EUPHONIAC'S PROFILE

I just completed Blue Skies. Thanks for developing an entertaining RPG.

Things I especially liked:

Talking "save points"

Cutscenes for story und character development

(Mostly) updated dialogue in towns after events

No minigames (I really hate them in RPGs)

Hopefully, I can return the favor a bit by offering - mainly nitpicking - improvement suggestions.

Things that could be improved (in no particular order):

There shouldn't be the need to install a RPG maker game.

Nowadays turn-based RPGs need an automatic wait function in my opinion. Battles aren't action-packed just because you have to press a button to activate the wait function.

The player should be able to save everywhere. Only being able to save at certain points doesn't make the game more difficult, it only adds to frustration. It's not a big deal, though, because the game is relatively easy and doesn't "feature" instant death situations.



It would be a good idea to let a native English speaker proofread the entire script. That's even more important for a non-native English speaker (I'm one myself, and I'm still terribly insecure even after 20 years of high-level practice and still make a lot of stupid mistakes).

The "lag" between screen transitions really tests my patience. The same is true for the "lag" before environmental effects take place. Maybe it's RPG Maker 2003's fault, but something like that never caught my eye in other RPG Maker 2003 games.

Dungeons are too short.

It's confusing that the order of battle commands is not the same for all characters, resulting in quite a few "misclicks".

Too many for my taste

The game doesn't . That wouldn't be a great problem if there wasn't .

Battles don't yield enough money. Likewise, the game discourages the player from using items because they're totally overpriced. Therefore, it comes down to resource management, i.e. fighting while not using items - which can be nerve-racking. Consequently, there's no "economic" opportunity to heal up before boss fights (at least in the beginning before Pocket Shelters become available).

Furthermore, endgame equipment is way too expensive. I could afford the best endgame equipment after grinding in the Astral Sphere until level 66. At that time, I didn't really need it anymore. Considering the expensive endgame equipment, it's not a good game design decision to constantly tempt the player to make bad business decisions (e.g. purchasing stat-raising items). It also would have been a good idea in this regard to include a secret optional superboss for high-level parties (if there is one, I didn't find it).

There should be someone in the late game who sells shields (I sold all shields under the wrong assumption that all or at least the best swords would be two-handed). Though the shields were pretty useless, anyway.

It would be nice if (regular) enemies would drop (more often) items like potions from time to time.

The lack of defensive pieces of equipment at the beginning is irritating.

There are no other things to discover than treasure chests (no hidden items in bookshelves etc.).

"Empty" direction signs are kind of pointless.

Locked houses in cities that don't have any purpose shouldn't be included.

(Possible) bugs:

One enemy in the Quas Ruins (E part) doesn't disappear after having been beaten (it's always a preemptive battle - maybe it was left there on purpose for leveling?).

The can be fought repeatedly. Could be intentional, though.

The Grand Staff of Old makes a second appearance in the Xmeil vendor's list. Fortunately, both versions are equally strong (and pricey).

Additional things that could be mentioned in the guide section:









Don't let my nitpicking discourage you. Thanks again for your entertaining game. I look forward to playing Blue Skies 2 as soon as it is completed.

It might be too late for you, juliab, but everyone who plays this game should know about this. I'm currently at the exact part you're stuck in, juliab, and I can't blame you for not having figured out the solution.

Here's the problem: The game suggests that people who want to please the light god Wa shouldn't enter Skull Tower (S of Bedalni), home of the shadow god Skiack's believers, while entering the tower is in fact necessary for story progress. Entering Skull Tower was literally the last thing I tried to advance the story.

In order to set foot in Skull Tower, you first need the bones that can be found in a treasure chest in the NW part of Oak Forest (Bedalni NE exit). Chances are that you already found them at the beginning. In exchange for the bones, the dark mage Leighton in Bedalni gives you an Evil Slime, and the Evil Slime grants you access to Skull Tower. There you can find an Ancient Book in a treasure chest on the 2nd floor. This Ancient Book initiates a tedious trade/fetch quest that must be completed in the following order:

Ancient Book > library manager in Carille --> Idol > nun in Carille's church --> Spider Food > spider trainer in Bedalni --> Psychic Orb > fortune teller in Enek Salt Lake Coast Village --> Unknown Herb > botanist in Carille identifies it as an Oskillo Leaf > fairy in NE part of Oak Forest --> Pixie Dust > magic shop owner in Carille --> Tiny Key > open the prison cell in dark mage Leighton's shop in Bedalni and give the Tiny Key to the old man being held captive there --> Old Man's Staff > staff shop owner in Carille --> Light Rune > Bedalni's church priest > Wa Pendant

Thanks to the Wa Pendant, you can now enter the 2nd floor of the church. Watch the cutscene and talk to Lufredis in order to recruit him. After having recruited Lufredis, you're now able to gain entry into the backyard (again) - where you can gain access to the next dungeon by reading the gravestone inscription and choosing "approach the gravestone". Furthermore, with Lufredis in your party you can recruit Rekkesh in the Carille arena champion room (that is available after winning the first arena tournament).

I'm sure this posting will help whoever is stuck in this part of the game.

Having played 9 of the first 10 Final Fantasy games (with the exception of 8), I'm well aware of that. Developing a Final Fantasy fangame doesn't mean you have to copy all the subpar components. There are mostly two types of players: Those who want nonstop action and those who want a pure turn-based experience without any reaction elements (which is one of the main reasons why the newer Final Fantasy games are less popular, because their battle systems annoy both types of players, especially the turn-based fraction of course). What good is a turn-based battle system for if you can die by doing nothing? If I wanted that, I could play an Action Adventure instead.

All I ask for is an additional wait function as described - let's call it "super wait" or maybe even "pussy wait". As far as I can tell, it shouldn't be a problem (technically) to implement such a wait function as it can be seen in countless other RPG Maker (VX Ace) games. Now I'm asking the developers: Would you be so kind to add such a wait function or should I sadly move on to another game?

Thank you for having developed this game. I'm normally not into 8-bit style RPGs, but "Dragon Fantasy: Heroes of Tsufana" was surprisingly addictive and fun for me. My pet peeve was that I could have sold the Omega Badge (that summons the ultimate optional boss Omega) and the Smithing Materials (that are needed to buy the best equipment) if I had wanted to, but not my "spare" Odinblades (best weapon for the hero) that I got after hours of grinding in the Cave of Trials. Omega was kind of easy at level 99 with the best equipment, though I wouldn't have survived the first round if my sage healer - who I made addicted to stat-raising items - had been killed. Thanks again, I needed your superb game to make peace with a generation of RPGs I totally missed out on.

Good for you that you decided to finish your precious game. :-)

One question: Will the battle system in the final version - assuming it's turn-based - have a (at least optional) wait function? A wait function will probably enlarge your potential circle of customers.