レビュー

• Schanesswa

  Jan 17, 2023

  no :(
• gamedeal user

  Jan 25, 2018

  It's really pretty, it's hilarious, it's got great music (an original and arranged soundtrack, in fact), and the gameplay is thoroughly decent!...yeah ok you're probably playing it mainly for the first three things. It's Zwei!! For the price you can't go wrong.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 26, 2018

  Played it in Japanese initially, thought they would never localize it. 15+ years later, they did. Thanks
• gamedeal user

  Jan 30, 2018

  [b][h1]A pun a day keeps the Demon Lord away! (featuring Adol from the Ys series)[/h1][/b] You might have heard of this game's release if you're into Nihon Falcom's game library. Way back in 2001, the developer made Zwei!! to break out of making (mostly) remakes of their Japanese PC classics. So right around when they released Ys I & II Complete, which you can buy today on Steam (as Ys I & II Chronicles+), they put out Zwei: The Arges Adventure to mark a return to unique, story-driven, hardcore but accessible ARPG goodness. While most know the company's larger modern franchises—Trails, Ys, and Xanadu—niche series like Brandish and, of course, Zwei deserve to step out into the spotlight and enjoy much-needed attention. As part of their mission to outdo themselves with localizing one Falcom title after another, XSEED's done as great a job of updating Zwei for modern Windows players as is possible. Zwei: The Arges Adventure (formerly Zwei!!, now just Zwei: AA) can't deny its age, nor its roughness as a game, but it's quite enjoyable and an important part of Falcom's history which I encourage Trails and Ys fans to try! You'll find a motley assortment of classic, tricky dungeon-crawling adventure, fast and simple action mechanics, and a richly-produced world full of bonkers characters and secrets galore. The adventure's not too short and not too long, featuring the origins of Falcom's modern approach to dungeon-crawling, boss fight design, and thorough world-building used to revive old tropes. Above all, this game's in love with its sense of humor, its timeless audiovisual style, and its swift but sweet gameplay. It doesn't strive to innovate or break from tradition in key ways, nor does it reach the quality level of Falcom games released afterward. Yet it's earned a special place in my library as something reliable and unpretentious, that odd game with incentive to revisit. For $20, Zwei: AA has a lot to offer fans of old-school game fans seeking an inviting challenge, as well as Falcom fans who want to revisit a milestone in the studio's legacy or finish the series after completing Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, this game's standalone sequel. And yes, Adol's in this game...as part of one of three minigames you can play later on. I'd say it's a VIP cameo. [b][i]Fancy data time![/i][/b] [table][tr] [th]Average time to finish[/th] [th]20 to 30 hours, depends on time you take to start and then optional content before final boss[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]Difficulty (relative to games in genre)[/th] [th]Medium-tier: game expects fast, sustained movement in small areas during combat; bosses are tough and can take up to several attempts at most; some parts of story progression are obscure to figure out[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th](Non)-Linearity and character building[/th] [th]Early on, game spreads next most accessible dungeons across multiple areas for some non-linearity; game's mostly linear with side-content to break up pacing; characters grow the same way, but you can use different equipment for variation[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]Repeat playthrough rewards[/th] [th]NG+ for games started via clear save: you keep your level (and EXP required for next level), stats based on level and equipment at final boss, as well as progress made with the Item, Character, Monster, and Score books; pet levels and key items do not transfer[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]Controls[/th] [th]Newly-coded/-designed gamepad support (works well using Xbox/PlayStation controllers), works well with Joy2Key or similar utility; improved keyboard/mouse controls, better for menus but usually worse for combat/exploration[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]Audiovisual options[/th] [th]Hardcoded 856x640 widescreen resolution (Falcom has no high-quality assets to offer for larger resolutions), 30 FPS (again, no reasonable way to fix without remaking the game), DirectX 9 (allows for external shaders); newly-included arranged soundtrack from PSP port[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]Content warnings[/th] [th]Some minor profanity and innuendos; plenty of (non-bloody/-gory) fantasy violence; flashy on-screen effects might increase risk of epileptic episodes (no strobe or sustained screen flashing however); game has some (fitting) modern memes, but mainly an onslaught of atrocious puns[/th] [/tr][/table] There are caveats to buying this, of course. You'll see a lot of potential positives and negatives within less than 2 hours, however, meaning you'll know soon enough whether to refund or keep the game. I recommend reading the next two lists and looking at videos and screens before buying, just in case. [b][i]Some positives:[/i][/b] [list] [*]Memorable, detailed, and colorful 2D art-style with good animation, a seamless mix of hand-drawn and 3D pre-rendered backgrounds and sprites, and a large variety of special effects [*]Highly addictive and unique music from Falcom's Sound Team jdk, available in its 2001 form and a 2008 rearranged soundtrack made for the game's PSP port; expect strong Falcom melodies but in diverse acoustic genres and styles, radically different from the company's rock and orchestral sound [*]Well-paced, hand-designed dungeons with a good mix of traps, stage hazards, basic puzzles, and winding layouts to keep you running [*]Combat becomes increasingly more fun and complex over time thanks to new magical attacks for Pipiro and Pokkle, as well as charge attacks based on combos and an equipment system to improve (and lower) your stats [*]Hilarious, charming, and subtle story taking you from the silliest banalities of Puck Village to the hidden depths of a historied floating continent [*]Nice diversions like the Pet Monitor and three minigames: Zwei Shooting (a bite-sized arcade shooter), Typing of Ys (a typing tutor-style game starring Adol redoing the events of Ys II), and Mona Mona (a block puzzler where you lead a rabbit to the top of the screen instead of clearing all blocks) [/list] [b][i]Some negatives:[/i][/b] [list][*]Some sound/visual effects and monster designs can blend in too well, making combat a bit unclear and frantic [*]Dungeons recycle the same art all-throughout (except the final dungeon), leading to repetition [*]Enemies act quick and only stay stunned briefly, but your duo gets stunned easily...meaning you can get overwhelmed and juggled around before escaping and strategically winning [*]Combat mechanics are a bit simplistic and lacking in room to improve; relying on critical attacks (to stun and launch enemies) and charge moves = lotsa breathless task-switching, for better or worse [*]Figuring out where to go at the start can be fun, but also easy to lose track of (unless you pay close attention to one-off lines hinting at the next step); game hides four optional dungeons behind cryptic hints and key items [*]Certain design choices are archaic and impractical, like not retaining items after reloading a save or not skipping cutscenes when redoing boss fights[/list] [h1]Quick-start guide[/h1] [olist][*]Talk with NPCs often, even before you go to church at the start. It's a big part of enjoying the script, but also helpful for hints [*]Get the pet from Hippolyta Hill ASAP. Your pet helps in combat, picks up loot, and can find items (and level up!) via the Pet Monitor [*]Pay attention to the in-game tutorial graphics. [*]If you lose a key item, re-buy it from Ramsey by the manor. [*]After doing the first dungeon in Pavel Gardens, head to the Level 02 dungeon in Klopp Caverns. You'll find the Master below with a minimap upgrade which makes combat a lot easier. [*]Ensure you have two Venture Wings on you at all times. You never know when it's time to leave a dungeon to exchange food or quickly warp to someplace else. [*]You'll do dungeons in the first four areas before encountering the first boss in Caiaphas Woods. Look out for the fishing lure in the Woods's Fairy Passage![/olist]
• gamedeal user

  May 21, 2018

  Zwei! Is a simple, cutesy ARPG made by Falcom. The primary gimmick of the game is switching between two characters, the physical-focused Pokkle and the magic-focused Pipiro, to get through combat-heavy dungeons. If you’re in a hurry and want a quick overview, pretty much everything about the game is good except for the gameplay, which treads the line between mediocre and messy. Two!’s presentation is good. The game was released in 2001 and likely didn’t have a very big budget (it is a Falcom game), but the graphics do a good job of hiding that. The resolution is low, but I can’t imagine many would complain about the gorgeous hand-drawn backgrounds. Character sprites have spartan animation, but are still detailed and cutesy enough to get the job done. Polygonal bosses have aged less gracefully, but they’re a small part of the game. The music is up to Falcom standards, it’s not as intense as something like Ys but it fits the breezy nature of the game. Of course this is all just surface level stuff, when you start digging deeper is when problems start cropping up. Unfortunately the game drops the ball when it comes to gameplay. The setup is simple, there’s several dungeon “hubs” accessible from the start, each with different sections locked off by various keys. The sections are level labeled to give you a general idea of where to go next. Reaching the end of a section will usually give you some combat upgrade or a key/plot token that lets you go elsewhere. Level design is very repetitive and it won’t be long before you notice rooms getting copy and pasted. Layouts aren’t procedurally generated but they’re generic enough that you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Most sections being short and progression usually making you switch up which environment you’re in keep the dungeon diving from getting too annoying. There’s a few basic switch and block pushing puzzles but most of your time in dungeon will be spent fighting. Combat is basic, Pokkle has a melee attack where he lurches forward and that’s about it, Pipiro can eventually switch between different types of magic, but switching is a pain and they’re just different flavors of AoE damage anyways. The camera is zoomed in close enough that it can be hard to see what enemies are even doing and the way collision detection works can lead to easy stunlocks in bad situations. There is one interesting mechanic in the form of the food system. Basically food is both your primary source of healing and EXP. If you save up 10 of any given type of food you can exchange it for a higher tier food that’ll give you less healing overall but more EXP. So avoid damage to avoid excessive eating and you’re rewarded with faster leveling. It gives the gameplay a bit of nuance where there wouldn’t really be otherwise. What will probably keep you playing is the writing, the dialogue in particular. Pokkle and Pipiro have a nice dynamic where their personalities bounce off each other. The plot isn’t amazing but it does it’s job and keeps itself light-hearted to support the funny dialogue. In typical Falcom fashion NPCs are all unique and have little stories that unfold as the main story progresses, giving you good reason to constantly talk to everyone to hear new conversations. So the game is a mixed bag overall. You have to ask yourself if good writing and charming presentation is enough to push through some so-so gameplay. The good ended up outweighing the bad for me.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 17, 2018

  Great game! Main quest is about 25 hours, and it has New Game+ too. Writing/localization is very good, it had me laughing out loud a couple times. Gloriously bad puns. Graphics look a bit pixelated sometimes (it's a PSP port from 2001), but that didn't really bother me. The art has a really cute hand-drawn/homespun look that's really endearing. The remastered soundtrack is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, it always cheared me up, especially the village/town music. Definately recommend it for $20 ^_^
• gamedeal user

  Nov 17, 2018

  I have almost every Falcom game available on Steam, and was looking forward to this game so much because I typically love XSEED's localization work. While the game is cute and the music is happy enough, I find this game incredibly hard to play. The UI in general is not intuitive. I had to look up almost everything. The smileys under the HP indicate whether you can do a charged attack, the multicoloured bar in the bottom-right-ish area indicates the timing for a crit (if you attack in the red area), the button combination of how the attack + charge button works, and more... If you're using the controller, B can sometimes mean using something or mean cancel, and A can sometimes mean using something or not. It's so easy to get the buttons wrong. Then there's the actual battling. The animation isn't easy to follow, the bounding box for hitting and getting attacked are not entirely clear (though some other early games had this issue too), and worse of all, it's *really* hard to tell when you get hit, so looking at your health is often the only way to know! That's not to mention it's ridiculously easy to run into enemies and have them randomly hit you from off-screen, so the only reliable way to know when/where enemies are is to look at the mini-map once you get the enemy detection on it. I can definitely tell you that it's not the age of the game because I am currently also playing Zelda: Link to the Past and enjoying that much more. I've heard this one is quite different from the other Zwei game, so I'll still definitely consider buying and playing that one, but this one I absolutely cannot recommend.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 28, 2019

  I want to love Zwei, but I'm having a hard time doing that. It's a huge bag of mixed reactions for me. Zwei looks great, but it was also clearly made for much lower resolution screens. Your two choices for playing this game is windowed, which looks crisp, but is also in a tiny window, and full screen, which looks a but blurry in comparison. The UI is also a mixed bag, with certain elements being huge and others oddly small. It reminds me (and, since it's originally from the early 2000's, may very well be) of a PSP game simply ported to the PC. The actual game is also a huge mix. I found it hard to find anything, be it the right NPC to continue the story or the right part of the overworld map to get to a playable dungeon; I respect that the entire world seems to be open, but I don't like that every area you can't access is simply blocked off with a gate showing that you need a higher level. Then there's the combat. It's... not good. You control two characters - one has a sword and zooms in on enemies when attacking, the other shoots fireballs, which also homes in. The enemies are hard to read and I often found myself losing health unexpectedly. In the end, Zwei is serviceable, but not fun or all that interesting on any level. My reptilian brain that longs for obscure Japanese PS2 imports wants to relish that we finally got Zwei, but my gut knows that I'm not really enjoying this and there are better ways to spend my time. I'm still hoping to play Zwei's sequel at some point (Also on Steam and localized, thankfully!), but I am disappointed that the originally entry didn't capture me as I had hoped.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 19, 2020

  I liked: + The charming and cute vibe - lots of quirky and interesting NPCs, attractively cartoonish visuals + The excellent soundtrack - some awesome tunes in the dungeons and during cutscenes + The masterful localisation by XSEED - no typos that I noticed, and the dialogue all flowed naturally, maybe a bit heavy on the puns though? + The unique and flexible level up system that requires eating food to gain experience. I disliked: - The floaty, unsatisfying combat - The occasional difficulty spikes, mainly in the boss battles If you love quirky action RPGs, you'll probably enjoy this. If you love similar Falcom games like Zwei The Ilvard Insurrection or Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, this is highly recommended.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 16, 2020

  Absolutely recommended. the game has a rough start, depending on how you use the starting money, and how much you could adapt to its weird combat physics. Like Pokkle's dashing attack, or Pipiro's slow magical attack. but once you get the hang of the combat and the gameplay loops and more magics for Pipiro, you'll find a delightful dungeon crawler that is filled with fun dungeons and engaging combat which adds up to an addicting gameplay. Coupled with gorgeous soundtracks, great worldbuilding, hilarious characters and dialogues, and you've got a fun-filled experience of a game. The game has shown its age by the lack of QoLs that results in a lot of backtracking, there's also a certain order you have to go through these dungeons that the game does not tell you. But if you're okay with that, then you'll have plenty of fun. Good game, play it.