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. 

Pilgrim's Road by Sidewinder

 

Seventy five years have passed since the great atomic fires nearly scoured all life from the planet. Mutants, twisted by radiation and disease lurk in the shadows of mankind's once great buildings, while gangs rummage through the wastelands, preying on anyone weaker than them.

 

You play as a junker; a drifter with no place left to call home, wandering from ruin to ruin, salvaging anything of value. A passing merchant told you of a great iron tower in the middle of the New Mexican desert, where clean water and electricity can still be found, and who's denizens pay handsomely for any salvaged technology. With nowhere else to go, you've resolved to find this strange city.

 

Will you be able to solve the mysteries of the post-apocalyptic wasteland? Or will you die alone and forgotten in the desert?

 

 

Pilgrim's Road is an adventure with visual novel and rpg elements that is inspired by old CRPGs: half of the game is played in first person, after from a top down visual, the first is used during dialogues and battles, the second during exploration of both dungeons and settlements. The game borrows the style from the Fallout series with its retro talking heads and the custom interface. There are no experience levels, all upgrades are bought or earned, so there is no option to grind for experience.

 

The game in 2019 won the Misao for Best Event Game.

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

Rpgmaker.net Archive 

 

Random Fact: Pilgrim's Road is an event game that was created for the Abrupt Ending Party Event at RMK, and this is the reason why it's pretty short and simple. Anyway the game has TWO endings: the abrupt ending that was required for the event AND a true ending that requires four skills (to earn it you have to start with Int 17 and the needed skills, but I think it's pretty easy to understand whose skills are).

 

 

Final Verdict: this is a short but good game, the plot is simple but I liked that some things are mentioned but never clearly explained, leaving a lot of mystery about the setting and the characters that live in this bleak world. I liked these details, the foreshadowing, the narrative, but the main and best aspect is probably the style and graphics.