Sequel to Ravva and the Cyclops Curse, Ravva and the Phantom Library is more of the same but that is perfectly okay since the original was so gosh darn charming.
Presented in a retro 8-bit visual style, you play as Ravva, an owl in a wizard hat, who can summon a few friendly deities at will. The goal is to reach the end of each stage and take down the boss but of course there are hazards and enemies along the way. This is a 2D sidescrolling platformer but using the summonable demons is where the challenge and fun generates.
The default attack, designated with a purple color, is a horizontal ranged wand attack that can be upgraded a few times by collecting power-ups. However, Ravva also has access to a blue ice shot that launches one tile above his head, an orange eye that reveals hidden secrets, a red spread shot that shoots upward at a 45-degree angle, and a green blob that pukes downward acid burps. Each summon is used for certain situations and must constantly be swapped.
Unfortunately, swapping between several attack options can be tedious since selection is cycled by tapping the shoulder buttons. It would have been much more efficient to assign each summon to its own button. To collect all the optional materials, the player essentially needs to spam the orange revealing ability, searching every nook and cranny. Then swap to whatever fire power is needed, then swap back to the reveal summon. Sure, scrolling through each summon one at a time can be frustrating but at least the game controls well. If you call into a pit, for example, it is your own fault.
Unless selecting the higher difficulty, the majority of the campaign will not prove difficult. In fact, other than the final battle, boss battles are a cake walk. The more casual approach should not be confused with low quality, however, as I genuinely enjoyed clearing each stage of the 2-hour campaign. While I do not want to spoil the ending, the narrative takes place in a library that essentially spawns from nowhere. Ravva then must navigate through several stages by accessing books within this library, but each stage is a little more than a typical fire stage, water stage, ice stage, etc. which is an unexpected pleasure.
It doesn’t take much to speed through each level, but the challenge comes from finding all the optional secrets. Each stage also has a bunch of coins to collect but they are not used for anything other than the final battle (you can optionally choose to spend money to power up your main weapon to make the final fight slighter easier) which seems like a missed opportunity.
Other than a few minor stumbles, this Ravva sequel, just like the original, is a purely wholesome retro platforming experience. The visuals are cute. The plot is storybook. And even the soundtrack is super catchy; the main theme is a banger! For $10, this is a digital download that will put a childlike smile on your face for the duration of the campaign.
SCORE: 8.5/10
Also Play: Shovel Knight
Don’t Forget About: the Alwa games
Wait For It: Sir Lovelot 2
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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