"A very original RPG with strong puzzle elements."

When I first heard about this game, I wasn't sure whether to buy it or not. I'd never played a Natsume game before, but the idea of an RPG/Puzzle game was too hard to resist, so I bought it. This is my opinion...

Story

The most important part of any RPG is the story, and CIMA delivers. The game starts out with Ark and Ivy, two gate guardians in training, who must escort a group of pioneers to a new land by way of train. But, on the way, the train is waylaid by the CIMA, who trap people in giant dungeons and feed on their hope. Not all of the passengers are willing to trust Ark, and a complex set of relationships develop between the numerous characters.

7/10

Gameplay

CIMA: The Enemy features a unique style of gameplay. You take on the role of Ark, a young Gate Guardian who must protect the pioneers on the train from the evil CIMA. The other gate guardian, Ivy, will follow you around, and help battle the enemy CIMA that populate the dungeons. Each dungeon consists of a series of puzzles that must be solved, usually consisting flipping switches or putting a certain amount of weight on a giant plate to open a door. In order to complete a dungeon, all of the pioneers in the party must reach the end of the level. If Ark, Ivy, or a pioneer dies, then its game over. The dungeons are filled with CIMA that will attack you. When a CIMA is defeated, it may drop a royalty, which can be used by any character that trusts Ark to make items. As Ark defeats enemies near the pioneers, their trust will go up. If a CIMA begins to attack a pioneer, then their trust will go down. The pioneers aren't totally defenseless, though. Each has a weapon to attack with, but they don't attack often, and will not move on their own either away or toward a CIMA. There are several safe zones in each level where the pioneers can stay without fear of being attacked. Pioneers must be directed where to go, and only walk in straight lines, so they get stuck on corners often. However, your helper (the person who follows you around, usually Ivy) is pretty smart. If you are attacked from multiple directions, Ivy will go after the enemies behind you. Unfortunately, she too will get stuck on corners sometimes. In each level, a new party member is rescued, and as the size of the party increases, the harder is to protect everybody. At the end of each level is a grueling boss battle. The battles are hard because most of the game is spent on puzzle solving, and not combat. Each boss has a pattern of attack, and is impossible to defeat if you can't figure out the pattern. During boss battles, your helper doesn't attack or take damage, so things are a little easier. The difficulty of the dungeons increases quickly as the game progresses, and some of the later dungeons are just nasty. The games controls are simple, yet very effective. A is attack with Ark's sword. Holding down the A button allows Ark to run, and releasing A while running will release a double strike. B brings up a mini menu for items. The L button allows you to switch between groups of 4 pioneers, and the R button allows the pioneers to move along a 3 point path set by you. Start brings up the main menu.

9/10

Graphics

The graphics are bright and colorful, with soft edges, and a surprisingly great amount of detail. The character portraits that appear during dialogue show a lot of detail, but the normal character sprites are small, and sometimes will blend in with some of the backgrounds. Each of the 14 characters is very unique, and are not easy to confuse with each other. Backgrounds are a little bland, but still nice to look at. Normal enemies are very generic, with choppy animations at times. However the bosses are detailed, and look great. CIMA is one of the few GBA games that doesn't hurt your eyes if you play it for several hours straight.

9/10

Music and Sound

Most of the music is a little bland, and there are no catchy tunes, but most fit the situation well. Sound effects are nothing special either, mostly simple "whooshes" for sword swings. It's not anything terrible, at least not bad enough to make you want to turn the volume down. For the most part, the best music is in the final dungeon, and the boss music.

6/10

Rent or Buy?

As with any other game, I would recommend a rent first, and then maybe a buy. Overall, it's a well made game that suffers from a lack in the story, and a few spelling mistakes. The unique and engaging gameplay will provide a good 20 hours of gametime, making it worth the entire $20 you spend in it.

Overall (Not an average)

7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/05