Thanks so very much for this, so glad you liked it! :DDD
"It was pretty good. You can tell its an earlier project, being a little...rougher? I don't know if that's the right word."
I think that's absolutely fair. It was a lot of "firsts" for me. I had never drawn (pixeled?) my own tilesets before, I hadn't used that engine before (I had used earlier RPG Maker engines), and the whole thing was a huge learning experience all over. I replayed it late last year and I see a lot of flaws in it, but I'm still proud of how it turned out, mostly XD
"Actually the overall art style gives me real "Paladin's Quest" vibes. I wonder if that was intentional?"
It was accidental, as I hadn't played PQ or Lennus 2 at the time. However, several people have pointed it out, so I had to check out those games and I kinda adore that artstyle? I may lean even more in that direction for the hopeful sequel and/or future games.
"Karuna and Aurelie's initial interactions were a bit more disappointing to me. Their initial interactions felt like they were building to something, but it feels like we don't get enough time before Aurelie is taken away..."
Yeah that was a big writing lesson I learned. People aren't going to like a character if they don't get to spend time with them, and a really short prologue just wasn't enough. I'm glad you liked her by the end, but I agree that it could have been handled a lot better.
"The cost of equipment seems hand tailored to drive me insane."
Haha, I very much wanted to force people to have to choose. I may have leaned a little too heavily on that, I tend to go back and forth on exactly how expensive stuff should be. Generally tho, I feel like if you can go into a shop and just buy everything, then you aren't being forced to make meaningful choices.
"Overall, its a fun romp that gets you invested in the characters. For what's, as far as I could tell, unity's first(?) published game, its a surprisingly good for a first full RPG. Definitely worth a play."
Thanks! It's my first released game, though I have a couple I made before it and just never got to completion. And those earlier ones are so rough that I'd really want to just remake them if I ever decide to go back to them XD
"Someone might have gone a little crazy with the size of that final dungeon though."
This is 100% true and correct. I replayed it last year as I said earlier, and I was yelling at my past self, going "WHY DID I MAKE IT THIS LONG???" I have no idea what I was thinking XD;;; Glad you got through it okay.