Developer: Gamecom Team
Publisher: Freedom Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Troublemaker – Review
Certain games capture you from the very first moment while others take time to grow on you. The latter is entirely accurate for Troublemaker. Initially, the game felt like a very cheaply made project but the more time we spent in the game the more fun it all became. You follow the interesting story of Budi that tries to get away from his troubles but gets dragged into his way of life deeper and deeper.
Story
The story takes place in Indonesia where teens are faced with various issues in regards to finding work after graduating. Because of this, there is a large amount of unemployment but our main character Budi wants to do something with his life. After a fighting incident in his local area, he is transferred to a different school far away in the hopes of letting his past behind him. It turns out that he is transferred to the same school as his late father who had quite the reputation there. Budi tries his best to not get in trouble but unbeknownst to him his past will be catching up to him rather quickly.
It turns out that his new school holds an annual fighting competition where the winner wins a large amount of money, perfect to start out life in a rather poor area. You fight your way to the top and the story follows nicely with various twists in the road.
Graphics
Visually the game looks like it has been made in a simple creation engine as the graphics are rather simple and even on the highest setting it all looks very basic. This makes the game look like a cheap knockoff Yakuza game. As it might cloud your judgment, it is best to give the game some time to grow on you, as there is some attention to details in the various menus and the many special attacks that you can do. There isn’t much variation in locations where the game takes place, however, and it all looks quite the same but the setting feels appropriate.
Sound
The voice acting of Troublemaker is completely done in Indonesian, which is quite nice but you notice that the voice actors are rather inexperienced. Initially, the voice acting feels somewhat disconnected from the characters as they sound emotionless and monotone. After a while, however, you can feel the actors getting more comfortable with their roles and this feel a bit more natural. One thing that is great about Troublemaker is that the music is spot on and always elevates the mood in parts where it has to. During normal exploring, there is ambient music, but when things get troublesome it is more thrilling music, and during fights, it’s always a strong rock track playing.
Gameplay
Troublemaker is an adventure fighting game where you follow the story of Budi who makes his way through his average life in school. The game begins with Budi being stopped by a group of hoodlums that don’t allow him to pass. This starts the tutorial for the game where you learn how to fight and defend yourself. For a fighting game, it plays spectacularly well. You can either run freely around and Budi will automatically target the nearest enemy or you can focus on your opponent for one-to-one fights. The fighting itself is pretty simple with just a light and heavy attack, as well as the ability to use a special move that deals great damage. An aspect that makes most fighting games difficult is that it’s hard to dodge or parry attacks, but this is really well-developed in Troublemaker and it makes fights overly fun and exciting.
After this incident, your mother decides that it is best for you to move to a different school, so you will stop fighting, and while it initially works, you get dragged down the same rabbit hole quite quickly. This new school holds a yearly fighting tournament and the winner gets a large amount of money to start their career. Early on you’ll meet a rather interesting figure, Richard, a kid who played too much Resident Evil 4. He has dedicated his life to cosplaying as the merchant and selling you items and upgrading your character. These items are convenient during battles for quick healing, regaining stamina, or refreshing your special attack. However, you can also find all these items while exploring, so sometimes it’s better to save up for your character upgrades.
In between story segments, there is some free time to roam the schoolyard and do some activities. You can talk with your classmates to uncover details from the tournament or learn new things about the school. Besides socializing, you can also try your hand at the various mini-games that will reward a position on the leaderboard with a nice cash prize. These distractions can be great to immerse you in the setting but can also be ignored if you rather make quick progress. As you move up the ranks within the tournament, you’ll run into the gangs of the champions that you have defeated. You can always try to dodge them and go a different route to your destination or teach them a lesson they won’t forget.
Conclusion
Troublemaker is a fun title, especially if you like adventurous fighting games. The game’s story is quite nice and the Indonesian voice acting adds a layer of authenticity to the entire experience. While we first noticed that the voice acting wasn’t that convincing, the actors slowly got more comfortable in their roles and we eventually ended up getting more and more attached to the characters. The game’s graphics aren’t mindblowing, but there is some attention to detail. We mainly enjoyed the solid fighting action, as this motivated us to press forward. Overall, we can recommend this title.
Troublemaker - Review,
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