Oh my god. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I found this game about twelve hours ago and I’ve just finished Chapter 9 and yes I just spent my whole Saturday playing games but oh my god I don’t regret one second of it.
I’m gonna first talk a little bit about all the things this game gets right. I’ll try keep it mostly spoiler-free, for those of you reading this.
1. The combat. It’s fair and extremely balanced, which is well above par for RPGMaker games. By level 8, which was where I was at upon finishing the game, I’d unlocked something like 20 skills/spells between my three characters in total, and aside from, like, two of those (Silence and Wide Slash), I ended up using them all regularly in various battles depending on the enemy and what the situation called for. That’s huge for a game engine which is notorious for being mindless single-skill-spam. The difficulty curve seems fairly balanced—though I’d argue both Jeanne and uh, what’s-her-name, the other girl you get temporarily in that mountain-village to the north. They’re both a little strong for when you unlock them (though I mean I got to the mountains real early). Anyways, it’s not particularly hard to progress through the story combat-wide, but most chapters’ main quests have some sort of “optional challenge” that you can do to test your strategy (and item supply). And oh boy did I feel like a maniac when I decided to ignore Cindy’s plan. That battle was super tight. The optional challenges are uniquely tough, all relatively different, and rewarding. Money is handled so well—it never feels like you’re rich enough to get everything you want, you’re always stuck on that edge, choosing between saving to get more equipment and stocking up on needed healing items. The balance is extremely well-handled. There’s a bunch of other minor things that make the game feel fluid and fair: you can get critical hits but enemies can’t, there’s a bestiary which lets you plan for and strategize against enemies, and (I think, I didn’t test it too much) running away from random encounters always works on the first turn.
2. The story. I genuinely picked up this game just cause I thought it was cute. I had absolutely zero idea about Lianna—and gosh, on that first chapter when she started sizing her reflection up and judging herself and then all of a sudden I realized what was going on and I put together the little clues that had been dropped and god did that hit hard. In fact, all of Lianna’s dialogue relating to those struggles is so perfect. Her voice throughout the game is one that’s not without personality, but also one that I found really relatable. It’s common in games with decent stories that the main protagonist just chooses to act a certain way or makes a decision because “plot” or because “that’s their character”. And inevitably in such games, I find myself annoyed at the protagonist because they’re (from my perspective) being stupid. Lianna doesn’t do that. The choices she makes and the emotions she feels are well-presented and her voice shines strongly in this. (So does Mao’s, though I feel like he’s easier to get right.) Some of the scenes I just want to give a huge shoutout to, because they are wonderful: that scene at the end of chapter 1, the scene/atmosphere when Lianna breaks down in the ancient ruins, and Mao’s dialogue after the kobold cave raid.
3. Foreshadowing. I mentioned some of this before with chapter 1, but: the story’s just so well-written. You get hints without even realizing it, and then when it all comes together it’s extremely satisfying. It’s like the feeling of reading a particularly good book. Maybe about the adventures of a certain witch? Oblique self-referential analogies aside, the foreshadowing extends beyond just the story. The first time you step out of your inn and explore the town you’re in, you’re already getting clues to the world and the people in it. Every single house you see—though all but a few shops are inaccessible—plays a role in the plot. I’m so excited to see how this story pays off in the last few chapters because I just know it’s going to be wonderful.
4. Art. I came for cute. It was cute.
I was also gonna mention a few minor things I disliked about the game, but honestly, this comment is so long I think I’ll just stop here. Though, I will say. The sound effect of a curtain opening only plays in one ear and as soon as you hear it once you can’t unhear it.
Thank you so much for making this. This was a Saturday well-spent.