Random FEU guy, not actual Judge. Here are my thoughts using the Rubric.
Gameplay: The gameplay was pretty fun, I think that escape maps are few and far between in terms of objectives I’ve seen, so it was nice seeing it here. The Map it self was fun and provided a satisfying challenge, and took a bit of thinking on how I wanted to tackle it. This is the route I took.
Blue - Units
Green - Route Taken
Black - Enemies Defeated
Pink - End point
The units were pretty fun to control, Juliette and Alexander felt like they were on equal enough footing, with Alexander being able to take some of the heat off of Juliette before she’s able to get into position to soften the enemy, since most clusters of enemies have at least one Armor Eff. Weapon, Alexander was sent in first most of the time.
Ezekiel had a few good moments of use, since he was able to body block some of the enemies so Alexander can get healed and then can tag back in and due Ezekiel’s Skill those enemies would be debuffed so things can be swept up nice. There was just enough healing to make me worry but it worked out well so no complaints there.
I feel like Emma didn’t get to do much since she’s a non-combatant, I know that’s the point though. Her skill was nice I guess but it just feels like she didn’t have much of an impression, not good, not bad, just one of indifference.
I think that the ability to go for different paths is great and can spice things up for multiple playthroughs. I only played this once and had fun, I tried to take the other routes but got taken out fairly quickly, it’s might be a me thing though.
Overall I’d say that the gameplay I would rank as a 7/10 (Good)
Presentation: The presentation was ok, it felt like a standard FE Hack in looks and sound, I liked the mini-mugs they were pretty good, I think that the Color pallets are nice, and the sprites used were a good match for the characters. The music was ok, it fits well. I think how cutscenes were handled were good, I liked the intro sequence it feels more engaging than base FE, I am not sure what is going on with the Dialogue boxes but they seem different, I don’t really mind this since it’s different in a way that can be noticeable but not detracting, there are also instances of taller textbox. Once again I don’t mind just something to note. I’d rank presentation 3/5, it’s standard fare for the most part.
Also I think there a typo in Ezekiel’s Desc.
Story: The story is enjoyable, the banter at the beginning is good, and it’s set up works pretty well. I think the characters were enjoyable and they work for what was in the hack. The few character moments are ok, I think with the small cast there could have been a little more for Emma to talk about, and Juliette doesn’t have any talk convos at all. I think the ending is satisfying and feels like a good start to things if this gets expanded. I’d give story I’d say a 3.5/5. Solid Basis for a standard FE romp.
TL;DR Here’s my ranking
Gameplay: 7/10
Presentation: 3/5
Story: 3.5/5
Total: 13.5/20
