Game Review

Graphics (n.) The use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses	vvv (Good)	Though it uses only sixteen colors, MiniRPG3 does orchestrate those colors beautifully. The worlds are drawn in a Japanimation kind of way, such that it reminds me of Sanrio or Winnie the Pooh combined with knights and other good stuff. I'm sure there's some Japanese movie that can better describe MiniRPG3's nice graphics. The demos look like frames from an animated comic book! Word bubbles pop out in the middle of the action and really give Rom and the characters some personality. The animation is also so smooth and full of frames that it is unmistakably the work of JawsVSoft.
Sound/Music (n.) The smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies	N/A	This game could have really used some snappy sound effects and music! Some of the battle sequences take an incredible amount of time and eventually my ears were unpleased. I had to turn on the radio or something just so I had a rhythm to keep me in pace with this game.
Gameplay (n.) The precision of control and involvement of character within its universe	v (Poor)	Finding all the items certainly isn't the tricky part; the gameplay here lies in MiniRPG 3's notoriously original battle system. You get to choose from three commands during combat: Attack, Drink, and Run. The enemy then randomly chooses a countermove to your strategy. Because this is random, there isn't really a lot of strategy involved with your choice. The result? A derivative Rock-Paper-Scissors game. While original, this doesn't do much for the gameplay.
Story (n.) The creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot	vvv (Good)	A love story (blush) that is complemented by cartoons and Japanimation.
Replay Value (n.) The timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience can be repeated again and again	v (Poor)	Way too much of the game emphasizes on gathering experience, which is a shame because the story and demos are fantastic... and the battles aren't very innovative or quick either. Overall, the speed settings in this game really hurt its replay value. Of course, don't get me wrong. Though there isn't much replay value to MiniRPG3 there is a lot to see the first time you play, particularly with all the comic-book style animations and demos. That's the reason why this game is so popular.
Challenge (v.) To strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought and reflexes	vv (Average)	The battles, though improved from MiniRPG2, are still too slow. And a lot of enemies have to be defeated to earn experience levels. Occasionally Rom has to find something between battles, but even then the location of the objects he needs to find are pretty obvious. Yet they always lead to difficult bosses... again, Rom has to earn some experience levels until eventually Rom maxes out and beats the game.
Fun Factor (n.) The overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure	vv (Average)	MiniRPG3 is certainly a step up from its predecessor, though it's still a few rounds away from becoming a QB contender. Perhaps the battle system needs to be a little more complicated... well, there's a lot of potential here, and the story was great. A series like this is legendary, and MiniRPG certainly deserves another sequel.
Players	1 player	Genre: Role Playing Game
Rating		To solve: 4-5 hours Final Rating: 12/35

Download

To download MiniRPG 3 (180KB), click here. wTo run this game, you must have any version of Microsoft QuickBasic. wMake sure MiniRPG3 is unzipped in the "C:" drive of your computer. MiniRPG3 requires this so that it can load its data files. wOnce MiniRPG3 is unzipped, run "MINIRPG3.BAS" from QuickBasic.

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The Highs: A better sequel, with excellent animation and better gameplay than MiniRPG 2.
The Lows: Too much experience gathering; could use a little more of moving the story along.

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