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A Game about Saving Your Sister

My playtime: 03:02:53 (before one of the boss fights in the last dungeon)

Intro
Today is your birthday. Your lovely sister is kidnapped by a monster. Sounds like a great excuse for an adventure, right? Zero Gear Fighters tells about you, Zero, who is trying to save your sister and the world as a result.

Graphics
Most graphics use RTP assets. The first town somehow reminds me of Pallet Town, the first town in the first generation of Pokémon games, although it's way bigger and has more houses. On the other hand, the second town looks like a dungeon with a confusing and weird layout. All dungeons are also straightforward except for the last one.

The interiors also clearly need improvements. The inn, for example, has too many beds in one room - it as if it's a military camp instead of an inn. The MC house also has too many unneeded rooms such as a very small piano room and two reading rooms. Tent interiors are too big for its size and they have wall bricks, which makes me question whether it's really a tent or not.

Story
The story starts similarly to the ones in Pokémon games: someone told you about the world you're in and asked you whether you're a boy or a girl. The game also takes place on MC's birthday and instead of you getting a Pokémon and going on a journey to become a Pokémon master, you get a sword and go on a journey to look for your kidnapped sister.


Is this a Pokémon game?


The plot is just too bland and self-centered as the MC thinks he lost everything in the world after his sister is kidnapped even though his mother is right beside him. The mother also doesn't help since the only thing she cares about after the huge ordeal is how she can heal you at home. It seems the MC is too sick of his mother's attitude and replied to her with a single bye before leaving in response. Even so, that's too much.

The strange writing doesn't stop there. Not only the MC feels too straightforward and hot-headed about saving his sister, but he's also not communicating with anyone at all. Everyone in the party also seems to have a short-term memory since they changed their mind so quickly.

The Game
Exploration
The game has a simple and clear story progression at the start despite the poor dialogue that serves as a convenience to the MC, to the point that it feels as if MC is going all over the place without any direction to save his sister. The story progression becomes worse near the end of the game since it doesn't give any clue at all on how to proceed.

I didn't realize this at the start since I was still exploring the town to look for a possible sidequest, which I got in that same town. What I thought as a sidequest turns to be the main quest with a new character suddenly appearing out of nowhere and everyone acted as if they know him already. The plot also becomes inconsistent since the "collect 7 Golden Gears" quest turns out to be "collect 4 Dark Shards" before you face the final dungeon and final boss.

Combat
The first fight will take a long time to finish if you didn't equip your sword. Strangely, the game decides to not automatically equip it and gives no warning about it - it took me 10+ turns to defeat the enemy with me almost running out of health.

There are no random encounters in the game. Everything is touch-based and enemies are spread in a vast area where it's almost impossible to accidentally touch them. Sometimes I even had to press the action button to initiate a battle because of how unresponsive the enemy is. Most enemies don't respawn, which is supposed to be a good indicator of whether you are underleveled or not.

Enemies are strong, to the point that you need to return home and recover your health after every battle. Spells are also stronger than both normal attack and TP-based skills even though the MC uses a sword as his main weapon. Luckily, spells are low cost; you'll more likely to run out of HP before you run out of MP.

Bosses are basically a stronger version of normal enemies with high damage. Some bosses also use AoE attacks to wipe your party. Since there is no healing skill, you're forced to use potions, which cost money, to finish the fight. Luckily, there is a bug in the first town where you can get an infinite amount of potions. This helps tremendously in finishing the game, especially since money is limited in the first half of the game.

However, bosses become too strong by the third town that I got wiped out every time I tried it. The game gives a helping hand by establishing a farming spot right outside the town where you can fight random encounters to farm money. However, this also translates that you must be well equipped to fight the boss and the difficulty is expected. This might sound good though if you don't have to farm for ~1 hour to get enough money to buy everything that the shop has to offer. The rest of the game becomes easy afterward.

Party Members
You will have up to four party members that will join your party as you progress the story. All party members use a unique weapon and learn different skills to utilize in battle. However, some party members are too overpowered than others. The second party member has strong AoE attacks to help in farming money while the third party member is too overpowered in single target attacks for bosses. This makes the other two party members useless and ends up as potion users.

Gears, although not that important in the first half of the game, are sold throughout towns. However, gear prices are too expensive that it's hard to stay geared throughout the game - I even still have the basic equipment except for one weapon by the time I reached the third town, the last town in the game.

Some end-game gears also have unbalanced stats compared to the others. The second party member has an ultimate accessory that can boost almost all of her stats to three digits while the third party member's weapon can boost his damage to three digits. The rest of the party members don't have ultimate gears that are as strong as these two, which might also cause the balancing issue.

Minigame
Although it's not exactly a minigame, there is a part of the game where you have to avoid being touched by an enemy. Getting touched by an enemy will give you a game over, which is also mentioned when you enter the area. This minigame is very simple since enemies are moving very slowly, although there is one area where the stairs moved me to a tile far from the stairs I was supposed to come out from on the next floor.


I hope I'm ready for this.


Pros:
- Touch-based encounters with enemies that won't get in your way unless if you accidentally touch them

Cons:
- Characters are unbalanced
- Item prices are too expensive, forcing you to grind
- Unclear story progression
- Instant death on the minigame

Final Rating: 1/5
I couldn't seem to finish the game because the game freezes after I defeated one of the bosses in the final dungeon. Although the game has a good premise, a lot of things need to be improved to make it worthwhile. To be fair, I enjoyed the last dungeon a lot despite the empty interiors and bugs on some teleporters.

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Typo:
- Right after you select your gender: "You will have great adventueres on your way to stop Anois! Goodbie for now!" should be "You will have great adventures on your way to stop Anois! Goodbye for now!"
- After you talk to your sister after you got your gift: "I need to tell you something I ment to tell you a long time ago." should be "I need to tell you something I meant to tell you a long time ago."
- When Vixi is talking for the first time: "WITH HOT SAUSE!!!" should be "WITH HOT SAUCE!!!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Now for kidnapings!" should be "Now for the kidnapping!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Remember Zero, I will all ways be here to heal your wounds!" should be "Remember Zero, I will always be here to heal your wounds!"
- When you inspect the bucket in the northeast corner of Alpha Town: "There is nothing here but but a strage card with a magestic purple dragon on the frount." should be "There is nothing here but a strange card with a majestic purple dragon on the front."
- After the previous dialogue: "Name: Kairos, Type: Time, HP: 3000, Attack Power: 340, Defence: 520, Rarity: Mythcial, Description: The mythical Dragon of Time. Travels to diffrent time periods and protects the timeline from dark threats." should be "Name: Kairos, Type: Time, HP: 3000, Attack Power: 340, Defence: 520, Rarity: Mythical, Description: The mythical Dragon of Time that travels to different periods and protects the timeline from dark threats."
- When talking to the boy in the item shop in Alpha Town: "Their comfy and easy to wear!" should be "They are comfy and easy to wear!"
- When you're battling for the first time: "You probally don't know about batting too much." should be "You probably don't know about battling too much." ("don't know about how to battle too much" might be a better word choice)
- After the previous dialogue: "Or heath points." should be "Or health points."
- When you inspect the super slime after you defeated it: "(Zero presses the staples "that was easy" botton)" should be "(Zero presses the staples "that was easy" button)" (to be honest, I don't know what this sentence mean)
- When you meet Vixi at Milk Bar: "Slince waffle man!" should be "Silence waffle man!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Minon!" should be "Minion!"
- After beating Vixi's minion: "How do you beat my minon! Ill get you next time pipqueak!" should be "How dare you beating my minion! I'll get you next time, pipsqueak!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Goodbie!" should be "Goodbye!"
- When you're talking to the innkeeper in Beta Town: "10Gearsears for one night." should be "10 Gears for one night.
- After you exit Beta Town's inn: "That was one cute girl that was flung into our secet bace near the dragon staue!" should be "That was one cute girl that was flung into our secret base near the dragon statue!"
- When you inspect the chest in the Dora Explorer man's tent in Beta Town: "100Gearsears was found!" should be "100 Gears was found!"
- When you are talking to the old man in Beta Town's item shop: "But now its a wasteland!" should be "But now it's a wasteland!"
- After you input the password to Dark Base: "Today we will learn about master Cythia's ultamate plan!" should be "Today we will learn about master Cythia's ultimate plan!"
- When you are talking to the second hooded man in Dark Base: "Don't you dare go down that latter!" should be "Don't you dare going down that ladder!"
- When you are talking to the third hooded man in Dark Base: "Hey! You can't go into the tresure room!" should be "Hey! You can't go into the treasure room!"
- When you're reading Cythia's Guide to Being Evil issue one: "Even if its to help a cute bunny!" should be "Even if it's to help a cute bunny!"
- When you're fighting Cythia: "Even with multible people on your side you still can't defeat me!" should be "Even with multiple people on your side you still can't defeat me!"
- When you meet the Philup for the first time: "I will bring back what is most improtant!" should be "I will bring back what is most important!"
- After you beat the Philup: "That was werid." should be "That was weird."
- When you enter the Adventuere's Guild for the first time: "Your coming with me if you like it or not!" should be "You're coming with me if you like it or not!"
- When Ina talk about Orgin Crystal: "I love when heroes serch for relics." should be "I love when heroes search for relics."
- After the previous dialogue: "While I was serching through the underground bace that you found me in, I saw this imp-looking thing run past me with a small girl." should be "While I was searching through the underground base that you found me in, I saw this imp-looking thing run past me with a small girl."
- When you're inspecting acent tablet: "I think I can traslate this languge! I learned the launguage of the ancient Agonians at Hogwarts!" should be "I think I can translate this language! I learned the language of the ancient Agonians at Hogwarts!"
- When Ina translate the acent tablet: "This is a strange phonominon that the Skydragon of Space, Kium, created. He says that this weird event of snow next to lave represents a mushroom "power-up" from his favorite "video game."" should be "This is a strange phenomenon that the Skydragon of Space, Kium, created. He says that this weird patch of snow next to the lava represents a mushroom "power-up" from his favorite "video game.""
- After the previous dialogue: "Argonian reserchers out trying to figure out his right now." should be "Argonian researchers are trying to figure this out."
- WHen you talk to IEI Daisya: "Me one who gaurd little broko!!!" should be "Me one who guards Little Bronko!!!"
- After you defeat IEI Daisya: "So now that we defeated the gaurd, we should probally go save that buff guy." should be "Since we have defeated the guard, we probably should go save that buff guy."
- After the previous dialogue: "Acording to the guard, his name is little Broko." should be "According to the guard, his name is little Broko."
- When you talk to Little Bronko in jail: "Were here to save you!" should be "We're here to save you!"
- After the previous dialogue: "I would be cool to travel with you, even though I usally work alone." should be "I would be cool to travel with you, even though I usually work alone."
- After defeating Philup for the second time: "Well, that was werid. That guy Philup all ways keeps getting on my nerves!" should be "Well, that was weird. That Philup guy always getting on my nerves!"
- After the previous dialogue: "That doesn't matter right now, lets keep heading to the Adventuerer's Guild!" should be "That doesn't matter right now, let's keep heading to the Adventuerer's Guild!" (I'm not sure if it's Adventuerer's Guild or a typo)
- After you exiting Adventuerer's Guild and recruit Little Bronko: "Some thug is selling cursed swords and I need you to arest him and send him to prision now that the evil within the Crazy Castle is destroyed!" should be "Some thug is selling cursed swords and I need you to arrest him and send him to prison now that the evil within the Crazy Castle is destroyed!" (I'm also not sure if it's Crazy Castle or Krazy Castle)
- After the previous dialogue: "Even it it means helping that old guy!" should be "Even if it means helping that old guy!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Lets go then!" should be "Even Let's go, then!"
- When you talk to the green-haired man inside the house above Inn in the third town: "There is this theif called Philup sneeking around lately." should be "There is this thief called Philup who are sneaking around lately."
- When you talk to the old man in the third town: "There is a thief called Philup sneeking around recently." should be "There is a thief called Philup sneaking around recently."
- When you meet Philup in the third town: "IM GONA KILL YOU ALL!!!" should be "I'M GONNA KILL YOU ALL!!!"
- Muti Slash description: "A powerful mutitude of slashes with the sword." should be "A powerful multitude of slashes with the sword."
- After defeating Philup for the third time: "... my sister is the next victum!!!" should be "... my sister is the next victim!!!"
- Philup description: "A mysterous swordsman with great skill." should be "A mysterious swordsman with great skill."
- Little Bronko description: "A warrior trained in the arts of every martial art in exsistence." should be "A warrior trained in the arts of every martial arts in existence."
- Zero description: "It was prophecied that Zero would kill the father but before the father could kill Zero the rebels found him." should be "It was prophesied that Zero would kill the father but before the father could kill Zero the rebels found him." (the sentence needs a bit of work)
- When saying no to the old man that asked you to retrieve the Thorn after you recruit Philup: "Come back when your ready." should be "Come back when you're ready."
- Cow Blade description: "A blade made out of hambugers and beef! EAT MOR BEF!!!" should be "A blade made out of hamburgers and beef! EAT MORE BEEF!!!" (you can use "MOAR" instead of "MORE" to make it funnier)
- When you submit the cow nest quest to Kairos: "It's my honor to meet such a powerful being! But why do you look human when your a dragon?" should be "It's my honor to meet such a powerful being! But why do you look human when you're a dragon?"
- Dark Shard description: "It is unkown what importance this shard has." should be "It is unknown what importance this shard has."
- When talking to the guy in prison at the Dark Fortress: "Thank hevens your here! I need help! I have been stuck in the ding-dong cell for 20 years now and I need you to kill alll these anoying undead! Meet me in Greenleaf field when your done!" should be "Thank heavens you're here! I need help! I have been stuck in the ding-dong cell for 20 years now and I need you to kill all these annoying undeads! Meet me in Greenleaf Field when you're done!"
- When you meet Anois for the first time: "She shall be riped apart bit by bit!" should be "She shall be ripped apart bit by bit!"
- After you defeat Vixi: "So if you want to do anything else you should take the teliporter!" should be "So if you want to do anything else you should take the teleporter!"
- After the previous dialogue: "Lets do this!" should be "Let's do this!"

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Bugs:
- You can get infinite potion by inspecting the bucket in the northeast corner of Alpha Town, enter a building, and return to the bucket location.
- A lot of collision errors in Greenleaf Field from Dark Base's exit, mainly because you can "climb or fall off a cliff" from a cliff with flowers in it.
- The merchant and Philup that show up after you exit Dark Base will still show up on Greenleaf Field after their event was triggered.
- The stairs in one of the areas in Krazy Tower don't move you to the stairs where you were supposed to come out from.
- You can visit Little Bronko in jail before killing the boss in Krazy Castle.
- The stairs that lead to the jail in Dark Fortress doesn't bring you to the same spot when you exit the area.
- You can use Hyper Fire Tome, Hypernova Tome, and Dark Oblivion Tome to Little Bronko and Philup but they don't learn anything after you use it.
- The game freeze after you beat Vixi.

Posts

Pages: 1
KrimsonKatt
Gamedev by sunlight, magical girl by moonlight
3326
While I am happy you chose to review my game, I am disappointed that you chose to review this one out of all of them. Zero Gear Fighters was my very first released game (I made one game before this which was never publicly released) and when I made this game I was incredibly inexperienced and barely even knew the engine. Keep in mind that this was 5 years ago, 2015, so I was a lot less experienced back then and didn't really know what I was doing. The story, gameplay, mapping quality, and the amount of bugs, glitches, and spelling and grammar errors were certainly not up to my current standard. This was technically my "first game" after all. Please do note that the quality of this game does not meet my current skill-level in writing or game design, and that I have improved tremendously in the last 5 years. I will now add a warning on the top of the game-pages of the majority of my older games to tell people NOT to play it. Anyways, thanks for the review, and I hope you check out my later games like Meteo Chronicles (a reimagining of my first ever project) and the upcoming Zero Gear Chronicles. (a reimagining of this very game) Bye!

Edit: Actually, the game is fully complete. It is not a demo, but IDK why the game crashes on the penultimate boss and I don't plan on fixing it anytime soon. You're not missing much, just the lame final boss and stupid ending that doesn't really matter anyways since this game and it's sequel Dragon Ascension aren't even canon anymore. You are free to add your 1-star rating. I don't mind.

Edit 2: Actually by 2015, literally the only RPGs I'd played were Pokemon games. I was obsessed with Pokemon back then, and still am to a certain extent, but much less so than back in the ORAS/base SM days. It wasn't until 2017 when my dad bought me literally every single Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts game available and a PS4 for play them. I then binged every FF game from 1 to 12. (excluding FF2 FF3 and FF8) Playing those games I learned quite a bit about RPG storytelling, gameplay, and dungeon design. Heck, Generic RPG Quest 3 was nearly a 1-to-1 ripoff of the first Final Fantasy on NES, so yeah. So maybe that's why Zero Gear Fighters resembles Pokemon so much. The only other games I had back then other then Pokemon were Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Sports, Kirby's Return to Dreamland and Epic Yarn, LEGO Star Wars and Smash Bros. My view of gaming was very narrow due to my stict parents until 2016 when I got Fire Emblem Fates. After that the floodgates (IE T-rated games which RPGs were) were open.
i just figured out that i'd better to put a review since i have finished playing it. also, since you plan to remake it, there might be some inputs that still can work in your remake if you decide to keep some aspects to the game. as i said before, i agree that you have improved over the years.

i'll just keep the rating for now in case you decide to remake the game with the same game page (you probably need to make a new page though).

that makes sense. perhaps they weren't sure whether the other games are child-friendly or not, especially with the killing and possibly other stuff. but again, what matters is now you have more access to other rpgs to learn from. that's great.
KrimsonKatt
Gamedev by sunlight, magical girl by moonlight
3326
I plan on doing everything from the ground up when I do the remake, from the graphics to the music to the gameplay to the story. It's basically it's own thing. It will also use a separate game page, so you don't have to worry about rating shenanigans or whatnot.

Very few aspects will be carried over. Just the general base ideas, which is stuff like the progression and character build-up. I already have the entire updated plot completely planned out, as well as general ideas for the gameplay.

Zero Gear Chronicles will be more of a reboot/reimagining of this game rather then a remake with only better graphics and gameplay and stuff. It will also be set in the new Chronicles of Chronicles universe instead of the continuity of Zero Gear Fighters and Dragon Ascension.

All the suggestions you gave in the review I've already known for a long time and most of it doesn't apply to the reboot. For example, the new game does not have that instant death minigame anymore, and has a completely different plot. Your sister doesn't even get captured in this version. Instead, Zero, now named Sero, who is now definitively female, is a mercenary trying to raise money to help treat her little sister who's really sick. She gets a job to collect the 4 mystical crystals of Morda Vael for a reward of 100 Billion Bux.

The plot only gets deeper from there, as with every crystal Sero collects things begin to get worse and worse for both the world and her own sister, leading to the question if Sero is doing the right thing. It also features a class-change system similar to Final Fantasy V and Bravely Default, and has a unique feature where since there are no magickal classes like wizards and such that you can use, you instead use drops from enemies to craft items that teach spells to characters so any class or character can use any spell.

As you can see, Zero Gear Chronicles will be a lot different from Zero Gear fighters, making it a completely different game. Thanks for the input though.
i see. okay then, i'll put the rating in that case. good luck with the reboot!
KrimsonKatt
Gamedev by sunlight, magical girl by moonlight
3326
Thanks! Good luck to you too on whatever you plan to do as well.
Pages: 1