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chuckroSo I ended up paying the $12 for the game maker’s Humble Bundle, even though the odds of me having time to use it are low. There were some actual games in the bundle, in addition to utilities.
Goats on a Bridge - An odd speed-run game where you control two goats at the same time, on different sides of a bridge, and try to get them across together. The controls are a bit odd on a keyboard, and the goats apparently can knock themselves silly (and force you to restart) from walking slowly into an obstacle (for instance, while trying to get close enough to jump over it). I wasn’t particularly grabbed by it.
Labyrinthine Dreams (v 2.2) - The dreams of a girl named Beth, built in RPG Maker and based mostly around maze-puzzles with a little exploration. Takes about an hour to complete and tells a neat little story about Beth’s life and decisions. With a statement on the nature of futility, as well. I liked it, despite needing a walkthrough for two of the mazes (mostly due to frustration—I would have gotten them eventually).
Remnants of Isolation - A mysterious girl who has long been trapped somewhere is suddenly freed. She meets Melchior, a magic-user imprisoned for some reason. It’s got a cute magic system: Characters always start battle with a few MP, but then regenerate it during combat. If you combine their “innate” magic with “card” spells, it causes spell fusion effects that can cause ailments or hit all foes. I LIKE theoretically-unlimited magic with strategy to it! It’s a nice little rpg; takes about three hours to beat and has a nice difficulty curve and real strategy to the battle system.
(It seems that magicians are locked away because magic use is destroying the land via “Mana Famine.” Melchior is the imprisoned, dead Prince’s little brother. Celesta is the “Heart of the Castle”, who provides it with Mana and keeps all the monsters sealed. There are three endings, depending on who ends up sealed in the castle at the end.)
Aveyond: Lord of Twilight - A more typical rpg with an odd control scheme (you can either use the mouse, or the accept/decline buttons are Space and Esc. Who thought that was a good idea?). The Darkthrop line should have died out 200 years ago, but a young orphan discovers that she’s a member of it, and great-great-grandad’s lost artifact might just destroy the world. It’s…big. Really big. Big enough that it actually feels kinda empty, that there’s more world than the amount of game justifies. I don’t think I’d object to playing more, but I suspect there are other things I’d rather spend my time on.
Last Word - An RPGMaker-built game where the “combat” is an elaborate rock-paper-scissors that represents verbal sparring. Whitty Gawship and Seymore Saymore have been invited by Professor Chatters to his sprawling estate, where Whitty must banter with the other attendees and gather gossip to move the plot forward. Because getting the Last Word in a conversation is how you bend people to your will, after all. I couldn’t find all the secrets in a single (~4 hour) play-through; it’s a well-done game.
Mibibli's Quest - A platformer that could have been at home on the NES if not for the fact that it has a mass of internet-era random insanity to it. (Even more so than, say, Monster Party. It’s very much in the realm of, “What was he smoking?”) Clearly inspired by Mega Man, you play a humanoid pig who shoots stars and has to dodge…well, pretty much everything. Even on “Double Easy” mode, it’s very hard. I do give the developer credit for the very clever tagline, “Over 7 bits!”
Crimzon Clover: WORLD IGNITION - A bullet-hell shooter with a couple of fun quirks (a charged homing attack, a charge meter that feeds both bombs and a super mode) and a generally comfortable play mechanic. I’m not into shooters enough to be a real judge of relative quality, but as part of this bundle, I thought it was fun for a few stages.
Whisper of a Rose - The last of the RPGMaker games in the bundle, but due to some sort of Steam error, I can’t get it to run. I’ll post about it when I can actually play it.
Goats on a Bridge - An odd speed-run game where you control two goats at the same time, on different sides of a bridge, and try to get them across together. The controls are a bit odd on a keyboard, and the goats apparently can knock themselves silly (and force you to restart) from walking slowly into an obstacle (for instance, while trying to get close enough to jump over it). I wasn’t particularly grabbed by it.
Labyrinthine Dreams (v 2.2) - The dreams of a girl named Beth, built in RPG Maker and based mostly around maze-puzzles with a little exploration. Takes about an hour to complete and tells a neat little story about Beth’s life and decisions. With a statement on the nature of futility, as well. I liked it, despite needing a walkthrough for two of the mazes (mostly due to frustration—I would have gotten them eventually).
Remnants of Isolation - A mysterious girl who has long been trapped somewhere is suddenly freed. She meets Melchior, a magic-user imprisoned for some reason. It’s got a cute magic system: Characters always start battle with a few MP, but then regenerate it during combat. If you combine their “innate” magic with “card” spells, it causes spell fusion effects that can cause ailments or hit all foes. I LIKE theoretically-unlimited magic with strategy to it! It’s a nice little rpg; takes about three hours to beat and has a nice difficulty curve and real strategy to the battle system.
(It seems that magicians are locked away because magic use is destroying the land via “Mana Famine.” Melchior is the imprisoned, dead Prince’s little brother. Celesta is the “Heart of the Castle”, who provides it with Mana and keeps all the monsters sealed. There are three endings, depending on who ends up sealed in the castle at the end.)
Aveyond: Lord of Twilight - A more typical rpg with an odd control scheme (you can either use the mouse, or the accept/decline buttons are Space and Esc. Who thought that was a good idea?). The Darkthrop line should have died out 200 years ago, but a young orphan discovers that she’s a member of it, and great-great-grandad’s lost artifact might just destroy the world. It’s…big. Really big. Big enough that it actually feels kinda empty, that there’s more world than the amount of game justifies. I don’t think I’d object to playing more, but I suspect there are other things I’d rather spend my time on.
Last Word - An RPGMaker-built game where the “combat” is an elaborate rock-paper-scissors that represents verbal sparring. Whitty Gawship and Seymore Saymore have been invited by Professor Chatters to his sprawling estate, where Whitty must banter with the other attendees and gather gossip to move the plot forward. Because getting the Last Word in a conversation is how you bend people to your will, after all. I couldn’t find all the secrets in a single (~4 hour) play-through; it’s a well-done game.
Mibibli's Quest - A platformer that could have been at home on the NES if not for the fact that it has a mass of internet-era random insanity to it. (Even more so than, say, Monster Party. It’s very much in the realm of, “What was he smoking?”) Clearly inspired by Mega Man, you play a humanoid pig who shoots stars and has to dodge…well, pretty much everything. Even on “Double Easy” mode, it’s very hard. I do give the developer credit for the very clever tagline, “Over 7 bits!”
Crimzon Clover: WORLD IGNITION - A bullet-hell shooter with a couple of fun quirks (a charged homing attack, a charge meter that feeds both bombs and a super mode) and a generally comfortable play mechanic. I’m not into shooters enough to be a real judge of relative quality, but as part of this bundle, I thought it was fun for a few stages.
Whisper of a Rose - The last of the RPGMaker games in the bundle, but due to some sort of Steam error, I can’t get it to run. I’ll post about it when I can actually play it.
