Age of Myth

This game is quite different from most other fantasy rmk games I played and reviewed:

First because it's the story of a single character, Yazrina Myth, a drow (that's a dark elf) assassin and courtesan that is a loner during an adventure of action and intrigue (so no party members except for the protagonist, sorry!).
Second because the setting is the world of Golarion, one of the settings of the Pathfinder rpg.
Third, this is a dark adventure with a small scope: no great quest to save the world or even a captive princess, but a gritty and dark urban adventure.

Ok, so this is the base concept, but how is the gameplay? Well despite some typical Rmk features like the Atb combat with battlers and exploration, there are lots of ideas and ginmicks that are new and faithful to the standard fantasy genre.
For example you get experience points not only for killing enemies and monsters but also for completing quests and performing some particular actions such as solving puzzles, unlocking doors, finding/stealing money or precious items (that can be sold to earn some gold). I said stealing, even if this is an almost totally optional activity of this game (it is not mandatory to steal and sometimes it can be risky... but extra gold and experience are always welcomed!).


Well, every adventurer knows that he has to collect anything that isn't nailed down because it may be useful!

But why do need a lot of money in this game? Simple! IT's because another really important thing is being well equipped, and I do not mean just having protective items and tons of healing potions, but also useful items, like lockpicks, a grappling hook, poisons (non-lethal ones do exists too!) and so on. These items opens new options and possibilities.

What I also liked is the simplicity of the system: lockpicking and disabling traps is a simple matter of chance, with the difference that lockpicks can break but you can retry if you fail, instead when you disable a trap you can try only once but you won't need if you were successful before walking on it!

Combat abilities are implemented in a different but still simple way, compared to the usual Jrpgs: they cost no mana/energy points, because in Pathfinder it does not work like that. You simply risk, using a power attack or a stunning attack will temporarily lowers Yazrina's defense, but you can still use them everytime. Low level enemies (such as the Kobolds) will require no particular strategy and a single standard attack will be enough to kill them other stronger opponents (and bosses) will instead require a careful approach and strategic choice of actions.


Ouch! These ninjas are elite enemies, better use the Blinding Darkness ability or Yazrina will be dead in no time! (Hint, hint!)

Now, the graphics: the game uses the White Screw charsets, facesets and chipsets, some Rtp and Milano-cat enemy sprites. For the most part these works well together, even if such a dark game I usually prefer taller charsets and less "cute" facesets, but it's ok for the most part (even if there are some odd things, like the demon battler that is a totally different monster when fought!). I assume that Yazrina's charset, facesets and battler are all custom, even if they fit well enough with the others.
Another (minor) complain is that even if the maps are for the most part well done (ok, some are almost identical, but there is a ton of them!), they sometimes feels a bit empty of details (I noticed some plates and signs that have no interaction associated, not even a couple of lines of dialogue) and especially of people (one example is the Sarenrae temple with just one priest, other rm2k3 games I played had twice or more population, that while not really important, it creates a better atmosphere).
Music instead is perfect: it's exactly what I expected from a fantasy rpg with a classic medieval setting. On point.

Ok finally let's talk (without spoilers) of the story and game: the adventure is dark and violent, even if violence remains on the pixellated level, there are a couple of custom cutscenes that enrich the experience, and I found the first one, during the intro, very atmospheric and reminiscent of old fantasy rpg games. The story is intriguing and well written, it keeps the game on a small scope and well illustrates a mundane adventure (not killing dragons or saving realms, just a gritty tale of vengeance) that is tied to the protagonist and her acquaintances.
I'll said it again: it's a dark, sad and violent adventure and it's intended for a mature audience, but it's also created by a mature writer, so the themes are treated with care and experience. I won't spoil, but the only thing that surprised me was that I expected the bad guy to be more smart and dangerous, but as long as this surprised me, it's not a bad thing!

This is a sort of nearly open-world adventure (the world is just a city, a castle, a hamlet and a forest) with a main quest and some side-activities that are risky but can also be rewarding: explore optional places, enter houses and other locations at night to steal valuables, hunt kobolds and so on. Nothing particularly complex, but the just amount of freedom to make the game quite interesting, considering that there are four different endings that depends from the choices made.


Side-quest time! We need money, so let's do some Kobold-hunting and earn some extra gold!

Verdict
I admit that I did not expect this kind of game, so I was very happy to play it after I heard what it was about, and I admit that I expected a bit less, considered the short time in which it was made. Clearly there are some "clunky bits" (for example how the spider climb scroll works, or some parts that force you to reload an older save of you die, despite possessing the items that cam resurrect and heal Yazrina) still it's a noteworthy game and I'm pretty sure that this is the best game by Pianotm I've played so far.
This gets a 4/5 for the original features, smooth gameplay and well balanced difficulty! Great work!