Alter A.I.L.A.

Please note, this review will contain some spoilers. If you are interested in just the review, scroll down to ***REVIEW***.

Before I dive into the review, I thought it would be a good idea to post some of the solutions to some of the more complicated situations I came across in this game. Without the help of the postings on for this game and some trial and error on my part, I wouldn't have been able to complete this game. I'm sure Neo has moved on to bigger things, but it wouldn't hurt to create a separate category and display these same solutions for others who have yet to play this game.

***SOLUTIONS***

1. In order to complete the game, you must get the 4th scenario (which is the true story). To do so you must first play all three of the other scenario’s:

Run Away – the idenpendent scenario
Join with Kugar – the loyalist scenario
Fight Kugar – the rebellion scenario

2. If you elect for the independent or loyalist scenario, after the Abandoned City you’ll have the opportunity to change which path you want to follow again. Becareful and choose wisely, as this will negate the path you are currently following.

3. Once all 3 scenarios are completed, to get the 4th you will need to start one of the initial 3 scenarios again, but this time make sure to go through and complete the Abandoned Office before going to the Abandoned City. In playing through the 4th scenario, I initially elected the independent path (run away). I'm sure you can select any of the available 3 and get the same outcome for the 4th scenario (as long as you go to the office before the abandoned city), but I can't confirm that.

4. In the 4th scenario, when completing Avalon, here is the link to the solution for the dreaded door maze.

http://rpgmaker.net/media/content/users/32/locker/Avalon_Door_Puzzle1.png

5. 4th scenario bad ending: In the Heaven program in Avalon, only bombs seem to work against Kugar. All my weapons seemed to miss, and whenever I used Black's PK skill, the game crashed. I'm guessing this is all a glitch, but all the same this was the only way I could get passed this.

6. 4th scenario good ending: After solving Avalon, but before entering the Heaven program, just return to Downed Ship and speak with Orange. This option is also hinted at after getting the 4th scenario bad ending, but lets you pick up right after solving Avalon.

7. Finally, I'm not sure how specific party members alter the game, once all my party members were collected I chose Blue, Green, and Black (with Blue in the top position), and when Blue leaves your party at some point after entering the Underwater Facility, I chose Green, Orange, and Black (with Green in the top position). You're free to try any combination of characters, but just know that if you come across any problems, using my suggestions for a party I didn't have any trouble.

***REVIEW***

Okay, now on to the review.

In a nutshell:

Pros:
Great story
Decent graphics
Replayability
Good music
Added side quests
Challenging puzzles

Cons include:
Forced replayability
Parts of the story tends to drag


I'm sure there are a lot of sci-fi rpg's available within the RM community, but as of yet there just doesn't seem to be enough. Out of all the ones I've currently played, all were demos so far with the exception of ABL and Alter A.I.L.A., and to be frank, ABL seems to be nothing more than an extremely long demo, as its story was never completed. I blame Enterbrain for this, for not providing enough opportunity to create games beyond the traditional medieval-like setting, and even though there are countless tilesets available for the sci-fi junkie, a lot of these don't match one another to fit into a single game, at least not without looking awkward. For this reason, I congratulate Neo for not only designing and completing a sci-fi tale, but in being able to establish and maintain the graphic flow throughout the entire game.

I've had a love / hate relationship with this game since I've started playing it. I wasn't too engaged into the plot for awhile, and debated on whether it was worth finishing or not. Naturally I elected to fight Kugar, but had I realized I'd have to play through all the other scenarios as well beforehand, I probably would have given up. At some point after hitting the laboratory beneath the mansion in the Abandoned City, I decided this was a game I just had to see through to the end, and I am glad I stuck with it.

Now, I don't mind multi-scenario games when done correctly. Consider a few examples: Saga Frontier has 7 different adventures, parts of the stories connect, but most of them are separate and go through a few of the same environments. But these are all 7 different games, with different stories, and different characters. Dragon Warrior/Quest IV and Wild Arms all require you play through a sort of prologue (engaging in the main character's personal story) before getting to the meet of the game.

Unfortunately, this wasn't really the case this time. Instead, you play as one main character Blue as he tests out different scenarios. But since none of these are the true path (the true path is discovered in the 4th scenario when you access the Abandoned Office prior to going to the Abandoned City), all of these initial scenarios become nothing more than "what if" scenarios that never actually happen. A better solution would have been to still allow the player to decide which of the 3 paths to take, but make the 4th scenario available all along (albeit hidden), and let the player decide whether or not to access it by going to the office before the abandoned ciy, or to continue with the scenario they are currently on. This way, they can decide for themselves whether or not to replay the game and try out the other scenarios.

However, it's not all bad, because only by playing out all of the initial 3 scenarios do you get the full story of the game and really come to appreciate the direction of the 4th story. By choosing to fight Kugar, you get to see how the rebellion takes place, but electing to join Kugar you get to see the machinations of Kugar's empire after certain events of the game. Only 2 scenarios were worth it, in my opinion: the neutral (independent) path, and of course the 4th story. Both of these were suspenseful and had decent endings. The rebellion and loyalist story didn't feel quite so complete, ended up being confusing at parts, and had what felt like a rushed ending.

Another thing: I like rpg's with a good story much the same as I do a good book. I like to speak to everybody to learn about the world I'm in to try and find hidden clues in order to try and figure out the final outcome before I get that far. There are a few clues thrown around in this game, but most of the actual story doesn't come until about 3/4 into the final 4th scenario. A few things about A.I.L.A.'s presence and connection with
Blue would have been great within the first 3 scenarios.

So while the story itself was great, the writing was superb, hardly any misspellings or grammatical errors, and I was intrigued to continue playing, the execution of the story probably needed some work.

Let's look at resources. Here, Neo truly shines. With the exception of a few areas, his mapping skills are outstanding. This coupled with his choice of music really helped set the mood. In fact, my favorite areas included the mysterious lab, Kugar's Tower, the Slums, the Heaven program within Avalon, and the Underwater Facility. A couple of areas probably needed some work, including a few passability issues, but nothing too drastic. The monster selection was great. I grow tired of playing a sci-fi rpg but then end up having to fight traditional rpg enemies (wolves, rats, demons, etc.). All the enemies presented here fit into the slumish background.

My only complaints in regards to the battles was the normal battle music, which I found a bit annoying, but the boss battle music was pretty good. Also, the challenge of the boss fights was overwheming.

Speaking of challenge, this may be the second most important thing to work on (in addition to the story's execution). I love a good challenge, and the puzzles in the Underwater Facility was definately a bit challenging, but after some thought and some trial and error the puzzles could be solved. The door maze in Avalon, though, was just plain ridiculous, and unless you are very dilegent, I can almost guarantee nobody would get through that without looking at solution. There's no rhyme or reason, nor any clue on how to pass that. And the challenges of the later boss fights was also rather annoying. Considering that the market is saturated with indie freeware, it's probably better to make boss fights less of a hassle than traditional console/commercial games, since a person can easily give up one game for another. Tweaking the fights to make it a bit easier goes a long way in ensuring that a person not only downloads the game, but plays it through completion.

Final score:

Story: 4/5. It was a great story, and the 4th scenario more than made up for some of the flaws.
Graphics: 4/5. For the most part they were used rather well.
Music: 4.5/5. With the exception of normal battle music, I loved all the music used.
Execution: 2.5/5. I think tweaking the challenges, adjusting the HP of some of the boss fights, or at least making them a bit easier, and altering the execution of the story could have helped go along way in making this the perfect game. As it stands, it's still one of the best rpg's I've played in a long while.

Total score: 3.75/5