Sep 2009: McNeil Woods

*The actual article for this area is McNeil Woods
Builder: Jango
Source: Breath of Fire 3
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Player: Coeurl (as Dragonite)
Review Date: 9/10/09
It's been a long time since I've done this so I'll go ahead and use the template to make sure I cover everything important!
Descriptions: 3/10 Not of the highest quality. Typoes are common. In one particular room I found four clear misspellings and at least one case of just plain awkwardness. Sometimes descriptions make so sense whatsoever, alluding to paths in directions that are impossible to travel in.
Balance: 0/10 Mobs in Mcneil Woods are already infamous for being difficult. The matango at the entrance who offers you invisibility for 3 gold is an appreciated solution, but that of course means once it runs out, or if you fight anything, you are at the whim of every aggressive mob in the zone... and there are a lot of aggressive mobs. Most mobs are harder to kill and did more damage than seemed reasonable, but the character I tested on was at level 37, so any clearly overpowered mobs were very obvious to me. Examples:
The old hiker: With the 'con' command, I was 'significantly more powerful', but 'somewhat puny' compared to the hiker. This may have made sense if the mob was intended to be a boss, but nothing about him really seems to indicate that; he had no special moves and did nothing but attack the entire time. He took a lot out of me just by virtue of having a lot of HP.
Teepo: I'm pretty sure I just got lucky when I beat him. Teepo ambushes you, and not only can he do 60+ damage with melee alone (I have about average AC and 400 HP at level 37), and that's not taking into account the spell he casts at random, which resulted in a total of 140 damage done to me in a single round. I'm on the high end of the level range and a giganto, so boss or not it's probably not a good sign that this mob can remove 1/3 of my HP in a single round.
Rei: So ridiculously unbalanced it's not even funny. Like Teepo, he can easily do 150 damage in a single round with his skill. Once defeated, he turns into a Weretiger, at which point his melee damage alone frequently does 100-150 damage a round. Did I mention he appears to have some 1000 HP? The only way I was able to beat him was by running every couple rounds and resting up.
Attractions: Not rated. Bunyan's cabin sells food, some equipment, and pets which not many people seem to know about. Otherwise, I'm going to be honest; this place gives me a headache and if there's anything else to do but fight mobs that don't do anything but damage in their mprogs I don't care enough to try and find it.
Linkage: 5/10 The room that links to Mcneil Woods seems to make no mention that you are about to enter a forest other than mentioning "dead trees and dry grass." You head to the next room and it mentions "Countless numbers of trees, lush grass, patches of mushrooms, and vibrantly-colored flowers", which seems a little incongruous. Nothing blatantly stands out as out of place or strange in regards to other nearby areas.
Personal: 5/10 I don't really know anything about the area or the game it's from, so I'm neutral.
Category:Area of the Month