Thoughts recorded during my playthrough
+ = I liked it
- = I didn't like it
* = Comment/neutral
====================
+ Wow, that title screen! Epic!
- Not a fan of the FPS counter, and no way to disable it in the options. Had to look up the hotkey to disable it.
- On the topic of options, the only option is for audio? There are a lot of QoL options by default in VisuStella's OptionCore, and I think it's a mistake to remove them. For example, I know not a lot of people use the UI color options, but it can be helpful for color blind people.
* No option to configure input. I highly recommend including that in the options. Let people set things up so it's comfortable to them. If you want your game widely played, always consider accessibility. I know it's difficult - if not impossible - to account for all accessibility scenarios (especially within the confines of RM), but it's always worth utilitzing what is easily available.
+ The intro is pretty badass. Voice acting, animations, even a reverse animation of what was shown. Impressive!
- I must touch on the topic of accessibility again. I know it's unthinkable after investing so much in the voice acting, but consider adding an option to turn it off. Every game I've made so far that includes voice acting has been praised for when I include such an option, and been criticised (at least in testing) when I do not.
+ Cool intro for Bree
- Not entirely sure what to make of that initial item pickup. Looked like the game was playing for me for a bit, and I wasn't even sure what it was supposed to represent. (Is the game showing me my starting inventory? Is it trying to tell me to search every tile because you never know what's hiding there?)
+ I like the "Search" tutorial window. Looks very stylish, even has a modern touch with the example animation.
+ Oh, now the item pickup makes sense. It's one of Bree's abilities.
* Why would you not just leave that ability on all the time?
+ This game definitely looks cool. Custom art all around, custom HUDs/UI, even includes 8-directional sprites for map walking.
* I nearly died on my first battle. Apparently switching to the opposite alignment was a bad idea. Luckily Bree dodged several attacks.
* Full heal at level up? I guess that's good since I was pretty low on health at that point.
+ I got significantly stronger after the first level up. Now being opposite-aligned isn't so painful.
+ This game continues to deliver visually. Well-crafted Dragonbones animations, great voice acting for the attacks, action sequencing...this game looks GOOD.
+ I like how the radar helped me learn that the tall mountain areas can be walked behind. There even was a reward in one place!
- Not sure why Teotl doesn't have a sound effect when he strikes. It's oddly silent.
+ Side stairs? Interesting. They're a little wonky to walk on, but they work.
- Something about Cloud Kieran's appearance at the end feels unsatisfying. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it has to do with how he was described as "taking a break from his quest for vengeance." Nothing about that has been established, so it just seems like it's out of nowhere.
+ That said, the strike at the end of the battle was pretty cool and the dialog after was a fine wrap-up.
+ Cool credits roll. I like the inclusion of the concept art.
Summary
This game gets huge style points. It looks great, better than most games I see from RPG Maker. You're fully utilizing the visual tools available and providing a pretty polished experience here. Great voice acting also gives the game a quality boost.
I didn't mention this in my notes above, but it's not clear what my destination is (I played most of Bree's section walking upward, thinking I should ultimately go left, but then walked into the endpoint without realizing it). Same goes for Teotl: I was walking around, just trying to explore the map as fully as I could, then suddenly it ends (though in a way, that's in keeping with the story, so maybe it's not such a big deal in this case?).
While I don't think this game is flawless, I do think it's a great "free sample" version of the game you are ultimately building. Way to go!