The Final Bead

An original concept is always more attractive and intriguing, regardless of the subject in question. Original video games attract more players than those that are basically remakes of more popular titles, and people are willing to forgive mistakes a lot easier. Everybody knows that it’s difficult to innovate, so it’s only natural that something new won’t be perfect the first time.

The Final Bead is very hard to place, although it could be called a platformer and an exploration game. The goal is to guide a bead through an intestine and help it rescue its friends along the way, while also avoiding a variety of traps and picking up bonuses. There are a few issues in regards to the mechanics and the controls, but they are certainly not very severe.

Not much of a story is included, but there’s no need for one anyway. The main character is looking for his friends, which are obviously just other beads lost in the intestine. Every time you stumble into one of them, they become linked to you and the others, much like it would happen in Snake. The bond is a lot more flexible, on the other hand, which makes navigation a bit tricky.

Besides enemies that cause you damage, there are all kinds of power-ups and interesting items to pick up. Some of them replenish your health, while others simply grant you bonus points. Speaking of which, each one of the companions you pick up has a different health bar, so you really have to be careful. In case they die, they remain linked to you, so that their only purpose is to slow you down.

This is actually one of the annoyances you might stumble upon, because it gets difficult to navigate the intestine if you pick up too many companions. Some of them can get stuck, which leaves you unable to move forward unless you turn and free them. The controls are quite jumpy, although it’s possible to get used to them after a while.

The Final Bead has its flaws, but the idea is interesting enough to be worth the bother. As long as you are patient and don’t care about flashy graphics, the game can keep you occupied for a long time.