rmvxace Eternal Bond: Chains of Fate [Review by Dante]

[Radiant Arin 412]

Game Title: Eternal Bond: Chains of Fate

Developer: @Anderson88

Game Engine: RMVXAce

URL: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/7162-eternal-bond-chains-of-fate-demo-v101/

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?zdw7p6mhxfzj6zd

 

 

POSITIVE POINTS: The combat system, mapping, and general aesthetics not found in other RPG Maker games make this project stand out from the rest.

 

NEGATIVE POINTS: Some aesthetics don't work properly, there are random encounters, and there is no escape function to escape from said battles.

 

STORY: Eternal Bond: Chains of Fate has excellent composition and detail, starting you off with a short introductory scene before moving on to the title screen. In this short scene, we are given a shrouded glimpse of plot in a small grove before the title screen appears, alluring players into finding out what this plot is.

 

After starting up, you take control of a man named Reyson, who is visiting the grave of perhaps a past love interest, explaining that he wants to forget the past that encircles him. However, this falls flat on its face after you meet a supporting character, Sophie, while fulfilling the quest of going to the meadow to pick some flowers for Serie's grave, the person of interest in the first scene. This could have been handled a lot better if Reyson had gone alone with himself in order to potentially reflect on his blurry past and remember something, and not have Sophie screaming ridiculous junk half the time.

 

On the way back to town, you are ambushed by a strong monster, when suddenly, in pure Deus Ex form, another girl (this is definitely going to turn into a harem) with red hair rushes into the fray, weakening the monster and allowing you to slay it. Afterwards, she introduces herself as Mika, and the three of you return to town, with Sophie splitting off towards her home, leaving you and Mika alone together (you know where this is going). And that's as far as I got before getting a black screen.

 

The relationship between Sophie and Reyson is a kiddish one, but yet somehow, the characters seem to act more mature than what they give off, as evidenced by reading the bios on the thread's page (seriously, everyone is 14. :|). No one at the age of 14 is going to know how to properly shoot a gun, unless you're in a gang or in the most extreme situation of self-defense. And even then, that's a bit much.

 

This game obviously takes place in Iran.

 

AUDIO/GRAPHICS: Probably the highlight of the game. The forest that you first go to is complete RTP, yet it captures a very exuberant and calm sense, with rushing water and birds humming away to their favorite songs. The music in the area is ripped from Tales of Graces, bringing back a supreme case of nostalgia that I wish never existed.

 

Sprites are all RTP, except for the actors, and the occasional variant (i.e., the Innkeeper). They all have matching facesets to go along with them, provided by Usui.

 

The clever use of the Kaduki Character Sheet is also another redeeming feature of this game; you'll occasionally have characters "shy away" from talking to one another, or characters who appear exhausted after travelling for a long while.

 

Eternal Bond: Chains of Fate also uses a clever skit system, no doubt provided by DP3. However, the skits in and of themselves don't make a whole lot of sense (i.e., the one where you're out in the forest), leaving players to wonder if this game should really be taken seriously. The dialogue system  is also miles different from its predecessors, using Yami's Pop Message to make text boxes appear above character's heads, giving much more room to analyze your surroundings, while still taking advantage of Yanfly's Message Options.

 

The World Map is kind of bland and dry, and there are only three distinct locations you can go to. The music there is delightful, however, which also happens to be the music used for the opening introduction scene.

 

The music and sound effects used in the project, everything from the battle system to the inn ME, is all custom, but ripped from various famous games that I have the luxury of knowing. This new sound system certainly gives a new perspective on how functional RMVXAce can be.

 

GAMEPLAY:

 

This portion definitely has some ups and downs. I'll start with the downs first.

 

First off, you are given a short message about how if you want to see where you are headed, just in case you ever get lost or you stop playing for a bit and pick it back up months later, but it doesn't work. You have no idea how many times I've mashed the S key trying to get it to work.

 

Secondly, there's random encounters. Enough said.

 

But what's worse about the random encounters here and in any other game is the fact that you can't escape from these random battles. The X key is disabled during combat, meaning that you MUST fight through every random encounter you come across. And when you run into random encounters every five steps, IT'S FUCKING ANNOYING.

 

The Battle System has a few glitches, one that I got just in time:

 

 

 

Okay, now for some good parts.

 

The Passive skills and the Equipment Skills are probably the most original, yet most confusing, aspect of the game. I believe certain sets of armor/weapons only give certain skills, and the more you use that particular skill in combat, the more powerful it becomes, I think. You also get AP at the end of each battle, which is also used to boost your skills.

 

Wow, no one wishes me a good day when I buy stuff from them? That's kind of rude...

 

Apparently, the developer of the game is aware of the hang after the second grave scene. So, I won't go into much detail about how there's a hang after the second grave scene after you get Mika.

 

Battling is kind of linear after you grind for a few fights, but for the first couple, it's actually fairly engaging, focusing on using "Proficiencies", which are pretty much different classes, to combat foes in different ways. It also teaches you about conservation, and has a unique system, using Ao No Kiseki's CBS in conjunction with Victor's SBS with a few gimmicks, creating a nice, clean Side View System. Except for that one glitch I posted above.

 

Most of your time will probably be spent finding various barrels, crates, and other assorted objects around the different places and looting them for gold and other items, and you are actually rewarded fairly decently for all this exploration, which I find to be a good thing.

 

Experience scaling is pretty fast, which I also like.

 

OVERALL SUMMARY: A pretty swell experience. Everything ties together very well, if only those few bits of aesthetics worked.

 

RATING: 3.5/5. Would be 4/5 if some things were fixed.

[Anderson88 26]

I'll keep these points in mind, thank you very much!