Wild Universe

Little Wing Guy plays Wild Universe an RM2k3 game made by HolyDragoon. Complete and final version.

Why should you play this game?
- Worth taking a look at its unique levelling and battle systems.
- Battle balance is pretty solid if you’re able to understand the mechanics.
- The boss battle music is an awesome remix of Fatalize from Tales of Symphonia, which made me dig up my copy and play it again. What? That still counts as a good point.

Why should you give it a miss?
- Sometimes difficult to know what you need to do next and where you need to go.
- Custom features have no tutorials, so you have to figure out things for yourself.
- More bugs than Viridian Forest.



You can tell you’re in for a real treat within the first five seconds of Wild Universe. A god awful MS Paint title, followed by a pitch black opening and ominous dialogue, littered with spelling and grammar mistakes. Audio cues serve to separate the dialogue between the two unnamed characters, but the audio cues disappear when the screen fades in revealing the scene, but all the characters still remain unnamed so you never really find out which of the characters is saying what. All of the characters look distinct from one another, so it really would not have hurt to at least have their appearance described as a name instead. The two characters awaken a being they call “4100” and reveal to it they’re searching for Anti-Matter across the universe, but don’t worry if you end up forgetting their motivations, every single character is going to remind you over and over again. ANTIMATTER. Though they decide that Earth most likely has no Anti-Matter, they send the one known as “4100” to search the planet anyway, I mean why the hell not? They have at least 4100 of these things kicking about the ship, so there‘s loads going spare. It’s not like having over 4000 super powered fighting androids at your command is remotely helpful in achieving your evil goals anyway. Forget about that for now though, our hero of the story is Allen, a young man living on Earth! It’s funny to me that a game described as “a game of space” spends only one unplayable cut scene actually up in space. At any rate, Allen is planning on entering a fighting tournament, he said so in a textbox. After winning, and having his prize money stolen in an utterly hilarious way, Allen finds himself caught in a dangerous chain of events, setting him on a death-defying journey that he really isn’t caught up in at all, and could leave anytime he wants without a problem. Allen is soon joined on his quest by two faithful party members; “Save Point” who Allen must keep running to every five minutes, and “F12 Key” who has the power to rewind time whenever Allen gets himself trapped in a game breaking bug. Sorry, sorry I meant to say; the two party members Haze the thief, and the 4100 who is later renamed Jin.



You could be mistaken that the plot is about a bunch of people having a competition to see who can say the word “Anti-Matter” the most. You could honestly make a drinking game out of this, but everyone would end up getting their stomach pumped, and while I do have qualms about the overall plot being contradictive of itself, and generally nonsensical; a much bigger issue are the characters and their dialogue. It’s evident almost immediately how thinly these characters are imagined. None of them are particularly well written, exchanges between them are quick, unbelievable and their decisions don’t feel like they have any weight or consequence. For example, Haze’s introduction scene has him mugging a young defenceless woman in a alleyway, but that plot device doesn’t end up going anywhere. Later, he mugs the main character too, but that doesn’t end up going anywhere either, because it was clearly only set up as an easy way for the two characters to eventually meet. Haze’s original scene of him mugging the women serves only to show us the character of Haze exists, rather than using it as a tool to tell us something about him. Sure, that scene does tells us he’s a thief. But why is he a thief? How long has he been a thief? How does he feel about it? Who the hell would name their child Haze? We don’t know the answers to any of those questions because we didn’t need to know them in order to bring Haze and Allen together. His back story served a single purpose and as soon as Haze joins the party, his thieving past is dropped. For reasons I won’t spoil, I understand exactly why Jin wasn’t the main character, but had the story been spun a little differently it definitely could have worked. Jin is central to the plot and the only party member that stands out with a consistent personality, while Allen and Haze really feel like team padding, and their impact on the plot is minimal. When it comes to the credit roll, and you take in everything that’s happened in the game, Allen’s story hasn’t gone anywhere he’s exactly the same as he was when we first met him, whereas Jin’s story feels complete. Jin has a conflict, and a resolution, meanwhile Allen ponders what he’ll make for dinner tonight. Games can work with a main character being an outsider or not the focus of the main plot, however HolyDragoon made his characters, and then did not know what to do with them. Everyone outlived their single purpose, and with no back story to fall on and they had no way of developing further.

Also, as a final point of interest, there are no female main characters in the game. I have no idea why, and I’m not saying it’s detrimental, I’m just stating that this game is the biggest sausage fest on the RM scene. There is one female NPC that may give us an insight into the mind of HolyDragoon. Appropriately placed in the kitchen ,she yammers on about how it’s her housewife job to cook and clean, and how unimportant she is.

“Women can be used for carnal relations. As far as I’m aware they have no other purpose.” - genuine quote I found by HolyDragoon.



The games battle system is it’s biggest asset, yet also it’s biggest flaw. It’s what sets itself apart from all other RM2k3 games, but it’s also why it has 480 downloads but comments from only two people. While it uses the default battle system, and all the expected commands such as Attack, Defend and Magic, it also makes 2 big changes to it. Part of the problem comes from how the 2 changes don’t compliment each other well, The other being how poorly they are visually represented. Plus it is buggy as fuck. Oh my god is it buggy.

Firstly, the game has something it likes to call “Fast Draw System”. It’s just a fancy word for limit breaks (we don’t want to piss of the FF7crowd now), a bar builds up over 8 turns allowing you to unleash a deadly attack once it is full. I so wish the game just said that to me, but no, of course it doesn’t. Visually, it seemed like you could build up the bar to different stages and use different attacks depending on how much of the Fast Draw was built up. Although it requires 8 turns before it is full, it only gives a visual indicator every 2 turns for a total of 4 visual indicators, falsely telling you Fast Draw has 4 possible stages; whereas it only has 2, full and not full. Not that I hate limit breaks, but I wish he had either gone with my idea or designed it in a way that doesn’t throw the player off visually. Finally, each of the 3 party members have a unique command they can use at any time that it completely exclusive to them, and allows them to enter a new state. They differ in effects but they give the player both a positive effect and a negative effect; for example Allen’s skill Blood Weapon gives increased critical rate, but lowers his defence. When this unique character ability is activated you are now longer able to see or build up the Fast Draw Gauge (as both function as a status aliment). If you finish a battle while in this state, it carries over to the next fight until you turn it off; the problem being it gives no indication that it’s still on, so it’s easy to forget about, and if you want it off you have to waste a turn. I feel it would have been better for each new battle to start you off in the neutral default state.



Throughout the early portions you feel like your fighting against the game as well as against the actual enemies. If the player was given clear instruction or even if they were able figure things out before quitting, the constant glitches and bugs disrupt the whole experience. The game would have REALLY benefited from dropping the ability to use Magic altogether and put all of it’s effort into developing a working Fast Draw, or merging them together in some way. Magic is just kind of there, and its use is already shared with the way the game handles item use. It mostly just clutters the already messy command menu, since commands are added and removed frequently, the layout shuffles about so you can’t get used to a particular pattern. Also the rules for using Magic aren’t completely clear (what a shock!) as I seemed to be unable to cast Magic at certain times for unknown reasons. The game doesn’t just throw you in the at deep end, it also holds your head underwater, and you end up drowning in all these custom systems. Also, there’s sharks in the water. Hungry sharks. You have to teach yourself how everything works and it’s incredibly daunting and off putting for new players. Now, I’m not being entirely fair; there is a tutorial battle, but you can only win by mashing attack. If you try to actually learn something in the TUTORIAL BATTLE by using “Rest” to build up your Fast Draw, or try any of the new commands, then you essentially give the enemy a free attack which you can’t afford to take. Yes, losing the tutorial battle gives you a game over, and yes if you haven’t saved you will have to watch the introduction again. When all is said and done, and if you have the patience of a fucking saint you can have moments of enjoyment sprinkled about. You are fully healed after every battle, so you don’t have to hold anything back, you can tear the enemies a new one without having to hoard your MP for the inevitable boss fight. Enemies are challenging but not overpowered, they hit hard but they also fall to your attacks quickly, so battles hardly feel like a struggle, more of a quick scrap.

Thankfully, I can say it’s not all bad news. My favourite component of this game is it’s levelling system. The idea behind it is really creative and works well as a high risk = high reward system, and I thought it was pretty genius if I’m honest. After every battle you gain EXP and level up, like you normally would, and EXP has a curve requiring slightly more EXP each level than the last. Standard stuff, right? Here’s the catch: When you level up you don’t gain any stats, instead your levels act more as points to spend on stat upgrades which you can use at any time, and when you do your level goes back down again. The longer you leave it (aka the higher your level) when you finally do upgrade, your stats go up much more. Essentially, you can upgrade yourself every level and enjoy a nice steady stat improvement, or you can put yourself at a temporary disadvantage, build up levels, endure lower stats for longer and require more EXP to level up for a much better cash in at the end. It’s completely up to you, and you can mix and match it between party members; development them how and when you like as individuals. Obviously, since I am Little Wing Guy, I do have a complaint with it. I know, I’m always moaning about something aren’t I? The CMS you use to navigate all your stat improvement, is really barebones. It’s actually functional and you have to take whatever you can get with this game, but it’s not a smooth experience. Every single problem I have with this game is not with the ideas themselves, it’s the poor implementation and practicality. It’s frustrating to play this game for a few reasons, but also because it’s a “what could have been” game.



I’m trying to get this review out in plenty of time for the ReviewRim event. If it wasn’t for this section it probably would be out much earlier, but there is so much I could say about the presentation I have no idea where to start. Okay, so how about this? Wild Universe is kind of like when your girlfriend is on her menstrual cycle (lol jk I know you’re single, me too man) and you feel like you’re treading on egg shells all day long. You have to make sure you remembered to record the latest episode of Orange is the New Black, the fridge is well stocked up with ice cream and when she comes through the door don’t forget to insinuate that she’s lost weight recently, but not TOO much weight, that could also set her off in a rampage. Wild Universe is just like that, but bear in mind that Wild Universe is a video game and not a human female.

Temperamental is the best word I could use to describe my experience. You can’t play it the way you want because you might make the game angry at you. Every time you have a cut scene in a building or a interior room, there’s a chance you can never ever enter that room again or you may end up re-triggering an old cut scene which will typically break the game. Hello F12 key, my old friend. Switches are either not used correctly or are simply reused. Sometimes the game tells you things that aren’t correct. For example, you are told if you go back to the tournament, you can learn new skills. If you go back too early you’ll have to redo the tournament sequence again because he forgot to use a switch, but if you go there later on nothing happens, it’s just empty. I found myself constantly running to a save point every time something important happens from fear of losing progress, which I did on a few occasions. It’s tough knowing that you can’t sit down and enjoy a game to the fullest, the way it was intended to be; when part of the game play becomes consciously trying to avoid breaking it. I imagine they’re not supposed to be in there, but the game comes with three save files that he’s played through at various stages in the game, so the excuse that he hasn’t play tested doesn’t fly with me. Instead, he’s tested it with the wrong frame of mind. It’s easy to play test a game from the creators perspective and not find anything wrong with the game because you know everywhere you need to go, and he probably played it going from point A to B over and over again. If you’re play testing your own work, you need to think outside the box and go everywhere, talk to everyone and battle everything. If you’re not prepared to do that, then you should ask someone to test it for you; seriously we folks at RMN aren’t THAT bad, and you can even ask real life friends and family to do it for you. This obvious lack of a second pair of eyes lead to spelling and grammar issues galore. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if English was HolyDragoon’s native tongue, or whether he was just 8 years old. Oh god, what’s if it’s both? I didn’t think of that! This poor game never stood a chance. The already distractingly wonky dialogue is made even less appealing when it isn’t always spelt correctly. It’s literally from the first moment of the game, to the very last, and every now and then some sentences just plain don’t make sense. Like I explained earlier, there are plenty of problems working against the narrative, and this is yet another one added to the list.



When it comes to exploration, the game sends the wrong message to the player early on. None of the NPCs give you items, there are no treasure chests whatsoever and nothing is hidden or examinable down the dead ends in towns and dungeons. Then all of a sudden you DO get rewarded for exploring. Huh? The first couple of dungeons are completely barren, and so is the town. There are little nooks and crannies that beg you to walk down them, but all you end up getting is a extra random encounter on the walk back. After a certain period of time, randomly the later dungeons have these glowing orbs hidden around them, and collecting them gives you an instant parameter increase for the whole party. This is Wild Universe’s version of treasure, typical items like potions and equipment you are used to finding in other RPG’s are nonexistent here. Finding these permanent buffs definitely feels like a reward, but part of me really would have preferred a nice shiny treasure chest, just out of reach, it opens with a creak and a cheerful jingle that says “Hey, you found me, enjoy your prize kid”, and instead of an automatic parameter increase that applies to your whole party; you get an item that does the same to a single party member. At least then your collecting something and making a decision on who and when you want to use it. You can still buy damaging items, aka Magic, at any time you like, but it is only available to you if you decide to have the Alchemist job. If you don’t have anyone set with that job, then all the money you earn just builds and builds and you can’t do anything with it. It’s not an uninteresting idea, but the fact that you can’t buy weapons and armour to customise your party, and you can’t spend your funds on survivability items makes the whole thing feel so shallow. Something about an RPG without any form of item collecting doesn’t sit well with me, I’m sure it can work in the right hands with the right game, but in Wild Universe it’s a noticeably absent feature and the custom systems don’t really make up for the game missing something that is vital to the RPG genre. You wouldn’t go and make an RPG without stats now, would you? Wait, would you? Please don’t tell me you would do that HolyDragoon, I didn’t mean to put that idea in your head!

I know, there isn’t some unwritten rule that everything you release must have a coat of glossy professionalism, so maybe I’m just way too finicky or an elitist prick, but I would never dream of putting out a demo in this state, let alone a complete game. We’re amateurs I know, but have some pride in your work too. Strike a balance that works well for you, and allows the audience to enjoy it. As much as you might think I do, I don’t enjoy endlessly complaining, but I’m forcing myself; scraping the bottom of the barrel to find something positive to say here. I wanted to say that the mapping isn’t too bad, a little on the bland side but functional. Then I remembered how the only town in the whole game; that you keep revisiting, stays the same throughout, no change in the NPCs and no reason to explore it more than once (actually no reason to explore it at all). Then I wanted to say how nice the battle animations are, because they are very good, but I have some suspicions they are used without permission. One of the reasons I chose this game to review was due to how much a screenshot from the game page looked like a game I previously reviewed. It looks like he raided the folder from Loremaster and shoved all the graphics in this game. I don’t want to point fingers, or accuse anyone, but I totally just have anyway. If I’m wrong you should absolutely tell me to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine and I’ll edit my review for you.



Have you ever had to meet a friend of a friend for the first time at a party or social gathering? He always seems so cool and interesting whenever you hear people talking about him, but when you finally meet him, he makes absolutely no effort with you, and he then throws up in the taxi home. That’s my experience with Wild Universe. A lot of ideas immediately sound and play promising, but when you get down to it the game is coming apart at the seams. I really feel like at some point in the games development HolyDragoon made a real honest effort to make a decent game, but there was too much lost in the transition from his own mind to RPGMaker. Even so, I still don’t recommend HolyDragoon to go back and fix the problems, there’s too much to repair in a game that would still be dragged down with it’s sub par story. If HolyDragoon ever makes another venture into RPGMaker I would love to see him start a brand new project, but this time ask for some help with testing. Oh, and if you’re going to make a game about space. Make sure it’s about space.