top five moment Manifest [Review by Dante]

[Radiant Arin 412]

Game Title: Manifest

Developer: @sbethune81

Game Engine: RMVX

URL: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/8475-manifest-a-complete-30-hour-rpg-4-years-in-the-making/

Game Download Link: http://rpgmaker.net/games/3694/

 

POSITIVE POINTS: Nearly everything. And I'm being serious here. The story is brimming with amazing and detailed harmony, isn't cliched to boredom (at least, for most parts), and the game makes excellent use of the RTP.

 

NEGATIVE POINTS: Random encounters, coupled with the ATB Tankentai system, makes battles just a little bit more boring than usual.

 

STORY: 

There exists a most curious and powerful race in the world of Ospes, able to manipulate and alter matter itself.

Their numbers are few, and from the beginning they have lived as outcasts, perceived as a threat to the world and every living thing in it.

They are called Theolar.

Thymetians, the most dominant race on Ospes, have done all that they can to suppress the Theolar. For they, more than any, are afraid of them.

Most Theolar are content to live in hiding and have abandoned the use of their abilities in hopes they would be forgotten. But among them there is a small group, known as the
Andurim, who are unwilling to give up that part of themselves.

Their sole purpose is to provide the Thymetians and the rest of the world with a glimpse of their greatness, now long overshadowed by what else they are capable of

 

This part of the story is explained greatly in depth. It details mostly about the rampant segregation between the Thymetians and the Theolar/Andurim. In a time where magic is considered witchcraft and dangerous to humans, it only serves to drive the segregation further and further into the plot, making it more masterful.

 

The ultimate goal of the entire game, however, is that you will be chasing your old mentor, Syndarion, halfway across the world in an attempt to rescue him from the oppressors, the Thymetians. Are they doing this out of fear, or is there something greater pulling the Thymetians' strings? You'll just have to play it and find out for yourself.

 

Dialogue in the game flows smoothly, and isn't cliched to boredom. There are obvious tropes, but no game is complete without some kind of trope. For example, everyone is of age (**wink wink**) and isn't filled with catty 12 year old brats fighting for the affection of the MC. In fact, the woman who joins your party honestly doesn't like you because of the aftereffects of the segregation and what it has instilled into the hearts of the common man.

 

AUDIO/GRAPHICS: As I said before, the graphics are mostly comprised of the RTP. World Maps and locations use the RTP with relative, but exceptional, quality. Everything is spaced out and the transitions from maps to maps makes sense, unlike many other RPGs in this day and age.

 

Audio uses material from both the XP RTP and the VX RTP, but it also has custom music, the most notable examples being Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and VII, and other custom resources that aren't ripped from other games.

 

The places where the Audio is used seems to match perfectly with the atmosphere and the tone of the setting at the time, greatly increasing the user experience.

 

GAMEPLAY: Where do I even begin?

 

Everything about the gameplay really induces a true JRPG experience. You'll cap about 30 hours of gameplay in Manifest (if you decide to do everything, and trust me, there is a lot to do), and every minute worth will definitely be worth your while.

 

There are lots of great puzzles that both invigorate and head-scratch. A minimal gripe about the game that I have, aside from the random encounters + ATB system, is the frequency of the puzzles in the game. It wouldn't be a true JRPG experience without puzzles, however, puzzles and the functionality and fun of the game are inversely proportional.

 

Manifest has something challenging for everyone, considering you can change the difficulty mid-game (similar to Graces). If you think you're up to it, you should give it a go; the rewards are better and drop rates are increased, thanks in no doubt to KGC_Battle_Difficulty.

 

In the world of Ospes, where the game takes place, you can undergo a quest to uncover 99 mystic relics and turn them in for a special weapon that will one-hit anything it touches (obvious trope). Considering I never got to that point, my dream is so close, yet so far...

 

Minigames, minigames, minigames. You simply can't get enough of them. There's a blacksmithing minigame, blackjack, RPS, sliding puzzles (Pokemon), the icy floor room (obvious trope), and a lot more to count.

 

The most redeeming feature of Manifest is that you can truly get lost in the world of minigames and side quests, taking on hunts, similar to what you can do in Final Failtasy XIII. The person who then put up the hunt will give you awesome items. It truly replicates a lot of old games, taking their best features, and jumbling it together into one masterpiece, who will receive my undivided recognition and attention.

 

That being said, a big offender is combat and the fact that there are random encounters. Random encounters already makes it worse, but now I have to wait 45 seconds before I have to escape from battles? That's a bit dumb. You can change how fast the ATB is, however, even at it's fastest setting, it still feels incredibly slow in the beginning portion of the game, and feels moderately fast in late-game.

 

Immersive. Expansive. Breathtaking. There are far too many words to describe this masterpiece.

 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: From the time I played it, which was about four months ago now, people have been saying how great this game was on rmrk, and I decided to check it out for myself, and the game lived up to it's hype. If you are a big fan of JRPG influenced games, this one is definitely a piece of gold.

 

RATING: 4/5. But you'll see a little bit of bias.