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The Messenger |OT| Ninja in a Cursed World
- Thread starter Rogote
- Start date
IDK if you figured this out or not but it's mouse & keyboard controls, you can use left mouse button to attack. It's pretty comfy. :)
I'm finding the open part of the game to be a total nightmare. So much backtracking when you realise you need to be in a different time.
Yes. Finding all of the music notes is how you unlock the final area of the game. The green coins are optional collectibles that unlock whatever in the shopkeeper's treasure chest.
Its definitely not as fun as the linear part of the gameplay.
I can get my metroidvania from a ton of games. But this is the only one I know of that tried to emulate Ninja Gaiden.
Its still fun (for me), but it is definitely not as fun as the linear sections.
The boss fights were pretty amazing in this game.
Took me like 15+ tries to beat the last one I faced.
It was the fast devil dude with the horns, his name is too hard to spell but that was a tough one.
Curious that the others I don't even remember clearly.... They came naturally at backtracking in the last half. I remember of the ogres, the return to the underworld, and one in the first area, red leaves portal
I know that the devs are lurking around here, so I'd like to share some of my closing thoughts after having just finished the game.
Pros:
Cons:
That's about it, I think. Hopefully this somewhat detailed feedback proves useful to any devs lurking about. Overall I really enjoyed the game, despite having some very small nitpicks to make. It's definitely one of the best indies I've played on the Switch thus far, and I've played a lot of them.
Pros:
- The 8- and 16-bit art styles were wonderfully realized. While they aren't super strict in their adherence to the limitations of the hardware of those eras, they certainly honor the spirit of those aesthetics better than most retro-influenced indies tend to. Switching between 8- and 16-bit versions of the various environments never got old for me.
- The gameplay was consistently tight and fun. I felt like an agile ninja tackling increasingly tough gauntlets of enemies and environmental hazards throughout the game's generous run-time.
- The music isn't always great, but its highs are very high. While some of the tracks were a bit excessive in terms of tempo, others were some of the best chiptunes I've heard in a game in a long while.
- The story was surprisingly engaging! This was the biggest surprise for me, as the tongue-in-cheek storytelling approach and reliance on humor didn't set me up to expect much from the story. The humor might fall flat at times, but there are definitely highlights that had me genuinely laughing (e.g. the hat gag with the shopkeeper). And despite the humorous tone the actual story and context of the game and its world ended up being interesting and well-executed. The somewhat shocking reveal halfway through the game was a highlight for me.
- The boss fights were, by and large, all really fun and well-designed. They offered just the right amount of challenge without being frustrating, and many of them were visual spectacles. Their involvement with the storyline also helped give their fights some added context that lent them some nice weight too.
- I thought that the time-travel elements worked wonderfully from both contextual and gameplay standpoints. Solving environmental puzzles using time rifts was consistently satisfying, and it was cool in certain places seeing how things changed 500 years into the future.
Cons:
- As many others have pointed out, the Metroidvania structure of the second half suffers from being padded out just a tad too much. If it was easier to teleport to every major area in the world without having to trek through others to get there then the backtracking wouldn't have felt as frustrating at times. I personally utilized Hints from the shopkeeker frequently so I wouldn't waste as much time searching around blindly, and I think that's something that could've been improved from a design standpoint.
- Remappable controls would've helped make the game feel even better to play. Mapping gliding, jumping, and grappling hook to face buttons was a little less than ideal. If either gliding or hooking could've been mapped to a trigger or shoulder button instead it would've made a world of difference.
That's about it, I think. Hopefully this somewhat detailed feedback proves useful to any devs lurking about. Overall I really enjoyed the game, despite having some very small nitpicks to make. It's definitely one of the best indies I've played on the Switch thus far, and I've played a lot of them.
So how do you get the magic shell or whatever it's called? I get to the altar and it says that I should've gotten there a couple of years sooner, I go back to the 8-bit part and there's no way to reach the altar from what I can tell. What am I doing wrong?
return to the village, beginning of the game. The elder will give you a seed. Go to the two ogres and the cauldron in the past, plant the seed, in the future you will have the tea leaves.
So far, with the exception of the demon general and the quillshroom queen, the bosses have been enjoyable but way too easy (except for CC who is kinda jank due to the shmup gameplay not being very satisfying). The two mentioned were great.
The Matriarch is cool in theory, but reversing your controls do nothing if you can stand still. The first boss was actually really cool, I wish it was a bit harder. The arcane golem is all show when you can sit pretty on top of its hands and avoid most of its patterns.
I would like a hard mode, with some adjusted boss patterns to start.
Unless you're willing to do a thousand tries on a segment you need it to continue.
The Matriarch is cool in theory, but reversing your controls do nothing if you can stand still. The first boss was actually really cool, I wish it was a bit harder. The arcane golem is all show when you can sit pretty on top of its hands and avoid most of its patterns.
I would like a hard mode, with some adjusted boss patterns to start.
You need to plant it with the other plant in the past. At the top of searing craig with the two trolls.
There's no special trick or anything. Maybe you're missing a timewarp location that you need to take first? Do you have the map upgrade that shows you which rooms have them?
Unless you're willing to do a thousand tries on a segment you need it to continue.
I knew that was the entrance, I just forgot the line was for the one-way exit since uniquely that seal room has two exits.
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You have to bounce up to the top (this nearly made me throw my Switch when I first encountered it due to the issue where performance takes a hit after a long time without a reset) off the fireballs. It's basically like a set of stairs, but the top level of fireballs will not spawn on the first trip. You have to glide to the next cycle in order to be able to bounce off the top set of fireballs (there are four total).
Ok, my way was: cross to the rocky wall at the right, then jump and up with the flames (doing the wind jump after hit the flame) try to master the spin while floating holding the jump button....
Another question for this esteemed group: I seem to be missing 1 music note. On the screen it is the third one on the top row - on the actual music note area by the Prophet, it is sixth one.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
I don't remember what each one was on the board or the menu (I barely opened the menu). Give me a spoiler marked list of the ones you have and I can give you a hint on the one you're missing.
The way down to the altar is in the same spot in the 8-bit world, but there's quicksand there. Just let it take you in.
What is the prophet saying? He gives you clues as to where to go
Yes! Let the sweet embrace of the sand as it fills your lungs bring you to the brink of death. As the last remnants of oxygen are forced from your lungs and filled with the fine grains, know that you die in service to the Demon King and that your sacrifice means the death of humankind.
I remember being worriesd about everyone saying this game was easy on release day. Bosses can get quite difficult and some of the areas are quite challenging, you really have to master that attack jump technique.
You can cheese it a bit by using the glide attack to gain extra height. It's necessary to get to some seals anyway.
Yep, this one and the one in Turquoise (coincidentally the other area that the lag absolutely made the challenge impossible...a Switch reset and I finished it first try) I used the glide bounce heavily.
I think a lot of people were claiming that the game was easy after only having played an hour or two of it, probably. While the game never becomes Super Meat Boy-levels of tough, it definitely offers the player a smoothly escalating difficulty curve. Some of the power seals/medals are particularly hard to get to, and toward the end the game definitely puts you through some tough boss fights and platforming gauntlets.
Thank you!
The ones I have already are:
The one from the Ogre brothers when they kick you
The one from the Matriarch
The one from the Skylands
The one after the gauntlet in the Underworld
The one from the Sunken Temple from the Gods
The one from the Ogre brothers when they kick you
The one from the Matriarch
The one from the Skylands
The one after the gauntlet in the Underworld
The one from the Sunken Temple from the Gods
Looks like the one you need is:
...in the corrupted future.
You have to get the crown from the Demon King to power the back in the Tower of Time.
You can defeat the Demon King in the palace once you find all the little guys to rebuild the bridge. Then you'll have to go through a gauntlet in the future to get the note.
I just rebuilt the bridge and am currently in the Forlorn Temple. I have fully explored every other area of the game and unlocked the Windmill Shuriken. I assume I will encounter this Corrupted Future soon?
Updated my original post with two more detailed breakdowns, but yes, Forlorn Temple is required first.
No, if they were in the right patch of quicksand, you should sink down into the same path.
Already this metroidvania slice of the game reminds me of the artefact hunts of Prime games, only with a fair bit more new seemingly tucked in the previously traversed areas.
Not actually complaining because I'm a sick deviant who enjoyed that hunt.
Not actually complaining because I'm a sick deviant who enjoyed that hunt.
The game's good but I haven't fallen in love with it to be honest. I think I'm at the top of the
or whatever it's called. I assume the metroidvania part starts after I'm done with this? How far into the game am I?
As I said, good game but not Celeste or Hollow Knight quality by any measure.
Time Tower
As I said, good game but not Celeste or Hollow Knight quality by any measure.
You've got a couple more levels after that before it turns into Metroidvania.
So I'm a little stuck. I have to save the last little phobe dude in the Underworld but I'm not sure how to get there. I'm assuming I have to save
Any hints?
Manfred, who I've already found, but it seems like I need some sort of fire-related item to do so.
Any hints?
Thats not even half of the game ... I think. I personally fell in love with the messenger. Hard to compare with Hollow Knight that I also love (more serious and bigger/longer), but the sense of humour in this, acrobatics challenges, the twists in the story.... Very few games resonate with me this way.
the butterfly/bat boss, then the messenger woman of the mushroom forest.... she will be key to Manfred. However the dude in the lava it's another story ... (you need a certain item/ability obtained in a temple in the deep sea).
I already did both of those things before I found Manfred, but now that I think about it, the Necromancer's Staff gave me dialogue as if I hadnt got the amulet the first time I talked to it, and i had to interact a second time to proceed. Could be the same thing with Manfred, but I only tried talking to him once. Guess I'll have to go back there.
Already have the item to run on water too. Thanks!
Already have the item to run on water too. Thanks!
Oh lol I found the little guy by accident on my way back.
I'm surprised how much the second half is holding my attention. I don't even particularly like what they're doing with it, but it's so damn fun to play, I'm keeping at it.
The idea of switching back and forth between versions to progress in an MetroidVania sounds like a level of hell to me, but it's been smooth sailing so far, and everything "path" is signposted well and it's never too far to backtrack to a time warp. It's the little anxiety from wondering which time to progress in when you could do both that does not feel fun, but it's been worse in anticipation than practice.
That's exactly what they're comparable too. The paths to the notes often consist of revisiting the same levels, but slightly different segments.
