Super Mario Bros. Mega Man. Milon's Secret Castle. One of these games does not belong.
One of the earliest NES games, Milon's Secret Castle is pretty obscure today. However, unlike many great games that went unnoticed, it fully
deserves this status. The game may offer a bit of nostalgia for old fans, but it's never going to attract any new ones.
GRAPHICS - 5
Considering it's age, Milon's graphics can be charming. They are cartoony enough to give it a fun feel. However, even by later NES standards, they are weak. Bosses in particular look terrible, and doors often look like windows (and vice versa), making navigation needlessly difficult. Also, like many of the games of this period, the enemies have no rhyme nor reason - giant bugs, blobs, floating masks, and one-eyed monsters all cohabitate. Of course, given that this was the norm for games of this period, one can't hold that against it.
Milon himself appears to be dressed in pajamas and shoots what appear to be soap bubbles. A certain (coincidental) resemblance to Little Nemo is definitely present.
SOUND - 3
About the best that can be said of Milon's sound is that it is not always annoying. Sound effects in particular range from flat to aggravating
(especially the "take damage" noise, which you'll hear a lot of). The music itself is repetitive and uninspired. Considering the very limited
selection of tunes, you can expect to hear them all more than you could ever care to.
GAMEPLAY - 1
It's hard not to dislike this game. It seems designed to crush the spirit of anyone who plays it. Firstly, the controls are terrible. Milon picks up speed as he moves - an interesting idea, but it means that at low speed he is a tug. This also applies to changes of direction, which happens often enough to make him feel sluggish. Of course, the game designers also made your speed affect the distance you can jump, which makes jumping at low speed pretty much worthless. Milon's shots drift up or down, with no way to make them travel straight. His range is also fairly limited.
When damaged by enemies, you get no "invincibility" time. More often than not, this results in being struck multiple times, especially when fighting an enemy that can shoot.
Virtually everything necessary to beat the game is hidden. Since there is no way to tell a brick that can be destroyed from a regular brick, you'll wind up shooting blindly at everything you see. Even then, you may miss important items. Hit detection for destructible objects is poor; if you don't hit it squarely, it may not register.
Every room is populated by monsters, most of which shoot at you. You can kill them, but they respawn so quickly that keeping them out of commission is almost a full-time job. It's a necessary one, however, since just one or two shooting monsters can whittle your health down in no time.
Every boss in the game follows the same attack pattern, consisting of jumping and shooting. Needless to say, these fights are not very dramatic.
Overall 6.8/10
While the game has some charm, it's impossible to get past the horrible controls and frustrating design. It's difficult, but in that terrible,
I-hate-this-game way rather than the fun, pat-yourself-on-the-back kind of way. Again, there's some nostalgia to be had from this, but if you're
not already a fan, it's not going to win you over. It's best to just pass it by. Super Mario Bros. Mega Man. Milon's Secret Castle. One of these games does not belong.
One of the earliest NES games, Milon's Secret Castle is pretty obscure today. However, unlike many great games that went unnoticed, it fully
deserves this status. The game may offer a bit of nostalgia for old fans, but it's never going to attract any new ones.
GRAPHICS - 5
Considering it's age, Milon's graphics can be charming. They are cartoony enough to give it a fun feel. However, even by later NES standards, they are weak. Bosses in particular look terrible, and doors often look like windows (and vice versa), making navigation needlessly difficult. Also, like many of the games of this period, the enemies have no rhyme nor reason - giant bugs, blobs, floating masks, and one-eyed monsters all cohabitate. Of course, given that this was the norm for games of this period, one can't hold that against it.
Milon himself appears to be dressed in pajamas and shoots what appear to be soap bubbles. A certain (coincidental) resemblance to Little Nemo is definitely present.
SOUND - 3
About the best that can be said of Milon's sound is that it is not always annoying. Sound effects in particular range from flat to aggravating
(especially the "take damage" noise, which you'll hear a lot of). The music itself is repetitive and uninspired. Considering the very limited
selection of tunes, you can expect to hear them all more than you could ever care to.
GAMEPLAY - 1
It's hard not to dislike this game. It seems designed to crush the spirit of anyone who plays it. Firstly, the controls are terrible. Milon picks up speed as he moves - an interesting idea, but it means that at low speed he is a tug. This also applies to changes of direction, which happens often enough to make him feel sluggish. Of course, the game designers also made your speed affect the distance you can jump, which makes jumping at low speed pretty much worthless. Milon's shots drift up or down, with no way to make them travel straight. His range is also fairly limited.
When damaged by enemies, you get no "invincibility" time. More often than not, this results in being struck multiple times, especially when fighting an enemy that can shoot.
Virtually everything necessary to beat the game is hidden. Since there is no way to tell a brick that can be destroyed from a regular brick, you'll wind up shooting blindly at everything you see. Even then, you may miss important items. Hit detection for destructible objects is poor; if you don't hit it squarely, it may not register.
Every room is populated by monsters, most of which shoot at you. You can kill them, but they respawn so quickly that keeping them out of commission is almost a full-time job. It's a necessary one, however, since just one or two shooting monsters can whittle your health down in no time.
Every boss in the game follows the same attack pattern, consisting of jumping and shooting. Needless to say, these fights are not very dramatic.
Overall 6.8/10
While the game has some charm, it's impossible to get past the horrible controls and frustrating design. It's difficult, but in that terrible,
I-hate-this-game way rather than the fun, pat-yourself-on-the-back kind of way. Again, there's some nostalgia to be had from this, but if you're
not already a fan, it's not going to win you over. It's best to just pass it by. |
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Jordanv78 is Offline
| ID: 465351 | 586 Words
Jordanv78 is Offline
totaldramaman2 is Offline
| ID: 465362 | 37 Words
totaldramaman2 is Offline
Honestly it fits perfectly. This game could have been decent, but the whole thing revolves around secrets. I enjoy secrets in games, but they went WAY WAYYYY too far with this one. 
tRIUNE is Offline
| ID: 465869 | 21 Words
tRIUNE is Offline
