This was one of the first RPG Maker games I played. Although this demo is very short, the author, whose name I can’t spell or pronounce, cryptically promises us that there is much more to come soon. (maybe soon is relative) In the name of feedback for that much more to come soon, let us begin! This review may contain minor spoilers. Fairly warned be ye.

Our protagonist, Leo, the latest in a long line of badass swordsman mercenary heroes in the RPG world, is on the run from the government after his team of slightly less badass mercenaries were arrested. Can he escape the machinations of the sinister archmagister, or is he as doomed as his friends? The game then takes an extended flashback to show just went wrong…

Balance 1/5:
Ugh. The battles in this game were rough. Characters have a wide variety of skills to use and were incredibly varied, which is nice. But the enemies were sadistic murder machines who ripped out the souls of my poor defenseless party and trampled them, over and over again. Healing items are weak and hard to come by. In the opening intro you must rely mostly on luck to win healing items from enemies without being eaten by dogs. The first boss is largely luck based as to whether he will kill you first even if you unload everything you have into him. The second boss is even worse. The character Sagittarius is far too slow to be effective. Libra’s attack power never goes up making leveling for him almost useless. An extended grind fest was required to survive the Devastator. And it only got worse when you reach those ancient ruins. If you get poisoned, you can just forget it.

Also, I don’t remember that steal ability ever actually working.

Level Design 2/5:
Any time I was in a city I suddenly felt like I was playing Final Fantasy 6. The obviously derived tilesets aren’t really a problem, however the dungeons are pedestrian and there is little to do but fight enemies and walk towards your next destination. And since the enemies in this game are abyssal horrors born from the nightmares of H.P. Lovecraft, you will generally be trying to avoid battles. The blend of science fiction with traditional fantasy leaves plenty of room for all manner of puzzles or other gimmicks to make dungeons less tedious.

Early RPGs, even commercial ones, had a tendency to make levels be merely methods to increase travel time, things to walk through and occasionally take treasure from. Games have in general moved away from this. Dungeons shouldn’t simply be something you pass through on your way to the next part of the plot. Games aren’t about the destination, but about the journey. Make sure there’s always something to see along the way.

Characters 3/5:
These characters have a lot going for them. They have a lot of….what is that term you’ve used? “Swagger?” The characters have interesting and varied victory poses as opposed to the generic ones seen in so many other games. Some of the battle animations are also really quite cool. The group is named after signs of the Zodiac. Libra is a dual pistol-wielding mage. All of this is very cool. The only complaint here is, I want to see more! WHY is Libra a dual pistol-wielding mage? What is it that makes Sagittarius so respected among his peers? Aquarius has a tantalizingly named “Memento Katana.” Why is it a memento? I wanna know, damnit! You have plenty of dead space in the first dungeon to fill up with some potentially fascinating character development about this ragtag crew and why they became the mercenary badasses that they are. A good rule of thumb is not to underestimate how interesting a character’s life can be.

Storyline 3/5:
With the state of the battles in this demo I am assuming that this game focuses more on its story. Given the fascinating array of characters we are introduced to in this introduction, there is certainly plenty of potential here. The story seems to be set to deliver a lot of political intrigue, which isn’t for everyone, but anyone who enjoys story-telling will probably find something worthwhile here. There is real tension as Leo attempts to escape the long arm of the law. If this continues, I suspect this game’s story will not disappoint.

Music and Sound 2/5:
I recognized a few tunes from Xenogears, indicating that you have fabulous taste in music. (But beware of using a lot of music your audience is likely to recognize) However the first dungeon was utterly devoid of music for me, which detracted further from a dungeon that was already a chore to get through . Friendly tip: Never underestimate the power of ambient sound. Especially in a pseudo-industrial type level.

Overall 3/5:
Overall this game has great presentation in what appeared to be a very rushed and poorly balanced demo. This review probably seemed a little harsh, but I promise I didn’t mean it that way! I honestly want to see more look forward to seeing where this game goes in the future, as I sensed tremendous untapped potential waiting just beneath the surface. Here's hoping the next version exceeds my expectations in every way.