When I'm not writing reviews for JayIsGames, I work full-time as a wizard. It's not easy work, believe me, nor is it nearly as glamorous as the movies make it out to be. One wrong incantation and you've blown yourself up or summoned an uncontrollable horde of demons. Arzea, a Metroidvania-style adventure game created by Arkeus originally for a Ludum Dare 24-hour game development competition and then expanded upon, demonstrates the kind of danger that magic can lead to. You're a wizard stranded in a strange world with only your wits and a variety of spells and upgrades to help you get home.
Move and jump with the [WASD] keys while aiming and firing your spells with the mouse. As you collect more spells you can switch between them with the [number] keys or with [shift]. Your arcane weapons come in a variety of forms but tend to be point-and-shoot affairs with varying effective ranges. The starter fireball tends to be a pretty good choice for most situations while the earth spikes are better at long range and the water and electric spells are ideal for close range combat. Slaughtering hordes of enemies will allow you to gain levels, increasing your damage potential, and you can also find several types of upgrades that affect various abilities like jump height, speed and maximum health.
Your main goal is to find your way home from the strange land of Arzea. To do this you'll have to collect a vast spectrum of keys which will open doors and continue allowing you to explore the land. Several of the keys are guarded by vicious bosses, and these battles are tense and exciting, making them the highlight of the game. There's also a secondary goal in the form of a number of mysterious shards to collect. Finally, if you're an achievement hunter then they're present and ready to be hunted!
This is a solid example of the Metroidvania style of game; it's especially impressive given that it was made in just two days! There is at least a good half-hour of gameplay here, probably closer to an hour if you're out to find all the upgrades and collectible shards. Perhaps the most important thing that can be said about Arzea, however, is that it gives you a view of what a wizard's life is really like: full of barnacle monsters that spew deadly bullets at you. Doesn't seem so glamorous now, does it?
Walkthrough Guide
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Arzea Guide
Maps
World Map:
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Section 1:
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Section 2:
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Section 3:
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Section 4:
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Section 5:
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Section 6:
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Section 7:
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Section 8:
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Tips & Tricks
Spells & Abilities
Double Jump: Allows the player to perform a second jump in midair.
Fireball: Launches a single ball of fire to attack.
Charged attack - Shoots a cone of three balls of fire.
Can be used to melt frozen ice paths made with Chill.
Douse: Fires five balls of water to attack.
Charged attack - Fires additional, more powerful balls of water.
Can be used to douse fire barriers.
Chill: Shoots a single ball of ice to attack.
Charged attack - Fires a larger, more powerful Chill shot.
Can be used to freeze water, allowing the player to walk across the surface.
Shock: Shoots multiple bolts of electricity around the caster.
Charged attack - Fires additional, more powerful electric bolts.
Can be used to switch levers to electronic doors.
Spire: Shoots a stone spike attack.
Charged attack - Fires three, more powerful spikes simultaneously.
Can be used to break through cracked stone walls.
Gust: Shoots a quick gust of wind attack.
Charged attack - Fires a line of multiple, more powerful Gust shots.
Upgrades & Collectables
Speed Orb (S): Increases the player's movement speed.
Jump Orb (J): Increases the height of the player's jump.
Heart Orb: Increases the player's maximum health.
Mysterious Fragment: Collect all 10 hidden fragments to receive the "Good" ending after defeating the Evil Wizard.
Red Key: Opens all Red Locks
Yellow Key: Opens all Yellow Locks
Green Key: Opens all Green Locks
Blue Key: Opens all Blue Locks
Pink Key: Opens all Pink Locks
Light Blue Key: Opens all Light Blue Locks
Orange Key: Opens all Orange Locks
Purple Key: Opens all Purple Locks
White Key: Opens all White Locks
Black Key: Opens all Black Locks.
Achievements
Level Up!: Reach level 5.
Feel the power: Reach level 10.
Superpowered: Reach level 15.
Roid Rage: Reach level 25.
Prefect: Reach level 35.
Head Boy: Reach level 45.
Watch the Clock: Play for at least 20 minutes.
King of the World: Reach the Top of the World (refer to the World Map for highest point)
You Monster: Kill an enemy.
The Cleanse: Kill 200 enemies.
Double Kill: Kill 2 enemies at the same time (with one attack).
Oceanstrategy: Kill an enemy while standing underwater.
Orange Jello: Kill the Golden Slime (refer to the World Map for the enemy location)
Gotta Cast 'Em All: Learn all 6 spells (refer to the World Map for spell locations)
Alohamora: Collect a colored key.
Unlock the Rainbow: Collect all 10 colored keys (refer to the World Map for all key locations)
It's Still Beating: Collect a Heart orb.
The Collector: Collect a Heart Orb, Speed Orb, and Jump Orb.
Completionist: Collect all Heart, Speed, and Jump Orbs.
A Source of Power: Collect a Mysterious Fragment.
A Way Home: Collect all 10 Mysterious Fragments (refer to the World Map for all fragment locations)
Enemies
Slimes: Slow moving grounded enemies; larger slimes have more health than smaller slimes.
Golden Slime: A large slime with a high amount of health; kill for the Orange Jello achievement (refer to World Map for location)
Aimed Shooters: Stationary enemy that fires a projectile attack aimed at the player.
Horizontal Shooters: Stationary enemy that fires projectile attacks in a straight horizontal line.
Wall Shooters: Stationary enemy found on the sides of walls that fires fires projectiles in an arced path.
Sliding Block: Cubes that travel a set path in a horizontal or vertical line, destructible with spells at level 40.
Bouncing Block: A large, bouncing cube with a high amount of health; destroy the block to find the Yellow Key.
The block will change border color depending on its remaining health points: Green = high HP, Yellow = medium HP, Red = low HP
Slugs: Ground enemies that move faster and have more health than slimes; slugs also have the ability to jump.
Fliers: Fast moving aerial enemies that ricochet off the walls.
Elemental Block: A block that fires rounds of multiple projectiles.
These blocks can only be destroyed by attacking it with the correct spell indicated by the color in the center of the block (most commonly Fireball and Spire)
Evil Wizard: Boss encountered twice in the game (refer to World Map for location)
Do not fight the Wizard at the 2nd encounter until you have collected all 10 Mysterious Fragments.
Has the ability to summon enemy creatures, fire projectiles, jump in the air, and phase out to become temporarily immune to damage.
The color of the Wizard's hat indicates his remaining health points: Green = full HP, Yellow = high HP, Brown = medium HP, Red = low HP
Invincible Cat: Mysterious creature that can only be destroyed upon 100% completion (refer to World Map for location).
Posted by: Trinn
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February 14, 2012 12:37 AM