Imagine a world where everything is an homage to the 1980s and the result will probably look something along the lines of Saturday Morning RPG. The game tells the story of a character who goes by the name of Marty who rides a hover board; see, everything is a reference. He received powers from a magic imbued notebook and now must save the world from Commander HOOD. The game is in the style of a standard Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) with turn-based combat.
Each episode of the story will go to some crazy places and introduce some wildly funny ideas. I wondered how it would all progress as the game went along. However, by the time the game had ended the only question that was still on my mind was, “was it really worth it?”
Here’s what I liked:
The humor – The easiest way to determine if you will like Saturday Morning RPG‘s humor is by knowing to what extent you enjoy the 1980s and references to the decade. The bulk of the humor derives from references to pop culture and life in the 80s, but even the most nostalgic players might find it a bit too much sometimes. That being said the humor does have it’s moments and can be laugh out loud funny. Various details scattered throughout the world bring a sense of uniqueness to each episode. The humor is always clean, much like the rest of the game, which works to the game’s advantage as it helps give it its Saturday morning cartoon feel.
Abilities – Another source of humor in the game are the abilities that are used during fights. They have great animations and really showcase Mighty Rabbit Studios’ skill with pixel art. Buying or finding a new ability also spices up the combat the first couple of times it is used because it creates a sense of discovery. It also offers great customization by allowing players to choose any five abilities that fit their play style.
Extra game modes – There are two game modes in addition to the five episode story arc: Endless and Arena. They offer a fun way to grind for experience and achievements. They do, however, require an affinity for the combat in Saturday Morning RPG which can get a tedious at times. The Endless mode manages to skirt this problem a little bit by not completely refilling the health bar and ability points after each fight like it does during the story mode. This makes the combat more strategic and gives it an added feeling of tension.
Here’s what I didn’t like:
Camera zoom-ins – For some inexplicable reason the camera will zoom-in on enemies’ bodies as they are attacking which makes it incredibly challenging to defend against them. It makes already difficult defenses near impossible to land and doesn’t complement the games art style in the slightest. The pixel art is pretty from afar and seeing it magnified doesn’t do it any justice. Little issues like these pop up fairly regularly during fights and it detracts from the overall experience.
The ending – The story of Saturday Morning RPG is segmented into five separate episodes. They are connected but each episode’s story can stand on its own, much like actual television episodes that used to air regularly on Saturday morning. Unfortunately much like the shows that aired in real life, Saturday Morning RPG doesn’t really end in any satisfying way by the end of its five episodes. It feels as though it ended just after the climax and while this may work when the next episode will air next Saturday it doesn’t work for a game with no more episodes in sight. Especially when the story was a fairly large aspect of the game.
Why? – After getting a little past halfway in the game I was left playing with a sense of wonder. I wasn’t in awe and wonder of what I was experiencing but rather I was wondering why anything was going on in the game. The same handful of enemies per episode causes things to hit a grind. While feeling of grind occurs naturally in JRPGs, it becomes a problem because between fights health and abilities are all refreshed. This leads to each fight feeling the same problem time and time again. Plus, nothing of sustenance ever happens which makes it feel like a drag at times.
Wrap-up:
The easiest way to determine if Saturday Morning RPG is for you is by determining your affinity for the 1980s. Everything is a reference to something and the more you can enjoy that than the easier it is to look over some of the issues with the combat and story. There are often laugh out loud moments in the game but these moments punctuated the tedium that defined most of the game. Doing everything in the game takes time and it’s a great game for children to be introduced to JRPGs. I do wish the game matched its Steam price point of $6.99 but for the right person $10 is more than worth the price of admission.
Score: Reader’s Choice
Saturday Morning RPG was developed and published by Mighty Rabbit Studios on Xbox One. It released on October 25 2016 for $9.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.
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