And now something completely different!
Welcome to this Carlsev Saga review, a game that is really different from the classical fantasy Jrpg you used to play before!
There is no clear separation between good and evil characters, everything is "a shade of grey": the game is about a rebellion inside the reign of Carlsev.
The game is played through different perspectives, we in fact use more than one party and sometimes we witness cutscenes that concern other important non-playable characters, because this isn't the story of a hero and the "dark lord", but it's about a civil war inside the nation, so expect political intrigue and unexpected twists during the story.


Ow... the hard, cold truth!

The gameplay is rather classic: we usually command a party of three characters, each one with his/her specialization: usually they are a physical damage dealer, a support caster, and an utility fighter (used to scan enemies and steal). This means that fights cannot be won just spamming the most powerful attack, but it's important finding the enemy weakness (usually the correct element) and… strike! It's important to learn how to use effectively the party members in order to succeed, but don't expect combat to be excessively hard, despite being challenging. This is also because you cannot really grind, since character's improvements are earned through the use of tonics and not experience points. Besides this, please also mind that money is scarce, so you are suggested to spend it wisely (and also visit some optional dungeons and areas in order to earn more!), item management is really important in this game.
I liked a lot how the combat system was introduced and explained in the beginning, I found it very balanced and also challenging, since you won't ever have a specialized healer or a strong multi-healing spell.

Visually the game doesn't use a custom system but the typical Rm2k3 charsets, even if I am pretty sure that some sprites (like facesets) are custom or edits, or come from different sources (like some of the monsters). Despite this variety, the game looks coherent and well done.
There are no battlers as the game uses the simple rm2k combat layout in first person view, but enemies are appropriate, it's a low fantasy realm in which most opponents are different human soldiers and fighters, assassins and mages.


A soldier and two pretty spearwomen are no match for Deckiller!

Mapping is pretty good in most cases, outdoor areas look natural and realistic, indoor enviroments are likewise realistic and all the resources and chipsets are used in a rather efficient manner. They are many and different, and all pretty well done and also detailed. The music also complements well the rest of the game creating an appropriate mood, the music selection is in fact very good.

Ok, so far I had only positive words for this game but is there any flaw?
Oh well, there is no doubt that this is is a good game, but there are some limits like for example the extreme linearity of the story and the lack of customization for the party members, I understand that this is a precise choice, but some players my be turned off but the lack of options. While the main characters are very different and well characterized, there is little difference between their equipments as everyone can use the same weapons and armors, and there isn't a lot of variety.
Other things that a player may or may not like are the serious story and the combat system, especially for the lack of usual "stereotype" (the tank, the crowd-control wizard, the dps and the healer), but these two are also in my opinion the original features that makes this game stand out among Others of this genre.


Nice inn you have here... pity that it's a bit expensive for me right now!

Carlsev's verdict!
Well this is a different game: it's a serious story, a political fantasy drama and an adventure in which our playable characters are just pawns in a large world! Despite some typos I found, the story is really well written and interesting, presenting a believable world and tense situation in which there is no easy path to succeeed.
Game is about 10 hours long, and that's a good quantity of time spent exploring various different enviroments and fighting enemies. Despite being made a long time ago, the amount of details and some unusual themes and original features make this game stand out. It's still entertaining and I admit having more and more fun with it with the progressing of the story and the unfolding of the events I won't tell.. because the storyline is in my opinion the best part of the game!

In any case I can confirm the ratings and opinions of the previous reviewers: this isn't a perfect game, but it's a really good one! If you want a serious fantasy story about men and not predestined heroes, this is your game!
4/5, recommended!