Attack of the MZ RTP

Hello!
Today we'll travel back in time to 2020, to talk about Attack of the MZ RTP! This game was made by This mini-RPG was made by seacliff217 for the Trials of MZ event, and it can be considered a game about the RTPs, a clever choice since the rules of the contest only allowed the use of the RTPs (and their edits) that came with Rpgmaker MZ!

The plot? The default MZ database characters, lead by Reid, are trying to conquer various worlds in the name of their "Dark Goddess", and in this advanced technological world the Espers are sent to face the invaders.


These vending machines are extremely useful since they also work as automatic medics!

In this game we will play as Ired, that will lead the squad against the invaders. Ired? Yes, he is clearly an alternate universe version of Reid the leader of the invaders, and so are many of his allies, but believe it or not, the game also features the good old Ralph from the VX database characters (but not Dante from Devil May Cry)! The story becomes a little more interesting when Kasey, one of the Rpgmaker MZ defects the invading force and joins the protagonists against the invaders.

Anyway how does the game play? Well, after a good intro cutscene that will throw Ired and Spicrali in the middle of the action, we will have to survive a very linear dungeon that can be seen as a sort of long hallway in which the two will encounter friends and foes. It's basically a boss rush with encounters between cutscenes, new characters that join the team and some moments of respite to use the vending machines that will provide the much needed consumables.
The battles are... let's say ok! I mean there are some good aspects, I liked for example the "reload" used in the case of some attack, unfortunately the difficulty isn't really balanced since I found some battles really hard against opponents that can one-shot you, and others that were even too easy.

Graphically the resources are well used even if the extreme linearity and lack of exploration of this game makes it a game that will be played only once from the beginning to the end, but since this was made for an event with many restrictions I do not mind too much, I just do not like a lot the linear sequence of battles. What more? See the verdict!


Oh! Alex, that's a name I've already heard before!

Final Verdict
The story of Attack of the MZ RTP is simple but the concept of the game is something I liked. What I liked a bit less was the sequence of battles, that while they may appeal some players, I found them too frequent and I expected much more exploration, dialogues and interactions. Ok, ok I know this was a game made for a contest, in a really short time, but I did no expect exactly more, I expected more variety: maybe half combat encounters, more maps and npcs to talk to, even just some more story, nothing complex. But it's pretty much ok for me as it is, this is still a simple game with many good basic aspects and no errors or bugs. So not terrible and not great, an ok game for a contest!