Freedom Planet Review

Ever since the middle of the year 2000, there has been a decline of side-scrolling games with the rise of numerous 3D video games. Fortunately, there are developers who still make these kinds of games and GalaxyTrail is one of them. Their game is none other than Freedom Planet. It was formerly a Sonic the Hedgehog fangame, but later became its own intellectual property.

As a fan of the classic side-scrolling genre (games like Sonic the Hedgehog in the Genesis era and the Megaman series), I was intrigued and decided to try it out. Needless to say, I was impressed.

The story takes place at a fictional planet where the inhabitants are anthropomorphic animals. The planet is mostly divided into separate nations: the Shuigang, Shang Mu, and Shang Tu.

The entire planet is thrown into a state of chaos when an intergalactic tyrant, Lord Brevon, started his conquest and intending to take the planet’s precious relic, the Kingdom Stone. Enter Lilac and Carol (a half dragon and a wildcat respectively) who are dragged into the conflict as they attempt to stop Lord Brevon from decimating their home planet. Along the way, they are joined by a basset hound named Millia and the duck-like Torque.

The story is your standard ‘saving the world’ premise so it’s nothing new. What makes the game a bit more refreshing is its presentation through cutscenes. Not the full motion cutscene like most games nowadays, instead it utilizes the 2D sprites, completed with voice acting and facial expression. Another thing to note is the atmosphere, balancing between light and dark. For one, the game starts with a rather dark tone as we witness the main villain and his army storm into Shuigang palace, slaughtering the guards and the king. The entire story actually reminded me a lot of the old cartoon series, Sonic SatAM, due to its atmosphere and the villain himself due to the similarities with SatAM’s incarnation of Robotnik; ruthless and extremely intimidating.

I have no problem with the story, but if there is one major issue, it is the pacing. I usually don’t mind with pacing depending on the game’s story and its setting, but there are some scenes that take far too long. The prime example is after the second stage where the cutscene takes about more than 5 minutes. In a side-scrolling game like Freedom Planet, it should have kept to a minimum and straight-to-the-point.

In terms of graphic style, Freedom Planet looks exactly something out of a Sonic the Hedgehog game from the Sega Genesis era. The game is a fast-paced action platformer with a bit of fighting. Think of it of a mix between Sonic the Hedgehog and Rocket Knight Adventures. As for the buttons, you have the standard attack and jump buttons along with the ‘Special’ button.

You take control one of three main characters, each with their own story mode as they traverse the levels.  Each level has players fight enemies and going through obstacles until they reach the end where they must fight the level boss. Players have a health and stamina meters; the latter allows the playable characters to use their respective abilities. You can replenish your health by collecting red leaves while the stamina replenishes by itself. Speaking of red leaves, there are many objects – ranging from blue crystals and red leaves to shields – scattered throughout the levels. Collecting these objects can earn extra lives and grant power-ups.

Usually in this type of game, when the player character touches an enemy, it damages them. In Freedom Planet, it suffers from none of that. Instead, when you touch the enemy, they don’t hurt you. They only hurt you if they start attacking like firing projectiles or swinging their fists. This helps players to time their attacks and plan their moves, especially when facing enemies that require different methods as they become a lot harder to defeat.

The game has three playable characters: Lilac, Carol, and Milla. Each character has a unique array of moves and attacks, allowing them to deal with different obstacles and enemies in different ways. By pressing the Special button, you can use the characters’ signature move and they drain the character’s Stamina meter.

Lilac is the most versatile of the three characters; her moves consist of close-range attacks and her Dragon Boost allows her to fly to a certain direction in an instant burst of speed. She can also do a double jump and attack in midair, either be from a jump or during her Dragon Boost. Speaking of her signature move, her Dragon Boost also allows players to reach higher areas.

Carol is the more physical oriented; most of her moves consist of rapid-fire attacks and kicks. Her signature move, Wild Kick, grants her brief invincible state as she rapidly attacks; best for countering enemies. She can also pounce forward for a brief moment of speed and attacking afterwards. Unlike Lilac, Carol can scale walls by repeatedly wall jumping. Her other unique attribute is warping to predetermined locations by using Jump Pads placed throughout the levels. In addition, Carol can ride on her motorcycle by collecting a Gas Can, increasing her speed and attack power.

Milla is arguably the strongest of the three. She doesn’t have any close-ranged attacks like Lilac and Carol. Instead, her main method of attack is the use of psychic shield, which she forms by holding the attack button. The shield reflects most enemy projectiles and, when released, fires a short energy blast. If you hold the Special button instead of the attack button, Milla will summon a large Phantom Block, which can be used for a stronger shield or an explosive projectile. Milla can also flutter in midair for a brief moment, allowing her to reach high ledges or cross wide gaps.

They all have their respective advantages, but they also have their own weaknesses. For Lillac, her attacks don’t deal much damage unless players take advantage of her Dragon Boost and perform a long stream of combos without getting hit. Carol’s weaknesses are her limited attack range and dependency on the environments, leaving her wide open when fighting in open areas. Milla’s glaring weaknesses are her small life bar and being the slowest of the three. The challenge is to overcome their respective weaknesses as they go through the stages, giving them fair amount of difficulty level going from easy to hard.

The bosses themselves are surprisingly challenging. The first boss isn’t too difficult, but you do need to pay attention for its pattern and attack its weak point. The second and third bosses are much more difficult but not hard. The fourth level’s mini-boss and boss are far more dangerous, especially the former. The mini-boss shows that the later bosses will have multiple parts that need to be taken out before you can land a proper hit and that button-mashing will get you killed FAST. Not only has the bosses fought offer challenges, but they are executed flawlessly both the setting and the music they used. The boss fights remind me a lot of Gunstar Heroes due to its fast pace and the over-the-top battle.

The game can be played by Adventure Mode – which is basically the Story Mode – and the Classic Mode where you play the entire game without any story cutscenes. There’s also a Time Attack mode where you can complete the levels in the quickest time as possible as you can.

Audio

The sound effects fit well for the game’s setting and its 16-bit graphic, giving you the impression you’re playing a Sega Genesis game albeit modern. The soundtrack is perhaps one of the game’s highlights as the game contains pretty much everything, from catchy tune to serene, upbeat, hyperactive, sad, dramatic, and other impressions. The entire soundtrack is actually collaboration between the game’s creator and Woofle, who is known for her work with Japanese independent games such as Hitogata Happa.

In fact, if I try to list the soundtrack, it’ll take an entire page. Special mentions go to the game’s main theme is a fast, energetic rock piece mixed with Eastern theme and the Major Boss Battle theme due to its blood-pumping, uplifting tone that makes the entire fight epic.

Overall, Freedom Planet is a great action platformer and a call-back to the Sega Genesis era. In fact, it’s basically a love letter to the Genesis in general.

Author:

1. Yogi Udjaja
2. Jeremy Siregar