THE FROZEN WORLD

Probably everyone is familiar with Lysander’s legendary “A Blurred Line” saga, possibly the most popular RPG Maker project ever made. But Lysander has made some other great projects too that haven’t received nearly enough attention. One of those is The Frozen World.

The wicked Dark Wizard is terrorizing the world because that’s the sort of thing Dark Wizards do. Lutine, a wandering hero, decides to stick it to the Dark Wizard because that’s the sort of thing wandering heroes do. Only it didn’t go so well, and after their climactic battle, Time stopped in their world for everyone but Lutine and a few others. Join Lutine as she searches for allies in her quest to stop the Dark Wizard…and for the answers as to what really happened to her world.

Battles and Balance 3/5:
Battles in The Frozen World make use of a completely customized battle system. Rather than equipment, you equip command “Plates” that allow you to attack, heal, use items, or cast spells, among other things. Each character has 5 slots, and the higher the slot level, the stronger the command will be. However, each slot requires a certain amount of stamina and you have only one per turn…to start with. So to use your stronger commands you must “Wait” to build up more stamina. It might sound complicated but it really comes together as a whole and makes for a charming battle system. The difficulty early in the game can be a little high as Lutine is alone with only the fight command, and certain enemies can randomly remove your plates, and if they happen to remove the wrong ones, you can be stuck in battle with nothing to do but wait to die.

Level Design 4/5:
The maps of The Frozen World are laid out like an old school video game such as The Legend of Zelda. You cannot simply walk to the Dark Wizard’s house, however, you must travel the world searching for allies, items, and additional plates to make yourself stronger and better equipped to fight the Dark Wizard and his minions. The Earth Temple in particular has quite a few amazingly fun puzzles. And encounters are non-random so you can explore anywhere without fear…well except for the Trader’s Highway, but that’s another story.

Characters 4/5:
Dialogue in The Frozen World is minimal, with more focus on the stellar gameplay aspects. Though the characters at first glance seem to be merely generic archetypes, it is for a very specific reason. And regardless of their archetypes, the characters manage to be engaging regardless of their seeming stereotypes. The stand-out characters in this saga are definitely the villains. The Dark Wizard approaches his evil wizardry with uncommon flair, and his using incantations before casting some of his spells is a very nice touch. And some of his minions are so slimy you’ll want to choke them. Seriously.

Storyline 3/5:
The fact that time has stopped in this world makes for some interesting interactions, and the story makes use of several bait-and-switch tactics that makes certain you’ll never be quite sure what’s going to happen next. Those who manage to make it to the end will be treated to a truly unconventional plot twist. There are also several side quests to keep you busy on the side.

Music and Sound 4/5:
All of the musical tracks are appropriate and unique, and manages not to be distracting. The musical tracks used during battles are quite good and capture the energy of the sequences without being bombastic. Overall it is all in keeping with the unique charm of the game.

Overall 4/5:
This is a fairly short game, so it’s probably worth your time to give it a spin. It offers a fun unique battle system and some great characters from master storyteller Lysander. It plays very much like a nostalgic RPG from the late 80s, so if you’re into nostalgic gaming, you’ll definitely want to check this little project out.