Divided Reigns

This is a hidden gem imo. I'm playing on the difficulty level above hard and there have been times where a random encounter wipes me out lol-- gotta save and heal after every battle. Along these lines, the level at which you have to strategize your party formation and skills in each area and boss varies to a satisfying degree. There are also times where characters you may have relied on for a particular skill or strategy have to leave your party temporarily and this forces you to rethink strategy. I value this kind of difficulty as my least favorite thing to happen in a turned base game is the monotony of using the same skill pattern no matter the enemy. The weapons system / enemy weakness is a little like octopath in design but with more weapons choice that you have to keep on hand. The bounties are a nice challenge. That ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ undying slime thing! What joy when I finally got him! The story moves along at a good pace. I did rush through some of the dialogue but I wasn't ever overwhelmed by the amount or length. This is a little buggy and there are spelling errors but it's still worth it to me. My play wasn't ultimately effected very much. Also the items in Unity could have used some descriptions! I made a guide for the most expensive shop.

I thought I had reviewed this game at the time when I played, but apparently I forgot. So I'm here to correct that mistake, because it deserves every positive review it can get. This game is extremely well made, easily one of the best JRPGs I've ever played. It has all the classic aspects I like about the genre (which unfortunately most JRPGs now seems to avoid, like world map, airships, turn-based combat, etc.), and at the same time it manages to implement some pretty good twists. There are other reviews that better describes the game as a whole, so I just want to say: if you like the genre, just go for it. It is a massive game, with a good story, excellent combat and everything we love about the old JPRGs. I can't recommend it enough. The fact that is made in RPG Maker just elevates the game because you will be thinking about how the devs managed to make such a good game with a somewhat limited tool. I just hope they are already making their next game, because I will buy at day one any JRPG they make, such is the quality of their already released games.

It is clearly a gane that had a lot of effort and care put into it despite being made in RPG maker, but the part about it being compatible with Steam Deck doesn't ring true. When I tried to run it with Proton compatibility, it got stuck constantly trying to switch between windowed and full screen mode, something that just shouldn't happen on Steam Deck. When I tried to run it without compatibility, it played fine at first, but then spontaneously crashed.

After finishing "Rise of the third Power" I was very much hoping for a similar game that could compete but unfortunately Divided Reigns cannot hold up in any aspect, I think, except maybe with regard to its lenghts. The battle system is said to be especially strategic but I experience it rather as artificially complicated and I find that its UI is not designd well.

Beat the Whole Story, and id say worth it. Did I get my ass kicked? Yes... yes I did, but worth it anyways. Best characters are Niomi and Ailfred (Who I call Alfred, I refuse to say otherwise)

I only recommand games that truly impressed me. This one has. A lot. It's top notch in every aspect a crpg-player (at least one who is in this kind of games) can think of.