactions. I really like the music and would definitely love to be able to download it and listen to it. Especially the music in the overworld and in-between combat. It feels especially relaxing. Something I could put for studying.

Gameplay - simple yet effective. It was very addicting and while nothing new, it's definitely a classic that brings back a lot of fond childhood memories from early newgrounds that I enjoyed so much. When I'm training, I actually do feel like it's "actual" training for real combat, and I feel like it's so immersive and that I'm training as the character himself. The combat was a bit fun and I get to watch how my character fares against the new upcoming hordes. And I also enjoyed finding the little secrets in the game.

Con's and suggestions:

Now don't feel too bad. Every game has cons. Otherwise it'd have 5 star rating, and no submission ever whether on newgrounds or youtube has a consistent, eternal 5 star rating, though some of them have gotten pretty close.

Gameplay: yes, I really enjoyed the gameplay. But it does feel... limited at times. The training was fun to begin with, and then got really monotonous and repetitive. And as the reviewer below stated, the description said "5 fun minigames", but in reality it's 3 fun minigames, one okay minigame, and one bad minigame. And they all start getting a bit annoying later when you're grinding them for levels to get through survival. As for the main combat, there were only 30 waves, and while that SEEMS to be a lot, I got through the 30 waves in less than a day. And survival gets boring after a while.*

*Suggestions:

-Change up the style of gaining experience points and not just through combat, feeding the plant, or training. Side quests could be fun, if you implement them right. Doesn't have to be combat oriented. This could also open an opportunity to explore other lands and make the world more open and not just based on a single map. Other lands could mean different territories, different land, and secret discoveries. And it could make this game a lot more potentially fun.

-Add a story, not just "Oh, I'm training to fight through hordes of enemies". While fun and addicting at FIRST, it does get boring after a while when you're doing something and you don't know why. The fun from the gameplay like that can only hold so long before it gets boring.

-More array of allies, enemies and classes and type-advantage strategies. First, since there are both male and female characters, we might want to be able to choose between gender for the main character. Also might want to add strengths and weaknesses against certain elements. Adding some allies in your quest could be fun if you have someone like a sidekick or assistant to fight alongside of you. You could train "with the sidekick" and opens a huge array of minigames you could do with them. You could also develop special relationships with the said ally and get to know his or her side story, and they could help you in not just combat but in world discovery. Something to think about. Type advantages could also make the game a bit more fun. You could make the character have different classes, like magic (guns), tech (guns), warrior (sword, spears, etc). Elemental type advantages could also be fun. But don't overdo it. This game shines in its simplicity and easy to understand gameplay. So maybe something along the original triangle like water > fire, fire > earth, earth > water, etc. This also helps with the world-building I talked about before. And adds a few extra layers to the game instead of just "train", "attack", rinse and repeat.

This is a wonderful little game, and like some people said below, this does deserve to go not just on newgrounds, but you can expand to either Steam or iTunes/Googleplay. Yes it's that good. Just a few things I feel you need to fix.

But it's your game. Take what you want from my review, trash what suggestions you feel aren't helpful, and I look forward to a potential sequel! Kudos to a good game, and looking forward to the next game that I can call not just "good" but "excellent"/

SoulGame responds:

Thanks for your words, it's really cool as creators to be awarded by such a dedicated review.
I'm sending your compliment for the art style to Kuho, SoulGam's artist. And I'm personally very happy you loved my music, it's available on Soundcloud for free listening and I hope that will bring you nice grades for your studies!
https://soundcloud.com/argl-1/sets/swordssouls

I smiled while reading your cons part, because, one: I agree with all of it, and two: I've been working on those issues since 2 years now! For the upcoming Steam sequel, the training will be richer and will offer more depth as the game go. We're basically trying to make each training an almost standalone game. And no more shitty mini games like the critical...

I had fun reading your suggestions as well because, at this point I can't really go crazy with new addition for the sequel, but a huge part of what you mentioned is already in actually!
- A world map to explore
- A better town with more interaction
- New enemies, with richer patterns/abilities
- Male/Female playable hero and more customization for hero "class"
- Pets (i'm adding them right now) and Allies with special relationship
- New elements do divert you from the train/fight cycle. (like Fishing!)
- A cool story that will be kinda mysterious and discrete, not thrown to the player face.

I do hope do be able to turn that cool little flash game into a very cool little Steam game, that people will play to relax and have simple and honest fun.

Thanks again for your kind feedback.

[Simgirls (Full Version)]

I've been following this game ever since the first version of this game came out ten years ago. And I've been following your progress and ups and down since then and in all honesty, like many other great works that had on and offs in motivations, I thought this would be another abandoned half-completed great wonder for us to wait for in all eternity. But you completed it - you were a man of your word and you finished what you started. For that, I respect you. That is not something I say lightly.

The game has come a long way from the simple one-ending, one-girl game that this originated from. Now there are 5 different endings and and even more girls to choose from. You have added a lot of relatively fun and classic side games like fighting and racing. One of my favorites was the modeling side game. While the graphics are not exactly first class, I didn't exactly expect it to be first class save for the adult scenes. It is only a sim after all. Imagination, interactivity with the characters, and the simulation world as well as the amazing hentai scenes is what made this game enjoyable and famous. With that being said, there are a few parts I want to review and analyze to you in detail:

Characters: I like the wide selectivity of girls to select from and date. Their interactions with you the different scenarios resulting from different choices was fun. I enjoy how there is a shy girl, a popular girl, two weird girls (being Karin and Sana), your childhood friend, and your teacher to choose from. That being said, while some characters were really well-developed, like Tomoko (obviously, who was your first character anyway. I give her part 5 stars out of 5. No qualms there), other characters were honestly a bit sloppy. Kotomi was the 2nd most well developed character and I was expecting a more in-depth background about her other than her being a dancer who had flatulence problems and was going to Germany. For example, Tomoko is obviously insecure and has a broken family and trust problems and you even involved her family in it. Kotomi had no such thing. Ami is even worse. You have practically NO development with her and figure out nothing or her personal background until the end. Her only saving grace was the ending, but even that was ruined by Karin (see "ending next). That being said, she is practically the only and most loyal girl to you and I like her. Perhaps that's why I was most affected. Karin's character development was a bit better with her unique background from being in the future. While I understand this is a hentai game, this is also a DATING simulation where feelings and understanding the girl is just as important, which is why you also made a romantic, non-hentai ending for Tomoko, I presume.

Endings: This is another part I want to expand on. Tomoko's part was great! You made two endings for her and it was very well thought out! I liked how you drew out parallels in both hentai and innocent. Kotomi, Ami, and Karin's endings mingled with each other and I honestly did not like that. I preferred that you either did not involve other girls in it or have an option/ending for only one girl to be involved. I think you shared some scenes between characters because you were just being lazy. Ami's original ending from the previous version was very sad and romantic. It involved her and only her and made it a lot more personal and in-depth. I loved it! It was my favorite ending and I honestly did not know why you decided to change it to involve the other girls. Karin's ending was well-thought out I admit and Kotomi's ending was more romantic than Hentai. If you want to give Tomoko a hentai and innocent ending, you should have probably added one for Kotomi soon.

I think I ranted enough. While I may sound harsh, I DID give this a near full rating. I know that you were in a rush to complete the game and it made this game have a lot of holes. But it's still a timeless classic for new artists to learn after! Props to you for an amazing game! I really look forward to Simgirls 2! Don't take 10 years this time, though!

sim-man responds:

Great review. Yes I can't spend another few years to further develop this free game and I really need to move on to SG2 (don't worry it will be a full-time project, if I can get investors, or I won't start it at all). I rushed to finish the game so I could only fully developed Tomoko and leave other girls as supporting characters. I think Tomoko is a challenge/fun for me because I like to give some depths to a typical pornstar-like character who usually dies first in horror movies.

I agree with most of your points. I just want to defend Ami's ending a bit. According to the game story the player pays very little attention to Ami during the course of the game, so somehow I want to show the sudden change of heart at the end. It makes more sense to me but I can see how Ami's fans want a more "complete" experience with her. I will keep this in mind and for SG2, I will make sure all girls enjoy the same level of attentions from SimMan lol!!

[Epic Battle Fantasy 3]

Stuff to think about... and a review

To tell you the truth, I think it's ridiculously generous that you're giving the general population a game of this caliber for free, an outstanding game hand-drawn and custom-made by something like this should be sold not distributed freely. But because of how the sheer amount of effort, the sheer greatness of the game, and how much you've developed the game from the first Epic Battle Fantasy will not let my conscience freely give you anything less than a 10.

That being said, because you announced on your facebook and deviant-art page that you're making a 4 and 5, there are quite a few things that I would suggest that I would like you to note.

1. What to keep:

I love the humor and conversations that parody other video games, like how you made fun of breaking into NPC houses and stealing their stuff, the "Oh no a puzzle area, we're too stupid to figure this out", etc. Keep that. And you can expand on it, too. This is one of areas of expertise that I really love.

Keep the personality of the main characters and developing them.

Keep your imagination of the characters, the world, the setting and the plot. Keep up the effort and keep up the good work.

Keep the music artist or at least music from a musician the same level. Phyrnna (HalcyonicFalconX) is on par with your own talent in terms of music. I'm seriously going to buy a soundtrack from her after I pay off my medical school debt. (Stupid debt).

2. What to change:

Well... you've kept most of the moves from the previous two epic battle fantasies. Not saying it's a bad thing, but maybe you can consider thinking of completely new ones instead of making like... 80% of them the same?

3. What I suggest:

Separating the characters and letting us find them one by one: For example, there's a new threat to the world, and one blast blows up the entire land that sends Matt, Natalie, Lance (and whatever new character you may add) flying to different lands. They get separated into different places and you get to find them one by one. Not only does it allow players the excitement of uncovering and finding old characters along the way, it allows you the chance to mysteriously introduce new characters AND allows you the appreciate how special each and unique characters are. (For example, we get to appreciate how important Natalie's heal, or Lance's support attacks are).

Automated and Summoned Battle Characters: Lance conquered the world. And there are only three slots (one main character each). If bosses are allowed five slots, then why don't you let Lance summon say... super soldiers to fight alongside of them? Until they either die, run out of magic, or just last 10 turns or so. I'm also disappointed you didn't allow any of the characters to summon a dragon or a mythical creature like that (though cats are amazing, I'd like to see some more of what epic moves you can make).

Perhaps upgradable speed? You may want to consider adding speed as a stat, so that faster characters can use multiple moves in a single turn. That would be epic (more epic than your already epic game, of course).

Adding a sky setting? I've always wanted to see how you'll draw a battle on a sky or a flying ship (where the background is moving and the wind is blowing).

4. What to develop on:

Quests: You may want to expand on quests. I know they're annoying to some players, but they are also extremely crucial to having a fun time and are part of an RPG. You may want to consider making some of the quests much more complex.

Plot: You may want to consider a more complex plot. I love your style and I expect more twists, more turns, and much more storyline.

Art: Your art is already beyond what I can describe in words and gone into the realm of the Gods. But even I, a mere mortal, can see that you've only unleashed 30% of your full potential. You've got a whole life ahead of you. I want to see the limits of your talent. And yes you have talent. Natural born talent that only one in every ten million people may have. (I'm not exaggerating).

Keep up the good work, man! And... I'm out of words....

[Children's Overture]

In short, this is a hasty masterpiece that was perhaps a bit rushed in my opinion. When I heard the opening, it threw my imagination into a world of excitement and unlimited opportunities, and then from then on, it just rushed. I can feel the emotions and wonder and innocence, but it was perhaps too short. But then again, you did explain that you didn't have time as you were rushing it in for an entry into the Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch 2012.

I definitely can't wait to hear the full version of this song!!!

BlazingDragon responds:

I had two weeks to compose a piece for the contest but didn't have any ideas that I particularly wanted to stick with. The second to last day before the deadline, I went out and bought 24GB of RAM for my computer and found that I could finally run a full orchestra without my computer crapping out. Improving on my MIDI controller with a staccato clarinet sound, I played with main motif of this piece and felt so inspired that I stayed up until 2:00 AM composing. I was gone much of the next day about only had five more hours available to put it.

My desire was to make this piece much longer and smartly paced. I even brainstormed ideas while I was out during the day and wrote down the entire song structure I planned, but once I got home and started working, I realized there was no way the whole idea could be realized in such a short time frame. I rushed like crazy and ended up posting this three minutes before the deadline. There are several things that I'd like to change, but I'm still very happy with the result.

Thank you for taking the time to review! Hopefully I'll do this piece some justice sometime within the next two months.

[Rainbows and Unicorns ~P~]

This song is the definitely heart of Adventure Story, and you made it so. You made it upbeat, fun, happy, and full of adventure. I definitely appreciate your skills and efforts as a music artist and would say that I would definitely love to hear more of them. Every one of your songs, whether it's adapted or original is a beautiful piece of work that generations should and will adore. I would love to play this song and share it with my classmates and friends. If you could make this into sheet music, I would be able to share your masterpieces with everyone I know.

Looking forward to your future works! =D

[Dumb Windows Song]

Favorited it! Dude, you're a genius!

Well, if Vista was a horrible idea and difficult to load, at least it has adequate sounds. Whoa, how did you do it? 26 of all time? Dude, check your rank. You're #8 now. I'm going to vote 5 for this everyday.

It's not retarded at all. It's brilliant. Looking forward for more of your musical works! So what next? Windows XP sounds?

ErikMcClure responds:

I think its lagging, I'm way below #8 now :<

Oh god no, not winXP sounds xD Thanks though