Dreams & Preludes: A Magical Girl Prologue
[Fullscreen recommended! [U] Key to toggle at any time, or use the itch.io button in the lower right]
June Mejos knew that moving to a new city all alone would be a challenge… but she didn’t know that becoming a Magical Girl would be part of the package! After an unsettling dream, June becomes aware of the Nightmares that lurk all around us. Thankfully, she’s got the power to fight back! Using her new found Magical Girl power, June will keep her friends and classmates safe. However, something keeps calling to her from the dark and sprawling forest nearby…
A magical girl beat-em-up game! Punch, slap, slam and blast your way through enemies with a variety of attacks. Pickup Glamour and Health drops to maintain your strength. Dreams & Preludes features auto-save, and will save your progress at the start of each stage. Choosing to start a new game will overwrite previous progress. See the full control listing below, or in-game by pressing [H] while exploring.
Created for MGGJ10!
Themes: [World Vanquisher] [Grievous Lady]
For even more Magical Girl adventures featuring June and others, check out the entire Basin Lake Magical Girls series: https://itch.io/c/1097042/basin-lake-magical-girls-series
Controls
- [ARROW] or [AWSD] to MOVE.
- Double tap [LEFT or RIGHT] and [HOLD] to SPRINT!
- Press [X] or [N] to ATTACK!
- Keeping attacking for a COMBO!
- Hold [Z] or [B] to charge and SHOOT! (Need Glamour)
While SPRINTING:
- Press [X] or [N] to GROUND POUND! (Need Glamour)
- Press [Z] or [B] to SLAP enemies away! (Need Glamour)
Miscellaneous:
- Press [C] or [M] to advance dialogue and manga pages.
- Press [H] to show/hide control menu during exploration/combat.
- Press [U] for fullscreen at anytime!
Credits
In-Game Art, Game Design, Scenario, and Program by ShibeyFaceGames!
- shibeyfacegames.itch.io
- @ShibeyG on Twitter
Manga Story Illustration by Wynn Art!
Original Soundtrack by Tyler Gonelli!
Voice Acting by Estelle Son!
SFX by Facemelting Solos!
- facemeltingsolos.itch.io
- @Facemeltingsolo on Twitter
LycheeDevil Font by Vee ライチの悪魔!
- https://lycheedevil.gumroad.com/
- https://twitter.com/LycheeDevil
- https://www.instagram.com/lycheedevil/
Watch the trailer:
Download
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Comments
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Nice, well done, polished.
The story is OK, I didn't feel much investment though.
Gameplay wise, the main thing I missed is knowing when I'm actually hitting enemies, there are a few with reaction frames, but a lot of them seem to just sit there.
Thanks for playing, and your feedback! The story is kind of a speed run... if I continue this project, I'll probably redo/expand it considerably.
I've received a lot of feedback regarding the combat. I think all the enemies should have reaction frames for being hit, but the fact that you didn't notice is reason enough to assume they need some work.
I tried to keep the scope of this project small, but it ended up still being just a bit too much for my current schedule... live and learn I guess!
Are those June's non-magical friends we finally saw?
The art is beautiful, the music and sounds are spot-on, and it feels very polished overall. I do like the comic/manga art style and the story sequences work very well.
The combat was... meh. It's not awful, and I did get used to it, but it never stopped feeling clunky. The hitboxes aren't super clear, and once you start attacking, you're committed. I played on Easy, and I think the difficulty is right where it should be.
The game was shorter than I expected, and the ending was maybe a bit abrupt, but it packed a lot of explaining both June's background and the world in there. I haven't been following the development, but I think this was probably a more sane scope than some of the previous titles for a jam game.
World Tree is the next big installment that's been hinted at for a while, right?
Thanks so much for playing, and your feedback! Those are 2 of June's non-magical friends :) They've technically been in the series before, but unnamed... they are in the first game, A Change of Heart in the ending sequence.
The combat definitely needs some adjustment, especially in the hitbox department. On easy, there's not much reason to use any of the glamour-power moves, as every attack deals max damage XD. It was actually a debug mode originally, but I kinda liked one-shotting everything so I left it in as "easy mode." In normal mode you can still get away with basic punching, but the the other moves definitely make it more fun to play.
Either way, I want to adjust the combat a bit before working on any expansion of this game.
Scope-wise, I was determined to A) not overscope and B) do something that at least felt like a full short-game, vs doing another "Demo Edition" like A Dream of Dusk and 2Goku. The game is a bit longer on normal mode, due to the lack of one-shotting enemies hehe.
Did I succeed in my scope goals? I dunno, in a way it's still a demo I guess, but at least it acts as an intro for June and can stand alone in that sense.
As for World Tree, yes, this would be the big installment that I keep hinting/thinking about. I initially was going to do an intro-game for it back in MGGJ4, when we all thought it was going to be nature themed. Dreams and Preludes is the spiritual successor to that lost idea... though it's been changed in almost every possible way. (June was just an NPC in the original plan)
I'm honestly not sure what type of game it should be. The plan was to use this as a base for a longer game, but I haven't decided yet if this is the right gameplay genre to continue with. I dunno, I guess I just have to pick a genre and stick with it eventually, or it'll never happen. I also want to finish 2Goku before moving on to a new project. A Dream of Dusk will probably have to wait... it takes place past any of these events anyway, so there's no real reason I should focus on it first.
Awesome game!
Thanks for playing :D
it is very good! great story and i was really impressed with art and comics! awesome job you guys!
Thanks some much for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
p a n c a k e s
:D