Mystery Man Zero by Yeaster

 

A man is sent to Earth to chase after a dangerous foe who was exiled from the Pleiades for attempting to seek control of the Milky Way. With Earth as this demon's personal playground, is Zero alone enough to stop it? And what other secrets surround this demon?

 

In this game you assume the role of Zero, an enigmatic masked demon hunter from another world, sent to Earth in pursuit of a dangerous, plague-spreading demonic creature that poses a terrible threat to mankind. Aided by hapless civilians and fellow demon hunters, help Zero unravel the clues that will lead him to the demon while discovering the secrets behind Zero’s own origins…  

 

Mystery Man Zero is another bizarre modern-fantasy game by Yeaster, this time with more futuristic influcences: we play as a special agent that has to investigate a demonic threat, and the gameplay is basically more or less the same of Complete Chaos and Vanity. What makes the game really better is the unique setting and characters, the edits and the portraits taken from the Persona games really make this game look stylish.

 

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: this was the last game made by Yeaster using Rpgmaker 2003, and unfortunately this wasn't completed. However the demo is pretty long and enjoyable. Unlike Onyx, Vanity and Complete Chaos, the story is set in the far future and has no relations with the other games, nor cameos of the characters from the previous games. 

 

 

Final Verdict: One of those rare games that appears to be set in the modern world, although naturally there’s no shortage of aliens, demons, magic, or any of the other fun stuff that we love about RPGs. Executed in a very noir style, this game is a rare stylistic gem.

Complete Chaos by Yeaster

 

The story begins ten year after the events of Total Chaos: the Celestian Prince defeated the great evil that threatened to seize control over both Celestia and Earth, and the worlds were saved. The  protagonist of this new adventure is Eric Ventura, a cop in Rodger City, sent to protect a jazz singer, Kyon-Lei Kwon from a mysterious stalker, Face. Eric is able to save the jazz singer, and he is in turn saved by a mysterious voice that gives him some new powers.
These will ve necessary to defeat the twelve Demons of Chaos, ancient gods that walk among the humans in disguise. But can Eric amd his friends trust the voice the guides them? And what are its motives?

 

Complete Chaos is a game very similar to Total Chaos, but there are few additions, for example now dungeons have healing points and enemies are no longer fought in random battles, but they are visible. Moreover Eric Ventura has two sets of skill, depending on the weapon equipped: in fact he can use both handguns and swords. Unlike Total Chaos, the weirdness was toned down, characters are for the most part humans, and all have photorealistic facesets. The game can be played as a stand alone, however there are reference to the previos game, and some party members of Total Chaos appear as npcs.

 

Download Link 2.0 special version

Download Link 1.0 complete version

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

 

Random Fact: during the later parts the heroes receive some support from three heroes that you may or many not know: Ronald Johnson from Total Chaos, Marcus Ford from Vanity and Evan Selwyn from Onyx and Onyx 2. These characters already had each one their own adventure, but now they are back here to team up with the new heroes!

 

Final Verdict: more player-friendly than Total Chaos, and as good as Onyx 2, this was a pretty cool game. It's also the last of the classical Yeaster epic adventurers, later games tried different themes, settings and situations. Still some classic themes like the battle against supernatural opponents in modern/futuristic settings was mantained, but I'll talk about those games in the future.

Total Chaos by Yeaster

Ronald Johnson is a seventeen years old boy that lives in Montane City. Life is quiet and boring until the day he explores an abandoned warehouse together with his best friend Jose Hernandes, and finds a talking dog named Squamus Maxillius. The dog, that says to be from another dimension, tells Ronald that he's the reincarnation of prince Devon Mars, that sacrificed himself to track down a dangerous enemy that escaped to Earth.
At first Ronald is reluctant to follow this talking dog on some quest, but soon when a secret group called Society starts a dark plan to plunge the world into chaos, and Ronald's father seems also to be involved. So Ron and his friends form a ragtag group of heroes determined to stop them.

 

 

Total Chaos was a side-project that Yeaster developed between Onyx and Onyx 2: the game was done without much planning but in the end it was completed. And it's really a chaos: the developer mixed various graphic styles, there are real-life pictures, anime-styled portraits and even stylized drawings. This enforces the atmosphere "total chaos" of the title. Surprisingly the game also received a sequel called Complete Chaos, a stand alone story were some of the old characters reappear for brief cameos.
 
Like the precursor Onyx, this is another game that consists mainly in dungeon exploration (with random encounters), boss battles, few puzzles and many cutscenes. That's nothing new, but the story and characters make this game memorable, with a unique urban fantasy/horror setting inspired to the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Grab Total Chaos here, and remember: there is a guide and a walkthrough for the entire game, including secrets and hidden quests.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net 

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: Total Chaos includes a cast of twelve playable characters, that is a lot for a Rpgmaker game: they range from a succubus to a summoner, but the most peculiar party member is probably Lindsay Lohan! Yes, the american actress, singer, and songwriter is among the heroes who help Ronald in his quest, and other celebrities like Johnny Depp and Britney Spears also appear in the game as friends or foes of the group. 

 

Final Verdict: This is an ooooold game, I know that, but despite additions that makes it somewhat more detailed than Onyx (the use of battlers, facesets, some secondary quests I do not remember that were present in Onyx and so on) there are other nuisances (the vague item descriptions is one) that makes the gameplay less entertaining and pleasant. And this is really a pity since the story is pretty good, the dialogues (despite the typos) and situations are funny. The cast is varied and well thought out.

 

Probably many people won't like it for the graphics or the gameplay style, but having played and liked the Onyx series, I admit I had fun. A bit less, but it was still fun!

Vanity by Yeaster

Year 2250: Marcus Ford is an ex-convict that works as a house-sitter in the city of Bridgeford, where humans and demons live side by side. When he was young he was contacted by a girl in his dreams several times in his youth, but this stopped happening, and later he was convicred for armed robbery. Now the girl of his dreams is back, asking him for help. Teaming up with Ashkii, an islander that seems to be related to the girl of his dreams, who is searching for his adoptive father, Marcus will discover that he possess a power called Solar that will become useful when facing some new enemies. Meanwhile Alex Ashford, the CEO of a demon-hunting agency, and a mysterious man named Bruce, are trying to find a way to stop the upcoming apocalypse that will destroy the world.

 

Vanity was made after Onyx 2, and shared many similarites, like the modern-fantasy setting, the colorful cast of characters and the use of side view battles. On the other hand it also introduces some new aspects, like wandering enemies that not only can be avoided, but also repelled, and there are healing points inside the dungeons, making this game more player-friendly than the previous ones. It also features several cutscenes with ripped assets from Shin Megami Tensei and images from comics and sometimes during these scenes it's possible to select various options, leading to alignment changes. Unfortunatly this game was never completed and it's released as an extended demo.

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

Rpgmaker.net 

 

 

Random Fact: for some reason the game includes an unused alternate title screen (called Vanity B 2a), maybe it was made for one of the first demo version, and was scrapped for the black and white one of the last released versions. However you can stil edit the game and use it, it's the one below.

 

Like Onyx, this game had a re-relase of a new edition in 2023 with many changes: the protagonist is now named Jason, and looks a little different, there are many changes concerning the plot and the locations, for example Bridgeford is now full of hostile demons. One of the major differences is also the removal of battlers, in fact now the game uses a first person view in battles like Onyx. Unfortunatey this demo is far shorter than the older one! Anyway two demos are better than one, so find it below:

 

 

Download Link (2023 demo)

 

Final Verdict: Onyx was cool, and Vanity is more of the same, but with some neat additions like the comic-styled cutscenes. This game is also different because it's a setting where the supernatural is widely accepted, everyone knows that there are demons, and there are even renowned demon hunters. Aside for this difference, if you like the Onyx series you will like this one too.

 

Concerning the updated 2023 version I liked a lot the new changes, because if I have to say few words I can just tell you that gameplay is more or less the same, but story is improved a lot. Well, it's not that the plot became something else, but there was rather a series of rearrangement of the events and some modifications that made the adventure more interesting, immersive, engaging. For the rest there is not much to say, it's the same game, even if a very short demo compared to the old version.

Onyx 2 Clinging Soul by Yeaster

After the events of Onyx we return to the world of Allumia: Evan Selwyn, one of the heroes that saved the world one year ago, is forced to come back in action when some mysterious and twisted murders happen, and probably some cult is behind them. Then a mysterious kid appears, claiming to know him from long ago. What is going on? Helped by by Chloe, Zed and Vicki, that we already met in the first Onyx, Evan will have to solve this last mystery.

Onyx 2 is like an upgraded version of Onyx: this was the third game completed by Yeaster, and the second using Rpgmaker 2003, after Total Chaos. This means that the game uses side view combat with battlers, for the rest it's more or less like Onyx, with a cast of Evan from the first game and 11 new allies. This is the first game where the protagonist can use two different weapon types and has different skills, in fact Evan can use both swords and claws. This was replicated in Complete Chaos, where the protagonist can equip handguns or swords instead. 

Chad and other characters from the first game appear here too (someone is also a playable temporary party member), so it's better playing this game after the first, and as usual you can count on the developer's guide if you need help.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: the older 1.0 version of the game uses some custom made portraits for the main characters in the game, portraits that some players, and the developer himself, though they were pretty crude and ugly. The last 1.5 version in fact does not have them. Find the older version (with portraits) below.

Download Link (1.0 version with portraits)

 

 

Final Verdict: clearly you can appreciate fully this game only if you played and finished the first Onyx game. But if you were able to finish the first, surely you liked it a lot, then I'm sure you will like this one too. Well I did.  It's an old game, so I did not expect much, but at the same time I knew what I could expect for a sequel of Onyx: a great story that made me play from the beginning to the end (and, expecially in this second episode, surprised me more than the first game). 

 

A worthy sequel, I loved playing it because even if taking place after a year, it revisits many of the old cities from the first game, but also includes new places, of course. The cast is all new except for Evan, and that's a good thing because he's cool, but didn't have enough time to shine in the first game. And while this is the end of the series, this isn't the final adventure for Evan, but we'll see that at a later date. Stay tuned.

Onyx by Yeaster

 

Chad Daniels is a teenager that lives with his aunt in the slums of Trace Town. The aunt enrolled him in the military program to help her cover the bills, so Chad decides to leave town during the night. In the closet he discovers a scared child that suddenly disappears. Then Chad discovers that he isn't in the world he knew, despite looking the same: monsters roam the streets and he is rescued by an angel that calls him "Diamond".
Chad discovers that he now is in the world of Allumia, and he is the only hope against the Onyx, a gem of reality-altering power pusued by a deranged ex-knight and some demons. These also want Chad dead, and this will make our protagonist join force with a ragtag group of gifted individuals.

This was the first complete game made by Yeaster, a long complete modern fantasy adventure made with Rpgmaker 2000 with some influences by Shin Megami Tensei/Persona series. It's a classic jrpg with a group of 11 playable characters (without counting the temporary characters!) with different abilities, dungeons with random battles and lots of dialogues. Luckily you can save anytime, and there is a very useful guide included, like for all the games realized by Yeaster, with several hints for completing dungeons and defeating bosses.  

 

Onyx was nominated for two Misaos in 2006. One for best female villian (Chantal), and for Game of the Year. It lost to Kinetic Cipher for best villain, and was tied for last place in the Game of the Year category, with Grave Spirit winning.  

 

Download Link

Mirror Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: this was the only game made by Yeaster using Rpgmaker 2000. After this one the next ones were Total Chaos and the sequel Onyx 2 but both were made using Rpgmaker 2003, like the followind games, Complete Chaos, Vanity and Mystery Man Zero. 

 

 

 

While the game was completed in 2006, it had a 2023 re-release: the game is revamped with new dialogues, enemies and maps, re-balanced party members and battles, but there are also some minor variations like a change of names from a couple of characters, and others looked different, including the protagonist that now has a more modern Outlook and clothing. Find below the links for the 2023 version and the comparison between the two editions.

 

 

Download Link  

Itch.io page 

 

Onyx 2023 Youtube Playthrough 

Final Verdict: an excellent game and one of my favourites. The first version was a little rough but for a first game was pretty good, with a great story, and the update fixed and improved most aspects, pity that I was attached to the old protagonist with the long hair, bandana and red coat, and also of the old version of the towns, like Mepori. The reason why I am fond of the old versions is because these appears also in Onyx 2 (that has no revamped version), on the other hand combat and dialogues are a lot better in the new version. In the end this was a long adventure and a great game!