Brave Hero Yuusha

Brave Hero Yuusha is a love letter to classic NES RPGs, especially Dragon Quest. It takes the typical Dragon Quest formula and gives it some twists and turns to form it into something completely unique: a blend of modern day and classic RPGs.

Level/Battle Design

There is not an inch of this game that was designed without care. All sections of the game neither feel too long nor too short; it all feels just right. The dungeons are designed in a similar fashion to old Dragon Quest dungeons, yet I would say modernized. See, classic NES RPGs tended to be designed with a certain mean spirit to them, the developers wanted to constantly screw over the player. That is a huge part of the charm if you liked old RPGs, you wanted to conquer them and feel a great sense of accomplishment doing so! Brave Hero Yuusha was designed in a similar style to those old games, but with a huge difference: Brave Hero Yuusha is nice to its player.

In Brave Hero Yuusha you can save anywhere at anytime (besides during cutscenes.) That instantly takes out a whole chunk of the tension found in older NES RPGs. If you had ventured into the old classics, you know they are filled to the brim with long mazes full of mean random encounters without any save point until you defeat the boss and escape the dungeon. When designed right, that appeals to a certain masochistic crowd, but Brave Hero Yuusha attempted to share a side of those types of games with a whole new crowd.

The game still has dungeons full of random encounters, though the encounter rate is just right; never did I feel like there were too many or too little battles. Having random encounters is an invitation to frustration if not handled carefully, and I feel this game succeeded on pulling it off just right.

The dungeons themselves are designed in a fashion that motivates you to explore every inch of them despite having random encounters. Story book pages that contain missing NPCs or missing environment tiles are scattered throughout the dungeons and they are quite satisfying to collect. The reward is either a charming thank you from an NPC or progression of the story.

The battles are quite similar to the Dragon Quest games. Turn based with a dedicated physical attacker, healer, and magic user; though each element tends to be mixed in with each character. While a bit easy and lacking on the innovation side of things, the battles are well done nonetheless.

Normal enemies tend to take only a couple of turns, the battles never drag on; which is a common problem for RPG Maker games. The boss battles are memorable and never frustrating. The battles are easy, though it is never mindlessly easy. You are required to have a grasp of the mechanics of the characters in order for it to be easy. I feel like it is never hard or frustrating because the developer wished a larger crowd of players to enjoy the game rather than limiting itself to one section of the community.

Story

I have played dozens of games that either use the standard Dragon Quest formula or make fun of it; rarely does it invoke emotion out of me. (not counting actual Dragon Quest games, those are amazing). Brave Hero Yuusha accomplishes that.

The game starts off as a humorous take on the typical Dragon Quest formula then quickly turns into a surprisingly deep take on those typical RPG Heroes and shows them taking a good long look at themselves and the roles they are forced to play. It is also about the type of kid who would actually play the old NES games and shows what can go wrong if someone uses a game as an replacement for taking part in the social side of the world. (instead of a game it's a book in this story).

Yes, I'm talking about the same story. Yes, it blends together perfectly.

Overall, the story has a good message that it spreads. My take on it is: If you are having emotional troubles, do not block off those who care and obsess over something that you enjoyed as a cure, for it will ruin that very thing you enjoyed in the first place and cause a lot of emotional trauma for those who care about you. Also a message for developers: Don't force cliches on characters. Let the Princess see the world! Maybe that Demon Lord wants to help out too! Maybe if a mother forces her son out into the world's greatest dangers on his seventeenth birthday, he might need child protection services!

It made fun of the typical RPG formula, though it made fun of it with love rather than an actual critique of it. The story left me with feel good feelings in the end. It also had a tiny bit of eeriness to it, seeing how the fact the story happened in the first place is a bit spooky haha.

Graphics and Music

The graphics are completely original and perfectly capture the essence of old NES RPGs. It's all pleasant on the eyes, especially the battle backgrounds and the humorous and charming enemies.

The music is fantastic. I am someone who values music in a game as a very high priority. If the game has bad music, I am instantly less motivated to play the game. Every song in this game is great and fits the experience perfectly.

The style is like a mix of Mega Man, Castlevania, and some Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Really, the composer managed to make a legitimate sounding NES sound track that is as good as the classic soundtracks. It also sounds like its own thing.

Often I would be ready to take a break and would play just a little more to hear the next dungeon song. If music motivates me to play more, then the music is done right.

Overall

Brave Hero Yuusha is a simple RPG full of kind level design and an emotional and very charming story. The game is about 4 hours long and never overstays its welcome. The music is kickass and the graphics are cute. There is not much replayability to it, if you beat it once, that's all you feel the need to do. That's not a complaint from me, more like something the developer should probably consider haha. I'd recommend giving it a go if you enjoy the classic RPGs or want to try and see a different side of those games.

The game is good and deserves to be featured. I would love to see more from the developer and composer in the future.