Heroes of Spyria

You can really tell that this is a product of love. A solid 10/10 JRPG. The map designs, the colorful characters, the simple yet entertaining plot, the cool quests, the great script, the astounding battle system, etc. I could go on and on but you get the point, this is really an awesome game that reminds me of my favorite JRPG, the Aveyond series. Really, thank you for making this game.

I bought Heroes of Spyria on sale last year. A 20+ hour rpg for about the price of a coffee? (my playtime is not a good measure. I am slow at games). That was a steal so I took it. Worth it. I would have been fine paying full price as well. There is nothing groundbreaking about the game; it is a standard RPG Maker game. I was not looking for anything earth shattering anyway. Just a fun adventure with a lot of heart I can sink hours into and enjoy the ride. All in all, that is what I got. HoS followed the whimsy I remember from my childhood. Biggest main story spoiler will be the second to last spoiler tag, and I do my best not to give up the mystery in that section of the game only what I found engaging about the worldbuilding. Rest are context people may rather discover on their own. [b]Story/Characters:[/b] The story is a classic stop a demon incursion plotline. There is more history to it than first presented, which was fun to piece together. Nothing surprised me with the main questline, but I did not need it to. The characters are great and seeing different reactions to scenarios they were placed in. Outside the saving the world, there is a nice throughline of what people will do processing grief and receiving power. If I had a tiny critique, it is on Madilyn. Most of the party have some baggage or connection to the villains. Not everyone has to have a traumatic backstory, and I love a character that does the right thing just because it is the right thing to do. Still, I wish there was more of her interior conflict following orders versus doing what she believes is right. She has a few scenes that showcase her sense of justice (and desire for a family) but I wish there was more. That is a minor nitpick and the character writing for the whole game is amazing. I did not think I would end up loving temporary party members since adding more characters in a short game can stretch the time spent with everyone very thin. The ways all the characters are added and split apart at different points in the game feels seamless. This was my favorite part with the games writing. I ended up being attached to all of them even if the time spent with some was less than the core party. [b]Side Quests:[/b] The little changes that you can cause outside of saving the world adds nice depth. Spyria feels more lived in and you can make an impact outside of being heroes passing through to fight the big bad. It is nothing huge that will change the outcome of the game (though how certain NPCs and kingdoms react to you is a factor), more so it is the small things. The party is not just charging through and can change the fate of some NPCs. [spoiler]For example, if you oust the mayor of Astoria Bay you will find him hanging out at a port in another town.[/spoiler] A couple of the side quests are pretty dark. Not a pro or con, simply an observation. One section, part of an optional side quest, the player is prompted saying it will be uncomfortable for some players and to go with a toned-down version of events. I will say the warnings for those scenes are not far from what you’ll expect from certain context clues beforehand: [spoiler]alcoholism, child abuse, and animal abuse.[/spoiler] Including this in my review because I spent a long time looking up what said triggers were and want to offer it here so people unsure can maybe find it better. [b]Battles/Encounters:[/b] This is the first game in a while where I had to deal with random encounters. I am not a huge fan. That said, the encounter rate was not the worst. I could walk a dozen feet or halfway across the room before hitting another. The size of most maps and dungeons were compact enough that the encounters did not overstay their welcome. There were only a couple locations where I felt annoyed by the end of the section. There’s an option to turn random encounters off (assist mode) and gives the warning to do so means no steam achievements. I trust the balance of a game to match the encounter rate: without running away from battles or grinding for levels, I expect to keep pace with the level curve. The results following this method kept me on equal field. One area did I feel like I was over leveled and the fights felt easier than I think they were meant to be. That could have easily been from experience from an optional boss beforehand though since I have no idea if I fought it at the right time. I appreciate the use of the time progress battle system. It makes speed buffs and debuffs more impactful. Instead of getting first or last in a single turn, it is easier to “lap” slow enemies all together. This helps with squishy hitters in the party. I had a lot of fun figuring out the best strategy for Winter and without the feature I probably would not have. I wished I could gather information on enemies to see what weaknesses they had, in terms of elemental attacks and spells. Some are easy to guess and others I knew or guessed based on common enemy types in other RPGMaker games. It was hard to keep track or notice for ones I did not know so I just cycled through different attacks. I don’t know where to place this, but the white flash for transitioning to the battle screen was almost a dealbreaker. I’m not sure if that is the default for RPG Maker games and my eyes are just more sensitive now or what, so it may not be the fault of the dev. It is random encounters so you cannot prepare or know when you’re going to battle. I tried to look for an option to turn off flashing but there was none. I would recommend for future games to consider a different battle transition if possible. More than random encounters that was what almost made me quit the game early on. I got used to it after a couple hours, but the first session I played was almost headache inducing. [b]Exploration/Puzzles:[/b] The random encounters sometimes caused me to deprioritize searching rooms to make sure I got everything. Exploring dungeons were still fun though exploring towns without that worry was more enjoyable. [spoiler]The flavor text of different characters commenting on their cooking skills and the inopportune time to cook was fun. Collecting apples (or more elusive carrots) was a blast.[/spoiler] I don’t know if not being asked “do you want to steal” is a benefit or hinderance. It is funny a couple times ([spoiler]10/10 will try to steal from the king again[/spoiler]) and others I feel robbed by involuntarily robbing someone I do not want to ([spoiler]like a poor family’s life savings[/spoiler]). The achievements are something that I kind of fell into. If it is something fun, like a side quest or looking at clocks then I will do it. If not, then why should I bother? I looked at all the clocks because they offered an interaction, with sound, not given to almost anything else. It was obvious to me they were meant to be special. The incentive is in the game itself. Big props. Wish practice dummies had a bit more. Practice battles outside of combo practice in aRPGs are a hard sell for me personally, so that’s more of a me thing. Others will like to beat them up more than me, and the comments from various shop owners offer some fun text. [spoiler]The claw marks on the dummy in Birchwood Grove and being told to ignore it was my favorite part of the worldbuilding and context clues in that town. The dummies just standing there in every town is worth it for that alone.[/spoiler] None of the puzzles felt convoluted. I was able to put most of them together with a couple minutes of parsing clues. There was one I had trouble with yet that was more of the obstacle of the room itself than the actual puzzle part of it. [spoiler]I’m talking about bigger light puzzle in the catacombs. I fell down a lot trying to get back to where I left off.[/spoiler] I appreciate the lack of encounters in that room though. I would never remember the path otherwise. Solid first game. Vesper good studio mascot. 8/10

Do yourself a favor and buy this now. It rivals FF6 and ChronoTrigger. I kid you not. Outside of those, this is the best turn-based RPG I've played, with the best story. The story is phenomenal. I had tears in my eyes. So well done. It took me 50 hours as a completionist, but you could do it in 30. Apart from the phenomenal story, writing, and soundtrack, the other great thing is the attention to detail. The game has chapters, main quests, and subquests. Very well organized. Also a lot of fun things you don't get in many games, including a casino, fishing, and even a D&D game dungeon. The game is just a masterpiece. Best $5 I've ever spent.

High Content 50.00% Slow pace 0.00% Total 50% (A)

A fun basic RPG Maker game.

this game is ass you cant escape form normal battles and minigames trash too

大概玩了40个小时。 这是个完整的作品，而且还有不少的支线任务，人物立绘精美（就是不知道是不是AI的，NPC穿什么款式衣服的都有分不清时代），剧情也还可以，不需要刻意去练级难度不大，各种地图都很简单没有绕路（有时候需要一点解谜但是不难），但是遇怪会比较多基本上走几步就是怪，第四章以后做完支线可以拿到一个装备以后走路不遇怪的宝石，感觉制作组还是很用心的，这个游戏在大多数RPGMAKER制作的游戏里面不管是剧情还是完成度都属于是屎里淘金的了，不介意没中文的可以买来玩一下。 感觉主角其实是紫毛女主来的（你甚至还可以选择向温特表明爱意？），男主虽然站C位但是存在感不怎么强，第三章更是直接消失了一章（我最讨厌第三章的剧情，太多关于战争的内容看得脑子好累）。 这游戏后期也没有什么可以搜集材料打造武器的内容，武器和装备全靠买和捡，所以打怪掉落的那些皮毛牙齿骨头啥的，只能卖了换钱没别的用途...我以为可以打造武器呢攒了一大堆游戏结束也没舍得卖...

This is more than just a "gem". This is what RPGmaker games can be, at their best. The story is great, with lots of subplots, twists and turns, betrayal, heartache, friendship, redemption....I was so sad when the game ended! The characters are well done, with their own attributes and personalities. The game play is very straightforward, with side quests, hidden areas, well mapped dungeons...honestly Idk why this game isn't on the top of everyone's RPG list. I see it was released about 3 yrs ago, and I sure hope Vesper comes out with another game, b/c I am ready for it!!

i like this games much to do a top game

Fun game! At least it's cheap, though: A few quips: 1. When you walk diagonally, your character will display in front of walls and other objects. How you miss something like that in development is beyond me, or don't care, and is weird. Also, you will notice this when some random objects/background will show up "in front of" your character, when they should be behind. Finally, when walking diagonally your character has a "rubber band" effect, or, you press the controls, and, then, after a pause, they finally move. 2. No ability to "hide" the useless mouse pointer that shows up on screen and is locked inside the game window. (Only option is to move your mouse to the left or right edge and "hide" it in the black space. 3. During the first random encounter battles in outside world, enemies hit for 1/6+ of your health, and some of the first enemies will poison you. Poison stays after battle. So... you're stuck (for at least the first 5 character levels), going into 1 battle, rushing back to main village, and healing in "Old Man's" house for a free rest (before you die after a few ticks to 10% poison HP hits every few steps). (At first, it's a waste to use "Cure" to heal poison, as, right after you get poisoned and heal, the enemies can use it again.) 4. The items you can purchase in the game have weird gold values versus benefit. For example, 2 items (which have the same cost), one will give you a total of +20 stats all around, while another will only give you +10 stats all around... haven't seen that in an RPG before. This game gets about 3/5.