RP-Jihad 2000 - Tabu: The Mask of Delphin
by Skarab of
Circe Software
Surprisingly, Tabu: The Mask of Delphin is actually a lot of fun for being only a quickie RPG.
| You are Tabu son of Welkro. Polor, your homeland, has been taken over by the zealot Reichler.
His soldiers terrorize you and your people. You are an orphan; your parents killed by the heartless
Rheino guards. Your master, Lotus, secretly trained you in battle and tells you the true evil that
is Reichler.You eventually turn away from him and started your own family with beautiful Daema.
You believed as long as everthing was just good enough that you shouldn't fuss. But today you changed. Reichler, upon spotting your new bride, claimed her as his own and had his soldiers drag you away, kicking and screaming. It didn't have to be this way, you think. You vow revenge and prepare to meet your master for the first time in three years. |
|
| Basically, the the design is quite simple for an RPG. Sometimes it is a little too simple. Then
again, this game is a little easier to play than most RPGs out there. There is little confusion (altough
this is attributed tot he fact that there is very little to be confused about) and their is no level
building. Instead, this kind of sticks to the idea that if your wife were kidnapped, you would be too
upset to have to worry about saving whole kingdoms, trying to find some kind of missing rat tail or some
other side quest as in most RPGs. The goal is simple, and the game is straightfoward in that. This game is quite good to play for a little fun, but more fun can be derived from a larger RPG. For one week, the game was designed nicely although I found a problem. If you do not buy the Health Card, you won't be able to heal near the end of the game because Lotus does not do any dealings with you after you complete a certain missing. A pity, since the game is not possible to beat then. Also, the Inventory screen should be on the main screen since there is really no Inventory in the first place. You already see your weapon, so seeing how much gold you have and the possible other item would be useful there too. There are quite a few flaws, but this game was designed in only a week, so I am cutting some slack because this game was not expected to be huge anyway. This does not allow any of you programmers out there to think that I will give you a high rating for creating a bad game in only 24 hours! Scarab made a vow and this is one of the products of that vow. I am grading on a curve, but I am trying to be just also. |
|
| Unfortunately, the fact that this game was made in only a week kind of dents the scores
on a lot of the ratings, and graphics are no exception. The tiles on each screen are only 8 by 5,
leaving hardly any room to move about, which is fine considering this game doesn't let you do much
in the first place. There are only so many kinds of tiles also, ranging from the basic floor to
the walls. The characters look interesting. Tabu looked like a Ninja Turtle to me, and Lotus was a
Scarecrow. Reichler was rather simple looking, and just looking at Daema is enough to swoon any
man's heart...ahem...There are no animations.
The graphics were good enough to show what is there but not so good for an RPG. I suppose that is the important part, to be able to know what it is that you are seeing, but being that this game was made in a week, the graphics ARE lacking leave a lot to be expected. | |
| One of the main strengths of this game is the ease of play. Basically, the only commands are to
move in the basic directions from one tile to another, to heal (if you have a Heal Card) with C, and to Save and Load a Game (S/L). Pressing I will bring up your inventory. Once you reach the last part, you will be using
C and S often, and L a little less often. Basically, that is it. Nothing stops you from doing anything. You can't be blocked. Very simple. I think this adds to the enjoyment of the game. The only problem I see is not being able to heal in battle. | |
| Hardly any. There is no music, but there are sound effects. Basically, you pick up a coin,
and then you hear a ka-ching. Nothing else.
I didn't expect much in a week, and this score won't affect it too much since sound basically stinks in QBasic anyway. If this game was to have been a full-fledged RPG, some music and some sound effects would help add to the game play. | |
| Not much challenge here. This is a simple RPG, and it was not meant to be very complex.
The real challenge comes when you are fighting. Sometimes the Rheinos might get a few lucky hits, and death
comes quickly then. You cannot heal in battle, so you can't do anything but attack and hope you don't
die. Other than that, the game is so simple that you have to really try to have a problem playing
this game. Too simple for a regular RPG, and a little simple for a week. Perhaps a few more missions or items would have done this game good. | |
| Like I said, this game, for all its faults was surprisingly fun. I enjoyed it, and the
story was good too. There seemed to be no real challenge, but the survival aspect of each battle
I guess kind of added something. I expected a little more, but while I was playing it I almost
forgot that this game was created and finished within a week. Then I finished it. Still, I liked this game
a lot. Let this game be a lesson to those programmers out there. When it comes to RPGs, bad graphics does not equal bad game, keep it simple Stupid, and make sure you have a really good story. Ok, maybe not too simple, but still. | |
| A lot going for this game, but then it falls short of a lot. If you are looking for an RPG that has serious gameplay, I would tell you to look elsewhere. Of course, for the fun of it, I would suggest playing this game to anyone. This score is reflective of games in general, but for a very little bit of fun I would suggest this game. | |
| .zip file: 88KB download |