Cecillia 652 Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) Thread Link:: Creator:: RoseGuardian Reviewer:: Cecillia Belle Lacroix Introduction:: Requested by RoseGuardian that I review this game. The custom anime art attracted me the most to this game, so I agreed to do so. Pros: -Custom Art rather than RTP -Detailed character designs -Great use of the DS Pack and other tilesets -NPCs interactive to the heroine. -Quest system is gratifying -Enemies can be defeated faster with certain spells Cons: -Midi music was inconsistent with the rest of the music -Title screen image could have used an original image -Beginning lacks an intriguing hook -Character introduction feels really random and forced -Characters seem to lack development and barely interact -Keldanite's face on the menu different from his bust along with blurry images -Grammar/Punctuation could use some help -Maps feel extremely unnecessarily large, especially the copied and pasted maps. -Magic would have been condensed into one rather than dividing them by element -Items aren't very helpful in tough battles -Delivery request completed, but doesn't say so leading the game to a game over. -Story is typical RPG Maker game -Characters feel really forced This is almost literally the only interaction the characters get. Story:: Upon reading the synopsis on the website and the thread, I was honestly preparing myself for a cliché and typical VX ACE game due to the use of common tropes. It was very similar to most beginner RPG Maker games. You have heroes and they have magical powers which aid them in battle. The introduction and hook itself was flawed severely. There was absolutely no hook, and I was thrown into a scenario that had no development and was immediately left behind. Promptly after this short scene with the three playable characters, you have to go back home. I never understood the point of the introduction, besides to introduce the characters in a mediocre fashion. As the story goes on, you have to protect the Silver Crystal which almost every character wants while retrieving a mystical sword. Villages are burnt down, and I can go on about the clichés used, but you can already imagine. The transitions between the scenes didn't make sense, and there is never a proper conclusion to a brought up plot. How is this girl summoning wraiths? Why don't they care? Why are they so okay with Raven's mom tricking them? The story itself in Mystic Knights has potential, but would have to be rewritten from scratch in my honest opinion to even gain my attention or to have me attempt the sequel. The characters interact, but it lacks life. Characters:: The characters within the game are all custom-designed, and they seem to interact, however it lacks life and retrospect. The mother of Raven tells you to do so, and Raven will do so. This is the same for all the NPCs. Once you complete their quest, they respond with a mere thank you, and your reward. I personally thought that they could have used more communication, such as Keldanite and Belle talking to the NPC clients more than just Raven, so that I can gain some attachment and learn about the character more. As I played through the game the second time, the characters themselves were extremely 1-dimensional and lacked development. Raven's lines seem to consist of: "We'll take care of it." and all Ark seems to be is just a bad smoothie of immature perverseness. I was honestly disturbed at how unreal Ark his personality was. He served as a fanservice character with zero use to the plot, which made me dislike him so. His use of "Hey, Mister Sexy!" "Hey large chest!" utterly made me feel rather uncomfortable. I do not mind perverted characters, but his was just over the top and over saturated for what I could handle. Belle and Airwyn barely talk, so I can't really give my opinion about them, besides that they felt pretty useless to the storytelling. Most of the character's lines felt extremely forced, and all of them did not care about the conflicts of the planet. Some of their choices made little sense. For example: there was a wanted man on the loose right in front of them, but they chose to eat dinner and spend the night at an inn which later brought up plots that were immediately dropped. Overall, the characters need immediate help to be enjoyable. You can have a super cliché story, but if you don't have strong characters, you can't really save the enjoyment. Map problems everywhere! Aesthetics:: The game utilizes non-rtp graphics, system, and scripts. The DS graphics are used plentifully, however the maps are unnecessarily large and definitely should cut down to a smaller and more appealing size to save exploration time. There was also recycling of maps which annoyed me when traveling through mint road. I was going through the same map about 3 times in a row before reaching the next town. It was a literal linear path with little detail, however this can easily be fixed with mapping. Most of the maps are copied and pasted. All the shops are exactly the same, and it feels extremely redundant in the dungeons because I'm going through the same paths over and over again. LITERALLY LINEAR The characters themselves are nicely detailed in terms of fashion, however the jpeg white edges around them along with the blurry/pixelated status faces made me lose interest. Once again, this can be fixed. Blurry faces are blurry! Gameplay:: The gameplay overall is your typical RPG Maker game. You have quests, a story, friends, magic, and you can fight enemies. The quest's themselves were just your typical quests that you find in most RPGs. Find my dog! Deliver this item! Defeat these enemies! I didn't really have fun with them, mainly because the NPCs didn't seem interactive and interesting enough. Like I brought up in the characters, they were extremely flat and didn't really connect to Raven and co. at all. The battles on the other hand provided a different experience. I think it can be condensed into just magic... The battles are not randomized and you can choose to fight/grind on the map trails. The enemies however on those paths are extremely easy and give a decent amount of EXP for leveling. What kept me battling however was the battle system. The side view along with a custom HUD was my cup of tea, however the organization of the skills was sloppily done. The magic itself is divided by element, which could have honestly been condensed into just "Magic" rather than having to scroll through the elements. The magic, however felt extremely useless besides the healing aspect. My attacks were more powerful than the "Weakness" skills which caused extreme unbalance in the battles. Conclusion:: Overall, this game is your ordinary RPG Maker game, just with more quests and custom graphics. I ran into countless bugs, grammar issues, and in the end: I really wasn't entertained at all. The custom graphics wouldn't save the current story and unbalanced system. I played through the whole entire game, and my thoughts were: I've been there, seen that, seen this, and ended up with absolutely nothing. Score Story: 1/5 - Extremely clichéd themes with no character development. Aesthetics: 3/5 - Custom graphics are plentiful, however maps and portraits need a large amount of work to be visually appealing. Music/Sounds: 2/5 - The midi on the title screen didn't really match the title screen at all. Some of the tracks are relaxing, but constantly hearing the same tracks becomes irritating. Gameplay: 1/5 - Lacked any development whatsoever and the battle system can use a revamp in terms of organization. Overall: 2/5 I was expecting morals, a good story, and great character development, but I didn't receive any of that. It was the typical RPG Maker game that most people seem to make on their first try. Don't let the custom graphics fool you. If you are looking for a compelling story and well-developed characters, stay away from this game. However, if you are not occupied and just want to play something, this is your cup of tea. Edited April 5, 2014 by Cecillia Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoseGuardian 42 Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) Thank you for your review. I greatly appereciate it. EDIT:Could you tell me what quest glitched and wouldn't let you continue please so that I can fix it. Also I should've told you the quests in the menu are optional but I still want to fix that glitch. Edited March 28, 2014 by RoseGuardian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cecillia 652 Posted March 28, 2014 Thank you for your review. I greatly appereciate it. EDIT: Could you tell me what quest glitched and wouldn't let you continue please so that I can fix it. Also I should've told you the quests in the menu are optional but I still want to fix that glitch. No problem! Also, I PMed you which quest was bugged. When you fix it up, I'll gladly play the game again and update this review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
