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The Sun Rises (And It Burns)

  • Addit
  • 07/19/2015 08:08 AM
  • 1374 views


A Game Made By: Archeia_Nessiah & Ocean
Including The Assistance Of:
JosephSeraph
Created Using: RPG Maker 2003
It's A: RPG Game
That Roughly Takes Around: 25 - 30 Minutes To Complete
And It's A... COMPLETED GAME!!!


I’m actually really surprised that this game hasn’t had a review as of yet, considering it was one of the first sample games released when RPG Maker 2003 finally got an English release quite some time ago. And I guess I’m even more astonished that you have a game with such prestigious individuals in the community, like Archeia_Nessiah (what is this, like the 3rd game that I’ve reviewed from her already?) Ocean and even JosephSeraph - who’s been really coming on rather strong as of lately with some of his latest work - and still no reviews for this!? (Look, I know that these guys have enough makerscore and accolades and all – but come on, people; it’s a short game! How can this not have any reviews as of yet? Pfft.)

Anyways, Mystic Sunrise, or Mystical Sunrise, which the title screen and game page logo calls it but the actual folder and name of the game is called Mystic Sunrise (weird…) was something that was made up rather quickly in order to demonstrate a bit on what the new RPG Maker 2003 could do that RPG Tsukuru 2003 could not do – and you could see some of the differences right away in regards to the ATB system and the larger full screen support. But unless you go into the actual editor youself, you won’t really see the rest of the differences unless you manage to check it out. Either way, just like with what the description says, it was just a small sample game to showcase what the new 2k3 could do.

- So let’s go check out what the new 2k3 can do in Mystical Sunrise!

The Story


I’m guessing that she must really like magic, then.


Our story opens rather quickly and pretty brief as Myra, a sorceress woman, is looking for some hired assistance to help her out with a problem in regards to an accidental experiment regarding a magical orb like object that’s changed all the monsters in the land to lavish, aggressive creatures that have become quite hostile towards travelling passengers aboard. (In other words, she had a real dumb-dumb moment.)

Gideon, a travelling gunner with a sick looking black fedora and a rather rugged, unshaven look, has managed to come across Myra’s need for help in the want ads in the local newspaper answering to her call to help take care of the magical orb problem and provide her the necessary assistance that she needs. The two eventually agree on a brief partnership together and then the two head out onwards to go take care of the problem. But along the way, the pair is not only attacked by monsters but they’re also getting attacked and ambushed by various bounty hunters and bandits alike.

The story isn’t really that spectacular in the grand scheme of things and it’s really mainly mostly an afterthought for a game like this, even know that I feel that they could have done a bit more with this considering that there is some character development throughout and even a plot revelation towards the end of the game, especially in regards to Gideon. There’s one scene in particular that involves the two getting into an argument with each other, and I kind of thought that at that point that Gideon would just leave out of spite and Myra would have to do one particular section by herself and end up getting saved by Gideon in the end, but something like that just didn’t come to pass that actually would have been a nice setup to not extend some additional game time but also strengthen the bond between these two. We also don’t even get any additional backstory or flashback sequences about how the experiment with the magical orb goes haywire, and even the ending is just kind of…there, nothing really special.

I know that the whole narrative really wasn’t the main attraction that the authors really wanted to focus on, but I kind of feel that it could have been greatly explored upon. It kind of feels like a bit of a missed opportunity here.

The Gameplay


- Feel the sunburn, motherf**ker!


For a small game that’s centred around a series of mini-gauntlet battles with no side exploration or anything really major in-between, this game actually is kind of fun, if not a little overwhelming at first…

Basically, there are around five different sections with a series of three to four random battles before eventually fighting a boss monster towards the end. After you finish up each section, you’ll see a short cutscene with Myra and Gideon in camp at night while getting a chance to rest up, purchase some new magical scrolls that Myra can use in combat with the money that you receive and raising your current stats, like HP, speed and defence with the EXP that you earn. You’ll definitely want to do this, because you ain’t gonna get that far without it.

Combat is pretty standard for most RPG Maker 2003 games, but this game has a couple of creative twists thrown in there for good measure. For you see, Myra and Gideon have various different skills that set themselves apart from each other but they’re both very valuable to use in different ways. Gideon is basically your main fighter, as he can shoot his pistol for some moderate damage and use a very powerful shotgun attack every once a while for some pretty good damage that can kill most minor enemies in one single shot. Gideon’s skills have a somewhat cooldown effect to them, so you’ll have to wait a little while before you can use them again.

Myra is probably the most interesting character of the pair since she can use various magic spells to not only help the party out but to also attack her enemies. Her main ability, “Fireball,” doesn’t do a whole lot of damage but it has an unlimited amount of uses compared to some of her other spells that she can learn and pick up. These other spells that she has to purchase during checkpoints sequences or acquire by defeating various enemies have only singular uses to them, so once you use that particular spell in battle it’s gone forever. Some of these different types of spells really come in handy and make battles a hell of a lot easier. Spells like the Stoneskin, Sharpshooter, Spell Protect and even the Sunburst spells will make Myra a formable force.

There are also a lot of spells that are kind of useless or a bit too risky to use in battle, like any of the thunder elemental magic, but most of them are still pretty useful to pick up. I didn’t really use most of the spells that I purchased or found in the game, but it was still nice to carry around for backup. Either way, make sure that you spend every single penny that you earn on these magical scrolls at the end of each section.

Now you may have also noticed that the overall HP counter in that screenshot above is a bit on the low side compared to other games. You may be thinking to yourself, “Holy shit, Addit, this game must be hard!” And in reality, it actually really isn’t. Sure, the first battle or two might catch you a bit off guard if you’re not familiar with the game’s overall mechanics, but after some time you’ll barely break a sweat. I think I might have used Gideon’s Medicine ability once and just two healing spells overall. Either way, don’t let the low HP counter fool you to think that this game is going to be brutally difficult, because with spells like Stoneskin, Spell Protect and with stat increases to your defence and HP, this game is pretty easy. Hell, you even gain some HP back after defeating an enemy thanks to Myra.

I think the only thing that kind of bothered in regards to combat – and it isn’t any of these guys’ fault, considering it’s more of an engine based issue – is that when you mash the confirm key because you want the battle to end more quickly or you just want to make a move before your enemy does so you don’t die, since the commands are set to memory and not by default, when you’re Myra and you’ve selected something other than the Fireball spell, you might accidently use the last spell that you just used, like Cure Wounds, by accident and you’re suddenly now down a spell. It’s kind of a bit annoying, but I guess you just have to be a bit more extra delicate and pay a bit more attention with your overall selections before hitting that key.

I guess other than that, the game plays actually quite well. I’m not usually a big fan of these types of gauntlet style battles like this, but the gameplay is a lot of fun and I kind wish there was just a bit more in regards to more content like this, like actual full fledge dungeons and large fields to explore.

The Soundtrack


Now...let’s see…would you rather be burned alive or freeze to death…?


Since it’s a sample game, I was actually kind of expecting to hear the old familiar RTP tunes that go along with the RPG Maker 2003 software, because, you know, that’s kind of what you would expect for this. Turns out the actual music being used for this game isn’t any RTP but actually done by a guy named CyberRainForce – and a lot of these tracks, even though they’re MIDI’s, are actually pretty damn good. Like, really good. I’m not a big fan of MIDI music that much anymore, as I much prefer listening to actual MP3’s instead, but these tracks seriously kick ass, especially the battle themes. They have this nice, epic, seriousness in tone to it that sounds like something similar to the Golden Sun games for the GBA that not only fit the game quite well but are awesome to listen to, especially the boss theme. You’ll definitely give these songs an additional listen to after you’re done with the game.

Sound effects, however, aren’t custom and they’re basically your standard RTP fare. Although it’s kind of a bit disappointing not to hear the same level of quality like with the music, it’s not really such a detriment that it affected the game for me as a whole.

The Aesthetics


These graphics are extremely cute.
- Damn it, Ocean!


It’s Ocean’s stuff - what can I say? If you’ve been around the community for a while and you’ve seen any of Ocean’s past works or any of his other collaborated stuff, you can definitely recognize his style from a mile away. His chibi-styled, simple looking colorful pixel art looks fantastic and I really like the sprites that he made and even the portraits used for Myra and Gideon. The mapping looks pretty good too. And even the backdrops and the monsters, even though they’re a bit on the short side, look really great as well and very fitting.

JosephSeraph also helped out with the various battle animations used for the game as well, and I think he did a rather good job kind of matching with the same similar style that Ocean used. All the animations flow rather nicely; nothing looks extremely out of place or extremely jaunting; and some of these spell animations, such as the Apocalypse spell (which is a shame, because you only get one), are a rather sight to behold.

The End Result


That did turn out well, actually!


I actually really enjoyed this game despite its short length and not really going anywhere that much in regards to any plot or any additional mechanics. It’s kind of like I wanted to see a lot more from this but at the same time kind of satisfied with my overall experience with this game. Sure, it could have been greatly expanded upon, but it succeeds in what it does and it provides a rather fun romp if you have a short amount of time to kill.

So if you’re looking for a short little fun RPG game with a little bit of a creative twist to it – why not make it a Mystical Sunrise.

(Hey, that sounds like a name for a pretty good drink!)



OVERALL GRADE:
3.5 / 5 - C+ ~ A Few Quips, But Otherwise A Great Game.

Posts

Pages: 1
Ocean
Resident foodmonster
11991
07/22/2015 01:35 AM
Mystical Sunrise does sound like an awesome, tasty alcoholic drink. I want one now!

Thanks for the review! I felt that seems pretty fair for score and all. To be honest, yeah I was focused more on gameplay stuff and making it work rather than the story bits. Would have been a good idea to have someone do the story while I work on the gameplay/graphics so I didn't have to stretch myself and rush it out because of lack of time. Deadline was a major factor in a lot of the decisions, sadly!

One idea I had for example was having branching paths, so you could choose to either go down and continue on the path you're on, or go right and go to a new area instead.

I do like the idea of Myra and Gideon parting ways for a bit... :O
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