The screenshots don't really do this game justice, was a lot better than it seemed at first glance.

Good:

-Jump straight into the action!

-Simple but interesting combat mechanics, loved in particular how the mage enemy applies terrain effects that force you to adapt your tactics.

-The plot seems pretty simple and efficient at first, but then gets developed through the banter with the other arena fighters in a quite interesting manner (even if it's the classic "church actually corrupt and evil", I liked what I saw, in particular how the protagonist had their magic core removed).

-Pretty good graphics and music to go along the mechanics!

-That's certainly a way for a demo to end up with a bang.

Bad:

-Some attacks feel pretty "cheap", in particular the mage's flying book that can either go up or down at the last split second.

Great work!

Usually not my kind of game: twitch time events :P (or I suppose it's more a pseudo-real-time battle system, which sounds better and like something I might play more often XD) Regardless, I was having a lot of fun; slowly getting used to the various enemy moves along with figuring out my own, the slow-drip of the story, upgrades, etc.

Also the game really reminds me of good old flash games  *The Nostalgia*

Loving the storytelling, having conversations with the opponents in either the arena or sparring works pretty well, along with the other stuff that happen in the first 3 or 4 losses. (I assume the characters without dialogue merely don't have them YET, because I want to hear what they have to say! Even a grunt or two would be nice :P)

(Though the convo where Assassin talks about revamping her order seemed a tad awkward... Perhaps too much detail, or talking too much? And I wasn't entirely sure why Gerald 'reconsidered' the offer :P)

Regarding the battlesystem, I'm liking how it really is both simple (you keep the same moves) and it still takes time and effort to master, thanks to the opponent designs. I haven't figured out how to defend against all the attacks, but I feel from how you design things that there's probably always a way.

(an idea: perhaps some moves could give a partial defensive bonus in some cases? I can't think of the example when it happened RN, but sorta like how you could cushion a blow by moving with it instead of simply taking it? This obviously wouldn't work on many attacks however, so it's just an idea)

I think it was pretty cool having the opponents be in a random order, giving the impression that they're also fighting in the tournament (though one wonders when one of them will achieve the wish ;P) EDIT: I guess I have to agree that some enemies don't seem to scale as well as each other, Imp is fairly weak (though the fake-out moves are nice) and Potion master's attacks overall seem just a tad too weak. EDIT2: Love the reference 'ancestral avatar' reference BTW.

Anyway, my main issue with the combat system is that for some reason, triggering Kicks (or Mana Drain) doesn't seem to be consistent for me. (I have trouble figuring out when the window to choose them remains open, sometimes it works when I think it should, othertimes it doesn't seem to.)

(so idea: perhaps a small fast bar for when you still can choose those options much like the one when standing still?) Thanks to the fact that it's always clear for other moves when I can (or should when defending) do them, I always know when lag is the issue.

NOTE: my PC is a potato, so some issues, including the above mentioned, may be a result of that. I was sometimes getting lots of stuttering, but closing some unnecessary apps mostly fixed the worse side of it :P...  Also randomly had all of the sound and music die, but that also happened a bit after windows explorer needed to restart... Anyways...

REACHED THE END OF DEMO?! (that Cheater Boss monster! No wonder nobody else got their wish XD) 

I want to know what happens next! Who's the voice calling for help (Imp seems to know something.) And why does nobody else seem to know anything (unless maybe the banished royalty was pretending not to hear..?) So many questions, I EAGERLY anticipate the finished game.

Nice game. I made it to the end but then a JRPG boss killed me. 

I think the gameplay is spot on for the most part. The only notable exception is that some enemies don't scale very well if they happen to show up in later rounds. The imp may have a sharp tongue, but he is rather impotent, even on wave 7. 

Perhaps the order could remain random, but lock certain enemies to a range of rounds. This may be worth considering if you keep adding new enemies.

Besides that, the post-punch attacks could be explained a little better. I got the hang of them after about 10 minutes which isn't much, but it may still be worth adding some indicator like a flash or something.

Also, consider polishing up the menus, text boxes and such. It seems minor but if you have ever payed an RPG then you know how much time you spend staring at solid color boxes so might as well make them pretty.

A boss rush with a "Mario and Luigi" style of combat. Not my cup of tea, but I must recognise it is well put together.

What I like about this game:
-The game is easy enough for an awkward fairy like me, at least in the first rounds
-The simple controls
-The music
-The animations

What this game need (in decreasing order of importance):
-Fairies! Any RPG game without fairies is an automatic 0 for me.*
-A tutorial to better explain the use of the TP skills, I still miss 50% of those.
-More content. The game's bestiary feels a bit limited, and I have the impression the arena is just a suggestion of stronger and stronger enemies until you lose.
-Replace the arena theme (Undersea palace) by its other version that loops seamlessly. I know it exists, I use this exact same track in my own game. 🧚🧚🧚

-Check that all texts fix the black speech balloon

Heyo! I know the rating period hasn't begun yet, but I've reviewed your game early! I'll come back and rate it proper when the rating period begins!

This... was... WOW! You really outdid yourself! This is so much fun. The fights demand learning, but every attack feels fair. Not once did I get hit and think "that wasn't my fault!" The attacks were unique, and I really loved the "counter" attacks enemies used that forced you to use specific moves to avoid damage. 

The story is not amazing right now, but it's getting better at least. Characters like Naga and Imp were a treat to see new dialogue for, and I can see where you're going with the shadow guy but I'm a lot less invested in him at the moment just because I don't really care that much about the church.

The upgrade system was really enjoyable, and it probably helped me a lot to get through the game. With that said, it's so much fun I honestly don't even think this needs to be a roguelike, it could easily be a super tough boss rush. I think the roguelike approach does make it easier for players to get through, which will get players through your game faster, but it'll make it more forgiving and help players see it to the end.

Still, I'm tempted to try out a no-upgrade run.

Some of the animations and UI are very jank, I strongly recommend making changes to pretty much anything that uses a pure colour. This includes a few attacks too, most notably the Ancestral Ally attack or whatever it's called that uses those 3D models.

Overall though, this was super fun! I'm not kidding when I say these fights reminded me a lot of the Mario and Luigi games. If you were to make more fights, this would easily be a great title to scratch that itch.

Overall Fun: 5/5 - I had such a good time playing this, I genuinely can't wait for more!

Controls/UI: 3/5 - Controls feel good enough, they're a little jank but acceptable. The UI could use a lot of work, mainly with the aforementioned windows and text that isn't using your normal font and windowskin.

Art: 4/5 - I know this isn't custom made art, but the visual direction looks fantastic, and the use of animations to convey incoming attacks easily bumps this to a 4 for me.

Sound/Music: 3/5 - Just RTP music. You could benefit from better music, but it's not essential. What you have here is at least good enough!