After roughly 19 hours of gameplay, I am finally done
with Explorers of Sky. I didn't fully explore the vast postgame
territory as I initially planned, quitting instead in the early stages of Zero
Isle. Although my postgame endeavours had started well with a quick and nice
exploration of Mystifying Forest, things got rougher as I started progressing
through the North part of Zero Isle. Traps were overabundant, ennemies were
powerful and, cherry on top of the tediousness cake, I was not gaining levels
anymore. After 15 floors, I also started suspecting that Zero Isle would be a
ridiculously huge dungeon; a quick research on the internet confirmed that
hunch, which turned out to be the proverbial last straw that prompted me to
stop playing. I don't want my warm feelings about that game to be spoiled by a
frustrating trudge through punishing dungeons, so I'll wisely abstain from
clearing the rest of the postgame content altogether.
I'll abstain all the more so as I already had my share of fun while clearing
the main game. I certainly got much more enjoyment out of Explorers of Sky
than I had bargained for: I initially only wanted to get over my grudge and
give another chance to the DS instalments of the series, yet I ended up loving Explorers
of Sky even more than Gates to Infinity. Here's a list of all the
features that made this game so pleasant to me:
—The story was excellent and told in a very convincing way. From the mundane
beginnings to the unexpected plot twist, followed by the sudden discovery of
higher stakes and crowned by a sweet emotional ending, the pacing was
pitch-perfect. Talking about the emotional ending, I shed a tear or two while
witnessing it, and I'd wager that I'm not the only one. Cutscenes were a
precious few and judiciously dispatched while avoiding dialogue overdose,
making for a pleasantly compact and streamlined storytelling that never treaded
on the gameplay's territory.
—The crawling was pure pleasure thanks to a winning combination of good
dungeon design, lovely graphics and stellar music. Although the dungeon design
of Explorers of Sky cannot be described as truly clever or excellent
because of its randomized nature, it was still quite palatable: dungeons
sported a reasonable size, with an average floor size that gave room for
exploration without being overwhelming and a decent number of floors, and many
dungeon layouts displayed patterns that could be used to streamline the
crawling. The graphics were definitely finer than in Blue Rescue Team,
with a abundance of exquisite details that made every dungeon unique. Last but
not least, the crawling was crowned by a stellar soundtrack comprised of dozens
of beautiful and complex themes that caressed the ear without ever becoming
irritating.
—Spinda's Juice Bar, a.k.a. Drinking with benefits. This was the single
most awesome feature of Explorers of Sky, as it offered the possibility
to raise stats without level-grinding. Just give Spinda all the gummies you put
your paws on, and voilà! IQ increase for you, as well an extra point of
Attack, Defense, Sp. Attack or Sp. Defense for each Gummi drink polished off.
Even better, maps of extra dungeons can be found occasionally at the bottom of
your empty glass; that's a lame explaination allright, but the outcome is
certainly fantastic. I found two such maps, namely of dungeons called Serenity
River and Lush Prairie; I obviously explored them, and was rewarded by a couple
of boxes full of items on the last floor. All this awesomeness made me
completely addicted to Spinda's Juice Bar, and it was not long before I found
myself frenetically collecting Gummies in dungeons and buying all the ones
available in Kecleon shop before drinking them all at Spinda's—rinse and
repeat. Thanks to that juice abuse, I became massively overleveled and didn't
encounter any difficulty during the boss fights—including the last one, which I
wrapped up in a couple of turns. Juices are a Pokemon's best friend!
—The overall atmosphere was really lovely and soothing. I love mellow games
that are welcoming to the player and make them feel at home, and Explorers
of Sky was exactly that. This kind of sweet atmosphere was what I initially
expected to find in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series and failed to
feel in Blue Rescue Team, so I'm glad I could feel it in Explorers of
Sky. The settings were so enchanting that I even felt a bout of that gaming
fernweh I already mentioned in my post about Astonishia
Story: I wanted to be
there, to explore that world myself instead of gazing at it on my DS
screen.
And since I'm mentioning my DS screen, I can also say that Explorers of Sky
reignited my love for the Nintendo DS and reminded me how much I actually fancy
that system and its special brand of gaming. DS games have a visual style, a
sound, an overall atmosphere that are unique and instantly recognizable and
that I absolutely adore. I have somehow deserted my DSi these last months to
concentrate on my Vita, but I feel now that it is time to lavish some love on
it again. I have literally dozens of DS games to play yet, and I could use some
positive Nintendo-related experiences after my recent disappointments with the
3ds. So until my next DS game, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
2 comments:
Kumiko 28 November 2015 at 22:11
I told you the
post game could get really frustrating >. < Even months later I'm amazed
I could do the whole thing in one go, but as a result I'm putting off gates of
infinity and super mystery dungeon for a good long while.
You are totally right about the DS. I've had the system for 7 years now and I
still have a huge backlog of games for it, not to mention a lot of wonderful
games to replay (recently I've had the urge to replay phantasy star on it, but
I'm focusing on persona 3 portable instead. More than 100 hours in it and still
got ways to go). But its amazing library of games just makes the 3DS all the
more disappointin. By this time in the DS's lifespan we had so many RPGs to
choose from. Maybe the next few years will be better for it.
Isleif 29 November 2015 at 17:14
The post-game
in Explorers of Sky reminded me a bit of the post-game in Shiren the Wanderer,
which was also ridiculously hard and an exercise in frustration. I still very
much want to explore randomly generated dungeons in a Pokemon guise, but I will
rather give another try to Blue Rescue Team or wait for Super Mystery Dungeon!
The DS is the console that single-handedly got me back into daily gaming, and
it treated me to some of the most fulfilling gaming experiences I've ever had.
(Dragon Quest IX and Avalon Code, to quote only a few.) It was thanks to the DS
legacy that I was so well-inclined towards the 3ds at first, yet Nintendo has
managed to destroy my starry-eyed adoration in a couple of years thanks to its
stupid policies... And the lack of RPGs for the 3ds certainly doesn't help!
*sigh* Indeed, let's hope the next years will bring us a couple of good RPGs at
long last!
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