Bounty Angel 2 by Sidewinder

 

It is the star year 2168. 50 years have passed since the Battle of Vulkan. The Resource Wars which once brought fire to the galaxy have since faded away into memory, and new Empires have arisen from the ashes. Throughout this, the strong continue to feed on the weak, and an uneasy peace is kept by a special group of bounty hunters, commonly known as “Angels.”

The new protagonist is Ericka Falken, pilot of the Valkyrie. Ericka will perform a series of missions (some are obligatory, others are optional) travelling between planets, hunt space pirates for money and upgrade her spaceship with the hard earned cash. 

 

 

Bounty Angel 2 is another hybrid RPG/Visual Novel with a custom battle system, basically an upgraded version of the first game: it's a similar adventure Anya in the previous game, but there is s lot more of everything: more planets to visit, more locations, more spaceship upgrades, more Npcs. All actions are managed through the menus interface, exactly like in the first game. The combat is a little more complex, but there aren't mich changes aside for the expanded content and better graphics.

This game contains violence and adult themes that might not be suitable for some players. 

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de 

Internet Archive 

 

Random Fact: the game takes place many years after the first, and Anya Von Tannhauser, the pilot of the Nightbird from the first game is also briefly mentioned. Once again there will be three (the main protagonist and two others associates) the girls instrumental to the victory, even if, since this is a demo, the main quest ends with a cliffhanger. 

 

Final Verdict: though this adventure ends with a cliffanger, it is longer and has more variety that the first one. I also liked the cast, especially the three protagonists (even if the blonde girl has a small role in the adventure). Graphically is a step up from the first adventure, and I overall liked the setting and the lore of the game. I don't know if this is easier than the first or playing the first has made me more cautious and skilled, anyway you doi not need to buy every upgrade to finish the story. That is a good story, because yes, this is first a visual novel with many cool parts, like the Council of the Smugglers (I liked that section!).

My only gripe is that some parts would have benefit of more explanations, I'm talking about combat but also some activities like the puzzle in the temple and the bomb that has to be defused... it's a trial and error, and maybe some less experienced player may have some problems with that (well, I had, but I managed to win forcing myself to understand the mechanics and win, so it can be done without sweating too much, no worries!). I also did not mind the use of generic black shapes for minor characters, like in tue first game, anyway the HUDs and the cutscenes are impressive considering that this game is made with Rm2k3!

Bounty Angel by Sidewinder

Almost two millennia have passed since mankind escaped its dying homeworld, and built a new civilization among the stars. But nothing was learned and the mistakes that destroyed Lost Earth have been repeated a hundredfold. The denizens of the Milky Way now find themselves trapped in a brutal war for resources and survival. Millions of refugees flee for the relative safety of the Magellanic Cloud satellite galaxies.

The only known corridor is through an area of space known as the Magellanic Stream, though better known to its inhabitants as Hell's Gate. Pirates operate openly here, killing and enslaving thousands. Law and order is maintained by freelance bounty hunters, commonly known as Angels.

Anya Von Tannhauser is one of them, and she will have to form a squad to stop the menace that threatens the people of the Magellanic Stream.

 

 

Bounty Angel is a hybrid RPG/Visual Novel with a custom battle system and a bunch of FMVs I made in Blender. All actions are selected by the menus, the game uses a quite simple turn-based spaceship battle system. It's a fairly open game that includes a linear storyline and some optional, and in some case repeatable, sidequests.

Before even starting the game you have to decide two different things: the first is if you want to play at medium difficulty (that gives you limited money, and you have to earn the rest to buy upgrades and repair) or story mode (that gives you a ton of money so you can buy everything from the start). Then you have to choose if you want realistic characters or anime characters. This is just a cosmetic choice, by the way the realistic one just has the protagonist, and the anime version has only the named characters, all the rest are just black silhouettes.

This game contains violence and adult themes that might not be suitable for some players. 

 

Download Link 

Rmarchiv.de

Internet Archive

 

Random Fact: this game was a submission for the 2018 Theme Roulette event on RMN, anyway it spawned a sequel, Bounty Angel 2 and even a sort of remake called Psi Dogs: Suns of Antares. Unfortunately the remake was planned, but never released.

 

 

Final Verdict: Bounty Angel is born from quite interesting concept, its only problem is that it was made for the Theme Roulette Challenge in 2018, so obviously it was made in a short time: the result is a mini-game and short visual novel that's quite good due to its originality and interesting plot, gameplay is simple but graphics are stunning and well recreates a gritty sci-fi setting. Likewise music, that is from some well known sources (like for example Baldur's Gate) is appropriate and the whole experience is good.

My only problem with this game is that there is not satisfying ending, not even a screen or ending slide, and that's something I felt missing (it's true that some old games of the past just wrote "congatulations, you win" and that's it!). The rest is not bad at all, it's something different from the usual rpg, and I am pretty sure that the developer with just some more time could provide an really bigger, refined, improved and more complex remake/sequel of this game, because it shows how much work went into narration, graphics and gameplay. 

Sanatorium by Xargoth

You're amnesiac and stuck inside a mysterious psychiatric facility and someone wants you to find him a roll of toilet paper. While you're at it, you encounter all sorts of strange fellows.

 

 

Sanatorium is another game made by the german developer Xargoth that was translated into english. This game is a surreal adventure game where an amnesiac protagonist has to find the help of someone that wants a toilet paper. The game is an adventure but includes a custom battle system, even if the most interesting aspect is the custom graphic style and the side view maps, really uncommon in the Rpgmaker games.

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: the game is a demo, but feels pretty solid. However it's quite strange that despite the use of custom graphics and original sprites, the developer found no time to make a custom title screen like for the other games.

 

Final Verdict: a pretty short 12-15 minutes demo with a cool visual style and very interesting premise. It's really a pity this game was never completed since it shows lots of work and inspiration.

Sinfonia & Ruptured Souls by Legion aka Max McGee

 

Reg Fontaine is a troubled young man that has an appointment with a doctor... things start quiet that suddenly everything becomes strange and dark. Is all true or these are just hallucinations? 

 

 

Sinfonia or Backstage 3: Electric Boogaloo is a mini-scenario linked to the Backstage series (some characters of the previous games are mentioned and another is seen in a cutscene), it's little more than an intro situation (made in 4 hours by Max McGee) released for an event, that ends leaving just some hints about what's going to happen next. Good music and great atmosphere, as usual. 

 

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: some maps of Sinfonia were reused for Ruptured Souls, another short horror prologue, this time for an unfinished game. Since Sinfonia is very short, here's also the derived game, that you will find it below as an extra. 

 

 

Final Verdict: Sinfonia is like one of these gourmet dishes that are really a small quantity but they're so good! Both aestetically and also in terms of substance. Still they are never enough for a complete meal and that makes me sad. Anyway great job with this setting and mapping, the atmosphere is dark and powerful, I also liked the little details like the animation of the protagonist smoking in the beginning. All is really done in a professional way with great attention to the details. Pity there is no game here... still better than a bad game, I guess!

 

EXTRA - Ruptured Souls (demo): you are Mason Lansdale, an American private detective investigating the disappearance of a 17 year old girl named Kyra Leighton. The case has taken you all the way to London, England, to investigate a private medical research think tank called Wingate Medical that has recently requested the records of Kyra and 4 other girls just like her who disappeared.

At first, Lansdale is concerned primarily with breaking into Wingate to find evidence that will make the case, but as the night goes on the situation quickly evolves into something far more sinister, and terrifying and your primary goal becomes survival.

 

In the end, the most potent and relevant weapon you have is your wits.

 

Ruptured Souls is basically an adventure game where you have to be caregul since a wrong move can lead to the protagonist's demise. The final parts becomes a sort of choose-yout-own-adventure segment, but unfortunatly it ends with a "to be continued" leaving a mystery about who or what is pursuing Mason.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: unlike the Backstage series, that is a supernatural kind of horror inspired by Silent Hill, Ruptured Souls is instead a non-supernatural horror game that was inspired by the Resident Evil series. But no, it's not a zombie game, more like a thriller adventure, but there is a symbol very similar to the Umbrella Corporation logo. Not a coincidece, of course.

 

Final Verdict: another demo from Mac McGee that shows a lot of potential. It's good, and it's peculiar how the game starts like Sinfonia, with the protagonist smoking a cigarette, and ends with the image of a building that the protagonist of Sinfonia enters at the end of that game! Oh yes, this little demo is so full of details and other little things if you care to explore and interact that I was impressed. A very interesting demo with a great atmosphere, in my opinion!

Backstage & Backstage II by Legion aka Max McGee

 

Tom Keller is an average enough guy, although one badly down on his luck. On the evening this nightmare begins, he's coming home from a fancy dinner with his wife, at a nice restaurant- where she took him to tell him she was leaving him, and where he still picked up the check. She's kicked him out of the house and had the locks changed, and he's had quite a bit to drink after dinner, and wants nothing more than to call her and give her the piece of his mind. He's already checked into a seedy hotel down town, where he plans to sleep it off after making a phone call. However, he is about to step through to the other side of a mirror that will warp and destroy everything he thought he knew about his life.

 

Tom Keller is lost. He has gone astray, and become trapped in a nightmare world that is a twisted mirror image of our own, tormented by horrific abberations, haunted by shattered memories. He is alone behind the world, and to escape, he must come to terms with all of his sins. 

 

Backstage is a 3 hours and a half survival horror Rpgmaker game,  whose gameplay consists in exploring dark urban locations looking for useful items like flashlight and keys, avoiding traps and solving puzzles. This isn't an rpg, of course, but there are still battles and they happen in real time, bit these are a little weird since you have to avoid the enemy proyectiles and collide with the opponent so Tom will use the equipped weapon, even if it's a gun. Anyway aside for the obligatory bosses (like the lich) there is no incentive to fight everyone. 

The game has more than one ending. 

 

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: the game had a sequel planned but only the prologues for the two protagonists of this game were released. In fact this time the game had two different playable protagonists, but the gameplay remained the same of the first game. Anyway see below for this short demo.  

 

 

Final Verdict: Backstage isn't a bad game at all (despite some flaws and imprecisions but few games are without them), on the contrary I found it really inspired and an interesting adventure to play. Well I admit that I did not try to find every single ending, nor I played it more than once except if after a while (when I forgot some details). The story is absolutely the best part of the game. Maybe not the beginning, but as the adventure unfolds it becomes really intriguing, especially after the first half. I was in fact constantly doubting about everything: is Tom really an ordinary guy? Has he already met Alice before eve if he doesn't remember that? Do the monsters really exists or is Tom hallucinating? Who knows! 

 I liked a lot the Revenge ending, and even if it's probably not a game for everyone, if a player is fond of dark and horror rpgmaker games he/she should play this one at least once (puzzles aren't that difficult, and it's impossible to get stuck). Not the best game by Max McGee, but still a good one.

 

 

 

EXTRA - Backstage II (demo): in this game you have to choose between Racheal the Prodigal or Tim the Prophet, anyway their separate paths are going to cross at a monastery. 

One thing about the two protagonists: the Prophet's adventure is a bit more interesting because it has a sort of prediction about what will happen next (well... he's a *prophet*!) while the poor Racheal is instead thrust inside a difficult situation without many explanations.

 

Backstage II is a game that aimed at improving what was done with the first game, offering better maps, better assets, two protagonists, but a similar gamemplay. Both prologues are pretty short (15 minutes each more or less, for a total of 30 minutes, 10 of actual gameplay and 20 of dialogues) and give just little informations about what was going to happen next, but at least mapping is much better than in the first game.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: the demo of Backstage II wasn't the end of the series. Despite being unfinished there was a last tale related to the setting and the mysterious entity know as Mask. But this is another game for another time. Very soon. 

 

Final Verdict: it's really a pity that Backstage II was cancelled because all aspects hinted that this was going to be a better game than the previous one, and I liked Backstage, it was a pretty good horror adventure, even if there were some parts that could have been better, of course. And Backstage II was really going to improve and correct all the parts that weren't exactly good, and improve those that were good. Mapping, story, gameplay... all here looks better, pity that this is just a short introduction to another adventure in a dark world of horror. But still better than nothing, I guess!!!

Moon River by BadAlias

 

Past the end of everything, there is a river.

 

You are someone called the Mariner, a sailor who's been out at sea for an incredibly long time. You are headed to Elapse Island, one of the last known places of the world. There, it is said the people only exist in the moonlight, as well as the river that runs through the island: "Moon River."        

 

For whatever reason, the Mariner desperately seeks something at the end of the river. Your goal is to find where Moon River ends.  

 

 

Moon River is a linear adventure divided into a series of mini-chapters, every one defined by a color and representing one of the stops that the Mariner makes while travelling to Elapse Island, one of the last known places of the world and the source of the Moon River. Each time the Mariner will have to meet the locals, search for a pure light and unlock the path to the next destination, until reaching the end of the river. Simple but nice, since these episodes will present different characters (that sometimes will be encountered also in next chapters) and challenges.

Download Link

Itch.io

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: there is an extra download available for some bonus content, check it here: Bonus Content 

It included some unused songs, artworks for the protagonist and other characters, and some tests and sketches about the concepts and maps.

 

 

 

Final Verdict: I consider Moon River a little gem, it's surely a short but good game that illustrates a complete story dividing it in various episodes. You can save anywhere, but there is no risk of death (I think!), you can check your inventory and equipment, but there's really no need to do that (again, I think!) ... in the end this is a game I can recommend if you want to play a cool relaxing adventure that will immerse you in the story without giving great challenges of difficulties. As I wrote before, this game is really good!   

The Cina Adventure by Rick86 (italian)

Daniele "Cina", PF "Piffero", Gabriele "Che", Rick "Cro-Cro" and... Squall Leonhart are a group of friends that go to school and fight monsters, anyway they get into trouble when they rescue a girl, Rei, from a shady man, Gendo Ikari, that seems to have some dark plan. Will the group of friends between a stealth mission and a Comic-Con be able to defeat the one who plans to change their world?

 

The Cina Adventure is a parody of the Jrpg genre with lots of references to popular anime and videogames: the intro for example mimics the beginning of Final Fantasy X, the characters will enter a Cosplay event dressed as Terry Bogart from Fatal Fury and as Vash the Stampede from Trigun, they will encounter Sol Badguy and other notorious characters. And yes, there is lot of comedy, but also battles and stealth sections. The game uses lots of edited sprites and there are even animated attacks for the playable characters.

Download Link

Indiexpo.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: this game was made by a group of friends, in fact Rick "Cro-Cro" is self-insert of the developer, that is a side character, and in the beginning also despised by the main characters, Cina and his best friend PF. Gabriele "Che" is another friend that collaborated to make this game, while Squall and Rei are here because these friends liked Final Fantasy VIII and also Evangelion, of course.

 

Final Verdict: a really nice game, some maps are really well done and there are lots of animated characters moving around, my only problem with this game is the use od random encounters, and that's pretty annoying since battles may become repetitive. On the other hand the game has some interesting diversions like the stealth sections, lots of details and some interesting features, like party management. It's a real pity that it wasn't completed, but as a demo it's pretty long.