Dragon Ascension

This is a demo review.
This is a review for the file which is downloaded on Jan 6, 2020. My playtime: 01:27:03 (stopped because i'm stuck after beating the second boss).

Intro
Dragon Ascension is a turn based RPG Maker game where you have to save 7 souls from a white-haired man.

Graphics
The town graphics (except the indoors) are quite well done but i can't say the same for the others. Most of the borders outside the town area aren't blocked so it gives me the impression that you can move to another area by going to the corner of the map. There is even a bridge that has different flow in it; the insides are pointing straight while the edges are pointing sideways. The indoors are way too big with too many useless things in it. There is also a town that has 2 different layouts in the outside (Vultia Town) and you can get transferred to either map by exiting the town from different places. Surprisingly, the dungeon design for the second dungeon is quite good although the boss area looks as if the entire area is just a thin earth floating on the sky.

I also have a problem with the dialogue boxes. They are just too bright for me. Some portrait images (Ryuuta) are also blurry while some portrait (Bob's sister) doesn't have transparent background. I think it's better to have all portrait in the same style.

Story
I noticed grammar issue on the first sentence after i clicked New Game; i don't understand the meaning of the first sentence before i finished correcting them. The thing is, if you have a grammar issue on the first sentence of your game, the rest of the game is bound to have a lot of grammar issues. My assumption turned to be true when i finished reading the prologue. I suggest you to ask someone to proofread them before releasing your game if you aren't confident with your english.

Aside from the grammar, i find some cutscenes to be weird. The first cutscene shows the main character going downstairs and talk to his mother... across several rooms. There isn't even a scene where the main character walks to his mother before they are talking to each other. Surprisingly, they're suddenly talking face to face after another custcene (the one that shows the origin of the main character) shows up.

There are also some cutscene that lacks in the action scenes. In the second cutscene, the main character is being attacked by someone. However, there is no flashy scene at all in the attack and the screen suddenly moved to another place. I just find it odd since it seems like nothing is happening at all.

The story itself is well thought and written. It's just that it's too bad that there are a lot of grammar errors and typos, making it to be an unpleasant experience to read. Also, i noticed that some dialogues are going out of the dialogue boxes although it's not really a big deal.

The game
The first thing that i noticed is that the downloaded file is named as Dragon Ascention. I thought that the actual name of the game is Dragon Ascention until i open the .exe file. I don't think it is a good idea to have a typo on your game title.

To be honest, i didn't know what to do after i can control the character in the town. The first thing that i did was exiting the town via the south exit. I saw a guard standing near the area so i talked to him out of a habit. Turns out that he's actually an enemy (and a strong one at that). I died and got a game over screen from that encounter. Later on, i found out that i was supposed to exit the town via the north exit. I think that it's better to block the south exit if you're not supposed to go there first, especially since i noticed that there is an area that is not functional without having all party members that you will get later on in your party.

Speaking of party members, you'll start alone and another party member will join later on as you progress the game. Since there is no healer in the party yet, you have to rely on pots or inn to heal your party.

The game offers various classes that you can choose and level. Some classes are exclusive to one person, some aren't. Each classes will have their own levels and skills to offer. There is also a subclass system where you can choose another class to increase your stat. You won't be able to level your subclass even if you have them equipped though.

There is no random encounter in the game; you will be able to see and avoid enemies in the area. If you choose to fight the enemy, they usually has one more people than your party member, making your party at a disadvantage. They also have a certain level that is randomized when you fight them. Strangely, the enemies won't respawn after you beat them even though you have leave the area and come back. This leads to a problem when i'm having difficulty killing the enemies past the first dungeon; the enemies are hitting a lot more and most of the time they will also give you a status effect that takes forever to be cured. I can't grind for levels and/or gold to make myself stronger so i had to save and load a lot just to kill one enemy and in the end, i gave up killing most of the enemies in the second dungeon and just going straight to the boss, which is surprisingly easier than the normal enemies in the area.

As for the bosses, i only encountered 2 bosses so far in the game. I find it interesting that the boss can be affected by status effect and those are actually the correct way to kill the boss. They will have some resistance to some status effect although there is always one status effect that will last for a long time for them. I ended up making sure that the boss have those status effect up until they die.

There are also some equipment that you can buy starting from the second town. The town sells weapon and equipments in different tier and it's quite expensive to buy the highest tier item. I also noticed that some of the equipments in the equipment shop are listed more than once and some of them aren't ordered by equipment type like the other equipments.

Pros:
- Multiple class to choose
- Subclass mechanics
- Unique boss mechanics

Cons:
- Enemies are so difficult to beat
- Enemies doesn't respawn (so you can't grind for levels and/or money)
- Typos and grammar issues
- Status effect lasts too long

Conclusion
The game actually has a nice story and world building, but the difficult enemies and grammar issues makes it difficult for me to enjoy the game.

Final Rating: 2/5
There are a lot of adjustments that need to be made in order to make this game more enjoyable. I think the game has potential to be better after the issues are fixed.

---

Bug:
- When you go to your room from the first floor, you'll be automatically teleported near your bed.
- When you said that Jeff is probably in the woods, there is no Ryuuta's potrait in the dialogue.
- The game over screen is cropped (and so is the effect when you battle an enemy).
- Collision error: When you go north from the town, head west from the furthest little tree on the map that you can see after moving to the area. You'll be able to "climb" the hill from that spot.
- When you're trying to take blood test in Pyro Knight's Base, nothing happened.
- When you talk to the skeleton near Pyro Knight's Base, there will be a lot of random characters suddenly joined the conversation even though i don't have any other party member with me.
- If you hold shift in battle, the ATB bar will be reduced a bit when your turn is up so you have to wait again until it is filled.
- When you leveled up, the arrow up button is showing as a box (probably because of missing font or something).
- There is no potrait of Jeff's father when you talk to him in Blackberry Woods.
- You can walk on the counter in Vultia Town's Airport.
- There are a lot of exits that leads to Vultia Town or Vultia Town V2 in Vultia Town.
- You still can't go to Azor Town even though you already have Azor Ticket.
- After you clear Blackberry Woods, Jeff's father will turn to grandma whenever you talk to him.
- When you use Mt. Gaia portal, you'll be teleported above the cave entrance.
- When you return to Vultia Town after killing boss in Mt. Gaia, you'll stuck on the tree in a cutscene.

Typo:
- "In the ancient past, The was just the light and the darkness in an endless void of nothing" should be "In the ancient past, there was only light and darkness in an endless void of nothing"
- "They battled against each other brutally and badly injured both of them" should be "They battled against each other brutally and badly injured each other"
- "Shards fell from the crystalised" should be "Shards fell from the crystalized".
- "This story will be passed down for thosands of years to come" should be "This story will be passed down for thousands years to come"
- Job: Warror should be "Warrior"
- Aura Blade skill description: "Attacked enemy may be silenced. Damage is based off user's ATK and MAT." should be "Attacked enemy may be silenced. Damage is based on user's ATK and MAT."
- There are a lot of inconsistencies whenever you're using "yoyo" and "Yo-Yo".
- The legendary dragons of Loren book in Ryuuta's room: "Eventually, Godith had no other choice but to enseal both herself and Morgoth into 2 of the 3 Origin Crystials." should be "Eventually, Godith had no other choice but to seal both herself and Morgoth into 2 of the 3 Origin Crystals."
- When talking to mom after going out of bedroom: "you will have your blood examed." should be "you will have your blood examined."
- When talking to mom after going out of bedroom (right after the previous dialogue): "I doesn't matter at all." should be "It doesn't matter at all."
- When talking to mom after going out of bedroom (after the previous dialogue): "(sigh) I should of told you this a long time ago" should be "(sigh) I should tell you this a long time ago" ("I should tell you this earlier" might sound better).
- When mom is talking about the past: "Its almost time to make dinner!" should be "It's almost time to make dinner!"
- When talking to mom after she's telling the past: "Well, its a long story. But to sum it all up there was an accident in an Mithril mine" should be "Well, it's a long story. To sum it up, there was an accident in a mithril mine"
- After you gain control to your character after talking to mom, talk to mom again: "Your embaressing me!" should be "You're embarrasing me!"
- When interacting with the bookshelf on the house: "The History of Loren Enciclopedia" should be "The History of Loren Encyclopedia" (and add a dot after that).
- When reading Loren volume 2: "Many say that he was fromed from" should be "Many say that he was formed from"
- When Jeff teaches you to battle, he said "potion" word twice.
- When Jeff teaches you to battle: "I helps you" should be "It helps you"
- When Jeff teaches you to battle, he said "allows you" twice when explaining attack option.
- When Jeff teaches you to battle: "The run away botton" should be "The run away button"
- When Jeff teaches you to battle, a word is out of the dialogue: "Once it is full, it's your turn (to) attack!"
- After the first battle: "So your a crazy djin?" should be "So you're a crazy djinn?" ("So you're just his slave?" might be better to connect with the next dialogue though)
- After the dialogue above: "I'm more than a slave you patatic brat!" should be "I'm more than a slave you pathetic brat!"
- When talking to Kairos for the first time: "My powers inclued visiting diffrent" should be "My power includes visiting different" ("I can visit different" might be a better word choice)
- After the dialogue above: "So your the" should be "So you're the"
- After the dialogue above: "I'm been around" should be "I've been around"
- After waking up: "I saw you laying outside your house! But i can't find Jeff anywere!" should be "I saw you lying outside your house! But i can't find Jeff anywhere!"
- The dialogue choice on the dialogue above: "He probally in the woods." should be "[bHe's probably in the woods"
- After the dialogue above: "He probally is goofing off in blackberry woods. I allways tell him" should be "He's probably goofing off in Blackberry Woods. I always tell him"
- After Jeff's father gone: "Time to go on an adventuere!" should be "Time to go on an adventure!"
- When talking to the piano guy in the pub: "Wana hear" should be "Wanna hear"
- When fighting Gargaros: "Somthing is telling me" should be "Something is telling me"
- When talking to the maid(?) in the house above Jeff's house: "Lots of spegetti cleaning!" should be "Lots of spaghetti cleaning!"
- When talking to the blood tester guy in Pyro Knight's Base, "wana" should be "wanna"
- When talking to red haired guy outside Pyro Knight's Base: "It's a good time to be an warrior" should be "It's a good time to be a warrior"
- When talking to the black haired guy in Secret Grotto: "...this is the place were my life was decimated..." should be "...this is the place where my life was decimated..."
- After the dialogue above: "...it changed me... it taught me... it gave me a reson to life..." should be "...it changed me... it taught me... it gave me a reason to life..."
- After the dialogue above: "that she could see a new tomarrow..." should be "that she could see a new tomorrow..."
- After arriving to Blackberry Woods for the first time, when the green haired guy is talking: "who were living peacefuly" should be "who were living peacefully"
- When Tyko joins the party "lets go" should be "let's go"
- When arriving to Vultia Path for the first time: "I will become one step closer to reaching my ultamate goal!" should be "I will become one step closer to reach my ultimate goal!"
- When talking to the guy at the pub: "We also have lots of spegetti!" should be "We also have lots of spaghetti!" (and the "spegetti" that he sells should be "spaghetti" too)
- After you climb Mt. Gaia: "Now I have to travel all the way down this mountian" should be "Now I have to travel all the way down this mountain"
- After the dialogue above: "Your "friend" is one of the decendent" should be "Your "friend" is one of the descendant"
- After the dialogue above: "You are a nucence, and a nucence should be dealt with properly, Minion, distroy him!" should be "You are a nuisance, and a nuisance should be dealt properly. Minion, destroy them!" ("kill them" will be more suitable though)
- After killing Earth Spirit Rarnia (Mt. Gaia boss): "It seams that you cannot be defeated that easily! I have more inportanat buisness to attend to!" should be "It seems that you can not be defeated that easily! I have more important business to attend!"
- Sidewiner skill description: "Fir damage" should be "Fire damage"