The Insanity: A cold and bitter diagnosis
By: Temperance Studios (NAMKCOR)
Review by Starrodkirby86
It's always been arduous and difficult to start off something, even when it comes to writing a review. For the exact reason, I have taken the time to use the phrases here as a filler for the Introduction. There isn't exactly much else to state, unless someone in the psychiatry business, then, we might as well ramble on. Why am I even mentioning psychiatry anyway? Ah, it's to intertwine one into the next subject, which obviously as the Header speaks for itself, is about The Insanity: A cold and bitter diagnosis, a game that chronicles a session of a patient within an asylum, leading onto his life story (It is psychiatry after all).
As a game that clearly is short in length, the story needs to entangle the player pretty early in order to get their attention span to remain focused into the game. The player takes the role of Leon, who has many troubles throughout his life. I can't retort many of these episodes considering they probably contain spoilers. Suspense usually makes a story successful, and this is no exception. The storyline does urge to reader to go on, to unravel the mystery of Leon, from having a normal cheery life to something...more dark. Character development shows, but rather only for Leon, where the other characters simply have minor roles or their screen time is extremely small. As the game is divided into three chapters, the real characters that only appear in every single of the three would be Dave (The psychiatrist) and Leon. The rest of the people only appear exclusively for that chapter. It's such a shame, as the story should have done more for them, but wasn't exactly any new task that could have been done in the first place.
More of Leon's past gets revealed, but the player will never truly know how Leon got his sorry bottom into the Asylum. This is because the game ends only after one session with Leon and Dave, giving such a disappointing cliffhanger. There's room for a sequel that may reveal more of his past (And the fate now), along with the continual involvement of the other characters. After all, there are no small parts, just small actors. On another subject in relation to the story, there are opportunities where it is perfect for the player to interact in. NAMKCOR takes advantage of every one of them, and as the chapters go along, the player will realize s/he will get more involved with Leon's activities. The interactivity also gets more intricate as the chapters drop like a rock, from hide-and-seek to avoiding the spikes on a Chess Board.
The battling works well with Insanity. Now that NAMKCOR replaced Nick's TBS with the Zenith Tactic Battle System, there are no longer errors in regards to pathfinding. One of the worst flaws in the game has finally been eradicated once and for all. In addition, NAMKCOR has also gave graphics to every enemy in the game. This can prove to be quite an interesting thing, as a reason I played the new version of the game was to see the graphics of the enemies. The move over was painless, and maybe even better. Very little moves have been altered, so they still have the same effect as before. The difficulty is still retained, except there is now a sharp learning curve.
Not only does the enemy have a higher chance of winning, the game does give you a difficult moment to survive in. Leon and his sidekick Aaron are to simply put it compared to the other enemies, plain wimps. In order to win the game in the most painless (I use painless as a pun) way possible, you have to abuse two actions--Painkillers and Skills. Painkillers are the game's potions, and they're the only ticket of survival. Enemies will take such a beating on Leon and Aaron, opposed to the other side where their HP is drastically high, the best strategy is to play a game of cat-and-mouse; run and heal, fight back, get beaten up, and repeat. Skills power up the player, and they are also the Painkillers' best friend, since the more skills the player uses strategically, the less Painkillers s/he need to use overall. Do this for almost every battle you face, and the game has turned a little bit easier (A little bit of luck is still needed to win the battle, a Critical Hit on Leon or Aaron for example can ruin a whole plan).
The graphics work well with the eye and cooperates with the storyline. NAMKCOR can map the locations with a high level of skill. If he wants a secret underground Fight Club, he can definitely map it. If he wants a dreamy forest of pure ecstasy with touch of magic and mystics, he can definitely map it. The battle animations and character battlers are also very creative as well, as he uses the popular Gaia Online game to create graphics for his heroes (Rather, an avatar generator for Gaia Online). It is the first time I have seen someone use it, and in such a way that it does not get annoying or unpleasing to the eye (A graphical inconsistency for example). The highest drawback when it comes to the aesthetics would be the passability of the tiles. While this issue does not affect the game in any way, it may seem quite strange that Leon is able to do a little dance on the registration machine and not get kicked out of the Arena. Fortunately, NAMKCOR corrected this (Or most of) the problem, so it's not as much of an annoyance.
Music is generally a small category and is not taken upon with a high priority. Alas, I will still mention the audio and sound anyway. All songs do fit well for the atmosphere it tries to portray, and the music contains a continuity that reverts the player back into another state of mind when this song plays. There is nothing sub-par about it, along with any clichés known for an RPG Maker to insert with music. However, the battle music does get loud in some cases and can scare any unwary fool. But that's obvious, since the battle music uses an Electric Guitar most of the time.
Overall, Insanity is a great play at such a small length. The player may retry quite a lot, when it's the battle or when it's the endgame puzzles. The continued attempts remind me of the way-too common deaths in the game Shadowgate, and may be a frustration among people. However, as it is beatable in quite some time (Maybe a little hint would get the player all the way), the issue is minor. The length of the game actually helps it out; the player can remember nearly every event from the beginning to the end, and still talk about it well enough, unless their memory is too dry to recite out. In my words, I would definitely say to play the game, enjoy the "bitter" tea, and dream a little more insane tonight.
POINTS GRADE:STORYLINE: 9.5/10
Pros:
~Is not the standard RPG flair of stories
~Philosophical content used in a nice way
~Story isn't choppy despite the chapter dividing
~Attachment to Leon is there
~Suspense
~Small length of game makes remembrance of all events
Cons:
~Little to no character development for the other characters
~Cliffhanger results in no resolution
~Player will never truly know how Leon got into the Asylum
~Minor spelling errors (Surprizing, isn't that surprising?)
~Small length of game gets the player to urge for more!!!
GAMEPLAY: 9.0/10
Pros:
~Tactical Battle System works most of the part
~A lot of the puzzles are clever
~Interactivity is used at its most
~Actual use of Skills and Items, no negligence on that
Cons:
~Minor eventing errors
~Some puzzles are annoying
~Painkiller Abuse
GRAPHICS: 9.0/10
Pros:
~Great mapping
~Creative use of Battle Animations and Battlers
~Beautiful Title Screen, Game Over, and Logo
Cons:
~Some areas can use for more cosmetics
AUDIO/SOUND: 8.5/10
Pros:
~Songs are in the right place
~Sound used in right areas
~Continuity
Cons:
~Not everything is custom (Not that major)
~Guitar Solos may be out of usual
Personal Score: 9.5/10
AVERAGED: 9.1/10Ending with a quote: "You must be suicidal." :D