Last Scenario is a Japanese-style RPG made in RPG Maker XP. This game is actually a bit special to me, because it was the first RPG Maker XP game (and one of the first RPG Maker games, period) I ever played, so it really introduced me to the concept in a lot of ways.
Category: RPGmaker
OFF
OFF is a free game that’s an okay entry into the odd indie game subgenre. If you like those, you should go download it, but it’s not so impressive I’d recommend it to everyone. If you’re going to play, you should do that before reading the rest of this. Also, I strongly advise that you use a walkthrough, as the puzzles quickly get annoying.
Ib
Ib is a really cool game and you should go download it immediately!
Mad Father
Mad Father isn’t that great, so feel free to read the review without playing the game.
Misao
Misao is the first game by the same person who did Mad Father. The graphics are a lot cruder but otherwise I found it enjoyable, if hard to take quite seriously. Also, the backstory reveal involves unnecessarily nasty abuse, down to including rape, so avoid if you’re bothered by that.
It opens with a nine minute cutscene, but unlike Mad Father, the rest of the game has very little of this.
The Mirror Lied
The Mirror Lied is a very short game that’s intriguing while it lasts, but fumbles terribly at the end. I strongly recommend the experience but don’t expect much of an ending.
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The Witch’s House
I was somewhat underwhelmed by The Witch’s House – it’s got a lot of cool ideas and isn’t overly difficult, but it has a bunch of fast reflex bits that annoyed me, especially when a lot of them were at the end of a sequence with no save point.
The Crooked Man
The Crooked Man is a pretty amazing game with a couple issues in execution, but you can use a walkthrough to sidestep most of those. (more…)
Mermaid Swamp
Like the Crooked Man, this contains a content warning. Unlike that one, it is well and truly deserved. While not excessively gory, it has detailed images of bloated bodies. I also found it overall to be much creepier and I spent much of the game on edge. Go play it! (more…)
The Reconstruction Part 1 (Guest Review)
The Reconstruction is an RPG made in RPG Maker XP. When it was released in 2009, I absolutely adored it. It is still probably among my favorite games of all time, and is definitely one of the best RPG Maker games I have ever seen. It has since spawned both a prequel and a sequel, both similarly excellent in my opinion.
It’s not without its flaws, though, and I think it would be a pertinent exercise to look back and see how well the nostalgia holds up. This won’t be a single-post review, but a long series spanning the entire game, much like Farla’s reviews of the Pokemon games. Unfortunately, since I’ve already played it, I can’t do a running commentary. I can’t exactly do a retrospective nostalgia trip either, since I doubt most of the readers are familiar with the material, in which case I think spoiler-free is the best policy. As such, my own comments will probably be limited, but we’ll see how things go.
(Post-Completion Addendum: I was really bad at following through with this, and this will probably make no sense if you haven’t played the game yourself. I would advise reading my review of the prequel first if you’re skimming, as that one is more self-contained.)
Also: It is freeware, and can be downloaded here if you’d like to follow along. (more…)
Fey – Guest review
Fey is a neat little action adventure game made in RPG Maker 2003. I found it to be pretty enjoyable, if short. (more…)
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a short game you can finish in under an hour. It’s got some decent atmosphere for the first half, a general anti-corporation message and some nice graffiti, and not much else to recommend it. (more…)
Clock of Atonement
Clock of Atonement is a clever game idea marred by subject matter and its handling.
The basic idea of the game is that you play as a guy who fell in love with a woman and then murdered her when she rejects you. Although the ultimate takeaway is that he’s a horrible person, I found it a very manpainy game. (more…)
Schuld/Guilt
Dreaming Mary
I really enjoyed Dreaming Mary. It’s really well put together, the dialogue and voices are simply incredible, and it has multiple endings that aren’t a chore to get and make sense rather than seeming like they’re just there because it’s custom. Play it with the sound all the way up! You need to hear what’s said.
Look at how pretty everything is! Go play it. Go play it now. Go! Now.
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