Temple of Memories

Greetings and salutations. So almost a year ago, I once told my pal OzzyTheOne that I'd play this game.



...and I guess "eventually" finally came. I'm glad it did; this reminds me of my first completed RM game, except countless times better. No seriously.

For a game made in a month, and apparently his first finished game here, I feel this one's gone above and beyond the bar for most first-time projects. I'm not trying to show favoritism. The game is just that good in my eyes. Let this review explain why. And hey, it's finally back to my default, non-demo review points too.

The Story
After getting a brief screen explaining RMVXA keyboard controls, we see a lone spelunker named Gordon approach some worn ruins. Given a brief bit of control over him, we soon find ourselves transported to the point of view of a group of four adventurers. Similarly trapped as Gordon was, we... well, have a dungeon to explore. There's not much else I can say without giving massive spoilers, as I feel the story is perhaps the best part of what Temple of Memories has to offer. I will say, however, that it's quite a roller-coaster of events, and I feel Ozzy kept the description for this game vague because of that reason.

The Pros
For one, Ozzy's maps are pretty darn good. They are laid out well without being too over-the-top, and I find the default assets used from RMVXA's RTP have been employed elegantly. Like Aegix_Drakan's "Mayhem Maiden", which I covered earlier in my RMN review career, the default musical assets are also put to good use, too. Some edited sprites and faces exist, giving the usual assets a nice touch. I do like how Ozzy handled the original magic door's appearance with Gordon, as well as at least two edited skill animations for combat from the defaults.

There are plenty of small touches that give the game life, too. For instance, the magician Clarabelle doesn't start with all her MP, but has some used up already due to story reasons. The random mooks require you to specialize who hits which ones, as opposed to blindly swinging at the foes with the normal Attack command. There's a hint of conveyance (perhaps incidental) if your gaze drifts to the tree during the party of four's opening scenes, useful for the first real puzzle. The boss fights are all challenging, but fair, as well.

And the dialogue. My days, the party dynamic is incredible between the four. ;-;

The Cons
Though proficient with English, I know that it's not Ozzy's first language; this may be part of the reason why there are typos and grammatical errors here and there. Nothing too glaring, but they occur enough to where I'm mentioning them.

My first real qualm is with enemy RNG at times for their moves. For some reason, fighting the second boss caused him to wipe me out pretty easily with a pair of Starlight spells, one after the other. Though pure coincidence, I find that the boss fights sometimes put you on edge due to their programmed attack patterns for the wrong reasons.

Second, there's also the teleporter puzzle. Seemingly infamous with the game's other four reviews, I won't say much else other than the fact I had to reload my save a few times when the puzzle becomes *timed* at one point.

Overall Thoughts
I don't like being vague with my reviews like I have to be with what this game is really all about. That said, if you're willing to see things through, I can guarantee it'll be worth your while to have experienced the joyous, if not bittersweet, memories this game has bestowed upon me.