I'm a more dedicated indie gamer.
From the moment I had my own "Little Bully", I was exposed to video games. The 8-bit music and pixel style of the time now seem simple, but it was enough for me to play for an afternoon.
Unfortunately, it is limited by the pirated models on hand. At that time, I did not find The Legend of Zelda, so at that time I thought that video games were "one-life", not even saves.
It wasn't until I bought a GBA that I realized that the "Double Dragon" and "Ninja Dragon Sword" that I had played before were action games.
And the kind of thing I want to play that can be saved and leveled up is called an adventure game.
On the GBA, I was exposed to a replica of the gods: The Legend of Zelda: The Triangular Power of the Gods & Four Swords, and from then on began a true Japanese adventure.
For some time, the video game industry grew by leaps and bounds like a high-speed train. Mainstream games have also upgraded from 2D to 3D. At first, I thought it was quite fresh, after all, every year you can see AAA fights and big fights. But the more I played, the more I felt a sense of fatigue.
I'm not presumptuous about AAA games, I just think: too tired.
As these games continued to bombard my eardrums and eyeballs with magnificent soundtracks and stimulating graphics, I gradually became suspicious of my interest in the game. If I play masterpieces just to "buy, buy, play" and not for fun, then why do I spend time and money on it?
So for a while, instead of buying a blockbuster, I paid attention to some small-scale games.
That's how I discovered The Land of the Winds.
To be honest, I really didn't read the trailer or the brochure and think about it.
I just saw the discount, and then looked: Yo, domestic? So Hi +1 took a hand.
As a result, the game was left in my library for three days before I remembered to play it.
But I never expected that "The Land of the Wind" would be the most "Japanese adventure" I have played in recent years... Domestic adventure game.
The opening animation of the game brought me back to the "Ghibli era".
Then I opened the game and looked at it, this painting style, this music, I had an illusion of crossing.
Soon! I grabbed the handle and started playing. By the time I got back, it was already the next morning.
The gameplay is very simple. Just manipulate the character to take a pot to cut everywhere, and the little Lori next to it can occasionally put a big move to clear the scene. Retro, it has to be simple. If it is complicated, it is not pure.
As for the plot, there is a lot to say.
I read a circle of game reviews, and many players said that the plot of "The Land of the Wind" was very confusing. I think it may be because a lot of players only run the main line with their heads down. The game plot of "The Land of the Wind" actually needs to be understood through dialogue.
Just look at the surface, this plot is the story of the street uncle and the little girl who was picked up by the village chief and then wandered around in various towns, hiding from the "black tide" all the way and playing the boss. Fight all the way, and finally find that the big boss is actually Little Lori (the other side).
So after a battle between good and evil, Xiao Loli finally defeated the dark side, but also disappeared, leaving the lonely uncle.
A few years later, the uncle and the grown-up little Lori met again. It's just that at this time, Little Lori doesn't know him anymore.
At this point in the story, it is over.
Of course, the above plot summary is pure nonsense.
If you want to understand the plot line of "The Land of the Wind", you must first start from three points: "Kuroshio", "Mother", and "Solomon".
Kuroshio is a scourge throughout the game. In the underground city where the protagonist lives, Kuroshio represents an unknown fear. Everyone only knows that there is a black tide in the earthly world, so in school, the children hear that the earthly world is dilapidated.
But when the protagonist group sat on the "Charon" and arrived at the first town, they found that the ground was not as bad as the people below said. Compared with the dirty and messy underground, the folk customs here are more simple. For example, when I came up, I met a woman who confessed to Old John.
And the Kuroshio here is more real than the underground legends. Kuroshio is death and annihilation, and when it comes, the living life will be purged. And when the protagonist group gradually pushes the plot forward, it is found that the appearance of Kuroshio is related to [Mother's] plan.
Mom is what some people in the earthly world call little Lorithan. In fact, "Mom" is not only Shan, the former is more like a mother, her plan is to cleanse human beings and then create new life. So in a fission, the mother is divided into countless individuals and sent to all corners of the world. And the number 352 "Shan" was picked up by John and became the little Lori she is today.
This dark line also answers in passing why "Shan" can appear in front of John a few years later, and is not familiar with John. I guess this grown-up Shan wasn't the one next to John.
Mom's plan for human purges needed the support of some people, so she approached Solomon to help her complete it.
Solomon, the boss we've met the most. From the second city, Dam City, to the last city, Future, I was able to see him and blow him up every time.
In different regions, we see Solomon's age differently.
It is not until the protagonist comes to the "future" that we will learn the truth: it turns out that "Charon" and "Future" were created by solomon and his mother. The Charon train is Kuroshio's dispersal device, while the Future City is the beginning and end of the time loop. If we are to break the cycle, we must defeat Solomon and eliminate Mom.
Sort out the connection between these three, and then look at the plot is easy to understand.
Of course, if you really want to understand the game plot, it is still recommended that you start one. (Hardcore Promotion)
After talking about the plot, which is considered to be the weakest link, then the rest of the music and art, there is no need to say anything.
Four-word review: YYDS.
In the eight chapters of The Land of the Winds, players will see a variety of buildings and scenes along the way, from the underground city to the Future City. With ambient music, there is a feeling of returning to the GBA platform more than a decade ago.
The micropixel style not only does not make the player uncomfortable, but also enhances the texture of the game with 16bit music. The emotional rendering is also unambiguous, tears when the tears are tearful, and burning when they should be burned.
The plot that impressed me the most in the game was that after Shan and the dark side died together, John emerged from the darkness of the deep sea and saw the complete process of Xiao Shan falling from the sky.
The symphony of backgrounds, together with the deep sea, creates a montage of imagery. John's slow progression from darkness to light also indicates that Kuroshio's suffering is over, and the price is Shan's sacrifice.
These are the experiences that the game itself brings to me. However, since it is an adventure game, "The Land of the Wind" is also indispensable to the classic element of Japanese adventure games: looking for easter eggs.
How to describe the number of Easter eggs in "The Country of the Wind"?
A: Finding Easter eggs can even be a standalone game.
As a contemporary Japanese adventure game, "The Land of the Wind" is a tribute to the classic works of the last century.
The "Children of the Earth" that comes with the game can be seen from the cover alone as the third generation of the well-known RPG game "Dragon Quest".
The game console that the protagonist sees in a cabin is a game console launched by Sega in 1998: Sega DC.
Incidentally, because the previous generation of the console sega Saturn was too famous, and there were few follow-up exclusive works, this console became an unpopular model.
There are also Easter eggs that pay tribute to classic movies and television in the game.
First of all, there is Hayao Miyazaki.
Since some people say that this is the "Ghibli" style, then simply put the old man in the game.
When John escaped from prison with Shan, he saw a shortcut by breaking the poster. If you have a friend who often watches the movie, you can see that this is the method of hiding the secret passage of the protagonist in the classic movie "The Shawshank Redemption".
As the game progresses into the future of Chapter 7, players will enter a special scenario: Dream dock.
Directly indicates the genus.
Later in the game, we can see the Easter egg of Ghostbusters.
There is also a poster of Marvel's famous villain "Hellboy" Mephisto.
The biggest hidden Easter egg in the game requires the player to use his brain to achieve it.
This Easter egg is on the right side of the second floor of the Infinity Mansion in Chapter 7, and the player needs to attract monsters and step on all three traps at the same time to enter the hidden room.
After resting in the hidden room, we arrive at a new scene: the interior of the Children of the Earth studio.
This easter egg, also known as the "developer easter egg", has been a trick of the production team from the Atari era in the 1980s to today.
In addition to what I've introduced above, there are all sorts of weird Easter eggs in the game. These will require players interested in playing this game to explore on their own.
At the time I write this, I still feel that I am still unfinished, and even the excitement of just going through the whole process is still there.
But in the end, to sum up, we must not blow a wave of things.
As a player, I don't think The Wind Country is a very mature game. Compared with those famous predecessors, it still has many shortcomings. Since some players have pointed out pain points, it means that it still has room for improvement.
But for me, who hasn't played a serious Japanese adventure game in a long time, I really want to support the wave of "Wind Country".
I hope that the production team can launch a new work to make up for this part of the domestic game. A complete game chain requires both AAA to support the noodles and works like "The Land of the Wind" to enrich the game culture.
Hopefully, if we continue to develop like this, we will one day see "domestic adventure games" become a popular label.