Cthulhu Saves the World!

Cthulhu Saves the World! - $2.99 (comes with another game as well)
Time Played Before: 0 Hours
Time Played After Completion: 6 Hours

Review

Sometimes I long for the days of the 8 and 16 bit RPGs. Times were simpler. You leveled your character in the world and dungeons using random encounters and bosses. You gained allies, defeated foes, and looted and plundered your way to heroism and saving the world. I can't be the only one who miss these games. Good thing we have things like Cthulhu Saves the World to brighten those days of longing for the JRPG of our pasts.

 All the nostalgia is just coming back

CSTW (as I'm now abbreviating it, because it takes too long to write out, though because of this explanation of such, I may have made it a moot point) brings back all the memories of early final fantasies and games like chrono trigger. It's all typical old school JRPG fashion, so I'm not going into too much detail about the specifics, but lets just say, CSTW does it right, characters are memorable, the battles are difficult unless you over level, bosses are epic and the story is both hilarious and awesomely cliche.

Damn you narrator and your narrating ways!

I've never actually read any of H.P. Lovecraft's works surrounding The Ancient Ones, but I knew enough to get me along. You play as Cthulhu, who has been stripped of all his powers. The only way to get the powers of insanity back, is to become a true hero. Unfortunately for our squid faced friend, because he is so evil, this will be no small task. He completes tasks both menial and world saving to gain his powers back. I won't go into too much detail, but lets just say the story actually had me laughing out loud not long after the game was loaded. The dialog is just fantastic. My only problem is we never learned who stripped his powers away, we only see a cloaked man on a hill as Cthulhu rises. We never learn why or get revenge on this hooded do-gooder.

Always driving the ladies insane

The cast of characters are quite varied. You keep 4 in a party, and end up with 7 by just following the main storyline, with an 8th hidden in a secret dungeon, obtaining him after you beat him, and he's easily the most difficult fight in the game. For all I know there could be more characters, but I searched the map pretty well. From Cthulhu, to his groupie Umi, to a talking space cat. All is represented in CSTW. I really didn't dislike any of the characters, though I ended up falling into the typical JRPG spectrum with two direct damage dealers, a black mage of sorts and a healer. I could see using any of the group to fight though.

I wonder what an Elder God would name his pet squid..

The sound is great. Music brought me right back to my days of sitting on the floor of my bedroom playing Final Fantasy on my tiny television. The graphics are likewise. Don't come into this expecting new school graphics. This is purely 8 and 16 bit beauty at its finest. The world is well mapped out and towns aren't easy to be lost in. Dungeons on the other hand, tend to be sprawling, with no map system in place. Forks leading different directions are everywhere, and while some dead ends hold sweet sweet loot, many are just that: dead ends. When you near a staircase torches begin to show you're on the right track, but with random encounters, I don't really think the need for the vastness was really necessary. Though, each dungeon does have a set number of random encounters, after that, you're done. You can go into the menu and choose to fight though, allowing you to level up before a particularly nasty boss or two.

Each level up gives you two choices, usually a selection of AOE spell or direct damage spell or stats, along with a paltry addition to your hp and mp. I got my Cthulhu up to 45, and after 40 it seemed spells and techniques were done. It was the same two choices between +15 to stats or +30 to hp and mp, but the game should be completed near that time anyways, so it doesn't really matter.

It is a short adventure, and is never really that hard. It took me almost 7 hours to complete, finding most of the best loot in each dungeon and completing all the secret dungeons I could find. It suits the game well though. This was never meant to be one of those 100+ hours of JRPG gaming. It's an excellent condensed game, which I appreciate, as I don't have the patience anymore to grind endlessly to 99.

Once the game is finished, it opens up a slew of bonus modes. These include a time attack against the bosses with an under leveled party, the adventure again but heavily modified and using different dialog and characters, and a mode called Highlander, which gives you only 1 party member but boosted EXP. These modes are sure to entertain anybody who really enjoyed the game.

All I can say is, for $2.99, if you are at all a fan of old school JRPGs, go buy this. It comes with Breath of Death VII, another game by the same guy, with all the trappings of old schoolness too. I really can't wait to roll that one, because if it's even half as good as CSTW, I can't be disappointed.

And I you Cthulhu, and I you.

Final Verdict:

Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Story: 9/10
Replay: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

You really can't go wrong at $2.99, and it regularly goes on sale for 67% off, making it only $0.99 for both the games. If you ever get that itch for the old school but with some great comedy, give Cthulhu Saves the World a try. You're not going to regret it.

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And now, a new spin. Drum roll please...
Guild Wars...but I have played it to death, just not on Steam. I deem another spin is necessary..
Faerie Solitaire..interesting. Review to be posted soon.

As for Victoria II, my tiny nation of Sokoto hasn't done much, besides beginning to research some cultural technologies. Even after the tutorial, I'm still trying to learn everything. I really hope I can finish it up by the end of January, but we'll see.