My Playtime: 9.7h (100% achievement, finished the game)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (6 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.

The Tale of a Common Man is an RPG Maker game where you play as a farmer and never do any farming-related job in the whole game. It is a combat-focused, turn-based RPG Maker game where you are in a party with people from varied backgrounds with their purposes.

Pros:
- Use up to 8 characters in a party of 5 in battle
- 4 difficulties
- Option to have touch or random encounters, with a customizable random encounter rate
- Stat allocation

Cons:
- The game can be grindy in a higher difficulty
- Exploration isn't rewarding
- No respec option
- No way to recover MP except to use items

Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Yes.
If you want to play a mediocre RPG Maker game, buy it at a sale. Note that it's in a way lower quality than other Aldorlea Games and feels more like an amateurish work with better quality.

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The game uses a combination of default RPG Maker assets and customized assets. I recognize some assets to be used in Aldorlea Games' other games, and although I don't mind them, sometimes the assets aren't in the same style as the other. This makes some objects stand out as a result. The indoor mapping also looks repetitive with shops having the same layout with one spare tile in front of the counter and inns having two other exits that you can't enter. Exploring a town becomes boring as a result, especially when most buildings can't be entered.

Luckily, the dungeons are way better. Each dungeon looks different in its layout; some might be designed lazily, but others make up for it with their varied design. Despite the straightforward layout, each screen looks beautiful and unique from the others. The area name makes it obvious which map you should explore first, though. It makes dungeons feel small and not confusing to explore in the end.

To be honest, I had trouble understanding the story at the beginning. It tries to explain two sides of a story that will eventually combine into one. The problem is, the other story looks so distant and hard to understand, especially since they keep on throwing names and facts without explaining the worldbuilding first. You are forced to understand everything that was being told right away while trying to make sense of what happened.

Dialogues between the characters are also not polished enough, and it feels odd at times. One character has no reason of tagging along with the party, while the main character looks too innocent and accepts everyone that wants to go with him. However, I liked the character growth. Some characters were focused to change in a certain direction, which end up being important to the plot. The common man part in the title is also made as a focus, making the ending doesn't look as grand as it is going to be. I liked the simplicity.

Gameplay
If you have played other turn-based RPG Maker games, it's going to be like that. The gameplay is a repetition of you going between towns and exploring dungeons, taking optional side quests along the way. Unlike other Aldorlea Games, the transition feels more obvious and repetitive; towns are only used to talk to a certain person to progress the main story, and dungeons are small enough to be finished quickly. Moreover, they hardly hold anything of value; there might be some items that you can buy and side quests that you can take, but they are limited in nature. It's easy to forget which area is which as a result, making it hard to complete a quest where you have to backtrack to a certain area.

Exploration isn't rewarded either. There are hidden rooms that are commonly found in other Aldorlea Games, but they tend to give you either consumable items or ingredients. Side quests only reward you with EXP and gold, with some optional stat increase if you manage to finish some of them. The only gears that you can get from exploring will come from optional areas, which are usually where you have to finish most of your side quests. There aren't many that you can get, though.

Speaking of gears, it can be costly. You need to buy gears, but money is scarce, especially if you play in the higher difficulty. You'll be forced to spend money to buy items in higher difficulties since enemies hit hard and skills are limited due to the lack of MP regen capability. You need to constantly use items, whether to heal HP or MP, which will use a lot of your money. The game seems to be geared more towards crafting as a result, although I haven't found use for them since I played in the easiest difficulty.

One thing to note is that there is a stat allocation in the game. Each level up will give you some points that you can allocate to your party members. However, there is no respec option, so you are forced to either ditch or deal with the allocation if you screwed up. Allocating the stats for all of your party members also can be annoying since you need to do it one by one per each person.

Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 9.7h. The in-game clock states that I finished it in ~7h. I had to save scum several times since I don't want to buy antidotes, and the enemies, especially in the first area, has a high chance of inflicting poison. There is no way to cure it except by resting or using items.

As for the difficulty, the game offers 4 difficulties. I started the game at normal at first, but then I stopped at the first few minutes since I figured that it would be very grindy; it even asked me to grind on the first screen with enemies before I could move to the second screen. I ended up restarting the game in easy difficulty afterward, and I have to say that it's... easy. I don't have to worry about stat allocation or enemies killing me except for one fight near the end. I just need to plan some strategy by trial and error for that one.

Similar to the main character, The Tale of a Common Man is just a common game. Heck, it even feels like a game made by an amateur, which is kinda surprising since it's listed to be developed by Aldorlea Games. Well, after seeing the credit, it turns out that it's developed by someone else and being quality checked by the publisher. It makes a lot of sense, though.

Both town and kingdom names are too forgettable, making it hard to understand the story. Sometimes the story is just too confusing, although some parts are more polished, which I guess is where the quality check goes since the writing style feels similar to Millennium games for those. And then there is the combat. I know I shouldn't say anything since I play it in easy difficulty, but I was "forced" to play it in that difficulty in the first place because I know it will be grindy and I don't want to deal with it. Difficulty shouldn't equal grind.

What's good about the game, then? Well, if I had to say... it's the ending. I was about to not recommend the game before I see that. It's not as good as those story-heavy games, but it was good enough for a game of this caliber. Initially, I had a split opinion that is more leaning towards negative for this game, but I feel that the ending is good enough to tip the balance. That being said, it's still a mediocre game in all aspects, especially if you are used to Aldorlea Games, so I would only recommend it on a deep sale, and that's if you don't mind playing one with low quality.

This game was well designed, it never felt like I was over-powered, and I was always having to think about combat even up to the end of the game. I really like the writing also - it was clever and engaging. The party banter was quite funny in spots (you can listen in on their thoughts sometimes). It's an rpg-maker game, so if that bothers you, this may not be your cup of tea. If however, you like playing a challenging game that is both funny and clever, then you will enjoy it. I did. Game time was about 10-12 hours. Not bad for an inexpensive game! Have fun!

Just beat it on the hardest mode! Loveable characters, beautiful story, engaging combat, lots of stategy (or you can level grind), potion making is great! The world, I wish there was another game in this world! This game is worth at least 15$, I swear, I really became attatched to the characters! And its so well written, the character sprites look phenomenal! Truly, a MUST PLAY game, go for it, buy it, its fantastic! :D

This game honestly took me longer than expected to complete.
I just completed the game and the only thing I can say is that I was over prepared for the final battle.
The dungeon bosses prior to the final area were way stronger than all the opponents in there.
Definitely enjoyed the game play, story and finding the secret rooms.
Overall, good game.

From Aldorlea comes this game that has everything fans of the 16 bit style RPGs could ask for.

- A great story that draws you in immediately with an early terrible event that sets everything in motion ---- the murder of a "common" farmer's (Jerrat) family that sets him on a course of revenge that will take him on a long journey of discovery and adventure. Aldorlea always gives us great storytelling, and this one is exceptional.
- Excellent artwork that completely matches the events that are taking place.
- Beautiful music that supports the game without being intrusive.
- Characters that are likeable and believable.
- Game mechanics and controls that are flawless.
- Custom features that add to the game play and are easy to understand.
- Battle scenes that have depth and don't get boring.

A lot of of thought and care is evident in this well crafted game from all the above mentioned to the variety it offers (difficulty level, visible/invisible enemies, secrets, side quests, etc.) to the quick level of addiction you will experience here.

So much to like about this game ---- I would give this beautifully made RPG my highest recommendation, and it's on sale. Don't overlook or pass this one by. Get it now, and see what is in store for Jarret, Aayden, Eloabeth, and the others in the world of Kelagan. Great game.

Just finished Tale Of A Common Man some 47 hours later. This game does not let you down. Artwork excellent, involvement total. Characters true to life. Steam achievements. Enough main characters as the game progresses to chop and change who will be in your party (did I say characters).

A most unlikely set of adventures each with their own priorities brought together. It worked for me. However, it certainly made me think about the out-come. The developers I feel got it right.

For me I would have liked to have seen more of the 3D adventures in game rather than waiting till the end. That said, an excellent idea to give you a run down on how each of your party faired in and out of battle... Nice... No spoilers. If you enjoy RPG's I would certainly recommend giving it a try.

well worth the money and sooo many side quests i missed several aparently and still finished the game will have to hope for a walkthrough or guide to see exactly how many i missed lol

Generic grinding combat paired with a story that keeps telling you to go grind. Remarkably poor writing on a technical level combined with absolutely no sense of subtlety, as Jerrat tells the player that he loves his family and will be sad now that they're dead and swears revenge because he is angry and is bad at fighting because he is a common man, as the story then poorly meshes with the gameplay as Jerrat proceeds to have trouble beating up rats despite regularly going to the forest to pick mushrooms. Add in the clumsy pairing of original art and stock RPGMaker assets and you have an all around mediocre game that I see no reason to bother sitting through any longer.

Enjoyed it. I was surprised by how good a game it was to be honest. I really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters and the fact that you could see what characters were thinking at given points was a great way to give them more life. Combat is ok...it gets deeper as the the game progresses. Satisfying end to the story. The only qualm I have is the respawning enemies when you leave a map and come back to it. Fighting the same types of monsters over and over on certain tilesets can become repetitive. That being said it was money well spent. Thanks for the fun game!

I enjoyed this game. I like that we get to see a lot of the inner thoughts of the characters, and watch their personal progression. Combat was decent, good pixel art, though the outfits were silly nonsense. Good ending.

I like that there was a lot of world I didn't get to visit, as the characters had good reason to not just wander half a continent away -- they were on a deadline. Yet those areas existed anyway, to give the world life. There's more towns and cities than you can visit. Also there's a lot of doorways you can't enter, because of course homeowners and shopkeepers don't want you rummaging through their stuff. My primary compulsion as an RPG player is to loot everything, but we're playing as characters who generally don't do that. Nice touch. :D

Big complaint was controls. Controller didn't work, F12 surprisingly restarts the game instead of taking a screenshot (so I had to play the final battle again to see the rest of the ending -- oops!), and keys were not remappable. It wasn't crippling, but it was very inconvenient.