zigfried's Sylphia review

Wonderful review, Zig.

There's a lot to like here: your handling of the heart vs head issue stands out. And a Nick Evil shout out is always appreciated. Your final line rocks: "What's yours?" But perhaps best of all, is your nod to me: "For shooting masters, challenge is the primary factor that makes ultimate victory feel like an achievement...". It's so subtle--but it's there!

=D

But yeah, seriously, nice job.

I'm afraid now that any time I dish out unsolicited praise, people are going to think I'm trying to put down a disclaimer on the inevitable criticism. However, it must be said... with pictures, personality, and pizzaz, it's hard to beat most any Zigfried review. You know this is a solid review, Zig, so I'm gonna get straight to what little criticism I have. And no... that's not a disclaimer.

If this review had one area of weakness, it's that I'm not sure I come away actually knowing that much about the game. I come away feeling like I've had a good read, but in some ways your writing and personality took over in this one.

For instance, the first three or four paragraphs are spent on the game's miniscule backstory and then, a little later on, another two or three paragraphs are spent on talking about the joys of Greek aesthetic. The review also throws in references to a friend of yours and then ends by talking about the physical game disc and the game's worth.

After all that, I've been entertained. But I'm not sure I could tell anyone else what the hell this game is about except that it's a somewhat easy shooter. Maybe that's all there is to it.

In any case, I sort've feel like I'm criticizing gold for being too shiny. After all, you got me to actually care about a game that has absolutely no relevance to my life whatsoever and that I will never play. You do that a lot. I've got to start learning your secrets.

At the same time, I do think some of those paragraphs could've retained their personality and fun and been a little more connected to the way the game handles, rather than on what your best friend thought about it or how much it sells for on ebay. Especially with your finale being that the game was worth paying over a $100 for and is one of the Sega greats... I would like to have seen a bit more of the product itself and less of the paraphenelia.

That's an interesting take, Zipp.

What of the huge meat of the review, from the "Before Vikings" paragraph to the "Compile then" paragraph -- four of them in all?

It's a shooter, so we know we'll be shooting, and there is some rather tasty description of just what that shooting will look and sound like. How it felt for Zig to fly through this childhood fantasy of vertical shmupping. How wonderful the experience is despite being devoid of challenge.

Zig, I'm glad you were able to include the fun fact about how your original copy had a hole in it. I remember you and Ruder telling me about that a while ago, and it's pretty cool that of all the games it could possibly happen to, it happened to one that is very difficult to come by.

Masters --
Thank you for the compliments! You are indeed a shooting master, as your hard labor spent on Sol-Deace proves.

Zipp --
Based on your comments, it sounds like you came away knowing everything you need to know about Sylphia. Your entertained heart realizes it; your analytical brain tells you otherwise!

Like many old games, it is a straightforward concept filled with a lot of "this would be cool, and this would be cool too". I've written shooter reviews in the past that discuss mechanics, and I will do so again in the future, but such details would be misplaced here. The Sylphia experience is all about the atmosphere. I love the game because it is pretty and has great music. In a society that criminalizes "graphics whores", cheapens visuals by calling them "eye candy", and nostalgically recalls the days when "games were all about gameplay", it's sometimes hard to believe that many of the 16-bit greats really weren't particularly deep.

It is indeed a somewhat easy shooter. The imaginative theme, visuals, and music are what make it feel like so much more.

Felix --
I'm just surprised the thing worked... the sound didn't even skip.

//Zig

Well, I loved the review overall, so you'll get no further complaints from me. The review doesn't... well, I don't think I'd pay $100 for this... but on the other hand I'm fairly convinced you would, for better or worse.

And I do appreciate that that was, as stated early on, more the point than really selling this as a fine shooter.

You'd be making a nice little investment if you bought Sylphia for $100, Zipp. I think the going value tends to be about twice that.

Yeah, it sells for prohibitively high amounts of money now. Like, $200 or even higher at this point. If you ever decide to get into Turbo CD shooters for some reason, Gate of Thunder and Lords of Thunder are much better deals!

//Zig

Really? That's crazy. But, then, who was it here that showed that NES game going for, like, 20,000...?

To a certain extent, I see where Zipp is coming from. The review sputters slightly in paragraph six, where you mention "caveats." Somehow, that paragraph seems a bit strange at first glance. Probably because prior to that paragraph, I got the sense you really didn't care for this game.

However, the rest of the review recovers. The best thing you did is by connecting with your readers with the "children's picture book bit." That alone explained everything that apparently makes this game so great.

At this point, paragraph six made perfect sense, as did the entire review.

Gladiators were Roman, not Greek. :P

Good catch. They look like those dudes from 300, so maybe I'll call them runaway Spartans (which I almost did, except that Spartans were known for not running. ARGH, the historical inaccuracy!)

//Zig