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I've been in this community for a while now, and I've always been complaining internally and wondering why I wasn't receiving any feedback for my works. You can't hold thoughts on things like these. What about all the other people out there suffering from the same thing? So I have made a decision, and that is I will be providing feedback/reviews for overlooked and unpopular games festering in the crowded pits of RMN.

Please take heed that I have my own little rules/preferences for games that you are about to suggest, so please read carefully, because I'm going to cover different things you'll want to know about me:

- I only wish to play RPG Maker games.
- I am easily irritable.
- I am fine with playing in all genres.
- Your game MUST NOT have more than one review or I will not accept it.
- Your game can be a demo, but I will not write a review for it. Instead, I'll give you some feedback and suggestions for improvement.
- If your game is complete, make sure it's not a pile of crap right from the get-go. I would really appreciate a decent first impression.
- Concerning FINISHING a game, there are many reasons I can lose interest or outright quit on a game. If this happens, God forbid, I will give the suggester reasons for this.

Here are some close looks at my thoughts of certain genres:

- Action: If the gameplay is overly monotonous and unchanging, that will usually result in causing me great distress. Other than that, action usually sits well with me.
- RPG: I usually like RPGs, but if you plan on giving me one that is nothing but a massive, boring grind-fest, please reconsider.
- Horror: There are many opportunities for this to be an exemplary and interesting genre when tied with RPG Maker, but it can also FAIL very easily if the creator doesn't know what he's doing or doesn't know what he WANTS to do.
- Puzzle: I don't often care for puzzle games. If a game fully revolves around puzzles, it has to offer something really unique or just plainly have satisfying gameplay in order for it to grab my attention.
- Side-scrolling/Platformer: This is a genre that is done to death and is the ever-present staple on the asscheek of the indie scene. Like I said, I'll accept any genre, but expect my brow to raise over the computer screen.
- Visual Novel: This better be really good. Seriously, I don't play games to read a book.

Any more questions? Please ask!

That being said (whew), bring on the games. I'll list them down in my queue below. Now may not be the best time to open up for something like this, so please forgive me if I'm slow to push through your magnum opus.

But, wait, how does a review compare with a feedback? My feedbacks can be pretty lengthy and could almost be considered a review in themselves! Well...

- Feedback is more or less an outlet for qualms I've had with a game and my personal opinions and suggestions on certain things in a game. With a feedback, I try my damndest to let you know what is wrong with your game and help inform you on ways to make it better before you release it.

- A review is an objective look at a released game. It will include minimal opinions and suggestions. Since your game is complete, I will review it as a complete game. No take-backsies. Feedbacks are already a good length, but reviews will go more in-depth on different aspects of the game. It'll basically be a cleaner version of the feedback format and will include some cute little pictures and such!

Queue:

- Skie Fortress's Sacred Earth: Memory (JUST STARTING)
- Orochii's Panzer (IN LINE)
- Yuna21's Lady of the Lion (IN LINE)
- Marrend's Konae's Investigations (IN LINE)
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
This could use some "love". If you want to play the full 2011 version, that's cool. If you want to give some feedback on the 2013 demo, that's fine as well. I would post about my new (old) project to get feedback on the intro, but it's literally as far as an intro into the final revision and, as of yet, no download is available.
Nice idea ^_^
Battle Royale
It's not exactly a demo, since the game is complete but only the first character is playable. You don't have to do a full review, but it would be really nice to have some useful feedback before I finish the other playable characters.
Thanks!
Great idea. I would be able to love to hear your thoughts about this. I only ever got one review and it was during a review drive over a year ago where everyone was doing reviews for the sake of reviews so it kind of got lost in the shuffle since then I think (or hope).

It's an RPG but one that is heavily story focused with no grinding whatsoever. I've always feared the gameplay would be lacking but I hoped that the characters and story would more than make up for it. Haven't had much feedback in terms of that so I'm not sure if I should continue onwards in the same way or focus more on the battle system in the second installment.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!
author=Mateui
Great idea. I would be able to love to hear your thoughts about this. I only ever got one review and it was during a review drive over a year ago where everyone was doing reviews for the sake of reviews so it kind of got lost in the shuffle since then I think (or hope).

It's an RPG but one that is heavily story focused with no grinding whatsoever. I've always feared the gameplay would be lacking but I hoped that the characters and story would more than make up for it. Haven't had much feedback in terms of that so I'm not sure if I should continue onwards in the same way or focus more on the battle system in the second installment.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!


It's Dreamcatcher, right? And it's pretty much incomplete?

Didn't expect you'd be the creator of Pengui. Cute game!
Alright Corfaisus, I've just completed your demo for Zilmurik: Origin. I was going to try out one of your earlier versions, but after reading the review, I didn't really want to go through with it.

Here is my feedback for you. I will basically provide you with things like I really liked (and that you should definitely keep doing), as well as some things that need improvement or my most basic opinions on certain things.

Aesthetics/Map Design

(+) You are using mostly RTP, which caused my facial muscles to scrunch up a bit, HOWEVER, it immediately unscrunched itself upon seeing how well-made the maps themselves were. You have used the RTP very competently, and I am very pleased with that. Very nice work.
(+) I'm not sure where you got the custom facesets, but I also liked them. A lot more pleasing than the original ones, and the fact that you've implemented the use of different emotions is nice as well.
(+) The use of glyphs to represent weapons, skills, and items is always welcome in my book. Good work putting these in.
(-) You have used RTP chipsets very well, but I would really prefer if you used custom assets in different areas, such as monsters. RTP monsters don't have a wide spectrum of use like a chipset, so I really cannot be impressed by it. I think this would make battles more interesting as well.

Music/Sound

(+) While midi music is used, I'm just grateful you haven't used RTP midis. The custom midis are not ear-grating and fit the scenarios well. Good choices.
(-) There is nothing special about the sounds used here. While they are mostly used well, they are simply RTP. I think this game would benefit from custom sound design.

Gameplay/Mechanics

(-) Gameplay variety could really help this game out. While there's nothing wrong with the puzzle(s), there's nothing really special about the gameplay. There's your traditional RPG Maker battles and item/weapon shops. The game is suffering from low content.
(-) I noticed something maybe unintentional with a certain item type in the game: the stat-increasing items. I can only use them on Maurice (what I named the MC). Is this supposed to be this way?

Story/Literacy

(+) This is where the game shines. Firstly, you've been considerate enough to add the option of skipping the prologue, which is nice. But one thing I noticed the most is how wonderfully literate you are, Corfaisus. It's really refreshing to see a game that has almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, etc.
(+) The story itself also captivated me and held my interest. Clearly there is some sinister things going down and things not being as they seem. Very nicely done with what you have here so far.

Good luck on further production, Corfaisus. Take my advice to heart, and I think your game can be a lot better and a shining example of a traditional RTP-RPG done right.
May as throw my own game out there:

Night of the Living Noobyas
http://rpgmaker.net/games/5050/

A comedy / parody rpg about communities, noobs, and rpg's.
Yeah, I'd like t-

author=Fidchell
- I am easily irritable.

...Nevermind. Stay away from my game, then. I already made Liberty ragequit an earlier build of my game because of one particular boss. XD

I mean, unless you're in the mood for a short, but challenging game. In which case: Here you go! XD
author=Aegix_Drakan
Yeah, I'd like t-

author=Fidchell
- I am easily irritable.


...Nevermind. Stay away from my game, then. I already made Liberty ragequit an earlier build of my game because of one particular boss. XD

I mean, unless you're in the mood for a short, but challenging game. In which case: Here you go! XD


Don't let this be a thing that discourages you, people! I have a degree of patience, despite that notice. I just don't have tolerance for really bad games that waste my time. It's not like I'm going to quit your game and bash it horribly if there's one bug.
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=Fidchell
Alright Corfaisus, I've just completed your demo for Zilmurik: Origin. I was going to try out one of your earlier versions, but after reading the review, I didn't really want to go through with it.

Here is my feedback for you. I will basically provide you with things like I really liked (and that you should definitely keep doing), as well as some things that need improvement or my most basic opinions on certain things.

Aesthetics/Map Design

(+) You are using mostly RTP, which caused my facial muscles to scrunch up a bit, HOWEVER, it immediately unscrunched itself upon seeing how well-made the maps themselves were. You have used the RTP very competently, and I am very pleased with that. Very nice work.
(+) I'm not sure where you got the custom facesets, but I also liked them. A lot more pleasing than the original ones, and the fact that you've implemented the use of different emotions is nice as well.
(+) The use of glyphs to represent weapons, skills, and items is always welcome in my book. Good work putting these in.
(-) You have used RTP chipsets very well, but I would really prefer if you used custom assets in different areas, such as monsters. RTP monsters don't have a wide spectrum of use like a chipset, so I really cannot be impressed by it. I think this would make battles more interesting as well.

Music/Sound

(+) While midi music is used, I'm just grateful you haven't used RTP midis. The custom midis are not ear-grating and fit the scenarios well. Good choices.
(-) There is nothing special about the sounds used here. While they are mostly used well, they are simply RTP. I think this game would benefit from custom sound design.

Gameplay/Mechanics

(-) Gameplay variety could really help this game out. While there's nothing wrong with the puzzle(s), there's nothing really special about the gameplay. There's your traditional RPG Maker battles and item/weapon shops. The game is suffering from low content.
(-) I noticed something maybe unintentional with a certain item type in the game: the stat-increasing items. I can only use them on Maurice (what I named the MC). Is this supposed to be this way?

Story/Literacy

(+) This is where the game shines. Firstly, you've been considerate enough to add the option of skipping the prologue, which is nice. But one thing I noticed the most is how wonderfully literate you are, Corfaisus. It's really refreshing to see a game that has almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, etc.
(+) The story itself also captivated me and held my interest. Clearly there is some sinister things going down and things not being as they seem. Very nicely done with what you have here so far.

Good luck on further production, Corfaisus. Take my advice to heart, and I think your game can be a lot better and a shining example of a traditional RTP-RPG done right.

Very fair feedback and definitely rich with things I'll keep in mind in the future. I'm glad that you saw mostly positive things about what you played, and for what you found to be negative, I'll try my best to address.

author=Fidchell
Aesthetics/Map Design

(-) You have used RTP chipsets very well, but I would really prefer if you used custom assets in different areas, such as monsters. RTP monsters don't have a wide spectrum of use like a chipset, so I really cannot be impressed by it. I think this would make battles more interesting as well.

The reason I decided to stick with the RTP monsters originally was because the next two Tales from Zilmurik games that followed this would have ended up using the monsters of the VX and XP RTPs respectively and I felt that it might be best to just have everything before the final game in the series use the standard monsters. Though having given time to reflect on just how long it would take to fully develop the series, I decided to scrap that idea shortly after finishing the content of the demo of Tales from Zilmurik I. As such, if and when I return to the now-named Tales from Zilmurik: Origin, I'll feel much more open to using monsters outside of the RTP as it will be a much more "independent" project that will serve strictly as a prequel to the RM2K3 Tales from Zilmurik and will in turn feel less like it has to adhere to some sort of tradition.

author=Fidchell
Music/Sound

(-) There is nothing special about the sounds used here. While they are mostly used well, they are simply RTP. I think this game would benefit from custom sound design.

I would be more than happy to use custom sound effects (or even rips for that matter) in places where I might need a more satisfying sound that can't be properly expressed through the RTP, but what holds me back is simply my lack of access to quality files that aren't necessarily the FF7 cursor and selection sounds and other things everyone else uses. The ones I do have are few and more suited for dramatic moments or a horror game such as a heart beat and the like.

author=Fidchell
Gameplay/Mechanics

(-) Gameplay variety could really help this game out. While there's nothing wrong with the puzzle(s), there's nothing really special about the gameplay. There's your traditional RPG Maker battles and item/weapon shops. The game is suffering from low content.
(-) I noticed something maybe unintentional with a certain item type in the game: the stat-increasing items. I can only use them on Maurice (what I named the MC). Is this supposed to be this way?

I agree that the gameplay could be more varied and I guess my main focus during the development of the demo was to make sure the battles were balanced so that the first boss could be fought at level 2 with the proper skill management while still maintaining a difficulty typically seen around level 3 so that there would be minimal to no grinding required and that the money given by enemies are both realistic and adequate to what the prices of the items/weapons/armor would require. Aside from this and optional quests (which would have taken place at the Commerce Port), I'm not exactly sure how much more content I'd be able to add to the beginning of the game and then slowly distribute throughout that would still be applicable to the storyline and not come across as needless filler such as the inclusion of a crafting or fishing system.

And about the stat boosting items only working on the main character at the start, I felt this would be better than allowing them to be used by all party members as *spoilers* your friends refuse to follow you when you finally have a boat on account of responsibilities and relationships in Ternotris *end spoilers* and as such, these items should be reserved for those who will be permanent members such as the priest and elf wizardess that join you later. Given that these other two aren't permanent members, I also had to decide whether or not to allow the player to change their equipment as they'll most likely want to deck them out with the best stuff they can buy, but felt that strictly due to the small "quest" they go on before obtaining a boat that being able to manage their equipment to meet the difficulties they face would be necessary.

--------

One thing I would like to ask you is how you felt about the characters you encountered throughout the demo and if they felt competent or intolerable. I made sure to touch up on what I felt was important to tell their side of the story, but I fear the context of their lives (especially the main hero) might not make for a good protagonist, even with the understanding that this isn't going to be one of those "I want to be this guy because he's cool/strong/popular" kind of stories.
author=Fidchell
Don't let this be a thing that discourages you, people! I have a degree of patience, despite that notice. I just don't have tolerance for really bad games that waste my time. It's not like I'm going to quit your game and bash it horribly if there's one bug.


Hahaha, alright. XD

It's not that my game is buggy or badly made, it's just that it tends to be very hard on anything other than the easiest mode. Liberty up and quit on my game after getting totally demolished by one boss in particular.

:D When you get around to my game, let me know how my writing is. I'm always looking for ways to improve my storytelling technique.
author=Corfaisus
One thing I would like to ask you is how you felt about the characters you encountered throughout the demo and if they felt competent or intolerable. I made sure to touch up on what I felt was important to tell their side of the story, but I fear the context of their lives (especially the main hero) might not make for a good protagonist, even with the understanding that this isn't going to be one of those "I want to be this guy because he's cool/strong/popular" kind of stories.


The characterization I felt was also a strong part of the story. You actually did well to make each party member stand out other than their looks, although there's not much in the demo so I can't find much for any sort of character development.
Papasan96! I regret to inform you that I haven't completed your game, Battle Royale, and have given up on it; however, I have played a good chunk of it, and I have written down A LOT of notes. This usually isn't a good thing, but make sure you read carefully and consider my advice to greatly improve your game!

Aesthetics/Map Design

(+) The game seems to use a handful of custom charsets I haven't seen before. If you've made these yourself, then good on you!
(+) There is a plethora of other custom graphics assets I have seen in your game, such as vehicles! I say you did a good effort in this.
(+) The facesets and some picture assets I noticed are actors and scenes from the film, which I found neat!
(-) A lot of the chipset assets in the game are RTP. I don't usually find RTP pleasant, but if it's used well and compact, then I can ignore it; however, this game has a lot of open spaces, and a good deal of areas are very...clean-looking. The lack of detail in some areas cause the RTP to look like an eyesore.
(-) The message box is sometimes omitted, and therefore if the text is against a lighter background image, it's hard to read it.
(-) This game uses a real-time indicator, but when it's dark, the indicator is overlaid by the darkness itself.
(-) Speaking of darkness, some areas of this game are very dark! It can be a pain in the side to navigate these areas.
(-) Another thing about the tilesets...Some of them don't clash well with the light beam coming out of you, meaning sometimes the light beam is UNDER the tileset. Also, some tilesets have very ugly seams and therefore look ugly when sitting next to another tile.

Music/Sound

(+) The music in Battle Royale seems to be music from...well, Battle Royale! I don't find the music particularly offensive to my ears. Some of them are actually really nice!
(+) I noticed some areas have ambient sounds, such as the ocean. Unfortunately, that's the only instance where there's ambience. I was craving for more little details like this!
(-) Some of the MP3s loop awkwardly. It would be nice if some of the MP3s were maybe cropped a bit to get rid of the "stingers" that introduce them.

Gameplay/Mechanics

(+) The battle system is custom, so this is a plus from me!
(+) Battle Royale doesn't restrict your choices too often. You seem to be given many routes and actions to take in certain moments. You can be a serial killer if you wanted!
(+) Achievements were a surprising and nice addition.
(+) As time passes, you will be introduced to different cutscenes throughout. Speaking of time, yes, you are timed in this game in the likes of Dead Rising.
(+) Encounters with different students are randomized! Another really interesting touch!
(-) Battles can oftentimes be very monotonous and not very engaging at all...
(-) Because of mandatory cutscenes that play as time passes, this can lead to many foreseeable glitches, especially when you're already dealing with something. Events will clash and cause problems, and this really isn't all that surprising given that a lot of the things that happen in the game will occur in real-time. (I actually TIME TRAVELED back to 05:00 AM when I was at 10:00 AM! What the shit?)
(-) The performance of Battle Royale takes a staggering hit at times! In some areas and after some events, the frame rate will sometimes drop and inputs will lag behind!
(-) I was able to clip through some tilesets which...I don't think the author intended for me to clip through. An example would be the vehicles scattered across the island.

Story/Literacy

(+) The story is not original and is derived of an obvious source...the manga/film of Battle Royale. But I will leave this positive because the author actually manages to execute it decently and in interesting fashions.
(+) There are hiccups in grammar, spelling, and punctuation here and there, but most of the time the game is competent in English. Good job!
(-) Remember when I said that the events of the game tend to clash? Well, there was one portion where I was to find Izumi amongst a group of dudes. As I was doing so, the game cut to a mandatory cutscene where said gang and Izumi are gunned down by pretty-boy, hair-in-the-face Kazuo! Once I returned, the scenario still played out like usual.
(-) Okay, look, the whole Izumi arc is a damn mess. When I attempted to fight off the gang, I eventually gave up. I came upon the cutscene where Kazuo guns them all down immediately after. When that cutscene was over, I was teleported to a tent where everyone was invisible. Nothing else happened!
(-) Once I got to the hacking bit to find the blueprints for the collars, I successfully received said blueprints! I activated the item, but apparently I had to pick someone to be the guinea pig for experimentation. Shuya was the only guy active in the party, so I entered his name like the game prompted me to, and it doesn't work! Nothing happens if I don't input a valid name. I knew if I wanted a good ending, I would probably have to progress the storyline on the subject of the explosive collars. Failing this, I eventually gave up under the impression I've already encountered enough event clashing and other problems...

I seem to have covered most of what I've gone through with this game, but I'm not done yet! I have some more tidbits to give out:

- I found out before I got my survival bag that I already had a pot lid.
- When I interact with one of my allies, I can't seem to exit the message box without choosing one of the options.
- There is a shack shaped like a "7" that, when I go inside, freezes up the game. This seems to happen at night. When it was morning, I was able to enter without crashing.
- Using a crossbow is very risky, considering it actually uses ammo and you can't swap weapons in-battle.
- Some items' "sparkle" overlays aren't animated.
- Transition events in interiors should be set on the overlapping tileset where the door actually is, not on the welcome mat that you spawn at.

There's probably an abundance of other things I forgot to mention, but this is going on for too long. The idea of Battle Royale as a game is definitely plausible, since I enjoyed the film despite how overdramatic it was at times (something I despise about anime in general).

Unfortunately because of a plethora of problems, my impression of the game was marred, and the positive points were mostly overshadowed. I'm sorry I couldn't finish the game, again. Please take my advice to heart. This is an ambitious project, so you should invest a lot more time in testing!
Thanks so much for this, it's really useful feedback. A few things you mentioned were ones that were also at the back of my mind, so it's good to hear someone else noticed it as well.

author=Fidchell
Aesthetics/Map Design

(+) The game seems to use a handful of custom charsets I haven't seen before. If you've made these yourself, then good on you!
(+) There is a plethora of other custom graphics assets I have seen in your game, such as vehicles! I say you did a good effort in this.
(+) The facesets and some picture assets I noticed are actors and scenes from the film, which I found neat!
(-) A lot of the chipset assets in the game are RTP. I don't usually find RTP pleasant, but if it's used well and compact, then I can ignore it; however, this game has a lot of open spaces, and a good deal of areas are very...clean-looking. The lack of detail in some areas cause the RTP to look like an eyesore.
(-) The message box is sometimes omitted, and therefore if the text is against a lighter background image, it's hard to read it.
(-) This game uses a real-time indicator, but when it's dark, the indicator is overlaid by the darkness itself.
(-) Speaking of darkness, some areas of this game are very dark! It can be a pain in the side to navigate these areas.
(-) Another thing about the tilesets...Some of them don't clash well with the light beam coming out of you, meaning sometimes the light beam is UNDER the tileset. Also, some tilesets have very ugly seams and therefore look ugly when sitting next to another tile.


I was planning to go back to the maps at some point and spruce them up a bit. Because of the island layout most of them have to be square boxes, limiting a bit what I can do with them. But I'll have a go. Unfortunately the problems with the darkness are to do with how the script works, so I don't think I can fix the overlay (I'm not an expert on scripting).

author=Fidchell
Music/Sound

(+) The music in Battle Royale seems to be music from...well, Battle Royale! I don't find the music particularly offensive to my ears. Some of them are actually really nice!
(+) I noticed some areas have ambient sounds, such as the ocean. Unfortunately, that's the only instance where there's ambience. I was craving for more little details like this!
(-) Some of the MP3s loop awkwardly. It would be nice if some of the MP3s were maybe cropped a bit to get rid of the "stingers" that introduce them.


I understand what you mean about the looping. Because I can't control how quickly or slowly a player will move through the texts, it was difficult to exactly match the music to the action. The random background music is done by events and a timer, so if a battle occurs it throws the timing out and sometimes causes abrupt changes.
I'll see if there's any more ambient noises I can add in.

author=Fidchell
Gameplay/Mechanics

(+) The battle system is custom, so this is a plus from me!
(+) Battle Royale doesn't restrict your choices too often. You seem to be given many routes and actions to take in certain moments. You can be a serial killer if you wanted!
(+) Achievements were a surprising and nice addition.
(+) As time passes, you will be introduced to different cutscenes throughout. Speaking of time, yes, you are timed in this game in the likes of Dead Rising.
(+) Encounters with different students are randomized! Another really interesting touch!
(-) Battles can oftentimes be very monotonous and not very engaging at all...
(-) Because of mandatory cutscenes that play as time passes, this can lead to many foreseeable glitches, especially when you're already dealing with something. Events will clash and cause problems, and this really isn't all that surprising given that a lot of the things that happen in the game will occur in real-time. (I actually TIME TRAVELED back to 05:00 AM when I was at 10:00 AM! What the shit?)
(-) The performance of Battle Royale takes a staggering hit at times! In some areas and after some events, the frame rate will sometimes drop and inputs will lag behind!
(-) I was able to clip through some tilesets which...I don't think the author intended for me to clip through. An example would be the vehicles scattered across the island.


Thanks ^_^ Making battles is my least favourite part, as you can maybe tell...
Because the game is fairly open it's impossible to know what a player will be doing at any given time, hence why some problems can occur when cutscenes start. The problem with Izumi you mentioned should be easy to fix though. The vehicles are sprites not tilesets, hence the clipping. But I am aware of some other areas which for some reason I couldn't fix (namely the top of the mountain). I'll take another look at them.

author=Fidchell
Story/Literacy

(+) The story is not original and is derived of an obvious source...the manga/film of Battle Royale. But I will leave this positive because the author actually manages to execute it decently and in interesting fashions.
(+) There are hiccups in grammar, spelling, and punctuation here and there, but most of the time the game is competent in English. Good job!
(-) Remember when I said that the events of the game tend to clash? Well, there was one portion where I was to find Izumi amongst a group of dudes. As I was doing so, the game cut to a mandatory cutscene where said gang and Izumi are gunned down by pretty-boy, hair-in-the-face Kazuo! Once I returned, the scenario still played out like usual.
(-) Okay, look, the whole Izumi arc is a damn mess. When I attempted to fight off the gang, I eventually gave up. I came upon the cutscene where Kazuo guns them all down immediately after. When that cutscene was over, I was teleported to a tent where everyone was invisible. Nothing else happened!
(-) Once I got to the hacking bit to find the blueprints for the collars, I successfully received said blueprints! I activated the item, but apparently I had to pick someone to be the guinea pig for experimentation. Shuya was the only guy active in the party, so I entered his name like the game prompted me to, and it doesn't work! Nothing happens if I don't input a valid name. I knew if I wanted a good ending, I would probably have to progress the storyline on the subject of the explosive collars. Failing this, I eventually gave up under the impression I've already encountered enough event clashing and other problems...


Actually you can use the blueprints on both active and support members of your party. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough...You can't use it on yourself though, as trying to defuse a bomb collar around your own neck would be...bloody ^_^

Also, again it may not be clear (did I put it in the manual? Probably not...) but you an change weapons during battles. If you look closely there's a little arrow on the battle menu with an option "equip" which lets you change weapons.

Anyway, thanks again for this. I've started working on the second character's story, so I'll try and make some changes based on your feedback. I'm glad you had some positive views since I love Battle Royale (obviously) and I really want to make the kind of game that I would want to play, if that makes sense!

author=papasan96
Actually you can use the blueprints on both active and support members of your party. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough...You can't use it on yourself though, as trying to defuse a bomb collar around your own neck would be...bloody ^_^

Also, again it may not be clear (did I put it in the manual? Probably not...) but you an change weapons during battles. If you look closely there's a little arrow on the battle menu with an option "equip" which lets you change weapons.


Really? I actually didn't mention, but I tried entering an ally's name as well. All caps too, as I was directed to.

And woops! I guess I totally missed that equip option. You can disregard that one then. As for the whole cutscene thing, yes, you'll face problems when the game is open, but that's why you gotta look over what the player would potentially be doing! I can't imagine there's a LOT of different things the player could do in this game to disrupt other events, so just try to think of the potential factors and maybe implement some bypasses.

The biggest thing is the mandatory cutscenes, so maybe you could halt time or something for the moment that the player is in the middle of something.
I haven't written a review yet! I think this would be a good time to inform you guys briefly of how different a review would be compared to a feedback:

- Feedback is more or less an outlet for qualms I've had with a game and my personal opinions and suggestions on certain things in a game. With a feedback, I try my damndest to let you know what is wrong with your game and help inform you on ways to make it better before you release it.

- A review is an objective look at a released game. It will include minimal opinions and suggestions. Since your game is complete, I will review it as a complete game. No take-backsies. Feedbacks are already a good length, but reviews will go more in-depth on different aspects of the game. It'll basically be a cleaner version of the feedback format and will include some cute little pictures and such!
Mateui! I have finished Dreamcatcher. I am not too impressed, unfortunately. After Pengui, I was surprised this game was even made by you.

Read my feedback carefully. I don't have as many notes as the last feedback, but if you strive to complete this game of yours, I need you to humble yourself, and take my advice to heart...

Aesthetics/Map Design

(+) Most of the sprites are done well. The chipsets are a tad familiar, but I think that they mostly collide together very well and aren't that much of an eye sore.
(+) There are a good deal of custom assets!
(-) While the sprites look fine, I notice that there are quite a few that have clearly differing styles, so it's awkward to see some put together in the same vicinity.
(-) Some maps have a very awkward design. There are many interiors that look way larger than they should be when compared to how big the actual building is.
(-) Some bad tiling here and there. For example: some trees in the Fairy Forest are cut off by another trunk tileset.

Music/Sound

(+) There are some MP3s in the game! One in particular that I found quite awesome was the one that played when I am sneaking out of this town with Trero.
(+) Custom sounds are used!
(-) Midis mostly make up the music library for Dreamcatcher, and while some are decent, there are some that sound like they just don't fit in the setting.

Gameplay/Mechanics

(+) The game uses the traditional RPG Maker 2003 battle system, but with a twist! You now get something called the "Battle Grid" which determines at random the integrity of an ally's strength, and determines if you can use "combo" moves.
(+) There are a few mini-games here and there. They aren't all that amazing, but good effort regardless.
(-) The world of Dreamcatcher is very barren, banal, and static. There are plenty of barriers that keep the player from exploring. In towns, there is hardly anything going on and everything feels so damn lifeless. I could not engage myself in the world of Dreamcatcher at all.
(-) It's nice that the game doesn't make you spend time grinding, but I didn't feel that battles served enough of a purpose. I did not feel they were very rewarding.
(-) Another thing about battles. The function of attacking an enemy's grid for massive damage is cool, but it's irritating having to find one specific spot out of nine squares that is the right one.
(-) There are many clipping issues in this game. I highly recommend going back to the tileset legend and looking over your chipsets, because people shouldn't be able to walk onto a table thanks to a plant.
(-) One mini-game caused me frustration in particular, and that would be the one I do with dear ol' Mama, the Gardening mini-game. I didn't have much trouble with the first two patches, but the last one really confused me. Because the game does not point out a type of flower to put down on the spot in the column before the last, it skips ahead to the final column and doesn't accept any formation I put the flowers in.
(-) Some custom systems, such as the skill progression, are VERY short lived.

Story/Literacy

(+) The story begins with intrigue at best...The concepts and purposes of dreams in the game are interesting, and the whole introduction played out pretty decently.
(+) There are some hiccups in spelling here and there, but the game is mostly competent in English.
(-) Here is where the game mostly falls flat. Mateui calls this game an "Interactive Story RPG focusing heavily on storytelling and character development." This is true. Gameplay is a little on the minimalist side, but when you make a game that is supposed to heavily focus on the story and emotionally invest you, it usually helps if the narrative itself is good. There's the problem: It isn't that good. The game is SUFFERING from a severe lack of pacing. Everything either happens too fast or dialogue is bland. From this game I am easily seeing the works of an amateur writer.
(-) Coupling with banal dialogue and the lack of a lively world, this game's characters are not interesting in the slightest. Their origins and the lore of the game might be interesting, but the characters themselves need a lot of work, and there is no other way to accomplish this than to improve on the writing.
(-) The game ends with a quote. Like seriously? That's the end?

That covers the bulk of the issues I have had with Dreamcatcher. I'm not done yet. Below are some extra tidbits:

- At one point in the game, it asks if I want to work with my father and mother. Little did I know that my choices would reveal some underlying things about my relationships with my parents. If I was given the choice after I knew some more about my parents, I think that would have worked better instead of throwing me in blindly and then playing a guilt trip on me.
- When I interact with the mayor's door, Quaden says that he is probably down in the town entrance. I'm pretty sure he's meant to say this after the sequence where the villager screams about nightmares or something.
- What's the deal with water to these villagers? There are a crap-ton of guys that are intensely fascinated with it!
- Some mini-games don't reward you adequately, if at all!
- Trero's town's sky panorama looks dark and...quite red. The town itself is not tinted in the slightest.

Dreamcatcher has not lived up to what the author has said...mostly. It's an empty experience. I felt no sympathy for anyone or anything because of how bland it was. I can still taste the bitterness in the back of my throat. The custom things are a good addition and spiced things up a bit...but that's just it. A bit. It is going to need a lot more to impress people and keep them engaged. Please keep my feedback in the back of your mind. If you plan on progressing with this game, please make it more lively. Make it less one-dimensional. Make it more interesting.
I'm curious as to whether or not you'd be willing to give Dragon Fantasy REMADE a chance? I haven't gotten many comments on the game yet, and before I go too far/make any serious progress, I'd like to get some honest opinions!


It's a demo, and not all that long (if you do decide to play and finish it). I'd have you take note that in the completed game random battles will be omitted.
Thanks for your brutally honest feedback Fidchell. I'll take it all to heart, for sure! I'm glad you brought up banal dialogue and the lack of a lively world as this was what I was actually going for (which seems kind of counterintuitive right now but it does serve a future purpose.)

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I'll definitely make some adjustments.
Puddor
if squallbutts was a misao category i'd win every damn year
5702
Perhaps give Nachtheulen a try? It's about an hour to an hour and a half long.
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