RTP

Foreword

This review is based on some brief notes and rough draft sections I wrote down around the time I played this game. As such, this review is based around the version of the game that was available in January of 2017 and doesn't take into consideration any of the new features that have been added since then.

Introduction

"RTP" is a short game developed by Milennin using RPG Maker MV whose selling points really don't match up with my own interests. Mainly because I'm someone who really enjoys narrative rich games if they don't waste my time with overly repetitive dialogue like "War of Two Worlds" does. As such, I originally played this game on the grounds that the developer claimed that this game could be beaten in about 30 minutes. As such, I thought this would be a game that I could quickly play through and then review in order to earn an easy 65 makerscore.

Story

"RTP" doesn't really have any narrative strengths to speak of in my opinion. This is because the developer decided to forgo character development and character interactions in favor of telling a story purely through visuals. And while this can work if the game has a strong sense of visual design and makes good use of character portraits. "RTP" goes about this by merely throwing random scenes at the player that are so generic that it hurts. After all, without dialogue to build on the player is largely left to fill in scenes with the most generic of dialogue. As such the game really struggles to have anything resembling a narrative soul. Though, I suppose this is by design considering how much the game focuses on combat.

Gameplay

"RTP" is a game that is driven by it's combat whose guiding principal is that you need to carefully plan out your moves in advance as well as try to build your party around the character your randomly given at the start of the game. And while I don't appreciate the fact that the game starts you off with a random character, it does add to the challenge and forces the player to adapt their play style and recruitment goals to fit their needs rather then build their team around their usual staple of preferred classes.

Graphics & Sound

On the graphical and sound side of things the game really does live up to its name and relies on the RTP for just about everything. Though on a more positive note the game does feature some decent mapping and doesn't come across as overly stuffed with graphical assets like "Blue Skies 2" does.

Conclusion

"RTP" is a game that really doesn't appeal to me, because it's game that focuses on combat to the exclusion of almost everything else in my opinion. On the plus side, that combat is highly challenging and can be engaging for people that are interested in a challenge, but on the downside the lack of a strong narrative to drive the combat leaves the game feeling empty and pointless in my opinion. Even so, I'm willing to give this game a decent score on the grounds that it doesn't hide what its all about. It's entirely open about it's focus on combat and it does deliver on it's promise of a challenging experience that requires the player to think about their moves in advance.