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Waste of Money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 18
Date: April 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

i bought this game because ign gave it 8/10. I ill now think twice before buying on thier reviews. The Control in this game is the worst i have ever seen. The art is so-so. the sprite animation is pure crap. save your money don't buy this game

This game is stupid!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: July 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Not only has this game have a stupid name, but the story line is stupid too. I just can't get into a game where you play I guy wondering around in an EGG shaped armor suit. The graphics weren't all that impressive. Needless to say I played the game for a few hours hoping it would get better, which it didn't, and now it just sitting collecting dust.

umm

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 15
Date: January 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you are in real need of a role playing game there you go.Otherwise there are better out there on the 16 bit Nintendo the game looks great the story lacked the hooks to pull me into the game and some of the areas in the game where very how do i put this GRRR! The bosses looked awesome i'll give them a 5.The reviveing enemys was GRR! I guess what i'm saying is buy it ONLY if u really need a role playing game to hold u over untill a better one comes along...won't be a long wait i'll tell you that.

Not a bad yolk nor an omelette...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: March 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Here's a pretty cool old-school RPG adventure with some decent 3D action thrown in for good measure. It's not as good as, say, Square Soft's offerings on Playstation, but it's pretty good nonetheless. E.G.G. offers a unique quest with 3D battle sequences, and it remains a treat to play, even if it gets a little boring in parts. Don't be thrown off by its weird name or its old-school 2-D appearance, because you'll find plenty to enjoy here if RPG is your thing. It'll get slaughtered the second Time Stalkers and Eternal Arkadia arrive, though...old-school can only last so long. At least the Easter Bunny didn't show up anywhere in the game. Pretty good stuff.

Alot Better Than Expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: January 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

E.G.G. is a pretty decent game. This is the first RPG that I have played for Dreamcast, and I am for the most part satisfied. The graphics are good, not exceptional, but good. The game play is terrific for a playstation, but I expected a little more out of the dreamcast after all the hype. If you are looking for a good solid RPG for the dreamcast I suggest you check it out.

Fighting Armored E.G.G.'s? Hey,..they made it work!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 46 / 52
Date: December 06, 1999
Author: Amazon User

At first glance you see EGG in the game store and think to yourself "NEXT! " I did too, figuring it to be some goofy game catering to children and poeple like my little cousins. But I took a second hard look at it, and I'm glad I did. Although it's story and sequences of events technically makes it a RPG game--the actual feel during most of the interaction is more like Golden Axe only it's screen is not limited to scrolling just left to right. And the viewing angle is quite a bit further away. The enemies vary from little cute critters,(after smashing one you feel slightly ruthless) to mutated spiders, and other E.G.G.'s.(these you SHOULD be ruthless with). During fights with certain special enemies though there is a very realistic 3D combat mode that you enter into. I was constantly impressed by the way it makes you feel like you're one with the action, part of the game even. As far as the storyline goes, it's a pretty simple idea. You are Sleepman(I hope they call it something in the US version-either way they let you rename yourself once the game starts) who has just awoken from a several century nap. And of course, you don't remember anything. The idea might be old but when you play E.G.G. you'll see that they did an excellent job of dusting it off and evolving the story into a very interesting tale with some twists to it. I haven't finished it yet(haven't even scratched the surface) so I don't know what other surprises have yet to be revealed. But so far, the farther I get into E.G.G. the more satisfied I am that I picked it up. And I'll be looking for EGG2. Jya ne.(Japanese "see you later)

Great Premise, Horrible Execution

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: May 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Your character, called "the sleeper," awakens from a slumber several centuries old to find the world being overrun by tentacles and sentient plant life, all sprouting from an enormous temple named "Fogna." Equipped with a ten foot tall suit of robotic armor named "Elemental Gimmick Gear," he sets off to fight the evil and overcome his own amnesia. It's a bargain basement story at best, and aside from the introduction and a brief revelation halfway through the game, the writing really grinds to a halt right there. You're given no continuing motivation to play.

There are a total of three cinematic cut scenes in Elemental Gimmick Gear. One is played at the onset of a new game, and serves to introduce the storyline (or, perhaps, lack thereof). The second is a montage of scenes from that cinema, and plays when you power the game up and fail to press the start button within a couple seconds. The third is your generic "reward" video, and is played every time you defeat a boss and receive a new power. Eight hours into this game, I'd watched that same cinema half a dozen times. No minor nuances were altered, to differentiate between my reception of the ice beam as opposed to, say, the fire beam. It's all the same, horribly compressed, video scene. I'm sure there would have been an equally uninspiring CGI at the game's conclusion, had I been granted the willpower to make it that far.

Perhaps the only factor in which EGG doesn't completely lag is the impressive originality within the overworld's graphics. There's a beautiful, stylistic, thick-lined detail in the backdrops of the game's overhead battle scenes that, with a little finesse, could have been really well done. In today's world of 3-D rendered surroundings and polygons, polygons, polygons, it's nice to see some legitimate linework making its way into a game. Unfortunately, programmers managed to turn even that slim positive element into a non-factor, as despite their beauty it's incredibly difficult to navigate your way around the detailed sketches.

When you enter a boss battle, the game abruptly shifts from the traditional overhead adventure format (a'la Zelda: A Link to the Past) to a strange, polygonal 3-D battle. In addition to the jerky shift between vantagepoints, the visual style shifts just as abruptly, giving way to a poorly textured 3-D battle zone. Bosses are poorly designed and far from intimidating, to the point where they're almost comical. Your surroundings look vaguely similar to the overhead screen they're meant to be molded after, but lack the fine detail and linework that made those scenes even remotely memorable. The characters are simplistic to a fault, and would've been just as much at home with the first wave of Playstation titles as they are here, late in the Dreamcast's life. Add to that an unforgivable load time prior to each boss battle, and you've got an unhappy camper 97% of the time.

Gameplay in EGG is a chore, full of inconsistencies, quirks and bugs. I honestly don't think this game was playtested before its release. Moving around the screen varies from difficult to impossible, and collision detection is way off. Enemies are either too powerful or too weak, with nothing landing in between. I've watched, several times, as my ten foot robot fell to the almighty power of a trout. Yeah, I'm thinking the same thingý you put a fish and a robot in the same room and tell them to fight to the death, my money's most certainly not on the fish.

Your robot also has a love for sailing off ledges and cliffs, an action which actively returns you to the last doorway you walked through and takes 20% of your life as a toll. It's beyond easy to accidentally sail into the abyss, as the machine assumes you've stepped over a ledge every time you're within a couple feet of doing so. Pair that with the horrendous controls, which, instead of following your instructions and heading north, often lead you alternately northwest and northeast in a bizarre drunken swagger, this is a big drawback.

Even the soundtrack is horribly lacking In EGG. Though obviously influenced heavily by the score to Final Fantasy VIII (complete with the soft plucking of violin strings), the game relies all too often on looping and then looping once again. Each individual song is comprised of MAYBE a minute and a half of original music, which then loops back upon itself infinitely. Considering you'll spend about an hour in an average dungeon, this means you'll hear the same obnoxious tune looped upwards of fifty times before you finally complete your work and return to the overworld.

Thinking about Elemental Gimmick Gear makes me wonder what happened. Hudson Soft was chasing the Holy Grail with EGG, the thought of introducing a new type of game to the masses, something which would forever serve as the mold from which entire franchises were crafted. Instead, they released a product which can only be described as overly flawed, incomplete, uninspiring and often painful. I wouldn't wish Elemental Gimmick Gear on my worst enemy.

The years have been kind, depending on your perspective.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I passed this title by when it was first released. There was a virtual flood of next generation RPGs on the market at the time, and they all seemed flashier.

Now, all these years later, I've picked it up, and I must say, it feels fresh and unique, which says a lot about game design.

One of the biggest gripes I've heard, is about the graphics. The 2D graphics to be exact, as there is 3D game-play here as well. I've tried to remain un-jaded over the years, and being a gamer for so long helps. I find the hand drawn graphics to be beautiful, and well done, and in no way do they take away from the rich experience.

Not to repeat all of the positives that have already been posted, let me just say that playing it now that the 'me too' flashier RPGs of the time have passed, I find it a deep, refreshing, singular experience. The likes of which, we could use more of.

If you have an open mind, want to try something new, and don't mind a game with almost an older PC-type feel, give it a shot, you may be glad you did!

Fun action RPG that takes a good deal of patience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you're into action RPGs, this is a fun game, hands down. The gameplay is a nice mix of 2D and 3D (2D for main exploration of the map, and 3D for boss battles and such). The artwork for the 2D portion is excellent: the 3D portion is dated (compared to newer generation visuals), but still runs smooth on the Dreamcast.

There's also a whole variety of enemies to go after and many locales to visit. Fighting consists of punching enemies or using your "spin mode" to spin the E.G.G. around the screen to destroy things (both of those fighting actions are available in the 2D and 3D modes). The E.G.G. concept itself is funny though: a bi-pedal war/utility machine? Shaped like an egg? That spins? Seeing the E.G.G. spin around the screen destroying everything in its path might be reason enough to see this game in action.

The storyline is really interesting as well: you wake up with amnesia and are given the E.G.G. machine in order to find out who you are, and what's going on with the planet. Probably most importantly, the amount of CG video is kept to a minimum, and used appropriately(so you can actually play the game instead of sitting there, wondering when you'll get to play again).

One important tip: find Luckie and beat him early in the game. You'll be glad you did, and it'll save you a lot of frustration throughout the game.

Overall, I'd recommend this game to any action RPG fan!

egg

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: January 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As the story begins, a group of workers uncover a strange machine from an ancient ruin. Within the machine's cockpit, they find a man, in a slumber of some sort. Taking note of the, strangely, spiritual feel surrounding the machine, the diggers flee the area in a panic.

The machine is pulled form the ruins using man-made vehicles, and is given the name Elemental Gimmick Gear, and it's pilot, Sleeper. Soon, mankind develops copy-cat EGGs, similar to the original, and use them as vehicles. So it remains for the next 100-or-so years, the sleeper in his perpetual slumber as humanity progressing with the EGG as a new tool.

One day, a group of EGGs are exploring the ruins where the original EGG was found, and they manage to activate a device of some sort. Suddenly, the ruins explode with life. Tentacles extend violently from the dome-shaped exterior, tearing into the ground, destroying buildings, streets, and forests. A thick fog surrounds the ruins, and people come to know it as Fogna.

So begins Elemental Gimmick Gear. The Sleeper wakes up under the care of Selen, and is given the name Leon (you can actually choose your own name, if you're into that sort of thing). Leon is unaware of his identity, and remembers nothing of his past, so Selen suggests that he head out to Fogna, which is as close to a home as one could possibly hope to find at that point. Leon equips his original Elemental Gimmick Gear, and heads off into the game world.

EGG survives on its gameplay alone, much as the old 2D Zelda games could get by with a simple story involving Link's attempts at saving the princess. EGG, with its overhead perspective, will actually make you think of a 16 bit RPG - or, more recently, games like Alundra, Shining Wisdom, and Neutopia (okay, okay . . . Neutopia is actually from the 16 bit era - I just couldn't resist the chance to mention it). As in those games, you travel about the markedly different overworld and underworld sections of the game, fighting baddies and solving puzzles as you attempt to advance further.

EGG gives you plenty of control over the main character. Your primary means of attack is a teeny-tiny punch, but you can also block, and spin around like a top, taking out any enemies which lay in your path. You'll also find yourself, at times, exiting your EGG and walking around without arms. As you progress, you'll gain a grappling hook for pulling yourself across chasms, a fire attack for burning enemies and ice blocks, an ice attack for freezing enemies and areas of water, and more. You can also grab power ups along the way, raising your attack, defense, and "mind" abilities.

Despite all these features, the overhead action system is the main complaint I have against the game. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, if more thought had been put in this area, the great Miyamoto himself would overwhelm Birthday with his praise over the game. The punch attack is just too basic, and it never seems to be fast enough to actually prevent you from being struck by your opponent. I think a combo of some sort would be welcome. As it stands, much of my experience with the overhead action was punch - get hit - punch - get hit . . . over and over, until someone emerged victorious. The spin attack isn't much of an option, unfortunately, as it drains energy and takes too long to start up. Sure, the game is very liberal in giving you energy restoration power ups (the enemies drop items when you kill them), but it seems like the developers should have concentrated on squeezing a bit more from the dated battle system. I have a feeling that many people are going to find themselves, rightfully, frustrated.

If you can ignore that, though, you'll find a game worthy of comparisons to Zelda. The game's brilliance lay in the puzzles that are encountered in the dungeons, and how you're required to make use of every item and accessory in your arsenal. You'll push blocks onto switches in order to open doors, melt ice blocks in order to advance through tight passageways, and have to work with conveyor belts, changing the directions over and over again until you get across. It's classic action/RPG gaming, the likes of which you're probably not going to see on the Dreamcast for a long time coming.

There are some truly inventive puzzles throughout the game that go beyond the simple pull the lever and cover the switch thing. You'll sometimes have to freeze enemies in order to use them as blocks. Sure, this is just a minor twist to the push-the-block thing, but it feels infinitely cooler. Instead of using bombs to break through dubious cracked walls, you need to make EGG spin, and slam into the wall. You can also use EGG's spinning form to travel through chutes, and can hop into cannons and flowers in order to blast yourself to different sections of the dungeon. What's more, these puzzles aren't just scattered about here and there. Instead, they're strung together one after the other throughout the course of the dungeon. It's not as involved as in something like Legend of Oasis, but getting through these things still manages to bring a rewarding feeling.

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