Niña Nueve by Jonathan Whiting

[raw]
made by Jonathan Whiting for LD23 (COMPO)
Puzzles, brawling, boss monsters. A bit like a Zelda game trapped in a 9x9 box.

Arrow keys control.

Ratings

Coolness 52% 3
Overall 4.02 23
Audio 3.47 82
Fun 3.84 22
Graphics 3.89 89
Humor 2.48 308
Innovation 3.85 62
Mood 3.31 117
Theme 3.39 239

Feedback

Ishisoft
23. Apr 2012 · 06:34 UTC
The puzzles involving luring the enemies to a certain spot were a bit slow, but excellent otherwise. Loads of variety. Moving the player back a floor is a tidy way of replacing death too.
Daniel
23. Apr 2012 · 06:49 UTC
Music is nice, and I like the recycling of the 9x9 grid! Graphics are simple but effective.
keely
23. Apr 2012 · 07:02 UTC
This is the definitely the best game I've played so far. Everything is very polished. I love the graphics & feel! Recycling the grid also amplifies the Tiny World aspect.

BUT I'm stuck very early, like third level or something. I must be stupid. I'd love to play this moar!

5 stars on many categories.
FrankTheTank
23. Apr 2012 · 07:05 UTC
Really effective art style and great music! Some puzzles are a bit boring because the enemies are really slow.
dr_soda
23. Apr 2012 · 07:36 UTC
This is wonderful. I really enjoyed the prototype you posted on your blog and this version really delivers. I did find the final boss a bit easy to cheat though. That weapon is just too powerful given the properties of the enemies when they are hit.
KhaoTom
23. Apr 2012 · 07:52 UTC
So much variety, so much polish. Fun and great mood. Love the credits at the end.
KevinZuhn
23. Apr 2012 · 21:09 UTC
Adorable and fun to play! Using death to jump levels was my favorite mechanic. The ball rode the line between frustrating and fun, especially when timing was important, but I liked using it to beat on enemies.
Surprising how much variety there is here!
23
24. Apr 2012 · 10:33 UTC
Really beautiful, and interesting as always. Compared to your other games I've played I'd say everything really felt alive in this one - not just the characters but the whole stage.

The leading puzzles were a bit slow, as others mentioned.

When picking palettes, do you have some rules you follow or is it by instinct?
🎤 Jonathan Whiting
24. Apr 2012 · 12:26 UTC
I was aware that the leading puzzles would be a little irritating, but I liked them too much to drop, and ran out of time to find a nice way to 'fix' them.

I guess I pick palettes mostly by instinct. If anything the important bit is I pick my palette outright before I start pixelling, and force myself to stick to it.
johanp
24. Apr 2012 · 18:57 UTC
Nice and complete! Interesting new mechanics kept it fresh all along. Two thumbs up!
robcozzens
24. Apr 2012 · 20:17 UTC
That was really cleaver. The ball was too hard to control though. And it would have been nice if the graphics gave you a better hint as to how they would work.
Draknek
24. Apr 2012 · 23:00 UTC
This is nice! Occasionally the puzzles involving the move-toward-you enemies or the ball were more time-consuming than I'd like, but other than that no complaints at all.
Zythiku
25. Apr 2012 · 03:14 UTC
Great puzzles! And all the game concepts were introduced really well.
bompo
25. Apr 2012 · 17:55 UTC
As said the puzzles involving luring the enemies were a bit to slow. But very polished and interesting concept!
Lythom
25. Apr 2012 · 20:37 UTC
Loved the game. I died once (stuck in a wall, loopy nasty song, restarted the game, then finished it)
Not too hard but it's good the way it is, boss fights <3, nice gameplay mechanisms (very nice way to move balls !)
Really a nice polished game with cool sound and music and cute graphics.
Thanks for the game ! very good job.
LukeRissacher
26. Apr 2012 · 00:12 UTC
Cool, liked this one. The couple levels that introduced the "centipede" were really fun (different strategies, having to duck into corners). Liked the look of the wormy grubs.
Pierrec
26. Apr 2012 · 11:06 UTC
A lot of good different concepts here! You mixed them up very well and the worm was awesome!
DaveDobson
26. Apr 2012 · 13:13 UTC
Very cool game. It took me quite a while to figure out the basic rules of the universe, as some of them were non-intuitive (although still very neat). Once I did, I really appreciated all the different puzzle levels and the variety of techniques required. The boss battles would be more satisfying if you had some indication of how much health the boss had left as you fought. Definitely one of the best I've played here, especially in terms of completeness and variety.
Jhelle
26. Apr 2012 · 19:17 UTC
Loving it, great graphics and music. The idea of new dungeons on a 9x9 grid each time with small puzzles is genius.
onehandclap
26. Apr 2012 · 21:26 UTC
I'm amazed. Really. Great job, keep up the good work! =)
SidetrackGames
26. Apr 2012 · 21:56 UTC
Smooth graphics and clever puzzles :)
Matt Rudder
26. Apr 2012 · 23:56 UTC
Very cool concept. I liked the lack of punishment for running into enemies and how it encourages exploration. Simply awesome.
namuol
27. Apr 2012 · 01:28 UTC
Great stuff!
bitslap_
27. Apr 2012 · 05:29 UTC
A great puzzler
dukope
27. Apr 2012 · 05:40 UTC
Lovely pixel art and really nice mechanics.
Cakebread
27. Apr 2012 · 14:21 UTC
There were many levels and few really interesting ones, you had an interesting concept but didn't really run with it, I would have loved to see you really explore the design more. Instead many of the rooms ended up being simple and slow.
madflame991
27. Apr 2012 · 19:29 UTC
Excellent game!
Very nice Dr Ball mechanics, graphics, sound effects and all... The globbys were a bit slow though, and moving could have been improved with some smooth corner cutting.
Btw, a Stalwart sequel would be nice in the near future :D
elektron
28. Apr 2012 · 00:05 UTC
Excellent ideas! Unfortunately, the ball you throw through certain barriers got stuck where I couldn't get to it. Other than that, great game.
johnfn
28. Apr 2012 · 04:12 UTC
Jesus. The amount of content here is absurd. Humbling! My only criticism is that I felt the control of the ball was kinda sloppy. But that is a pretty minor thing. Fantastic work.
saint11
28. Apr 2012 · 04:36 UTC
Very cool! I really like this one :D You surelly did a lot of content!
vitou3d
28. Apr 2012 · 05:52 UTC
So Fun!
moonmagic
28. Apr 2012 · 06:30 UTC
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The bright, playful color palette and chunky sprites remind me of Marble Madness, and evoke the same surreal atmosphere. The animation of the changing grid is fantastic; I do feel as if I'm inhabiting something that is alive. There's something about the piano lines that reminds me of Chip's Challenge, but I might just be conflating the morphing grid with the occasionally surprising results of playing levels from that game. I played until the end. I preferred the snake monsters to the blobs; I know you probably made blobs slow to prevent twitch puzzles, but waiting for them to bump into the fences was occasionally tedious. It didn't bother me for long, though.
tlaine
28. Apr 2012 · 12:06 UTC
Loved the game! Played it through and really enjoyed it, especially the tiny boss fights. That ball handling was tough. I think it's better that way.
moop
28. Apr 2012 · 12:32 UTC
This is amazing, and so many levels. Love the concept.
Mårten Jonsson
28. Apr 2012 · 16:47 UTC
Well done! Unfortunately, I got stuck when the ball landed in a space where I was unable to get to it...
chambers
29. Apr 2012 · 01:37 UTC
Very good game, the graphics are excellent and though it took me a while to understand what was going on, it was very satisfying to learn it by myself. I found the graphics awesome and consistent. I loved the credits and the fact that that you included bosses (not only one, but 3!) More than one piece of music also helped a lot setting the mood, though both of them were kinda repetitive. Most of the game is quite linear and doesn't require going back and forth, but I wouldn't change that since it's good to make our brains rest for a while =P
olkeencole
29. Apr 2012 · 02:16 UTC
Very nice game. I really liked how death was used as a mechanic to progress further in the game. I love the little details like the pixel particles, the level transitions, the snake like thing from Zelda. I go back and forth on the ball (pun intended) as I can't decide if I like it or hate it. I'd almost rather have a more direct approach to killing baddies, altho that would have meant different puzzle mechanics, which I did love. The end battle was intense! Great job!
Puzzlem00n
29. Apr 2012 · 21:09 UTC
Let me just say I'm a huge fan of your stuff, and this was no exception. Nice mechanic with going back rooms and such. Very impressive. Plus, I don't even need to compliment the graphics.
Jiggawatt
30. Apr 2012 · 09:57 UTC
Guaranteed Jonathan Whiting quality. Very imaginative, you really got the most out of the game mechanics. Some real moments of ingenuity here, like having to die to progress, and it doesn't have the "over too soon" syndrome common to LD games (although I wouldn't complain to see more levels!).

Overall it just feels like a surprisingly complete experience. 5/5.
MrDanH
30. Apr 2012 · 12:29 UTC
An awesome little game, with plenty of puzzle variety
MadGnomeGamer
30. Apr 2012 · 23:16 UTC
WOW so much gameplay!
mimshwright
01. May 2012 · 04:50 UTC
Really amazing. I love the color palette and the look and feel. Very impressive that you got all this done so fast.
Nick Cash
01. May 2012 · 05:47 UTC
This game is the best I've played so far. Good music, interesting levels, great art style, no bugs. I'm amazed at the quality of your work!

Well done good sir.
kylerhoades
01. May 2012 · 11:54 UTC
Finished the game! There was a lot to love about this entry. It was a lot of fun and the puzzles were very interesting. I liked that you sometimes had to go back a level to beat the next one. The boss battles were a nice touch. You have made an excellent game! Bravo!
Orni
01. May 2012 · 19:31 UTC
graphics - lovely
music - charming
gameplay - classic

conclusion - loved it
ratboy2713
01. May 2012 · 20:41 UTC
Trying to lure the blobs is too slow, really kills the momentum of playing the different levels. Loved the music and art work.
KevinWorkman
02. May 2012 · 02:56 UTC
Cool start, but like others have said, the slowness of some of the puzzles where you're just waiting for the bad guy to run into something sorta took me out of it. With some polish this could be really great.
MaximSchoemaker
02. May 2012 · 20:47 UTC
Lovely lovely lovely game ^^ the presentation was superb and the game's idea was really really neat :D
The only thing that bothered me were the puzzles where you had to get the enemies to move somewhere (kill themselves :P) but it took them really long, especially when they had to go around corners.
But my gawd, you even got boss fights in there! Very finished entry I must say :3
smvilar
03. May 2012 · 19:35 UTC
Awesome puzzles. As said above, the ones involving luring the enemies are a bit slow.
ratking
04. May 2012 · 20:40 UTC
Just wow! What a cute and beautiful game..and clever!!!
Ranoka
04. May 2012 · 21:43 UTC
I really like this entry, very nice design for such a small grid! Very well presented, even had bosses and an end sequence! Also had quite a few levels. Nicely polished.
azurenimbus
05. May 2012 · 00:40 UTC
Awesome!
leafo
05. May 2012 · 02:34 UTC
Very nice game. The amount of content was great, there was good variation between levels and there were lots of levels. Two complains, waiting for the blobs to move around was kind of annoying in some levels, and the music wasn't that great. Other than that I loved the game!
Jezzamon
05. May 2012 · 03:14 UTC
Wow! This game is really great! I remember testing out the ball physics midway through the competition. :D

Anyways, I really enjoyed it!
Thotep
06. May 2012 · 12:38 UTC
Oh man, this is just lovely. I finished it and am impressed by sheer amount of puzzles. I liked the graphics as well! The only annoying thing was Dr Ball's physics.
Rémi
07. May 2012 · 09:45 UTC
The room where you have to trap the ennemies are quite slow but otherwise the game is really good! Really enjoyed it!
ehtd
13. May 2012 · 20:59 UTC
Love it!