Developed and Published by Kanipro Games, dive into the world of Violet Wisteria. Master the Combo-focused game-play and brave the skies to defend your kingdom. With sword in one and and magic in the other, its time to take back skies.
Take to the Skies
Violet Wisteria follows the path of the title character fighting her way across multiple dimensions to protect her kingdom, the realms, and the world overall. The sinister wizard Maskandes is wreaking havoc and monsters are populating the many worlds. The world itself is lovingly designed with 16-bit sprites that have a very 80s to 90s era vibe about them. Keeping to the old-school vibe, the game runs on a countdown timer. Run out of lives, or time runs out, and it’s game over.
Watch your step, its a long fall
Violet Wisteria is first and foremost a skill-based platformer. Movement is at a set speed on its own, so being able to time your jumps and knowing when to move is of the utmost importance. There is no run, but there is a slide movement option. You will not be using this to dodge or move faster however, only to get through narrow areas. It can be a little confusing due to some of the platforms having larger and less forgiving collision boxes that they would appear. But, with timing and patience you can get through it. Pattern recognition is the name of the game here. It may seem unbeatable at times, but everything holds to a pattern.
Paper, Rock, Scissors, Glock?
The gimmick behind Violet Wisteria is its combo-style combat system. Every enemy in the game has a color to it: red, white, and blue. Depending on which way you aim when you attack, the color of your attack will change. Think paper, rock, scissors. Most base enemies can be taken down in a single attack of the right color. Hitting an enemy with the same color will result in being launched in the opposite direction at a fast speed. This can be used to get past various gaps in the level, but it can also launch you off a cliff if you misfire. You also have access to magic spells that correspond to the colors, at the cost of seconds off the clock.
Final Thoughts
Violet Wisteria is fine. It’s not terrible, it says up front that the platforming is skill-based and that earns it points in its favor. However, the punishing nature of some of the enemy placements can lead to frustration. Combine that with input confusion and it keeps this game from being great. But if you want a challenge, give this game a try.
