Recent reviews by Euphoniac

I've really enjoyed playing through "Mystica". It's an excellent successor to "Empire", the developer's first game. Although it's not necessary to play "Empire" first, I strongly recommend it; it's also a very good game, and many characters and locations appear in "Mystica" again, which continues "Empire's" story 30 years later. If you still decide to start with "Mystica", you can read about all of "Empire's" important events in the menu's detailed "notebook".

"Mystica's" story is gripping, the dialogues are witty and well written. Constant power struggles between different nations and the persecution of magic users are dominant themes throughout the game. The conditional turn-based battle system is also fun and challenging, featuring the usual elemental skills, status conditions and a very player-friendly skill-chain (quick time event) system to deal some extra damage. There's even a story mode that eliminates random encounters, so you can focus on the story if you want, and even in the normal mode random encounters can be adjusted at any given time (0%, 50% or 100%). Battles, besides EXP, also yield AP, which can be used in the "Skill Realm" to unlock new (active and passive) skills and stats bonuses. Item usage plays an important role in battles, since Evie can use cooking skills that consume different kinds of foods. Unfortunately, due to Evie's cooking skills, most monster drops revolve around cooking materials (which can also be bought), but if you - unlike me - don't like to grind for equipment, this design choice probably won't bother you.

There are a lot of side quests to undertake, and the developer provides an official walkthrough that contains all the important stuff (though not every hidden treasure chest or item). Many optional tasks are permanently missable, though, due to a (rather obvious) story-related point of no return before the game's final chapter, and some items are hidden in a counter-intuitive manner, so it would be wise to use the walkthrough even if you think you can manage on your own.

If you like story-heavy classic old-school JRPGs with (conditional) turn-based battles and don't mind playing games made with RPG Maker (MV), "Empire" and "Mystica" will provide dozens of hours of fun.

"Shadow Fate" is one of the best JRPGs I've played in a long time. Among the ones made with RPG Maker VX Ace, it's my favorite one together with "Forever Home". If classic old-school JRPGs with turn-based combat are up your alley, you won't regret buying this massive adventure (40+ hours of playtime).

Story: Spawn, an embodiment of human sin, is summoned by the Vengeance Guild that ostensibly fights crime in the city of Atro. When Spawn learns about the Vengeance Guild leader Ysella's true goal (which is to summon Ioro, the Devourer, an entity beyond the mortal realm that prevents humans from reaching paradise), Spawn is forced to flee. Together with other party members that get involved, he must first fight to live another day, until the party is strong enough to thwart Ysella's and Ioro's ambitions. It's a well-executed save-the-world story with a few twists and many shades of gray. There are also implications about our wasteful lifestyle, and despite themes like "human sin", the game doesn't really enter the minefield of "religion territory". Furthermore, two well-executed love stories are central to the plot. To top it all off, the ending is emotional and immensely satisfying, and the many unexpected and competently foreshadowed secrets of the party members spice up things along the way. Only small demerits can be noted: A few MacGuffin hunts in the game's later half slightly impact the story flow, and the party only learns about Ysella's and Ioro's past through "flashbacks".

Characters: It's a lovable bunch. Spawn struggles with his (absence of) humanity in a way that makes him the most human of all characters. His teammates get involved involuntarily in the great quest, but they all have unique personalities and make great additions. Meet Wyatt, the caring gunman who didn't want to follow in the footsteps of his father (a famous bounty hunter); Terell, a bodyguard who struggles with heights and old age (both played for jokes); Rennie, a sassy farmer girl who gains the ability to change into different monster forms; Kye, a merchant with telekinetic powers; his sister Kendra, a psychic that loves (recorded) TV dramas and to steal shiny things; and, lastly, Sidalia, an assassin of the Vengeance Guild whose life and beliefs get turned upside down as the plot unfolds. The antagonists Ysella and Ioro are great, too, since they share a heartbreaking past.

The graphics are beautiful, a lot of resources are used to create stunning maps. In contrast to many other RPG Maker VX Ace games, "Shadow Fate" can be played in an expanded window mode.

Gameplay: The usual here: You explore dungeons and fight (mob/boss) monsters in turn-based (side-view) battles. Dungeons (like forests, plains, temples, ice, volcano, sewers) are well designed and offer lots of exploration incentives (many well hidden treasures) and a few (not really hard) puzzles. On most dungeon maps, the party members' field abilities can be utilized to obtain extra treasure, so it's a good idea to scour all maps using different party compositions (unfortunately, party members can only be switched out at inns, and you can't see a field skill map icon unless the character in question is in the active party). Spawn can use teleportation panels and cloak himself to give the party a first strike state when engaging in battle (monsters are visible/respawnable - no random encounters - and chase/ambush you when you approach them uncloaked). Wyatt can snipe a few distinct enemies to convert them into treasure chests, Terell can destroy obstacles, Rennie can reach far-away treasure chests, Kye can float nearby treasure chests and create bridges, Kendra can talk to the dead and remove spiritual obstacles, and Sidalia can charm or lure enemies for certain benefits. Fast travel is unlocked later, and a quest log details the party's objectives, which means the player doesn't have to do without modern amenities.

Battles are very complex, but a lot of fun, not only because of the great skill animations. The active party is composed of three members, and Spawn (if present) can't be switched out. Each character has a huge set of unique skills at their disposal, which means the player has always means to fight back. Spawn is a jack-of-all-trades neutral and elemental (especially shadow) damage dealer that can also be played as an evasion tank. Wyatt utilizes physical gun shots with elements attached and learns some really powerful support and damage skills later. Terell is mostly a classic tank, but can dish out a surprising amount of physical damage as well. Rennie is a party of her own, since each of her monster forms, between which you can switch freely, plays differently. Kye has a variety of unique "merchant"/"sailor" skills and is the only one who can fly and ground flying enemies. Kendra is a great healer/mage/disruptor and the only one who can steal items from enemies. Finally, Sidalia is another jack-of-all-trades, utilizing different stances related to different playstyles.

One important mechanic at play is the "EX meter" that fills by using certain skills or performing certain actions during battle. You can either wait until the "EX meter" is full to use a "super" skill, or you can use part of the meter to trigger the "EX effect" of one of your basic skills by pressing "Esc" shortly after the skill selection. Other factors to consider are the enemies' positions, the many status conditions that can be inflicted, the use of "instant" skills (that don't use up an action point), the reach of multi-target skills, and skill cooldowns and warmups. Also, some skills can only be used in the aforementioned first strike state during the first turn. Furthermore, while actions can't be freely distributed among party members (each party member has to use up their own action points, usually one per turn, but more when certain skills are used or conditions met), the order can be chosen freely (e.g. you can cure a silenced party member on the first position, enabling him/her to use a skill this turn). The battle system seems overwhelming at times, yet it's "easy to learn, but hard to master" at its best. By the way, all party members can and should be developed, not only because the final boss fights cleverly force you to use all of your party members. You're "stuck" with certain party members during particular segments, which means it's a good idea to become accustomed to their playstyles.

Adding to the complexity is a plethora of items, including specialized equipment pieces for nearly any situation, character-exclusive accessories and food items that provide decent (but mutually exclusive) buffs. Honestly, it seems a bit too much at times, and it's definitely possible to overcome all challenges by sticking to a few select equipment pieces, but I'd rather have too many than too few options. Many equipment pieces even have skills attached that can be learned by using the skill a certain number of times. Most of these skills are "mere" elemental ones, but they are great for exploiting enemies' elemental weaknesses.

Sadly, a lot of things can be permanently missed during the game's first hours, including the ability to earn certain achievements (later), so completionists should refer to the information provided on the Steam forum. In addition to offering a lot of side quests, the game "challenges" the player with different mini games, including three well designed "seahorse racing" tracks and a bowling mini-game, all of which can be completed even by players that are less proficient when it comes to action segments. While the game contained a few bugs at launch, the developer, who is very active and friendly, has fixed them astonishingly fast.

In conclusion, the game is everything I'd expect and hope to see in a modern retro-style (insert your favorite classic JRPG series). If every other game showed the amount of love and detail that has gone into "Shadow Fate", our gaming backlogs would be infinitely longer.

I prefer to play classic old-school JRPGs with lots of battles and cliché save the world plot, but once in a while I need something different. Of all the different JRPGs I've played, this game is definitely among the best.

The game's absolute highlight is without a doubt the captivating writing. Of course, the characters originate from certain archtypes, yet they are believable, likable and simply well written, while also perfectly harmonizing with each other. This is especially true for protagonist Kalymn and Quinta, two mavericks who slowly learn to depend on others and especially on each other. These characters are perfectly capable of transporting the game's more serious and emotional moments (when stories about war, prejudice, racism or abusive parents are told), but they're an even more perfect fit for the many superb jokes the game has to offer. I can say with certainty that this game is the funniest one I've played in a long while. Even the few fourth-wall-breaking and meta ones (which can be disabled at the beginning) are always fitting. But make no mistake: This is no joke game that desperately throws punchlines at you. The humor is based on and created by the story and characters - if you ask me, it's the best kind of humor when witty characters are confronted with the absurdity of their (fantasy) lives.

It's a good thing that the writing stands out, because there's a lot to read (if you want). If you love what I call "to collect dialogue", which means checking NPCs for new dialogue, then this is the game for you. There are three segments in the game during which Kalymn and Co. suffer from a certain situation or need to search for a specific person, and in every one of them almost every NPC in the entire game offers new/unique dialogue. This level of detail and commitment is simply astonishing. Some scenes are slightly different dependent on who's in the active party, but it's always clear who should be in the party at any given moment to get the most out of the scenes.

The huge amount of dialogue also means there's lots of exploration incentives. Nearly every item in the game can be interacted with, most of them even feature different reactions based on who the game deems party leader at that moment. While this amount of (potential) interaction might seem overwhelming, most objects and interactions come in categories and with identical results, meaning: If you've examined, for example, one barrel, you'll get the same reaction when examining any other barrel (and sadly, there aren't any items hidden in them). There are a few exceptions, though, and of course they're tied to the oh so elusive achievements.

If you want to earn all achievements, you're in for a ride. Apart from needing two playthroughs to get all achievements (due to two of them being related to different difficulty settings), many achievements can only be accomplished during certain (small) time frames, which means they're permanently missable. You need to approach this game with the mindset of trying anything and everything. If the game tells you not to do something, do it. If you're confronted with different dialogue choices, save and reload and try them all out. You will still miss a few achievements, and it will broaden your horizon as a gamer.

One aspect I've mixed feelings about is the party management. There are 6 playable permanent party members in total, but only 4 can be in the party - and I mean party, not only the active party. That means if you want to swap party members, you need to dismiss one party member first, then you must go to the location of the desired party member to add him/her to your party. At least each of them can be found in the two big cities (which can be connected with teleportation crystals by completing a certain side quest), and there's even a good reason why this system is kind of necessary (because of the cold war between humans and drows - dark elves -, Smith and Prisilla generally can't be taken into human territory). I still would have preferred a different approach, but at least the game motivates you to develop all of your party members.

Battles are fairly standard, which means I've seen better and worse, but they're enjoyable enough. A lot of the fighting revolves around status conditions and (de)buffs. I've only played through the game on the hardest difficulty setting so far, and some of the fights can take a turn for the worse very fast if you've bad luck. A reliable strategy I "discovered" (it's kind of obvious) is to equip Kalymn, Quinta and/or Fargo with accessories that enable them to cause status conditions, then let them use their Cleave skill that hits all enemies, and finally concentrate fire on any enemy that somehow evaded all status conditions. Some specific encounters can be a walk in the park by spamming skills of the enemies' weak elements. Grinding is not required, but it's possible and can make the player quickly overpowered, though certain enemies are always a threat if not taken down fast enough. By the way, the battle system is turn-based, but I guess you wouldn't read this review if you didn't know that already.

As I said before, this isn't a game about saving the world, it's more about protecting the lives the party members want to live. Although you could say the game offers an array of side quests as the main quest, sometimes the stakes are surprisingly high (yes, you will slay monsters and prevent slaughter). Nonetheless, the world is relatively small. Apart from the two big cities (and one small town), there are only two larger "outside dungeon areas" - Monster-infested Woods and Frostcap Mountains (summit) - among several smaller ones, and only one main storyline dungeon (Wolf's Den). Dungeon crawling is something you definitely shouldn't except from this game (which is why the game can probably be completed in less than 10 hours). It's a shame that the five mini bonus dungeons (part of a side quest) must each be completed in five minutes, since they're well designed and should have been part of the main quest (in my opinion). Another timed segment awaits the player towards the end of the main story, and while I don't like timed segments, the time limits are fair. Puzzles are absent for the most part, but the Wolf's Den offers a bit of boulder-pushing and passcode-solving. Quests are of varied nature (including matchmaking) and even involve a murder investigation, which should serve as a highlight for anyone who enjoyed, for example, the Ace Attorney games.

Treasure chests' placement and their contents, though, are a bit of a disappointment. If you always upgrade your equipment at shops as soon as possible, you rarely find anything useful (unless the treasure chest is guarded by a dragon - such a treasure chest must and does contain something very good). Especially aggravating is the situation in the aforementioned bonus dungeons. They are littered with treasure chests that contain junk items, but you must open them to find at least one key item (or you can't engage the boss), and since they disappear upon being opened, it's a good idea to open some of them simply to have more room to outmaneuvre the surprisingly sturdy (time-consuming) enemies, all while having the timer count down. Unfortunately, the game doesn't tell you that each bonus dungeon contains a character-specific accessory, which is permanently missable. The most viable strategy is to make test runs and open all treasure chests in order to determine where the special items are located. Speaking of items, I rarely used the common ones apart from some Health or Mana Potions. While the game provides you with items that prolong (de)buffs, I never found any use for them.

Verdict: It's a great game for what it sets out to be, dialogue-heavy, often times funny, with many things to discover (and miss). The developer is very nice and helpful, and I'm still pondering if I should propose to her Kalymn-style (he proposes to every woman). :D

There isn't much I can add compared to the other reviews, just a short (selective) list of pros and cons:

(+) Decent playtime (at least 20+ hours)

(+) A lot of different skills for party members to use; skills can also be leveled up by using them (though this time around, it's nearly impossible to reach maximum level with even one skill). Cooldown time for skills makes the battles more strategic, although it only comes down to "rotate your best skills" instead of "sp*m your best skill all over again". Nonetheless, the process and enjoyment of getting stronger is one aspect that this developer regularly nails.

(+) Extensive and rewarding crafting system (though the developer still struggles with the correct completion rate). Mining and fishing are features once again (ores and fish are also needed for crafting), but the best mining location is literally lost in ice, making it recommended (but difficult) to gain all needed ores there on the first visit. Mining and fishing still only consist of pressing Enter to gain a semi-random item, so it tends to become tedious after a while.

(+) This time (compared to the developer's previous game "Wormskull"), most locations remain accessible throughout the game. No more arrays of one-time-only locations, (almost) nothing is permanently missable now. Please retain this structure in future games.

(+-) Story and dialogue aren't bad, but there's still a lot of room to improve. It's a standard "save the world" plot that keeps the player going.

(+-) There are eight playable party members, and the player will spend a lot of time with two parties of four in succession. When the two parties are united, the player must choose on which party members he wants to concentrate, since it isn't feasible to develop all of them. While playing the first party of four, balance is a bit off (battles are needlessly long and difficult), but it gets better once the game switches to the second party of four (that has more AoE firepower), and then worse (again) towards the end of the game. Some party members are more useful than others (especially Athos and Destiny as the main protagonists), but apart from that, there aren't any wrong choices. I personally couldn't connect to the characters this time. Destiny in particular comes off as a b*tch when trying to be "bad*ss".

(+-) Level-ups once again grant players points to invest to permanently raise party members' stats, but it still isn't possible to "respec". Some developers even managed to enable the reallocation of stat points going all the way back to RPG Maker VX, so it should be possible in RPG Maker MV, too.

(+-) Many battles are fairly challenging, but mostly because enemies are huge HP sponges. As mentioned before, this is somehow problematic when playing the first party of four and towards the end of the game.

(+-) Compared to the developer's previous games, random mobs drop mostly crafting materials. This time, all the good stuff is locked behind side quests, thus rewarding and limiting the player at the same time. No grinding x EXP +20% accessories for all party members this time. There's still a lot of amazing equipment to discover - equipment management is definitely one of this game's strengths.

(+-) The game contains a faction system. Currying favor with them nets the player useful rewards, though the conditions and value thresholds aren't always clear, and certain tasks (like giving item x to NPC y) must be performed one at a time (and a lot of times) in succession.

(-) Mapping remains a huge weakness. Most maps that look decent are based on sample maps, which I consider unacceptable for a game in this price range. The dungeon design, while serviceable, also suffers from this issue. Nevertheless, there are once again many locations to explore, and if this is your first RPG Maker JRPG, these issues won't be that glaring.

(-) Some skill animations, while looking pretty, are too long, especially with regards to powerful AoE skills (like "Crack in the Sky") that the players wants to use as often as possible.

I think I enjoyed this game's predecessor "Wormskull" a bit more (or I would have if it wasn't for "Wormskull's" array of one-time-only areas and all its permanently missable stuff). "Angel Made" is still a long and decent (yet still slightly overpriced) game that improves on some of "Wormskull's" weaknesses. If you enjoyed any of the developer's previous games or if you're looking for a long classic old school JRPG that makes getting stronger a blast, this game is for you, even though the mentioned flaws hold this game back from true greatness.

It's hard to recommend this game. There are so many things that I didn't like.

- Practically non-existent story apart from saving the world and slaying the next random enemy. Side quests aren't better; they're mostly composed of "fetch" and "kill x monsters" quests.

- Embarrassing script that ranges from annoying (forced puns) to cringeworthy (party members using terms like "bro", "dude" or "chill" - I'm not sure if only Garrett was to blame, but that doesn't matter in the end).

- Too many party members, most of them are empty husks that don't contribute anything to the story, and many of them are relatively useless in combat.

- Most battles are a slog when the player doesn't overlevel the party and doesn't constantly switch those party members in that have the best multi-target elemental skills needed for the enemies currently fought. But of course, you can't simply spam these skills, since all skills have cooldowns (instead of an MP system), and some enemies like these aggravating mimics just disable all party members' skills apart from the most basic attack.

- Speaking of slog: no auto-run! You need to hold the Space key in order to run. Another method is to run to an NPC and talk to him/her while holding the Space key, which enables auto-run, but only until the next interaction or battle.

- I didn't discover a comfortable way to play the game with only keyboard or only mouse, so I had to use both, constantly switching between them. Imagine someone searching for online p*rn who needs one hand on the keyboard and one hand on the mouse, while one of these hands would be needed elsewhere. Controls are clunky in general. You can only face or walk in one direction at a time. Thus, my preferred JRPG exploration walking style (hugging the walls - checking for secret passages - while still moving forward) was banned from the dance floor.

- Boring equipment upgrade system where the results aren't worth the efforts. Enemies mostly drop useless stuff, and the player gets exactly one drop per battle, regardless of the (number of) enemies fought. I've never seen such a stupid drop mechanic in a JRPG before.

- Item management is super tedious, not just because items have to be bought and sold one copy at a time. Since items are displayed only by icons in the item section inside the menu, it's quicker to check for new items by checking the party members' equipment section. That is when you know what you're looking for, which might not be the case, because item drops use abbreviated terms on the battle victory screen. You might find the "Sea B." helmet dropped by an enemy somewhere in your inventory, or you might not. Also, there doesn't seem to be a way to toggle between party members, which means have fun checking each party member manually.

- Dungeon design and mapping are serviceable in the game's best moments, some locations/treasures are even relatively well hidden (e.g. The Secret Sands), but otherwise everything is bland and uninspired, and many dungeons defy common sense and only exist for the player's sake (like that one convoluted town library), which is a prime example of bad world-building. Some puzzles like ice-sliding are implemented, but veteran players have seen better versions of them in dozens of games. And unfortunately, random encounters aren't disabled during all puzzle segments.

- While there doesn't seem to be any permanently missable content (quests, items) per se, in at least one instance the player has to obtain all treasures during the first visit of a location (like in the magma dungeon), because "pathfinding" mechanics aren't reset upon the dungeon's completion, thus cutting off access to most of the dungeon upon a second visit.

- There isn't any opportunity to manually save the game, so the player has to rely on the auto-save and hope that nothing goes wrong (at least I didn't encounter any game-breaking bugs that would have rendered my save file useless). Why the h*ll? This is a single player offline JRPG, for Final Fantasy's sake! Not only was I constantly afraid of losing my progress, I didn't dare to try anything "funny", since the discovery of any bug could have made me end up with an unusable save file.

- The developer is mostly unresponsive on Steam and doesn't even fix simple bugs. Especially frustrating are the broken achievements. As of writing this review, one Steam achievement ("Promote 10 units") simply didn't trigger for me (even though the corresponding in-game achievement triggered), and one Steam achievement ("Defender"), which requires to use the skill "Protect" to protect allies in battle, can't be obtained, because the corresponding in-game achievement doesn't register protecting allies in battle.

If you can look past all these issues, at least the game features a decent amount of content, but like Spock used to say: The need for many hours of mediocre entertainment doesn't necessarily outweigh the need for a few hours of quality entertainment. I'm sure he should have said that in "Star Trek: Discovery". "Pixelot" is essentially to "Dragon Quest" what "Star Trek: Discovery" is to, well, all of Star Trek: A flawed reimagination of a classic that will leave old and new fans alike baffled and angry (except for some positive reviewers that are now friends with the developer on Steam).

Many RPG Maker 2003 games have been in development (and temporarily abandoned) for more than 15 years. Now that games like "Ara Fell" have proven that people are willing to pay money for these games (if they're good enough), all the stragglers have begun to crawl out of their holes, trying to fulfill their childhood dreams. Some amateurish projects better remain unfinished, though; unfortunately, this game is one of them despite some visible effort.

Bottom line: Unless you're in desperate need of another classic old school RPG Maker 2003 JRPG, I can't recommend this game. There are far better games (for free) out there (check out "Theia: The Crimson Eclipse", for example).

The story is presented in the most boring way possible (just read the pseudo-epic babble on the game's store page and you get a glimpse of what I mean), and the developer fails to make the party members and antagonists appealing and interesting. There's too little dialogue of relevance, and all events leave open too many questions (maybe the developer forgot that the player doesn't know as much about the game's universe as he does). Just being able to present one's lines without too many spelling and grammar mistakes doesn't make one a good writer. Some of the party members even get awkward exposition info dump flashbacks right at the beginning. Yeah, I want to travel with you and fight by your side, and I want to get to know you better, but that doesn't mean you have to tell me your life story after we've just met. Without their not very relatable back stories, though, all party members are blank slates and utterly interchangeable.

Unfortunately, the ATB (Active Time Battle) system only features a press Enter wait function, not a fully automatic one, so that battles feature even more button mashing. While weapons and shields incorporate certain elements and status conditions, none of them are explained (there's an in-game manual that should cover them, but it doesn't work as of writing this review). None of them matter, though, if the player takes the time to acquire the powerful arena weapons (early).

The current level cap of 25 is way too low (RPG Maker 2003 allows up to level 99), I reached it (after a bit of grinding) after the second dungeon. Why develop a classic old school JRPG with this engine and then cripple the expected meaty hardcore experience? I mean: When I see all these elemental skills that can be bought at the Mages Guild, it's perfectly natural wanting to acquire them as soon as possible if this task only requires reasonable effort. Why should I expect to reach the peak of fighting prowess after slaying a few slimes, pigs and brigands? To make matters worse in terms of balance, many enemies have a low chance of dropping "Herb Satchels". Opening one randomly provides the player with up to three Herbs of one type, all of them permanently raising certain categories of stats, including the Golden Herb which raises all stats by two. Due to the random nature, abusing save & reload can easily provide the player with enough Golden Herbs to become practically invincible, and then the arena offers an even easier way to obtain an unlimited number of Golden Herbs. I'm not complaining per se; I like abusing save & reload and getting stronger in general. But why cap the level at 25 and then let the player run wild with abusing Herbs? I can't wrap my head around this sort of contradictory game design.

While the dungeon design and the mapping are tolerable (despite some glaring obstruction mapping errors), towns suffer from "big map syndrome", featuring large, irrelevant areas (with many buildings that can't be entered), offering nothing to explore, with too few NPCs (compared to the towns' size) that also have nothing interesting to say. Some buildings can be entered, but shops are menu-based. Sleeping at an inn spawns the player on the top floor instead of near the entrance. Inconsistencies and inconveniences like these ones permanently annoy the player. While I don't criticize developers for mostly using the resources provided by the software (RTP - Runtime Package), since that's what the software is there for, the lack of custom resources doesn't help to mitigate the aforementioned issues.

Speaking of exploration: Most objects can be examined, but identical objects all show the same evented message and contain nothing. That means you get the same message (and find no items) no matter which bookshelf or jar you examine. This design choice is terrible, since the pure existence of these messages compels the player to examine all objects nonetheless, despite there being nothing to find, and the messages are meaningless and don't incentivize the player when they're all the same and don't yield any items. To make matters worse, the third dungeon suddenly forces the player to examine all objects to advance, and one riddle even expects the player to examine a certain object from a specific angle, while only providing a very vague hint about that ("greeting the sun" or something like that, meaning to face east). Seriously, I love examining objects and finding hidden items in JRPGs, yet I would prefer the complete absence of object descriptions/events over this player expectations betraying mess.

I usually don't write reviews for games I haven't completed yet, but it's very unlikely at this point that I will change my opinion, because the game is simply a too generic and ham-handed representative of the genre.

Having played hundreds of classic JRPGs, I'm always on the lookout for a fresh experience. Zombies are still a rare appearance in classic JRPGs. "Wolfenhain", a free German RPG, implemented them in a Low Fantasy setting last year. "Galer: Plague of Heroes" is this year's High Fantasy JRPG embodiment.

If you like Final Fantasy VI (large cast of characters, dawning apocalypse scenario) and zombies, bothered to read my review and don't dislike RPG Maker (2003) games, there's a good chance this game might appeal to you.

While the story (see the game description) is executed fairly well (despite/because of a lack of major, but therefore also often unbelievable plot twists), it suffers from typos and a "doughy", seemingly unrelated beginning. If you can make it past that, though, you'll have a hard time finding another JRPG like Galer that forces you this strongly to question your heroes' success. Despair's palpable as you seem to fight a losing battle. This might be the game's greatest merit, as the heroes' victory in other JRPGs is never in any real danger (unless these games deliberately offer "bad ending" or "chaos" routes). Finally, a satisfying ending rounds out the story.

The beginning is typical JRPG fare (visit town, clear dungeon, rinse and repeat). Things get more interesting when the player is granted full control over his own home base. Here, he can change party members, forge equipment, create items and much more. A lot of systems and mechanics have been implemented compared to other JRPGs of this kind. While this is commendable, the player can find enough rare equipment in dungeons without ever having to rely on the opportunities the home base has to offer.

Speaking of implemented mechanics, there's a rather unique one: When traversing the world map, the player doesn't only fight random encounters on the world map, but also random encounters to protect the home base (either-or, so this doesn't mean twice as much random encounters). This feature creates the chance to test all characters in battle and contributes to the story scenario's flair. Furthermore, if the home base party is strong enough to scare monsters away (happens automatically), the player receives a "Wild Card" that awards, when used, a randomly created bonus. The effects range from mere money to (permanent) status-raising items, free level-ups, summons that can be used in battle and even new skills. I deem this mechanic refreshing, but easily abusable once the party members are strong enough. In any case, be prepared for a rather high random encounter rate with no way of mitigating it. Apocalypse isn't known to let the players rest.

When the home base becomes available, the player has to choose a difficulty setting. "Normal" leaves everything as it is, but "difficult" forces the player to buy food rations in order to survive overworld trips. Despite underlining the fight for survival, this feature complicates exploring the world map, so I'm glad it's purely optional. It may very well be this feature doesn't pose a problem anymore once the player is able to travel by (air)ship.

My biggest gripe with the large cast of characters is that there aren't enough meaningful battles for all of them to participate in. There are some scenarios that force the player to use certain party members, but it just isn't enough (so don't expect a "Suikoden"). Especially the game's final stage, despite being intense as hell, wastes a lot of potential in this regard (compare JRPGs like "Legends of Illarion" that force the player to use all party members by forming different parties for simultaneously - successively - fought battles). It doesn't help that many characters receive hardly any development (if any at all). The antagonists aren't anything special, but they get their jobs done. On the other hand, the main characters and their problems are likable and believable. To name a few: Paladins struggling with the fact that the god they believed in may not exist, regular people having to cope with the loss of their friends, a defector having a hard time to be (and feel) accepted - while the wheel isn't reinvented, any JRPG player will feel right at home.

Dependent on which party members the player takes (and sometimes doesn't take!) with him to certain locations, he's awarded with additional story scenes or side quests that become available. The player can discover enough hints to find most of the optional stuff, but he's likely to miss something without developer's knowledge. Most of the side quests unlock scenes from the past of certain characters, which the player can view at the home base. There are also some "one-time only dungeons" and other permanently missable things. Thus, be aware that this game can be frustrating for completionists, particularly as it doesn't offer any replay value.

Another typical problem that comes with (too) many party members: The player doesn't know which characters will be useful until the end. Should you level up your characters evenly or concentrate on a few select ones? It's definitely the latter for this game. Since there are enough (voluntary) opportunities to grind and even to buy level-ups for party members (using money earned in-game at the home base, requiring increasing amounts of money at higher levels), any player will be able to circumnavigate potential "roadblocks". The game features some unwinnable boss battles, though, a device I truly despise. This is even more aggravating considering this game could really use more boss battles in general. Fortunately, at least the ones available can be exciting and force the player to make full use of all his battle options.

Battles feature the standard RPG Maker 2003 system, which means ATB ("active time battles") like in earlier Final Fantasy games. Bars fill up for your party members, and if a bar is completely full, you can input an action. Dependent on the setting, this system either resembles real-time combat (“active”) or turn-based combat (“wait”). The wait function is fully automatic, so battles halt completely when it's the player’s turn to input an action. I really appreciate this execution, since a lot of JRPGs only halt battles when pressing “enter” or while navigating through menus.

Apart from the battles, there are several "mini games" that require to avoid or run away from zombies or to quickly fetch some things to barricade a house so that zombies can't enter. Some of these sequences are difficult, especially when the player isn't accustomed to 2D action games, but they are never unfair and instead manage to make the zombie apocalypse feel more real (also, there's only a few of them). This isn’t "The Walking Dead", where zombies don't pose much of a threat nowadays. Additionally, there are some sequences during which the player has to "perform" while being pressed for time (e.g. flee from a collapsing cave within five minutes like in "Wild Arms 1"). I don't like being pressed for time in JRPGs, but these sequences fit the game's style, and they are - once again - never unfair.

In terms of graphics and music/sound, the game seems to rely on resources from RPG Maker 2003's RTP, mixed with a few fitting original pieces. These graphical resources are, to my mind, the best ones to create a Super Nintendo JRPG flair, but as a consequence, this game looks like any other game made with RPG Maker 2003. There's room for improvement when it comes to mapping, but the overall dungeon design is mostly motivating. The developer responds quickly to bug notifications, so the game shouldn't suffer from game-breaking bugs anymore.

I enjoyed this game despite the aforementioned flaws, and I encourage any JRPG aficionado to at least give it a try. Galer isn't a masterpiece, but it's a tremendous (mostly) one-man effort, a love letter to classic JRPGs, adding a special zombie touch. Trying like Galer to tweak the formula without breaking it, that's what more classic JRPGs nowadays should try to accomplish.

I can't recommend this game for the following reasons:

- Lazy RPG Maker "production" (I played far better RPG Maker games that were for free like Everlong, Last Scenario, Seraphic Blue)

- Constant biblical indoctrination. It was insomuch obtrusive that I thought there had to be a twist, yet this game takes itself seriously until the bitter end.

- Subpar and amateurish writing in general. There were so many passages that would have made me laugh my head off if they hadn't pissed me off instead.

- The final boss battle was a joke. I won't spoil much when I say that you can't win the first battle and virtually can't lose the second battle "for story reasons", thus revealing all grinding (see below) to have been utterly futile.

- Battles in general are boring. Your only two choices are to either exploit your enemy's one and only weakness over and over again or to die. Not only, but especially the foes in the last dungeon can "one-shot" any character despite his/her setup. Unfortunately, the class system renders itself redundant. Your "mage-born" characters will never be strong enough for the fighter classes and your "fighter-born" characters will never be intelligent enough to use mage abilities effectively vice versa. At least all encounters are visible, but it soon becomes a chore to avoid them (if you plan to preserve your resources for a boss battle).

- Balancing. I hate balancing (foes level with you) in RPGs. What's the point of fighting and leveling when you're as strong as before in relation to your enemies after gaining a level? Reversely, it takes for all eternity to grind/level up enough so you can beat the few optional bosses that have a set level. Therefore, I didn't beat the last optional boss (level 50) for I was only at level 35 at the end of the game after already having played for 70 hours (even though I'm sure this game can - and should - be completed in less than 10 hours).

- Equipment, items etc. are far too expensive in general. There are several instances during the course of the game in which you have to grind for hours if you want to be able to afford the best equipment for everyone - just to find out one hour later that this equipment is already outdated.

This game may be for you if you need a filler jrpg and can stand (or if you even like) biblical indoctrination. Anyone else shouldn't waste his/her money on this Christian propaganda, disguised as a - at best - mediocre JRPG.