Aurora Wing

Preamble
I've played through this game three times.
The first two playthroughs were several years ago. I enjoyed the first run enough that, knowing a second path and possible new characters and ending awaited, I jumped right back in for round 2. This third time, my intention was just to fish for a screenshot or two, but I wound up playing through yet again and forgot to take screenshots in the process. The one below is from my final save.
How did I come to be so hooked?

Visual: 4.5/5
At first glance, this game is an eye razor. The sprites lifted from RPG Editor 3D are ugly to begin with, but then they're used isometrically on standard 2-dimesional tiling. How could this combination possibly work?

First impressions are always only skin deep. After cycling through a few Player and Enemy turns, one begins to see how intelligently these graphics were used. There's enough variety in player characters that you won't lose track of which one's which, enemies are palette swapped to indicate gameplay relevant details, and attack animations convey the action without slowing it down.

Moving away from the theater of battle, we have one of the best custom menu systems ever made in an RPG Maker up until the advent of Ruby script. Employing a large, legible font and using appropriate player queues (like the arrow for Look), the menus are amenable with gameplay elements and agreeable with the eyes.
In fact, I dare say this menu is better than a lot of the fluff people make using Ruby even today.


Audio: 4.5/5
Whenever I hear good stuff in an RM project, I go snooping through the BGM directory.
Scouring the web for the origin of cogitate.mid, I discovered an obscure midi site filled to the brim with original music by non-VGM artists. Sadly, this site has since disappeared from the face of the internet and I'd only managed to sift through maybe 10% through it.
But it goes to show how far the creator went to procure some music that would identify with Aurora Wing instead of other games. Well done.

Sadly not all is such. How the Stage 1 BGM of Castlevania III became a tactical battle theme is beyond me. There was also one or two instances of unmatching volume. Leaning forward to turn my speakers down on the enemy turn, then back up on my turn, got old fast.

As an aside, I only noticed zombie.mid is the Cranberries song recently, despite it being in my midi collection for years.

Storyline: 5/5
We're first introduced to group commander and token bland protagonist, Nash, and his more colorful company of troops. After mopping up some bandits, he's ordered to rendezvous with close associate Sarah, a knight who works in espionage, within the neighboring country just as tensions are boiling and war is imminent.
Upon their meeting, Nash asks what her current investigation is about. Sarah's response is "Troops and supplies moving, secret orders, men where they shouldn't be. That sort of thing."

It's a vague statement, and the vagaries remain throughout the game. Dialogue is smartly written, but occasionally some pertinent information is lost in the sea of witticisms and double-meanings. The player is not allowed to be dumb if he wants to keep abreast of what's going on.

Otherwise, it's a fine yarn of tenuous alliances and international conspiracy, with just a hint of delusional mysticism. Nash, deep in enemy territory, finds kinship and hostility alike in his host country. On the trail of a group of subversives with intentions unknown, he takes the role of both leader and subordinate as the group's command structure adopts to a changing political climate.
Between battles, his fellows share more down-to-earth personal exchanges, such as mourning the fallen, a lot of unrequited flirting, and pretentious social commentary by a guy who sucks at his job.

Gameplay: 5/5
The battle system is a manifestation of brilliance that speaks for itself.
It's a TRPG engine created in a program designed for making jRPGs, but doesn't stop there. It integrates stamina dependent strategy, a "style" triangle, character specific skills and more, all adding up to a unique self-styled game that can forever claim to be "inspired by" and not merely "ripped off of".

Enemy AI can also be called to appreciation for it's cleverness. Classic TRPG gimmicks like luring an enemy into your gangbang zone with a high defense unit don't work here. They tread slowly, carefully, always keeping their stamina high for when the melee begins.
But that won't stop them from burning all 99 Stamina to circle around your army and OHKO your healer. $@%&#$!! *reload*
Things like this happen more often than the average player might like. Aurora Wing can be incredibly difficult at times, but fortunately a few revives are provided for when somebody just can't avoid taking one for the team.
I never use 'em though. I'm a Sgt. Slaughter "We all go home or nobody goes home" type of player.

Overall: 5/5
One of the many geniuses of this game is in having the plot end with possibility of a direct sequel, including all the main characters. Hell, they could even carry their equipment over without bringing a sense of overpoweredness.
So what's holding up Aurora Wing 2?