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"It's hard to find the balance when you are in love.
You're lost in the middle cause you have to decide between mind & heart."
― Enigma
You're lost in the middle cause you have to decide between mind & heart."
― Enigma
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Ralph (Ad)Venture
Just got done playing this. For what it was, it was a pretty enjoyable game, and breath of fresh air from some of the more "serious" entries. The writing and the mapping were average, but an area in which the game probably stands out is in the music department. Some of the tracks were, well, different-- At least I am not familiar with upbeat, vocal pieces in my RPGs, so I enjoyed that.
Some of the gameplay choices were also very adequate for a game of this scope: Healing after battles, replenish-able potions, etc. But my only gripe is that the point of these mechanics is almost defeated by the fact that battles are unnecessary in this game. When you don't get any kind of benefit from battles (Exp, items, money, etc.) nor can you escape from them, they become a waste of time, and thus, is best to avoid them. On the bright-side, trying to avoid battles is kind of a mini-game on its own, so, it's not a total loss.
One little thing that caught my attention was that apparently, there's only one acceptable way to solve the "Wolf, chicken, corn" riddle, but as far as I know there two possible orders in which it could be solved, so, you may want to look into that.
Some of the gameplay choices were also very adequate for a game of this scope: Healing after battles, replenish-able potions, etc. But my only gripe is that the point of these mechanics is almost defeated by the fact that battles are unnecessary in this game. When you don't get any kind of benefit from battles (Exp, items, money, etc.) nor can you escape from them, they become a waste of time, and thus, is best to avoid them. On the bright-side, trying to avoid battles is kind of a mini-game on its own, so, it's not a total loss.
One little thing that caught my attention was that apparently, there's only one acceptable way to solve the "Wolf, chicken, corn" riddle, but as far as I know there two possible orders in which it could be solved, so, you may want to look into that.
Infinite Loop
Man, this game gave me a headache -_-; ...Normally, I would encourage this type of gameplay. You know, keeping things fresh, changing the game dynamics to keep players interested, etc. BUT only given that there's enough time to let the regular gameplay grow a little stale and as long as there's a decent difficulty curve to ease the player into it.
However, I felt these things were not present here. This game just throws things at you mercilessly: Now find this, find that! Now hack at the bad guy! Now get out of the maze! Now solve riddles! Now doge bullets! Would you like a tutorial on this? Would you like a tutorial on that? Etc. I mean, it's too much to take in for a game of this scope, and the fact that you have a countdown doesn't help.
Talking about that, my first impression was: "Oh, a 10 minutes time limit? That probably means the game is like 8 minutes long with 2 extra minutes to spare. Cool!" But, oh boy, I was wrong. Maybe this is more my fault, but I'm kind of neurotic about a game keeping a time limit on me, as I'll often re-play various sections of it in order to beat my previous time or hoping for better rewards, etc. So, in the long run, a game that would normally take 30-60 minutes to beat, will soon double, triple, or more, that amount of time... But I think even a player without my gaming habits will be redoing parts of this game several times, as the game makes it very easy for the player to fail.
My first issue would be that it's very easy to get cornered in the ABS sections. The mapping on the first battle (the city) is way more chaotic that it needs to be. How can I walk over a bench, but not over a pool of blood of jump over a small fissure on the ground? This hampers the navigation of the map, and like I said, makes it possible to get cornered. Once you're cornered, the bad guy will just spam you to death and BAM! You have to try again from your last save. This is less of an issue in the second ABS battle, but getting cornered is still very detrimental. I would suggest you to device a way in which getting cornered is just not possible at all.
My second issue would be that the game is rather unbalanced. In theory, Isabelle can get killed in just two turns, or in any single turn against more than one enemy, since I noticed all enemies had an attack that could take more or less 50% of her maxHP. And if you get unlucky, well, that's it. And it's not cost-effective to heal her every turn because that can take a dive on your resources, so, you have to take your chances. And if we add to this that any regular battle takes several turns to end, well... And don't even get me started on the bosses. As a general rule of thumb, if you can describe something as "overpowered" refrain yourself from including it in the game, unless you give the player a similar advantage. Because keeping up with the bosses and hacking away at their HP is a chore.
At the end, I sank nearly three hours on this game and only to get the bad ending xD such is my luck... If there was a clue hidden somewhere, something I had to do to get the real ending, I totally missed it. And I don't feel like starting all over again, if that's what it takes. xP
Regarding the other aspects of the game, they were good. The story was a bit cliche-y, but the actual writing was good; the mapping was good; the music was good. But I guess I didn't enjoy these things nearly as much as I could have because of the gameplay... sorry.
However, I felt these things were not present here. This game just throws things at you mercilessly: Now find this, find that! Now hack at the bad guy! Now get out of the maze! Now solve riddles! Now doge bullets! Would you like a tutorial on this? Would you like a tutorial on that? Etc. I mean, it's too much to take in for a game of this scope, and the fact that you have a countdown doesn't help.
Talking about that, my first impression was: "Oh, a 10 minutes time limit? That probably means the game is like 8 minutes long with 2 extra minutes to spare. Cool!" But, oh boy, I was wrong. Maybe this is more my fault, but I'm kind of neurotic about a game keeping a time limit on me, as I'll often re-play various sections of it in order to beat my previous time or hoping for better rewards, etc. So, in the long run, a game that would normally take 30-60 minutes to beat, will soon double, triple, or more, that amount of time... But I think even a player without my gaming habits will be redoing parts of this game several times, as the game makes it very easy for the player to fail.
My first issue would be that it's very easy to get cornered in the ABS sections. The mapping on the first battle (the city) is way more chaotic that it needs to be. How can I walk over a bench, but not over a pool of blood of jump over a small fissure on the ground? This hampers the navigation of the map, and like I said, makes it possible to get cornered. Once you're cornered, the bad guy will just spam you to death and BAM! You have to try again from your last save. This is less of an issue in the second ABS battle, but getting cornered is still very detrimental. I would suggest you to device a way in which getting cornered is just not possible at all.
My second issue would be that the game is rather unbalanced. In theory, Isabelle can get killed in just two turns, or in any single turn against more than one enemy, since I noticed all enemies had an attack that could take more or less 50% of her maxHP. And if you get unlucky, well, that's it. And it's not cost-effective to heal her every turn because that can take a dive on your resources, so, you have to take your chances. And if we add to this that any regular battle takes several turns to end, well... And don't even get me started on the bosses. As a general rule of thumb, if you can describe something as "overpowered" refrain yourself from including it in the game, unless you give the player a similar advantage. Because keeping up with the bosses and hacking away at their HP is a chore.
At the end, I sank nearly three hours on this game and only to get the bad ending xD such is my luck... If there was a clue hidden somewhere, something I had to do to get the real ending, I totally missed it. And I don't feel like starting all over again, if that's what it takes. xP
Regarding the other aspects of the game, they were good. The story was a bit cliche-y, but the actual writing was good; the mapping was good; the music was good. But I guess I didn't enjoy these things nearly as much as I could have because of the gameplay... sorry.
Gem Hunters: Xenogenous Predicament
Well, I seems the "oops" was on my part. I donwloaded the games the very first day and I didn't bother to check for updates after that. Anyway, I redowloaded the game just now and I could beat it this time; there are no more game-breaking bugs. Still, sometimes when your turn comes up, the skills menu appears displayed for some reason. You may want to look into that.
All in all, not bad for a game made in 24 hours. =P
All in all, not bad for a game made in 24 hours. =P
Heroes Unite!
Amazingly immersive writing? Check! Sparkly battle system? Check! Cool chibi graphics and fitting music? Check and check!
Insane-final-boss-that-nukes-you-into-oblivion-in-a-single-turn? Double check!! ...I hate you, Rhyme. Here, have my tears: Y_Y
Insane-final-boss-that-nukes-you-into-oblivion-in-a-single-turn? Double check!! ...I hate you, Rhyme. Here, have my tears: Y_Y
Gem Hunters: Xenogenous Predicament
The gem system and the "procedurely generated overworlds" system are both good ideas. The latter reminds me of the ".hack" series. My only worry is that randomly generated worlds may not translate too well to rpg maker. Vast, open areas are often considered bad mapping... Maybe if you made the different worlds to actually be "overworlds", you know, as in: "worldmaps"?. That little trick may make it easier on the players to assimilate the lack of detail. Dunno, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.
Anyway, I couldn't finish the game because I got several errors while playing, but you probably know about that already... Here they are:
When trying to buy a gem at the store:
Script 'interpret 7' line 272: NameError occurred
uninitialized constant interpreter::Game_gem
When trying to use a skill with no gem:
Script 'Scene_Battle 3' line 80: NoMethodError ocurred
undefined method 'useable?' for nil:NilClass
During the battle against the last boss:
Script 'Scene_Battle 3' line 232: NoMethodError ocurred
undefined method 'active=' for nil:NilClass
Anyway, I couldn't finish the game because I got several errors while playing, but you probably know about that already... Here they are:
When trying to buy a gem at the store:
Script 'interpret 7' line 272: NameError occurred
uninitialized constant interpreter::Game_gem
When trying to use a skill with no gem:
Script 'Scene_Battle 3' line 80: NoMethodError ocurred
undefined method 'useable?' for nil:NilClass
During the battle against the last boss:
Script 'Scene_Battle 3' line 232: NoMethodError ocurred
undefined method 'active=' for nil:NilClass
Final Quest - The disciple's journey
Cool game! :D I loed every minute of it. I just wish it had lasted longer/was more difficult. Idk, maybe I "grinded" a little, but by the time I reached the castle I had already mastered all three skill trees, so I just escaped from every encounter afterwards... Anyway, the game's mechanics and skills were perfect for a game of this scope. You managed to keep things fresh with just a two-members party.
All other aspects of the game were cool as well: the art (those facesets <3), the mapping (Although, I'm not much of a fan of VXace's RTP), the music, but specially the writing. The story was a nice change of pace from the more typical epic or absurd quest. It was funny in a heart-warming kind of way. My only 'complain' would be that the ""Maste-" "ULRIKA!"" gag was repeated a bit too much.
One little oddity that I found is that you can lit both torches in the castle with just one amber-thingy in your possession, so you don't need to get the second one. Dunno if this was supposed to be this way or if it was just an oversight.
Anyway, this was a very enjoyable entry. It would be interesting indeed to see a sequel. =P
All other aspects of the game were cool as well: the art (those facesets <3), the mapping (Although, I'm not much of a fan of VXace's RTP), the music, but specially the writing. The story was a nice change of pace from the more typical epic or absurd quest. It was funny in a heart-warming kind of way. My only 'complain' would be that the ""Maste-" "ULRIKA!"" gag was repeated a bit too much.
One little oddity that I found is that you can lit both torches in the castle with just one amber-thingy in your possession, so you don't need to get the second one. Dunno if this was supposed to be this way or if it was just an oversight.
Anyway, this was a very enjoyable entry. It would be interesting indeed to see a sequel. =P
Engalia: The Wager
So, uh, I had lots of trouble with this game... First of all, let me get out of the way that the retro-ish, chibi style you gave the character was pretty cute. The dialogue, for what little I could see of it (the intro), was of great quality. And the option to create your own party had the potential to be lots of fun. Sadly, things didn't go well from there.
The slow ATB bar is an issue. Maybe not so much for the casual gamer, but I'd say that any regular rm2k3 player has exhausted its patience for it. Luckily this can be easily fixed with a number of DynRpg maker plug-ins.
Back and Pincer attacks against the player are just not cool, man. Specially not in a game with balance issues like this one (more on that latter). It was a serious disadvantage to get caught in one of those, and they're way too frequent too! Long story short, you had me save-scuming in order to get an encounter with the odds stacked on my favor.
Maybe this is a matter of tastes, but I resent the lack of "progression" in a rpg. I want to see my characters grow in some way. But with the lack of levels, equipment, or new skills, the novelty of creating your own party soon vanishes, and fights become pointless. I did read that you're planning on including equipment in future releases, so, that's a good start.
But the REAL issue was the balance. Characters would often miss or deal pitiful damage, even with skills. How is it possible for Zack to deal around 300 damage with a skill like "Uppercut" which supposedly deals 200% damage, when his normal attack (if it lands) can deal around 1k? My secondary character, a Monk, was useless. He would deal 0 damage, and was as frail as the other characters so it's high HP just goes like water. My Summoner dealt decent damage (around 500 to all). But with just 30 MP that was merely enough to last two-three battles. This was specially true for my Healer. With the cost of healing skills at 10 MP, it was barely enough to offset the damage my party could take in any single battle -- And MP can be a problem unless you save-scum the chests for Ethers, or use 'recharge' a lot.
At the end, the game became an endurance test and I couldn't get past the Skeleton King. I may try again later with another party (Any suggestions?) to see if things fare any better, but I think I'll wait until you release an updated to give it another try.
The slow ATB bar is an issue. Maybe not so much for the casual gamer, but I'd say that any regular rm2k3 player has exhausted its patience for it. Luckily this can be easily fixed with a number of DynRpg maker plug-ins.
Back and Pincer attacks against the player are just not cool, man. Specially not in a game with balance issues like this one (more on that latter). It was a serious disadvantage to get caught in one of those, and they're way too frequent too! Long story short, you had me save-scuming in order to get an encounter with the odds stacked on my favor.
Maybe this is a matter of tastes, but I resent the lack of "progression" in a rpg. I want to see my characters grow in some way. But with the lack of levels, equipment, or new skills, the novelty of creating your own party soon vanishes, and fights become pointless. I did read that you're planning on including equipment in future releases, so, that's a good start.
But the REAL issue was the balance. Characters would often miss or deal pitiful damage, even with skills. How is it possible for Zack to deal around 300 damage with a skill like "Uppercut" which supposedly deals 200% damage, when his normal attack (if it lands) can deal around 1k? My secondary character, a Monk, was useless. He would deal 0 damage, and was as frail as the other characters so it's high HP just goes like water. My Summoner dealt decent damage (around 500 to all). But with just 30 MP that was merely enough to last two-three battles. This was specially true for my Healer. With the cost of healing skills at 10 MP, it was barely enough to offset the damage my party could take in any single battle -- And MP can be a problem unless you save-scum the chests for Ethers, or use 'recharge' a lot.
At the end, the game became an endurance test and I couldn't get past the Skeleton King. I may try again later with another party (Any suggestions?) to see if things fare any better, but I think I'll wait until you release an updated to give it another try.
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