Delicious FruitNeedle Hatena
Creators: dono, Chrisay, KittyGame, egg, princeoflight612, LemonGH, TheJPEGDemon, Starz0r, shign, Artimax
Download Game
Screenshots
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by NightShark115
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by Skuldafn
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by Skuldafn
Creator's Comments:
dono [Creator]
Current version: 1.1.1
Update notes:
-Fixed compile error that broke the music
[3] Likes
Update notes:
-Fixed compile error that broke the music
Rating: N/A
Difficulty: N/A
Jul 17, 2020
40 Reviews:
YaBoiMarcAntony
(Rating and Difficulty based on 100%)
I was a tester for this game and saw it go through a lot of changes, so I'll admit that I have an undeniable amount of bias for the game; however, I do not believe that changes facts, and it's a fact that this is a genuinely excellent collab.
Before I get into stages, I'll discuss the overall presentation which is excellent. There is no hub area as you're just given a menu screen which lets you choose whichever stage you like, although the extra stages and credits stage are blocked until you've beaten every main stage. Some people seem to take issue with these stages being unlocked, but I personally don't mind it at all. In a typical game featuring an extra stage, you don't just have access to them without clearing the main game first. It's supposed to be a reward for putting in the effort to do everything the game asks of you. Nonetheless, the visuals outside of the stages are excellent. They feel warm and cozy, giving off the nintendo vibe that Dono was clearly going for.
Now, I'll go ahead and organize my stage ratings based on their quality.
Cream of the Crop:
Egg Extra (10/10) - This is one of the best screens of trigger needle I've ever played. The visuals are phenomenal, the music choice great (for this sort of thing), and the gameplay itself? Well, it's not the weakest link, let me assure you. It's a fairly difficult stage, but given that it's only one screen, it doesn't stick out negatively in that respect. I played this three or four times in testing and then again for post-release clear and I never tired of it.
Princeoflight Extra (10/10) - The dopamine-inspired visuals combined with the absolutely banging tune makes this stage my absolute favorite aesthetically. Luckily, it's also a stellar stage gameplay-wise to boot. Like it's normal stage, catharsis water line needle is the norm, though with the added bonus of some killer gravity switch usage. Every screen is one save, but it was easy enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind but just hard enough to be supremely satisfying.
Chrisay (10/10) - A lot of people dunked on this stage for being quite difficult and gimmicky, but I loved it from the start. Sure it's hard as shit, sure it deals exclusively in cycles, but what a satisfying stage to clear! Every save is perfectly crafted to let you feel like a total God on beating them, and though the learning process does take a while, it was all worth it in the end for me.
The Second-best (Though Still Superb):
Egg (9.5/10) - The mood here is just phenomenal, aided by the Crimson Needle 3 type music and jaw-droppingly gorgeous visuals. The needle itself is quite interesting and fun, using at times catharsis water though being more typical needle than not. Nonetheless, it still has that usual Egg feel to it, so you more or less know what you're getting into when going into this stage.
Princeoflight (9.5/10) - Though not as good as extra, this is still one hefty stage, quality-wise. There's no gravity-flippers, so the catharsis water line needle is at it's purest. It's fairly easy, so each save is more about satisfaction than really being a challenge, excluding the last jump of the last save on screen one and the last jump of the last save on screen 3.
LemonGH (9/10) - Despite being fairly claustrophobic, Lemon's screen has a sort of airy feel to it, aided by the cave-like visuals. There may not be wide open spaces, but there's still a lot of room to move around in, give or take a couple sections here and there. Each save is quite lengthy, but they're also easy enough that the length is un-noticeable unless you're paying attention.
Artimax (9/10) - During testing, this was my least favorite stage - in fact, I could never will myself to actually complete it, I'm ashamed to say. I let the other testers discuss that stage and I just left it at "I don't like it." Now, I'm happy to say I've seen the error of my ways and know now that this stage (screen) is phenomenal. The core issue of it being uncomfortable to play remains, but otherwise I found this a really fun screen to play through. The vibes too are totally unique, giving off a carnival-esque feeling.
KittyGame (9/10) - The easiest stage by far, but it still is quite good fun to play through. The second screen is more enjoyable due to its length, but overall this is fairly interesting no-frills needle with lovely visuals. I'd like a longer stage of this, but the two screens shall do nicely.
Shign (8.5/10) - If the second save of the final screen were removed or changed heavily, this would be an easy 9. As it stands, that is the one solitary blight on an other-wise excellent stage. This one's about unique usage of most of the core fangame gimmicks (vines, water, jump refreshers), so there's rarely any sections not using these three gimmicks. They're put to use wonderfully, and though it's a hard stage, I felt no stress or irritation with any save (aside from the previously-mentioned one).
The Pretty Good:
TheJPEGDemon (8/10) - This is rightly noted as being generic needle, but people beat it up too much in my eyes. Though it is a bit generic, I find it to be really nice to play through. It's easy, so there's no worry of a grind, and people don't give it enough credit for the novel jumps littered throughout. The visuals are basic, but that's no skin off my back in the end.
Starzor (7/10) - Now THIS is a lot more generic than Demon's stage, being total corridor needle with only a couple interesting jumps here and there; yet, I still do have some love for this stage thanks to the great visuals and my own enjoyment of generic corridor needle. It gets the job done, but that's about it.
KittyGame 2 (7/10) - The second screen is wholly superior to the first and would garner its own little ranking of 8 or 8.5 out of 10. The first screen alright, but a couple jumps really irked me, both being the last jump of both saves, funnily enough. Otherwise, this is fairly generic and without the touch of love that KittyGame's normal screen had.
The Low-tier:
Starzor 2 (5/10) - This is one screen of more or less the same as the normal stage, but now it's a lot more irritating. It ends with a v-string/v-align/whatever the fuck diagonal that really just cuts my grass. Nothing else to say, really.
The credits stage having needle is a nice touch, but I won't rate it amongst the other stages.
All in all, I think this is a highly successful collab, being made up almost entirely of banger stages. Aside from Starzor 2, there's not an ounce of low-quality design to be found for miles - at least, not for the duration of a stage. Dono did an excellent job in organizing this collab, and every one offered something of worth.
[2] Likes
I was a tester for this game and saw it go through a lot of changes, so I'll admit that I have an undeniable amount of bias for the game; however, I do not believe that changes facts, and it's a fact that this is a genuinely excellent collab.
Before I get into stages, I'll discuss the overall presentation which is excellent. There is no hub area as you're just given a menu screen which lets you choose whichever stage you like, although the extra stages and credits stage are blocked until you've beaten every main stage. Some people seem to take issue with these stages being unlocked, but I personally don't mind it at all. In a typical game featuring an extra stage, you don't just have access to them without clearing the main game first. It's supposed to be a reward for putting in the effort to do everything the game asks of you. Nonetheless, the visuals outside of the stages are excellent. They feel warm and cozy, giving off the nintendo vibe that Dono was clearly going for.
Now, I'll go ahead and organize my stage ratings based on their quality.
Cream of the Crop:
Egg Extra (10/10) - This is one of the best screens of trigger needle I've ever played. The visuals are phenomenal, the music choice great (for this sort of thing), and the gameplay itself? Well, it's not the weakest link, let me assure you. It's a fairly difficult stage, but given that it's only one screen, it doesn't stick out negatively in that respect. I played this three or four times in testing and then again for post-release clear and I never tired of it.
Princeoflight Extra (10/10) - The dopamine-inspired visuals combined with the absolutely banging tune makes this stage my absolute favorite aesthetically. Luckily, it's also a stellar stage gameplay-wise to boot. Like it's normal stage, catharsis water line needle is the norm, though with the added bonus of some killer gravity switch usage. Every screen is one save, but it was easy enough that it didn't feel like much of a grind but just hard enough to be supremely satisfying.
Chrisay (10/10) - A lot of people dunked on this stage for being quite difficult and gimmicky, but I loved it from the start. Sure it's hard as shit, sure it deals exclusively in cycles, but what a satisfying stage to clear! Every save is perfectly crafted to let you feel like a total God on beating them, and though the learning process does take a while, it was all worth it in the end for me.
The Second-best (Though Still Superb):
Egg (9.5/10) - The mood here is just phenomenal, aided by the Crimson Needle 3 type music and jaw-droppingly gorgeous visuals. The needle itself is quite interesting and fun, using at times catharsis water though being more typical needle than not. Nonetheless, it still has that usual Egg feel to it, so you more or less know what you're getting into when going into this stage.
Princeoflight (9.5/10) - Though not as good as extra, this is still one hefty stage, quality-wise. There's no gravity-flippers, so the catharsis water line needle is at it's purest. It's fairly easy, so each save is more about satisfaction than really being a challenge, excluding the last jump of the last save on screen one and the last jump of the last save on screen 3.
LemonGH (9/10) - Despite being fairly claustrophobic, Lemon's screen has a sort of airy feel to it, aided by the cave-like visuals. There may not be wide open spaces, but there's still a lot of room to move around in, give or take a couple sections here and there. Each save is quite lengthy, but they're also easy enough that the length is un-noticeable unless you're paying attention.
Artimax (9/10) - During testing, this was my least favorite stage - in fact, I could never will myself to actually complete it, I'm ashamed to say. I let the other testers discuss that stage and I just left it at "I don't like it." Now, I'm happy to say I've seen the error of my ways and know now that this stage (screen) is phenomenal. The core issue of it being uncomfortable to play remains, but otherwise I found this a really fun screen to play through. The vibes too are totally unique, giving off a carnival-esque feeling.
KittyGame (9/10) - The easiest stage by far, but it still is quite good fun to play through. The second screen is more enjoyable due to its length, but overall this is fairly interesting no-frills needle with lovely visuals. I'd like a longer stage of this, but the two screens shall do nicely.
Shign (8.5/10) - If the second save of the final screen were removed or changed heavily, this would be an easy 9. As it stands, that is the one solitary blight on an other-wise excellent stage. This one's about unique usage of most of the core fangame gimmicks (vines, water, jump refreshers), so there's rarely any sections not using these three gimmicks. They're put to use wonderfully, and though it's a hard stage, I felt no stress or irritation with any save (aside from the previously-mentioned one).
The Pretty Good:
TheJPEGDemon (8/10) - This is rightly noted as being generic needle, but people beat it up too much in my eyes. Though it is a bit generic, I find it to be really nice to play through. It's easy, so there's no worry of a grind, and people don't give it enough credit for the novel jumps littered throughout. The visuals are basic, but that's no skin off my back in the end.
Starzor (7/10) - Now THIS is a lot more generic than Demon's stage, being total corridor needle with only a couple interesting jumps here and there; yet, I still do have some love for this stage thanks to the great visuals and my own enjoyment of generic corridor needle. It gets the job done, but that's about it.
KittyGame 2 (7/10) - The second screen is wholly superior to the first and would garner its own little ranking of 8 or 8.5 out of 10. The first screen alright, but a couple jumps really irked me, both being the last jump of both saves, funnily enough. Otherwise, this is fairly generic and without the touch of love that KittyGame's normal screen had.
The Low-tier:
Starzor 2 (5/10) - This is one screen of more or less the same as the normal stage, but now it's a lot more irritating. It ends with a v-string/v-align/whatever the fuck diagonal that really just cuts my grass. Nothing else to say, really.
The credits stage having needle is a nice touch, but I won't rate it amongst the other stages.
All in all, I think this is a highly successful collab, being made up almost entirely of banger stages. Aside from Starzor 2, there's not an ounce of low-quality design to be found for miles - at least, not for the duration of a stage. Dono did an excellent job in organizing this collab, and every one offered something of worth.
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 70 70
Oct 20, 2020
CeleCele
Some stages were pretty bland. eggs, princes and lemons stages were really good though.
Chrisays stage shouldve been extra imo and for me was a bit annoying. Still pretty fun though.
[2] Likes
Chrisays stage shouldve been extra imo and for me was a bit annoying. Still pretty fun though.
Rating: 6.1 61
Difficulty: 65 65
Jul 14, 2020
gafro
The difficulty number of Chrisay area and egg2 area should be replaced by each other imo.
[2] Likes
Rating: 7.0 70
Difficulty: 68 68
Jul 14, 2020
Cthaere
Disclaimer: I was a tester for this game, and my review is undoubtedly affected by it. This review applies to 100%; any% would probably be a 55 to 60 difficulty.
Needle Hatena is a needle collab which achieves what every collab strives for: Variety. No two stages are quite alike, with many stages establishing their own unique niche as well as a few that are grounded in more traditional design. All of the stages are short enough and mostly easy enough to never drag on for too long, and overall the game feels like more than the sum of its parts. With that in mind, let's delve into the individual stages:
PrinceOfLight: A unique stage revolving around catharsis water, which uses lines for blocks and curved lines for spikes. Contains some interesting pathing and long catharsis water drops. Personally I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I wish it had at least another screen.
Shign: A modern approach to needle, with heavy use of water, platforms, vines and jump refreshers, which are used for both pathing and long sequences of jumps without touching the ground. One of my favorite stages, as I very much enjoy that style of needle. Hopefully we'll see more standalone needle games in this style.
Egg: A stage that focuses on interesting jumps and maneuvers that aren't too precise and are generally performed using intuition rather than exact frame inputs, with a sprinkle of catharsis water thrown in. Worth noting is that this stage has a very unique atmosphere, one which I sadly find impossible to describe but should definitely be experienced for oneself. One of the better stages in my opinion.
Lemon: A stage with very long saves but relatively easy jumps, which manages to avoid making generic corridor needle despite many parts being limited in height and verticality. Stationed inside a cave, with a spotlight gimmick (that doesn't really affect the platforming) and fitting music, this stage has one of the more cohesive atmospheres out there. Overall a very good stage.
JPEG: A stage with mostly generic needle, however it is also very much far off from your corner/diagonal/gate spam you see everywhere, and is still fairly enjoyable.
Kittygame: The easiest stage, and fairly short too. The needle isn't very special, but it's still good. A very chill stage, and I had a good time with it.
Chrisay: One of the more interesting takes I've seen on cycles, which contains every aspect of them you can want: The fast cycle, the learny cycles, and the search for a safespot to stand in and evaluate your next step. Another favorite of mine, although personally it was more fun to replay than play for the first time to figure out all of the cycles.
Artimax: An experimental stage, with a bizarre atmosphere and a central theme of conserving your double jump throughout a water level by using vines, with every surface you might want to stand on being covered with spikes. Unfortunately, while the concept is neat, the gameplay suffers a bit for it, as you have to hold down the shift key for extended periods of time and generally do maneuvers that deviate away from normal fangame gameplay where jump height is key. A very polarizing stage for sure, however one I'm glad is included, as it's definitely interesting.
Starzor: One of the more traditional stages, consisting of mostly corridor needle that tries to change the formula a bit. The changes definitely help freshen it out a bit, and coupled with Mario-themed visuals and a banger song elevate it from the relatively poor stage it might have been into a fairly fun experience, even if in my eyes it can't compete with some of the other stages.
Credits: Easy and short, with a small focus on slopes. Has a few generic jumps especially in the corridor section, but as short and easy as it is, I can't really complain. The slopes are definitely the best part though.
Prince 2: Similar to prince 1, except with no ground to rest on, only one save per screen, and a bunch of gravity flippers to compensate. It's also a bit more precise in places compared to prince 1. Due to the difficulty increase and longer saves, this acts as a "stronger" version of prince 1, and combined with the confusion and learniness inherent to gravity flipping this could be a somewhat controversial stage, although I enjoyed it a lot.
Kittygame 2: A mix of generic needle and not so generic needle, but this time it's actually not easy. Has some nonlinear pathing and a few fun drops. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of this one, but it's still decent, and also contains a surprise.
Egg 2: My absolute favorite stage, but also the hardest one, this stage revolves around hard trigger needle, and utilizes water 1 as well as a handful of vines. The triggers are all marked, and even the ones that can be real scamps feel like they contribute to the stage. The flow is consistently very good, which is important in this needle style, especially when the path abruptly changes due to a trigger. Has a vibrant and upbeat atmosphere which contrasts egg 1 which fits very well with the theme of the stage. Overall some of my favorite trigger needle, and I'd like to play more.
Starzor 2: Short and relatively simple, with a focus on vertical play (mostly drops) and a bit of gravity flipping, which is handled very well. Surprisingly very much enjoyable, despite the simplicity, and I'm curious how a few more screens of this would have turned out.
That about wraps it up. As a whole, I would definitely recommend this game, and I've had a very good experience with it even on the stages I didn't like as much. I feel like anyone can find a few stages they will enjoy and cherish, even if they may not like everything.
[2] Likes
Needle Hatena is a needle collab which achieves what every collab strives for: Variety. No two stages are quite alike, with many stages establishing their own unique niche as well as a few that are grounded in more traditional design. All of the stages are short enough and mostly easy enough to never drag on for too long, and overall the game feels like more than the sum of its parts. With that in mind, let's delve into the individual stages:
PrinceOfLight: A unique stage revolving around catharsis water, which uses lines for blocks and curved lines for spikes. Contains some interesting pathing and long catharsis water drops. Personally I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I wish it had at least another screen.
Shign: A modern approach to needle, with heavy use of water, platforms, vines and jump refreshers, which are used for both pathing and long sequences of jumps without touching the ground. One of my favorite stages, as I very much enjoy that style of needle. Hopefully we'll see more standalone needle games in this style.
Egg: A stage that focuses on interesting jumps and maneuvers that aren't too precise and are generally performed using intuition rather than exact frame inputs, with a sprinkle of catharsis water thrown in. Worth noting is that this stage has a very unique atmosphere, one which I sadly find impossible to describe but should definitely be experienced for oneself. One of the better stages in my opinion.
Lemon: A stage with very long saves but relatively easy jumps, which manages to avoid making generic corridor needle despite many parts being limited in height and verticality. Stationed inside a cave, with a spotlight gimmick (that doesn't really affect the platforming) and fitting music, this stage has one of the more cohesive atmospheres out there. Overall a very good stage.
JPEG: A stage with mostly generic needle, however it is also very much far off from your corner/diagonal/gate spam you see everywhere, and is still fairly enjoyable.
Kittygame: The easiest stage, and fairly short too. The needle isn't very special, but it's still good. A very chill stage, and I had a good time with it.
Chrisay: One of the more interesting takes I've seen on cycles, which contains every aspect of them you can want: The fast cycle, the learny cycles, and the search for a safespot to stand in and evaluate your next step. Another favorite of mine, although personally it was more fun to replay than play for the first time to figure out all of the cycles.
Artimax: An experimental stage, with a bizarre atmosphere and a central theme of conserving your double jump throughout a water level by using vines, with every surface you might want to stand on being covered with spikes. Unfortunately, while the concept is neat, the gameplay suffers a bit for it, as you have to hold down the shift key for extended periods of time and generally do maneuvers that deviate away from normal fangame gameplay where jump height is key. A very polarizing stage for sure, however one I'm glad is included, as it's definitely interesting.
Starzor: One of the more traditional stages, consisting of mostly corridor needle that tries to change the formula a bit. The changes definitely help freshen it out a bit, and coupled with Mario-themed visuals and a banger song elevate it from the relatively poor stage it might have been into a fairly fun experience, even if in my eyes it can't compete with some of the other stages.
Credits: Easy and short, with a small focus on slopes. Has a few generic jumps especially in the corridor section, but as short and easy as it is, I can't really complain. The slopes are definitely the best part though.
Prince 2: Similar to prince 1, except with no ground to rest on, only one save per screen, and a bunch of gravity flippers to compensate. It's also a bit more precise in places compared to prince 1. Due to the difficulty increase and longer saves, this acts as a "stronger" version of prince 1, and combined with the confusion and learniness inherent to gravity flipping this could be a somewhat controversial stage, although I enjoyed it a lot.
Kittygame 2: A mix of generic needle and not so generic needle, but this time it's actually not easy. Has some nonlinear pathing and a few fun drops. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of this one, but it's still decent, and also contains a surprise.
Egg 2: My absolute favorite stage, but also the hardest one, this stage revolves around hard trigger needle, and utilizes water 1 as well as a handful of vines. The triggers are all marked, and even the ones that can be real scamps feel like they contribute to the stage. The flow is consistently very good, which is important in this needle style, especially when the path abruptly changes due to a trigger. Has a vibrant and upbeat atmosphere which contrasts egg 1 which fits very well with the theme of the stage. Overall some of my favorite trigger needle, and I'd like to play more.
Starzor 2: Short and relatively simple, with a focus on vertical play (mostly drops) and a bit of gravity flipping, which is handled very well. Surprisingly very much enjoyable, despite the simplicity, and I'm curious how a few more screens of this would have turned out.
That about wraps it up. As a whole, I would definitely recommend this game, and I've had a very good experience with it even on the stages I didn't like as much. I feel like anyone can find a few stages they will enjoy and cherish, even if they may not like everything.
Rating: 8.9 89
Difficulty: 68 68
Jul 14, 2020
Zambrini
Rating is based on 100%
Really cool needle collab with a ton of variety. Every stage feels different from one another and have a sense of quality that makes it great to play. It has a few awkward saves, but they aren't that bad. It felt comforting and that's what makes a good needle experience.
[1] Like
Really cool needle collab with a ton of variety. Every stage feels different from one another and have a sense of quality that makes it great to play. It has a few awkward saves, but they aren't that bad. It felt comforting and that's what makes a good needle experience.
Rating: 8.4 84
Difficulty: 69 69
May 2, 2023