LOOKING BACK: ZEPHYRUS AND THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

A look back at some classic Rpg Maker games

  • Tau
  • 12/06/2012 01:12 AM
  • 8955 views

What is Looking Back? A series of articles talking about those classic Rpg Maker games from the past.







Created by: Rue669.
Made With: Rpg Maker 2003
Download: Here

Here I am cruel world. I’ve come to rescue you, can you hear me? Can you feel the utter desolation of the planet’s life force? I can. I can feel it crying out to me. It beckons me to unlock the secrets of its doom, a doom that shall befall all of us one day if not stopped.

But now I’m here, at the Tomb of the Messiah. What is it that lurks within these ruins? Is it what I’ve been looking for? Is it Him? You know who I’m talking about, don’t you? The King of Kings, the Holy and Anointed One, our Saviour and Messiah. You still don’t remember? Perhaps you were too young.

I am the galaxy’s last hope of survival. I, and only I, will awaken the one true God that we have all mistaken for the Fates poisoning the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven. Man has been unfortunate, not able to see the path towards Miracles, Atonement and Grace. Don’t worry, Father, I will not fail you. I will bring you back to this world, even if that means destroying it to begin anew.


- Zephyrus Isaiah

Zephyrus Isaiah, the Ruler of Rhea, is haunted by the galaxy he lives in. He can’t help but feel the pain and suffering of the mysteriously destroyed planet, Judas. On the other planets, Rhea and Arcadia, he is disgusted by the people and their traditions. But most of all—he’s disgusted by their religion. In Zephyrus and the Kingdom of Heaven, join Zephyrus and his son, Aegis Isaiah, as they both uncover the secrets of their galaxy and fight for what they believe in.
In faith I stand!



So begins the heavy religious overtones that echo throughout Zephyrus and the Kingdom of Heaven. You are Aegis, son of a powerful leader and mage as he witnesses the undermining of current beliefs and standards and the second coming of humanity's savior. Needless to say, this savior is not all that he's cracked up to be.

If you can process all of the religious sentiments thrown at you(If you've played Xenogears you'll understand), put your own beliefs aside and just accept the game for what it is.. a game, then you will enjoy the storyline very much. It's story really is this game strong suit. The characters have well thought out motivations and there are certainly enough twists and turns to immerse the player within it's unique world. Set in a kind of dystopian future, Rue669 does a masterful job of splicing technology and science with religion and other fantasy elements, much in the same vein as Squaresoft has done so successfully in the past. I would play this game again for the plot alone.

Rue669 was a great mapper, there were no real obvious mistakes, and the vast majority of the maps were interesting and varied. Although I was hoping to explore it's world more so, Zephyrus is a very linear experience lending it's plot to the forefront of the game. All of the tiles that were used flowed nicely together, and I truly enjoyed his use of them; he pieced them together well and tastefully.

The cutscenes were nothing short of beautiful. From the text speed to the character movement to the subtle animations and poses, Rue669 showed us why he was one of the best in the community when it came to this aspect of game creation. I learned a lot from the way in which he crafts his cutscenes. For a first game, this was WAY ahead of the pack.

Everything in the game worked pretty smoothly and without any glitches that I know of. This game proves that you don't need a fancy custom menu system in order to have a functional and aesthetically pleasing one. This game utilizes Rm2k3s side view battle system well with Rue669 making great use of all the battle events at his disposal making for interesting encounters and challenges through out. I especially enjoyed the scan crystals and their importance in battle. It was nice to not just button mash but to actually have to think about my actions and take my time to select the right skill, not just the most powerful.

I also loved the semitransparent message boxes and excellently colored text. It's truly an underused tactic in Rm2k/3, and I am glad that Rue669 took advantage of the little things.

I would say the only real thing lacking was it's linearity through out. No point you can really deviate from it's written path to partake in something on the side. Thankfully though Zephyrus is a story you wont want to deviate of path for, it truly stands as one of the classic narrative pieces of the old community and I recommend wholeheartedly you guys check it out.




(The first real custom system(s) game to wow the community. Still an Ok game heavily inspired by Final Fantasy VII, I have fond memories of)

Set in a Dystopian future, a small group of thieves live out their lives in the slums of the city of Terrason, stealing from greedy kingpins and corrupt politicians and avoiding law enforcement.

One of the thieves, Slaine, has always felt that there is another "him" out there somewhere in the world. He is haunted by dreams of another persons life, a life filled with murder and destruction. Even worse is the figure in Slaine's dream continually threatens to "consume him".

While pulling a high profile heist, Slaine will find out the true meaning of his dreams, and who the ruthless and mysterious figure in them is.

Download!

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I recently completed the game. If you don't want to go to all the bother of scanning the enemies for weaknesses (thus wasting a turn and a Scan Crystal) and making notes, you will appreciate this list:

Abaddon: ... (strengths and weaknesses aren't shown when scanned)

Adam: ... (strengths and weaknesses aren't shown when scanned)

Arachni-Z: Strengths: Electricity, Holy, Dark; Weaknesses: Ice

Behemoth: Strengths: Physical; Weaknesses: Magic

Berserker: Strengths: Fire, Ice, Wind, Physical; Weaknesses: Electricity

Bub: Strengths: Wind, Slash; Weaknesses: Electricity, Pierce

Castor - Deliverance: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Charioteer: Strengths: everything except Fire and Ice; Weaknesses: Fire, Ice

Crawler: Strengths: everything except Blast; Weaknesses: Blast

Cruiser: Strengths: Wind; Weaknesses: Electricity

Cursed: Strengths: Physical, Dark; Weaknesses: Wind

Dark Demon: Strengths: Everything except Holy; Weaknesses: Holy

Defense System: Strengths: Physical, Wind; Weaknesses: Electricity

Demon Knight: Strengths: Wind; Weaknesses: Electricity

Devil Rider: Strengths: Dark; Weaknesses: Holy

Drake: Strengths: Holy, Slash; Weaknesses: Dark, Pierce

Dweller: Strengths: Fire, Wind, Physical; Weaknesses: Ice

Eve: ... (strengths and weaknesses aren't shown when scanned)

Fotia: Strengths: Fire, Physical; Weaknesses: Ice

Fire Demon: Strengths: everything except Ice; Weaknesses: Ice

Guardian of Zoe: Strengths: Holy, Physical; Weaknesses: Dark

Harpy: Strengths: Wind, Slash; Weaknesses: Electricity, Pierce

Hell Dancer: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Hellfire: Strengths: Fire, Electricity; Weaknesses: Ice, Wind

Hermit: Strengths: Magic; Weaknesses: Physical

Holy Demon: Strengths: everything except Dark; Weaknesses: Dark

Hound: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: Electricity

Ice Demon: Strengths: everything except Fire; Weaknesses: Fire

Jessua: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Judas Warrior: Strengths: Physical, Fire, Wind, Dark; Weaknesses: Electricity

Kasdeya: Strengths: Dark, Ice, Electricity; Weaknesses: Fire, Wind, Holy

Kefali: Strengths: Magic; Weaknesses: Physical

Kefalioux: Strengths: Magic; Weaknesses: Physical

Kobold: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Legionaire: Strengths: Dark; Weaknesses: Holy

Lochthian: Strengths: Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind; Weaknesses: Electricity

Makeena: Strengths: everything except Fire; Weaknesses: Fire

Man-Eater: Strengths: Pierce; Weaknesses: Fire

Mastema: Strengths: Electricity, Wind; Weaknesses: Ice

Minotaur: Strengths: Fire, Physical; Weaknesses: Ice

Mutated Judasian: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: Fire

Mutated Scorpion: Strengths: Wind; Weaknesses: Electricity

Nero: Strengths: Ice, Physical; Weaknesses: Fire

Oroan: Strengths: Electricity, Dark, Physical; Weaknesses: Wind, Holy

Prometheus: Strengths: Physical; Weaknesses: none

Raum: Strengths: Magic; Weaknesses: Physical, Blast

Ravager: Strengths: Physical; Weaknesses: Electricity

Samiazas: Strengths: All elemental and physical attacks except Fire; Weaknesses: Fire

Scula: Strengths: Fire, Electricity; Weaknesses: Ice

Skeleton: Strengths: Dark; Weaknesses: Holy

Spirit: Strengths: Magic; Weaknesses: Physical

System X: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

System Y: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Tyrant: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Undead Bahamut: Strengths: everything except Holy and Fire: Weaknesses: Holy, Fire

Wind Demon: Strengths: everything except Electricity: Weaknesses: Electricity

Wood Creature: Strengths: Ice, Wind, Physical; Weaknesses: Fire

Zephyrus: Strengths: none; Weaknesses: none

Zombie: Strengths: Ice, Physical; Weaknesses: Fire
Yeah this was a pretty bad ass game, a shame there wasn't a sequel. D8<
This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Thanks guys so much. This is absolutely amazing. I'm honoured, and I hope you're all doing fantastically.
Tau
RMN sex symbol
3293
@TFT - Writing was his strong suit, judging from this game.

Yea it's a complete game from a few years back.
Huh, surprised I've never heard of this game. I should check it out some time. Is this actually finished?
TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
rue is cool. i'm a big fan of his game. i heard he's writing a book or something now. god speed old friend...............
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