Is Orange Island an RPG Worth Playing?
Former SEGA designer, Ted Sterchi’s latest development, Orange Island, is ready to give players a unique experience, with its graphics and audio conforming to the requirements of the NES. The new retro 8-bit action-adventure game is a single-player platformer game and is an RPG that’s worth playing.
The storyline of the game
The game’s storyline features a personal tale that players can experience, starring Theo, a teen who lands up on Orange Island with friends, Kira, Azure, and Ami.
What was initially planned as the perfect summer for these four friends takes an unexpected turn as their tropical paradise seems to have a complex and ancient past involving the interactions between the humans and the locally found slime creatures. Mary, an old grandmother on the land, is well-versed in magical powers, and she quickly starts teaching the four friends how to use magic.
You can choose to be any of the characters and begin the journey to restore peace to the land and help to revive the magical orange trees of the island so that peace may exist between Mary and the slime creatures.
The plot of the game varies depending on what decisions are made in the game, and there are alternate endings to different chosen courses of action. Experimenting with the special powers of each character can help you solve numerous puzzles in the game and result in unlocking novel regions. You’ll have to fight some potent bosses on your adventure and indulge in some shooting action to achieve your goal.
Features of the game
Six hours of gameplay
Orange Island offers players more than six hours of gameplay with non-linear evaluations to make. There are different towns that the characters need to explore with exciting side quests that must be made and unforgettable NPCs to befriend, with 2D side-scrolling gameplay. With so much to do, the game offers players a chance to explore the island, make connections, defeat enemies, and do everything possible to restore peace to the island.
Authentic NES gameplay
With NES platformers, you get a certain feeling that just can’t be faked. Orange Island has been developed by Ted Sterchi in an authentic and engaging way, meeting all the audio and graphic specifications of NES platformers. Characters have their own unique abilities and stats that allow for the creation of new possibilities in the game. You can choose to get onto the high platforms above with the help of a high jumper or benefit from delivering some strong punches to your enemies with the help of another. All-rounder abilities also make it exciting to explore the various possibilities with different characters.
8-bit graphics in the game have been developed very carefully with chiptune audio and art style that’s pastel pixel colored to give you the true NES experience.
Music by Hiroki Kikuta and Mark Sparkling
While the soundtrack of the game Orange Island will be composed by the creator of the game, it will also see at least one song creation from Hiroki Kikuta, the composer of the Secret of Mana. Mark Sparkling, the master of chiptunes, will be responsible for overseeing all musical arrangements in the game and providing some tunes of his own for the game.
Game presentation
Orange Island offers a truly retro experience for players with its sprite work, music, the color palette used, and its sound effects. The pre-alpha demo features an upbeat and catchy soundtrack, one that’s sure to grab the attention of players.
The game’s setting shows a lot of personalities, while the characterization and dialogue are full of witty and engaging exchanges. Don’t be fooled into believing that it’s just another whimsical tale with its bright colors and surroundings – the plot is a touching one and has a real emotional depth to it. The touching story of the game, Orange Island, will get you involved right away and make you commit to the quest of bringing peace back to the island.
There are engaging puzzles and activities to finish in different towns, shops, and inns that will get players thinking, and the game’s classic “shoot em up” segments offer an opportunity for the conventional spaceship combat. There aren’t any loot boxes, microtransactions, or other gambling activities to get involved in with Orange Island.
The game’s characters are unique, just like its themes, and the majority of the characters to play are people of color or female protagonists. The grandmother Mary’s fashion sense is sure to put a smile on your face while you go about unlocking weapons, solving puzzles, finishing side quests, battling the slime creatures, and making the big decisions needed in the game.
Is it worth it?
With the many spectacular features of the game, Orange Island is definitely worth playing, especially if you want to experience a little bit of retro nostalgia.
