Name:White Magic

Developer: Little Wing Guy

Story: White Magic follows Gordon, Erika, and Jeremy. Gordon Tullet, a village alchemist from Farne is studying to be an alchemist so he can find a cure for his mother, but his boss sends him to a nearby village to do a delivery, where a simple magic recovery potion turns Erika Cassidy's father into a monster. Little do our heroes know that it's caused by researchers trying to develop white magic. Upon learning of Richard Cassidy's transformation and death, in order to cover up their misdeeds, these villainous researchers, set out to stop Gordon and Erika from revealing the truth about what happened. The head researcher, Gabriel's brother, Jeremy, meanwhile inadvertently stumbles onto the truth.



Writing: No, I couldn't be assed to go hunting for the old 2k3 Tsukuru fix fonts, but that's alright; I'm used to reading borked fonts. The writing in this game is extremely compelling. When I saw the opening scene, I was afraid the game was going to be overwrought with quirky tropes and exposition, but it's actually not. The writing in this game is amazing, and if you have the replacement fonts, or don't mind reading these borked fonts, this game is 100 percent worth the read. The real shame of it is that the game is abandoned and we're never going to see the rest of it.

Gameplay: The gameplay is really good. The battles are turn-based, but they're extremely well balanced and challenging. The game goes above and beyond with mechanics that make the game look AAA quality, whether there's a chest counter for every town you're in, or the very nicely rendered save points (no, this game does not let you save wherever. I honestly don't understand why people whine about that.). Also, no random battles, blessedly! These are all on screen encounters in a clear effort to emulate Chrono Trigger. Also...I absolutely love the little monster snarling sound effect whenever the onscreen monster sprites catch you! uwu



Graphics: FIRST SEED MATERIAL!!! The game is simply gorgeous, from the amazing mapping to the expert use of animations. Everything about this game screams misao! It's an absolute tragedy this game's been cancelled.

Sounds: I'm not sure where the music comes from. I think some of it is familiar. I'm definitely leaning on it being rips, but it's all adds so wonderfully to the experience. This game is just so expertly crafted.



Conclusion: So, this isn't as much a review as it is me just gushing on a game that's never going to be finished. This demo is a masterclass in RPG design, and the game if it had been completed, would have been a masterpiece alongside the likes of Hero's Realm, Ara Fell, and Notes on the Etgoesian Crisis. Ordinarily I don't rate demos, but since I'm giving this five stars, I don't think anyone will mind.