Contact (Nintendo DS) - Review by paintpanic

Introduction

Heralded as the spiritual successor to Earthbound, Grasshopper Manufacture's Contact may very well be the closest the western world gets to Mother 3, right down to choosing your favorite food at the beginning of the game. Quirky humor is Contact's selling point, but funny video games don't often have a leg to stand on without quality gameplay. Luckily for Contact, its flaws are bearable and it does quite a few things perfectly.

Gameplay

Contact places you in the shoes of a boy named Terry on a quest to help a professor from a distant world fix his ship. But as RPG stories are apt to do, your adventure quickly becomes much more than you bargained for.

Battles are a strange mix of real-time and turn-based. Any time you're walking around, you can press B to enter battle mode and draw your weapon. In battle mode, Terry will attack after a certain amount of time, whether you're ready or not. This lack of control really puts a damper on the battle system and a system like Secret of Mana's, where you can attack at any time, even if it's only for a little damage, would be more appropriate. Contact is a very difficult game, and some heavy leveling may be required at certain points. If you have an intense distaste for grinding, this might put you off, but regular battles are somewhat easy and a lot of experience points can be earned by massacring townsfolk.

One of the most interesting features of Contact is the experience system. Terry doesn't level up in the traditional sense; instead, each facet of his battle aptitude gains a level as you utilize that particular trait. Each blow you land will gain you experience points in strength and dexterity, and each one you take will earn you experience in defense. Running around will eventually lead to you running around faster, and mercilessly slaughtering all of the villagers you meet will lead to you losing karma points. This stat system is executed almost flawlessly and really separates Contact from other RPGs.

As you progress through the game, Terry will earn a variety of costumes that will allow you to cook, fish, steal, and cast a variety of spells. This costume system is really only notable in that you can only do one of the aforementioned activities at a time.

Controls

Contact can be controlled by either the D-pad and buttons or the touch screen, but the touch screen option isn't nearly as easy to use. Unfortunately, the developers have tossed in a few actions that can only be accomplished via the touch screen, a hassle if you're controlling the rest of the games with the buttons.

Graphics

The bottom screen features some nice very visuals in an isometric 3-D environment, and the top screen usually features the 32-bit antics of the professor and his space dog, Mochi, in an endearing tribute to the SNES era. The graphics in Terry's world get the job done, and the professor's lab resonates with Contact's humorous overtones.

Sound

The music is, for the most part, is standard video game fare. Some of the songs are composed with the '8-bit synthesizer'? effect in mind, but the result is more grating than reminiscent.

Dual screen

The top screen is almost solely used to display the professor and his hit-and-miss quips. It adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game, but don't wait around for the 'all your base'? jokes to end and the real advice to start. It isn't coming.

Final comments

If Atlus and Grasshopper set out to create the next Earthbound, they might just have done it. Contact is so much like its spiritual predecessor, in fact, that it walks a thin line between homage and rip-off. If you find yourself laying awake at night, alone, in the dark, dreaming of the day that Nintendo finally localizes Mother 3 for the English-speaking world, you might want to do yourself a favor and pick up Contact. It might just hold you over for another eleven years.

Pro: Humeros and Engaging Gameplay.
Con: Lack of Battle Control Feature and Can Be Difficult for Beginners.
Final score: 8.5

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