The Dink Network

Sori has lost his parents, but doesn't know if they're still alive.
And something is wrong with his uncle, Skull Rage...
One thing is for sure... Sori MUST know what's going on!

*Best download of september 2001*

Probably not as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be: this game has real style! It reminded me of Lloyd Alexander, and a lot of effort has been made to pack stuff into it. On the down side, a certain pointlessness pervades the game, which makes it hard to keep playing towards the end. Also, I *really* disliked the scripting. Although my own scripts are usually poorly done, there are some things here which are just plain ugly. To go into more detail:

Style: 10 /10
When you enter a new area, some text appears to announce it in the center of the screen. There are various ambient sounds, which are aesthetically pleasing even when they don't match the scenery. The music is not bad... some nice FFVII. Some poorly done but well placed weather effects enhance the... experience, as do the wonderful names of various people and places.

Gameplay: 6 /10
Not actually good, but standards in this area are low.

Story: 5 /10
Nonsensical, but not ill-fitting. You travel 1000 years back in time to rescue your parents, who have been kidnapped by your uncle. I couldn't beat the second-to-last boss, so I didn't find out what the secret of parizaya was... oh well. What really interested me about this story was the "saving your parents" part. I think there is one section of [u]Taran Wanderer[/u] where the protagonist tries to save a guy he believes to be his father. Psychologically, he is looking for acceptance from a father he never had (being an orphan). As an aside: the original Dink is about an orphanned pig-farmer searching for adventure, much like the (above referenced) Lloyd Alexander series. While Dink's motivations in the original are basically murky, and he seems to save people for the sake of saving them, here he (well, "Sori" as the protagonist is named) has a clear personal stake in defeating evil.

Without story or gameplay, it is hard to justify playing this, but, like rap lyrics, it might be worth downloading for the style, or even as inspiration.