Fjong – Review
This game is a lighthearted, indie, platformer game developed and published by VaragtP and has a unique character design that is bloody cute with retro graphics. It creates a soothing atmosphere that is perfect for children. Help fjong reach his dreams by means of jumping to- and eating magical candy so that the and his friends can reach for the stars!
Story
Fjong wants to fly, but sadly for him (or her, who knows?) he can’t. Luckily though, there exists such a thing as magic candy that can do the trick just as fine as wings would. The story gets told primarily through cut scenes, with no text or voice acting, at the beginning and end of the game, the gameplay also reveals some story elements, because as your Fjong works with 2 other friends, you learn that teamwork is important and that you could never have managed to fly all by yourself.
Some more story elements wouldn’t hurt Fjong’s atmosphere. Cutscenes in between every ten levels that tell of big events in fjong’s life would be a great example of getting players more engaged into the story, but it needs to be said that an engaging story is not what this game is going for, it’s all about being relaxing, which it does excellently.
Graphics
Fjong handles 2D graphics that look very retro and have a typical platformer look. It’s almost as if this game came straight from an arcade machine. Other than the look of the surroundings, there are also the Fjongs. These little creatures are tiny blobs of cuteness that want to fly. They look cute and are animated cute, the developers obviously knew what they were doing.
Everything in the game is rather pixely but this just adds to the retro feel of the game. There’s also lots of curly plants and flowers which give the whole game a fairy-like atmosphere, sunshine, rainbows and butterflies, nothing bad in the land of Fjong. The backdrops consist of idyllic pine forests with the treetops twirling in the wind while a pink haze blows by, this is the land unicorns are born in, hell yeah, let’s jump around in that.
Sound
Fjong knows how to de-stress you, its soothing soundtrack helps greatly with that, and this music also gives a chirpy, fairy-like vibe that seeps into the head of anyone playing. Apart from the relaxing, atmospheric music in this game, Fjong’s sound effects are very present too. As you let your Fjong jump, it gives off the cutest grunt ever, it’s as if whale noises and puppy noises had a magnificent baby that is the Fjong jumping grunt. There is no tension building music whatsoever, only the good, calming noise of the soundtrack.
Gameplay
The whole objective of this casual indie game is to get fjong to where the magic candy is so that he can fly, with jumping being your only means of transportation. You can determine where to jump to and the force with which you jump by means of an arrow, so it’s a no-brainer that good game physics need to be present for Fjong to even remotely work. Fortunately, Fjong possesses good physics that give your jumps and the different characters some reality, besides the totally real-looking idyllic wonderland the levels take place in.
Of course, it’s not always as simple as just jumping into the basket with magic candy, in most later levels, the player has to jump on a button first so that the candy can drop into the basket in order for your Fjong to be able to access it. Part of this game are also its three different characters, three different sizes of Fjongs to be exact, the player starts out with the blue f-Fjong which is the medium one, you then further unlock the little red Fjong and the big yellow fFjong. The difference in size is noticeable in how high they can each jump and how much candy they need to fly, the different colors are also reflected in different color buttons that only the Fjong of that color can push.
Fjong consists out of 20 levels that can be completed with one to three stars depending on how many jumps it took you to get all the Fjongs to their candy, after all levels have been completed with three stars, you can replay them and earn a purple star by completing the level in a fixed amount of jumps. The biggest issue of the game lies here, yes there is good replay value but you can easily finish all the levels in 30 minutes, 20 minutes if you’re fast. So, while you might take a bit longer to complete all the purple stars, your initial playthrough is going to be ridiculously short, and it leaves a feeling as if the developers didn’t have any more inspiration for levels so they just set extra goals (purple stars) to stretch the game out.
Lastly, Fjong is a game designed for mobile, yet it was released unto Steam. This might explain why there are only 20 levels, nevertheless, children might still enjoy it because it is harder for them than for adults so they get more playtime out of it which might make it worth its price.
Conclusion
To conclude, Fjong is an enjoyable, lighthearted, casual game designed for children. Adults or teenagers might get easily bored because the game’s atmosphere doesn’t speak to them or because they find it too easy. Furthermore, the game isn’t to be recommended because it only features 20 levels and hence, is very short. It does feature cute characters and a well-designed atmosphere with good in-game physics and lovable retro graphics, which makes us wonder what the game could have been if it featured a lot more content. While the atmosphere, mechanics and appearance does have its merits, the game is a one-trick pony that will eventually only entertain children.
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