MSXdev'14 #6 - ZERO and the castle of infinite sadness

Ah, there's the signature Dioniso sound style again, which I really like but couldn't reproduce if my life depended on it.

Gameplay-wise, interesting variation on the "change all the tiles" genre. The game has a way of immediately forcing (or rather, "welcoming") the player into its 'rhythm'. There is a time-pattern in the 'traps' and somehow, I immediately tried to get accosted to those, and (to my own surprise) succeeded. Although the seemingly (?) random movements of the enemies add to the 'unpredictability' factor. I think this is a pretty strong point, actually (on the other hand, it can be annoying time to time).

The controls are a joy. Very smooth and responsive. But the fact that the gamescreen is 'reset' after you die seems a bit harsh. Although one might argue that it will only entice you to get better at the game. Another strong point is the possibility to set difficulty levels, but I don't really like the way in which the main menu is planned. Maybe could have been a bit more user-friendly.

Graphics are pretty OMG wow. Really really nice sprite movement, tiles, flow, animations, everything. Though I haven't found out yet what the floor/background scrolling thing denotes (gameplay-wise; maybe just to clarify where you're safe to walk upon), it looks awesome and almost unbelievable for a 48K MSX1 game. The game even looks nice when you're game over. Very cool visual effects throughout, and a treat to look at. This entire production oozes quality and dedication.

Side note: in my humble opinion, this game has the coolest title + back story of all entries.