Ocedic 249 Posted August 25, 2013 Title: Mystic Knights Author: RoseGuardian Version: Demo Mystic Knights is a title that I was requested to review. I went into this game with a bit of apprehension as it isn't presented in a particularly appealing manner, but I have been pleasantly surprised by peoples' first games in the past such as Liphidian. Thus, I placed my prejudices aside and jumped into the short demo. The first thing you'll probably notice about the title is its custom drawn character busts. They help the otherwise generic-looking game stand out from similar titles, but they won't amaze or impress. The art can certainly be improved, though the author does deserve some kudos for her attempts. The mapping is below average, with large, maze-like designs that don't actually offer a lot to explore. To my knowledge, you can't even enter any of the assorted houses peppered across the starting village. The lack of interactivity combined with the large spaces really create an unintended ambiance of barrenness. The maps are currently too large and bare, with little of interest to encourage exploration. The audio fared a bit better, with some rather interesting tracks being employed. For some reason, the audio folder is a separate (huge) download instead of being packaged with the game. Otherwise, I actually think the music selection was the best part of this title. In terms of map design, the mazes are haphazard and different paths don't really lead to anywhere substantial. I found myself wandering around aimlessly until I found the objective, sometimes going in a huge circle before realizing I took the wrong path to begin with. As mentioned before, the game could really use more interactivity on the map. The game feels bare-bones when you can't even enter a house or receive notification that it's locked. In battle, your characters start off with almost interchangeable kits and are basically relegated to attacking every turn. I'm not entirely sure why there's both a Dodge and Guard ability, but neither option was ever appealing and having both came across as redundant. Later on, your characters gain magic, Overdrive and special abilities, but they're pretty much database defaults and not very interesting to use. There's not a lot of choice in battle; usually there's one clear 'correct answer' on which ability to use, which is frustrating because some characters have no options other than to use a spell that the enemy is resistant to. The game really needs more interesting, custom abilities and more options for all characters to help distinguish themselves from one another. On the bright side, battles are fairly quick and painless, if a bit imbalanced. Airwyn has a spell that heals the entire party for more than their total hit point pool, which is rather ridiculous. But as I've said in the past, I'd rather have a game that is overtuned towards easy than difficult. Like many games in the community, this is where the title needs the most work. Characters are flat with personalities that meld together; it's hard to tell one of main characters apart from another. The driving force behind the narrative of the story seems to be having the party being shuffled from one location to another by plot device characters. There's no sense of connection to the story, nor is there really any desire to see what happens next. When a 'twist' finally comes, the game's coordinates seem set for a generic destined-heroes-save-the-world-and-fight-the-ancient-evil story, which I wouldn't mind if the characters or writing were engrossing. The game's story really needs to be slowed down, and the scope of it should be toned down initially so that it can focus on the main party members for some characterization. The player needs to be invested in the story to keep playing; there should be a real sense of meaningful contribution as a result of the player's actions rather than being told to go from point A to B constantly. In addition, there's a few spelling errors here and there that should be caught beforehand with proofreading. Overall, the author needs a bit more practice with writing in general to build up some fundamental skills in the craft. As it currently is, it's hard to recommend this title as something to play for fun. There's certainly the potential for improvement, and the game does offer some unique art. Hopefully the author will not be deterred from criticism and will continue to hone her skills. There's definite and undeniable effort that has gone into this project; with some practice and polish it may be a worthwhile game. Grade: D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoseGuardian 42 Posted August 25, 2013 Thank you very much. I been constantly working on the game lately so that I can make it better. I plan to add a lot of changes to the story so it will be worth playing. Anyway I am not offended by anything because I know it's true. I need to do a better job to keep the player interested. Thank you very much for your review and input. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
