CIMA: The Enemy

"It’s a long, long way home."

In the world of products, in almost every era, there will always be a small number of unknown pieces of work which silently proves itself to be a worth noticing, while not receiving enough acclaim that each deserve. On the GBA, this is the case with CIMA: The Enemy, which had been crafted by Neverland and Natsume, who both are also responsible for the previous Lufia: The Legend Returns on the GBC, another sleeping surprise. Natsume, also makers of the popular Harvest Moon, has come to be known as a humble producer that's capable of producing frighteningly addictive products, beneficial for everyone's enjoyment.

CIMA: The Enemy itself is somewhat like your ordinary ‘hack and slash' action games embedded with a number of role-playing elements. Interestingly enough, it's these role-playing elements which make it so unlike an action game.

Story?

CIMA, the name of the enemy, is a mysterious alien race who appear out of nowhere, dragging their human victims into another dimension to suck away their “life-force” (specifically, their “hope”). The only way for a victim to survive this abduction is to undergo the trials the CIMA has prepared and successfully escape their dimensional dungeon alive... with the risk of one's life. Luckily, there are people known as the Gate Guardians who protect innocent civilians from the threat of CIMA by guiding and assisting them in their journey through the CIMA dungeon(s). Ark and Ivy, two apprentices of Jester, one of the most powerful of all the Gate Guardians, come into trouble when the group of pioneers they're escorting comes under attack of one of the most powerful CIMA. Losing Jester and separated from the rest of the group, Ark and Ivy must reunite the missing people and find their way out of the dreaded dungeon themselves.

A story with not much plot but with an amusing character development. As every pioneer begins to trust you, their personalities shall slowly open up. Ark himself transforms from an unreliable crybaby at the beginning of the tale into a hero in the middle of the game.

Gameplay?

Normally playing as Ark, you fend off an unlimited(!) number of enemies as you guide the pioneers from the entrance of one floor to its exit using a point-and-click function assigned with the shoulder buttons. Sometimes, there will be switches and mechanisms which must be triggered, either by defeating a certain enemy, slashing a switch with the sword, or moving a number of pioneers (or a certain pioneer) to a certain point. Sometimes, hints on what must be done come up when a pioneer has something to say. Management and discussion are done within its own menu.

Each pioneer, having different traits and capabilities, may also help produce useful items from the Majesties that sometimes become the spoils of battles. Their willingness to produce, however, depends entirely on how much trust they have for Ark. This trust level itself depends on how well Ark manages to protect them. Allowing a CIMA to strike a pioneer shall decrease his/her trust level. Allowing a pioneer or oneself to die however, shall automatically end the game.

A usually tricky boss must be fought at the end of each level. Only by defeating these bosses, the journey to the next level can be continued. Between each level, chance for equipment upgrade and judgement upon one's performance is given.

Like other Natsume games, mainly because of the simple-though-takes-moments-to-get-used controls, the game is fairly enjoyable.

Visuals?

The game mostly takes a fixed three-quarter perspective overhead view with bright colours and detailed sprites. The character designs were done very, very well since each of their personalities can clearly be seen from their designs. Each character also has their own face portrait, and being able to see Ivy's face during each play is a... memorable experience for me.

Graphically, this game is quite satisfying.

Audio?

Well, it wasn't bad. It's the type of BGM that always fit with the situation you are in while strangely being unable to cling on your mind for so long.

One thing that must be noted is the sound effects. Although not spectacular like the epic RPGs made by Square-Enix, they manage to time every SE perfectly. Just by listening to the sound effects, players may get a guess on what's happening outside your current field of vision. Those who have understood the meaning of each sound shall notice the premonition each time things start going wrong.

Basically, nothing out of the ordinary.

Conclusion?

It's a well-crafted game that deserves more notice. It's a real pity it didn't receive the amount of publicity it deserves. But it's still best to see for yourself before deciding to like or dislike it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/05