Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous.

• PRESENTATION
  

  Graphics are default RTP mixed with a few custom tiles. The custom stuff doesn't blend well with the RTP, standing out like a sore thumb. The quality of it is also very MS Paint, however it's nice to see that the dev at least tried to make some custom graphics.

  The mapping leaves a lot to be desired in a lot of cases. There are some decent maps here and there, but it's obvious that the developer is new to mapping since they fall prey to some pretty basic map issues (such as not putting walls under some ceilings and making very large, empty areas).

  The developer tried their hand at adding sound effects to the world, and while it is a bit sudden (not blending in and out well) it is still an attempt to create atmosphere with sound. The rest of the sound effects used are pretty much default to the engine.

  Music is used well enough, but again, it's all RTP. It sets the scene fine.

  Writing is full of spelling errors and some grammatical ones too. That said, the plot is interesting and the characters are distinct enough from each other to be recognisable. The premise is a bit cliche but done in a rather interesting way.

  
  

  GAMEPLAY
  Gameplay is typical RPG Maker RPG fare - walking, talking, fighting.

  There's not much in the way of customisation done to the systems of the game. Everything does what it is supposed to do and I didn't run into any bugs.

  Items deal a decent amount of healing (despite being percentage based) and you get a fair amount of them through dungeons. You also get a decent amount of money, though you do need to grind a little at a point in order to get past a boss.

  The battles are mainly easy enough to fly through. Enemies hit decently hard and you do decent damage back, too. Skills are useful and are well balanced in that regard. It was a bit annoying that you didn't start with any skills (in fact, it took until level 3 or 4 before you got any, making early game battles an attack-spam).

  That said, bosses are incredibly painful, especially the twin orcs you fight on the bridge. The snake is also pretty painful in that once one of your characters dies, there's no way to bring them back, and the snake can remove almost all of your health in one go via double-hit. The orcs were the main issue, though - even with full armour they could kill a character in one hit when they used a specific skill. I had to grind up a few levels in order to not get OHKO'd when trying to battle them.

  The field was excruciating due to the incredibly high encounter rate. The fact that there are three ponds to search around, that the maps are large and that you get an encounter every 1-10 steps made for an annoying time.

  
  

  ENGAGEMENT
  The story of the game was fun and I found myself liking the characters quite a bit. The battles being well-balanced helped a lot in the engagement area, especially when you finally got some skills to work with. The first few levels were annoying when you only had attack to use, but thankfully the skills you got were useful and helped get rid of enemies faster.

  The bosses, though, were a bit too much. The challenge level with them was through the roof and there came a point I had to put the game down for a while just to de-stress a bit before trying the orcs again. Their ability to not only hit hard but kill a full-health character in one shot was ridiculous and should have been tested a lot more in order to make sure that the challenge wasn't in staying alive, especially with no items to bring you back from death. Once one character died, it wasn't long before it was another game over, with both the snake (double hits) and the orcs.

  Thankfully grinding, whilst boring, didn't take too long (about 15 minutes to get high enough level to not die on the first hit) and I finally got past that area only to get hit by the 'to be continued' wall (which was a bit disappointing).

  
  

  THEME
  The overall themes of the game are harder to figure out than most. I'd lean towards perhaps friendship and supporting each other, and in those aspects the game does a decent job of showcasing the themes, even if it doesn't draw attention to it.

  The mechanics of the game do showcase that a little, with the use of support skills, but it's very likely that this wasn't a conscious decision as it is not shown in other ways.

  40/80