Great Greed Game by Namco Reviewed by pikamom pikamom@supernet.com Save: 3 save slots plus an automatic save! Released: 1992 Works with: any gameboy **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: This is one AWESOME RPG! Besides Zelda: Links Awakening (which isn't really a role-playing game in the traditional leveling-up sense), this is the best one for the gameboy! It's quirky like Earthbound, with funky food characters and enemies. It's funny and tragic and everything in-between! What gets me is that even though this game came out in 1992, I had never heard of it until I read the two reviews here at DMG Ice. You'd think an RPG this good wouldn't be so obscure. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: This is traditional RPG stuff with a twisting story, towns to visit, weapons and armor to buy and equip, monsters to fight, puzzles to solve, forests and castles and dungeons to explore, magic to use, characters to talk to, some who join you for awhile...the whole bit. Liked: Everything in this game works together to create ATMOSPHERE! Hated: nothing **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The graphics are totally cool! The monsters look like food! with arms and legs and heads...and if you can't figure out what they are supposed to be just look at their name for a clue. They look like hams and puddings and grits and cabbages... Near the beginning of the game you're in an old record factory (what they used to put music on before they had tapes and CD's) and you have to ride on the arm of a giant record player! Sometimes the game cracks and flashes, or the screen goes all white for emphasis. Liked: In each world one of the five princesses will join you, and when you check the party stat you can see a picture of her face. Hated: nothing **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: I loved the music. In the woods it tinkles, and gets louder and softer. In the castles it's sometimes eerie. Out in the field I kept hearing this chirping noise, and I wondered what it was, until I realized it was the crickets! At one point a princess falls off a cliff, and you can't save her, and the music is just...so...tragic. sniff sniff. Liked: There are times in a dire situation when the music begins rising in levels, growing louder and faster until it reaches a fevered pitch. You can tell a lot of effort went into the scores for this game. Hated: nothing **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Everything is standard fare for RPG's while travelling around, talking to people, buying and equipping stuff, but the battle system is unique. What you do is assign magic to up, left and right, and heal to down. Start is escape, B is guard, and A is your weapon. Then when a battle starts you just furiously start mashing buttons. Great fun! You don't have time to sit there and look at your menu and decide your next move. Oh, something that I thought was a really thoughtful touch by the game's designers is that the game automatically saves after most battles, but not in the three regular save slots so you don't have to worry about saving when you don't want to. Liked: Parts of the game reminded me of some SNES RPG, like the funky characters of Earthbound, at one point all your gear is stolen like in Chrono Trigger, and at another point someone is singing a song like in FFFIII. At times when I was hit with a feeling of nostalgia but couldn't quite place it, after all, it's been a long time since I played SNES and there were many great RPG's...I'm going to play this game again. For one thing, there is more than one ending. Besides, there's just so many memorable moments that you want to go back and do it all over again. You ride a kite, a balloon, get thrown in jail, save a people from starvation (after asking for the last bit of their food! hmm...), climb mountains, all kinds of stuff. You get surprised too. I once talked to a pet in a town that said meow, and later it said oink. And there was a peeping Tom, too, watching the girls get dressed for a beauty pageant. I saw him, so when I was in the dressing room I peeped back at him and he went "eek"! Something that I REALLY like about Great Greed is the ending. It's long, I mean long, and you get to go back and see how everyone is doing that you helped on your journey. And then you are treated to a sound test, profiles on the princesses, and stats on the monsters. How cool is THAT! Hated: Once you move on to the next world, you can't go back. The story is linear. And at the very end I had to spend two hours just wandering around fighting monsters to get my level high enough to beat the final boss. **************************************************************************** Improve: I would absolutely LOVE to see a sequel to Great Greed, in color of course, with side quests, the ability to go back and forth wherever you've been, and for the game to progress in a non-linear fashion. RIYL: The Final Fantasy Legend series. **************************************************************************** Final Words: Why is this great game so obscure? **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ***** Graphics: ***** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: ***** Personal Opinion: ***** Total: 25 stars Final Score: 100% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: The last boss battle is in 2 parts, and you get 8000 experience points after the first half. If you are within 8000 points of leveling up, you will level up and your HP and MP will be refilled for the second half.