Free-Like
| Free-Like | |
|---|---|
| 7DRL | |
| Developer | Joshua Sigona (sigonasr2) |
| Theme | Dungeon Crawling |
| Influences | Friends, Golden Sun, 7DRL |
| Released | March 12, 2011 |
| Updated | March 12, 2011 |
| Licensing | Public Domain |
| P. Language | C |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux with Nintendo DS Emulators |
| Interface | Nintendo DS Gamepad + Buttons (Emulators: Keyboard) |
| Game Length | Medium |
| Official site of Free-Like | |
Free-Like is a successful entry for the 7DRL Contest 2011, being a roguelike that has large "Free-Like" dungeons to explore.
Free-Like was developed with the devkitARM toolchain using PALib for libraries that utilize Nintendo DS Hardware. While it is recommended you buy a homebrew flash cartridge for the Nintendo DS and use the Nintendo DS Hardware directly to play the game, it is also possible to play the game using one of the following Ninteno DS Emulators:
Desmume (Windows + Mac): http://desmume.org/download/
NO$GBA(Windows): http://www.nogba.com/no$gba-download.htm
iDeaS(Windows+Linux): http://ideasemu.biz/downloads.htm
Because the game loads all of the levels on startup, there will be a loading time before the game actually starts. The following loading times were reported after numerous testings of the game on the following emulators: Desmume (5.4 seconds) NO$GBA (1.9 seconds) iDeasS (5.2 seconds) Nintendo DS (1.7 seconds)
Expect a slight delay when starting the game on an emulator.
Gameplay
The game requires you to defeat Tropicass, a dictator across the land who does not play games when it comes to battles. You must find him and destroy him in order to end his reign of chaos throughout the country.
You start out with nothing, but soon find yourself defeating basic Fire Heads and collecting various items and equipment! This game has lots to explore and decipher, while at the same time very simple at its core.
The controls are as follows:
A is used for climbing up/down ladders and making selections in the menus. B is used for picking up items off the ground along with returning to a previous screen in the menus. Start is used for pulling up the inventory/cast skill menus. You can equip and use items in the inventory and cast skills in the cast skill menu. You can press Start again to leave the menu at any given time.
While I will not reveal to much about gameplay elements, as that is for you to figure out, here are two I will mention: -Skills have to be researched through experience and other means in order to identify them in the first place. While you may feel the effects of skills, you may not necessarily sense them or have visible sight of them until you master that element. -You have 6 various equipment slots. Head, Arms, Body, Weapon, Ring, and Feet are all the different equipment types. You may use one of each type of armor to create a cumulative Defense with them.
Features
-Large �Free-Like� Dungeons to explore. -Various Items to find and learn about. -Equipment Combinations, find the best combination! -Skills that you must first learn in order to sense them and utilize them. -Enemies from the easily skirmished to the godly untouchable beasts. -Simple Gameplay.
Wishfuls
If there was more time, this is what the author would have included. This information is useful for displaying what is not in the game:
-Saving/Loading feature. Right now, emulators have to save state, and DS users can only sleep their DS and resume later. No current way to save and load appropriately. -More Detailed explanations, more descriptions, more bestiary of course. Expanding the game is always a wish. -Gods. Never ended up adding spirits that affected the game over time, would have been nice. -Music. Pretty quiet this game here… -Better management of gameplay elements. (In other words, cleaner programming.) -FOV