Enelysion - Halcyon Days

[amerk 1,122]

 

Game Title: Enelysion – Halcyon Days

Developer: Luchino

Genre: Fantasy RPG

Current Status: Complete

Approximate Play Time: 11.5 Hour

 

 

OVERVIEW:

Enelysion is one of those games that doesn’t seem to get as much recognition as it truly deserves. It’s a great outstanding game that really pushes the maker to its limits in both game play and mapping, and really helps to show just how powerful RPG Maker can be when placed in the hands of a confident and competent developer. The fact that this game is open to the public (not encrypted) means that RM users can easily see just versatile the maker can be. Even more impressive is that this game is made using the VX editor, and the mapping appears to be done with tiles versus parallax, but still manages to impress in ways I was not expecting.

 

GAME PLAY:

It’s probably best to get the issues out of the way. The game has its share of problems, lots of them, some of them game breaking. That’s unfortunate in what could have easily been a perfect game. Also, it should be noted that, as of yet, the story is far from over. While the game itself is listed as “completeâ€, it’s really the first part. Luchino is back to work on the second installment, so fingers crossed he eventually finishes this one up.

 

Okay, so back to the problems. The game is full of bugs, more than I can probably count. If you’re not careful, some of these will mess up your game, and you’ll have to reload a previous save (if you have one). Sometimes you can trigger a cut scene multiple times that should have only been triggered once. Many of your key items, required to progress further into the game, can be sold. If you sell a key item and wind up needing it at a vital dungeon later on, tough luck… you’ll either need to start from the last save or start the whole game over. A hidden merchant in one town will sell you Elixirs… for free.

 

These are only some of the game gliches I came across on my journey. And now that I’ve addressed the major concerns, what about the game’s highlights?

 

Exploration! As you can see above, it took me about 11.5 hours to play through the game, although Luchino remarks an approximate 8-hour timeframe, and I even heard somebody playing it through in about 5 hours. I can’t help to wonder if some people are speeding through this game without so much as a thought, but to really enjoy this game I recommend taking your time and looking everywhere (at least for your first playthrough).

 

The environment you are thrust into is full of places to explore and loot. From the moment you step out of your house, you’re given a pretty extensive world map to roam through. While major scenes and dungeons still follow a more linear path, there are a lot of optional places to visit that serve to expand upon the mysteries surrounding this game and the world around you.

 

Combat is surprisingly very fresh in this game, and quite challenging. But it’s also very well balanced, too. If you can work out the strategy that works the best, you’ll have a much easier time. Don’t hack through your moves and give each attack careful consideration.

 

You also have access to enemy stats, strengths, and weaknesses right away in battle. Use the Shift key to open up this section. The best part is, it doesn’t use up any moves, making it much easier to strategize your commands.

 

 

My rate for Game Play is 5/10. If it were not for the bugs, I’d give the rating for Game Play a solid 10. The game offers a lot of wonderful mechanics, the combat is quick and exciting, and there’s so much to see and do. The problem is, being able to see and do everything the game has to offer is often hindered by glitches that the player won’t see coming. Save everywhere you can, but make sure to keep a few old save files on hand in case you wind up stuck.

 

 

STORY:

Where the game lacks in game play (as a result of unnecessary bugs) it more than makes up for in both story and visuals. The story here does take a bit of time to get going, but once it does it becomes a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. One of the best features this game has is it doesn’t attempt to shove everything down the player’s throat. The player is encouraged to visit all the local areas and discover the lore of the world for themselves, but it is their choice to do so. Even the intro of the game (which is the only area that felt a bit like an info dump) is handled cleverly well so the reader doesn’t feel as if he’s trying to play a game of catch-up.

 

There are a lot of dark mysteries surrounding the world in this game, many of which have yet to go resolved. Politics play a key part, as do various races you’ll encounter throughout the game. Every NPC seems to have a story to tell, and every one of the characters in your party feel personable.

 

 

While the game does fall prey to a few clichés (your main heroine – hey, at least it’s a girl – is an orphan who will begin to discover dark secrets about her past), most of these clichés are handled very well.

 

 

My rate for Story is 9/10. A bit slow at first, but really picks up midway. It’s very well written, and it’s obvious the developer really spent time planning the story out.

 

 

ATMOSPHERE:

And this, I think, is one of the best reasons to play this game. It’s just so mind numbingly beautiful. The mapping is superb! Every one of the visuals just felt so glorious. Dark and dangerous caverns felt menacing, ancient shrines felt relaxing, towns felt welcoming. Even the music fit the tone of the game very well with its Celtic touch. I was surprised at how well Enya’s music could fit so well into this game, and she is one of my all-time favorite singers.

 

The visuals and audios are enough to stir emotions while you’re playing this game. For that reason, I could sit and explore the entire game without ever getting bored. Light effects are used appropriately well (never abused), and as I stated above, Luchino managed to do this with the editor (as in tile-based mapping, no parallax from what I can tell).

 

 

That’s not to say it’s perfect. There are some passability errors, and it’s not always easy to tell where a path will take you to the next screen or just the edge of the screen, especially if it’s cluttered. However, these are just minor observations, and did not impact my ability to enjoy this game.

 

 

As noted in the screen shot above, some mistakes are apparent in the map. Part of the tree is missing a tile, and the path that looks like it goes to another screen doesn’t.

 

My rate for Atmosphere is 9/10. Maybe I’m a bit biased on this, but I really do think that new users can learn a lot just from looking at Luchino’s maps. Even in the editor, without the special light effects, there is much knowledge to be had.

 

 

Game Overall Rating & Final Thoughts: 7.7/10

For such a near-perfect game, it’s too bad that some will be turned off because of all the bugs. It’s very well written and very well detailed, and probably one of the best free RPG Maker games I’ve come across. Unfortunately, it’s story still remains incomplete at this time.

 

~ amerk

[Volke Locke 28]

Hmm... It is unencrypted though... that means it can be debugged by the player. Yes, bugs and inconsistencies annoy me greatly in a game, I'm rather OCD with my coding. I think I will take on the burden of improving this one since it is within my ability.
First, though, I plan on releasing another game that I wrote last year, tomorrow or the day after.
Then I'll start debugging this game, give that two weeks or so. Or maybe not... who knows where my whims will take me...