Anything that is gaming related that doesn't fit well anywhere else
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Wed Feb 22, 2023 5:51 pm

I'm gonna gush a little bit about my all-time favorite indie game series, Silver Falls. You might have heard of the series from the news it made last year for releasing a final slew of seven games for Nintendo's dying platforms, 4 for 3DS and 3 for Wii U. Unfortunately, only 5 made it to the finish line with COVID slowing development enough that one 3DS title and one Wii U weren't able to be finished, but that's still a pretty remarkable achievement to give those two consoles a final hurrah. As it currently stands, there are 11 Silver Falls games with several more in active development plus a novel set to release this year. The most amazing part, in my opinion, is that the series is entirely made by one person. All of the technical development, the writing, the art, the music, the promotional material - all of it is done by Jerrel Dulay, the one-man wonder behind Sungrand. I STRONGLY urge folks to take a look at the series and give it a shot. I've played every game in the series (got two more that I haven't finished yet), and I love each and every game. The hella cool thing is the Code Linker system. Each save file in each game has a randomly generated five character code, and by entering that link code into any other Silver Falls game, you can generate a Key Code. Enter that Key Code into the first game, and you can unlock exclusive content. So you look at Game A's code. Plug that code into Game B, and it will give you a new code. Plug THAT code back into Game A, and you get new content unlocked in Game A. If you have the whole series like I do, that's a ton of extra characters and whatnot every time you download a new game. If anyone is interested, I'll briefly outline each game for each system and link my review where applicable.

3DS

- 3 Down Stars
Traditional survival horror. You play as three characters alternating chapter to chapter as you investigate the mysterious goings on in the town. This was the first Silver Falls game ever released back in early 2020. The main game is the story mode, but there's also Frontier Fighters where you take on various missions and build up your characters. It's a really cool side mode, but I personally am not a fan of the C nub for camera control. New 3DS only. Fantastic little survival horror adventure. See my full review here or watch my video review here.

- Undertakers
A love letter to the Atari 2600. Earliest point in the Silver Falls timeline chronologically. Game A is the story mode where you play as a young Bull Brandish and investigate deadly creatures in the woods. Game B has you choose one of a number of characters to kill as many Undertakers as possible before you get killed yourself. Fantastic game, seriously underappreciated due to the underappreciation of the Atari 2600 aesthetic. See my review of the Wii U port here or watch my video review of the Wii U port here.

- Guardians and Metal Exterminators
Kind of a two-pronged game. It's two "main" game modes are stylized like Tiger Electronics LCD games and are pure high-score chasers. Fun and nostalgic. The real meat, though, is Frontier Guardians, the mission-based game mode that has you take control of a character from a whole selection and complete missions and kill enemies while using earned xp to level up those characters and using earned moose tokens to buy helpful items. I adore this game. New 3DS only. Check out my review of the 3DS version here, read my review of the Switch remaster here, or watch my video review of the Switch remaster here.

- Ghoul Busters
My personal favorite of the series. Game Boy aesthetic indie platformer. Gives me some Donkey Kong Country vibes in ways I can't totally explain. Tied with Freedom Planet as my favorite indie platformer. Might actually squeeze out ahead. Makes excellent use of stereoscopic 3D. Read my full review here, read my review of the Switch version here, watch my video review here, or watch my video review of the Switch version here.

- Deathly Delusion Destroyers + Ruby River
This is actually two games in one. The main event, Deathly Delusion Destroyers, follows Gus as he tries to find his husband who's gone missing in the woods near Silver Falls. Gameplay consists of randomized missions with story scenes playing between missions. The 3DS is held sideways like a book which is a super neat and pretty uncommon set-up. Ruby River is a survival game where you find resources, build shelter, and try to survive. You can send weapons from DDD to Ruby River, and you can send materials from Ruby River to DDD. Light on story but heavy on action. Real time clock, too; during the day for your, it's daytime in the game, but at night for you, it's night in the game, and monsters are stronger and more plentiful at night. Read my review here or watch my video review here.

Wii U

- Undertakers
Enhanced port of the 3DS game of the same name. Game A and Game B are the same as 3DS, but the Wii U port includes the exclusive SurviVS mode, an asymmetrical 5-player multiplayer mode where the player with the Gamepad places the Undertakers, and the one to four players with Wiimotes play as survivors trying to fight off the monsters. Excellent port and a definite improvement over the 3DS original in my opinion with overall value and presentation. See my full review here or watch my video review here.

- White Inside Its Umbra
An exceptionally creative survival horror experience designed specifically for Wii U. Makes use of the gamepad, Wiimote, Nunchuck, AND balance board. Main game is the story mode, but the Frontier Hunters game mode is a 1-4 player cooperative light gun rail shooter mode that I am DYING to hogtie friends to force to play with me. Can't recommend this one enough. It's super cool and an overall fantastic experience. See my full review here or watch my video review here.

Switch

- Episode Prelude
A bite-sized horror adventure and the series's debut on the Switch. The main story mode can be completed in anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours depending on how much time you spend exploring and reading the lore drops in the game. Fun little adventure and a taste of what's to come for Silver Falls on Switch. The battle mode lets you fight waves of enemies with one of several playable characters. An upcoming free update will add a pretty significant chunk of content. Read my full review here or watch my video review here.

- Ghoul Busters
Enhanced port of the 3DS game of the same name. Mostly the same as 3DS but running at a higher and more stable frame rate with a (naturally) much better resolution. Also includes a number of optional screen filter and visual effects including an old school red/blue 3D glasses filter. A future update is going to add an additional game mode and some extra content. See my review of the 3DS version here, read my review of the Switch version here, or watch my video review of the Switch version here.

- Guardians and Metal Exterminators S
Enhanced port of the 3DS game of the same name. Europe never got the original game, sadly, so this is the first chance for non-Americans to experience it. The frame rate and graphics are significantly improved over the 3DS original (as one would expect), and there are several new characters that have been added to the game as well as expanded story scenes for more lore and world building. Read my review here, check out my review of the 3DS version here or watch my video review of the Switch remaster here.

Game Boy Color

- Galaxy Bound Curse
I am officially the first person in the world to beat this game. I know this because I was the one finding all of the game breaking bugs so Jerrel could fix them; the game had been impossible to actually finish before then. Fairly traditional Game Boy Color adventure game. ROM is free to download on the Silver Falls website. Takes place in the mid 90s and has you explore Silver Falls as you uncover the truth behind a mysterious disappearance. Works on all Game Boy models from grey brick to Game Boy Micro if you've got the right flash cartridge. Read my review here or watch my video review here.

PSP
- Battle Fever: Galaxy Bound Curse
A free homebrew game for the PlayStation Portable that launched in late February, 2024. A proof of concept of sorts for Silver Falls on PSP, the game is a score chaser overhead shooter set in the Galaxy Bound Curse time period. You run around the lake in the woods near Silver Falls killing as many monsters as you can before you die to rack up points. It's simple but addicting. Read my review here or watch my video review here. Download the game here.

Vita
- Survive
It's in an extremely early state right now, but back in October, the version 0.1 build of Silver Falls: Survive for PS Vita dropped. The v0.1 build can be downloaded for free here. If you have a CFW Vita or PS TV, check it out. Right now, there's minimal story and no real objective, but the current build consists of picking up weapons in the cabin where you spawn and going out into the woods to fight monsters and just try to survive as long as you can. A lot more story elements, gameplay features, and characters are going to be added in future updates, but I had a lot of fun even with this bare bones build. See my review here or watch my video review here.

Other/Browser
- Monsters in North Island
The fruits of Sungrand's first Kickstarter campaign, Silver Falls: Monsters in North Island is a homebrew game for the old Pokemon Mini handheld. It's a hyper simplistic RPG where you have several characters from Silver Falls, each with their own stats and advantages and disadvantages. You do jobs with your characters and, when they attack, fight off monsters. It may be simple by RPG standards, but for a homebrew Pokemon Mini game? It's pretty complex and entertaining. Read my review here or watch my video review here.
Download the game here.

- Frontier Fighters Mini
An easy pick-up-and-play game that serves as a sort of free demo of the Silver Falls world and vibe. Free browser-based game playable on the Silver Falls website. Also playable on mobile phones and, with EasyRPG, systems like 3DS, Vita, and Switch. Revists some major scenes from 3 Down Stars in a Final Fantasy VII-esque combat system. Read my review here or watch my video review here.

Novel

- Heavy Shadows
Novel focused on Silver Falls resident, Dodger Rogers. Not yet completed but only two chapters left to be written. Will be sold as paperback and hardback sometime this year, but all chapters are available to read for free as PDFs on the Silver Falls website.

I'm pretty passionate about this series and consider Jerrel, the creator, to be a good friend, so if you're interested or have questions, please feel free to ask. I strongly encourage folks to pick these games up soon because once the eShops close on 3DS and Wii U, it's extremely unlikely that you'll have a legitimate way to play Deathly Delusion Destroyers and White Inside Its Umbra, and it's very much in the air whether any of the others will be ported to current systems down the line. If you decide that you dig the series and want to interact with the community and the creator, feel free to join the Silver Falls Discord server.
Last edited by ElkinFencer10 on Sat Mar 09, 2024 12:18 pm, edited 14 times in total.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
BoneSnapDeez
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 20116
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Silver Falls

by BoneSnapDeez Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:41 am

I love these long informative threads!

Bought a couple of these thanks to your recommendation.
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Fri Feb 24, 2023 9:17 am

BoneSnapDeez wrote:I love these long informative threads!

Bought a couple of these thanks to your recommendation.

That's awesome! Which ones did you get? Definitely tell me what you think.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
bmoc
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 1864
Joined: Thu May 19, 2011 1:36 pm

Re: Silver Falls

by bmoc Fri Feb 24, 2023 9:33 pm

What's the best starting point if you don't have a New 3DS?
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:57 am

bmoc wrote:What's the best starting point if you don't have a New 3DS?

If you have a regular 3DS or 2DS, I would say Ghoul Busters if you're into platformers, Undertakers if you're into adventure. If you have a Wii U, White Inside Its Umbra is definitely the best starting point. If you have a Switch, Episode Prelude is a good bite sided and cheap place to start.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:55 pm

Bone and prfsnl_gmr have joined me in Silver Falls. Come on and join us, too!
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:55 pm

Bone and prfsnl_gmr have joined me in Silver Falls. Come on and join us, too!
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
BoneSnapDeez
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 20116
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Silver Falls

by BoneSnapDeez Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:50 am

ElkinFencer10 wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:I love these long informative threads!

Bought a couple of these thanks to your recommendation.

That's awesome! Which ones did you get? Definitely tell me what you think.


I got..... I don't remember! I still need to play them. I think I picked the most "retro" ones. Definitely Ghoul Busters.
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Sun Feb 26, 2023 11:38 pm

BoneSnapDeez wrote:
ElkinFencer10 wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:I love these long informative threads!

Bought a couple of these thanks to your recommendation.

That's awesome! Which ones did you get? Definitely tell me what you think.


I got..... I don't remember! I still need to play them. I think I picked the most "retro" ones. Definitely Ghoul Busters.

Undertakers is the one stylized like a 2600 game. I love that one, and it's right up your alley. The Wii U version is definitely best, but it's fantastic on 3DS too (it just doesn't have the sick multiplayer mode).
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
User avatar
ElkinFencer10
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 8582
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
Location: Henderson, North Carolina

Re: Silver Falls

by ElkinFencer10 Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:57 am

One more Silver Falls game on 3DS! Deathly Delusion Destroyers (which includes Ruby River) is launching March 9, and it works with all 3DS models. From I've been shown, this looks to be the most character-focused game yet.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

Image
Return to General Gaming

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests