BOBLOVESYOU'S PROFILE

I concur with the nostalgic feel being properly captured!

Look, there's an insane amount of RPGMaker games to play, but Dark Gaia and Ark and the others have captured this feel, this vibe for the nostalgia aspect that a lot of the better-planned, better-illustrated, and even better-gameplay ones do. I wish more people gave it a shot. It looks like many others when you first start, but it you play past the - not a spoiler! -- past the first scripted cutscene, you'll likely be hooked.

The engrish and the maguffin hunting and and and... it all just adds up to a fun videro game that you'll spend dozens of hours in.

Some of the tombstones and townspeople are cute jokes and references to songs, movies, and (I assume) people from DGs & Arks personal experiences. It's smart, and it connects us. I like it, even though it's got very little to do with the game.

I haven't played the sequel yet, but I did d/l the steam version (it's still free) to see, and yes while it's got some of the same errors, it has many of them fixed.

It's still an RPGMaker game, steam distribution or not, so if you really want to edit anything, go right ahead. I know some people enjoy editing the enemies exp table so that the early monsters level you up fast to minimize the grind, but just like not being able to save where you want but only at an inn or crystal, it's an aspect of the game you will RUIN if you can guaranteed win every combat with no risk. As they say "cheating only hurts you" so please resist - at least until your 2nd playthough. (besides it's unnecessary, they planned for this, if you want to grind at the endgame, monsters give great XP and drop stat-increasing lewt, so you can face the final boss with a party of maxxed-out characters, should you wish to do so.)

Your opinion of the Mysteries of Dynastland may vary. It feels more like a tacked-on bit than an integral part of the original, and same for the endgame in the definitive edition; that DG's skills improved over the years is obvious. It ties in well enough that you won't question it anymore than you'd question the other 400 things you have to let go to suspend your disbelief over.

I'd say 8.5/10 but I guess more telling is I loved it enough to buy L2.

Thanks DG and everyone involved!
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= TL;DR =

Crappy sprite graphics, crappy storyline, crappy regenerating bosses, crappy controls, crappy RPGMaker limitations (god help you if you are a steam user who is used to hitting F12 to take a screenshot - you'll want to punch your monitor when it closes the game.)

Crappy =everything= by 2018 gaming standards, and yet it's PERFECT!
Exactly what I expected. All expectations met, and then some.