It's not often you see a superhero game made with RPG Maker. Then again, it's not often that I necessarily engage with supers myself. Not unlike other genres of media, like sci-fi and Wild West stuff, I often find I get in moods to engage in superhero stuff over fantasy. The last RPG Maker game I'd heard of within this genre was Masters of the Wind, which looked cool from afar.

However, my veritable pal Calunio not only made this supers game, but also made it a tactical RPG to boot! Games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea are a blast for me, and I'd wanted to dabble with Fire Emblem and Shining Force for some time. Although a demo, the first three fights of The Lonely League and their storyline bits have a lot to look forward to.

The Story
Calunio's inspiration for this game was from an old dream he adores. We all have dreams like those where fragments remain stuck in out noggins, right? I know I have. For Cal's, he had a dream of teaming up with Superman, Batman and... John Lennon. Oh, our wacky subconscious thoughts.

To be so inspired by this ten-year-old dream is already an intriguing idea, and one that may have purchase yet. The player takes control of one Vince Heart. The opening cutscene -- risque as it is -- shows the strong dude is also soft-hearted, and this theme of trying to be a good person when no one else seems to echoes throughout. Vince may be altruistic, but is no immaculate idealist, and it doesn't take long before he loses his temper in the demo's teasing cliffhanger.

The cutscenes are easily one of the best parts of the game. They're made to resemble comic book panels with animation and speech bubbles within. You're given dialogue options and choices to shine upon the bits of Vince's personality that you'd like to see. For instance? In a thrilling concept done well, the player even customizes Vince's stats at the start with a medical questionnaire! Interactive story-based character creation, such as the G.O.A.T. Exam in Fallout 3's intro, is really cool.

And as it seems, Vince doesn't quite live in a normal world. Despite his seemingly mundane and perhaps relatable plight, we soon learn he's a normie in a superpowered world. It'll be up to you to get Vince through not one, but two fights involving aliens on Earth.

The Gameplay
Each segment of cutscenes has its own tactical RPG battle, using eventing and/or plugin wizardry to create a custom system of gameplay. On each of Vince and his battle-buddies' turns, you may move freely across the character's available squares on each map. Unlike most tactical RPGs where you're locked in after moving, or have to undo movement, you can swap between the commands HUD and the movement HUD freely. But beware -- when you choose to have a character stay put, attack, use a special ability or interact with others, their turn ends right after.

The Lonely League uses six stats: HP, MOV, ATK, AGI, CHA and Morale. HP is obvious; defeated characters cannot be revived, and the first two fights end in failure if Vince is KO'd. MOV affects the number of squares you can move around in each turn. ATK is also obvious. AGI affects your accuracy and evasion. Lastly, CHA affects your ability to chat up your enemies and bystanders: gathering information, spooking them out of the battle, or even getting them to join your side.

Morale is an interesting one though, increasing every turn a smidge. Every successful action up a character's Morale, and every failure lowers it. They most obviously affect attack accuracy and your chance to convince foes during interactions. The game page has a Mechanics tab that goes into greater details of these mechanics. For Vince in my playthrough, I went with an AGI-focused build to help ensure I can punch my opponents, and maybe make them whiff.

Each fight has a different approach than the last. One may involve beelining to a certain target, while another is a matter of balancing aggression with letting foes come to you. At least that's how I did those fights when I won. Even if you lose, "consolation XP" is awarded to help you fail forward. The game will return you right to the start of the fight when that happens, rather than having to sit through a cutscene again. These are both great innovations, and I know there's moments in Final Fantasy Tactics where both would've come in handy.

Speaking of XP! Between each fight, the player is able to customize Vince and a more permanent ally, using XP gained from battles both won and lost. Min-maxing doesn't seem a good idea from my file, let alone others' plays, so make sure to bump up the other stats if you're having trouble. Though out of the way to unlock in this demo, going down side-branches on the level up menu can also teach passives and specials. These abilities can be equipped one at a time, not unlike optional equipment that can be found in fights and kept if you win.

Nitpicking
So here's where I shall cover some subjective stuff that can turn some people off. At the end of this is something rather objectively wrong for this build, although Calunio's been working hard on fixing it up.

- The game isn't easy, even for someone who's played and adore tactics RPGs. As mentioned before, mechanics seem to be built toward "failing forward". Be sure to acknowledge that you'll probably lose each fight the first time, and will have to adapt your strategy as such.

- Even if percentages can't get super-low, RNG is still a cruel mistress. In one fight, the last thing you want is for the "boss" enemy to accrue enough Morale to be a big threat, due to the boosts it bequeaths.

- At this build of the game, a CHA build seems underwhelming. Many specials are modified by the CHA stat, but are nigh-inaccessible due to a limited economy of XP within three battles. As long as you bear in mind that some enemies are difficult to reason with, adding CHA can still be rewarding.

- Something objectively wrong? There is a glitch that seems to occur in the third fight exclusively. Sound effects on menus and battle actions may wig out, going on without the screen updating and being locked in the current view. It's hard to describe, but it essentially softlocks the game and forces you to exit and start it back up. Though this mainly happens with Vince or his lasting battle-buddy, I've even seen one of the enemies fall into this world-halting trap. As I said, Calunio is working hard on trying to find the source of the bug, and the glitch doesn't happen often enough to where the fight is 100% broken. Still? Beware.

Final Thoughts
There is so much potential to The Lonely League. The cutscenes and characters are fun, even with some adult themes here and there. The fights are challenging, but can be overcome with an open and adaptive mind. The character customization has depth, while also being straightforward. If you're willing to give it a spin, this is about a half-hour or so of heroic action and amusement you won't regret.

Because this is a demo, I won't offer a score. As it stands right now, I would give The Lonely League a 4 or 4.5 out of five stars. While a challenging trio of fights with a game-breaking bug lingering within, the refined mechanics and entertaining story it presents has me plenty excited for the next issue of Vince's adventures!