129 replies to this topic

[banov]

This game is now finished. See the topic for the finished game here: http://gmc.yoyogames...howtopic=477610
All download links in this topic have been removed.

Dubloon
A point-n-click pirate RPG adventure game in the making. There are dungeons, bosses, sidequests and secrets in a huge explorable world.

Information
Title: Dubloon
File Size: 19.6 MB (9 MB version also available, see below)
GM Version: GM8
Changes Screen Resolution: No


Download Links:
Mirror 1:
GameJolt
XXXX

Mirror 2:
YoYoGames
XXXX

LowFi Version:
Recommended for users with a slow connection. This version has low quality music, but is only a 9 MB download.
XXXX

Walkthrough:
If you're really stuck and don't know what to do next or how to solve a puzzle, you can consult this:
XXXX

YouTube Trailer:
Dubloon Trailer


Screenshots: (Click to enlarge)


Dubloon T-Shirts!: http://www.zazzle.com/banovg*


Credits:
-Game by Banov
-Music by Prophecy

Comments and constructive feedback are greatly appreciated!

Edited by banov, 15 June 2010 - 02:27 PM.

[Nixionary]

Well, I must say that this is quite impressive for what is here. As far a critique goes, the only thing I can say is that the blue bar at the top was somewhat obstructive of the top of the screen, and I can see it getting in the way unless there's a buffer of some kind at the top of each room. Other than that however, what's there is all very well done.

Though I do have one question. Is there any relevance to the way in which the characters are arranged in battle?

Anyway, I would definately like to see something materialize from this. I think it has the stuff to become a compelling RPG, contingent upon the story, of course. But if it's good, then I, and most likely others, would definately play it.

Well done thus far, and good luck!

Edited by Nixionary, 14 May 2009 - 12:48 AM.

[linx137520]

Wow that was a much more advanced system than i thought it would be .

Only thing i could ask for is more complex graphics, it seems that in all your games the graphics are very simple.

But its not a thing that you "need" to fix. Anyways good luck with the game, cant wait for an actual story and towns and such!

[Scale18]

I personally like the graphics just from the screenshots. Ill check it out and post/edit with what I think. As soon as I saw who the topic was by I checked it out.
EDIT
That was awsome! I cant wait for further demos. The only problem is that its a little confusing at first. But when I fled I didnt lose any dubloons.

Edited by Scale18, 14 May 2009 - 03:18 AM.

[WorldatLove]

Why is this not getting more attention!?
I've loved pirate games ever since I was a little gamer XD

I love the title, the gameplay is amazing, this is a really great engine, and the pirate sprites are really good.

[Titanium]

It's cause it's not on yoyogames(Just kidding). This is a very good practice game. Keep working on it, however, I do not like the battle system too well. The RPG calculations looked fine and the critical hit was well implemented. There was no dodging however. Anyways, what I want to say is this, the system is too basic. Ever played Xenogears?? Mimic that style. I think I might make a practice RPG too. Just not now.

Xenogears Gameplay

Edited by Titanium, 14 May 2009 - 09:37 PM.

[Liveandlearn]

Excellent game! The only thing I don't like is how you just jump to the enemy while on a still image, then jump straight back. There should be some more movement! Everything else is surprisingly complex and amazing! (not complex in a bad way)

[jarcon]

Wow! This is pretty impressive, banov! I hope to see this progress into a game, and I also can't help but feel some similarities to the Wolf graphics... In fact, their practically identical! Wait... Is this is the epic fullscale RPG you planned on turning Wolf into originally? If so, HUZZAH! If not, HUZZAH anyway!

[banov]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

@Nixionary: I'm going to design each map so that you never have to/can walk behind the HUD. The locations of characters in battle is totally irrelevant, that's just so that you don't get bored seeing characters in the same formation every time you fight.

@linx: I'm not totally sure what you mean by "complex," but I'll be adding some more effects and the like.

@Scale18: Are you sure? I always lose dubloons when I flee, unless I'm down to 0 already... in the "actual" game most of these mechanics are going to be introduced gradually, so you won't be too overrun.

@WorldAtLove: It's just an engine demo, it doesn't need too much attention. I just wanted to know if this style of gameplay works for people. Thanks for the positive feedback!

@Titanium: You must not have payed too much attention, because characters could in fact dodge (miss). I've never played Xenogears or even heard of it, so I thin I'll keep the battle system as it is now. When you make your "practice RPG" you can make whatever battle system you like.

@LiveandLearn: I wanted to keep attacks short, so I chose to have characters teleport in. And the sprites can't be animated because I save all the battle sprites as frames in one big animation, and coordinating animation frames with that could get... messy. I could attempt it sometime if I'm feeling brave.

@jarcon: I guess you could say this is closely related to Wolf (the wolf enemy sprites are actually right from Wolf, ehehe.) The gameplay and mood is going to be fairly different, though.

It was good to get all these comments and ideas. I'll keep working on it, and I'll put out another demo once I have some actual cutscenes and levels designed.

[TheCommonFlame]

Wow. This is cool, no surprise there

I like your simplistic graphic style.

[Titanium]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

@Nixionary: I'm going to design each map so that you never have to/can walk behind the HUD. The locations of characters in battle is totally irrelevant, that's just so that you don't get bored seeing characters in the same formation every time you fight.

@linx: I'm not totally sure what you mean by "complex," but I'll be adding some more effects and the like.

@Scale18: Are you sure? I always lose dubloons when I flee, unless I'm down to 0 already... in the "actual" game most of these mechanics are going to be introduced gradually, so you won't be too overrun.

@WorldAtLove: It's just an engine demo, it doesn't need too much attention. I just wanted to know if this style of gameplay works for people. Thanks for the positive feedback!

@Titanium: You must not have payed too much attention, because characters could in fact dodge (miss). I've never played Xenogears or even heard of it, so I thin I'll keep the battle system as it is now. When you make your "practice RPG" you can make whatever battle system you like.

@LiveandLearn: I wanted to keep attacks short, so I chose to have characters teleport in. And the sprites can't be animated because I save all the battle sprites as frames in one big animation, and coordinating animation frames with that could get... messy. I could attempt it sometime if I'm feeling brave.

@jarcon: I guess you could say this is closely related to Wolf (the wolf enemy sprites are actually right from Wolf, ehehe.) The gameplay and mood is going to be fairly different, though.

It was good to get all these comments and ideas. I'll keep working on it, and I'll put out another demo once I have some actual cutscenes and levels designed.

I'm not trying to make fun of your system. I never said it was bad and I never said you should move it to the Xenogears battle system, I just thought you might be interested in seeing another one. If you keep it as it is, I'd rate it as a 5/5.

[theweirdn8]

where is the new Somalia mission?

[Obilink]

Wonderful engine, Banov. The screenshot does not do it justice. In motion, the sprites are great. I would like to see two things changed, though:

• I would like to see the HUD(s) cleaner and with a better theme than plain old blue.
• I would like the battle system to be more turn-based. Instead of "attack when your energy is refilled" I would like it to use more of a system where your party all attacks, then the enemies all attack, and so on. Sort of like the Mario RPG games (Super Mario RPG, Mario and Luigi, Paper Mario).

I would also like to see a system where you have one move you can always use, but other moves that you can use only a limited number of times before you have to use an item to refill them. Sort of like Pokemon.

Anyways, I would love to see this become a full game, especially with your great stories. Good luck with this.

~ Obilink

[banov]

@Mechanotal: Haha, very flattering. Thanks!

Anyways, what I want to say is this, the system is too basic. Ever played Xenogears?? Mimic that style.

... I never said it was bad and I never said you should move it to the Xenogears battle system, I just thought you might be interested in seeing another one.

Errr...

@hardcoregamer: Damn, that was a good one.

@Obilink:
Glad you liked it. I've already been doing work on the HUD--mostly adding effects for when buttons are highlighted or while you're drag'n'dropping items, but it makes it look much nicer. One of my first attempted games was an "all party at once" styled game, and I thought I'd like to try something a little different... that, and I find the realtime battle style adds a lot to the game, as it forces quick decision-making and keeps the fight moving at a steady pace. Your idea on attacks that are only usable part of the time is already here, in the form of MP... the basic "Attack" has limitless use, but other attacks consume MP. In the version up now there aren't many attacks that consume MP, so you probably didn't get to taste that yet, but the concept is essentially the same.

-----------

I've been playing with it, adding on stuff since this release. The HUD has more effects and the SPEC menu is now up and running-- items in the SPEC menu are dragged and dropped onto the main screen to interact with the overworld. Right now the only items I have programmed in there are keys (to use on locks, naturally), but I plan to extend it with items like bombs, or ladders, or what have you...

I also made a basic NPC system, and a merchant system. When you're in range, a small prompt appears above characters' heads telling you to click them; clicking on an npc initiates dialog. Merchants stand in front of a row of items, and you just drag and drop the items from the ground into your inventory to purchase them. To sell an item, just drag it over the merchant. Simple and virtually menuless. I'm rather fond of how the entirely mouse-controlled interface works.

But all that stuff is boring to screenshot, so instead I'll show you some of the nifty attack effects I've been making...

Edited by banov, 17 May 2009 - 05:21 AM.

[Millennial Phungus]

Just played it and it was really good for an engine. It was solid and ran well.

Things I liked:
-Intuitiveness and flexibility. If I wanted to do something, like switch the order to skills around, I could do it. This went for almost everything I tried.
-Simplicity. The interface was clear and uncluttered. Everything was easy to find.

Some suggestions:
-Once you equip an item, rather than dragging it back to the item menu, let the player directly drag it to a different character
-Let the player use certain skills (such as Heal) outside of battle
-While in battle, let clicking on a character with a full time bar switch the active character (in case you want to use a skill a different character has and don't want to attack just yet)
-I couldn't remove skills, but I'm guessing that once there's more they'll be exchangeable once you reach the limit
-Healthbars for the characters would be nice since I'm so used to using them to tell if my characters are at say 50% health (Not quite sure where you could put them though)

This seems quite promising and I look forward to a completed storyline, quests, etc.

[Liveandlearn]

For the attacking, you could use move_to_point as a temporary thing, make them move pretty fast though. Are you going to make different sprites for every weapon in the game, and show the weapons in battle?

[Titanium]

I just thought of a couple of questions involving this game. Do you have a story yet? The character designs look good and I want to see personality with them. Will there be voice acting. How long do you plan on making it. Have you ever done an RPG like this before? (My Guess would be yes. You can't do it this well on your first try.)

I hope for the success of this game. You might make the first good turn based RPG of the GMC.

[banov]

@Millenial: That's great, you recognized all the things I was trying to accomplish, so... that feels good! To respond to your ideas...
-Once you equip an item, rather than dragging it back to the item menu, let the player directly drag it to a different character
Yeah, this is actually something I was meaning to do and it must have just slipped my mind... thanks for reminding me!
-Let the player use certain skills (such as Heal) outside of battle
Another good idea, I just need to figure out how the most intuitive way to do this.
-While in battle, let clicking on a character with a full time bar switch the active character (in case you want to use a skill a different character has and don't want to attack just yet)
Another good idea... I'll try and put this in as well.
-I couldn't remove skills, but I'm guessing that once there's more they'll be exchangeable once you reach the limit
Yeah, I didn't bother actually coding the unequipping of attacks, part because there's no clear place to put them to unequip, and part because there's really no reason to since attacks just exchange places when you equip them.
-Healthbars for the characters would be nice since I'm so used to using them to tell if my characters are at say 50% health (Not quite sure where you could put them though)
I don't think that'll be possible given the space on the screen, I'm already cramming the battle screen corner to corner with all the data I can fit. BUT, I could draw the health text as yellow and then red as it gets lower so there's a bit more visual cue.

@Liveandlearn: It's not that I don't know how, but moving characters like that causes other problems, including draw depth confusion and the necessity of run animations (something which, as I said earlier with attack animations, would be very hard to coordinate). Every single item does in fact have its own sprite, but, the item sprites and shapes and angles aren't made to actually be drawn on the characters. You can see the equipped items in the HUD, but otherwise no.

EDIT: @Titanium, who posted while I was typing...
-Do you have a story yet?
honestly, nothing totally definite yet. I have the characters very clear in my mind, and I have some good ideas on how the game could start off, but I still need to think of the entire story arc...
-The character designs look good and I want to see personality with them. Will there be voice acting.
I've got their personalities down perfectly. There's not going to be any voiceacting, the costs of that far outweigh the benefits.
-How long do you plan on making it.
Depends on the story I come up with. Can't say yet.
-Have you ever done an RPG like this before? (My Guess would be yes. You can't do it this well on your first try.)
One of my first games was an RPG similar to this, though I never finished it.

------------

Aside from some of the excellent suggestions people are making, I need some help for ideas. I'm in the process of programming the status effects--as of now the last detail to be added before I start really designing the game itself--and I'm not sure what types of effects to use. Here's what I have so far..

POISON - gradually saps health after each attack the character makes.
SCURVY - this is the rarest status effect, it causes the character to be completely immobilized. Their actionbar will no longer refill until the status is cured.

Those I'm pretty confident about, but there still remain BURN, FREEZE and SHOCK, related to fire, ice and electric attacks, respectively. I want to avoid having any two status effects being too similar (or else why even bother making the distinction?) So, does anyone have any ideas what the effects of those 3 status effects could be?

Edited by banov, 17 May 2009 - 10:26 PM.

[Scale18]

BURN could mean the player takes a certain amount of damage depending on how bad the burn is
FREEZE could be the player speed slows down and attacks a weakened
SHOCK could just be paralyzation.

and when do you expect the next demo to be out?

[linx137520]

Freeze, yeah it could slow down the player, or completely immobilize him for a few turns. A way to get rid of it might be using a fire spell on the teammate.

And i cant wait for the real game design, with a story and such this game should be great

[JonathanPzone]

Fun, fun. But Sophie isn't that scary of a name. I can't wait to see improvements. I hope this will be as much fun as your Assassin Blue. I personally prefer the simple graphics, as it reminds me of a simpler time.

WATERLOGGED -- Slows you down, maybe in marshy environments? Only prevention is suitable footwear.

~Jon

[Millennial Phungus]

Some ideas for your status effects:
BURN: Causes the character to take more damage from attacks (your armor's burnt, your skin is singed, you're gonna feel those hits more)
FREEZE: Slower speed and lower damage (like Scale said)
SHOCK: Using skills which take MP causes you to lose health equal to MP*level or something (you've been shocked so using skills is going to have some feedback)

[EDIT] About using skills outside of battle, I didn't see right mouse button doing anything in the skill screen so maybe just right clicking and then click a character name would work?

I like that idea about the color of your HP changing. Should serve as a good substitute to an HP bar.

Edited by Millennial Phungus, 18 May 2009 - 01:41 PM.

[orange08]

Not really my favorite type of game
But ill try it out, and edit later.

Edit: Its a nice game.. just not my type. Good job though

Edited by orange08, 18 May 2009 - 05:56 PM.

[banov]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone, I've got the status effects all ironed out now. Your support's been very helpful. I started making the early cutscenes and first level, I'll out out a demo once I have a decent amount of playtime in there. I have final exams coming up however, which might slow down development.

Some new thumbnails...

Edited by banov, 23 May 2009 - 09:05 PM.

[ninjutsu63]

Those screenshots look good!
For the title font, I like the third and fourth ones (matura m7 and old english)

[jarcon]

Looks good! I can't wait for it.

[Scale18]

Screenshots look awsome. I cant wait!

[Titanium]

Holy crap. Did you do all that by yourself! Awesome. I hope your efforts bear fruit... well actually. They already have. Can't wait to see more. Keep up the good work.

[theweirdn8]

this has potential.
keep up the good work.
Also, work on sound effects

[Koron XYZ]

Banov, how long have you been using Game Maker?
By the way, your game is and looks fantastic.
Can't wait for release.

[banov]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

@ninjutsu: Thanks for the input, I decided to go with one of the ones you picked (it was my personal choice as well, and from the others I asked it had a slight majority). You can see the title screen in all its glory in my edited previous post...

@Titanium: Prophecy contributed music, but otherwise, yep, this is a one-man show. Thanks for the positive feedback :]

@hardcoregamer: Yeah, I'm still not even sure what kinds of sound effects I want for battle. I will eventually replace these temp Earthbound ones, though.

@Koron: I started using Game Maker roughly around the time I joined the GMC, perhaps a week before. I've taken some time off here and there since then too, but I've also made incredible progress in my programming/design abilities since then...

------

So yes, I've been working on this game and I made a great deal of progress since even my last post. I'll share this screenshot...

I'm pretty close to putting out a new release with a decent amount of playtime included, but I'm in the midst of exams right now, which slows things down.

At this point everything that used to be in my "Ideas for the Future" list in the first post has been implemented, but after brainstorming with my friend Brod we came up with another cool idea which would make the battle system better; battle minigames! These would come in a couple forms. There will be special one time use battle-only items that let you use a special "limit" attack which, when used, start up a special minigame where you have to act quickly to increase damage ("Click as many times as you can!" or maybe a roulette or some such thing). Bosses would also have special attacks which you use a minigame to avoid ("Redirect the enemy's attack by dragging it!"). However it works, these would be fun ways to combine the point-and-click controls with the RPG gameplay. There will be a boss battle when I put out the next update, so you'll get to see that in action.

[drazzke]

Looks pretty nice Banov!

I gave the game a quick run through, and the engine thus far seems to work pretty nicely. I'm sure this can turn into a pretty neat game.

However, in this screenshot, it shows you selecting the name of your player... Well, since this game is being played on a computer, why do you not just let the person type in the name, instead of clicking on the letter? Just wondering.

Anyways, looking forward to the next release!

[Andrew Brophy]

I downloaded this from your blog, but I never got around to writing anything about it. In a nutshell, I think it's looking pretty solid right now. It's a neat way of incorperating the mouse and it makes the battles a lot more fun. I also like it how it seems all of your story-based games are all in the same 'universe', so to speak (the enemies were a dead give away to that, plus the battle area looks like the last area in Wolf). Anyway, it looks great at the moment, I'll be checking in on it in the future.

Also:

However, in this screenshot, it shows you selecting the name of your player... Well, since this game is being played on a computer, why do you not just let the person type in the name, instead of clicking on the letter? Just wondering.

That would make a lot more sense, but I think it adds a nice touch to the game. Banov may have his reasons though.

[broken shadow]

I like it. Simple interface, which is always good in my book. The only thing I'd work on is adding more life to the animation. Everything seemed a bit too fast and rigid (if that makes any sense). Also, increasing the window size never hurt anybody.

Other than that, I really like the style of the graphics (very original, great color work), and the actual gameplay is solid. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

[Rouge]

I can't think of anything about this I don't like, other than a weird glitch I encountered. Don't worry, I can't replicate it so it can't be too big a problem. The graphical style is so cool, and although it isn't my favourite style it works really well here. The interface is also very nice.

Playing this inspired me to start work on an RPG of my own I've been planning, so thanks very much. Oh, and I hope you don't mind if I borrow a few ideas from it.

Edited by wis3on3, 02 June 2009 - 09:15 AM.

[banov]

New version uploaded!
You can now play through some actual plot segments, puzzles, et cetera. This is essentially the first "dungeon" of the game, culminating in--yes--a boss fight. Comments and constructive feedback are greatly appreciated!

-----------------

@drazzke: Thanks for trying it out! As for your comments on the naming screen, you can also use the keyboard to type in the name, completely independent of the mouse. The mouse-based interface was included for the sake of consistency.

@AndrewAP: Thanks for trying, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I do tend to put my game stories in very similar universes, but it's never really on purpose. People have often suggested crossovers between my games, which would be fairly plausible...

@broken shadow: I'll include controls for different screen sizes in future versions, that's a planned feature. I've gotten a lot of similar comments on battle animation, so I guess I'll look into adding a bit more to the motion... thanks very much for your suggestions, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@wis3on3: I'd still be interested to know what the glitch was, so I could try and remove any chinks in the game's armor, so to speak. I can't stop you from using my ideas, but... I just hope I'm never accused of stealing "your" ideas. Otherwise, glad you liked the game, and I'm happy to hear it's inspired you to work on something.

Edited by banov, 02 June 2009 - 10:17 PM.

[linx137520]

Yay ive been waiting for this update forever . Hopefully i can download this on my mom's guest account since my computer is un-useable at the moment

Edit:
Wow really awesome, My only crit is that i dont like how slow the character walked .
At the moment im on the part where a certain number sequence is scribbled in a certain place.

Edited by linx137520, 02 June 2009 - 11:11 PM.

[Rouge]

@wis3on3: I'd still be interested to know what the glitch was, so I could try and remove any chinks in the game's armor, so to speak.

I think it was actually a problem with my laptop, because I still haven't been able to replicate it. Basically I was moving about like a loon (random directions for no reason) and my guy got stuck in the wall.

I can't stop you from using my ideas, but... I just hope I'm never accused of stealing "your" ideas.

I was going to work with an interface similar to your own (point and click), but even though it is fantastic, I have decided to work with something different, so no worries there.

Otherwise, glad you liked the game, and I'm happy to hear it's inspired you to work on something.

Yay! I'll definately be watching this game very closely. I haven't downloaded the new demo yet, but I'll be sure to edit when I have.

EDIT: That was so cool! The story thus far is really interesting, I really hope you keep it that way throughout the progress of this game. I still really enjoy the interface, and the weird bug still hasn't reappeared.
The puzzles were really fun, and although the number one was quite confusing at first, I worked it out eventually.
I look forward to future releases with anticipation.
Currently I would rate this at 10/10, make sure it stays that way. lol

Edited by wis3on3, 03 June 2009 - 04:14 PM.

[Rouge]

EDIT: AGH! accidentally quoted myself...

Edited by wis3on3, 03 June 2009 - 04:13 PM.

[sasracer]

EPIC! Can't wait for more! This demo is one of the best I have seen. Plus I love pirates! Hope this goes somewhere.

[azure_lord]

Lol, nicely place items, they appeared almost as soon as I need them!

[Scale18]

Very nice. I loved the dialouge. And I agree with Linx137520 on the movement. It is a little slow, But other than that great job!

[brod]

Everything is going great man, really nice job. Can't wait to see more of this.

[Vile Smile]

Awesome RPG!

[banov]

Thanks for all the replies!

@linx: Based on all the suggestions I got, I programmed in running. You hold down the right mouse button to move more quickly. Next time I update, it'll be in.

@wis3one3: Excellent, It's nice to see such enthusiasm. Good luck with your own RPG!

@sasracer: Many thanks! I too am a huge fan of pirates, and I find that they lend themselves nicely to this kind of game...

@azure_lord: I do usually have a pretty good feel for those types of things...

@Scale: Thanks, I tried pretty hard to make the dialogue juuust right. And to repeat what I said earlier, I added in running.

@brod: Thanks, it's always a pleasure to hear from you.

@Vile Smile: I know, right?!

-------

I'm still working on this pretty frequently. In addition to a "run" button, I also improved battle animation by having characters actually run across the screen to attack each other, and some small interface updates to help ease of use. None of that is up now, but at some point you'll get to see it.

Dubloon is going to feature a split narrative that goes back and forth between a couple storylines, and for a little while I was debating whether to switch to storyline B now or do another dungeon in A... and I decided to go with a second dungeon in A. Feel free to lend your opinion on the matter, but otherwise, I'm going to go ahead with it.

Whichever storyline I go with, the next section of the game will introduce towns and more open-world exploration, along with all the fun things that come with it (npcs, merchants, sidequests, etc). Those of you who enjoyed the game thus far, I hope you're looking forward to it!

Edited by banov, 04 June 2009 - 10:17 PM.

[sasracer]

Can't wait! I am glad you went with a double storyline, because those are always fun. I should do a game like that
*Ponders about the epicness of his newest game with a double storyline*

[broken shadow]

This is great! Super-intuitive with the whole mouse control scheme (LOVE the drag and drop items), great character designs, and awesome special effects. Battle system is just the right pace, and the enemies are just the right difficulty. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of proper attack animations (and after playing Assassin Blue, I know you make some great ones).

Can't wait for you to finish it.

[White Mist Games]

I've followed your work pretty in-depth, Banov. I've played Wolf, Assassin Blue, Crazy over Goo (I still think Yellow Goo Love was a better title), and now this demo of Dubloon.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of pseudo turnbased/active battle gauge RPG's, though I got pretty far in Final Fantasy IV. This game, however, made me forget it. Though the dungeon exploration was a bit bland, the combat was quite good. I am now looking forward to seeing more of this game completed, and the thought of a double storyline makes me quite excited. If you can pull it off well, I believe it could be just as legendary as Assassin Blue was (still my favorite game of yours). If you could somehow make the two storylines meet up in the end for some sort of final act of the game, like Dragon Quest IV for the NES, it would have quite a good effect.

The leveling of the characters, while not all that deep, was sufficient, though the effects of equipping your characters with swords and shields weren't particularly visible. The special attacks were nicely done, but MP should be shown without having to look at your character's stats; perhaps put it at the bottom of each character's attack menu, or at the top, where it shows the name? It could read: JEFF 15MP.

The graphics and sounds were also well-done. I enjoyed the character designs and the ability to name them, and also though the sounds were pretty fitting. Prophecy has once again dreamt up a good soundtrack, but the loops seem too short and could get annoying after listening to them for a while (Crazy over Good had this problem as well).

The effects of the special attacks (Fire Punch, Ice Hand) should be more visible if they are particularly potent. For instance, with CRITICAL STRIKES for these attacks:

FIRE PUNCH: Enemy has fire on their head and slowly loses heath while fire burns out, but this gives them a speed boost while the fire is burning.
ICE HAND: Enemy is immobilized in a block of ice for a few turns and has extra vulnerability to FIRE, but the ice block gives them increased defense.

This would add a bit more strategy to the combat, forcing players to consider whether the damage is worth the speed boost, or whether they should give themselves a few turns to heal while the enemy is frozen.

However, these are minimal complains in an otherwise excellent start to this game. I look forward to seeing the next demo and the continuing stories of [Insert Name of Main Character Here] and [Insert Name of Sidekick Here]. Good work, and good luck.

[banov]

I've uploaded a huge update, everyone! Dungeons, bosses, sidequests and whatnot to keep you playing for a long time. I hope you enjoy it!

[linx137520]

Finally! I kept thinking this entire week of PM'ing you about this ill edit this post with a critque or make a new post .

Edited by linx137520, 10 July 2009 - 02:29 AM.