Mystery / New Mystery Map Design Review: Chapters 9 - 16

Chapter 9

Common Characteristics

• Both maps feature Astram and his army showing up behind the player as a turtle disincentive.

• Both maps have treasure chests that are threatened by thieves. One of the treasures in both games will be the Capricorn shard while the other will differ. In the original it’s a Secret Book. In the remake the treasure is Boots.

• Both maps feature the village where the player gets Minerva who carries Virgo with her.

• The enemy units consist of mostly wyverns and mages.

Which Version Designed This Map Better: Neither

The similarities outweigh the differences. The decision to make enemies unencumbered by the desert terrain is a smart move since it helps them reach the player quicker. The enemies are strong enough to make advancing harder, which makes Astram’s reinforcements that much more of a threat. Normally I’d penalize the map for an out of the way village that Marth has to get but it works here since it slows the player down enough to make it easier for Astram’s troops to arrive.

The only major difference is the recruitment of Etzel the Pretzel. I’ll admit that it adds to the map since it gives Marth an additional direction to move in but it doesn’t take very long to recruit Etzel so it’s not a big enough deal to tip the scales. Fortunately Etzel the Pretzel is worth using so it’s likely that the player will bother recruiting him. In the end both of these maps play out the same so I’m calling this one a draw.

Overall Rating for Both Maps: Excellent

Maps the Original Did Better: 2

Maps the Remake Did Better: 3

Equally Designed Maps: 4

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Chapter 10

Common Characteristics

• Both maps have Merric start out next to Ellerean (who is recruitable) while also surrounded by enemies

• If the player uses rescue on Merric there will be some dialogue by Ellerean and the enemies will charge at the player

• Both maps have treasures that are completely out of the way to the throne.

Which Version Designed This Map Better: Neither

      This map would be a lot more interesting if the player didn’t have access to the Rescue staff. Sure the enemies will charge at you but they’re usually far enough away for it to not matter. The only enemies that make a difference are the ones in the middle route. Despite having three routes to approach the chapter with the middle route is so much easier to pass through that it renders the other two routes moot. The treasures are also out of the way to the throne too which makes them a hassle to get. They’re also not threatened either. In the original the two treasures on the outside are not accessible by normal means. You have to use a Thief staff to get them. The remake doesn’t have this problem.

      There’s also the fact that this is considered an indoor map in the original. Neither Wendell nor your dismounted units can pass through the water which makes the map a bit tedious. In the remake you can reclass Wendell to a Wyvern Knight so that he can recruit Ellerean easier. I’ve been told that the remake version of this map can be trivialized by fliers. Is that true?

Even if it isn’t, neither version of this map are anything special to write home about. Some people hate this map. I don’t, but I can see why other people do. There are plenty of maps in both games that are far worse than this one.

Overall Rating for Both Maps: Meh

Maps the Original Did Better: 2

Maps the Remake Did Better: 3

Equally Designed Maps: 5

Chapter 11

Common Characteristics

• Enemies in both maps consist predominantly of axe users and 12 movement wyverns.

• Both versions of this map have buried treasure that the game never tells the player about.

• Both maps have to routes the player can approach with.

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake

 This map sucks in the original. The enemy density is incredibly scarce and because the enemies are weak it will not take very long to kill them all. Plus there are parts of the map where nothing happens. Since it’s also a desert map that means it’ll be a slog for any unit that isn’t a flier or a mage. The remake was smart enough to dramatically increase the enemy unit density. Not to mention that the enemies are stronger so it takes more effort on the part of the player to kill them. The enemy unit positioning is much better since there are a significant number of 12 movement wyverns whose range overlaps with the barbarian / archer formations which means that the player has to pay attention to where they place their units. This is how enemy unit positioning should be done. The remake’s version of this map is actually fun to play. The original version of Chapter 11 isn’t just bad, it’s legendary for how bad it is.

Overall Rating for the Remake: Decent

Overall Rating for the Original: Fail

Maps the Original Did Better: 2

Maps the Remake Did Better: 4

Equally Designed Maps: 5

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Chapter 12

Common Characteristics

• Both maps have forts behind the player where dragon reinforcements will appear

• Both maps have 3 wyverns with 12 movement that will charge at the player.

• Both maps have the Pisces shard on the far right corner of the map.

• Both maps have forts along the top and middle sections of the map where dragons will appear on certain turns in an attempt to encourage the player to play faster

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Original

                  This map is similar to Chapter 3 in the sense that neither version of this map is good, but somehow the remake managed to screw up the design even more. One problem that I have with both versions are those 12 movement wyverns on the left hand side. Their movement is ridiculous, they’re aggressive and they’re strong enough to pose a credible threat to the player. In other words they incentivize turtling because fast movement gets punished. Both versions of this map have a lot of forts where dragons can spawn and kill the player. My issue with this is that since both games have ambush spawns so dragons can appear at any time and kill the player which comes across as a cheap shot.

                   How is the remake’s version worse? In addition to having everything else that I just talked about, the remake pours enemy reinforcements behind the player soon before the player has time to move very far. Then the remake has all the enemies in the middle section of the map charge at the player all at once including Ser Darros Scrubworth, a suicidal recruitable enemy. In other words, the remake practically forces the player to play slowly. That is the exact opposite of how a good map should operate. The original at the very least wait a little longer before springing dragons on the player from behind.

Overall Rating for the Original: Meh

Overall Rating for the Remake: Fail

Maps the Original Did Better: 3

Maps the Remake Did Better: 4

Equally Designed Maps: 5

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Chapter 13

Common Characteristics

• Both versions contain treasure that are threatened by thieves

• Both versions feature at least 1 fort near the throne where dragons appear to attack the player

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake

             This one’s a close call because both versions have their pros and cons. The original version gives the player two routes to approach the map with and the dragon reinforcements aren’t area based spawns. The remake has more enemy unit variety, higher enemy density and has enemy reinforcements spawn more consistently (assuming that WoD’s information is correct). I think the remake’s version is slightly better for the two reasons:

1. More interesting enemy encounters: Instead of just fighting a cluster of fighters and then a cluster of dragons separately the player gets a mix of different enemies. The enemy squads consist of dragons, fighters and enemy mages which means that the strategy required to beat these formations is a little more interesting.

2. The remake’s version has less empty space: There will be long stretches of the map in the original version where nothing happens. This isn’t the case quite as much in the remake so the map keeps things more interesting.

                 It may not be a huge difference, but it’s enough to warrant the remake’s version getting a higher rating.

Overall Rating for the Original: Meh

Overall Rating for the Remake: Decent

Maps the Original Did Better: 3

Maps the Remake Did Better: 5

Equally Designed Maps: 5

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Chapter 14

Common Characteristics

• In both the original and Maniac Mode there will be a thief actively running away from the player who will drop a warp staff if killed.

• Both versions feature a room where Gotoh talks to Marth and gives him both the Lightsphere and the Starsphere if the player managed to collected all the previous fragments.

• Both versions have a room with Tiki and also have treasures that are pretty good.

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake

  There are two major changes the remake made that dramatically improved the map. It added more enemies and it provided a powerful turtle disincentive. The original didn’t have much of a turtle disincentive except for maybe the warp carrying thief. The problem with that though is that the thief is pretty easy to track down and kill. In the remake there are 2 powerful dragons right by that thief. Getting the warp staff requires more effort in addition to requiring more careful positioning.

                        After the dragons and thieves are dead in the original there are no more enemies left to fight. The remake improves this design by adding enemies both outside and inside each of the doors. Not only does it do that but once Marth opens the central door and talks to Gotoh the gates of Hell open wide and a huge number of enemy reinforcements show up behind the player. Once that happens the player needs to play fast or they die. This added urgency adds an extra layer of strategy to the level since Marth needs to go to that central tower. Combine that with the enemies who guard the throne and the map becomes far more thought provoking and challenging.

Overall Rating for the Original: Below Average

Overall Rating for the Remake: Excellent

Maps the Original Did Better: 3

Maps the Remake Did Better: 6

Equally Designed Maps: 5

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Chapter 15

Common Characteristics

• Both versions have two routes to approaching the map. The route to the right has a bunch of cavaliers and then features an imprisoned Est. The route to the left has two villages that are threatened by thieves

• Both versions have ballista that will snipe at players regardless of which route they’ll take
• Enemy reinforcements will show up if the player visits the section of the map where the arena, armory and shops exist.  

• 
  Abel is a recruitable enemy unit in both versions

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Remake

              *Not going to lie, I warp skipped both versions since I’m not a fan of how close the boss and throne are in both versions but since warp skipping doesn’t count when talking about these maps I won’t hold it against either version.*

Assuming that the player is playing normally both versions of these maps are well designed as they provide turtle disincentives in the form of the threatened villages. Est would be a turtle disincentive but rescue exists. Both maps have two routes to take, which is a good thing for map design and they provide enemy reinforcements if the player reaches a certain spot on the map. The difference here is that the yellow zone is easy to avoid in the original. In the remake the only way to avoid the yellow zone is through warp skipping. That’s a big difference.   

Overall Rating for the Original: Pretty Good

Overall Rating for the Remake: Excellent

Maps the Original Did Better: 3

Maps the Remake Did Better: 7

Equally Designed Maps: 5

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Chapter 16

Common Characteristics

• Both versions have a thief carrying the Earth Orb / Geosphere actively running away from the player

• If the player opens a treasure chest the door to the throne room opens. There will also be thieves who will try to take the treasure first.

• Astram (who is now recruitable) and his army of mercenaries will now fight the player. This army stands between the player and the treasure.

Which Version Designed This Map Better: The Original

                    The biggest difference between the remake and the original’s versions of this map has to do with what happens after the treasure is opened. In addition to having the door open the remake also introduces enemy reinforcements that will charge at the player down below. The main problem I have with this is that the reinforcements are positioned between the player and the throne room. Instead of encouraging the player to play faster they serve the exact opposite purpose since there isn’t much the player can do about them. If the player goes through the effort of obtaining the treasure chests then it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to advance to the throne room without first having to deal with these enemy reinforcements. It’s also possible to chokepoint these enemies at the spot where the mercenary with a “B” over his name is.

    The indoor also gives the original a slight edge over the remake since it’s much harder to catch up to the Geosphere thief. During my last playthrough of the remake I managed to catch up to the thief on Turn 2 with a 10 move cavalier and kill it. In the original you almost NEED that warp to catch up to the thief. That’s a bigger deal. Both the Geosphere thief and the clever throne room trap consisting of the boss and another mage with Meteor were all the original needed to make the player play faster. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Overall Rating for the Original: Excellent

Overall Rating for the Remake: Decent

Maps the Original Did Better: 4

Maps the Remake Did Better: 7

Equally Designed Maps: 5