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A game booming with potential

  • rhb84
  • 10/15/2013 06:46 PM
  • 5509 views
This is my first review on this sight so I hope to do this game justice.

As a gamer who has had a love for RPGs for almost 2 decades, I have particular tastes when it comes to these types of games. The most important thing when introducing a new game is to grab the viewer's attention right off the bat. Lakria Legends is a game that accomplishes this with its great visual style. The mapping grabs you right from the start and it you can easily tell that a lot of work was put into the game to make the world feel alive. The rest of the systems fall into place pretty well and only a few bugs really keep this game from being an absolute master- piece. In this review I wanted to reflect on some of the pros and cons and different aspects that make this game shine and hopefully give it the attention it deserves.

Graphics
The graphics are a mixture of pretty standard maps but oriented very well. I believe the visual style of the maps are one of the games strongest features. The character sets are interesting but somewhat clash with the Tales battlers in combat, it somewhat takes away from the character connection. I liked how the towns and village were oriented as well. Each different area felt very connected and was interesting. There are plenty of secrets to find and people to interact with. I also like the sense of verticality that many of the areas have. It makes the world feel even more dynamic rather than a flat plane like many areas in RPGs often feel like. The areas in the open fields outside of town are down right beautiful. My only gripe was one area near the first dungeon that had a jungle overlay that would pop in after I entered the area, it kinda took me out of the immersion. Grade: 4

Battle system:
The battle system is default and serves its purpose. Its nothing to complicated and has an interesting mechanic of having a double or triple attack proc randomly. The game uses a random battle system but I thought the encounter rate was very fair. Characters learn skills through leveling up as well as gathering essences from the major bosses, buying spell books, etc. How character's learn abilities seems to grow as the game continues so this will be an interesting mechanic when the game is in its full state. One thing that was very interesting was the usage of rare animal drops that can be utilized in a side mission but also could be used as items in battles or even accessories. This addition makes grinding worthwhile ,as you can gather items that can be of use to you. Enemies have an element system that could be a little clearer. It took trial and error to figure out enemy elements in some cases but for the most part made sense for the areas of the levels. I found boss battles to be particularly entertaining because they were not simple spam attack and heal encounters. Playing defensively, managing health and consistent damage was pivotal in securing victory and the battle difficulty was pretty fair. Money is also very scarce in the game so doing side quests, and occasional grinding is probably necessary to secure enough items to survive. Perhaps a little more cash drops from enemies could help with this problem. 3

Story:
I felt the story was pretty straightforward and was decent. The main character starts the story searching for his sister only to find out that an evil military power is looking for her as well. The character finds out his sister can talk to spirits and tries to protect her from the bad guys to know avail. The hero then goes on a journey to rescue his sister and collect the six elemental essences to save mankind from some unknown evil. Yes, the story seems a little cliche but I do like the fact that the demo gives us a solid framework for what a good chunk of what the game is about. I think the main character hadn't grown on me yet as he seemed like a pretty typical protagonist, I would need to see how the rest of the game goes to see if his character develops past the typical jrp hero. The other characters have pretty distinct personalities and the main character can actually have multiple conversation options "ala Mass Effect" that changes how his relationships with the other party characters play out over the course of the game. This adds to the replay value and could be a very solid feature if done correctly. Its too early to see if the story is going to be phenomenal or not but ultimately I enjoyed what I experienced so far. 3.5
Gameplay:
Arguably, this is the most important feature of any game, a good story and visuals can only get you so far if the game isn't "fun". Fortunately, this is probably the strongest thing Lakria Legends has going for it. The game is very fun and immersive. This is attributed in part by the numerous side missions and secret areas. The game is jam packed with content from the very beginning, almost overwhelmingly so. Early portions of side quests felt a little fetch questy but got more enjoyable and varied as the game progressed. Puzzles in dungeons were done quite well with a heavy zelda-esque influence of using items to progress through areas that were previously unreachable. The most interesting feature, however, is the usage of side characters in you party that assist you in side activities. In the demo the character is exposed to a "gypsy" dancer who unveils secret areas and a magician who shrinks you so you can explore mini areas. These characters can actually learn new abilities over the course of the game and some can even aid you in battle as well( not directly but I suppose as somewhat summon system.) These activities along with the other side content kept the game very interesting and kept my attention throughout the 2-3 hour demo. 5

Music:
Music is a combination of square titles such as Chrono Trigger, tales and final fantasy. It is still used very well and sets the mood appropriately. It felt like the author was a fan of chrono trigger and chrono cross especially, as several tracks played from those games, it was very nostalgic for me as well. 3.5

Overall:
I thought the game was done very well.I rated the game a 4 out of 5, although the game has a few cliche instances and some minor bugs (which were fixed in the updated version). The overall gameplay was solid. I thought the game was very good for what its worth and is almost completed according to the author. I can not wait to see the finished product and am hopeful that this will be a rpg maker classic one day.

Posts

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Wow this is amazing, I'm humbled by this review! :)

I'm very glad you took the time to do this, I agree that the gameplay and visuals are in fact one of the biggest attributes of the game. I really wanted to depict "life" and "energy" of a planet by showing its wonders and beauty.

As for the demo, I know the story can only go so far, I didn't want to stretch in more, or leave too much out, but I can guarantee as the game progresses, it's going to get way more intriguing and immersing, especially with the rest of the party members,the Astral Plane, character relationships etc.

I just also wanted to point out that the mapping itself looks a bit more sharper and detailed further in the game, I guess it couldn't be helped that I would become a bit more efficient at mapping through the years lol >.< All in all, thank you so much, I hope you look forward to the full game which should be released soon around January-February! :)
It was no problem at all. I think this game has huge potential and I just wanted to let people know about it so it could a little more exposure. I really should thank you because you have obviously put a lot of work into the game and I can't wait to see what its going to be like once its completed.
Hey bro keep up the great work on this one i rly do like it.
author=dragoultima
Hey bro keep up the great work on this one i rly do like it.
Hey thanks a lot man, I appreciate it! The progress is going good right now, I have been cleaning up a lot of things here and there and adding new things. The Menu Screen has changed, some areas have little details added here and there for atmosphere and ambience, and other little things. Glad to see you enjoyed what I have released so far, more will be coming soon! :)
author=dragoultima
Hey bro keep up the great work on this one i rly do like it.
Hey thanks a lot man, I appreciate it! The progress is going good right now, I have been cleaning up a lot of things here and there and adding new things. The Menu Screen has changed, some areas have little details added here and there for atmosphere and ambience, and other little things. Glad to see you enjoyed what I have released so far, more will be coming soon! :)
i have to admit i am stuck on the 1 set of puzzles in the game and i been stuck on it for 3 days now.There anyway u can help me?
i would like to make a suggestion about some stuff but idk if you can let me know if you want to here them.
author=dragoultima
i would like to make a suggestion about some stuff but idk if you can let me know if you want to here them.
Sure I'd love to hear anything that relates to the game, what were some suggestions?
1st change the battle portraits smaller HP and MP kinda over write the faces.
2nd add some sweet hit effects like this for swords http://s84.photobucket.com/user/dragoultima/media/Sword1.png.html
and maybe this one for Serene http://s84.photobucket.com/user/dragoultima/media/Attack5.png.html
author=dragoultima
1st change the battle portraits smaller HP and MP kinda over write the faces.
2nd add some sweet hit effects like this for swords http://s84.photobucket.com/user/dragoultima/media/Sword1.png.html
and maybe this one for Serene http://s84.photobucket.com/user/dragoultima/media/Attack5.png.html

Yeah actually I was looking into arranging the face sets and system for the battles, I may look into that. It'd be awesome to use those effects as such for the weapons, but unfortunately Rm2k3 doesn't allow those colors and it'll have to really dim quality such as that to filter. I believe those are used for the later rpg maker programs above rm2k3. Good suggestions though, I'll see what I can do about them, thanks!
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