Full disclosure: I wrote these games, so what follows are my (undoubtedly biased) opinions. The Telepath RPG series is notable for a few reasons. To begin with, it was the first in Flash to feature well-crafted characters, storyline, and dialog. The series also eschews random enemy encounters and lets you level up individual stats and attacks through a training system.
Many reviewers on Newgrounds compare Telepath RPG Chapter 1 to Harry Potter. There are some similarities, to be sure. You begin the game as a gifted student at the Psy Academy, a military school where young men and women with psychic powers are trained and prepared for leadership positions in the human military. You are free to wander the Academy and interact with fellow students, faculty and guards, including several friends whom you can recruit to assist you in your journey. The combat in Telepath RPG Chapter 1 involves quite a lot of randomness at first, though you can balance things out a bit by leveling up your combat skills with Helen in the Southeast Building.
Telepath RPG Chapter 2 picks up where Chapter 1 left off, but does so with much better graphics and music, as well as a cool tactical battle system that will remind you a bit of Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, or Fire Emblem. You can now have up to 7 characters other than your main character under your command in battle at the same time. Even better, there are a whopping 10 playable characters you can get to join you if you play your cards right. Each character has their own unique set of skills and attacks, and most of them can learn new skills through training (or in one case, by having new parts installed on him).
Both Telepath RPG chapters use a dialog tree system similar to the one in Fallout, which allows for some freedom in your interaction with various NPCs. Talking with other characters is especially important in Chapter 2, and there are dozens of characters with hundreds of lines of dialog that you can do this with.
The bottom line: the Telepath RPG series remains one of the most compelling RPG series in Flash, and Telepath Chapter 2 may actually be the best RPG ever made in Flash. If you play no other game on this blog, make sure you play Telepath RPG Chapter 2!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
RPG # 15: Strategy Defense Review
Strategy Defense is a little weird. You play a heroic character who fights bad guys and levels up in order to save his kingdom, and the game features a definite (though extremely limited) plot which might lead you to believe that it is an RPG. However, all of these RPG elements are subordinate to the main thrust of the game, which is strategic in nature.
Essentially, you fight a series of turn-based tactical battles against enemies who look suspiciously like Lego men with weapons. After each battle, you advance to another one via a linear map. After you've fought a few battles, you'll start being taken to a shop where you can purchase special arrows, healing potions, and transformations before you advance. Occasionally, you'll witness some sort of dialog between your character and someone else, but you never have control over this.
The battles themselves are pretty neat, occurring from an isometric perspective that reminds one quite a bit of Final Fantasy Tactics. You spend the first quarter or so of Strategy Defense as an archer, and you can get pretty far using hit-and-run tactics. You may find this difficult at first, since the game only lets you move in a straight line on any given turn. The enemies face this limitation as well, however, so it shouldn't take you too long to adapt. More annoying, however, is the fact that you don't get to command any sort of fighting force against your enemies. Every battle is fought single-handedly, which limits the tactical possibilities quite a bit. Also, later on in the game, large enemy sprites tend to obscure surrounding spaces, making targeting difficult.
Those are relatively minor quibbles, however. The enemy AI is pretty good, and will give you a decent challenge during the first third of the game. The game gets much more difficult once you start facing riflemen, however, and the AI isn't to blame. Rather, this drastic shift in difficulty comes about because you must now start to rely much more on expensive magic in order to win battles. You'll also start drinking Health+ potions like it's your job. In a true RPG, you could make up for the difficulty by fighting optional battles and leveling up. Not in Strategy Defense, however. You can't re-fight old battles. You just have to struggle onward.
The bottom line: it ain't Shining Force, but despite the occasional design flaw, Strategy Defense is a good game for fans of tactical RPGs.
Essentially, you fight a series of turn-based tactical battles against enemies who look suspiciously like Lego men with weapons. After each battle, you advance to another one via a linear map. After you've fought a few battles, you'll start being taken to a shop where you can purchase special arrows, healing potions, and transformations before you advance. Occasionally, you'll witness some sort of dialog between your character and someone else, but you never have control over this.
The battles themselves are pretty neat, occurring from an isometric perspective that reminds one quite a bit of Final Fantasy Tactics. You spend the first quarter or so of Strategy Defense as an archer, and you can get pretty far using hit-and-run tactics. You may find this difficult at first, since the game only lets you move in a straight line on any given turn. The enemies face this limitation as well, however, so it shouldn't take you too long to adapt. More annoying, however, is the fact that you don't get to command any sort of fighting force against your enemies. Every battle is fought single-handedly, which limits the tactical possibilities quite a bit. Also, later on in the game, large enemy sprites tend to obscure surrounding spaces, making targeting difficult.
Those are relatively minor quibbles, however. The enemy AI is pretty good, and will give you a decent challenge during the first third of the game. The game gets much more difficult once you start facing riflemen, however, and the AI isn't to blame. Rather, this drastic shift in difficulty comes about because you must now start to rely much more on expensive magic in order to win battles. You'll also start drinking Health+ potions like it's your job. In a true RPG, you could make up for the difficulty by fighting optional battles and leveling up. Not in Strategy Defense, however. You can't re-fight old battles. You just have to struggle onward.
The bottom line: it ain't Shining Force, but despite the occasional design flaw, Strategy Defense is a good game for fans of tactical RPGs.
RPG #14: Lethal RPG Review
The Lethal RPG series is easily the most prolific RPG series in Flash, with 10 games released by creator Ben Spyda over the two years. In chronological order, they are:
Lethal RPG Battle
Lethal RPG Adventure
Lethal RPG War
Lethal RPG War 2
Lethal RPG Conqueror
Lethal RPG Destiny
Lethal RPG Destiny: Maximum Revenge
Lethal RPG Universe: Lost Sweeper
Lethal RPG Universe 2: Resurrection (Note: there is an earlier version of this release titled Domination--same game, fewer features)
http://www.sinisterdesign.net/LRU3DarknessReborn.html
Lethal RPG Universe 3: Darkness Reborn
These games are pretty simplistic for the most part, consisting almost entirely of turn-based one-on-one battles and little else. However, for folks that enjoy the grind of endless, mind-numbing combat and leveling without the bother of distractions like character, plot, or even simple exploration, these games are just about all you could ask for.
At least, that's true of the first six or so games in the series. Things have gradually improved, however. Starting with the second-to-last version, Lethal RPG Universe: Lost Sweeper, the games have included a hit gauge in combat that allows you to string together up to three attacks in a turn. This adds some element of skill to the battles and makes them substantially more interesting. Lost Sweeper, Resurrection, and Darkness Reborn also include a top-down exploration mode that gives the whole affair more of a sense of adventure, though you can expect to be randomly attacked quite a bit while walking around like this.
In conclusion, the Lethal RPG series is lacking in many areas, but if you want to give it a try, try out the last three entries in the series. I wouldn't bother with anything earlier than that.
Lethal RPG Battle
Lethal RPG Adventure
Lethal RPG War
Lethal RPG War 2
Lethal RPG Conqueror
Lethal RPG Destiny
Lethal RPG Destiny: Maximum Revenge
Lethal RPG Universe: Lost Sweeper
Lethal RPG Universe 2: Resurrection (Note: there is an earlier version of this release titled Domination--same game, fewer features)
http://www.sinisterdesign.net/LRU3DarknessReborn.html
Lethal RPG Universe 3: Darkness Reborn
These games are pretty simplistic for the most part, consisting almost entirely of turn-based one-on-one battles and little else. However, for folks that enjoy the grind of endless, mind-numbing combat and leveling without the bother of distractions like character, plot, or even simple exploration, these games are just about all you could ask for.
At least, that's true of the first six or so games in the series. Things have gradually improved, however. Starting with the second-to-last version, Lethal RPG Universe: Lost Sweeper, the games have included a hit gauge in combat that allows you to string together up to three attacks in a turn. This adds some element of skill to the battles and makes them substantially more interesting. Lost Sweeper, Resurrection, and Darkness Reborn also include a top-down exploration mode that gives the whole affair more of a sense of adventure, though you can expect to be randomly attacked quite a bit while walking around like this.
In conclusion, the Lethal RPG series is lacking in many areas, but if you want to give it a try, try out the last three entries in the series. I wouldn't bother with anything earlier than that.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
RPG #13: Artifission RPG Review
Artifission RPG is an interesting new sci-fi RPG series from Swedish game designer Johan Teleman (a.k.a. "Fickludd"). The story takes place in a parallel universe during the second Cold War, and presumably it's in the relatively near future as well. Artifission RPG features combat remarkably similar to that you'd find in most Final Fantasy games, but with some minor differences. To name two: you can get attacked while standing still, and you can't run from combat. On the plus side, however, this game features a sophisticated leveling system that allots experience to your stats depending on which ones you use during combat, and how much you use them. (Amusingly, you level up your hit points simply by getting beaten up a lot by enemies.)
So far, two chapters of Artifission RPG have been released--and unlike most flash RPG series out right now, this one seems to hold some promise of continuing with further chapters:
Artifission RPG Chapter 0 is, by the designer's own admission, more of a prologue than a proper chapter. It lacks a save feature, items, or a level-up function, and yet it is still worth playing for the mood, the nice hand-drawn artwork, the well-produced music, and the introduction to the story that it gives you.
Artifission RPG Chapter 1, however, is where things really start to pick up. For one thing, this chapter features such niceties as items, save points, and the ability to improve your character. You start this chapter off with an entirely new character, which explains certain events in the prior chapter. Chapter 1 makes a little more sense of the plot, which is hard to discern from Chapter 0, and features more interesting combat with a greater variety of enemies (including a rather strange boss early on).
Ultimately, if you lose patience with Artifission RPG Chapter 0, you may like Artifission RPG Chapter 1 better. My advice: definitely give this series a chance. It's worth it.
So far, two chapters of Artifission RPG have been released--and unlike most flash RPG series out right now, this one seems to hold some promise of continuing with further chapters:
Artifission RPG Chapter 0 is, by the designer's own admission, more of a prologue than a proper chapter. It lacks a save feature, items, or a level-up function, and yet it is still worth playing for the mood, the nice hand-drawn artwork, the well-produced music, and the introduction to the story that it gives you.
Artifission RPG Chapter 1, however, is where things really start to pick up. For one thing, this chapter features such niceties as items, save points, and the ability to improve your character. You start this chapter off with an entirely new character, which explains certain events in the prior chapter. Chapter 1 makes a little more sense of the plot, which is hard to discern from Chapter 0, and features more interesting combat with a greater variety of enemies (including a rather strange boss early on).
Ultimately, if you lose patience with Artifission RPG Chapter 0, you may like Artifission RPG Chapter 1 better. My advice: definitely give this series a chance. It's worth it.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
RPG #12: Sinjid: Shadow of the Warrior Review
Sinjid is a classic Flash RPG that plays a bit like a demo, albeit a demo with a fully-realized leveling and skill tree system, a good combat engine, and an interesting town to explore. The plot of Sinjid starts out pretty intriguingly: you are the infant son of Hattori, a legendary warrior fighting against the evil Lord Baka. After Lord Baka assaults your town, Fujin fights his way over to Hattori, who hands you over and instructs Fujin to take you to a hidden refuge in the mountains. As you grow up, Fujin trains you to be a badass ninja warrior. By the time the game starts, your training is almost over with.
Unfortnuately, all this plot is really just a bald justification for having you fight a linear series of one-on-one, one-on-two, or one-on-three Final Fantasy-style battles. In theory, you're proving your readiness to go out into the world and fight Lord Baka. In reality, you're just playing a demo whose author couldn't be bothered to create actual missions or battles with plot significance.
Despite Sinjid's limitations, however, what is there is actually quite good. There is a decent variety of equipment, abilities, and well-animated enemies, and there are many different ways you can develop your character, depending on what fighting style you're aiming for. The game has some very nice graphics, and the music is pretty decent as well. As long as you're not looking for a game that tells a story as you play or introduces you to any characters worth mentioning, you should enjoy Sinjid just fine.
Unfortnuately, all this plot is really just a bald justification for having you fight a linear series of one-on-one, one-on-two, or one-on-three Final Fantasy-style battles. In theory, you're proving your readiness to go out into the world and fight Lord Baka. In reality, you're just playing a demo whose author couldn't be bothered to create actual missions or battles with plot significance.
Despite Sinjid's limitations, however, what is there is actually quite good. There is a decent variety of equipment, abilities, and well-animated enemies, and there are many different ways you can develop your character, depending on what fighting style you're aiming for. The game has some very nice graphics, and the music is pretty decent as well. As long as you're not looking for a game that tells a story as you play or introduces you to any characters worth mentioning, you should enjoy Sinjid just fine.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
RPG #11: Dreams Review
Dreams is a fabulous and vastly underrated RPG that unfortunately has only one chapter to its name at the moment. The game's back story is explained in an opening cut scene told in comic book style. The Hammerhead Brothers, Hunk and Zeke, are called to meet with a mysterious man called the Seer. He has a task for them: they are to head for a bizarre clockwork tower (apparently designed by Salvador Dali) and seek something called the Source.
Your arrival does not come unnoticed: it isn't long before you are assaulted by strange phantoms with rifles. Don't worry, though--Dreams has no random battles, and the ones you do fight are actually pretty fun. Dreams has one of the most unique combat engines I've seen in a game, period. Not just in a flash game. Not just in an RPG. I mean any game.
Combat is turn-based, but your "turn" is really just an allotment of about 20 seconds during which you can switch freely between the Hammerhead Brothers. Hunk has a rifle with two types of ammunition: while he is selected, the battle is shown from his perspective in first-person, where you can target and shoot the enemies from where Hunk is standing. Zeke, on the other hand, has a gigantic hammer and some sort of winged creature (a parasite, perhaps?) on his back. While Zeke is selected, the battlefield is shown from the side, and Zeke must hurtle towards the enemies trying to bash them with his hammer as quickly as possible. For some enemies, you'll need to switch back and forth between the Hammerhead Brothers to perform combos. During the enemy turn, you must try to dodge enemy attacks. With practice, you can go through entire battles untouched, though it won't matter much if you do, as your characters are fully healed at the end of each battle regardless. Just don't die.
So far, Dreams is easily one of the most unique and stylistically impressive RPGs created in Flash. The first chapter was submitted to Newgrounds in November 2006, and after going so long without word of a sequel, I began to believe that the series had been abandoned. Or so it seemed, until I stumbled upon this. Yes, that's art for "Dreams Ch. 2," and it was posted in February 2009. It seems like the series might be continued after all...
Your arrival does not come unnoticed: it isn't long before you are assaulted by strange phantoms with rifles. Don't worry, though--Dreams has no random battles, and the ones you do fight are actually pretty fun. Dreams has one of the most unique combat engines I've seen in a game, period. Not just in a flash game. Not just in an RPG. I mean any game.
Combat is turn-based, but your "turn" is really just an allotment of about 20 seconds during which you can switch freely between the Hammerhead Brothers. Hunk has a rifle with two types of ammunition: while he is selected, the battle is shown from his perspective in first-person, where you can target and shoot the enemies from where Hunk is standing. Zeke, on the other hand, has a gigantic hammer and some sort of winged creature (a parasite, perhaps?) on his back. While Zeke is selected, the battlefield is shown from the side, and Zeke must hurtle towards the enemies trying to bash them with his hammer as quickly as possible. For some enemies, you'll need to switch back and forth between the Hammerhead Brothers to perform combos. During the enemy turn, you must try to dodge enemy attacks. With practice, you can go through entire battles untouched, though it won't matter much if you do, as your characters are fully healed at the end of each battle regardless. Just don't die.
So far, Dreams is easily one of the most unique and stylistically impressive RPGs created in Flash. The first chapter was submitted to Newgrounds in November 2006, and after going so long without word of a sequel, I began to believe that the series had been abandoned. Or so it seemed, until I stumbled upon this. Yes, that's art for "Dreams Ch. 2," and it was posted in February 2009. It seems like the series might be continued after all...
Saturday, October 6, 2007
RPG #10: Mardek RPG Review
Mardek RPG is a highly popular and clever RPG series by Pseudolonewolf of Fig Hunter games that plays like a tongue-in-cheek Final Fantasy game. With the release of Mardek RPG Chapter 2, Pseudolonewolf seems to be cementing Mardek RPG's place in the pantheon of great flash RPG series.
Combat in Mardek RPG is pure Final Fantasy fare, with reaction commands thrown in to spice things up. Graphics in combat are lovely--if you're like me, you'll especially love the forest fish from Chapter 1, which look like they were taken straight out of an M.C. Escher drawing. The graphics in the overworld, strangely, don't match with the graphics in combat at all. While everything is nicely hand-drawn and animated in combat, your characters and the world around them become low-tech sprites of the Final Fantasy IV variety once you return to exploration mode. Some people find this touch nostalgic--others find it aesthetically grating.
Mardek RPG Chapter 1 may seem confusing to you at first--in fact, the characters themselves seem pretty confused about what they're supposed to do or say during the opening sequence! But don't worry. Just keep playing, and you'll quickly realize that the beginning is actually a cute storytelling contrivance by the creator. The game proper has an actual plot worth mentioning, along with a fleshed-out game world, even if it isn't apparent at first.
Mardek RPG Chapter 2 continues the storyline of the previous chapter, but picks up eight years later, with Mardek and Deugan enlisted in the royal guard of Goznor (whatever that is). The tongue-in-cheek, highly self-aware humor of the first game is still here in spades, along with a helping of goofy teen angst. (My favorite line: "Well, I'd only kill a guy if he killed me first!")
Pseudolonewolf stated on his blog today that he is set to work exclusively on finishing up Mardek RPG Chapter 3, and that Chapter 3 will include remade versions of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 bundled in with it. Once it's out, I'll be updating this entry to reflect that.
The bottom line: Mardek RPG is wildly popular for a reason. If you like RPGs at all, stop dilly-dallying and go play it!
Combat in Mardek RPG is pure Final Fantasy fare, with reaction commands thrown in to spice things up. Graphics in combat are lovely--if you're like me, you'll especially love the forest fish from Chapter 1, which look like they were taken straight out of an M.C. Escher drawing. The graphics in the overworld, strangely, don't match with the graphics in combat at all. While everything is nicely hand-drawn and animated in combat, your characters and the world around them become low-tech sprites of the Final Fantasy IV variety once you return to exploration mode. Some people find this touch nostalgic--others find it aesthetically grating.
Mardek RPG Chapter 1 may seem confusing to you at first--in fact, the characters themselves seem pretty confused about what they're supposed to do or say during the opening sequence! But don't worry. Just keep playing, and you'll quickly realize that the beginning is actually a cute storytelling contrivance by the creator. The game proper has an actual plot worth mentioning, along with a fleshed-out game world, even if it isn't apparent at first.
Mardek RPG Chapter 2 continues the storyline of the previous chapter, but picks up eight years later, with Mardek and Deugan enlisted in the royal guard of Goznor (whatever that is). The tongue-in-cheek, highly self-aware humor of the first game is still here in spades, along with a helping of goofy teen angst. (My favorite line: "Well, I'd only kill a guy if he killed me first!")
Pseudolonewolf stated on his blog today that he is set to work exclusively on finishing up Mardek RPG Chapter 3, and that Chapter 3 will include remade versions of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 bundled in with it. Once it's out, I'll be updating this entry to reflect that.
The bottom line: Mardek RPG is wildly popular for a reason. If you like RPGs at all, stop dilly-dallying and go play it!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
RPG #9: The Adventures of Guy Review
The Adventures of Guy is a silly, whimsical RPG with cartoony graphics and a combat style taken directly from the Paper Mario series. The plot is extremely straightforward: you awaken one morning and are promptly transported to a strange world full of beings that want to kill you, by a wizard who wants to kill you as well--except that he also wants you to fetch 50 magic stones for him first.
The combat system in the game is straightforward, turn-based, one-on-one RPG combat with reaction commands to shave off damage you take and to boost damage you give. It's nothing new, but it's implemented well in this game, and it makes the battles more challenging and fun. It also helps that the enemies are all animated frame by frame, many with some very cute and creative moves.
Though disliked by some for its almost nonexistent plot and occasional problems with the main character getting stuck in walls (for which the only solution is to reload the entire game), The Adventures of Guy is one of the better offerings around for casual RPG gameplay. You can pick it up whenever you like without having to concentrate too much on what's been happening in the game: there aren't really any puzzles, there's no real plot to keep track of, and there's basically only one quest. You could put this game aside for a month and have no trouble picking it right back up again where you left off.
Of course, that's both a blessing and a curse. All in all, The Adventures of Guy serves as a fun diversion for the casual RPG gamer, though it runs the risk of annoying people who take their RPGs seriously.
The combat system in the game is straightforward, turn-based, one-on-one RPG combat with reaction commands to shave off damage you take and to boost damage you give. It's nothing new, but it's implemented well in this game, and it makes the battles more challenging and fun. It also helps that the enemies are all animated frame by frame, many with some very cute and creative moves.
Though disliked by some for its almost nonexistent plot and occasional problems with the main character getting stuck in walls (for which the only solution is to reload the entire game), The Adventures of Guy is one of the better offerings around for casual RPG gameplay. You can pick it up whenever you like without having to concentrate too much on what's been happening in the game: there aren't really any puzzles, there's no real plot to keep track of, and there's basically only one quest. You could put this game aside for a month and have no trouble picking it right back up again where you left off.
Of course, that's both a blessing and a curse. All in all, The Adventures of Guy serves as a fun diversion for the casual RPG gamer, though it runs the risk of annoying people who take their RPGs seriously.
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