Free Bushido Panda

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder


Take Up Your Blade!
The Kingdom of Japanda is in great danger! The pig army from the Land Of Darkness has seized control over the five elemental crystals, plunging the world into chaos! Take up your katana and fight back in this grand 8-bit adventure! Will you be able to save Japanda from ruin?



Adorable Panda Stuff!
  • 6 dungeons to explore, each with unique bosses and enemies!
  • Explore a world full of adorable Japanese pandas!
  • Find or buy mysterious artifacts that aid you on your way!
  • Master legendary ninja tools such as shuriken and bombs for an edge in combat!
  • Completely open-ended gameplay! Take on all dungeons in any order you want!
  • Oldschool NES-style color palette and soundtrack!
  • Dozens of optional upgrades and items to find!
  • Upgrade your weapons and armor by finding hermit blacksmiths and secret shops!
  • No boring cutscenes to sit through! Start playing at once!
A Blast From The Past!
Features authentic 8-bit, 4-channel chiptune music and 8-bit graphics using the IDRC-0 palette, using a semi-widescreen viewport that gives you maximal room for action!
  • In windowed mode, the game automatically resizes to fit on your screen with integer pixel scaling for the best experience!
  • 60 frames-per-second rendering!
  • Optimized for color-blind and photosensitive players!
  • Anti-frustration features added for the optimal gaming experience!


Download links:
https://yaru.itch.io/bushido-panda


Screenshots:
 

chance

predictably random
Forum Staff
Moderator
Excellent. Well done. And a very well-presented post, I might add. It has a good description with plenty of detail. But not too much hype. OK.. maybe a little hype. But it encouraged me to get my "optimal gaming experience". :)

So far, I've visited the smith in the cave to get a sword. (And kudos for knowing the person is called a "smith" and not a smithy.) And I killed some enemies. I tried to buy more stuff... but didn't have sufficient funds. So I got cocky and attacked more enemies. Not a good choice for me, at this stage of ninjahood.

The overall feel is very authentic and very true to the original style of these games. The graphics, sounds, music, etc. are very well done. That said, I sort of wish the window size was a bit smaller, to give less pixelization. I like the look of the smaller screenshots, in terms of crispness and detail. And some of that is lost when the scene is expanded. But it's not a big deal. Everything still looks great.

The gameplay is loads of fun. Plenty of places to explore and things to do. I like that you give the option of using either arrow keys or WASD. And the character's movement and control feels very smooth.

I'll come back and comment more, after I've played longer. I expect to have some fun with this. VERY nice job.

EDIT: spelling and clarity
 
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T

Tirous

Guest
I must say Yal that your game is absolutely delicious =D

That said it does fail to explain that enter is for inventory which was quite annoying when it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to use the fire thingy, as well the hitboxs are a tad to big on things like enemies and projectiles, with things like bats and arrows more then often hitting you when you though you were more then out of there range.

So ya, again, delicious =D
 
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Nexusrex

Guest
Yet another game from Yal! And this time, it's delicious and it's looking like my fav type of gameplay!
Added to bookmark, will be downloaded later.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Whee, I'm so glad you guys like it ^____^

That said it does fail to explain that enter is for inventory
Good point... well, I guess at least you figured out that Z and X were for using items, right? :p
Did you try pressing Esc first? I guess that's pretty much the standard pause button nowadays, I've just never really considered it an option since I grew up with GM6 in which it was the default 'instantly end the game' button. I've bound Z, X, space AND enter to the 'confirm' button in menus (so that people instantly use the correct one without even thinking about it), so I guess patching the game to make Esc and Enter to the same thing wouldn't be too big of a deal.
 
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nujumkey

Guest
I find the UI very interesting, did you not want to devote a pause screen to the map? I like how compressed everything is, but i don't know the player needs that much information at once.

The game looks very cool, will give it a go :D
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I find the UI very interesting, did you not want to devote a pause screen to the map? I like how compressed everything is, but i don't know the player needs that much information at once.
It contains everything the first Zelda game's UI contained (plus shuriken/bomb counters), and everything literally is in the GUI all the time. I had two reasons to put it on the left side... first of all, putting it on the top would give the game a very 'widescreen' view that wouldn't really work well with the room-by-room design (horizontal and vertical dimensions would have different impact, so the world would end up feeling a bit 'skewed'), but by putting the GUI on the left I could keep the playing field more harmonically proportioned. Secondly, it looks more different... I don't want to make a too blatant ripoff, and this felt like a good way to distinguish my game from my inspiration. According to an article I read a while ago, we have an easier time 'thinking rightwards' and focusing on something on the right-hand side of the screen, so putting the GUI on the left side felt like the least distracting option. (If you think about it, a lot of games put their most important GUI elements in the top left corner of the screen so they can be seen without being distracting... it might not be conscious, but I'm sure it "feels right" with a lot of devs)
 
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itameio

Guest
Screenshots:
[/QUOTE]


the images are broken, can you re post them?.

edit : never mind, i download it and saw how it looks like, it was very interesting for as much as i played.
 
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Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
The images aren't broken over here... is anyone else experiencing it? I got worried maybe I see the images properly only because I'm the one that originally posted them.
 
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Aura

Guest
The images aren't broken over here... is anyone else experiencing it?
Images seem to be fine on my end.

As for the game, it looks decent enough. (Not to mention your tweets that made me feel desperate to check this out.) Sadly I haven't played the game much, but I can say that this looks great and decent effort has been put into it. Do you like Zelda so much BTW? Dunno but most of your games are Zelda-inspired. ^^'

Anyways, I'll leave a detailed review later. My top priority after @Otyugra launches his review club. x3
 
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Tirous

Guest
Played a bit more of the game, and i must say it could also help if you made a left-handed alternative for z/x, as i know that can be a problem for some people

maybe h/j as a alternative, that said i recommend these mostly as thats what i do in my games, WASD + Space, for movement, then HJKL-UIOP for everything else =)
 
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itameio

Guest
The images aren't broken over here... is anyone else experiencing it? I got worried maybe I see the images properly only because I'm the one that originally posted them.

Well i can't view them neither from my phone or pc, maybe the links are private/not public ?, Or there's something seriously wrong on my side.
 
M

Morumotto

Guest
Images are fine for me too.

Also, I'm really enjoying this! I just played to the Earth temple, so not long. But I plan to play more soon! Great job!
 
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Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Okay, then I'll just assume the images not showing up properly is a local problem. *phew*

Once you get the raft from the earth temple, you can go more or less anywhere in the game world, so if you're having trouble beating the boss, you could always go elsewhere and see if you find something that'd help :3
 
K

KriLL

Guest
Great job! I know how hard it is to make a game, mines taken the best part of 3 years so far :D
 
R

RayLemun

Guest
I've finished it >.< Great game.
 
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faissaloo

Guest
Okay, then I'll just assume the images not showing up properly is a local problem. *phew*

Once you get the raft from the earth temple, you can go more or less anywhere in the game world, so if you're having trouble beating the boss, you could always go elsewhere and see if you find something that'd help :3
Images weren't showing up for me until I turned Privacy Badger off, so I think @itameio's browser thinks it's tracking him, maybe his phone also blocks that sort of stuff by default or something?
 
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faissaloo

Guest
On attacking the leftmost sludge enemy north of the blacksmith after getting the sword:
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in Vertex Shader compilation
ShaderName: shader_enehurt

memory:8:36: error: syntax error, unexpected KW_REGISTER, expecting VAR_IDENTIFIER or TYPE_IDENTIFIER or NEW_IDENTIFIER

at gml_Object_parent_enemy_Draw_0
############################################################################################
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
On attacking the leftmost sludge enemy north of the blacksmith after getting the sword:
I've never seen that error myself, but it seems the shader doesn't compile properly. (Which feels kinda strange since all it does is alter the RGB values of the input, it shouldn't run into the "max 64 instructions" limitation old graphics cards - including my old computer - had with shaders). What is the specifications of your graphics card?
 
F

faissaloo

Guest
I've never seen that error myself, but it seems the shader doesn't compile properly. (Which feels kinda strange since all it does is alter the RGB values of the input, it shouldn't run into the "max 64 instructions" limitation old graphics cards - including my old computer - had with shaders). What is the specifications of your graphics card?
Intel 3000 integrated, could always just be a problem with WINE though if I'm the only one getting it.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
You're running the game on a Linux/Mac computer? I know that can lead to issues, I've had games run on an Ubuntu computer (under WINE) crash if image_blend/alpha were used. It was a while ago, though, and they were GM8 games, so I'm not sure they're related.

In any case, I can't guarantee that the game runs properly under emulation and I have no plans to port it to anything other than Windows at the moment.
 
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Tirous

Guest
Just finished the game, and i must say that the presentation on the final boss/area was awesome, much better then i probably could have done. ;D

Tomorrow(or whatever ;D) ill write a more detailed critique on the game, both for the good, and the bad. just WAY to tired right now, so ya.

Awesome game as always yal ;D
 
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Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
And this is why Tsuka and me have the "please hate horses" running gag... :p
 
T

Tirous

Guest
Yal, could you patch the game and add a way to get a few coins in the first dungeon without having to kill anything

like just a few scattered on the ground in the first room with the bats, something like that.

I ask this because if the above were the case, one could theoretically do a swordless run of your game, by resetting the dungeon and using the coins to buy shurikens and bombs and thus progress through the game.

Just curious if you'd be willing to do the above, simply scattering 4 or so coins around the first dungeon in a such a way that a sword isn't required to get them.
Doing such a thing would make a potentially awesome run possible is all, so i thought id ask. ;D
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Not sure whether a swordless run would be as awesome as it would be grindy, but it shouldn't be impossible to put a few resetting coins in there.
 

pixeltroid

Member
Really nice!

How long did take for you to make this game?
Who did the music?? I loved the first dungeon soundtrack!

Also, where is the raft??!
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
  1. Thanks! ^__^
  2. Around a month of effective time.
  3. Me.
  4. Thanks! ^__^
  5. In the first dungeon, in the room in the top-left corner.
 
T

Tirous

Guest
^^^ you made this in a month 0.0 ... ... impressive...

Not sure whether a swordless run would be as awesome as it would be grindy, but it shouldn't be impossible to put a few resetting coins in there.
Sure, maybe at first, but having played your game past the first little island i cant see it being TO big a deal once said starting area is passed, simply due to the open nature of the game allowing the player to run and get another tool.

Ultimately, the players whom are gonna try to do such a run are also the type of players whom are willing to put up with such a grind, as the whole point is to go through the game without the one mechanic the dev expected to be constant within the game, with each road-block along the way being something akin to a puzzle for the player to need to solve.
Even if the solution is to grind, that's ok as it still makes the player feel clever, like they beat the system somehow, thus rewarding them for there dedication.

The trick with the above^ is not to make it easy, nor even vary palatable, but simply to make it possible, and let the players so inclined to try for themselves.

Hens i think your game would benefit from adding 4 coins to the start of the first temple, or something like that ;D
Or maybe 8, scattered in each of the four corners of the rooms directly right/left of the dungeons entrance anti-chamber, as that would both reduce the grindy nature of it, while also presenting a engaging challenge to the player.

Of course its still your game, but i think this small change or something similar could add so much more to a already good game! :D
 
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Blakkid489

Guest
Anther great game by the legend :D

is there another key or is there not enough keys in the earth shrine?
 
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Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
There should be enough keys to unlock all the doors. I think one of the hardest-to-get keys require you to kill all enemies in the room with the first fire-breathing snake, since the room is split up into two separate parts that are inaccessible from each other this might not be obvious.

Keys can be used in any dungeon, though, and there is a shop that sells keys on the mainland in case you screw up and/or can't find a key, but every dungeon has the same number of locked doors and keys. (And no keys are placed so that you need keys to get them)
 
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Blakkid489

Guest
Okay cool. Also I found some weird stuff that I want to bring to your attention.

  • Weird Stuff #1:
    In the dungeon where there's a GIGANTIC BIRD battle, I skipped a room and continued northward. After I cleared that room and went back, the key to the room appeared.
    Might be a glitch but it saved me from having to clear all the enemies.




    I already grabbed the key before I screenshot this but I hadn't clear this room yet.
  • Weird Stuff #2
    This one enemy came too close to the tree apparently and and it started spazzing and unable to move down.

Thats all for now lol still playing :D
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I'm aware of the key glitch, but I'm not aware how to stop it from happening... and since it only is beneficial for the player, I've not been too focused on fixing it. I guess it's a timing-critical thing that causes the enemies in a room to get deactivated the same step as the controller object that spawns something when all enemies are dead checks whether all enemies are dead. I've not been able to replicate it consistently.

As for #2, that shouldn't be able to happen x3 Enemies use the same collision check script all the time, including during knockback. Did you accidentally 'bring' an enemy from a previous room by knocking it out of the screen right before triggering the transition? Or did it just walk up there on its own and get stuck? If it's the latter case, the only thing I can come up with as a reason is inconsistencies with non-integer pixel positions collision checks.
 
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Blakkid489

Guest
hmmm now that you mention it, It might have happened after I knocked it towards the screen. I didn't the leave the area though. I just sat there and watched it spazz for awhile lol
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
No, I meant that it originated from another screen and you brought it to the screen where it got stuck. Then again, I guess its collision checking might act up at the edges of the same screen as well if you knock it just right. There are probably a bunch cases I missed where enemies' movement clashes with the code that prevents them from leaving the screen, and the latter ignores collisions when it pushes them back into the screen (since it assumes the enemy comes from a tile it can walk on). It would require frame-perfect timing, though, so GG on that :p
 
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Blakkid489

Guest
I know I keep pushing on the same topic but how do you know what which shrine is which?

Also is there like huge map that I can referrence or is this more of a fan thing that I gotta do? Cuz I will :D
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I know I keep pushing on the same topic but how do you know what which shrine is which?
The stuff in them. For instance, the Water Shrine has lots of water in it, the Fire Shrine has lava, and so on. The Air Shrine has indoors cherry trees and the Metal Shrine has... a desert. Not sure how I came up with that, but I guess something more metallic would've just seemed too modern.

There's no official map, and I personally think exploration is more fun without one :3 With a map, you end up just crossing off places sequentially instead of learning where everything are.
 
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Tirous

Guest
Yal, in the future could you add in some kind of at least basic volume options, i listen to youtube/music in the background and thus would prefer some option to ether turn-off or at the vary least make the games music not over-power whatever it is im listening to.

This is a common problem for GMS games, people never consider this, thus i just thought i'd bring it up. ;D

Tanks!!!:D

edit: also if you ever make a direct sequel to this, might i recommend considering something like a NG+ mode, even if its just basic stat raising, it would add a considerable amount of replay-ability to the game. ;)
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Yal, in the future could you add in some kind of at least basic volume options, i listen to youtube/music in the background and thus would prefer some option to ether turn-off or at the vary least make the games music not over-power whatever it is im listening to.
Yeah, I'm pretty bad at providing options. I probably should write some sort of menu framework I can just copypaste in everything I do.

There's a workaround on Windows7 and onwards, though. Right-click your volume icon in the taskbar and select 'open volume mixer'. It lets you set volume individually for every application that's running, and the settings will be remembered for the next time you boot it as well. If you're OK on muting SFX as well, I recommend it~
(I use it a lot personally because tsuka and me follow a bunch of youtube series together, and we both like grinding RPGs while watching for max efficiency, and RPGs have lots of music interfering with video feed :p)

 

Distronaut

Member
I really enjoyed this.

Game play and graphics felt true to life in respect to the theme you have going. It was like loading up an old NES rom via a Windows emulator.

Overall a charming little creation - you should consider perhaps making more adventure titles :)
 
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Tirous

Guest
Just curious Yal, would you be willing to ever make this open source?
I'd love to tinker with it! :D
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Thanks! Looking forward to see what you think about the game :3
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Thanks! ^__^
It's basically some gradient text I've rasterized and applied transforms to in GIMP, it's not too hard to replicate once you get the steps down. The "reduce palette" tools can be pretty powerful for retro pixel-art if you know how to use them (and are prepared to do some cleanup afterwards). Looking back at the logo now, I could actually see 3 spots I missed. *cringe*
 
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