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Apocalypse

So I got a physical copy of Tanglewood but I didn't receive any link to the ROM file (that was 2 years ago IIRC).
When you buy the Steam version you can simply extract the ROM file and use it on a flash cart so I assumed by having a physical copy (much more expensive BTW) you'd have the same opportunity.

So I'm left with two options:
- dump the cartridge if that's even possible (but it's going to be a pain, either I need to use the old Mega-CD dumping method or open the cartridge and desolder the ROM or flash to dump it)
- buy the Steam version (it's sub $15 IIRC so might be worth it if it saves me some hassles)

Any thoughts or comments?
Anyone ever sucessfully dumped the cartridge?
 
Small update, out of curiosity I dumped my cart using the MCD dumper. Files are identical except two differences:
- first one seems to be a kind of (customer?) ID. Could be the digital copy is generated upon purchase and linked with the user account.
- second seems to be the checksum
 
Ok rather than creating a new thread and since I'm pretty late to the party I'm going to leave my review here.

The pros:
- Nice graphics
- Eerie sounds (reinforced by the lack of music in many phases of the game)
- Great music triggered under special circumstances
- Good controls
- Interesting story and elements of gameplay
- Bonus point for using OG dev tools

The cons:
- Way too easy (making the game possible to beat 100% in few hours)
- Deceiving "good" ending. Maybe I was expecting too much after reading this:
thesegadude said:
Regarding fireflies, you need them all (100%) before you can see what they are for. I wont spoil it but it's worth going for.
I don't want to spoil too much but both endings are nearly identical. You're not missing much at all if you didn't collect all the fireflies (I collected them all first then used the password to the last level where you have fireflies to collect and purposely missed one to see the "bad" ending).

Overall I think I'd rate the game 8/10.
 
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I'm personally 100% fine with a game being "easy" but I suppose that's a personal choice.

I'd much rather have a game with character and heart, that is maybe not super-challenging but is a joy to play over a mediocre game that has the difficulty cranked up for no reason other than to make the game longer to beat. Not saying those are the only two options, certainly there are games out there that check all the boxes for quality and direction while also presenting a challenge, but let's keep in mind that Tanglewood was made by a very small team as a passion project and that making a hard game might never have been the goal.

I think your overall rating is very fair so I'm glad you didn't penalize it too much for the difficulty.
 
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