Clarent Saga: Chronicles

The short version is that this feels more like a demo rather than a full game. One thing that immediately stood out to me was the absence of a story, I suppose you could call this game more of a casual RPG, you face waves of enemies with a boss at the end, your endgame objective is collecting all the equipment and party members there are. The battle system is something of a mix between Shin Megami Tensei and Final Fantasy, it also brings some new things to the table like boost points which give its battle system a bit more freshness. Now regarding the balancing though there are some issues. I was playing the game on normal and the first 5 waves can be beaten with little to no strategy especially if you use boost points which pretty much the game's balancing. Regarding the UI/UX, well, this game is very clearly made in RPG maker and that by default brings some problems to the table that are apparent in all games that are made on this platform, so I can't criticize this much, since this is just the problem with the platform itself. Now what I can criticize is the way this game presents to the player the controls, and other information that can be considered pretty important, for example, I think it needs to put more emphasis on the fact that it doesn't autosave, now, a great fix to this would be offering to the player to save after each of the chapters they complete so they don't end up dying and having to start the game from the beginning if they forgot to save. Regarding the before-mentioned controls, I think there are plenty of more interesting ways to teach them to the player instead of displaying an image that looks like it was designed in word. Now the Visual style, music, and sound effects are pretty much what you can expect from this style of game. Something I can specifically commend this game on is that the battle backgrounds are more unique than they are usually in RPG games of this style, so good job on that, and I hope that there will be more interesting elements like this in it once the game is released as the complete version. All in all though I can't recommend the game for the price it's sold at the moment, it just simply doesn't offer enough content to the player which would make it worth the 10$ price tag.

What Clarent Saga: Chronicles have: - Nice stories - Customization - Nice combat system - Nice PVE - More exploration - Nice store system - Loreplay - Nice CHARACTER What Clarent Saga: Chronicles do not have: - Nice animations - free contents - primus granddaughter

(The Dev send me key to test the game) This game is really fun, as someone who grew up playing these types of turn based games it really was nice. The game gives such a nice retro style feel and the music is really nice and fitting, it does get a bit repetitive but it is not so bad. The game-play mechanics are nice and easy to learn and there is also a great tutorial that really helps out a lot, especially for players that are new to playing these types of games. At the moment there isn’t really a story you just play and go through different chapters fighting bosses and levelling up, the difficulty is also nice and balanced even when you choose to play on easy the enemies can’t be one tap. I must say the price is a little bit steep for what the game has at the moment but if you really like these types of games and wanna support the dev I would say it is worth a try to check it out. I haven’t also faced any game breaking bugs or issues which is nice. Overall it is a fun game for some it might feel repetitive but there is a lot of potential for this game and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this game.

|Français| Points positifs: - Parfait pour les fans des anciens Final Fantasy - Possibilité de jouer avec une manette - Plusieurs difficultés proposées - Beaux graphismes (pixel art) - Très bon tutoriel bien détaillé - Le système de combat est bon Points négatifs: - Bon RPG mais seulement avec les phases de combat (permettre au joueur de rejoindre les differents chapitres en se déplaçant comme dans Final Fantasy 1 serait parfait) - Bonne musique mais trop repétitif - Impossible de mettre en plein écran - Seulement en anglais |English| Good points: - Perfect for fans of old Final Fantasy - Possibility to play with a controller - Adjustable difficulty - Beautiful graphics (pixel art) - Very good detailed tutorial - The combat system is good Bad points: - Good RPG but only with combat phases (allow the player to join the different chapters by moving like in Final Fantasy 1 would be perfect) - Good music but too repetitive - Fullscreen doesn't work - Only in english

[u][b]Clarent Saga: Chronicles[/b][/u] is a subpar and amateur linear novel with turn-based JRPG battles interspersed between the scenes which is something that I've never seen before and is an innovative concept that adds a bit of engagement to the novel and helps break up the act of reading. Overall, I don't recommend it because the combat system falls prey to the age-old pitfall of the genre where battles require very little strategy and can be won by simply dealing as much damage as quickly as possible, the story is prosaic, ill-conceived, and relies far too heavily on deus ex machina moments to advance the plot, and many of the characters feel pointless because they have very little relevance outside of their one chapter in the limelight where they are used as a medium for a deus ex machina moment. Note: this review is current as of v 1.0.4 released on 23 June 2023 which is the latest update. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]S U M M A R Y[/b][/quote] - The gameplay is standard for the JRPG genre and incorporates some nifty mechanics to add depth while there are many questionable design choices; - The replay value is quite low since the game is a completely linear novel, although the cheat menu does allow you to recruit the humanoid boss characters and face extra, stronger, bosses; - The graphics are made up of vibrant and stylish 16-bit pixel art sprites for the characters but shabby art assets for the enemies; - The soundtrack is composed of unremarkable and uninspiring 16-bit fantasy adventure songs which are heavily inspired by the early [i]Final Fantasy[/i] titles; and - The story is a typical tale of good versus evil which suffers from the flagrant overuse of deus ex machina moments to conveniently provide a solution to the party every few chapters while the huge roster of 14 characters makes most of them feel pointless outside of their one chapter in the spotlight. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]R E V I E W[/b][/quote] [h3]Gameplay[/h3] The gameplay is based on the 8 and 16-bit JRPGs of old but adds a few neat mechanics in an attempt to modernize the combat system and add some layers of strategy to it such as being able to "break" (stun) enemies if you hit their weaknesses enough times, swap characters mid-battle, or use "Boost Points" to multiply the power of your next action. Lamentably, the Boost Points undermine and negate any strategy that the other mechanics add because it lets you win battles through sheer damage and brute force alone. All types of armor can be used by any character which means that there is an objectively "best" set for each role that you want to fill and begs the question of what the point of most of the equipment is since some sets are simply better than others and strictly worse options only serve to add unnecessary bloat to the game. Furthermore, characters can have any other character's class as their subclass (with some exceptions) which grants them access to that class' spells, skills, and equippable weapons. Both of these elements combine to homogenize the characters that you get in the first half of the game into their predisposed role (fighter, mage, or hybrid) and make them indistinguishably interchangeable from others who also fill that role which begs the question of what the point of having so many characters is when they can each do the same thing that every other character can; however, the most baffling part is that all of the characters in the second half of the game completely overshadow those from the first half in terms of raw power, versatility, and because their class can't be used as a subclass by anyone else. Each chapter starts you in an interlude area where you can change the difficulty and access the tutorial, shops, and BGM player, as well as a cheat menu where you can give yourself levels, gold, or subclasses that you don't normally get access to during the game, recruit characters early, recruit the humanoid boss characters, and fight in battles of various level ranges for extra gold and experience. These features are completely unnecessary since the game is already extremely easy to begin with, especially since you have access to it from the start when it would served better as a post-game reward. The game also has a number of other perplexing design choices such as all equipment being available for purchase from the start which is both overwhelming when you first view the shop and removes a sense of progression from the game, barely getting enough gold to outfit more than four characters which partially renders the swap mechanic moot, and having random surprise and preemptive attacks despite the narrative often mentioning one or the other which is contradictory. [h3]Graphics[/h3] The graphics use colorful and great-looking 16-bit pixel art for the named characters and humanoid bosses but bland art assets for the enemies and non-humanoid bosses. The novel portions of the game are overlaid on a pure black screen which doesn't help set the scene or provide an atmosphere, especially since the writing doesn't describe everything in very graphic detail. [h3]Sound[/h3] The soundtrack is conventional for the fantasy setting and adventure theme and fits game well but is otherwise middling and unmemorable. You can access the entire soundtrack via the interlude area between chapters and there are a huge selection of songs but they are so forgettable that I couldn't tell you if all of them were even used in the game or not. [h3]Story[/h3] The story is a banal tale of good versus evil that is told from the perspective of one character but is atrociously crafted due to the complete overreliance on deus ex machina moments that provide conveniently apropos solutions to the party's predicaments at every major impasse. And this doesn't just happen once or twice, it happens every few chapters which feels downright contrived and amateurish and had me constantly rolling my eyes. The characters outside of the starting four seemingly join the party for no genuine or believable reason and having an inflated roster of 14 characters means that most of them get very few lines outside of the chapter in which they are introduced where they play pivotal role as a result of their deus ex machina moment. If you don't actively swap who you use in combat then you might even forget that some of them exist until they have a random line in a later chapter. The writing is adequate and is descriptive enough to paint a reasonable visual in your mind while the dialogue is competent as each character has a distinct personality and their more pronounced (or annoying) traits shine through the script; however, there are a few typos including some misspelled character names which is somewhat embarrassing. [h3]Miscellaneous[/h3] The game has a number of bugs which range from harmless visual ones to more severe gameplay ones such as the inability to steal items since their count doesn't increment properly (sometimes causing the item menu to display that you have zero of an item) as well as possibly being unable to steal from bosses unless you just need a really high agility stat. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] Overall, I don't recommend it because it is a very rough amateur production which is severely lacking in the story and gameplay departments and has a copious amount of incomprehensible design choices. That being said, adding battles to a novel is a fresh idea since they act as a relatively entertaining diversion from the reading but this concept is unfortunately executed very poorly. Perhaps the characters could have been split into separate parties and the story was told from different perspectives, eventually culminating in the merging of these stories, or the story could have focused solely on the four starting characters and their growth and development rather than inundating you with needless characters who feel more like a showcase for their class and most of whom get very few lines anyways.

*I received this product for free.* This is a weird and brilliant game. Just to be clear, it is an electronic NOVEL (not even a visual novel), with 2d turn-based battles (in the vein of Octopath Traveler). The sprite art is lovely. The music is fantastic. The battle system is well-tuned. All of this fits with 16-bit era SNES games (particularly Final Fantasy IV-VI) perfectly. The novel, the most unusual part of this game, is solid. As of full release, it is a complete story, however it is also clearly a first draft. I hope the developer pays the author to edit it some more, or edits it some more themselves, sometime. I recommend this game for fans of early Final Fantasies, Octopath Traveler's battle system, simple JRPG stories like in Dragon Quest and...reading!

JRPG’s are one of my favorite genres because they make you feel like a commander. You apply your tactics and bear the consequences, much like a commander. The Clarent Saga: Chronicles has a similar impact. The combat is good and balanced, even if it is a little easy. You can not spam a spell for days and this is good. Furthermore, the foes seem to be well, making you wary of their strikes. For an indie studio, the game offers a great combat system. However, not every aspect of this game is positive. The game is quite straightforward to play. When you first start the game, all you see are some NPCs with whom you can interact to shop, train, and so on, leaving the presentation irrelevant. Thereafter, you begin the game and are immediately thrust into fight. The developer claims that the novel portion is not yet complete, so I'm hoping that this will be addressed as the game progresses. Because of the vibe, old school players may enjoy this game a lot. The visuals and sounds are reminiscent of older games. Enemy sprites, on the other hand, are not of the same high quality as party members. Finally, Clarent Saga: Chronicles has a long way to go before it can be considered a good game, but it shows promise.

A good R̶P̶G̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ Visual novel 8/10 because I don't need to think too much about strategy

Didn't know what to expect when starting the game, just wanted some FF vibes after beating the remaster. The game is basically an in development visual novel with combat breaking up the reading. Like... a lot of reading. It's a book. Not terrible but should be clearly marked the type of game it is.

This game is very arcadey and I do enjoy it. But I didn't like how the keybinds were shown and aswell as the level selection panel. It really needs to improve on showing the keybinds step by step because a huge list of keybinds were shown at the start which took too long to read and bored me. The Level selection is also complicated but gets explained at the start and you forget afterwards. Other than that there is nothing bad to say about it. The storyline is great and the controls are easy.