Runelords - Atramentus Rising by Kentona

 

King Theodin of Andoria was in bed when his older son, the prince Edrick, assassinated him. With the help of Gimlet and some rebels he takes control of the palace and plans to kill also his younger brother Ethan, that plans to resurrect the evil Runelords. Luckily the wizard advisor Questor saves Ethan teleporting him away before being killed by the usurper.

Ethan wakes up in the forest of Elderwood where Fenrir the moonwolf takes him to see the druids. 

And so begins Ethan's saga and his trek across Andoria to the Throne of the Runelords. He will meet many unlikely friends, and even more enemies as he makes his way back to Castle Andor to face his usurper brother. 

 

 

Runelords - Atramentus Rising is a classic fantasy rpg that begins with a really quick series of scenes to establish a rather classic situation: our protagonist is a lone hero that has to gather a party of characters to fight back his usurper brother. All this using a system that we've seen in other classic Jrpgs, but while it's nothing new, the game is well done, there is a good use of the resources, in most cases taken from the old classic FFVI, and good mapping. The game has also some nice features like a cobold-hunting minigame and collectible alchemical recipes, although being a demo it leaves most features incomplete.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de 

 

Random Fact: originally the title of this game was Atramentus: the Rise of the Dark Order, and you can find various old title screens in the title folder. I personally like the new title more.

 

Final Verdict: a promising demo that unfortunatley wasn't completed. While not perfect from the balance point of view, it deserves a playthrough, it has some very nice maps and for those who like classic fantasy jrpgs it can be an enjoyable experience.

Legends of the Roguelike aka Deep Souls by Conmon

 

You are an adventurer who has reached the gateway to the Tomb of Ghalung-Korrid, the final resting place of two wrathful Dark Half-Gods. Standing outside of the dungeon is Gatewatcher Volus, an old, wise guardian, who has warned you that no one has returned after setting foot inside the walls of this cursed dungeon. But you are determined - you will find Ghalung and Korrid, but happens from there is up to you... 

Legends of the Roguelike is a single character dungeon delving adventure where the hero can be choosen between four classes: Knight, Mage, Thief, Priest. Each one has different abilities and equipment, moreover the game relies on bonfires to save the game and heal characters. The game includes a single dungeons, filled with enemies and a couple of bosses. The game is more similar to a classic rpg experience.

Resources from Pixel Dungeon (tilesets), Defender of Texel (classes and monsters), Final Fantasy Legends (modified charsets), Devil May Cry (sound effects), Skyrim (more sounds), Dark Souls (concept, sounds), and Charas-Project (charsets)

 

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: the game was going to be renamed Deep Souls, due to some parallels with the Dark Souls series, such as the use of bonfires to heal and save, and the presence of a lone hero. In any case the last demo still has the title Legends of the Roguelike.

 

Final Verdict: Legends of the Roguelike or Deep Souls is a little cool demo. If you lie to yourself and consider it a complete game, it's still good, I mean in few time the game throws a lot in terms of enemies, exploration and a couple of quests. There are also some bosses that are optional (and a couple of them are also quite talkative!), but the final enemy will even mention if you killed them, and the difficulty is quite well balanced, even if you may grind a bit and make every encounter too easy. The only problem I found is that one of the bosses is referred first as Gashur the Bold, then Lorzog the Swift, and then as Gashur the Bold! Probably he was renamed but the old names was left in a dialogue, in any case it's the only problem I found with this game. For the rest, absolutely nothing bad, on the contrary I wished it was longer.

Steel Spirit SaGa by Pyramid Head

 

In the year 1306, after several gruelling wars, the world leaders of Sandail held a summit, and unanimously agreed to sign an international peace treaty. And as pen was put to paper, swords clashed in a far off corner of the world as The Knights Family fought valiantly to destroy the diabolical quell known as The Egg. An artefact that reveled in the bloodshed as it absorbed the anima of those who fell in battle. And over the course of one day, Sandail was finally enshrouded in the tranquility that came with peace.

 

Now 100 years later, the once benevolent Finney Empire has turned its back on the Peace Treaty. And as war looms on the horizon, four heroes brought together by destiny will be thrown into the conflict, and tested against all odds.

 

Meanwhile, in the midst of all this. A strange person who carries the name of a Hero of legend appeared. Has he a hand in the oncoming devestation that will sweep the land? Or is he too, just another pawn of fate?

 

Steel Spirit SaGais a classic Rpgmaker adventure rpg with a fantasy setting. It offer dungeons with puzzles, battles and sidequests. It's nothing particularly original but surely well made and with interesting graphics.

Download Link

Mirror Link 

Internet Archive 

Rmarchiv.de

Random Fact: Steel Spirit SaGa is a fan-made sequel to SaGa Frontier 2 (Though you won't have to play SF2 in order to understand the story) that is divided into 4 scenarios. Originally Steel Spirit SaGa was going to be an entirely different game altogether. But then the developer made it a sequel.

 

Final Verdict: a pretty cool game, I 'm not a fan of SaGa Frontier, still I had fun with it. If you are a fan of the series, that's probably even better!

Alternate - Virus of Ragnarök by Rosa Canina (german)

 

Tomoya Okazaki's story has been a long and arduous journey. The girl from Kyoto, the daughter of an alcoholic former star lawyer, had lived her entire life as a boy. Only when she accidentally saved a goddess one night did she regain her true body. But this unwanted gender swap plunged her deeper and deeper into a feud between her family and the gods.

 

Finally, when AVoR begins, she believes she can finally end the feud... only to find herself stranded in a strange, primeval forest minutes later. Together with a few friends, she embarks on a journey spanning time and dimensions, always searching for the truth behind this strange voyage and always racing against time. For the power that beats within Tomoya harbors another, terrible secret.  

 

Will Tomoya Okazaki ever find her way home? Why was she hurled through space and time in the first place? Why are so many of her old friends also in this time, regardless of whether they were involved in the feud or not? And will she really find answers to these questions in Tokyo, at this strange organization that calls itself a "faction"? 

Alternate - Virus of Ragnarök is a card based rpg with an epic story and many characters involved. The game uses a mix of classic RTPS, edits, rips and custom made CGs to the maximum effects. Lots of custom menus, systems, minigames and puzzles, for many hours of adventure. It's pretty much impressive under every aspect.

 

In fact in 2012 the game obtained the following RPG Atelier Goldener Deiji awards:

 

- Best Plot

- Best Production

- Best Female Lead Character

- Best Animations

- Best Artworks

- Best Graphic

- Best Gameplay

- Best Turn Based Combat System

- Best Dungeon Design

- Best Minigame 

 

Official Site

Rmarchiv.de 

RpgAtelier.net

 

Youtube Playthrough 

Random Fact: this is a fangame based on the Clannad japanese visual novel series by the software company Key, and focuses on the final parts of the Tomoya saga. The game includes also many cameos of Type-Moon characters.

 

Final Verdict: a masterpiece. Lots of content, original combat system and impressive animations and cutscenes, it really shines and shows what can be done with Rpgmaker 2003. If you speak german you will enjoy this game.

Black Shadows by XRazorBlackX

 

Evan Silver works for a supernatural research group, known as STP, and currently his intelligence team has been sent after an occult known as the "Order of the Lunar Apocalypse", who, as per the team's info, are currently in an abandoned town that was massacred several years ago by reasons unknown, very few people survived and all of them were considered insane by the things they said. 

But Evan begs to differ, though. The team presumes that they are planning mass undead revival of the millions who lost their lives, but deep down, he knows it's something far worse, perhaps, it has something to do with the massacre. So Evan, assisted only by his friend Oriot Strike, begins an adventure into the darkest depths of hell...

 

Black Shadows is a sort of horror linear adventure/visual novel: the game is a fast paced adventure with some puzzles and shooting minigames, no rpg elements but just dialogues and action. The graphics are mixed and uses black and white facesets. The adventure is pretty short and there are few characters involved, anyway the story is well explained even if some elments are left vague.

Download Link

Rpgmaker.net 

Rmarchiv.de

Random Fact: even if this short adventure is 100% complete, a sequel was planned: Black Shadows: Paranoia. This was about Evan Silver found dead in the Red Hills, however he somehow is resurrected after a while, but with no memories of of what happened and who killed him. Of course this was just the beginning of another nightmare. The game was supposed to follow the style of the first entry but with more minigames, spell-like abilities and different switchable forms.

 

Final Verdict: being the first game from this author, it was a little bare bones, still it's a complete adventure that tries to do something different than most other Rpgmaker products.

Carlsev Saga by Deckiller

 

Carlsev Saga's story centers on the small, isolated monarchy of Carlsev. This nation boasts a formidable army and advanced middle-age technology; a power called the "Essence" fuels the magic-like abilities used by many of Carlsev's inhabitants. However, the paranoid king has been withholding progress in every aspect of human endeavor. Some of Carlsev's elite figures, such as General Saito of East Carlsev, have grown impatient with the monarchy and have taken bold action. With support from his closest aide, Youngwood, the charismatic Saito leads the East into a massive revolt. A bitter civil war ensues, partitioning Carlsev into East and West. The story unfolds during the first major battle of this civil war, though what will ensue is beyond everyone's imagination. 

Carlsev Saga is a fantasy game that is focused on the political thriller, like Game of Throne. For this reason do not expect a simple clash between the forces of good and evil, as most of the cast operates in shades of grey. The game is also interesting because includes stealth missions, alchemy and there is emphasis on the use of special items and finding and exploiting weaknesses rather than grinding. Mapping is also particularly well made. This game was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy, and while this was the first and only episode that was fully completed, a new chapter is also in the works, a prequel to this game called Carlsev Zero. It is going to be set thirteen years before the events of this game.

Download Link

Internet Archive

Rmarchiv.de

 

Random Fact: although the second episode of the Carlsev Saga was not completed, a three hours demo was released. See below for it.

  

Final Verdict: an epic low-fantasy adventure that for once it's focused on the political intrigues rather than on moster slaying. Unique for sure and with a finely tuned old-styled gameplay.

 

 

EXTRA - Carlsev Saga - Episode 2: the story begins about two days after part one. This episode doesn't feature as many radical plot twists as part one, but it is still far from dull and predictable. This episode is definitely more character-centered: if part one was all about a thorny, unpredictable plot, then part two is all about equally thorny conflicts between characters, as well as the consequences of a few difficult decisions. 

 

The game starts immediately with a series of battles that are fought against charsets, because this time the game doesn't use battlers like the first, maybe these were temporary sprites that had to be replace or maybe it was a precise choice. The game starts with a flashback about Deckiller, but introduces some new characters.

Download Link

Internet Archive

Rmarchiv.de 

Rpgmaker.net 

 

Diary of a Madman by Dreaded

 

Ganthithor is a necromancer whom is a victim of unfortunate circumstances. He works for a higher power, and his mission is to escort the monarch of the land, Irvine, to meet his master in the Land of the Dead. 

Of course no one trusts Ganthitho, but Irvine accepts to go with him. Through his journey, you will meet allies and foes alike, and unveal Ganthithor's past and how he came to be what he is; as well as what the future holds for him.

 

 

Diary of a Madman is a dark fantasy rpg about an anti-hero: this time the playable protagonist is someone who can raise zombies and use dark magic in combat. In any case combat is pretty challenging in the beginning, since the two characters aren't very strong, but most battles are avoidable. Moreover there are puzzles and optional dungeons, to collect loot or souls. Souls in fact are a currency used with the "praying the dark gods" abilities that enable the possibility to get useful gear in exchange for souls, but no, the dark gods will not buy items from Ganthithor, of course. The game features many original abilities as well as being one of the few dark/horror fantasy adventure games.

 

Download Link (2011 version with additions)

Download Link (2004 version)

Rpgmaker.net

Rmarchiv.de 

Random Fact: the game takes a lot of inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons. Not only some or the portraits come from the Baldur's Gate games, but some spells have the same names of those present in the tabletop rpg (Mirror Image, Magic Missiles, etc.) and the main god Heironeus is taken directly from the Greyhawk setting.

 

 

Final Verdict: it's really unfortunate that this game wasn't completed since it has a great atmosphere, and Ganthitho's laugh makes the character a memorable protagonist. Surely this is my favourite game among those released from Dreaded, for its unique atmosphere and characters.