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The Mackdaddy Of Lavas Street

  • Addit
  • 07/31/2014 06:33 AM
  • 4114 views


A Game Made By: Flare
Created Using: RPG Maker 2000
It's A: RPG Game
That Roughly Takes Around: 13 - 15 Hours To Complete
And It's A... COMPLETED GAME!!!


- Praise be Aremen! It’s ‘bout time that this longwinded classic of classics finally showed up on RMN’s massively oversized front porch – at long last! I was waiting for this day to come…

It’s no secret that whenever it comes down to me telling anybody around here what my favorite RM game of all time is that “this” is the one I often bring up or have the fondest memories for the most. Oh man… Playing this game again, on the good ol’ classic Rm2k (which, BTW, is the first Rm2k game I’ve reviewed here thus far), for the umpteenth time – really takes me back…!

The year was 2002: The Playstation 2 along with Final Fantasy X when SquareSOFT used to be cool and, well…rather respectable had just released around that time, being one of the biggest and greatest RPG’s to come out yet; Super Smash Bros. Melee was only around a year old and I still didn’t know at the time that Falco or Mewtwo were even in the game yet; the original Xbox was mostly used as a paperweight device - and was often pretty to look at; the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League were often seen in my city as an afterthought and an embarrassment to all sports; and The United States Of America had one of the most hilarious presidents back then, used to be cool – and actually had MONEY in the bank…!!!

And I was still back in highschool; not even old enough to drink yet…

Of course, this was also around the time that I first discovered the awesomeness of Enterbrain’s “RPG Maker Series,” and I was captivated by it the moment I first fired up Rm2k before eventually switching to Rm2k3 on my old desktop HP Pavilion a few years later. I was like a kid in a candy store! Just the thought of making and creating your own games without using paper, legos – or even using CD’s to emulate the feel of background music just seemed too good to be true…

Eventually after that, I soon discovered a little site known as Rm2knet and eventually started to try out some of the submitted games that they had in their quota. Boy, thinking about it now - we sure do take so much more advantage today with our custom gamepages and our CSS options. Because back then, all you had was the name of the game, the file link to download it, and you’d eventually get some more details about that game if it ended up getting a review by one of the site staff – THE SITE STAFF!

I played a couple of games that I can’t really remember off it, but I do remember one: It was just sitting there, newly minted and translated from rm2kfanboy with the big bold letters saying “Romancing Walker”. At first I thought it was just a fangame off of the Romancing Saga series, but I decided to take a gander by chance and see what this game had to offer.

Thank god I did what I did.

Romancing Walker for its time almost revolutionized what you could do with the RPG Maker software and put the program on the map. Sure, there was A Blurred Line, The Way, Three The Hard Way, whatever - and all of those games are great and classics in their own right – but there was only one Romancing Walker. And for a lot of us old timers around here, Romancing Walker was simply “the first REALLY good game that we played” that really showed a lot of us back then that RPG Maker games CAN rival other commercial and independent games and really be more than just do the classic traditional stuff. It combined several different genres in one to create a familiar, but unique sort of fun experience that hasn’t been emulated since. And even so to this day, this game is still considered by many to be one of the best out there, and so do I…

So, in honor of my 30th review here on RMN, and in honor of Summer Jam 2014, we’re going to take a look into one of my favorite RM games of all time: Romancing Walker. After nearly close to 13 years after its initial release – does this game still hold up and cherish the memories of the past? Or is everything I felt and played back then just one big nostalgia trip? Anyways – let’s find out! I kinda have to now after coming this far…

The Story


(Smooth, Ryle…very smooth…)


In the midst of the Astral Realm, centerfold for the demon clan, simply known as the “Mahzoks,” almost exactly twenty years ago, a dark, malevolent force of pure hatred and destruction had awaken from his long slumber. Using the negative and raw emotions of humanity and all the creatures of the planet, this bruiting abomination, simply known as “CHAOS” is using his destructive power to obliterate and destroy what is left of humanity. All seemed rather lost until a divine savior, the Sacred Dragoon Flare (yes, you’ve read that right; the author of the game is the savior; I’m not yanking your chain) has come to put an end to CHAOS and the Mahzok’s evil schemes. Using the full power of the Sacred Dragoon, Flare was able to banish CHAOS into another dimension where he now currently resides and sleeps in, hoping that he will never return…

However, twenty long years has passed since that day and a new brand of evil doers are setting their schemes in motion in an attempt to revive the fallen beast. Stationing themselves at key locations, they are hoping to plunge the world into darkness yet again, with this time them being victorious.

At the same time, a young swordsman from a faraway village on the outskirts of Lavas Ville has just completed his training and is about to set off on an adventure of a lifetime. This young man, simply known as Ryle Laster, is off to the Southern Cray City to the south to inquire an urgent call for help. This looks like the perfect opportunity to test ones skills. However, this simple journey will not be a pleasant experience for young Ryle, as he will soon be entangled into a stream of repeated events that will plunge the very world into despair. Luckily, he will not be alone on his journey, as companying him will be some of his most trusted friends and new found acquaintances. They must work together if they ever hope to survive this new found conflict and save the world from a similar fate once before…

Okay, one of the things that kinda bothered me a little bit back when I first played this game – and even so today, even though it kinda makes a bit more sense after you’ve played and beaten the game is the opening itself. The part with Flare and Chaos isn’t what bothers me; it’s the part when you’re first introduced to Ryle, the main protagonist, is what bothers me. It’s almost like the game just drops you off with no clear purpose behind him travelling, seeking adventure until you get a little ways in. Afterwards, the goal and the motive is set, but why couldn’t Flare just do something where Ryle gets a telegram in the mail and has to go to Southern Cray City to help the people out there and create a purpose for him? Why does he have to ginger his way over there first before finding out what happens?

Anyways, it’s not such a huge deal because once you get going, then things really get going. The rest of the plot itself is pretty cliché in its own merit, as it does contain a lot of various tropes, especially in regards to the characters, but it’s an overall intriguing plot that does have its golden moments at time. It’s definitely the weakest thing about this game (and the bad translation doesn’t help), but it’s by no means a terribly, executed plot, but some people probably won’t be able to stomach it.

But really saves this game in the narrative department IS the characters themselves and how they react to Ryle. You see, Ryle is the only guy character of the group while the rest of your merry brigade are all a bunch of attractive females that come along with him. Now, you’d think for Ryle - especially being a guy myself - that this would be every man’s dream. But unfortunately for our perverted prowler in training, it can be quite hell on Earth for him and the many different perverted situations he happens to get himself into. Just seeing these damn dames pick on Ryle – and each other, for that matter – is probably the greatest and most hilarious thing about this game. Forget saving the world – this is the true matter at hand to investigate. Even the NPC’s get the odd good line in once a while. It’s basically like watching a romantic, comedic anime show, which, depending on your stance, is either a good thing or a bad thing.

The game itself doesn’t take itself super seriously but it does provide some good tension here or there that’s needed once a while. I guess the only thing I don’t really like that much is how much dragging some of the important story sequences can be. It just seems like they just go on – and on, and on, and on...to the point where you just want them to shut up!

Also – do they really have to go into detail about how every single situation possible may or may not work? Ugh… Just say “we can’t do this, this is the only way” and just get on with it.

Despite the complaints, the story and the characters are still very enjoyable to watch and listen to. In fact, some of its downsides and faults contribute to the hilarity and the awesomeness to this game, like some awful, but equally as hilarious bad Japanese dub. It’s not perfect, but it works!

The Gameplay


O_O


Romancing Walker was pretty unique back for its day simply because, well, for a lot of people here, this was the very first RPG / Dating Simulation game that they ever played – or even freakin’ heard of. I mean, the only commercial games that I can recall that had this combination back then – which could have inspired the concept for this game for Flare – was for A Thousand Arms and the Star Ocean series. Of course, there might be other examples out there I don’t of, but these are the only two games that I can recall that were around that time that were widely known.

Along with travelling the countryside and packing some heat, you’ll also be trying to get Ryle in bed at the end of the game with one of your attractive lady friends that are travelling with you. Or you could be a complete jerk and just toss insults at them (which, for this type of game ISN’T a good idea, and you’ll see why later).

There are three main ways to raise your attraction level with the girls on your team: number one is by taking them with you into battles and occasionally raise their attraction with you simply through fighting (although, for me, I never really had it go up that much with this method); number two is through various special events and cutscenes. Depending on who you take for missions or even into towns, you may able to raise your attraction level that way; and finally, number three, is to use this item called “Love Potion #9” that you can receive from a particular boss battle, but then eventually you can get some another way, which will increase your attraction level with the girls currently in your party by a little bit. This is the main goal of the game – and it’s pretty fun in its own right. However, be warned, if you decide to act like a total jackass, because that’s how you role – good luck trying to get an ending with this game because YOU WON’T GET ONE!

This is probably the only real thing that bugged me about this game, and that was that you can’t get a solo ending with just Ryle if your attraction levels aren’t high enough with any one girl. If this happens, the game will just say that Ryle failed in his attempt to destroy the final boss – and you lose! And if you saw that after playing this game for more than 10 hours – you’d be pretty p*ssed off too, wouldn’t you? I mean, why couldn’t Flare just do it where, along with the other individual endings with each girl that you get, that you can get a solo ending with Ryle and maybe a special ending if all the relationships of all the girls were high enough? I mean, I know, there other’s ways to get the ending around it if you do decide to act like a jerk, but it’s just like coming all that way here only to have this major hurdle thrown in front of you is just plain wrong.

Another staple of this game is the “Victory Points” system that you get for defeating monsters, completing certain quests and taking out various bosses. You can take these points to a mysterious looking spiky grey haired fellow (who looks a lot like Auron from FFX) in exchange for some really neat prizes. The earlier items suck, but keep at it and you can earn some very “valuable help” in the future.

Battles for this game are also pretty standard affair using the 2k software. But there was one cool thing that this game did back then and that was having this neat custom animation for whenever a character attacked with a particular weapon or spell. These nifty animations were absolutely breathtaking back then – and they still look pretty cool today. It was a nice illusion trick that they were actually fighting there alongside that definitely left an impact on an otherwise just a normal default battle system.

Another one of the greatest things about the battle system back then was just how generous Flare was with EXP and Gold handing for random encounters. You can literally level up and get enough gold so fast that grinding basically becomes nothing more than just a twenty minute quick exercise. I mean, you’ll probably have to grind maybe two times in this game at certain points, but it’s so incredible easy and quick that it almost feels like there’s no challenge to it. And speaking of challenge – this game is pretty dang easy until you get up to the final stage of the game. And when you do, it’s almost like this huge difficulty spike where the bosses in that area can be HARD as balls to defeat. But, in some ways, I’m kind of thankful for the sudden challenge, otherwise this game would too easy.

There also are a ton of different field skills that certain characters learn and can use that will help you avoid some sticky situations on the field. For example, if you take a particular character in this game, you might trigger a trap that would normally cause you damage, but since you brought along that particular character you won’t take any damage from the trap. It’s a small detail, but I really like it. Also, there are these strange crystals that you can find that will show you, almost like a “blooper reel” of the characters doing something normally and then screwing it up. They’re a bit cheesy at times, but some of them are pretty funny (like the one in the Rune Tri).

Overall, the gameplay may be tied, tested and true, and may not offer something like a complex card game to play or some major collect-a-thon – but it does do what it does and it’s presented very manageable and fun. I think that’s really what Flare was shooting for, not to be too strenuous but provide enough of a challenge that it’s not completely brain dead easy.

The Soundtrack


…
WORKS FOR ME!!!


Besides the incredible, fantastic custom art work that was done for this game, there was also another area that Romancing Walker really acceded back then and that was for its custom soundtrack. Now I may not be the biggest fan of MIDI inspired music in the world, but this game is an acceptation. All these tunes were created by Flare herself, MuuMuu San, Shiiba and Jugon to create an original based soundtrack that closely emulates the sound and feel of those old SNES games of the past, and it works incredibly well and fits the setting. These songs aren’t only catchy as well, but they almost sound like they actually come from a commercialized video game they’re so good! In fact, you might even keep a couple of these songs for later and listen to them on your music player and wonder how the hell did these guys ever created such wonderful music using a MIDI based sound engine.

One of my favorite things I liked about the music is how the world map theme would change depending on how many people were in your party until about the second half of the game where it would just constantly play the song “SORA” until then. I always thought it was pretty funny how if you were by yourself there would be this sort of sad, melancholy feel to the music that gives you the feeling of loneliness until it’s just Ryle and one other girl in your party then it turns into this “pimply music” that always made me crack up a smile.

This game also blends a little bit of the RTP music – along with sound effects, as well to create a nice unity between the two. This is one of those examples that you can blend both custom graphics and RTP together and still get away with it rather nicely.

The Aesthetics


Flashy AND effective.


Back for its day, Romancing Walker’s visuals and mapping abilities were something that not a lot of people had ever seen before in an RPG Maker game. And although the visuals do look a little outdated by today’s standards, considering some of the newer engines and tools that are available today, the game still doesn’t look too shabby after nearly 13 years later. It’s quite a testament to see something like this still hold up rather well to this day considering the amazing games and incredible visuals that are coming out today.

Obviously, the biggest draw about this game is its custom artwork and facial graphics that are used in almost all its dialogue sequences that were pretty amazing back then and still are today. Apparently Flare had done a lot work and lot of do-overs just to get these things right, and it shows. Despite some of the mismatch of graphics used here or there in game, I feel like this game can get away it simply because this game has so much else going for it in other regards, and it just fits the style.

The End Result


Of course!


Romancing Walker may have its fair share of problems, such as the bad, but equally hilarious rough translation, easy difficulty until the late stage spike, mismatch of some of the graphics, and some of the jokes come out a bit cheesy, not to mention that these characters can go on a little bit too much for their own good, but, you know what – that’s what makes this game great.

It’s amazing to me that this wonderfully done game was crafted by someone who didn’t want to make a very serious game or even make something to appease the hardcore audience; she just wanted to make something fun and show off her silly side. Of course this game isn’t for everyone, but it sure did work out well for so many others who happened to stumble across it. This game was just everything I wanted back then in an independent RPG Maker game that it greatly surpassed my expectations when I first played it and continues to be a shining beacon with me today in RPG Maker standards. Who knows how my life would have turned out if I didn’t download and play this game all those years ago back then…

It’s a shame that Flare didn’t continue her game making adventures and did something else after this, maybe even a follow-up to this game, but, you know what – maybe it was good for her to go out on top. Better to go out being a champion instead of just being a total scrub.



Romancing Walker, after all these wonderful years – you still rock. Don’t ever change.

OVERALL GRADE:
5 / 5 - A ~ Perfection. Absolute Perfection.

Posts

Pages: 1
Addit
6394
08/01/2014 11:45 PM
This review would have been even more perfect if Romancing Walker was featured for this month - but nooooooooooo!!! Kentona had to flip the wrong side of the coin again!

Don’t mind me, folks. Just the sarcastic cries of a broken man.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
08/02/2014 12:08 AM
You see, Ryle is the only guy character of the group while the rest of your marry brigade are all a bunch of attractive females that come along with him.


Intentional misspelling, or pure genius? You decide!
Addit
6394
08/03/2014 04:11 AM
Er…both?

(Damn it. I knew I shouldn’t have proofread this thing in the middle of the night...)
unity
You're magical to me.
12540
08/05/2014 12:24 PM
I remember playing the heck out of this game back in the day. I think I, too, need to give it another go. Great article, Addit! :DDD
masterofmayhem
I can defiantly see where you’re coming from
2610
08/07/2014 08:44 PM
Great review Addit.

That reminds me, I to was gong to review this game at some point. Maybe I should start working on that. I will warn you all though, I will not nearly be as kind as this review was.
Addit
6394
08/08/2014 08:43 AM
You should, masterofmayham, this game needs more honest reviews instead of just those mostly purely based on nostalgia, like me. And regardless of the score - I won’t get mad (unless you give this game a 1, or something, lol).

I mean, yeah, playing this game again, I definitely noticed some things that would anger a lot of first time players to it, but this review was mostly based on my overall fondness for it over the years, so I can forgive its mistakes. It’s aged pretty good compared to today’s standards, but something’s are a little off. Still, it’s an amazing game, always will be, IMO.

Pages: 1