Showing posts with label Rpgmaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rpgmaker. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Epic Elf 2 by Spirit Young

 
Dagree is back and ready for another chapter in his life! He was cursed by the "Red Evil" from his visit to Vitality Island. Though destroyed, Red Evil isn't gone! In fact, he sometimes appears before Dagree and offers to help him now. After living in a cave for a year, Dagree decides it's about time to finally get outside and land a job!
And of course, a new evil haunts the land that must be punished! Oh, yeah!

Epic Elf 2 is much more than an upgraded version of the first game: it features a series of areas, towns, forests, plains, a desert and so on, a small world but one full of details and also dynamic, since the roaming encounters will change and some areas will be revisited due to some... changes that will happen (cannot say more). In the beginning there are some roadblocks (such as giant boulders in the middle of the road) that will have to be removed, initially limiting the exploration to some locations. 
Combat this time happens only on touch with roaming opponents, except for the mandatory boss battles. 

 
Random Fact: once again the game is available in regular version or the 2017 that fixed and rebalances some battles, unfortunately it doesn't add new content, and that's a pity since some material originally planned was cut from the game. For example Hex. a character of the first game, was originally planned to be a party member in this game too. But unfortunately it didn't happen.
 

Final Verdict: Epic Elf 2 is a classic, and as I wrote in the review of the first game, my favourite in the series. The only thing I did NOT like is the rarity of the save points (or maybe more playable characters, since Hex from Epic Elf 1 was also planned to play a role in the party of this game), anyway there isn't anything else I can criticize, because this is a really epic and fun game. Mapping is excellent and the setting is full of life and surprises. In a word, it's FUN.

Monday, October 26, 2026

Epic Elf by Spirit Young

 
In this quest you play as a Dark Elf named Dagree. He's a simple treasure hunter who is normally feared by humans. For some reason, the citizens of Vitality Island aren't scared of him except for the naughty Royal Family. Along the way you can make choices in the game that determine what side character you'll end up with.

The story itself is easy to follow and doesn't really need to be serious.
Most of the characters that you talk to probably rode on the short bus. 
 
Other main characters come into the play as well. If you join up with the wizard he'll have his own problems that come into light during the quest for you. If you kill the wizard you get a thief to replace the loss. If you don't talk to everyone, future quests won't become available and you'll miss out on items, weapons, or hidden bosses. There are also abilities that your characters can learn (pushing stones, raiding houses). 

 
Epic Elf is a really epic adventure of 10 hours that will take the dark elf Dagree from rags to riches. Or so is the intent: the game isn't some epic quest to save the world, but rather the exploration of a large isle that hold a great treasure. Of course a dark elf like Dagree isn't liked by humans, however, starting with his trusty slime Drip, he will have to form a party of adventures, collect equipment and start exploring dungeons. The story has a goofy tone and it's a parody of the more serious jrpgs.
 
The game is a pretty classic adventure that uses RTPs and the usual Rpgmaker combat system, although maps are really well done. Enemies are both fought in random encounters and in touch encounter, depending on the map. Speaking about maps, the world map is pretty compact, but it will be necesssary to open some roadblocks to progress in the adventure.
 

Random Fact: the game was completed in 2012, and that version is still available, but in 2013 a new version was added, with more sidequests, bosses, secret items and even a different ending.
 

Final Verdict: Epic Elf may be an old game with pretty generic visuals, but it was really done with attention to the details and the particular care typical of some games that look like something bland and generic due to the use of the old RTPs, but they hide some real fun! Another example of this is Everlasting Journey, so do not let the lack of original assets deceive you, because this is an entertaining game of exploration, humor... and also battles, even if this is maybe the aspect that probably could have been perfected (well it's an old game made with an old engine, ok?), anyway I did not mind. This is without doubt a well done classic rpgmaker adventure!

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Panzer by Orochii

 
Year is 2651. A world in war. Two factions reign and conquered most part of the entire planet.
The army of the kingdom of Reigarn, with huge power and politic influence.
And the tribes of the Urok, with heavy numbers and born for the battlefield.
The fight continued on and on, and for that matter, a small group parted on a mission to stop it in a movement, once and for all. 
 
 
Panzer was an experimental game, a short visual novel adventure with battles. In this game the protagonist isn't a party of character but a mech, that's divided into various parts: left arm, right arm, head and body, each one can be upgraded separately and equipped with different instruments, and in the end it's more or less like playing  party of four characters...  the assets are ripped from various old games from Front Mission to Metal Slug.
 
 
Random Fact: there are two cheatcodes for this game:

MONEYBAGS - Gives you 5000$ as starting money.
GIVMEWANZER - Gives you an overpowered starting panzer.  

 

Final Verdict: this game is clearly an experiment, and it's not perfect at all: aside from the imperfect translation from the original spanish version (for example loot mention is in spanish even in the english version, but come on, this is not a tragedy), it is quite simple, linear and repetitive but not without its charm. For a 1-2 hours game it's pretty good, especially because it has many clever ideas and aspects that were probably limited by the time constraits. That's a pity, anyway it's still a playable game and a different experience from the usual fantasy adventures, and I would not mind at all a more modern and complex remake at all.
 
So Panzer was an interesting experiment, I know that some people may not like it, and others instead had fun with it and loved the aestetics (this Front Mission redux feel), like me... so I decided to set for a middle ground rating.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

Bikini Smoker - ビキニスモーカー Part 1 & 2 by Bokkyguy (japanese)

 
Bikini Smoker - ビキニスモーカー, like Psycho Platoon, is a visual novel with battles in two parts. It starts with a couple of girls (in bikini, of course) exploring a ship and fighting bizarre enemies. Soon they will found that a poweful enemy is opposing them, none other than Ronald McDonald.
 
WARNING: the game includes some sexy scenes and inuendos, nothing explicit. 
 

Bikini Smoker is the first game released by Bokkyguy (Kazuyoshi Hashimoto), and it's a shorter and simpler game compared to Psycho Platoon: combat is simpler and animations are less flashy, still original and well made. Still no levels, no random battles, no equipment managements, levels or other rpg elements. The adventure is also linear, except for the second part that has two possible epilogues, and one links to one of the endings of Psycho Platoon. This game received also a spin-off doujin game.
 

 
Random Fact: in this game characters may heal smoking cigarettes, that they have in limite quantity and are automatically restocked after each battle. This is the reason why the game is called Bikini Smoker, of course.
 
 

 
 

This is a direct sequel from the first game following the last battle on the broken down ship. Later the two girls are joined by a third girl to fight a series of selected warriors of the enemy organization before the final battle.
 

Aside for the addition of a new playable character there isn't much else added to the game compared to the first half of the story. The difficult doesn't increase nor the characters add new abilities or more hitpoints. Clearly there are more silly characters and more battles, and a final choice that will determine the epilogue for the story, good or bad.

Rmarchiv.de

 
Random Fact: the third girl that joins the team is none other than a schoolmate and best friend of the psychic pyromancer of Psycho Platoon, and appears in both games, but she's playable only here. Meanwhile the protagonist of this game appeared in the epilogue of Psycho Platoon, and onf od the endings of this game also connects with that game. 
 
 

Final Verdict: a little game, really simpler than Psycho Platoon for simpler mechanics, graphics and story. However it's still a well made short visual novel adventure, the custom animations and art are really pretty good.

Friday, October 23, 2026

Novella by NewBlack & Narcodis

 
The Lovers (Les Amants) is a 1928 painting by René Magritte, and if you give a look to that painting you will see the protagonists of this game, two figures that apparently have their faces shrouded by white cloth. These are indeed two lovers, or better, they were. The game is their story and we play as the male character as he explores a surreal landscape solving musical puzzles.


Novella is a short adventure/puzzle game: the game mainly consist on exploration of some restricted areas that are pretty well mapped and atmospheric, where the protagonist has to solve some musical puzzles. These three puzzles consists basically in trying to mimic the notes from a violin using a piano, and I guess it's not really easy if you do know play musical instruments. There are no battles, no inventory management, nor risk of death. The main menu is particularly impressive.

 
Random Fact: this game was made for the 2011 Rmn Summer event. Although it's released as a complete game, it's a first chapter that ends with a screen that says "end of part one" leaving the story incomplete.  
 

 
Final Verdict: Novella is a weird game, some ideas are great, other aspects not so much. The story is obscure and seems incomplete with the mentioning of just a part one, but I may be wrong of course (maybe part 2 is just what hopes.the protagonist, to turn back time and restart). The puzzle are ok, strange but not bad, maybe a bit difficult but there is a solution for all of them on the game page, so it is impossible to be stuck on any parts. Maps and graphics are the best part of the game, but aside from style and presentation (that are clearly important) there isn't much else.

The story is weird, maybe incomplete due the strict time requirements of the event or maybe is it is a personal expression of a real life experience of the author. Who knows? The problem is that it is rather vague and... somehow it seems it could have been a bit better. I also do not like some choices, like when you perform a task you read that "a door has opened"! Ok. But where? How? Why?
Lots of questions and no answers, yes. Anyway this is not a bad game, it is ok, very stylish and quite short even if I am pretty sure that most players will have difficulties with those puzzles.  

Thursday, October 22, 2026

Final Fantasy Time and Again by Azrael & Sephiroth X

 
The world is in a state of flux. The Baron Army, the most powerful nation in the world, has inexplicably begun attacks against other nations in a blitzkrieg attempt to gather all of the Crystals of the Elements. While the people of Baron are confused, their King is well loved for his service to the people up to this point. As his support dwindles, attacks come out in larger force, with the Dark Knights, Dragoons, and the Baron Red Wing airship fleet coming out in more violent shows of force each time.
 
In the midst of this, a loyal Dragoon of the Baron Army, a half-demon orphan of Mysidia, and an unbalanced Psionic wanderer will meet, their fates locked together until the end of this madness, and will begin a constant struggle for peace... 
 

Final Fantasy Time and Again is a fangame based on the world and some events of Final Fantasy IV. The characters of that game will appear from time to time, but the game focuses on the four core characters of the game. Like Kain, the protagonist Azrael is a Dragoon and the game closely resemble the original source game, sending the party of original characters all around the world and making them interact with the various characters seen before. Expect dungeons, puzzles and battles.
 
 
 
Random Fact: this is one of the few FF fangames that includes a working Jump attack mechanic. It's cumbersome but well integrated into the Rpgmaker 2003 system.
 


Final Verdict: this is a brillian fangame that while incomplete, it's 8-10 hours long. Mapping is pretty good and it really represent a case of well made fangame and entertaining story that involves new characters inside a familiar setting.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Four Sided Triangle by Majin Sam

 
The protagonist is Hennu Katsuya that recently moved with his mother to the town of Onanne. Being a classic teenager he has to go to school but something happens on the way and becomes involved in a battle between the city guards and some dark knights followed by the appearance of mysterious portals around his new home. After this event he starts to help Jonouchi, one of his schoolmates, that apparently is a sort of secret-soldier/agent that works with the town guard. For Hennu this is the beginning of a great adventure.
 

Four Sided Triangle is a fantasy Rpgmaker jrpg with a serious plot but also comedy moments. The system is classic, heroes have Alchemy powers that are linked to the elements, Hennu for example will learn how to use electricity powers, and enemies have strength and weaknesses to these elements. But the game includes also races and puzzles to be solved.
 

Random Fact: the game constantly references to the Full Metal Alchemist anime. For example Hennu is said to look like Edward Elric to that anime, moreover he will have to learn Alchemy during the course of the adventure. Unsurprisingly there are golems in this game too, even if they are more similar to the fantasy counterparts rather than to those of the anime.
 

Final Verdict: Four Sided Triangle is a pretty good demo, pity for the imprecisions and mapping issues especially in the later parts, but I can say it's an enjoyable experience if you want to try an old-school Rpgmaker jrpg that is not too serious. Despite the lack of polish you can still have some fun with this little unfinished game thanks to the variety of tasks, the humor, and fun classic party-based jrpg gameplay, if you can tolerate the silly parts and quite random events, but better if you can enjoy them! 
Overall not bad at all!

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

1873 by LouisCyphre

 
The year is 1873. Law-enforcement is non-existant in the small trail town of Tombstone, Texas. Bandits, drunkards, crooked gamblers, and killers walk undeterred. Crimes are committed without regard to consequences, because there ARE no consequences.
 
Enter Mardsen Dustine. With his handful of allies, he is charged with clearing out the filth from Tombstone. Each month of the year 1873, you'll bring in various bounties and wanted men, cuminating each month with a showdown with a particularly dangerous opponent. As you progress and your fame grows, the rewards you reap will grow as well - but so will your notoriety and the danger it entails. Can you survive a year in the West?
 
 
1873 can be defined as a western-themed rpg/adventure: the game in fact consists into a linear series of missions that our bounty hunters will take. Sometimes they have to capture a dangerous criminal, others they have to rescue someone, in any case all boils down to dungeon delving adventure, fighting bandits, solving few puzzles and facing enemy bosses. Restocking is possible in some cases even during missions.
Battlers are custom made by the author, that also made all the graphics for a game posted previously, Speak no Evil. 

 
Random Fact: this game is more a prototype than a real demo and it includes some unnamed and non-interactive characters that were supposed to enable some extra optional quests and features.



Final Verdict: I admit, despite some lack of polish this game is strangely addictive, maybe for the simple and fast battles or the wild west charm, a very unusual occurrence in rpgmaker games. I only wish maps were a bit more refined and populated, but I know that this is a demo of a cancelled game, still it was a promising prototype! 

Monday, October 19, 2026

Mine Fu by Avee

 
As the young disciple of Wuzan, the great Mine Fu master, brave ninja Ranju must hunt down the Seven Demons of Bom-Bom to save the world!
Previously sealed by the master, the Demons must be defeated once and for all!

Use your knowledge in laying down mines to blow up every Monster Cement tile specially made by the Demons! Walk over each tile before leaving the stage to beat the puzzle, but only once! Otherwise you will blow yourself up with your own arsenal!
Swing your sword, throw some shurikens and use other ninja gear to topple your opponents!
Laying down mines and beating enemies increase Score and Extra Lives!
Aim for the highest Score possible!

Great perils await Ranju in the 9 puzzle-filled and monster-occupied stages!
Fight your way through sandy beaches, murky swamps and boiling volcanoes!
Use your rock-pushing, pit-jumping and move-timing skills to reach the boss at the end of every stage! 
 
 
Mine Fu is a puzzle game where our ninja will automatically mine all the "demon tiles" (some square with a face that change after it's mined) just standing on them. The problem is that he cannot walk twice on the same tile after mining it, so it's important to plan a path that will mine all the demon tiles and let our hero exit the area. To make the things easier there is the presence of normal ground (that isn't mined when the ninja walk on it) and the ability to jump one tile (while this is explained later, the ability is immediately available), while some enemies will make instead everything more complicated.  
The little ninja can attack with his sword, but pay attention that every enemy has a different behaviour, some just move following fixed patterns, others run towards the ninja, some instead do not move and use ranged attacks.
There are gadgets that can be found hidden inside some breakable containers: shurikens and flaming swords that permits to attack from distance, a log that gives a couple of seconds of invulnerability, the grappling hook that lets the ninja cross huge gaps and the extra life that is always handy!
But pay attention that you can also find the black demon, that resets the level (you have to restart it but without losing a life, so take note of the container and avoid breaking it again!).
 
 
Random Fact: the game doesn't take itself seriously at all, and makes reference to all kinds of standard boss-ranting and senseless plots.  
 

Final Verdict: the game is in my opinion pretty original and well done. I love how new element are progressively introduced like the rocks, the use of the grappling hook and the pink exploding tiles. Sometimes the bonuses are rather useless (it happened to find the invulnerability bonus in a level with no enemies!), in other places they are instead brillantly used (like the level with three enemies and a large gap between them and the ninja. Here you find a grappling hook and several shurikens to kill them before traversing the large pit), and I also find a couple of bugs like restarting a level and see some enemies dying without even touching them, and some levels being skipped (happened a couple of time, I just could see them briefly, and I remember playing them before... but sometimes the game decided to skip to the next level! Uh ok!).

There are also some minor problems that aren't bugs, like the fact that some opponents are extremely fast and for this reason hard to fight due to the slow moments of the ninja, and the lack of a message if you exit a level without completing it. I mean, when I first encountered the shooting enemies I believed these were considered traps and I just had to avoid them... but no, you must kill them too! Anyway yes, the game said "kill EVERY hostile" but it was way earlier, and I forgot!

In the end this is a puzzle game I enjoyed a lot. There are some rough spots and little problems but I think that the difficulty is for the most part well balanced and required the use of logic and some planning in most levels.  

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Tierra Azul by Riko

 
Prohesia is a world protected by the goddess Rubi, but not everything goes well: King Richard sends one of his men, Sir Edward, to investigate the presence of an enemy patrol of the Iriad Army at the nearby Medusa's Caves. But Edward once he arrives to the place he finds the enemy soldiers massacred, and suddenly he's ambushed by a mysterious creature.
 
Meanwhile Rico joins a friend to help him completing an errand for the sage Krilos, and all goes well… until they go back to town! Here they find that their friends and relatives mysteriously disappeared and their village is empty. So they decide to leave through the forest to search for the missing townsfolk...
 
 
Despite the title in spanish and the subtitle in latin, this very old game is instead in english, and it's a pretty long demo of fantasy adventure. Here you can find numerous battlers, puzzles, mazes and other challenges, but our protagonist will also find numerous allies in his adventures. And old game that offers a classic gameplay, nothing more and nothing less, however I must admit that the plot is pretty unusual and interesting.
 

Random Fact: it's not a coincidence that the protagonist is called Rico, when the developer is named Riko! Anyway most of the time the developers use the same name when they make a self-insert.
 

Final Verdict: this is a very old game, so do not expect something original or new, it's pretty classic fantasy Rpgmaker game, but well done, and despite being a demo it offers a lot of content, for example all the world map is complete, so it's possible to travel a lot, even if not every location was completed. Mapping isn't too bad but in my opinion it was the weakest aspect of the game. The rest is pretty good.

Saturday, October 17, 2026

Ateria - Kontinent der Schatten by Xargoth (german)

 
An attack by a horde of vampires sweeps across the island in the great sea of ​​Gaiana, nearly wiping out its entire population. Young Charon survives thanks to his combat skills and the training his father gave him from childhood. 
He finds his father gravely wounded on the battlefield and receives a small key from him before the man ultimately succumbs to his injuries. The key leads Charon to the cellar of his own home, revealing the entrance to a small room. Inside, he discovers a modified pistol and a valuable elemental sword. He also finds a strange mirror. It turns out that a demon named Dagon is trapped within it; the demon immediately proposes a deal: Charon will gain a portion of its powers if he uses them to kill the vampires. Driven by a desire for revenge against the creatures responsible for his family's death, he accepts the offer.
 
 
Ateria - Continent of Shadows is a Rpgmaker horror game demo created by Xorgoth: the game is basically amystery horror adventure with a single character, a vampire hunter. It features some custom activities and original gameplay elements like climbing, a custom made combat system that lets the player switch between gun and sword, anyway the additions are still rather simple and do not overwhelm the player. The graphics use edited REFMAP assets and there is a lot of attention to light, shadows and atmospherical effects.

 
 
Random Fact: although the game includes a monster encyclopedia that can reveal the strength and weaknesses of the opponents, mind that it can be only consulted when in town and not while travelling! A bit odd choice anyway. 
 


Final Verdict: despite the short playtime, Ateria is impressive as an high quality game with great use of lightning, good mapping, many poses, sprites ans features like climbing, monster encyclopedia, slot machines, and more. There are two only issues: the first is that you will often have to travel through the forest and that's becomes boring, there isn't a lot of story, since you are just a vampire hunter hunting vampires! That's it! Anyway it's an excellent demo, and very unique adventure, considering it was released in 2008 it was certainly one of the best games of the time. It's a pity this was never completed.

Friday, October 16, 2026

Fantasy of the Hearts by outlander145

 
Jurven... a reasonably normal man, if not a bit snide in his mannerisms. He must make a rough decision: saving humanity from a fate worse than death, or cryogenic stasis (apparently). Well, while cryogenics may take several decades to be discovered, one thing is for sure. The doors of the Mind have been placed in harm's way. Final Hearts, the interconnecting chamber to the mind has been penetrated deeply... and its security, compromised. Two omnipotent beings have altered the very reality of the Mind's fabric weave, with colors on whites, and bleach on color..
 
Roy Latrice, Jurven's supposed friend, is merely a pawn in this dilemma. In being possessed, Roy fears for his inevitable insanity. The end result: drug consumption. While not only an extremely idiotic decision, this also proves incredibly useless. Jurven, practically the last man standing within Earth's shattered reality, has been chosen to mend the Mind's fabric for reasons even he is unsure of.
 
Roy opens a portal to a land beyond time, imagination, and budget costs. Especially the Fourth Wall.
 
 
Fantasy of the Hearts is a parody/fangame of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, in fact our hero, Jurven, will be joined by some popular Square Enix characters. The game itself is basically a classic jrpg with battles, levels and party management, the main appeal are the weird situations and funnly dialogues.


Random Fact: this game is basically a remake of Final Hearts, a game posted on the Gaming World forums that received terrible reviews. This is better, I assure you.
 
 
Final Verdict: this game is basically a joke based on the title screen and not much more, so do not expect this to be a good old style fnatasy rpg. It's instead a silly and humorous little game with some funny moments, but that shouldn't be taken seriously!

Thursday, October 15, 2026

The Sword & the Fish - The second greatest story ever told by scumdrop

 
You are Clifford, a scrubby hick with a penchant for amorality, sarcasm, and thumping stuff before thinking. Along with his comrades, Clifford travels a twisted path towards his great fate: to be the one destined to "try" and fight Gwar, the demonic villain whose name is only coincidentally after the 80's metal band. Along this path your journeys take many unstereotypical routes - such as a Battle of the Bands, DNA cloning, ghost pirate sea ballads, and an infectious disease that sounds more like a cereal. The journey also contains particularly stereotypical routes - such as the Generic Tower, discussions over whether towers are more evil than caves, and the Island of Too Many Towers. 
 

The Sword & the Fish is a very old Rpgmaker game, and the second most downloaded, or so they said. It's a very long and epic humorous adventure of a group of friends in a fantasy world that form a rock band but end fighting demons and travel through time becoming heroes, and opposing also the "real predestined hero" (that unsurprisingly has the classic Alex RTP charset). The game includes the cameo of various characters real or imaginary, such as Chun Li from Street Fighter II, and is pretty entertaining. 
The game site includes several extras, like a comic and a guide for the setting and details on all the playable party members.
 
 
 
 
Random Fact: The Sword & the Fish is a game created in 2000 and  completed in 2006, however it got a 2020 version. You can find this special version here: https://rpgmaker.net/games/11653/
This upgraded version removes Kid Rock from the game and upgrades the dialogues, making them more grammatically correct and PG-friendly, removing some profanities and vulgar language. For the rest the game isn't any different.
 
 
Final Verdict: the Sword and the Fish plays better than he looks, it's funny and probably one of the longest and best comedic/parody Rpgmaker games. I had fun and I wasted a lot of my time in this game, and, most importantly, I played it to the end! This is because the game entertained me from the beginning to the end, and while I find that there are some parts that could have been improved, I saw a lot of care for what regards the musical choice, the storyline and the character progression (at mid point most party members take an upgrade that is also reflected with a change of their appearance!). In the end this is not a bad game, it's a nice game with some frustrating dungeons with random encounters (but they are short), so in the end on the surface we have a normal jrpg with comedy, parody and weird (but great) dialogues. But this made it fun since it's entertaining, balanced and well designed, but this will be noticed only if you play it! 

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Lasting Dreams & Demon Dreams by Infinity

 
An evil politician has gained immeasurable power. Defend the world from evil! Explore several dangerous dungeons. Solve clever puzzles of cunning and skill. Collect resourceful weapons and magic. Defeat deadly bosses and monsters. Collect mystifying treasure. Play challenging and creative mini-games. Airship battle against dragons and level up offensive capabilities!
 
 
Lasting Dreams borrows inspiration from The Legend of Zelda. It uses unique Rm2k3 Run-Time Package edits with side scrolling map design. The custom built RM2k3 action combat system is functional, layered, and intuitive. The game uses classic RTP assets but the maps are made in a way that makes the game feel like a sidescrolling platform adventure.

 
Random Fact: the same year in which this game was made (2015) the developer released a demo of a similar game with a similar name: Demon Dreams, but unfortunately this was never completed. See below for this extra.
 
 

Final Verdict: Infinity did an amazing job with this game! It's a wild adventure that will see our chubby pirate turning turning himself into a skeleton, turning enemies into chickens, and perform other cool deeds I won't tell you not to spoil the game! Anyway there is space for improvement in two parts: the first is the story, the bad guy has its powers and goals, but our silent protagonist and the supporting cast could have been more detailed (still, this is an action game, so this is not a terrible problem). The second issue is that in some levels it's not clear what you are supposed to do, and being this a game in which different mechanics are being introduced as you progress, it's mandatory to experiment, just don't expect to always receive a clear indication on what you should do next!

I admit that I had a lot of fun with this game, and it was like playing one of these old colorful Amiga platform games of the 90s that merged shooter sections to adventure parts introducting also NPCs that required finding items. Yes, this is an old, classic concept but rather unusual for an rpgmaker game.
 
 
 
 
EXTRA - Demon Dreams: “There was once a greedy emperor who possessed a great legion of demons. He desired complete control over every aspect of men in his empire, even control over their dreams.  
 
An old merchant, who was rumored to have once been a great adventurer, presented the king with a powerful turtle demon that had the ability to manipulate the dreams of men.  
The king immediately decided he wanted it and commanded the merchant to give him the demon. 
The merchant refused but offered it to the king on the condition that he defeat the demon in battle to prove he was worthy.  
The king was outraged at the merchant’s arrogance and ordered his guards to seize him and capture the demon. The merchant quickly explained that the demon only obeyed those who defeated it in battle.  
The king then hatched a cunning plan; he would call his bravest, most loyal soldier to defeat the demon. So the soldier was brought forth to face the mighty demon.  The creature did not use its claws in combat, but its power over the mind, and sucked the soldier into a dangerous dream land where he would be forced to fight not the demon owned by the merchant, but the demons inside his own head…” ~Beanius Maximus 
 

Without offering a lot of adventure but focusing on the action, Demon Dreams is a shoot-em-up exploration game that uses a similar system to the one seen on Lasting Dreams, in fact the interface is nearly identical, except it is positioned on the upper side on the screen and not on the lower side. The system this time focuses on shooting and the protagonist can fly.


Random Fact: there isn't a lot of story aside for the beginning plot, that leaves a lot unexplained, anyway this was just a demo version, so it's expected to be lacking of many planned features and content.
 

Final Verdict: despite the similar name and an apparently similar system, this is a very different game from Lasting Dreams. The game despite being a demo offers a fluid gameplay of action shooting.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Mana Conquest: Vengeance by Ramza

 
A thousand years have passed since the events of the first part. 
When Meridia is attacked on the night of Prince Eidan's sixteenth birthday, his country is pulled into a war against both the Council and the Resistance, which had been fighting for hundreds of years previous. Join Eidan on his quest to round up as many specialists as he can find to wipe out both enemy factions, and with them, the ancient evil of so long ago...  
 

Mana Conquest: Vengeance is a story driven rpg adventure and the second episode of the Mana Quest series. Unfortunately it was never completed, but the demo available includes some hours of gameplay and the following features:
 
- 6 Playable characters
- caterpillar system
- random banters between party members. if the character doesn't like you, he'll let you know
- skill levelling system for all PCs is implemented and active
- improvements to the intuitive twists on the DBS from the first game.
- several improvements to the encounter system from part one. monsters will notice you if you get close, - the actual distance and follow speed is different depending on the monster.
- Fabulous (mostly) custom musical score, some familiar from the first game, others not.
- Scaleable difficulty system
 

Random Fact: Mana Conquest: Vengeance can be played as a stand alone adventure, in fact the prologue summarizes the events of the first game and its ending, letting us play as the protagonist Rolf once again for a short time.

 

Final Verdict: Mana Conquest is an ok demo with many options and useful additions to the usual rpgmaker system seen in many other games. Combat could have been balanced a little better, still it's enjoyableand while I am not a fan of the use of savepoints, the game is not frustrating at all, just challenging. 
Ok, it's true that the setting is pretty generic and the story is nothing special: usual bad guys threatening the world, and the classic "you killed my father prepare to die", characters speak in a casual modern way to their King, and there is an abundance of some classic fantasy tropes, still this is much better than other similar Rpgmaker games.
Overall this was a pretty good demo for its time, and I admit that I enjoyed it despite its shortcomings, in any case it's not your average rpgmaker game, nor a must-play one. But if you like the genre, like me you will have fun playing this game.