Notes on the Edgosian Crisis is set in a First World War era inspired pseudo-European nation. The tale follows the terrible person, anti-hero Orson E. Rockefeller, who doesn't seem a terribly bad person, but of course, he does terribly bad things, graduating from town bully, to murderer, to thief, and paradoxically the vanquisher of thieves and ultimately, the savior of Edgos. He will stoop as low as needs be and soar to any heights that he must in his quest to vanquish his foe, the Mayor of Bredfort.

It all starts when when our illustrious Orson goes on vacation and comes back to find that his house has been burnt down, and sold, by the mayor. Whatever for? Well, as it happens the Mayor just very strongly dislikes Orson. A narcissist with a messiah complex, the mayor offers Orson 13 francs for destroyed home. It is this villainous act that launches our hero on his crusade to get the mayor in a good deal of trouble with the Edgos ruler, Lord Ingram. Unfortunately, the bridge to Lord Ingrams hometown has been destroyed, apparently by the same unscrupulous arson that victimized poor Orson. The game is billed as a book so random encounters only occur in those areas in which Orson must solve the mystery of how to most effectively tarnish the mayor.

Gameplay: Well-balanced, there being sufficient random encounters to deal with the bosses and there are plenty of restoratives available. Magic is in the form of operations manuals, such as for infantrymen, black ops, medics, and chaplains. Your levels cap at ten to make sure the game remains challenging to the very end. There are accessories that help you with the final boss fight, as well as consumable items that permanently raise stats, but they're not so easy to find. Since not all areas are relevant to the story, some exploration is called for to come up with the best characters you can manage. The weapons you use never achieve the status of being good, for reasons which should be clear to the player who understands the atmosphere of the game (wherein this is a game depicting a massive war in resources are spread thin and even if there was anything really good, civilians would have little access to them). Again, a little exploration will help you acquire weapons somewhat better than what is available on the main story track. Pay special attention to rumors and other such banter by the NPCs as these hint at places you might find special items not available in the main areas. If you play just the story, the game is relatively short, a couple of hours (but I honestly think making the game longer would be detrimental).

Graphics: Standard RTP mixed with some original designs, with careful attention to detail. Face sets are original artwork done in pastel (or some form of crayon, anyway, based on the texture). All very nicely put together with the feel of a central European town from the early twentieth century. The map depicts a forested mountainous region. There are no random encounters on the map, so relax and enjoy your journey. A chalk line road connects the many towns of the nation of Edgos. Remember, there are at least twice as many towns as those you absolutely have to visit, if not more, so take your time exploring. There's no need to be as obsessive and single-minded as Orson. Don't be fooled by the use of RTP. This game is pretty...or quaint might be a more appropriate word.

Enemies: Though Orson has no desire to join the Edgosian army, he certainly seems to have skills more than suited for it. Of course, he has trouble with his initial enemies, the stray cats populating the inventors house, but they more than prepare him for the enemies to come, including the highwaymen, who have stolen a ferry pass that Orson needs to steal to see Lord Ingram. In fact, this element of gameplay is quite as well constructed as LockeZ's significantly more overcontrolled combat system in Vindication. While discovering the secret of the inventor's home, battling the stray cats brings you up to level 2, which should be just perfect for defeating Pete I, with Pete Mark II's aid, though I recommend grinding to level 3. This basically is what you'll encounter throughout the game, so there's no need to elaborate. Simply know that as long as you're not cutting corners, you'll have everything you need to defeat every enemy. If you're not grinding, the bosses will be hard, but not impossible. I understand the concept of game design being employed here. A game is no fun if it's not challenging.

Music: Everything supports the atmosphere and again, the cultural feel of central and northern Europe prevails. I almost thought these might have been original compositions, but they are in fact, taken from other games, much to my surprise, given how well they go with the story and how well they interact together. Great care was taken in their selection, apparently. If you love music as I do, you may find yourself forgetting the game for moments and sitting back just to enjoy the sound chips.

Story: Brilliantly written dark humor with Orson being so out of touch with the people around him, it's as if he lives in another world. His allies tend to be equally esoteric, with Pete Mk. II, who believes he's a robot copy of...well...Pete, Mark, an actor who introduces himself to Orson with statements of absolute randomness and the suggestion of being violently unhinged. The level headed Oskar Ingram II, upon closer examination is just as out of touch with reality, his noble upbringing placing him above the common folk until which he's right at that delicate level that he sympathizes with the plight of the commoner, but doesn't quite understand it. Also, the game comes with a nifty ultra post-modern game over screen that is reminiscent of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the computer game (If you've ever played this, you'll exactly what I'm talking about).

Conclusion: I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for subtle dark humor, a hero with readily villainous overtones, a villain that's even more dastardly and a cast of characters, who none of which are entirely sane.