RED_NOVA'S PROFILE

As this is, no doubt, the focus of the entire game, this is what I'll cover first and foremost.

I'll be blunt: I was not on board with rescuing Aurelie. Why? Because she had almost no development. All we, as a player, have is Karuna's word that Aurelie was a good person. And that's not even fleshed out as well as it could be. What exactly do we know about Aurelie? Well, Karuna loves her.... And that's about it. We don't know what kind of person Aurelie was like before she disappeared. We don't know if Aurelie was kind, charming, funny, determined, shy, brash, or anything. We don't know how she acted around Karuna, either. Why does Karuna love Aurelie? Why should we, as a player, care about her?

Here's how to fix it: That scene where Karuna and Chisa spend the night after beating the first boss needs to be seriously fleshed out. We were TOLD that Karuna loves Aurelie. How about you SHOW us instead? Make a flashback with her and Aurelie before she disappeared. Help us understand WHY Karuna is so motivated to rescue Aurelie. We need to connect socially with Aurelie, that's how you make us get behind Karuna's motivation. Some scenes where Aurelie and Karuna spend time together will really help us understand Karuna's affections.

Also, how about the other party members' opinion of Aurelie. Is Chisa jealous that Aurelie has Karuna's affection? The Naga seems to hate Aurelie with a passion. Does Merel have that same hated? Conflicting emotions towards a character we should be feeling for will really get players hyped to get through the game to see how those emotions will be resolved.

Ten minutes in, and I can already tell she is going to be a fun character. She must have read as many fantasy novels as we all have, because she is 100% aware of when someone is being stupid and cliche, and doesn't hesitate to call them out on it. She even talks crap about the KING OF THE COUNTRY with no remorse whatsoever.

However, she didn't really feel like she was a part of the world as much as I hoped. The NPC's are really helpful in giving information, but that's what they feel like most of the time: Info dispensers. How about having some of them react when they see Karuna? A child happy to see her because Karuna had helped the child with a problem, a fellow soldier jealous of Karuna because she was chosen as a hero and not him, or even some fellow soldiers that Karuna trained with other than Chisa. This helps Karuna feel like part of the world, and helps the player make a connection to her.

She had some really good potential. But it feels like her affection for Karuna is her sole personality trait. Remember that scene where Karuna refused to go to the room Chisa was in because she didn't want to trouble her? Well, I would rework that scene so we see Chisa, and she and Karuna have some small dialogue together. That helps us get to know what kind of person she is, what she likes, doesn't like, and how she acts around Karuna before she realizes what Karuna is up to. And how about everyone else? Is Chisa's affection for Karuna known to all the other trainees? Is Karuna aware of Chisa's feelings? If not, I'd like to hear the reactions and thoughts of Chisa from Karuna and the other people of the town.

I would have preferred Chisa to not be as... open... to Merel's affections as we have seen. If she does like Karuna, I would think she would be a little more hesitant to just allow someone else to say they love her. Adding small tension like this really helps keep the player interested.

So far, Merel seems to have the most back story and personality of the trio of heroes, and is my personal favorite. She takes what she wants, is open to meeting humans despite the hate for them by every other Naga, and is very impulsive. Also, the other Naga talk about her enough that I have a clearly defined image of her.
I just wish I had a better first impression of her. I would like to see her doing something... Merel-ish, like arguing with a guard, or reading something she had stolen from the library. Because my first impression of her was that she was a flat character whose only there to fill the spot of mage in the party. I was since proven wrong, but that shows you the power of the first impression. Also, Merel seems like the kind of person who would just decide to go along with the party, rather than ask if it's okay, like she did at the end of the game.

But other than that, I actually had few criticisms for her.

- When Karuna talks to the innkeeper in Erdenguard, you forgot to add a name box for her.
- Formatting issue: After Yvian gives Karuna items, Karuna's dialogue box is over the bounds slightly.

- Typo in the sign in front of the door in the first cave.

- For being Karuna's squire, Chisa has some REALLY good starting stats. Since she levels up to Karuna's average pretty quickly, you may want to lower her attack and defense SLIGHTLY. Just the values at lv. 1 and 2.

- The music and sound choices were excellent! The game was really pleasing to the ears!

- Oddly enough, Karuna's sprite seems to have the least work done on it. Her body has very little shading, so she looks more like a red block. Which is strange, because EVERY other sprite looks great.

- The prices on high level equipment seem to be WAY more than needed. I don't want to shell out an extra 200 Vei for an item that only add 2 extra stat points.

- Spells should probably have more cost to them. Because the beginning of the game was WAY too easy. I could heal myself so easily that I didn't need to use items until I went into the Tidal Cave.

- Speaking of that, The Tidal Cave was SUCH a fun area! I really loved the design and mechanics of it. Keep that up!

- After the first boss, the game got really challenging. Good job on that!