Empire Reunited

So much care and attention was given to the dialogue and characters that it's instantly charming. The story is great and makes you think deeper about what's really going on. It's the right amount of challenge and the maps reward exploration quite a bit, so definitely look around. It feels balanced and makes you consider each battle instead of mindlessly grinding. It takes me back to the older JRPGs in the best way possible because it makes me want to see what happens next! I'm looking forward to what the dev has up their sleeve next!

(I own this game on Itch and have played through it twice there, once in its beta release and once after its initial launch. I am also credited as a playtester, but am not otherwise affiliated with development.) Empire Reunited successfully splits the difference between the heavily combat-driven early JRPGs and the more story-focused (and generally easier) ones that followed. Combat and dungeon/wilderness exploration is the core of the game, but there's enough story and dialogue to break up the action and keep you invested without bogging things down with extended cutscenes. The stated runtime of 10-12 hours is pretty accurate, but there's no filler or wasted time. Encounters play out fairly quickly and occur at just the right frequency. The world map is also very compact and completely free of encounters, so traveling between points of interest is quick and easy. Grinding is rarely if ever required, though you can always grind if you want to. This isn't a HARD game, but the challenge is respectable and combat requires your attention. Although some of the difficulty (mainly in the first two areas) has been sanded down a bit from the beta, enemies hit fairly hard and need to be dealt with efficiently. Healing is balanced a bit differently than usual; Berto has the only healing abilities, which use renewable SP but only work during combat. For any other healing, you'll need consumables. This actually works pretty well to balance renewable and purchased healing. Dungeon design, again, takes a balanced approach. Dungeons are neither linear corridors nor huge, sprawling mazes. They're fairly compact, but feature multiple side paths with useful loot, so exploring everywhere is rewarding. Some feature interconnected areas and will require some backtracking to complete, and you'll occasionally have a small puzzle to solve. One late-game dungeon in particular is a bit of a puzzle box that I enjoyed figuring out. There are two things you should bear in mind here: keep a large supply of consumables on you at all times once you can afford to do so, and save frequently in multiple slots. There are several points in the game where you will be abruptly cut off from safety, and if you're not well-supplied, you are liable to have trouble. Easily recommended if you want a JRPG that doesn't take too long to complete, but still offers enough challenge to engage with.

It's fun! As with any game that's made by a single developer, you may be sacrificing some of the comforts that you have come to expect from a more professionalized game industry, but sometimes, as is the case with Empire Reunited, you are rewarded with a more singular vision and fresh ideas. This game has great synergies in combat, good item variety with a lot of solid team build options, and a cast of interesting characters and a good story. There is a lot of passion on display in this game and it adds so much to the overall experience. Definitely recommend. (I originally played this game on itch.io and beat it in 8.5 hours)

I've been playing this game for 6 1/2 hours now...and I just can't anymore. Sure, when I first started playing RPGs, they were incredibly difficult and mistakes were unforgiving. But times have changed (thankfully). The things that really bother me about this game are: you can only save in certain locations (Hey, dev, have you ever heard of people who don't spend hours playing a game but need to do other things too?). You have to grind again...not to make your party stronger (you barely notice the difference anyway), but to buy enough healing items. And as usual, you hardly get any gold for winning battles. Which brings us to the next thing I dislike: There's no healer in the party. Oh, some can heal, but not with magic, rather with skill points...and replenishing those takes time...during which time one or two party members might die, unless you use healing items. And lo and behold, the encounter rate in the dungeons is extremely high, and escape isn't always possible, and even if it is, you usually have to take several hundred HP of damage before you can run away. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the many switch puzzles, which involve a lot of running back and forth...and consequently, many, many battles. Well, and then there are these battles. Hardly any of the heroes can hit particularly hard, mages are practically nonexistent, and by the time you've accumulated enough HP to potentially use skills, it's usually too late. Once you've got your party somewhat under control and ready for battle...it's disbanded, and you're assigned fresh companions who, of course, can do practically nothing at first. Even worse, some can't even be equipped. It's a real shame about this game. The story is at least well done. But as I said, the era of the first RPGs is over, so I simply can't recommend this game.