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Expanded version coming soon!


Lord Hades is about to be defeated by the evil humans!
Desperate, he transforms some minions into humans and sends them back in time.
Will they restore his power?



A 4-7 HOUR RPG IN UNDER 1.4 MB AND MADE IN SEVERAL WEEKS
(And winner of the Floppy Drive Contest!)







100 years ago, the great Lord Hades finally awoke after being sealed away for nearly a thousand years. Unfortunately, the humans have invaded his lands and are on the verge of defeating him once and for all. Hades has one final play: send four of his Fiends back in time as far as his weakening powers will allow. Their goal is simple: unchain Hades at a far earlier date than what had happened in the original past. Humanity would still be too weak from their previous war with Hades to mount a strong offense, allowing Hades to conjure a Fiend Army and rule his land in peace!

The catch? The four Fiends have to go undercover as humans in order to access Hades' Seal. They'll have to lend a helping hand to their enemy by defeating Demons, rescuing villagers, and other mind-numbing endeavors that humans love to do! If they fail, they'll be chained to their human forms forever. And the past will prove to have many surprises...





At the center of Unchained is a group of four Fiends of Lord Hades who are sent back in time to unseal him from the Ruins of Ghent. These four have established quite a rapport with each other since being born three years ago. But when it comes to humans, they know nothing but hatred: Hades has made sure of it! For three years they've known nothing but the human onslaught on the Fiend Continent and Hades' desperate attempts to thwart the conquerors. Hades told them plenty of horror stories from his previous struggles. How will the foursome react to being among humans and having to actually help them?

Skeleton (aka "Seth"): Brash, inconsiderate, loyal to a fault. The perfect minion.

Golem (aka "Lillia"): A strong, wise young lady of few words (mostly due to Golemspeak) who wants nothing more than to meet someone who understands her.

Harpy (aka "Stella"): Charming, outspoken, funny, yet compassionate - her love-hate friendship with Skeleton/Seth is in constant flux.

Zombie (aka "Von"): A student of magic and a scholar, like most Zombies, Von is calculating and logical. But does he really have all the facts needed to make correct decisions?





- Explore every nook and cranny of highly detailed areas across 4-7 hours of gameplay, including a dense forest, flooded cistern, deep mine, mountainous ruins, and more!

- Interact with the environment: solve simple puzzles, jump to distance platforms, smash pots, and grab items everywhere!

- Engage in strategic turn-based combat with deep skill sets, resource management, and more!

- Enjoy high control over increasing your party's stats through the use of items found in chests, purchased from NPCs, and dropped by enemies, allowing form greater and continuous customization of the party.

- Explore two mini-dungeons at endgame and fight optional bosses.

- Play the Pot Smash minigame for special prizes!





Unchained is a traditional turn-based JRPG with a few tricks up its sleeve. The project is 4-7 hours long and was made in two weeks for the Floppy Disk event, in which the goal was to finish a game with less than 1.44 MB. I spent about 80-90 hours on the project.

Now that I'm in my early thirties, I'm getting sick of leaving things half-done. I wanted to finish something, and this event offered me the perfect constraints in which to do so. 1.44 MB is not a whole lot of space, but with careful pruning of the RM2K RTP and (somewhat) efficient game-making, it's more than possible to create an RPG longer than 3 hours (and 70+ maps).

After the project, I spent another few days reworking the dialogue, adding a minigame, adjusting the combat, and adding several optional areas. - all of which were intended in the event version but had to be axed due to lack of time.

Because this project was designed to take up as little space as possible while still being engaging, a few concessions had to be made. There are only about 8 sound effects in the game, though I used various combinations and pitches to spice them up as much as possible. Monster graphics are straightforward, as are battle backgrounds and combat animations. Common events are used as much as possible. It's mostly about using what the engine can do on its own and minimizing the amount of external graphics required.

I am expanding and polishing the event version and will release the final version in the middle of May or thereabouts. I plan to rewrite some cutscenes, add a bit more backstory and characterization, create a minigame, and finish a couple of optional areas. The event version is certainly playable, but this planned update will be, without a doubt, the definitive version.



Latest Blog

Eyesight issues

Hey everyone. I've been dealing with some pretty serious eye problems (as well as other health issues) over the past few days that have prevented me from spending a lot of time on the computer. As such, a lot of my commission work has ground to a halt, as has any more polish on Unchained. I just had a pretty extensive eye exam and there does not appear to be any damage, but I absolutely need these new glasses to come in before I can stare at a screen for 8+ hours a day again.

Still hoping to get this out asap, especially since it's ready for testing!
  • Completed
  • Decky
  • RPG Maker 2000
  • RPG
  • 04/29/2021 12:43 PM
  • 02/19/2022 08:41 PM
  • 05/17/2021
  • 26257
  • 22
  • 0

Posts

Pages: first 12 next last
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18536
YAY GAMEPAGE

I can't wait to play this once the updated version is up!
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Thanks m8, looking forward to getting it posted soon :D
Tau
RMN sex symbol
3293
Cool cool cool
OzzyTheOne
Future Ruler of Gam Mak
4676
Decky what sort of magic do you wield that you can make something like this in such a short amount of time?
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Too much time spent RPG Makering.

(Plus I took a couple days off work last week XD)
Although Unchained uses some other materials, it is really not easy to complete such a game in a short time with a capacity of 1.44.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
author=Ulevo
Although Unchained uses some other materials, it is really not easy to complete such a game in a short time with a capacity of 1.44.


Ty, I hope you enjoyed what you played. The expanded version will be quite better, especially in the second half.
Looks so cool... BUUUT I guess I will wait the expanded version before trying it! :D hope to try it soon!
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
author=TheRpgmakerAddict
Looks so cool... BUUUT I guess I will wait the expanded version before trying it! :D hope to try it soon!


Thanks - it'll definitely be a better version. Looking forward to your thoughts :D
The new changes sound good.
Still, I'll finish the event version (I just reached Ghent) and give you my thoughts on it soon.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Awesome. I loved your little Ultros pac man game, btw.
I finished the event version!
Since this is easily the largest game made for the event, I have a lot of feedback to give...

SPOILERS ahead:

I really liked everything about the game and had a good time. Since most dungeons are rather long, I usually completed one per session.

Mapping and level design are definitely among your best abilities, for towns and dungeons alike. 2k and Refmap tilesets also help in making better-looking maps than the newer RM engines.
The puzzles are as fun as the battles and they fit with the dungeons. Jumping and breaking pots and all that is fun too.
The level of quality here is what I'd expect of a commercial game.

Gameplay is not as strategy-heavy as Project 4 and Jamie, and I believe that makes Unchained more approachable to a wider player base.
Personally, I would have prefered for Lillia not to have those copies of other characters' abilities. More unique ones to make her stand-out more.
I would have given her more State inflicting abilities, a State healing spell, Buffs and/or Debuffs. But the new elemental slash skills sound like a nice and welcome addition.

Using the Casual Herbs and meeting most objectives, the game became progressively easier to the point that, after the Mine, I stopped using Herbs completely. Still, the rest of the game was too easy for my taste.
Maybe I optimized my attack power by giving almost all Strength Herbs to Seth and all Intelligence Herbs to Von?
HP, Def and Agi I distributed pretty much evenly.
The last Harpy fight was more challenging than the last boss because of the Enrager and I enjoyed it. I think that the last boss could hit harder and inflict States.

I enjoyed the story and the cast of characters. Having fiends turn into humans and thrown in their world is a nice, creative plot.
This might be nitpicking, but Mia's ending speech is a bit too expository and cerebral in my opinion. It isn't bad, but I think that you could have left a few things unsaid and let the party express their feelings more.

Overall, it's an impressive game made within the limitations of the event. It might be my favorite entry (I enjoyed pianotm's Magic Quest about as much)
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Thanks for the detailed feedback, Avee! I'm glad you enjoyed the event version :D

If you used the three casual herbs up to the point where you stopped using all herbs, that would put your stats at about where they'd be at endgame - which means I need to toughen up the final enemies anyway. I think I did end up making the game a bit too forgiving.

Min-maxing your attack in that manner is more or less what I intended, yeah.

I'm glad you liked the areas as well as the cast :D I'm definitely going to be expanding the ending this week so that there isn't quite as much of an info dump there. Ty for playing :3
iddalai
RPG Maker 2k/2k3 for life, baby!!
1194
Here's some very short feedback:

As a fan of "Legend of Denadel" I went into this with high expectations.

The text could use some work, but given the time frame, it's quite acceptable. The concept is interesting and has potential.

The battle system working like a puzzle of sorts is very interesting. I'm enjoying the graphics a lot.

15 minutes in when the “anti-hero” was transported to a beautiful REFMAP scenery, I then check the menu and find that there's a skill named “Pandemic Slash”... then the first treasure I grab is a “Vaccine”.
This completely pulled me out of the game experience and I stopped playing. Not a game for me.

Congrats on finishing a game for the event! And a large game at that, quite the achievement.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
author=iddalai
Here's some very short feedback:

As a fan of "Legend of Denadel" I went into this with high expectations.

The text could use some work, but given the time frame, it's quite acceptable. The concept is interesting and has potential.

The battle system working like a puzzle of sorts is very interesting. I'm enjoying the graphics a lot.

15 minutes in when the “anti-hero” was transported to a beautiful REFMAP scenery, I then check the menu and find that there's a skill named “Pandemic Slash”... then the first treasure I grab is a “Vaccine”.
This completely pulled me out of the game experience and I stopped playing. Not a game for me.

Congrats on finishing a game for the event! And a large game at that, quite the achievement.

I'm sorry for the reason you stopped playing, and I will do my best to be more considerate going forward. I already went into the database and changed the names. It didn't even cross my mind; I just named the items randomly with a bit of dark humor and did not even consider the implications in the heat of the development. Years of playing an MMO in a pretty toxic community has perhaps made me a little too desensitized to the implications of dark humor; sadly, sometimes slip-ups like this do occur, and I'll work to iron them out going forward.

I'm a little shocked and bummed out, as well as completely blindsided, but I shouldn't be in hindsight. There's literally nothing else like that in the rest of the game - it's not even really a comedy game per se - but oh well.

Edit: Would you be willing to give the expanded version a chance? It absolutely won't have those names included. Plus it'll be a bit more polished and will include at least three new dungeons. It'll be out soon (once I get more free time). I'll be sure to give your game another shot too :)
author=iddalai
15 minutes in when the “anti-hero” was transported to a beautiful REFMAP scenery, I then check the menu and find that there's a skill named “Pandemic Slash”... then the first treasure I grab is a “Vaccine”.
This completely pulled me out of the game experience and I stopped playing. Not a game for me.

I see that staying home during the quarantine has gotten to you too, huh? Lol.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
author=Addit
author=iddalai
15 minutes in when the “anti-hero” was transported to a beautiful REFMAP scenery, I then check the menu and find that there's a skill named “Pandemic Slash”... then the first treasure I grab is a “Vaccine”.
This completely pulled me out of the game experience and I stopped playing. Not a game for me.
I see that staying home during the quarantine has gotten to you too, huh? Lol.

I think it's gotten to a lot of people, myself included, and understandably so. We all handle it in different ways, but in a game like this, those item names really didn't belong and I removed them promptly.
Yeah…that's probably for the best.
iddalai
RPG Maker 2k/2k3 for life, baby!!
1194
author=Decky
I'm sorry for the reason you stopped playing, and I will do my best to be more considerate going forward. I already went into the database and changed the names. It didn't even cross my mind; I just named the items randomly with a bit of dark humor and did not even consider the implications in the heat of the development. Years of playing an MMO in a pretty toxic community has perhaps made me a little too desensitized to the implications of dark humor; sadly, sometimes slip-ups like this do occur, and I'll work to iron them out going forward.

I'm a little shocked and bummed out, as well as completely blindsided, but I shouldn't be in hindsight. There's literally nothing else like that in the rest of the game - it's not even really a comedy game per se - but oh well.

Edit: Would you be willing to give the expanded version a chance? It absolutely won't have those names included. Plus it'll be a bit more polished and will include at least three new dungeons. It'll be out soon (once I get more free time). I'll be sure to give your game another shot too :)


It didn't mean for you to change those names, but I appreciate the gesture and will definitely try out the new version once it's out!

I'm usually a fan of Dark Humor, but nowadays I play games for escapism and that just pulled me from the experience.

My game is still unfinished, but if you want to give it another try, then I recommend the gamepage version since I did a much needed rebalance and it's overall more enjoyable.

author=Addit
I see that staying home during the quarantine has gotten to you too, huh? Lol.


Addit's gonna Addit. Whatcha gonna do? :P

It's not really the staying at home that got to me, but rather everything else around it. Just like I said before, nowadays I play games for escapism and that just pulled me from the experience.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Thanks for the clarification! I changed the names for the exact reason you said: people deserve to enjoy a sense of escapism when they play RPGs. They are fantasy adventures at the end of the day :)
Pages: first 12 next last