A couple Christmases ago I got this game alongside Brandish, and truth be told I liked the latter a smidge more (on account of its immersive atmosphere, depth and challenge, and a neverending sense of replay value in my opinion), but I’m getting off-topic.

Spike McFang is a pure delight from beginning to end, and what I feel contributes to this is its tongue in cheek humor as well as its inherently innocent quality about it (like Square’s maligned starter-kit turn-based RPG Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is inherently innocent, but I digress); it makes for an endearing ride and it’s one of those games I lump in the feel-good category. It makes me feel so happy; the only thing that makes me a bit less so is that after about four hours it’s over. Awww, where’s the rest of it? =(

The gameplay is also great with Spike’s long-ranged hat tossing and short-ranged cape spinning attacks, I liked that for the most part he’s accompanied by a CPU-controlled partner like Secret of Mana (the American version may have come out months after that aforementioned Square classic, but in Japan Chō Makai Taisen! Dorabotchan actually preceded the Japanese version of the latter in Seiken Densetsu 2), the soundtrack is so fun and catchy (especially the epically uplifting and supercharged theme that plays when Spike is undergoing training at the start, I’d argue that it’s the best track of the bunch), it’s vibrantly colorful (I liked how despite it being largely a top-down venture there’s a point where the perspective takes on an isometric angle; that’s a fascinating shift) and creative (the Python bunnies for instance, I love the Monty Python nod if that’s what they were going for), it’s likably engaging, and more importantly it’s a ton of lighthearted fun while it lasts. Very underrated A-RPG! =)

To each their own, and take care!