Miraculo Island

Miraculo Island is a very interesting RPG, visual novel (VN) and point & click Indie mix. Whilst it can be frustrating and is far from perfect, it certainly surpassed my expectations, especially as someone who does not typically gravitate to VN titles. [b][u]Pros[/u][/b] [list] [*] Extremely variable gameplay. [*] Detailed and vibrant art in both its 2D world and anime graphics. [*] Eight vastly different endings. [*] Choices are highly impactful. [*] Convoluted mysterious story that players must try and solve. [*] Horror undertones. [/list] [b][u]Cons[/u][/b] [list] [*] Slightly laggy transitions between dialogue boxes. [*] Steam overlay does not function. [*] Early choices can lock players out of some endings. [*] No day/chapter select. [*] Minor crashing. [/list] [b]Note: [/b] There are no screenshots in this review (which I usually include) due to the Steam Overlay function not working in this title. If this gets fixed, I will add them at a later date. [h1]Story[/h1] You play as a 17-year-old boy named Nicholas. He is recovering from past trauma due to a head injury and has experienced problems with his memory. Due to this memory loss, not only has his academics suffered, but he has also fallen behind socially and mentally as well. His school then decides to send him, alongside 5 other troublesome students to a seminar for 8 days on a secluded island. Here, they must coexist with one another, but also without technology and follow the rules of Valerie, the teacher. Each of these characters are remarkably unique and also exhibit their own personal character growth as the days continue. I did not feel like any of them were cheap character tropes, despite initial impressions of a brute/nerd (Franco & Sebastian) which were quickly proven wrong and there is a lot of background to both of them. Of course, events take a turn for the worse and the secrets behind the seemingly peaceful island begin to reveal themselves, as well as delving further into the histories of each character. From a quick search, it appears this game has been in development for at many years and has had an abundance of effort poured into it, and it shows. The story is crafted well and left me curious to discover the many answers I was longing for, but developers' certainly make players work for these answers and nothing is given easily. As someone who does not typically reach for VN/anime titles, I was impressed at the depth behind the story. [b][u]Dead ends (no spoilers)[/u][/b] The game features 8 different endings with majority (if not all) occurring near the conclusion of the game. Once you hit a dead end, you cannot go back, that is it. You must reload a previous save and continue from there. Some of the dead ends are unavoidable if you had made a specific choice earlier on, that had no negative connotation at the time. These choices are also difficult to identify where you went "wrong" and to try and change it, to cause a different outcome. There is no mind map outlining the different paths, nor is there a chapter/day select so it can be quite confusing to navigate and could potentially result in having to restart the entirety of the game, multiple times, even if you do regular saving. Although I can appreciate this more challenging approach, to make players work for the truth, it is also quite frustrating. I would personally like to see a chapter select option for the days, or at the very least a mind map, similar to the [i]Zero Escape: Nonary Games[/i] system. Just so players can attempt to see the true ending without taking wild guesses at what choice they did "wrong " and undergoing numerous restarts. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] There is something about this game that feels very personal in its creation. It is an excellent blend of gameplay that ensures it is never stale. I do not mind reading lengthy texts, but for those who prefer a bit of a break in-between, this title is perfect. Although it is primarily a VN, you can also explore the 2D world (using keyboard or mouse), interact with items, play minigames and more. Along the way, choices will pop up that usually have just 2 options. They may seem insignificant but fast forward to Day 7, and it could mean the difference between getting past all of the dead ends or not. There are also certain decisions in relation to the other characters, whether you choose to be kind to them such as returning something they lost. Once again, these all directly impact how the story will conclude. Despite the game being quite linear, the constant changing formula of gameplay made it feel fresh and exciting, especially with the horror/supernatural undertones. Whilst avoiding spoilers, Miraculo Island does feature a darker side, but I would not classify it as a horror game per say. It manages to create its own ambience and jumps from being superfluous, dark, comical, philosophical, slice-of-life and the list goes on. It really is a bit of everything. Admittedly, one of the horror scenes was so unexpected it did actually make me jump, but these are extremely rare, and I would still urge non-horror fans to not be turned away at this, as it is quite a minor element to the game as a whole. [b][u]Minigames[/u][/b] To my delight, there are numerous minigames scattered around that really change the tone of the game. Some examples include fishing, playing battleships and even turn-based combat. Battleships was my favourite and could be played numerous times. I found these to be an excellent inclusion and also helped to lessen the games tense tone after discussion of some serious themes. [h1]Graphics & Sound[/h1] Miraculo Island features two elements in its visuals, its 2D RPG world and the stunning 3D anime characters. Characters are lively and not just still images when in dialogue with them and the vibrant 2D world is just as engaging. I quite liked the contrast between the two visuals styles, and it helped keep me captivated. There are no voice-overs for the characters and upon reflection, I do not recall much about the sound design at all. When exploring the island, there was overtly happy themed music playing in the background, but the more sinister sections were more memorable, especially thanks to the one aforementioned "jumpscare" moment. Overall, the audio elements did not stand out positively nor negatively and my opinion of it remained neutral throughout my experience. [h1]Technical [/h1] [quote][b]This game was played with the following PC specs, and I experienced some issues:[/b] Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz 16GB RAM GeForce RTX 2060 6GB 2560x1440 resolution HDD Windows 10[/quote] [h1]Bugs and Glitches[/h1] First impressions of Miraculo Island were actually pretty awful. Steam overlay does not function, I experienced 2 freezes in the map screen and it does not seem to cope well when alt-tabbing. Furthermore, the most impactful issue is the text dialogue lag. When clicking through the dialogue boxes, there is a very small, but noticeable delay in transition. I did get used to this and it is not entirely immersion breaking but it was cumbersome. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Miraculo Island is an innovative game featuring VN, RPG and point & click elements. This blended style of gameplay alongside its intriguing story makes it memorable. Despite these positives, it is not without its fair share of issues and suffers from very noticeable dialogue delay and intense backtracking (if you wish to continue to the true ending). All in all, it is clear that an enormous amount of effort has been poured into this project by Indie developers [b]Akumu Games & Iliad Works. [/b] It is priced quite fairly with plenty of replayability value; however, I would still recommend this at a sale, at least until some of the kinks are ironed out. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724][quote]Follow my curator page, [b]Cookie Reviews[/b], if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it.

I spent 2 and a half months making an hour long video review all to say that this game is meh. If you've never watched anime or played an anime game, you'll probably get something out of it. Everybody else, not really. Here's that review: https://youtu.be/ErqCMG3f1kc

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #146 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code] [h1]"An Island Surrounded by Serenity & Questionable Choices!!"[/h1] https://youtu.be/W9f1eCJjc3I [u] Here's The Thing:[/u] You are Nicholas Turner- a seventeen-year-old normie who got involved in an accident resulting in a head injury. Having cost him his memory and impeded on his daily function, he then gets sentenced to a rehabilitation course that will last eight days. Joining him are five others who also have trouble adapting and a supervisor. [h1][+] PROS;[/h1] [b]:) THE LAST RESORT![/b] An esoteric amalgamation of VN, RPG and P&C, the latter being more of an alternate control scheme but still… These genres come in phases, for like the first half- you’re just basking in the sun, trying to get on the good side of the eccentric and one-dimensional peers. But then the RPG quirks and badgering come in to suck all dialogues, thereby annoying, offending and or guaranteeing people are as uncomfortable as possible. And true to an island excursion, it had both passive and optional participatory activities that had me hooked. Examples include; gathering edibles, fishing, a game of Battleship and other one-off encounters like taking a mint! To top it all off, think of it as an ice cream in that its horror elements gradually melt and run down your hands as the days go on. To reiterate thus far, this is one hell of a rehab-resort facility! With 8 endings of wrong, bad and good outcomes- a reasonable estimate is therefore 6-8 hours! More so if you choose to explore, revisit old saves and test whether a different choice would have mattered because I certainly felt like some things escaped my periphery. The moral is: a motherlode of social sessions and minigames await~ [b]TIPS:[/b] 1) Use those 32 save slots carefully! 2) Remember to “ctrl” to fast forward scenes & dialogues! [b]:) FEELS SO GOOD THAT IT HURTS…[/b] The landscapes are awe-inspiring, being equal measures dreamy and awash with a deeply blue filter. Miraculo island is an abundance and crowning achievement of nature which puts one at ease… Yet still possessing that insufferable feeling of take over that will get you swamped. Vast skies of stars, bubbles being let out underwater or a steamy shower filling up the screen are just a few instances of being lost in thought. Musically, there is a cacophony of tropically happy and jumpy tunes that envelops your being. Like being in one of those cheesy, resort ads! But other times they become debilitatingly disturbing akin to an episode of sleep paralysis… It’s hard to tell whether they are original compositions, but that is besides the point of them suiting the mood~ [b]:) DESTINY ISLAND?[/b] Think of the whole story and setting as the opening segment of [b]Kingdom Hearts[/b] where Sora and the gang are planning to mature and venture out from their little slice of paradise into the larger world. Heck there are even characters that resemble Riku and Kairi though their personalities are complete polar opposites and more damaged! I gotta tell ya, there’s an absolutely liberating feeling in being cut off from civilization. Seeing it pose as well as frame several questions on matters such as life direction, purpose that borderline on philosophy which should be straightforward, answerable but had me pondering for rather long periods. I was essentially the hidden eight member under this transitory scheme to be fully integrated into society. Moreover, the diverse roster present is hands down the best part of the game. To the untrained eye, they are archetypes of the[b]Mean Girl[/b] hierarchy. Gradually revealed to be multifaceted, rich in expression… But most importantly, with believable human traits and have their hearts guarded by a brick wall, with their own respective defense mechanisms. I’m reminded of [b]Zanki Zero[/b] as well~ https://youtu.be/qBRsgJbDFO8 [b]:) LIFE IS A BEACH, THEN YOU DIE~[/b] The horror emerges from within, in the process of rendering one exposed enough to be able to share with otherwise total strangers. But even then, how well can you know and trust someone? Mind you, these are individuals who already have fragile personal predispositions- hence their reason for being here in the first place. Which is why that deconstruction and building of rapport is no easy feat! I mentioned earlier that being isolated helps one to focus on priorities but the same can lead to discoveries of inner fears. That always sunny island atmosphere of gags, frolicking innocently and splashing around can be gone in the blink of an eye… The therapeutic effect can also be reversed along with it. As it turns out, ending up alone on the island is now one of my worst phobias~ [h1][-] CONS;[/h1] [b]:( WHAT’S ALL THE COMMO-CEAN ABOUT!?[/b] Now I have never, in my life encountered disruptive performance issues in an RPG Maker title until Miraculo Island! So, I was utterly devastated and in disbelief to say the least- the main accommodation is the worst offender here with massive slowdowns, stutters and present in other areas as well. The dialogue lag problem, which I understand was recently patched, gave me such a migraine back then that I just have to talk about it! Yes, the characters seem to be realistically spacing out before formulating their responses but it became almost like communicating with someone holding a etch-a-sketch. And attempting to skip past the dialogue also didn’t bypass the snail pace~ [b]:( YOOOUUU BLUE IT…[/b] I think I was so captivated by the personal progression of the story and primal force of the area that what it eventually turned into was a slap to the face. It’s still an exceptional, well-crafted one but it is guilty of giving the limelight to certain characters that the others get cast aside… demoted to supporting roles~ [h1]BUGS:[/h1] x Crashed once in [spoiler]underground[/spoiler]. x Stepped off the ledge and out of the map; floating mid-air. In the [spoiler]going up hill and high ground[/spoiler] route! x A ‘ding’ noise triggers but nothing is there; maybe a delay since I had already picked up a collectible and then it only sounded. [h1]NITPICKS:[/h1] ~ A trailer of sort plays like a quarter of the way in; shouldn't it be in the beginning? ~ English is okay for like 88% of the text. The rest are very careless syntax errors, incorrect use of articles and preposition. ~ Again, they're hardly noticeable but when you do- start to spot a whole sea of them! ~ Sometimes the saving option gets grayed out for no discernible reason. And it’s frustrating because you may have to replay again from further back. ~ No chapter select option yet! And with the experience being tepid for three-quarter of the way... [h1]"But It Also Makes A MIRACULO-US Comeback~"[/h1] https://youtu.be/dY-VDup12Jo [u]Last Words?[/u] A ripe for the plucking RPG-VN-P&C with a buttload of replay worth. More a retreat really with joyful minigames but also harbors existential crises... Heavy stuff and a story with an ocean of detail~ If you like the island laughs, nonsensical teambuilding mood of [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/413420/Danganronpa_2_Goodbye_Despair/] Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair[/url] but one that’s unafraid to be real and get dirty in the sand… If you generally love under-your-skin RPG Makers the likes of [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/691450/] Misao[/url] or [url= https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/483980/] Mad Father[/url] then you will have your fill with this slice-of-life front. In fact, you won’t ever want to leave~ [h1]9 / 10[/h1] [code]With a drink in hand, I salute the developers [b]Akumu Games & Iliad Works[/b] for the key~[/code] [code]Don't forget to follow my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD[/url] for more games!![/code]

[h2]Miraculo Island[/h2] [i]What a cute living nightmare.[/i] [h3]Preclaimer[/h3] - This game was [b]gifted to me through Curator Connect[/b]. [hr] [h3]Gameplay & Quality[/h3] Miraculo Island is a story driven 2D RPG combining horror, comedy elements and minigames with well done anime graphics and a quite enjoyable soundtrack. When not reading lots of Visual Novel style dialogue and making important decisions that may only reveal their importance further down the road, you run around in the small and mostly linear yet nicely crafted and secret filled world. You can control your character either with keyboard controls or by simply clicking around, and like any good Point and Click adventure you may trigger many funny reactions for trying to interact with everything and doing anything but what you are supposed to do. The keyboard controls feature some common VN hotkeys as well as some random own ones which sadly aren't fully explained and can not be changed either. Luckily Space/Enter alone gets you through most of the game and the two occasions where you need to press something else you have enough time to react. Besides that the most basic of settings are given alongside 32 simple save slots, of which even the shop page advises to make good and repeated use of. Because most every of the many choices you make in this game, knowingly or unknowingly, will change the outcome of the story, and sometimes early choices can lock you into a bad ending at the very end requiring intese backtracking or another playthrough. The only real downside of the game is that it has some minor performance issues. When loading a new map, skipping through dialogue or navigating the save/load menu there can be slight lags or delays at times - nothing game breaking though. [hr] [h3]Content & Runtime[/h3] What can you expect from this game? A decent story with supernatural elements about overcoming your past, interacting with others and fighting your inner fears and desires. Nicholas Turner, the protagonist who was involved in an accident that put him into coma for a year and made him lose most of his memories, is now stuck with 6 other problem-students in a "rehabilitation seminar" on a remote, desolate island for 8 days. What seems like any other absurdly boring school trip at first soon turns out to be much more than that - during his time there he starts to learn more about and gets closer to his new comrades and gradually begins to enjoy his time here and the change in life it brought him. If only they knew what really was going on, because soon after things start to brighten up everything takes a turn for the worse as strange things start happening and a dark plot reveals itself... Of course Miraculo Island's story is no utterly captivating best-seller novel. It has it's shortcomings, hasty moments, random plottwists and plot-defining supernatural happenings (they try to explain them most of the time though). But in the end, this story is still pretty enjoyable and shows that actual effort was put into it, opposite to many other "Indie RPGMaker games" out there. While not (too) much for each, it delivers humor, horror, a tidbit of fanservice and serious character development, reaching out to a broad audience. Said characters and their development are well done, managing to throw in alluring hidden traits to uncover for on first (and second) glance super stereotypical characters. Your interaction with each one of them determines which of the two endings you get - that is as long as you make it there without getting one of the 6 individual bad ending. I have yet to figure out if there are also different epilogue stories (like one for each of the three female characters) to get. With this Miraculo Island offers a fair share of replayability. Given that one playthrough (where I constanly tried everything but progressing, looking for secrets) took me 7h, I estimate that it will give you at least [b]10h[/b] worth of enjoyment. [hr] [h3]Conclusion[/h3] Is this game worth it? If you want to play a nice little Indie RPG to kill some time and give the developer credit for their efforts, then sure. I guess if you are looking for more action heavy "RPG"s or serious horror content, then probably not. At best during a sale you can give it a try. [code]Helpful review? Maybe take a look at [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37389784/]the rest[/url][/u] of my reviews too![/code] [code]𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33853800/]𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐤𝐚𝐢'𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞[/url] 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐑𝐏𝐆 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬[/code]

Okay. So when I bought this game I wasn't expecting a lot honestly. I was like "meh just another RPG with cute anime girls in it, more of the same zZzZz" but BOY WAS I WRONG, I was in for a fun ride! This game has so much stuff in it: humor, drama, mini-games (although not my cup of tea), awesome plot twists, a little bit of horror (I loved it) and multiple routes with satisfying endings. Great experience overall. If you are into Visual Novels or just nice stories, I highly recommend trying out this game (even if it's made in RPG Maker). Believe me, you won't regret (probably). 9/10

I just found about this new indie visual novel RPG so i decided to give it a shot. for the time being it's been great fun and the story looks pretty decent, the characters have a lot of charisma to them and it feels like i'm really getting to know them. I suggest if you are the type of players that like to immerse yourself into a story, give it a try. Waifus are a big plus!

RPG VN + decent art - optimization = A different way to enjoy VNs with some RPG. This would have been much better if the game didn't lag. 8 different endings depending on choices. [h1][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752-3-point-play/] Follow our curator for similar games [/url][/h1]

An intuitive RPG with a compelling plot, paired together with phenomenal art and a solid soundtrack. All of the endings drive home the various character interactions and motivations, and make sense within the greater context of the story. Time well spent for sure.

Simply but interesting :D. Don't forget save the game.

So I've been playing this game for about 4 hours straight and I can tell you this is one of those games that you will enjoy every time you play it. I was skeptic at the begging but the history brought me to good terms since is good and appealing. The decisions that you make develop the story and characters and I would say the art of the game is good, the character personalities evolve naturally and as a whole the game is well thought. I recommend you guys to play it and enjoy it as much as I'm at this moment!