Penumbra Crystallis is an RPG Maker MV game that is heavily inspired by series such as Final Fantasy, and borrows lightly from others such as Dragon Quest. Penumbra Crystallis tells the story of Vahn Vainstrong as he is gradually swept up into plot to drain the Crystals of the Elements by a mysterious entity known as Malacore that will take him and his friends on an adventure that spans the entire globe as they fight to protect the Crystals and the elements themselves.

Penumbra Crystallis was originally conceived as a remake of Blackmoon Prophecy with original assets and all Final Fantasy references stripped away. It has since evolved into a bit more than that, and while the story and world are very similar to what was featured in Blackmoon Prophecy, there are going to be many key departures along the way that will catch returning players completely by surprise, namely the story eventually veering off into completely uncharted territory. This game may have many of the same story beats as Blackmoon Prophecy, and many of them will unfold in the same way, but where you ultimately end will be so far removed from the later events of Blackmoon Prophecy that this is more than just a reimagining. Penumbra Crystallis takes the shell of Blackmoon Prophecy and makes something completely new out of it.

So, if you liked Blackmoon Prophecy, strap yourselves in! This game should not disappoint, and I hope to have the original game's fans all along for the ride on this weird journey!
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What's with the name?
Penumbra Crystallis gets its name from two elements of the original games storyline, the Blackmoon phenomenon (Penumbra) and the Crystals of Element (Crystallis). The term "Penumbra Crystallis" will also appear in-game at one point too, so there's that!

How long is this game expected to be?
I'm still not 100% sure on the length of this game, and I apparently always spit out guesses that end up being wildly inaccurate. My games always seem to take you guys twice as long to beat than I expect, so maybe I'll play it safe and say that you'll finish the game somewhere between 30 and 70 hours.

How many characters are there?
There are nine playable characters. Of the nine, only five are returning playable characters from Blackmoon Prophecy. They are Hans (now a permanent party member), Nobumasa, Oalston, Vahn, and Vera. Who are the other four characters? Well, wait and see!

Is this game worth playing if I played Blackmoon Prophecy?
Absolutely! If you enjoyed Blackmoon Prophecy, then there's no reason for you to not enjoy Penumbra Crystallis. However, if you did not like Blackmoon Prophecy (or Blackmoon Prophecy II), this project is similar. Be warned, you probably won't enjoy this game if you weren't a fan of the Blackmoon Prophecy games simply because my method of story telling and gameplay design hasn't changed much from them. As for why it is worth playing? Well, onto the next point...

Just how different is the story from Blackmoon Prophecy?
You start off in Vahn's hometown instead of Branch Castle, so the differences are evident as soon as you begin. Within the first hour, you will discover that Hans and Vahn are no longer dragoons, Vera's already chilling at Branch Castle and is now from a different kingdom (Artalia, or Lindblum as it was called in Blackmoon Prophecy), the rivalry with Darius unfolds differently, and the Crystals of the Element are targeted in a much different way and for different reasons! And that's just in the first hour or two!

How many assets are original?
All animations, battle backgrounds, sprites and tiles are being made by yours truly. This is a huge endeavour, as I've never done more than the odd major edit here and there in the past. To make it an easier learning process for me, I've used the RPG Maker 2000 RTP and Final Fantasy IV and V graphics as heavily references and sources of inspiration. If you see a sprite or tile and say, "Hey, UPRC, that's a rip!", look a little more closely. I promise it's not!

Portraits for the playable characters are, as usual, original creations by RMN's Avee. He did such a good job for me in Blackmoon Prophecy II that I always find myself going back to him for my portrait needs.

As for side view monsters, they are by a Japanese artist named Monta which are free to use. I intended on finding someone to sprite side view monsters for me, but the cheapest offers I had were about $8 to $10 for even small monsters, which would just be way too much for me on my budget given how large I expect the bestiary to be. Still always open to offers though, so let me know if you're able to offer your services for less than $8/$10.

Music is from several sources. Some tracks that Brandon Griggs composed for Blackmoon Prophecy II are coming back, as well as a few unused tracks that he had sent me that never made it into that game. The rest of the game's soundtrack is by Bert Cole and YouFulca (the former is on Patreon, the later sells their tracks on their Japanese website). All music used is delightfully retro sounding.

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