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Epic adventures await!

Manifest is a fantasy game set in the original world of Ospes, and our alter ego protagonist, Armegmus, belongs to the 'Theolar', a race of people with magic abilities ("Focus"). This race is feared and hated but those that instead do not possess magical skills (so the equivalent of ordinary humans called Thymetians, that see the magical powers as dark, witchcraft skills) and looks more or less identical to them. Other races of Ospes include non-human creatures like the Rulwooks (centaurs), the Orzraks (red skinned orcs) and the Greymargs (sort of mountain elves).

Concerning the gameplay the game is rich of activities, from card game to lots of minigames for example the one linked to lockpicking (that is excellent in my opinion), a blacksmith minigame, sliding puzzles, fishing, shooting, and also a sort of whack-a-mole. The VX engine is well utilized to incorporate different activites and diversions, puzzles are also encountered throughout the game (even if not every area has them), a few are mandatory to advance the story but most of them are optional (linked to side quests, optional equipments like the ultimate armor, or to receive permanent stat boosts, so while not necessary, solving them will clearly help a lot!). I admit I did not solve all of them, anyway as mentioned earlier these were not necessary to complete the game but they provide extra enjoyment besides the main quest. Oh and do not forget hunts and a classical arena for extra combat encounters.


I parked my zeppelin to enter the tower... hey see that cute mini-map? Useful!

Oh yes, there are battles in this game of course, and they use a classical standard system, but with eight different party members with distinct abilities there is at least some variety. What I liked less was the use of random encounters (luckily the frequence is not excessive!)... but I can bear them, I recently found and played many other games (also more recent ones) that used them, anyway if possible... I prefer visible and avoidable encounters!
On the positive I found battles to be really well balanced and rewarding, anyway it's necessary to learn how to use the different characters' skills (Armegmus for example has a "divination" ability that let you scan the enemies finding their weaknesses) otherwise you won't be able to progress. I also found all characters rather useful and no one was a dead weight!
There is also the possibility of choice among six difficulty levels and you can set the style of combat between Active to Semi-active or Wait.

The game starts linear, but then (as expected, if you played other jrpgs) after getting the zeppelin you unlock the exploration of the whole world. The minimap helps a lot (and this is a feature not commonly found in other games, I mean often in other rpgmaker jrpgs I had to explore aimlessly the world map until I understood where the key locations are). Exploring every corner of the world is possible but not obligatory, but finding all the 99 mystic relics (I did not do that, but it's possible, so good luck!) of the world of Ospes will let you earn the final weapon, an object of incredible power (or so they say, as stated I didn't get it!).


Good move Armegmus! That's a powerful blow!

Graphics are rather standard but I did not see anything out of place, mapping is also pretty good even if the absence of custom graphics may make people overlook this game that is pretty good in every other aspect (not that graphics are bad, just they do not make this game stand out among other similar but more dull and boring fantasy rpgmaker games). The music selection is also pretty good and fits the genre and the various moments of the adventure.

The characters may look average (from their unoriginal charsets and facesets) but they are pretty good, I think that every party member has his moment and cool speech. There is a sense of interaction between them and they also feel distinct and different from the way in which they speak. Unfortunately the protagonist Armegmus is probably the worst of the bunch, being a rather generic hero with a sense of justice but not so charismatic... pity because the other members of the cast are really well written. And speaking about writing I saw no typos or other evident errors. Also no bugs or other issues, the game seems really solid and polished.


Time to show my burglar skills!

Final Verdict
Manifest is a solid and classic jrpg experience that will keep you entertained for 30 hours, not a perfect game but a lot better than I expected judging from the screens that did not seem to offer anything more than an average fantasy adventure. Well I was wrong, as I stated above the game keeps you entertained with a great story but also many puzzles and diversions. It's a big game, and a must play for those who like party based epic jrpg adventures. I also noticed no flaws, bugs or errors so... another good, memorable game!

Posts

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sbethune81
I don't have a growth mindset...yet.
2369
Thank you so much for taking the time to play through and review Manifest. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
author=sbethune81
Thank you so much for taking the time to play through and review Manifest. I'm glad you enjoyed it.


Well I discovered it a bit late but it's a real classic! Very good.
Pages: 1