Once Upon The Woods, a short but sweet RPG game based on the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. This is Starmage’s One-Map-Challenge on RPG Maker. Here are my thoughts on the game:

What I liked about it:

Colorful graphics and a simple map. Just go straight. I don’t think it is too easy to get lost here despite what the characters say.
The game has nice Celtic/Irish music playing in the background. Was Hanzel and Gretel supposed to be set in medieval Germany? Either way, it was still pleasing to listen to, even though the music isn’t the typical thing you would here during that time period and location.

It has a shadowy leafy parallax overlay to get you in the mood for adventuring in the forest. The pond even sparkles as well so the maps don’t look too static. I would like to have seen some lighting effects to give it an extra layer of atmosphere. Nevertheless, the design is well thought out and served its purpose.

Areas that could be improved or developed:

Battles can be quite challenging. I died 30 times in one play-through just to get pass the second battle. Lack of items can be a bit of a pain. There is a treasure chest at the start and one before the final boss, but a much needed one should be included in the middle of the map.

My other opinion on the battles is that once you’ve worked out the correct strategy to get you through the game, it becomes a lot less unforgiving but repetitive. I got Gretel to spam her strongest magic attack and had Hanzel become her meat shield. I used the revive item when I needed full health, unless the healing item could do it. Rinse and repeat, then do the same for the boss.
All enemies seem to die in 2 hits and capable of doing 1-hit kills to the party. I wish there was more of a variety to them, for example, faster enemies doing weak attacks, slower enemies doing strong attacks.

The final boss was unexpectedly easier than I thought due to the generous treasure chest at the end. I just let either Hanzel or Gretel run out of HP then spam the red feather and revive with full health. Usually, the healing item should give you full health and the revive item give you half health, otherwise the healing item becomes pointless in the game.

I wish the game was a bit longer, say 10 battles before the boss with a steady increase of difficulty. It went from 0 to a 1000 when I got to the second battle.

Final thoughts:

If you are short on time and looking for a quick challenge, this is the game to play. You might die a few times (understatement), but the ending is as rewarding as it could be - a happy ending.