Celdran's Curse

Gourd Clae Reviews

~Prenote~ (Feel free to skip this)
Celdran’s Curse is a lovely lovely game made by the one and only Libby. I regret not giving this a game a try earlier since I really love Liberty’s maps, I’ve seen some sweet storytelling from her, and she’s been around the Rpg maker block once or twice. Everything I came to expect was in this little game - starting with the story. It’s not perfect by any means, but we’ll get to that. Before that we’re probably going to talk about how much I love this game and why. I feel a little biased, but I’ll be as objective as possible!

Let’s eat this game whole with some biscuits and red bean juice. Delicious.

~Gameplay~
A whole lot of exploring and ATB make up the gameplay for CC. I’ve heard people have been having troubles with the battles in it? It makes sense that Orcena is relatively weak since she’s a child – I can appreciate that little piece gameplay-narrative syncing. It’s always nice to see it~ As far as I could tell, the skill that let Orcena stun her enemies was a major advantage on most enemies. Especially the supposedly hard ones in the flower garden aka the praying mantises. I actually couldn't get the story to progress until I watered all the flowers when I was lead to believe only the blue flowers should be watered. Was that a glitch or did I read the request wrong? I ended up stuck for a while because I refused to water the red flowers. It wasn’t too big of a deal, but it seemed a little weird. I accidentally killed the boss using a biscuit and brute strength. I was surprised to learn that I had discovered the boss since it seemed too easy. I ended up getting lost again in the port city. I ended up loading a pre saved file right after the wharf rats were introducing themselves to me. I hope I didn’t miss too much! Speaking of that scene, reentering the inn and then coming back out will play the scene all over again. And going out the door on the far right will make them introduce themselves to the air in front of the left door. Miiight want to fix that~ I also couldn’t get the chicken minigame to work. Is that how I progress the story? I think that’s about all for gameplay. I had a ton of fun walking in the maps looking for treasure, and the battles were also decent.

TLDR; I’m good at fighting, but I’m a noob at exploring despite liking it.

3.5/5


I actually predicted this before it happened and I was elated when it became a plot point!

~Graphics/Mapping~
Here we are. The maps! Oh yes, I love the maps. Especially when you get control –the maps are just great. I love my RTP used right and here it is. If I recall correctly, there were a few other resources in there but there was certainly RTP in there. The RTP leads to the unfortunate recognizing of resources but it really shouldn't matter as long as it’s used well. I especially liked the nature maps and the port city. That’s a majority of this demo but still! The nature maps are all really clear in what they’re trying to be, they look good, you can tell if you’re in overgrown area or if it’s heavily populated etc. I liked the port city because it had a pretty decent layout that made it hard to get lost, it looked nice, and there were KITTIES EVERYWHERE <3 <3 Oh and the ship was cool. Speaking of the ship, it takes a second for it to pop into existence when you’re coming out of a house that’s really close which is weird. There was a passability issue or two I think. Actually I can only think of one which I'll show later.

This is a VERY strong part of the game just as I was expecting it to be!

4.5/5

~Music/Sounds~
I like the music that played and most of it was well placed. I noticed a Legend of Zelda song in the port city, but I didn’t really take much notice because Gerudo Valley is totally my jam.
3.5/5


Omg this is the best thing. What happens after really caught me off guard because I was laughing so hard.

~Writing\Story~
The story is just as lovely as the mapping so far. I was a little surprised at all of the clichés and tropes being thrown my way, but I was pleasantly awarded for my patience. Orcena and Jasper ended up switching places and going to the opposite places they’re supposed to after being sent off. I loved the knights too they were like adorable muscley mothers. I felt bad leaving them behind I wanted to take them with me. Gweria and Orcena both seem kind of awkward in a good way. I think they just don’t know what to say to each other. I kind of like it, but I feel like their first conversation was kind of funny with how awkward it was. The king is a big fat jerkface, nuff said. I really like the cast though – I loved Mr. Growlie~<3 I loved how every character was really fun and/or interesting as you went on in the game. I’m not really sold on the people who infected Jasper and Orcena as good villains but we’ll see I guess!
4/5

THIS IS OKAY. EVERYTHING IS FINE. (I walked all the way down against the wall and all the way right over the counter.)

~Prelude~

I can’t wait for you to finish this! I’m glad I got to play this since it was tons of fun and has a lot of quality in just this small part of the game. That’s usually a sign that it’ll never get finished but I have hope you won’t let a gourd down.

4/5