RPG: Feyna's Quest [by Eldwood]

Game: Feyna's Quest
Release: 09 Dec 2002
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Eldwood
System Requirements: Pentium 200, Windows 95 or better
Price: $20.00

Feyna's Quest by Eldwood is an adventure game not unlike a cross between "Zelda II: The Adventures of Link" and "Castlevania II: Dracula's Curse" for the NES.  You jump and attack the various enemies to find items to complete your quests.  You also talk to various characters, who give you information to use or assign you to new quests.  Part of the challenge is just finding your way to the next area.

In this game, you are Feyna, a dark elf sorceress.  You find that the humans, once thought to be mythical creatures, have invaded the dark elf world and either killed or enslaved everyone. You are not powerful enough yourself, and the dark elf masters couldn't even stop the humans, but you want to stop them. And so you begin your quest.

The story has themes from reality, showing that games can be art.  You are introduced to the religion of the humans quite early in the game, and their rituals and words are very similar to real life religion.  It makes a statement since you have to consider the humans as the enemy when you might otherwise relate to them.

Feyna has certain abilities throughout the game, among them being the main attacks.  You have certain magic available, and their effects are different. For instance, one attack falls in an arc while another will shoot horizontally. Also there are some special items that give you certain abilities, such as the ability to breath underwater or gain strength when you attack enemies.  The game usually consists of trying to get through the maze of rooms or caverns in order to find an item which is usually protected by some boss.  While the graphics in a specific level are not varied, the different areas each have their own look and sound. The first area has a dark look with a gloomy sound, while the town has a gloomy look due to the rain and the general depression of the people living there.  The music is all original, and each area has its own tune.  You will basically be jumping and shooting magic while also making sure you checked each nook and cranny for the entrance to the next area.  There are even secret areas that exist, holding certain special items, which encourage you to explore.

In one area, you find that you must defeat all of the enemy ghost soldiers in the area in order to find someone's daughter.  Once you do, you receive the key to a locked door, opening your way to the next area.  The game is pretty linear, but there are quite a few side quests which take you eventually to your goal.  These quests tend to be for items for a character in the game or to eliminate some obstacle.  You receive rewards which help you, such as learning Fire Magic once you bring the emerald to the dragon.

As far as features, the game seems almost complete.  Namely the ability to add a joystick for input is listed but it is not available.  Other than that issue, the game itself seems well polished.  For instance, I liked how pressing a key during a cut scene will bring up some text at the bottom that lets you know that pressing ESC will skip it.  I also liked how the different magic in the game reacted differently when underwater.  The Fire Magic fizzled out completely while the Ice magic floated up instead of down.  The electrical magic was almost uncontrollable underwater.  It made for some interesting underwater battles.  The game boasts 7 chapters, 40 different monsters (including 10 bosses), and over 20 original pieces of music.

You can configure sound to be of higher or lower quality, and you can configure the video to be fullscreen or in windowed mode.  OpenGL support is available but not required.  If you cannot take advantage of OpenGL, there is a Compatibility Mode you can run the game in.  I found that this mode works well for my laptop which does not have a great video card.

If I had anything that I didn't like about the game, it is that sometimes it can be confusing.  I can find myself stuck because I didn't think to do certain things or go to certain areas.  Some of the areas seems so similar that you think you were already there.  Also you might not know exactly what to do.  For instance, eliminating the ghost knights before you find the waterbreath medallion is necessary to find the woman's daughter, but it is not specified when you get to this area.  A good tip when playing is to try everything! Don't be afraid to explore.

Graphics: 6 
The graphics and animations were not extraordinary, but I found that they did look pretty nice.  Certain effects, like the bobbing, dead fish, added a nice touch.

Sound: 7 
The music was original and the sound effects were good.  At times it was obvious what was a sound effect, as there was static, so it wasn't integrated into the overall sound of the game well, but generally there was nothing to complain about.  The music can get in your head if you're not careful.

Game Play: 8 
I found that the game plays well.  It doesn't take long to figure out the controls.  If I had to complain, it is the fact that the CTRL and ALT keys were used but the Windows key was not disabled. This made for some frustrating gameplay when you accidentally bring up the Start menu in Windows in the middle of your game.  Other than that issue, the controls are pretty simple yet powerful.

Options: 8 
I think that Compatibility Mode is a nice touch.  If the joystick support was added, it would really top it off.  Other features are pretty standard, such as the sound and video support.

Concept: 7 
While the game play is pretty standard, Feyna's Quest does have a compelling story.  The areas, enemies, and items in the game are varied.

Fun: 7 
I liked playing this game.  Once I discovered one area or secret, I wanted to find the next.  Also, I felt the story compelled you to discover more about what was happening in the game and how it would turn out in the end.

Overall: 7 
While the game itself wasn't incredibly innovative, I do think that it was generally a good and fun game to play.
Added: May 2nd 2003
Reviewer: Gianfranco Berardi
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