EGG: Elemental Gimmick Gear
Description
You awaken one day after a prolonged sleep, look around and realize you have been asleep for quite a while - thousands of years... The people who saw you during your sleep named you the Sleeper. You were discovered by an archaeological team, and an ancient machine, which was dubbed "Elemental Gimmick Gear" by the archaeologists, was found near you. Players take the control of the Sleeper, who has no memory of who he really is and what he had been doing before he awakened. Having awakened from a very long sleep, the Sleeper sets out to discover his past, stop the contamination of the planet which is caused by Fogna: the mysterious ruins he was found in, as well as find out the purpose of the mysterious Elemental Gimmick Gear.
This game is an Action RPG with a lot of emphasis on puzzle-solving. The player can move around the battlefield, using various physical attacks, such as punching, extending the arm or spinning. Players will also unlock elemental (magic-like) attacks which will be useful for longer range attacks, finding secret areas with capsules and solving some of the game's puzzles. In total, there are 4 types of elements to unlock with some of the skills utilizing multiple elements.
There is no leveling up in this game. Thus, improving stats is done by either collecting 3 capsules of 3 different types (Attack, Defense or Mind) or an Energy Tank which will increase the Sleeper's max HP.
The game is mostly 2D, featuring hand drawn backgrounds. However, during boss battles and in the spin racing mini-game, the game switches into a 3D mode.
There are also a few mini-games included within the game, such as a 3D spin racing game and a few missions which involve spinning, activating switches and collecting as many points as possible while reaching the finish line before time runs out.
Also, while traveling, players can find and gather Metamos: small creatures that can be raised by feeding them with elements. These creatures, after having grown, can be interacted with to restore or lose health and elements, as well as gain more capsules.
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Credits (Dreamcast version)
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Original Concept | |
E.G.G. Design | |
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Concept CG Art | |
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Main Program | |
Boss Battle | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 77% (based on 9 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 5 ratings with 1 reviews)
Not a hidden gem, but a piece of shiny metal nevertheless.
The Good
The hand-drawn backgrounds. The small touches like the sparks that your E.G.G. emits when you're low on HP.
The E.G.G. is a fearsome weapon while it's spinning, however, spinning also depletes the protagonist's HP when used, which gives the game some balance.
The boss battles are a bit different. I love how the graphics change to 3D during these battles and how organic they feel due to the arena's similarity in style to the 2D backgrounds. I think this is very unique for an Action RPG and it adds suspense to these battles. The armordress battle in space is, arguably, the highlight of the boss fights in the game.
The music fits the game, though the piano they used in the music sounds like it's taken from a MIDI soundbank.
The Bad
Unfortunately, in the beginning of the game it can be unclear where the players should go and what they need to progress further. For example, players need to find skill roms so that the protagonist can throw or simply pull objects, which is very illogical. It took me a long while to figure out where to get the first skill rom to throw small objects because the obstacle that's in your way which you must destroy is one of a kind and easy to overlook and, unfortunately, none of the NPCs were giving me any clues on where to go and what to search for at that point in the game. It does get more straightforward later on.
Instead of offering a big in-game world, the game focuses on 4 dungeons, with most of the action being in the first one, so backtracking will be a common element here.
The opening FMV is beautiful, however, the later videos have inconsistent quality. For example, later on during the game we have a video that mixes CGI with poor quality in-game footage of the area the player was in. It would make more sense just to switch back and forth from the FMV to the game instead of using that footage.
A few of the puzzles that involve spinning within a limited time can be frustratingly hard as players have no time to waste to complete them. Luckily, the developers were kind enough to offer switches to allow us to access these areas without spinning through them again, but they could have simplified them a bit or made the E.G.G. take less time to start spinning.
The Bottom Line
There's a lot to like about E.G.G., I mean, the game certainly looks unique and has a very strong emphasis on puzzle solving using its mechanics and power-ups.
The apocalyptic setting of the game as well as the moral of the whole story was lovely, even if the translation didn't make any sense at times.
I must admit that the FMV showing how the sleeper and his E.G.G. was found was more memorable to me than any of the NPCs that were given a personality, which could just be something lost in translation or poor planning.
The game has a few nice additions such as a racing game, raising robotic monsters that can act naughtily towards you but will also reward you with capsules which boost your stats, I was glad to have the option to teleport to previously visited areas using flower buds, but, overall, I found myself admiring the overall presentation much more than the gameplay itself.
I can recommend this game to people looking for a similar experience to Alundra or to those who want to experience a unique looking game which won't necessarily be memorable for them in terms of gameplay. With that mindset and a bit of patience in the beginning, you will surely find something to justify a satisfying playthrough.
Dreamcast · by Deleted (15788) · 2021
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Game added by Unicorn Lynx.
Game added June 6, 2003. Last modified March 13, 2024.