Versus Xerza 01: Ultimate Showdown

Intro

"Versus Xerza 01: Ultimate Showdown" was developed by Craze using the trial version of RPG Maker VX. As such this game suffered from having a lot of restrictions placed upon it during development. One of these restrictions was that Craze couldn't save his game during the development process. So this game had to be made with the tool being open the entire time which probably made play testing this project impossible. At least if Craze didn't want get stuck with doing a lot of work over and over again. It also means certain issues are impossible to fix.

Story

You play as a group of four adventures who've decided to smite a demigod in order to earn some glory. A goal that seems a bit nebulous since I'm sure you could earn quite a bit glory by aiming for something a little lower on the totem pole like an ancient dragon. At any rate your first attempt didn't go very well so it's time to level up and buy better gear. After all your going to need to do a lot of grinding if you want to beat this game.

Gameplay

Seeing as how this is the trial version of the game it utilizes the default combat system that comes with RPG Maker VX. As such there isn't that much to talk about when it comes to the game's base mechanics. Though the game definitely suffers from a few oddities that I'm guessing were forced on Craze by the limits of the engine. For starters two of the four characters lack access to magic or skills. So there forced to mow down every enemy that gets in their way with either attacks from ranged weaponry or sword strikes. Secondly the two characters that do get access to spells are limited to a tiny selection of them. Seriously at level eight my mage and healer only had access to two spells apiece.

Another issue in this game is that the final boss isn't particularly well balanced in my opinion. This is because the final boss has access to an area of effect spell that inflicts massive damage as well as a high chance to inflict silence on your mage and healer. And if this happens the fight is basically over. At least it is if you haven't spent a bunch of time on stocking up on healing supplies. And this ability to silence your healer is even worse when you realize the game appears to lack items for curing status conditions. At least I don't remember stumbling across any while slaughtering hundreds of enemies for drops.

And since this game utilizes the default combat system. It also means the default miss and evasion rates are in play in this game. Which means you'll be seeing a lot of misses in this game. Seriously, I had to attack on enemy six times in order to score the killing blow on it one time.

Graphics and Sound

Seeing as how this was made with the trial version of RPG Maker VX. This game was entirely built using a handful of bits and pieces from the RTP for both of these areas. As such this game really doesn't stand out. At least not in a positive way since the restrictions mean the developer could only utilize a handful of monsters and audio tracks for this project.

Conclusion

On one hand I'd like to say this game is worth checking out since it does show what's possible with the trial version of RPG Maker VX. On the other hand this game is really grind heavy if you want to defeat the final boss. So much so that it'll probably take you around two hours to get strong enough to take down Xerza even though you can reach him in about 60 to 75 minutes by abusing a skip you gain access to when you gain the rowboat. Since it's entirely possible to bypass one of the game's dungeons by merely landing on a bridge.