Floating Runner Game Sample - PS1
35*This video is best viewed in 60FPS mode*
Whew...where do I begin with this one? Floating Runner is a rare, odd platformer released pretty early during the PS1 days. Kokopeli and THQ are on the package, so already, I had skepticism when I saw this. Also, the game was reviewed not-so-favorably in the past...but with such colorful visuals, I just had to try it.
The thing about Floating Runner is that it is just so...badly designed. I would say "poorly" designed, and that might be true too, but for every mistake it seems was made in development, there is some kind of odd countermeasure that, while it doesn't completely fix things, it helps somewhat smooth out a bumpy product. The game just has some bad ideas and bad functionality that mar an otherwise cutesy and colorful 60FPS platformer...and the game has a basic storyline in the manual and even an ending song (won't spoil it), but the game has no real in-game story and just feels...incomplete.
Let's go over some issues. Despite being a platformer, movement is really cumbersome, with moving and jumping being a daunting affair because you "move straight" and "turn separately". You sorta turn the camera and move straight to jump something other than "straight". It makes a little more sense when you are playing it, but unless you master the "blah" mechanics, moving slow and trying to line up your jumps is the best way to not die a million times. Earlier platformer efforts like Jumping Flash were fun and a breeze to play, despite the lack of analog control. Attacking is also an irritating affair, because enemies zip around at mach 5 and because of the awkward movement, lining yourself up with some targets is super annoying. It also doesn't help that your default weapon fires in an odd arc...or it seems that way, until you realize that because depth perception can be an issue, the arc shot was probably for the best. Movement and attacking bring me to the third key issue...the camera is AWFUL. Half the time, you must be right up on an enemy to know they are there, or you must "jump a lot" to zoom the camera out ever so slightly every few steps to try to see future danger. The camera functions are basically CLOSE and SUPER CLOSE, which also makes some platforming segments really stupid and it also makes some of the colorful areas look garish because the camera is TOO CLOSE to textures. You can jump on top of enemies for extra points, but the movement and camera certainly won't do you any favors in that regard. Expect a lot of cheap enemy hits and falling into the void a lot...
Now, those countermeasures --- let's talk about some of those. You may die a lot in this game because controls work against you, camera works against you, enemies and attacking works against you...but you only lose a small amount of life when you fall into a pit, you have a sort of "side jump" (which makes dodging much easier than trying to turn and jump around to avoid enemies), you get different weapons (that use that gem power that you get from enemies), you essentially have infinite lives and start over exactly where you are if you lose all your life (because they expect you to die constantly), get health upgrades that are hidden on levels (they could probably be spotted easier with a better camera...), there is a stage select if you get Game Over (which only happens if you run out of all your time, and that time moves super slow).........so yeah.
The game is playable, but some platforming segments are known to be rage inducing and the game lacks replayability...you can choose between Lay (A brave bounty hunter) and Cress (an apprentice priestess...she is actually dark skinned, though some views of her don't make this clear, such as her 3D model), but the difference is merely cosmetic, as they get the same stuff.
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