Pokémon Hunter

The first game I ever made, though it has been revised numerous times since its initial completion. The game is fairly standard rm2k fare, but here's some of what you can expect.

For starters, although the game bears 'Pokémon' in the title, you should know that this is not a normal Pokémon game. You're not out to 'catch 'em all' and it doesn't emulate the commercial games in any way. Instead, it is designed more like a regular medieval RPG. You grab your swords and bows, explore dungeons, find treasures, and fend off Pokémon as enemies instead. If you took out the Pokémon and replaced them with the usual mythological monsters you see in other games, it'd pretty much be a regular RPG.

As before, this game doesn't deviate much from the default mechanics of rm2k. You have the six basic stats (HP, MP, Attack, Defense, Mind, Speed) in the default battle system. You beat up foes, gain experience, level up, learn new skills, etc. You wander around in the field when you're not busy trashing things.

But wait! This game does do a few things that are kinda neat. For example...

Equipment Drops: Equipment isn't obtained from random treasure chests lying around (a trope I never really cared for). Instead, you'll only find new equipment from two sources: shops and enemies. The game's shops update their inventory based on your dungeon progress, and the enemies in each area always drop weapons and armor you can use for upgrades. As such is the case, fighting is mostly the only way to get stronger, be it for experience or better equipment.

Enemy Skills: The heroes only learn a handful of skills on their own. Most of their special abilities come from finding skill books scattered around the dungeons (in retrospect, this is pretty much the same as random treasure chests). The skills you find in each area are those used by the monsters in that area. So, if you fight Charmanders using Ember in the cave, then the book that teaches Ember will be somewhere around there. In the field, books resemble the Pokémon that uses the skill they teach. Some skills are certainly more useful than others, but you won't know which are which until you find them anyway. All of them are hidden somewhere in the dungeons, and some are quite hard to find. Boss books only appear after the boss that uses those skills is defeated.

Enemy Evolution: Pokémon you're fighting may evolve in battle at any time! This makes them marginally more difficult and gives you a shot at finding a rare item. Each evolution has its own unique item to drop, but the chances of finding it are only 1/50. The odds are relatively low because you could just stall in battle and wait for things to evolve (which improves your chances greatly). Even if you're not actively seeking them, you'll probably find three or four by the game's end. There are also a few rare items dropped by a recurring miniboss, but you would find these no matter what, so they aren't rare at all.

Outside of battle, there are plenty of things to do besides wander around stupid newbie RTP land.

Puzzles Galore: Every dungeon in the game is stuffed with puzzles. And by 'stuffed' I mean 'they have about two each'. Some are the usual rock-pushing and switch-flipping you'd expect, while others are a bit more innovative. There's always something to keep you on your toes.

Side Trips: Who doesn't love a good distraction from the main quest? Most of these open up after the 4th dungeon is completed, but there are quite a bunch of side missions for you to explore. Each one has its own rewards, both strength and story-wise. They also beef up the play time.

At the end of the game, you'll get a completion percentage based on how many books you found and sidetrips you completed. Get 100%, and you'll unlock New Name + along with Classic Mode. JOY!

Although it is the first game I ever made, this is put together remarkably well. It's not as flashy as other RPGs and I never did quite get the 'stink of newb' out, but it's a fun, light-hearted game for anyone who cares to play it. Just try not to flee too many battles; I've been told it gets pretty tough!