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Two scouts stumble into the throne room of the King of Prem. They carry grave news: the southern kingdom of Terita has become politically unstable and is planning to attack the northern kingdoms of Dyros and Prem!

The King decided to summon his best soldier and assign to him the task of traveling east to the other threatened kingdom, Dyros. There he would warn their king and ask for their help.

Meanwhile, the Teritan army grows strong and dangerously restless...


Update as of recently:
I've been writing updates in the changelog for the installer. Check it out there.

Update as of January 2019:

Lots of updates!

To account for Windows 7 and on loss of native MIDI support, you should download a MIDI synthesizer. The one I've been using is VirtualMIDISynth:
https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth

The new version requires you to manually install an updated font file, TibsRPG2. The file is included in the install directory, but can be downloaded separately:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/downloads/10407/

To see the January 2019 updates, check out my blog entry on it:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/blog/21096/

Hit me up on my discord:
https://discord.gg/ysKmmqe


Features:
-Combo attack/magic battle system: when your characters' HP gets too low, they have a chance of attacking or casting a spell multiple times in succession
-50 hidden "stars" that are applied to characters to increase their stats
-For every 7 stars you locate, your characters get a "star level up." They each learn two new spells.
-The "Abacus" item allows you to alter the spells each character learns at a Star Level Up. It also changes the characters' classes, stat growth, and equipment pool!
-A Sketchbook item: the lead character can sketch enemies during battle, recording their elemental and status weaknesses for review
-A "Game Journal" item that reminds you where you are if you get lost
-A super-secret hidden dungeon that pays homage to one of my favorite game franchises of all time. No, it's not Final Fantasy. ;)


Background:
Way back in 1999, I was introduced to RPG Maker 95. I made a couple crappy, but important, preliminary games (important in that they were the foundation for learning the ropes, as it were). Then I met James Kish and collaborated with him to produce a game, "Tsukiden." It was significantly better than my previous solo projects, but it didn't get to enjoy an official release: RM2k was released when we finished. We pooled our time and effort into a follow-up game on RM2k which was to become the sequel.

Soon after the completion of the sequel (renamed Shukumei Star 2 and its prequel to Shukumei Star, naturally) The RM2k3 engine was released, and I began work on porting both games into it. SS2 was completed first, and SS1 was recently finished.

Latest Blog

2019 Update

Hoo boy! Some things have happened in the five and a half years since the last update.

Windows dropped MIDI support

Windows 7 was released, and as it turns out, all versions of Windows going forward have dropped native MIDI support. MIDIs will still partially play in-game now, but in order to hear these game MIDIs in their full glory, you need to install a third-party MIDI synthesizer.

I've been using VirtualMIDISynth:
https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth
with the following setup for soundfont load order:

(i.e. SGM loads last and takes priority.)


New Font

Additionally, the process to automatically install a font has changed, so I'm leaving it to you to download and manually install the new font, TibsRPG2. This font is new as of Jan 2019, so you should still install it, even if you have the previous TibsRPG font:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/downloads/10407/


Why the update?

Aside from the technical stuff above, I wanted to adjust the game again because I was never really satisfied with the difficulty balance of random enemies and bosses. As I began to tweak and re-balance all the enemy stats, I got along to tweaking other things like spells. And then I found a few stupid mistakes and oversights in the previous versions that I have now corrected.


Save file compatibility

Please note that the new install directory is now different from previous versions. I have no idea if save files are forward-compatible, so copy over your old save files with caution.


Changelog as of 03 Jan, 2019:
This log is not exhaustive, because I might have changed very minor things like spelling mistakes and a couple tile/entity positions.

MAJOR update: Now using Cherry's amazing DynRPG plugin system, which I've customized to do the following:
  • Makes message windows translucent
  • Adjusts battle timing
  • Displays battle icons when characters gain MP
  • Fixes Reflect crash, so now a couple enemies can cast Reflect

MAJOR update: New font (TibsRPG2) that is a modification of the RM2000 font
MAJOR update: Battle background have been updated: specifically re-worked to take up the entire screen rather than having the awkward black bar at the bottom. (See below)
MAJOR update: Many heroes are renamed. Some of their original names were taken randomly and sporadically in a spark of inspiration—for example: named after a friend's pets, which happened to be named after historical or mythical figures. Many of the old names today have contemporary pop culture associations (e.g. Pandora, Loki)
MAJOR update: As alluded to above, monster stats have been completely re-worked. The EXP they grant and their appearing locations have not been adjusted (mostly), but now the game should be easier overall, with fewer difficulty spikes.
MAJOR bugfix: Monsters never used to cast spells that only gave a buff (e.g. Fast, Wall, Regenerate). Now they do.
MAJOR bugfix: Status effects that claimed to halve/double Defense incorrectly affected Mind instead, and vice-versa!
Bugfix: Status conditions in general had numerical priority ratings. A spell that was supposed to grant multiple conditions with equal priority (e.g. Mutate) instead applied their effects based on these priorities. Now they should correctly apply multiple conditions.
Bugfix: Using a teleport item/spell in an improper place does not consume the item/MP.
Bugfix: I can't prevent you using buffing battle items outside of battle, but I CAN remove the buffs they give you! Don't use them outside of battle and you won't waste them.
Bugfix: Airship entering/exiting has been fixed, I HOPE.
Update: The shortcuts added by the installer are now flagged to open the game in windowed mode by default, which loads MUCH faster.
Update: Quetzalcoatl now randomly grants Reflect rather than Dodge/Regen
Update: Reflect status lasts longer in battle.
Update: Crusade's success rate has been lowered from 100%.
Update: Mutate can now cause Reflect.
Update: Gravity and X-Gravity have slightly lower success rate, but now can also inflict ½ ATK, ½ SPD, Stun
Update: Black Hole is now an advanced, multi-target gravity spell.
Update: Overhauled non-weapon equipment so that stat bonuses make more sense and are fairer.
Update: Elemental/Status resistances are now included in item descriptions.
Update: Black Hole and Reflect have swapped positions in the Abacus.
Update: Enemy spell usage has been updated. Enemies now cast spells more/less frequently if they own many/few spells, and enemies near the beginning of the game (mostly around Shide/Corax) have different spell sets.
Update: Overhauled class stat growth. Now the extremes in a given stat will vary by a factor of 2, and not 8. This ought to prevent e.g. characters with obscenely low agility from being agonizingly slower than other characters. Similarly, the attack and magic combo algorithm has been re-written, and now maxes out at 4 instead of 8 hits.
Update: Overhauled monster stats to likewise reduce individual "swinginess"
Update: Summon animations now fade in. Originally they did not, due to archaic reasons.
Update: Removed Herobrine.
Update: Abacus graphics have been updated for clarity. (See below)
Update: Abacus now has a Free-Roam mode where you can read about what each spell does, rather than having to guess based on its name.
Update: Hidden stars are no longer items to be used on characters to boost their stats. Instead, upon locating them, they instantly boost the stats of EVERY character, including those not in the party or not found yet, and remain in your inventory as trophies.
Update: Enemy distribution/EXP in the super-secret dungeon has been changed, and you get much less of the completion reward.
Update: Enemies in super-secret dungeon now play alert sound effects at the start of battle.
Update: Removed MANY traps and ambush tiles from Corax Temple, to make it less horrible.
Update: Removed Traps Radar: now Secrets Radar reveals both traps and secrets.
Update: Secrets Radar now stays on for four seconds, and makes a tick every second.
Update: Prem soldiers in the Dokutsu cave showdown now have different sprites than the Dyros soldiers.

Known bugs:
-If a character gets petrified while selecting a battle command, the game will hang because the player can't choose a command and the battle can't proceed until the character chooses a command.
-If an enemy simultaneously selects a spell at the same time that it is disallowed from casting spells (Mute, Berserk, etc) then the game will crash. This happens especially against the Lion enemy.


Graphics update samples
As mentioned in the changelog, some graphics have been updated: in particular, battle background have been extended, and the Abacus stat graphics have been updated to look more like an abacus:





Changelog from 13 Aug, 2013:
-New Game + has been "fixed," in that your characters' stats won't be wildly unpredictable.

Changelog from 30 Sept, 2012:
-Thanks to Seeric, I spotted a couple bugs. The enter/exit airship bug has been fixed (I think). Just to be safe, don't spam the "cancel" button as you enter or exit the airship.
-Leviathan should vanish when beaten, not leave behind a symbol.
-Sprite bugs have been fixed, including one on the sketchbook: it's supposed to show left/right arrows for -1/+1 page (top-left controls).

Older updates:
-The second boss battle (in the cave) has been made easier. The Knights will no longer cast any spells.
  • Completed
  • crthibodeau
  • RPG Tsukuru 2003
  • RPG
  • 12/08/2009 07:39 AM
  • 05/01/2020 05:42 AM
  • 06/18/2011
  • 136929
  • 22
  • 443

Posts

Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Yeah, I can't come close to beating those Ninjas with the Maverick skill, even at level 8-9. Their agility is just too high. It's severe enough to where I'd call it a glitch.
Again, thanks for taking enough interest to critique. I'm excited about an idea I have to address these issues. I'll post a comment here when the updated download is available, but I might be able to simply upload a "patch" file to save you the headache of re-downloading the whole thing.

In the meantime, be very aware that the upcoming boss fight is another instance of brutal difficulty. But the boss has low HP, so focus your assault on him (as opposed to the helper enemies). Take advantage of low character HP to pull off combo hits or magic.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Hmm...shock actually seems weaker now. You may need to raise the base damage by 3 or 4.

Edit: You may also want to explain that steel increases agility, but iron reduces it.
That's odd. All I did was change the variance. Maybe you're up against thunder-resistant enemies, or enemies with higher Int than normal?

In general, Accessories increase speed by a lot while Armor reduces it by a little. I hoped that "heavy" in the description would be an indicator.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
The first fight was actually of solid difficulty. I would've probably given the main guy enough HP to survive another 3-4 attacks (basically another round or so...probably like 60 HP more), just so he could get in another attack. To compensate, you could probably lower the HP of the flunkies by like 15 or 20. Once I used AOE to kill the flunkies, he died in one hit and with the aid of a bit of poison.
boy am i happy with the update cause even at level 9 with the best equipment and wristwatch loki killed almost my entire party before i even have a chance to deal a blow and i tried it about 20 times.

Now i finally can move on and enjoy the game. I beat loki for the second time and now are going to catch the king's brother boat.

the wristwatch with dubbel agility was of great aid the second time i beat loki, first i did'nt use it and was beaten before i could give a blow.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
The fight in the pass is statistically impossible, even with the help of all the soldiers. I'm afraid the difficulty in this game needs to be fixed throughout before it becomes playable.

It's unfortunate, because the balance in the hideout cave is good now.
A couple comments about the first Loki battle... I dropped his stats BIG time. He should be tough but beatable the first time. For the battle in the cave he gets much tougher because he's equipped with much better stuff.

author=Deckiller
The fight in the pass is statistically impossible, even with the help of all the soldiers. I'm afraid the difficulty in this game needs to be fixed throughout before it becomes playable.

Jovada has managed to take down Loki in the pass. The update should have upped your characters' levels, but what level are you now? Even though experience requirements have been dropped 40%, you will still need to grind a little. Level 12 might not be good enough.

The levels of the soldiers in the cave increase as your levels increase. So you should go to the Thieves' Hideout and grind a little. Make sure you're well equipped with gear from Dyros. Use "Shock" on Loki and the Knights, since the Knights are weak to it. You might even consider Jack O' Lantern since there is a somewhat decent chance Loki will be poisoned.

Each Soldier you defeat before the boss battle has a 20% chance of dropping a "Clock" item. Use it! It will slow all the enemies in the battle!

Boss battles are meant to test your resourcefulness.
defeating loki the first time my characters gained 2 or 3 levels and they were something like 13 14 and 15 when i fought loki the second time. like i said before i beat loki in the pass on the second try.

Now i'm suffering to get the 5th star in the shide, i'm not quick enough grrrr.
author=jovada
defeating loki the first time my characters gained 2 or 3 levels and they were something like 13 14 and 15 when i fought loki the second time. like i said before i beat loki in the pass on the second try.

Well I found one issue with your strategy. When I revised the download file, I moved all the original beefy Thief monsters to a later point in the game (you'll see them soonish). However, those monsters were the only ones who dropped the Wristwatch. So if that was your crucial strategy, it will no longer work for players who did not kill any big Thieves.

Now i'm suffering to get the 5th star in the shide, i'm not quick enough grrrr.

Yes, that one's a doozy. It took us multiple tries to get it for the first time. In the original (RPG95) version, touching the stationary walls killed you! This is just a case of "practice makes perfect."
yes i had 4 wristwatches that i saved by killing the big thiefs. i updated the game before beating loki the first time.
Here's another hint on the Loki battles...
If Killian casts "Fear," the Soldiers and Knights have a good chance of running away. If he casts "Terrorize," they're guaranteed to run away.

I'm playing the game right now with the updates, and just grinding to get Tsukiden's max gear from Dyros has rocketed him to level 16. Multi-target spells aren't underpowered as long as you're not facing tough enemies while you're at a low level. I feel that the game's pacing now is right where it should be.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
author=crthibodeau
A couple comments about the first Loki battle... I dropped his stats BIG time. He should be tough but beatable the first time. For the battle in the cave he gets much tougher because he's equipped with much better stuff.

author=Deckiller
The fight in the pass is statistically impossible, even with the help of all the soldiers. I'm afraid the difficulty in this game needs to be fixed throughout before it becomes playable.

Jovada has managed to take down Loki in the pass. The update should have upped your characters' levels, but what level are you now? Even though experience requirements have been dropped 40%, you will still need to grind a little. Level 12 might not be good enough.

The levels of the soldiers in the cave increase as your levels increase. So you should go to the Thieves' Hideout and grind a little. Make sure you're well equipped with gear from Dyros. Use "Shock" on Loki and the Knights, since the Knights are weak to it. You might even consider Jack O' Lantern since there is a somewhat decent chance Loki will be poisoned.

Each Soldier you defeat before the boss battle has a 20% chance of dropping a "Clock" item. Use it! It will slow all the enemies in the battle!

Boss battles are meant to test your resourcefulness.

The problem is that you do not even get a move before being wiped out by six straight AOE spells, even with everyones' agility well into the sixties. If I had a chance to act, it would be another story. Perhaps I just got unlucky.

I never received a clock item.

The soldiers' levels do increase, but the problem is that they start their fights against the knights at low HP. Also, it seems that their HP is set to whatever the previous one's health was at.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
I am going to give this game another whirl and review it.
author=Deckiller
I am going to give this game another whirl and review it.
Awesome!

Also I've made a few updates since last time, if you haven't re-downloaded it. For example, one of the final boss's worst spells has been downgraded.

Also, I just noticed the last part of your previous post. What happens in the cave is that all eight soldiers are under constant attack by the guards. The longer you take to enter the battle, the more damage they take. But the damage they're taking is based on their defense stat, so some will go down quicker than others. If you have a Salve or two to spare, you should heal up the worst of them to prepare them to aid you.

Edit: and I just found a line of code I inserted sometime in the past that shows that the soldiers' levels will increase with yours. You should grind before going into the cave, but it's more effective when you do it before Killian leaves the team.
Oblic
Once a member of RMN, always a member of RMN!
1937
Ok, I have just downloaded the updates and whatnot, but the battle in the cave is still damn near impossible. First of all, Loki's attack is retarded powerful. He can pretty much drop any single party member he wants with one attack! I have the best possible equipment, I'm on lvl 17 with each character (I first tried at 14 which is obviously too low), and I have the highest possible star level. Also, 1/2 Agility ALWAYS overrides 2X Agility, which means that even if I do use a wristwatch, if Loki uses SlowAll, it completely negates it and has the added effect of slowing me down! Even if I use a spell that should give me 2X Agility while slowed, I still retain the lowered Agility, which seems pretty unfair. Plus, the Clock is only marginally helpful. I also had the soldiers cut down Loki's numbers, which, again, is only marginally helpful.

The fact that I can go into the cave and steamroll the stupid soldiers within a couple of minutes and get completely assraped by Loki, no matter how prepared I am, means this fight is completely unbalanced and unfair. I have tried this about 10 times by now and I'm getting a bit tired of doing so... Either his stats need to be SEVERELY lowered, or the some of spells that the soldiers have in there arsenal need to be nerfed or removed...

If I need to grind more, let me know. I'm willing to try one more time if its just because of a low level...

I really think this game is great and the only reason I'm so upset is due to the fact that I REALLY want to progress to see what else the game offers. Again, please let me know if I'm just being a tard, because I am willing to give it one more shot.
Oblic, thanks for the post. Here's what I can say.
The priority for 2x agility is actually higher than 1/2 agility. When you have both on together, they should cancel perfectly. Though it is worth noting that double- and half-stats have an 8% chance of abating each time someone (friend or enemy) takes a move, and they always abate after 8 moves. It is possible that your 2x agility has worn off before or during your 1/2 agility condition.

Level 20 ought to be sufficient to take out Loki. The soldiers in the cave actually level somewhat along with you, but it seems that they've helped you pick off three knights anyway.

You are not playing stupidly, but here's something to look out for: remember that when your characters' HP gets lower, they have an increased chance of combo attack or magic. If one of your fighter-type characters gets low HP, then consider, instead of healing him, to have him attack. Likewise with a mage-character and casting attack spells. If, for example, you can get Pandora to combo-cast a modest multi-target spell, she'll wipe out everyone.

Don't forget that Loki has very low HP. The Knights have 121 HP and Loki has 112 HP when you're at level 17 (he scales). Focus your attacks primarily on Loki. He is actually decently vulnerable to most status effects. Mute, Blind, Poison, and Berserk have a 75% chance of working. Sleep has a 50% chance. Knights are vulnerable to status effects too, so consider crippling them. Maybe you'll get lucky with a summon spell.

Loki's base stats are on par with each of your party member's, and his spell set is comparable, but he has superior equipment (which is why he hits so hard). Dispatch him quickly. I promise that you won't have any hard boss battles for a while after that.

Keep me posted.
Oblic
Once a member of RMN, always a member of RMN!
1937
Holy wow... I was only expecting a simple "yes, you suck and need to grind a bit more" or "no, you suck at fighting". So, yea, thanks for the extended bit of help! When in boss situations (in any game), I normally pick off the minions first, which is part of my problem I guess. Hopefully I get through this time or the next. If not:

1. Find brick wall.
2. Face plant wall.
3. Repeat 2. until calm or unconscious.
Don't know if this page is still active - hope so.

I am totally confused and have wandered around so much that my entire party is now level 99. I have made it to the floor in the Luna Temple where you fight the dragons for various weapons. As I couldn't find anywhere to save and I'd been in there a long time, I went out, saved, bought more supplies and went back in - but the map layouts had changed dramatically. Wandered around some more, and am faced with rapidly depleting inventory of healing items, so will probably need to go out again. I think I've beaten all the dragons - what the heck do I do to move on? Presumably when I come back the maps will have changed again.

Thanks
Hi! Thanks for the response. Also, congrats on getting so very far and, I assume, beating the dragons and elementals.

Here's how you get to the final boss.

1) First, clearly, you walk across the surface of the moon to the Golden Palace. Note that the layout of the moon and the palace changes randomly. However, placement of the teleporters does not. The ONLY things on the moon are the Golden Palace and the way back down to Earth.

2) When you enter the Golden Palace, the teleporter to the roof is about 30 tiles to the right and 40 tiles up. The path there is random, so you may need to feel out a way to get there. There should be four elementals scattered around this floor, where you can get ultimate armor pieces.

3) The next floor is the palace roof. You emerge in the north-east quadrant of the floor. Scattered around are four dragons that carry different ultimate weapons.

In the SOUTHWEST quadrent of this floor is another teleporter that takes you to the final major area: the starscape.

4) You begin in the bottom-center of the starscape. There are only two things of interest here: to the north and east of you is the Ultima Dragon, which holds both the strongest weapon in the game and a healing save spot. To the north-northwest of your starting spot is the teleporter to the final boss's room (this is west-northwest from the Ultima Dragon). A skilled player can beat the final boss in the lower 70s, so 99 shouldn't be a huge problem. But always stay on your guard.

Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to ask for more advice. I'm curious to know how many stars you've found and if you've found certain hidden things back on the Earth.