...but I love this game.

Game: Chase for Divinity

Developer: Unity with some artwork by Sooz

Story: You play Vittoria, a mercenary that can't seem to avoid getting stabbed in the face. After busting up a ring of really stupid bandits, you team up with Bram and sign up for a quest from a sarcastic king to (basically) save the world. This will involve traveling the world with the womanizing Bram, a priestess, and a megalomaniacal wizard. Also, you're going to get separated from couple friends and dig up a new one...literally.



Writing: It's a typical plot involving an evil demon army trying to take over the world from a wicked castle. The writing is nicely balanced between comical and serious. There isn't much to the plot and there really doesn't need to be. This is a standard JRPG in every sense with just the right mix of camp, comedy, adventure, and crazy to appeal to the most nostalgic of gamers. Who doesn't like a talking cat in search of a sandbox? In every conversation, there's plenty of silliness to go around and the more serious lines are easier to poke fun at for it. And hey! One of your player characters is an undead zombie! How cool is that?



Music: I simply must comment on this as this is probably one of the best parts of the game. I know it's ripped from a bunch of old 8-bit and 16-bit classics, but seriously, this music is one of the factors that makes this game.

Graphics: You can see for yourself in the photos that this is standard RTP with custom facechips and a few custom sprites and all custom battlers. Maybe it's music and the way maps are put together, but this game feels like an older PC game.

Gameplay: Everything about this is the standard RM2k3. This game was from the Revive the Dead event last Halloween. Isn't a very long event so there wasn't much time for innovation and experimentation. But for this type of game, I think innovation would have been a bad idea. This really reminds me of the old Star Ocean on SNES and the Genesis era Phantasy Star titles. Battles are fairly straight forward with regular random encounters. Fast paced and done with a fantastic understanding of 2k3's battle engine. Dungeons and bosses are well thought out, although the town maps get a little goofy. I did think the town and castle maps left a little to be desired. While on the world map, there is plenty of room to explore, but not so much in town, and they do feel a little rushed.



Glitches: All taken care of, as far as I can tell.

Overall: All right, if the title of this review wasn't enough to suggest it, I am a little biased in favor of this game. When I first played it, it was an absolute throwback to all of my favorite games growing up. I heard the type of music I associated with the best games, I saw the same kind of graphics from the best PC games, the battles were the same kind of feel that I remember. I've made it no secret that this has ended up as one of my favorites on RMN.

Conclusion: Heavy on nostalgia. Long time gamers will probably love this while younger gamers might not see the appeal. To all, I say give it a chance. This is worth any self-respecting gamer's time.