Untitled by OHBmouf

Ok, I'm reviewing a game that is a demo, a work in progress, an incomplete game... well who cares? I'm doing that anyway!

Untitled is a game by OHBmouf, and at first it will seem rather banal and boring.
Why?
Because of the title...
Because the name of the hero is... Hero!
Because the first village has a rather mediocre map.
Because the first quest is a fetch quest that requires travelling through a forest, fighting giant rats and giant spiders.

Whoa. Rather unoriginal and boring. But yes, if you read I've said at first.

What I liked
I admit that there are some things that instead I liked a lot, like the characters. Ok, not Hero, that is a rather boring and uninteresting protagonist, but his quirky friends are all lovable and bizarre: from the gunner Nathan that is obsessed with turtles to the sly thief Ian that wears a hat stolen from a smurf, but also the members of the wacky bandit team are really memorable characters, with particular personalities and funny and entertaining dialogues.
There are also some non-party members that are quite bizarre and interesting, like the kings, the archer-fisherman, the grumpy knight, and others less important figures that make this game more original and, as I said before, memorable.

The story and the gameplay are. in fact. rather standard: we have the usual evil guy that kidnaps the hero's (or Hero's!) loved ones, so he will start a journey, make friends and fight monsters and the evil guy's minions to save his relatives.

Aaaaaand to do this he has to explore a large map, visiting cities (where he can sleep and buy supplies) and dangerous forests/mountains where enemies are waiting for him. So, yes, that's nothing new. You can save on the world map or using some save points, luckily enemies are always visible, so there are no annoying random encounters! Except for the first area they are also really fast, but you can usually retreat from combat!


Nathan, the gun-toting turtle fanatic has a bonus chapter after the end of the game

Combat? As you can see in the picture above, it's the usual Rmk2003 side view layout with battlers. But let me say a couple of things: the battlers are really well done and nicely animated, characters have different and useful abilities and they can also heal some hitpoints if they defend. That's nice! Enemies have nice sprites too, and different abilities: some have sleep attacks, others will poison you, and remember that the fishes take lots of damage from thunder attacks and instead the mountain scorpions suffer from water attacks. Ok, that's a usual Final Fantasy concept, but it's well done.

As said before you can also escape rather easily from combat (except boss fights), and I used that a lot in later stages because even if the loot is generous in terms of items, you get few experience points, but that's ok since grinding is not required!

For the most part I found combat difficulty quite balanced, the only problems I had was with one puzzle: the "invisible maze" in the forest, in which you have to guess how to exit the maze that you cannot see due to the crowns of trees.
Some other puzzles were not that difficult, they are just "find and give the vegetables to the beast in the right order" or "find the items that unlock the passage". I do not complain, enigmas should be short and just a diversion from the main quest.

I liked the music (especially the theme used in the boss fight with Face), and I liked the graphics, the charsets used and their animations. Dialogues are also amusing for the most part, and I can't remember any typo.


A... bedroom??? No shit Sherlock!

What I did not like!
Ok, I said before that the main character is boring and that the first village map is mediocre... well let's say that they are both ok, anyway I liked more other characters (because they are more original and have more personality) and other maps, like the small village on the mountains at the end ot the demo, really cute and filled with many details, such as the small waterfall and the huts.

The main problem is that the game is unfinished, BUT other demos and unfinished games I played are playable until a certain point with no issue. Here instead you will notice some missing parts: some roads/doors are blocked, most merchants do not talk and those who talk often have empty shops, and so on. But it's true that only the protagonist is playable for the whole demo, so there is no need for weapons and armors for the temporary party members, and the items that are helpful and almost necessary in some areas (like those armbands who prevent sleeping, or the gloves with the power of thunder) are found in some chests.

Last problem I had was with the ghosts in the first half of the game: I found them really tough and difficult to beat, and that was the only rally difficult fight I remember (boss fights are against only one opponent, and for this reason I found them to be quite manageable). Hm well maybe also the introductory combat is rather strange since I was killed at least three times and then revived! Hm I supposed that the first combat was against a weakling, instead he hits fast and hard.


That's harsh! I'd just tell him that he looks like a smurf!

The Verdict!
So this was Untitled by OHBmouf, an incomplete game that if it was completed I thing I'd call it Three the Hard Way 2.0, not because it has a similar plot, but because it provides enjoyable combat, puzzles, humor, and a serious epic story,
in a setting realized with classic old-styled Rmk2003 charsets and chipsets that will never tire me!

In the end I liked a lot this adventure, it's entertaining and well done, and difficulty is balanced. I had a lot of fun and I was sincerely sad when I finished it. Well, maybe it's me, maybe I am nostalgic, anyway it's 3,5 and no less. Goodbye, but first...

... DO YOU LIKE TURTLES?