Artifact Adventure

*Yes I highly recommend this game.* Not often do I complete rpgs let alone hit max level and complete the optional final dungeon. It is an old rpgmaker game but ran excellent on windows 11. I played with a keyboard. The rpgmaker menu is in Japanese but the rest of the game is in English. I just completed the game so here is my (disorganized) review: Artifact Adventure is in the style of NES rpgs, (specifically dragon warrior/quest 3 and ultima). It does have some great quality of life features, in town/dungeon movement speed is quick and there is even a way to speed of movement in the over world later in the game. There are reusable items to teleport you to every major town in the game. Battles are fought quickly and you can hold down a button to speed through text. There are also ways to increase exp gain/money. What makes this really stand out is all the quests have multiple outcomes and/or consequences. It feels like western crpg in that regard. Some of these outcomes are apparent right away. Some you won’t find out until you reach an ending. The game is non linear and quests can be tackled in any order. The game is short (15 hrs for the standard end boss, 20+ for the secret end game boss) and is replayable. I completed everything you could in a single playthough. This includes completing every quest and finding all the jar goblins. I reached max level. I fought every enemy in the game including the quest where you can release a caged beast and find later as an enemy. I completed both different end bosses which give different endings. I also completed the secret final dungeon with a third challenging endboss and a different ending. Jar goblins are an awesome concept. A little annoying but at the same time comedic in some of the dungeons (come here you ♥♥♥♥!) I actually like this more than the tiny medals of Dragon Quest. The graphics have a retro aesthetic which I love. Instead of only palettes swaps (which there are) they use creatures the same pose but with a different drawing (goblins, skeletons, etc.). All the bosses look good and menacing. All the music ranges from good to great, nothing is annoying. Simple but effective sound effects. For a nes inspired rpg it has a good story with some depth. Some of the quests are very grounded, they don't have a single "the best" solution. The quests with the worst outcome may have the best rewards. It has light hearted moments but nothing that takes you completely out of the world. Some negatives: This game has a really rough start as there is no guidance in the beginning and the developer doesn’t include a game manual (Thankfully there are steam guides for the basics as well as walkthroughs). You collect “artifacts” which act as spells and passive abilities, but you have to switch to the character (Q and W on the keyboard) you want that artifact bound to. So, if you have a Warrior who has zero MP and interact with a spell artifact it will be useless. Also the artifacts are vague about what they do. This initial hurdle almost put me off to the game. You have three choices in the beginning, you can only choose one. You are locked out of the other two the entire playthough. There is a quest in which you can only choose one of two different areas to go to. (drill quest) I do wish there were more art assets for towns/npcs/dungeons. Some of the main characters side facings look bad. Some of the enemy sprites look amateurish. I wish there was more music. Some of the quests you have to answer oddly to get the response you want (fishing village) which is annoying if you don’t want to use a guide. Overall it's worth your time. Huge thanks to everyone on the steam guides/discussions for this game!

This game is an awesome retro-style game that plays very much like old fantasy top down like the og final fantasy. The story is loose but choices matter which is also an interesting touch. Overall just an interesting retro experience.

A Decent, slightly unhinged RPG adventure with fairly basic RPG combat, I like the open world design of the game, its a world that is just fun to explore. Something great as well are all the choices, starting with your party make up for the rest of the game as well as whatever boon you pick at the beginning of the adventure and afterwards just about every quest in the game has multiple resolutions, some of which do have some scales gray to them which I like also. On the opposite side the game is somewhat player hostile and doesn't really like to explain things, most notably the artifacts which you collect through the journey, they are what grant you all your special abilities and spells, the character you have at the front is the one who always picks the artifact up and gains its abilities which can easily lead to you wasting a spell artifact on a character with no MP to use them, many of the artifacts don't really do a good job explaining what they do until you do decide to commit, so you might want to have a guide handy for that. And while the open nature of the game is cool, it does also lead to you very easily wandering into something which you have no way of surviving. The dungeons do also unfortunately kinda devolve into just winding mazes especially towards the end. Slight ending spoilers: [spoiler]The true ending requirements are also overtly cryptic in my opinion and doesn't really lead to a satisfying conclusion either.[/spoiler] You could do a whole lot worse than playing this, there are things to enjoy for sure, but I think with just a little bit more effort and thought put into it, it could have been even better.

Artifact Adventure is a game for if you absolutely loved Final Fantasy I, and wanted more like it. The games "Artifact" gimmick is nice and encourages multiple playthroughs, but also grinding with the artifact warehouses. Also, the game has a lot of interesting moral dilemmas, especially ones with unintended consequences.

Cute, old-school RPG. Simple and straight-forward.

I would play more of this if I had it on my Switch. Just don't get enough time at my computer these days. Really fun NES style RPG, lots to love here. And, not bump combat, like Gaiden. It also has a tiny install footprint, runs on almost any system and has controller support.

古いゲームでもわたしはプレイできる方だけど、これは無理だった。 某キャッチコピー風にいう感じがわたしはシックリくるのでそれを伝えようと思う。 「古き良き伝統のRPGが今！そのまま現代に蘇る！！」 こういうの全部例外なく、わたしは無理！

Cool, well-executed little rpg. My only complaint is that it doesn't have that much of an identity of it's own, but it's fun to talk to the npcs.

Great oldskool game. Follows Dragon Quest motifs more than any other. The artifacts are your special skills. Most of them are for your casters. The Shaman is the main caster, followed by the adventurer. A quirk of the game is that whoever is the lead is the one that gets the artifacts so that is something to remember. I had a better time playing this game on a NES controller than the normal ones, but maybe your set up may be better than mine, who knows. Just know this game is horrible with keyboard. What I really liked about this game is that there are choices you make that not only change the ending, but also change what you get, whether spells, gear or money. Fun fact you can always watch the ending, by heading to the port South of the castle. Fun way to check out what your choices did. I am already on my 2nd playthrough. I would suggest the Key of time for your 1st playthrough and then the Ship for your 2nd. [spoiler]There is a glitch where you can take advantage of the shrines if you summon the plane as you are heading in. [/spoiler]Reason I say play as the shrine 1st is cause it will ease where to start and go, if you choose the plane, you can go anywhere, but also means you will die more since you will have no clue on where to go next. Either way, couldn't recommend this game enough.