Scogno's Adventure by Scogno (italian)

 

Scogno is a boy that lives with his family in a little village, and dreams to be a hero. He has a terrible temperament, and after getting fed up with the miserable conditions of their lives, he decides to leave his town. His father Pippo gives him a sword, the mother Francy gives him few money and he also gets a potion from his sister. Reaching the first village he discovers that many heroes are here to start a crusade against the monsters that are invading the country, sent by the evil Malefix. However Scogno sleeps until late morning, when everyone else already left the village, except for the sorcerer Dale that joins him in the first of his many adventures around the world.

 

Scogno's Adventure is a very old Rpgmaker 2000 adventure game released in 2003. It's a pretty long parodistic epic story about the rise to power of a jerkass hero that has great ambitions but he's a coward at heart. Of course the journey will not only turn him into a really powerful warrior, but he will also meet a series of quirky characters that will join him in his adventures.

The game is a fantasy parody with lots of references to popular media in particular anime and videogames: Dragonball, Final Fantasy VII, Excel Saga, Evangelion and others are referenced here. 

 

Download Link

Archive of old italian games 

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: it's not a coincidence that the name of the developer is the same of the protagonist: at the time, early 2000, italian Rpgmaker games were in many cases "Lol games", that's a category used to indicates humorous and parodistic adventures made among friends, starring themselves. The games sometimes featured sophomoric or crude humor and always used the default rpgmaker combat system.

Despite this, some like Scogno's Adventure were actually completed and done well enough to be appreciate also by non-friends of the developer.

 

Final Verdict: while not perfect, and including some errors and minor issues, this was an old classic with lots of content, many playable characters, an arena for extra battles and so on. A pretty impressive game at the time.

Theory of the Order by Oldpat (italian)

 

The story begins with a blind prisoner being interrogated: his enemies are trying to learn where are his associates, but the man refused to reveal anything, saying that the Visionary is aware of their moves.

 

Then the game cuts to to a scene where two men are travelling on a land vehicle through the wasteland: the blue haired is Hen, and the blonde man is Rye. The are two Confiners of the Order, and Hen is the most experienced of the two, while Rye is taking part to his first mission. It seems that to become a Confiner they have to fuse with a demon, leading to a loss of memory, and this is a traumatic beginning for Rye that became a Confiner two days ago, on the other hand this will let him capture demons and use them in battler.

 

Unfortunately his first mission won't go as smoothly as expected... 

 

Theory of the Order is an Rpgmaker adventure/rpg that borrows some elements from Shin Megami Tensei and Pokemon, since the main hero is able to summon creatures in battle. The game was initially made for a short RTP contest, but then it was updated to an Enhance Version that improves both graphics and gameplay, however being a game made for a contest, it is complete, but not very long.

 

Vinc90 collaborated with some maps and Sacred Virgo a.k.a Shellshaka made the music, while the custom art and edited charsets were made by Oldpat.

 

Download Link

Mirror Link

Indiexpo.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: a sequel was planned to give a closure to Rye's story, called Theory of Emancipation, and this game was unfortunately never released, although there are some videos on Youtube of some demo gameplay. On the other had in October 2014 was released a fake demo, but see below for this extra.

Note that both these games includes the first title screen used for the original release of the contest version, and it's the one here.

 

 

Final Verdict: a short but well done techno-fantasy rpg with some interesting mechanics and pretty custom art. It is however just an introduction to a large world that unfortunately leaves many details unexplained, still it's not one of the usual fantasy jrpgs, but it has its own charm.

 

 

 

EXTRA -  ̶T̶h̶e̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶E̶m̶a̶n̶c̶i̶p̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶  Theory of the Order: Fulletto Edition: in this comedic series of cutscenes, a hen named Hen is sad because a blue haired man named Haen took his place in the game to play the role of the protagonist's mentor. Meanwhile the bad guy, Mahagruder, is enrage for being fired and replaced by an RTP character. They decide to team up to sabotage the game...

 

Download Link

Mirror Link 

Rmarchiv.de 

 

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.

Robosaga by unknown (italian)

 

The evil General together with his henchman Ashura commands the alien invasion of planet Earth. But the humans are ready, Tetsuya Tsurugi, the pilot of Great Mazinger, the robot designed by Dr. Kenzo Kabuto is the one that will start the counterattack to save Japan. However to defeat the alien army he will have to recruit other pilots and their robots: Hiroshi Shiba with Jeeg, Ryo with Getter Robo, and many others.

 

Robosaga is a homage to the robots of the anime, presenting a character able to recruit various heroes. And there is a reason to do this, since each robot has some kind of power, like being able to repair items, move boulders or swim in low water. This allows to reach normally unreachable areas and progress.

The game also uses a side-view custom battle system, a couple of years before Rpgmaker 2003 made its default system.

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

Random Fact: enemy robots have often silly names, like Gutalax, that's very similar to Guttalax, a stimulant laxative medication used for the short-term treatment of occasional constipation.

 

Final Verdict: a classic Italian fangame developed using RPG Maker. It is most prominently featured in the Italian indie and fangame development community (such as on the Rpg²S Forum) as an example of what can be built using the engine's older iterations.

Haeralis - dove termina il mondo by Seraph Andrew (italian)

 

It is the final battle of a three-year war. A brilliant assault by the kingdom of Ventard manages to open a gap in the endless hordes of zombies. General Lazarus and General Lantis take advantage of this and find themselves at the gates of Ekrian's castle, the evil of the land. In the events that follow, both will find themselves losing their lives. This marks the beginning of our adventure.

 

You'll find yourself in the shoes of Lazarus, Ventard's general turned zombie. Finding himself unable to die, he will journey to reach his goal: his own end.

 

Haeralis - dove termina il mondo is a complete short adventure with some interesting features and an intriguing story: in the game we play as an undead general that's immortal, so no Game Over is obtainable by being defeated in combat. Lazarus may also temporarily leave his body and possess little animals. Moreover the game includes a battle system with summonable magic orbs, two minigames, hidden zones and three possible endings.

 

Indiexpo.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: Haeralis - dove termina il mondo was made for the first short contest of the Rpg2s site. That contest included most of the resources used in this game, like the charsets and enemies, for example, and part of the challenge was using this fantasy package provided. There was also a second short contest that instead was cyberpunk-themed, so the mandatory resources were futuristic, of course.

 

Final Verdict: an excellent short and complete game with some likeable characters, puzzles, and an original storyline. Well done.

Element of Chaos & Death Fantasia by VAL (italian)

The setting of Element of Chaos is a dark, decadent, and bloodthirsty world where a tragic event has irreparably altered the planet's geography, erasing the Earth's crust and forcing all creatures on Earth to take refuge on small floating islands. The people, who until then had coexisted peacefully with wizards, sorcerers, and various magical beings, now feel terrified of magic, and the Inquisition, taking advantage of this, unleashes a bloody hunt aimed at exterminating every magical creature in existence.

Due to this situation, the protagonist Ariel, an eccentric and opportunistic vampire intent on recovering a magic ring she has set her sights on, finds herself in trouble with the inquisitors.

An excellent game, visually impressive, that includes many different ideas from the use of powers to solve some tasks, various diversions like stealth sections and enigmas, battles an much more. The game is also stylish and solid, uses custom made menus and systems. An example is that you can press the spacebar to run instead of walking.

Download Link

Indiexpo.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

 

Random Fact: Element of Chaos, a demo made for a contest in 2009, isn't the first adventure of Ariel the vampiress: in fact she was already the protagonist of another game made in 2002 and called Death Fantasia: The Last Night. See below for this first adventure.

 

Final Verdict: one of the best games made in the Rpg2s site, and despite being a demo it offers 4-5 hours of adventures, with various playable characters. Much better than the first game of course.

 

 

 

EXTRA - Death Fantasia: where Element of Chaos is more serious and dark, Death Fantasia is a lighthearted adventure of the young vampiress Ariel and her first hunt. Even if she is rather inexperienced, her father send her to learn to feed and also asks her to steal a relic for him: the Oracle of Marduk. 

 

 

Death Fantasia is a quite short but complete lighthearted adventure originally made for an event. The game offers some unusual abilities like the Bat Form that is optimal for exploring, but makes Ariel quite weaker and the monstrous Blood Form used to attack and feed, that instead makes everyone hostile.

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: most of the important dialogues happen in first person in front of the other person(s) that often assumes various poses and expressions during the scene. Nice sprites and backgrounds for this unusual choice.

 

 

Final Verdict: more light hearted, and more similar to a cute little story compared to the epicness of Element of Chaos, this is still an enjoyable adventure. 

Tales of Banalia & Chronicles of Malvagion by LolloRocketDiver aka MissingSeven (italian)

 

In the past the world was threatened by the King of the Demons that was spreading chaos and distruction everywhere, however a valiant hero, the Knight of Crystal, challenged the King of the Demons. After seven days the Knight won and the King was banished. After many years the forces of evil are resurfacing, but the Knight of Crystal isn't around anymore. Eide, the son of the hero of the past decides to join a former comrade in arms of his father to defeat evil once for all.

 

Tales of Banalia is a jrpg adventure game that's also a parody of the jrpg games: it includes classic dungeons and battles but also many puns and bizarre situations. Despite being a silly game it includes hours of adventure, unlockable party members, optional dungeons and much more. Graphics are both Rtps and edits, plus the custom facesets drawn by the developer.

 

The game was the 3rd place for Best of Rpg2s at Game Contest #2 

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: despite being a complete game, a  spin-off sequel adventure was planned, called Chronicles of Malvagion, starring Eiden's rival brother. Unfortunately this was never completed but a demo was made available, see below.

 

 

Final Verdict: an entertaining adventure with lots of surprises. It still offers a classic adventure similar to the games it parodies, and it's really full of little details and funny unexpected moments.

EXTRA - Chronicles of Malvagion: after Lugarth's betrayal, Malvagion the Prince of Darkness is sucked into the Crystal Gate, and Eiden, the hero of Tales of Banalia, believes he has lost his brother forever. In reality, Malevagion hasn't been sealed away, but has simply been thrown into another dimension. Our hero is therefore determined to return to his world and get his revenge.

 

Chronicles of Malvagion is a spin off that takes place during the second half of Tales of Banalia.

 

 

Chronicles of Malvagion, as explained before, is a totally different game, compared to Tales of Banalia, because it offers an action system with some rpg elements focused on avoiding traps and solving puzzles. Combat is still present in real time of course, and we play as a single character.
 

Download Link 

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: despite the presence of a main playable character, Malvagion, he is assisted by a thif called Otis, that is a member of the same family of Obli from the first game, the Shadow family of rogues. The wise man Scontatus, a party member of Tales of Banalia, also appears in the prologue.

 

 

Final Verdict: an interesting experiment, and an enjoyable diversion, anyway I still think that it would have been better as a classic rpg like the main game. Anyway graphics and humor are still great here too.

Skydancer 2: ONI by Uran & Polakko (italian)

 

Five years have passed since the events of the first game and the end of Tatsuke Sanji's story. The little Kotaro is now studying martial arts under the guide of Koji Takana, Shin's older brother, while Gunner is exploring the wasteland ruins with the hacker Shoki.
Shin Tanaka, that mysteriously disappeared at the end of the first game returns too, and this time he will have to gather his friends to face a new menace.

 

 

Skydancer 2 was never officially released, but a complete beta version was made available by the authors. It adds some new features like real-time combat and new character and abilities, however it is still very similar to the first game, even if half of the cast is new. Unfortunately this sequel wasn't translated.

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: a reboot of the Skydancer series is in the works, so this is probably the reason why Skydancer 2 was never really finished.

 

 

Final Verdict: with few additions, this is a neat game but more like more of the same compared to the first. Naturally, if you liked that one, you will love this game too!

Carnelian: Eternity Awaits by Seraph Andrew (italian)

In the far future the humans have left Earth and now live in colonies among the stars, after a huge black sphere hit the planet in 2036. Centuries later, in 2613 the colonies are facing various internal conflicts, and we play as lieutenant Dol Aldebaran, an officer with psionic powers of the Sigma Reich: this colony is ruled by Sigurd Edelweiss, that sent him to another colony, Third Eden with two other agents, Velvet Velorum and Heinz Regulus. Their mission is to collaborate with the local soldiers to stop a dangerous scientist and the rebels that are working with him. Anyway Dol's previous mission in the ruins of Babilonia saw the lieutenant losing both his squad and part of his memories. Will this new mission be his chance to prove his worth?

 

Carnelian is a sci-fi story-driven rpg adventure: it's quite linear but it includes various features like for example puzzles where Dol has to use his powers to solve some situations and overcome the obstacles, custom menus for both the party management and battles, and a revamped combat system. However this is just a demo of the initial parts of the adventure so there isn't a lot of complexity, but it's still a nice introductive scenario with pretty visuals and many edited sprites.

 

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de 

Indiexpo.net

 

 

Random Fact: character art comes from the Dies Irae (ディエス・イレ, Diesu ire) 2007 visual novel produced by Light. It's interesting that the protagonist Dol never shows his eyes, and in most pictures he turns the back to the player.

Final Verdict: a very stylish and carefully crafted prototype of a game, and still an enjoyable experience that made me wish for more. It has a real charming and dark futuristic setting, pity it was never translated into english!

Fifth Era - Fragments of the Holy Stone by LolloRocketDiver aka MissingSeven (italian)

The story opens with four mercenaries sent by the Red Wolf Corporation to check a radio antenna. The squad is attacked by a dragon, and only the swordsman Redian survives. He later learns that monster are returning since the Fourth Era is ending, and the one that collects the pieces of the Holy Stone will become the God of the Fifth Era. Both the ruthless Red Wolf Corporation and the dark sect called Sabbat are looking for the pieces, but Redian decides to antagonize them with the help of a ragtag team of rebels…

 

Fifth Era is the first complete italian rpgmaker game I played, a love letter to Final Fantasy, especially FVII and FVIII, since it takes inspiration manly from those two (but not only! Anyway there is a location identical to Costa del Sol, e party member that looks like Rinoa, etc...). The game is pretty easy, except for a couple of optional quests that flesh out the lore of the setting and explores the past of some characters. 

Speaking about characters, there are 12 party members (3 of these optional), an unlockable stealth minigame, hidden artworks and cutscenes. The game uses many edited sprites, like the colorful Fire Emblem portraits and battlers. The developer later created even better games (such as Theia the Crimson Eclipse), but this was a pretty stylish, enjoyable and fun game too!

Download Link

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Youtube Playthrough 

 

Random Fact: the game originally included a special dungeon that was removed from the game, called The Mad Place. Here the characters had to face opponents from their past (like their parents, their mentor or their younger self) in boss battles. The facesets, charsets and enemy sprites are still in the game, and the author covered this cancelled part in a Youtube video. However other mysteries remain, for example the unused battle of an archer named Seth that doesn't appear in game.

 

A remake, or better, a reboot of this game is in the works. It's going to be a very different game, I mean some party members will become npcs, some npcs will be playable characters, some characters are gender-swapped, the setting is somehow different and the plot was changed… so if you can do not refrain to play both games. The new Fifth Era demo can be found on Itch.io and on Steam.

 

 

Final Verdict: a pretty long game, but despite this I played it twice! It's a pretty and fun game, even if difficulty is very low, except for the very difficult optional quests, summons are overpowered and the dialogues are sometimes a little cringy, but the developer was very young at the time. And made me enjoy a lot his creation!