Well, I did explore the engine sectors and their aging crystals but I then drank from the fountain of youth and did not notice any effect for some time (long enough to finish at least two dungeons). I decided to get a Seashell of Serenity, went to the remote island and slept there for a few days waiting for the right moment. I then went straight to the Nymph and afterwards to Princess Trueberry. That's when I realized the stats were off.
It angered me, but luckily it did not matter in the end. I had already cleared most of the pyramids, so when I entered for the final time I only had to fight a few Terminator and voila, off to the next adventure. So yeah, a rather disappointing ending for the game.
Now that I have finished it, walked the dog, lit the stove and opened a beer, on to a few remarks :
The bad (gonna be long but I need to vent) :
- I greatly enjoyed most of the game, before getting bored by the end. Too much width and not enough depth. Apart from the big main island, all places are empty and boring to explore. Special award for the swamps and their quicksands actively punishing moving around an already tedious place. Dungeons are of a nice variety of layout, fauna and puzzles, but after a dozen or so the lookalike visuals and repetitive fighting started to get old.
- Problem is the second part of the game stops being rewarding. You know what to do, what dungeons are looking like and what kind of challenge you can expect, you can go anywhere but slowly it is getting repetitive. First issue I found is that leveling loses its meaning when you start to collect the orbs of power. One moment you fight each mob for the XP to get to a new level, next moment you deliver orbs by the truck and literally get a new level every five minutes. And while it did matter once whether you were level 5 or level 6, there is no difference between level 68 or 117. Both are sufficient to finish the game without any challenge and one-round kill 95% of monsters.
- Second issue is the terrible horrible fucking awful inventory and item system. Really. In the beginning it is a minor annoyance, having to order items around a lot. By the end, when inventories become crowded with high-level armor and quest objects, it becomes a real pain. Not only because this UI part sucks, but because the game showers you all the time in items. 90% of which are trash, like the leather rings in the beginning that actually lower your AC, the other 10% being armor and magic items only useful for a no-magic party, plus the chance finding of some actually useful stuff.
- Both the XP and items shower ultimately make exploration moot. Why would I want to explore a new place if it only means more objects to discard and more levels that won't make a difference ? There are some good ideas, such are the heads you pay to be remembered, that fall flat because the reward is more objects.
The meh :
- The stat system does not explain the ability of a character. Level does. A 3 everywhere level 50 knight will be way stronger that a 100 everywhere level 20. I never understood why my ninja was so bad at fighting compared to my knight, while she had superior stats and level all around. Holy Bonus buff greatly improves accuracy but does not improve any stat.
- Fighters are overpowered, wizards play supports. Druids are useful early and mid game as backup healer and to have access to the full catalog of spells. But its slot is not wasted anyway since by late-game my injured ninja could solo the Tomb of Terror so yeah, so much for teamwork.
The good :
- The UI is great (except for the inventory). Shortcuts are plentiful, coherent and easy, game is fluid and clicks well. Information is well presented, you have all data on your party, buffs, the world and dangers at one glance. Most modern software could learn a thing or two from this game.
- I like the visuals. Colorful, fresh, reminder of a time when fantasy art wasn't limited to "Lord of the Rings the movie with the saturation slider slightly off". It is quite charming, evoking the worlds we create when we are younger, where coherency and seriousness are less important than fun and imagination. Brown hairy orcs ! A princess cursed to be sad ! The Queen of the pirates ! Giant granite heads ! Ninjas in the swamps ! Witches with iridescent broths ! Spaceships ! yeah really, I must said I enjoyed it.
- As I said, I had a blast until late-game. It is always sad to finish on a bitter taste, but most of the game was great and challenging. It holds very well today. I do not regret the experience and will probably play World of Xeen later.
Bonus : my end-game party