Aztaka

Despite it being a bit buggy and crash-prone, overall I was enjoying my time playing Aztaka. Aztaka is a side-scrolling action game with RPG (role-playing game) elements. The RPG aspect of the game is featured in the story, quests, item inventory, and upgradability of the character. As your character Huitzilo and his bird companion Ayohpa level up, you receive points to add to their attributes and skills. Gameplay consists of typical side-scrolling action—running, jumping, and fighting. Combat can be physical (via spear) or magical (via spells).

It was fun while it lasted. I progressed quite far into the game. In the next to last area of the game, however, I could venture no further. It was called The Cursed Monkey Cavern and it was cursed all right. There was an extremely wide chasm, which was too wide to jump across. There was a giant red bat that flew back and forth across the chasm. Apparently, the trick is to try and jump on top of the bat and then use the spear stomp attack to ride it like using a pogo stick. I had some success with that approach and almost made it to the other side, falling just a bit short several times. Unfortunately, this caused damage to the bat and usually ended in its death. Unlike the golden bats in the area, the red bat did not respawn. You had to leave the area, go back to the map and work your way back to the chasm to try all over again. After numerous attempts, I finally had enough. It looks like I will never see the end of this one. It's time to move on to another game.