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Nocturne: Rebirth

  • jtrev23
  • 01/29/2016 01:14 AM
  • 6046 views


Nocturne: Rebirth is an epic RPG that was developed by Shou (or Cogwheel) in 2009 but was recently translated in English by Eplispswich on RMN. Nocturne: Rebirth also happens to be a remake of the game Nocturne made in RPG Maker 2000 back in 2002. I have to say I feel privileged to have played this game since it highly resembles that of a commercialized game. In other words I loved this game and before I continue into the review, I already recommend playing this game as soon as you get the chance. For the record it took my 21 hours and 32 minutes to beat this game according the internal game clock, but that doesn’t count all the times I lost. To give you a better representation of time, you should know that it actually took me four days to complete the whole game and not just 21 hours.

-BACKGROUND/STORY-



A girl runs through the forest in an attempt to escape the group of bandits that are chasing her and ends up being saved by a man in black clothing. The girl then wanted to thank the man and thus asked him back to her small village. Unknown to her, the man is actually the vampire Reviel, one who has killed thousands of humans in his lifetime. Join Reviel on his journey and see what decisions he decides to make and what foes he encounters while he stays in this small village for some time.

-INITIAL THOUGHTS-

This game is epic in just about every way possible. It really pushes past the limits of what and RPG Maker game can do. Not only that, but it also uses customized assets, unique gameplay options, and an advanced battle system is much different from anything I’ve encountered before. There is even an engaging storyline that encompasses many different characters that come from a variety of different backgrounds. Let me put it this way, if I had paid money for this game, I would have been happy to have spent that money. This game is a gem that should be played by everyone.

-PRESENTATION-



Nocturne: Rebirth’s presentation is unmatched! Not only does this game have stunning original assets but a great and engaging story as well. Visually speaking, Nocturne: Rebirth has stunning custom battlers, animations, HUD, beautiful artwork for cut-scenes and nice movable character models as well. While I love most of the original graphics I just feel as if the movable characters don’t depict the characters as well as the battlers. The styles don’t match up as the battle helps to showcase the menacing look of Reviel while the movable character seems more childish and less menacing. I will say though that the animations for both the movable characters and battles are flawless and are done extremely well. I also want to mention that custom animations were made for all of the enemies and that alone helps to showcase to brilliant presentation of the game. I also like how the battles have a customized HUD. Rather than sticking to the normal RPG Maker command setup, the battle commands are redesigned and appear next to the player instead of the screen. That alone had to have been a lot of work and it paid off graciously. The music was also spectacular with 60 different pieces of music that each amplifies a different feeling or emotion. Every scene is filled with music to help amplify tone and each one is used very effectively to help the player understand the scene emotionally. As for the story, it is very emotionally engaging as well as being told effectively. As the game goes on the characters start to feel more and more real ad the player is able to easily symphonize with them. I won’t say that there aren’t a few corny parts here and there but the majority of the story captures the player’s attention easily and draws them in. I would also like to say that I loved how this game doesn’t leave any loopholes left. Much like great commercial games, when you believe you are coming to the end of the game, a curveball comes that wraps up something that could have been overlooked. There quite a few characters in the game with their own unique backstories and Nocturne: Rebirth is able to tell them all genuinely and effectively.

-ENGAGEMENT/GAMEPLAY-



It is hard to narrow down one specific source of engagement as there are many things in this game that would appeal to all different kinds of gamers. The story for example has many things in it that would keep players engaged. It could be the genuine storytelling and believability of the characters, the fact that the story revolves around a dark and brooding vampire, or even the numerous plot twists that help shape the overall story. The game also includes a series of optional puzzles that could be engaging to the player. Another form of engagement could come from the battles. With the ATB style battle system, Nocturne: Rebirth can be played and feels like a unique fighting game. The boss battles especially are engaging and are a constant back and forth tussle between the player and enemy. I warn you now, each boss has an insane amount of health and you could literally be fighting one boss for over 10 minutes before they are defeated. Although Nocturne: Rebirth uses an ATB style battle system, it is much different from any other RPG maker battle system I have encountered before. In addition to the initial charge based off of the player’s speed there is also chant time for spells and other skills which the player has to take into account when in a battle. Other things that are special in regard to the gameplay would be the skill/character leveling system. This game uses a highly detailed skill tree that is also used to level up the character. Experience becomes currency to use for learning skills and after a certain amount of EXP has been used then the character levels up. The most unique thing about Nocturne: Rebirth though would have to be the Familiar summon system. The main character is able to summon Familiars to help aid him in battle. After defeating an enemy, they may drop a “core” which can be used to summon that monster later. I’ve never encountered anything like this in RPG Maker before and the simplicity in which the character is able to summon a variety of familiars with different abilities is flawless.

-OVERALL-

If it wasn’t clear already, I absolutely loved playing this game and I can almost guarantee you would love playing this game as well. I say definitely play if you like RPG games, Unique RPG Maker games, Action games, RTS games, or even if you like stories that revolve around Vampires. This is a game that should be played and enjoyed, I had fun playing t and I hope you do as well!

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Thanks for your reviews for this game and Seraphic Blue! By the way, would be cool if you can add pictures in your review here just like you did in your website (it's not hard to actually) :)
Oh I can? How go back and edit the review so that I can add pictures?
User-panel (top left) -> submissions -> edit -> put link to image into image brackets (either click the picture icon in the editing window, or manually type
)
Pages: 1