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Back to Stone

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Back to Stone
North American box art
Developer(s)Hidden Floor[1]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)
Programmer(s)
Composer(s)Frédéric Motte[2]
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
ReleaseDecember 14, 2006
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Back to Stone is an action role-playing game using an isometric 3D perspective developed by French studio Hidden Floor.[3] It was published by Neko Entertainment / Big Ben Interactive in Europe and by Graffiti Entertainment / O~3 Entertainment in North America.[3] It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.[3]

Gameplay

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The player controls a warrior who is mysteriously amnesiac and has been experimented on by demonic creatures. Players can move the character around the game's environments freely, jump around platforms, and fight enemies dynamically. Killed enemies turn to stone, which can then be moved around and used to solve puzzles. When the player's character is wounded, he transforms into a demonic monster, which improves his fighting capabilities.[4][5]

The game does not feature any way to save the player's progress, which had been a standard feature of video games for many years by 2006. Instead, the game relies on passwords to allow the player to return to the game where they had left off when they last turned off the console.

Reception

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The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] Most critics considered the gameplay to be "simple" and "familiar",[4][5] but the stone-pushing puzzles to be "unimaginative", unoriginal, and repetitive.[8][7][11]

Some reviewers considered the graphics and design to be "charming and varied",[4] easy to discern (in contrast to Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge),[5][9][11] but many judged the presentation to be "drab", "grainy" and "muddy".[5][12][11] The game's smooth framerate and special effects have received praise,[8][13] as have the intricate boss battles.[8][7][12]

Several reviewers have noted that controlling the character from the game's isometric 3D perspective was very difficult and "unintuitive" because of the rigidity of a directional pad and the difficulty in judging depth.[4][5][7][13][9][12][11] Multiple critics have praised the game's length (estimated between 8 and 15 hours), which is considered good for a portable game.[4][5][7][13] The translation's poor quality has also been criticized.[8]

Back to Stone was heavily criticized almost unanimously for its lack of saving functionality, instead relying on a password-based system to track the player's progress, which was seen as a "cumbersome" flaw for a game on a handheld console, as well as "stupefying", "unforgivable" and "inexcusably archaic" when compared to other games released in this era.[5][8][7][9][12][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Bienvenue". Hidden Floor (in French). Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Contact". Back to Stone (in French). Hidden Floor. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Back to stone". Neko Entertainment (in French). Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Après plusieurs années de développement, Back to Stone arrive enfin sur GBA" [After many years in development, Back to Stone finally arrives on GBA]. JeuXpo.com (in French). Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Nielsen, Clark (December 31, 2006). "Back to Stone Game Boy [Advance] Review". Nintendo Spin. Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Back to Stone". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Provo, Frank (February 28, 2007). "Back to Stone Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Platt, Dylan (February 14, 2007). "Back to Stone - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Romendil (December 22, 2006). "Test: Back To Stone". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "Back to Stone". Joypad (in French). No. 171. February 2007. p. 72. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e Boot, Justin (February 2, 2007). "Back to Stone". Thunderbolt. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d Napolitano, Jayson (February 27, 2007). "(GBA) Back to Stone". The Entertainment Depot. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  13. ^ a b c Olivier B. (January 31, 2007). "Back to Stone". PVG24 (in French). Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
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