It's taken me a long time to consider whether or not I was actually going to review Stonesearch (in text and on a website, at least), and usually I would accept that as a sign not to do so. However, after much inner debate, I decided that it's games like this that need reviews. So, before I waste any more of your time typing about the start of this reviewing process, let's get down to business. (to defeat the Huns)

To start with, I should point out that this is a review of the final demo, released on the 4th of January, 2012, which runs up to Chapter 5 of the story. I will be taking into account that several things will be fixed, tweaked, changed (and other words with similar meanings) before the game is completed.

Let's play!



Now, the first thing that stops this game from being as good as it could be is something that isn't even there - anybody who has downloaded the final demo of Stonesearch should also be able to testify to this. The problem, and it is really quite a big one, is missing files. There's a pretty big list of files that are somehow absent from the demo's download, and the error messages that they bring up throughout the game are entirely troublesome. In some cases, it's simply a notice window telling you that the game could not load a character's sprite, because it isn't there, whereas some functions are pushed out completely by this slip up (the Notebook feature of the menu, in particular, was completely inaccessible to me throughout gameplay).



Pushing the missing files aside, the game is still playable for the most part, and with a possible review in mind, I soldiered on. Throughout the first chapter of the game, I noticed a few minor issues: there were a few mapping errors, for example, and the occasional typo here and there that seemed to multiply as the game progressed further.

Perhaps the thing that irked me most throughout the demo was that there is no direction given to the player. No signs, no helpful NPCs, and certainly no thought processes or inner monologues that conveniently mention that the monsters you're looking for are to the north. You just find yourself plonked in the middle of a medium-sized map, playing a character who has lived there his entire life, and yet you have no idea where anything is. I literally spent about 5 minutes checking every edge of the town until I finally found out where those accursed fields were - a process made even more irritating by the fact that running in towns is apparently impossible!

Eventually, I got to sample the battle system. Now, I actually like Tankentai when it's used correctly. For the most part, this is one of those occasions. There were just a few odd quirks... for example, the time you have to wait post-battle until the victory screen shows up seems just a second or two too long. I'm fairly sure that's a changeable setting with Tankentai and should probably be lowered a little. Fretting that the game has crashed after every battle doesn't rub well with me, though I may well be the only one.

After beating a sub-boss (and walking the opposite way to where I came from in order to get back home, I might add), an alarm was raised back in the town. Oh no, monster attack is imminent! Everybody get to the chopper hide indoors!



...Or you could all just do exactly what you normally do. That's fine too.



Oh, and the Treants never make any effort to move towards you or the town. Ever. Joking aside, these little things completely spoiled what could've otherwise been the most exciting part of the game so far, which was a tremendous disappointment to me. Anyway, after finding Ralph the paladin (which took another 5 minutes because I didn't know where anything was), we headed off to be heroes. Well, that was the plan, but he disappeared - literally disappeared, no walking - saying he was "going ahead" and I've seen nothing of him since. Perhaps he's dead. Oh well. Insignificant NPCs are expendable.

So after we've charged into the forest and this guy has left Abraxas, an inexperienced teenage fighter named after the local currency, to be mutilated by trees that are angry for some reason, some other dude shows up out of nowhere (perhaps he appeared the way Ralph the paladin disappeared... or perhaps he IS the paladin! Plot twist!) with an insult. Naturally, Abraxas immediately loves this guy for his brilliant humour and sparkling wit, and has no objections when this happens. Indeed, several battles and a variable amount of walking pass before Abraxas even asks Savyon who he is!

Life lesson: calling somebody weak is a sure way to prove that you can be trusted and that you are about to be bestest friends foreverest!

...I'm starting to suspect I'm setting new limits for a maximum review length here, and it would seem I am also going off on mostly negative rants, so I'll just get down to the summary for now. Remember, I intend on posting an updated review when the game is complete - hopefully my feedback is taken into account!

Summary (aka TL;DR)

Top Priority

• Missing files need to be fixed, ASAP. You won't get a great deal of people bothering with your game - even if it's a demo! - if the first thing they see is an error message.
  
• !!! It's more effort, I know, but take more time with eventing to get things presentable. The next four items tie in with this.
  
• People disappear and reappear all the time, without walking anywhere.
  
• Savyon usually has a clone when on the ship due to the way events and party formation are laid out.
  
• Sometimes party members aren't there when dialogue is being spoken.
  
• The Storm & Justin event in Midsel still happens, even if you've been to the Coliseum and have them in your party already.
  
• When playing as Jade, it is impossible to progress through Midsel Mountain because the self switch for the moving platform is still on from when you go through as Abraxas. Because of this, the platform instead takes you down, leading you to a dead end where you can't do jack squat but restart the game. I had to edit the game and add a switch just to progress. My method was probably overly long-winded and required you step on the platform, then off again, then back on to go anywhere, so I'll leave fixing that to you.
  

Mid Priority

• Monsters aren't worth their weight in experience until you get to the desert. I don't know if this is intentional, but it makes levelling a grind.
  
• In particular, the Climbers on the Midsel Mountain Descent are SO IRRITATING! There are loads of them, they have an awful lot of HP/defense for the amount of damage you can deal at that point, and they offer practically no reward. I would suggest more Exp., or even their shells as an item you can sell in shops. That, or lower their HP/raise the party's attack.
  
• You can't walk over a tile where you've picked an item up from the ground, even though it's no longer there. You know how to fix this, I'm fairly certain, and I won't patronise you by telling you how.
  
• Bosses aren't particularly challenging. They're only a concern if they manage to land a critical hit, and even then that's a wound easily stitched up with a tonic. I personally would like a bit more strategy in the boss battles, but that is my opinion and asking you to entirely rethink all of them would be horrible of me. It's just a thought.
  
• There seems to be no planned overworld. By this, I don't mean "boohoo, you don't have a world map" - I mean there's no layout to where things are! This is what your world looks like to me based on where everything is. Confusing! Expand a little more on just whereabouts everything is, let the player know where they're going, and you'll be one step closer to publishing an amazing game!
  

Low Priority

• Ralph The paladin seems to give over to Abraxas' desire to help far too easily. He's an untrained, unarmoured civilian with a rusty knife for a weapon! I felt there should have been more to the conversation than this:
  "I'm fighting."
  "No, I can't let you."
  "Too bad, I'm fighting."
  "Oh, okay then."
  
• # of enemy type defeated is not working correctly, or wasn't when I viewed it (Bestiary)
  
• Enemy Notes in the Bestiary are unreadable - maybe you need this?
  

Phew. Believe me, I am as glad as you are that that is over. I can only apologise if I've come across as overly harsh, but I've tried to give feedback where I could (my ability to help in a more literal sense is impeded by how new I am to RM myself) and I hope that's taken into account.

Overview

All in all, the thoughts and ideas put into Stonesearch are pretty good. The story could undoubtedly be fleshed out a little more, but it's clear a lot of effort has gone into creating this world and the people who live in it. There is still an awful lot of work to be done, and therefore another analysis for another time, but right now I am reviewing this game based on the demo provided, and I find I can't be overly generous with the score.

The major bugs, event mishaps and missing files were what really let this game down for me - I've always been a sucker for games revolving around the elements. I'm afraid I can't give any game which I, being the player, had to sit and edit in order to progress in the story an above average score.

I sincerely hope all of these errors and aesthetics are fixed or improved come the final release. As it is, Stonesearch is hardly playable, and that breaks my heart.

Score: 2/5