Master of the Wind

(Copied From Original Review on Solest Forums)
AwesomeOne Reviews:

Hey all! I have finally returned to the forums to write a new topic! However, instead of a tutorial, I give you a Review! I'm writing this as I start yet another play through of this amazing game known as Master of the Wind. This will my 4th time going through it! I'll be giving it scores from everything from Battles, to Dungeons, to Characters. I will do my best to cover every aspect in this Review! Lets get on with it, shall we?

Battles/Battle System: 4/5
When I first joined these forums (which was after MotW was completed), I read a ton of comments from back when it was in its early production of how the battles were near impossible and very unbalanced. I, personally, was unable to experience these impossible battles, so I can only take peoples words for it that they were hard, but I believe Volrath and ArtBane did a great job making the battles easier and more balanced throughout the years. Some battles were a little too easy, while others were pretty difficult, but not impossible. I also saw a lot of complaints about the battle system early on in its production, people saying it was far too vanilla (it was the same turn-based, front view battle system RPG Maker XP came with). However, over the years, ArtBane (I'm assuming he handled most of these issues) did a great job tweaking the battle system and making it not so vanilla anymore. He added many extra things that made it seem like it's own battle system! I applaud ArtBane for all the changes he made to it, making it far better than the original. Now, as far as the battles go, personally, I love to have a bit of a challenge in them. Though Master of the Winds battles weren't very challenging, they were still very fun and some quite intense (I'm looking at you Three Lieutenants).


Music: 5/5
This is one of the biggest things in RPG games. Music is what makes a game go from good, to great, to even simply amazing. MotW has some o the greatest music I've ever heard. What's even better is, throughout the game, the music that begins playing, namely for cutscenes, works perfectly for the current situation. Same thing with the boss battles and even the dungeons. The music played throughout works very well and adds a lot of atmosphere to the game as a whole. The themes for all the characters are also amazing (I am quite in love with Stoics Theme). By far some of the best music in an RPG game I've ever heard. Well done with the selections Volrath and ArtBane!


Characters: 4.5/5
Few games I've played have actually left me asking questions about characters, and really got me caring about them and what they do. MotW is one that truly did. From the very beginning, I was drawn and hooked onto Shroud and Stoic/Cade and Bones. Of course, that was only the beginning of amazing cast of characters that I truly fell in love with. Every character is very well developed throughout the game, and you can really connect to them in certain ways. Though some characters ended being a little less developed (Emma for one. I just never really liked her, and she seemed to pop up randomly throughout the story.), there were lots of other characters to make up for those few. Overall, though, you guys an absolute great job with the cast. As far as my favorite character, it's probably Finley/Baron. As far as least..well I kind of hated Danika cause she was always very bitchy, unless that's just me.


Dungeons/Minigames: 5/5
This is an area where the game truly, truly shines! I loved every dungeon throughout the game, though some did annoy me at times. The Ice Cave probably annoyed me the most because of the icicle shooting. Though I guess I just wasn't fast enough with shooting them down. Ironically, however, that was probably my favorite dungeon in the game, though Volrath's Castle is up there as well. As far as many of the other minigames go, they were are very great, and quite fun to play. The Lodite minigame was one of the ones I had the most fun with. Every dungeon was well constructed, and the minigames/puzzles really fit with the dungeons they were in. Overall, an absolute fantastic job with all of them ArtBane! You are truly the Dungeon Design Master!


Storyline: 5/5
Yet another area where this game truly shines! It starts off with a pretty basic story. Two masked heroes are protecting their fellow citizens from a variety of different enemies. Does it stop there? No. Not at all. It goes much farther than that. They become more than just heroes. The story quickly turns from something fairly basic, into something so much more than your traditional RPG, at least in my opinion. You quickly begin to get immersed within everything, the whole EK issue, the SRM (Sacred River Monastery) storyline, and of course, the growing issue with The Hand of Arcadius. Everything begins to get explained more, and every character begins to learn and grow up throughout the storyline. All this, combined with much more, makes this a very interesting, fun, and beautiful games to play. It even has some "Holy Shit!" moments for those people who like those.


Final Score: 4.5/5
Is this a game worth playing? Hell yes! I've played dozens are RPG games in my life, and I have to say this is one of the greatest RPG games of all time, beating out many others out there. Hell, I'd even say it's better than some of the Final Fantasy games out there.

Well, this is it for my Review of Master of the Wind. If you guys liked it, I'd appreciate a nice, simple reply letting me know. And if you guys more stuff, feel free to say so! I'll probably be posting this on other sites at some point to get others to come here to play this game. But that's it for now, so stay tuned, and stay Awesome!