Nusantara: Legend of The Winged Ones

Cooked a fish like I was in an anime.

I've first played this game on it's free version years ago on Itch.io. After that, I've played it two, three more times before stumbling on it here on Steam - and then, I simply had to support the creator by buying it (and obviously, playing again). So, let me tell you: don't be fooled by the hours I have on this game, because I have much more play time on it than Steam can tell. This review will be a somewhat long (but complete!) one, by someone who played this game a lot. I'll try to review it on the best of my capabilities, and put my thoughts and opinions if necessary. [i]If you don't want to read all of it, just scroll down to the Pros/Cons below.[/i] Nusantara: Legend of the Winged Ones is a endearing game made by SweetChiel, a one person developer at the time the game was made (if I'm not mistaken). It was first made with the Novelty Engine, and after that, remade in the Ren'Py Engine, getting more polished as the years came by. It's a somewhat small game, with only 3 love interests and 6 endings. But don't be fooled: you can play it for a good amount of hours, and even replay and reread it without getting bored. The love interests get a little in the Otome cliché tropes, but they don't get boring at all (Mitra being the sweet and caring one, Reksa being the tsundere, and Rama being the jester, [spoiler]"emotional baggage"[/spoiler] one [spoiler](Some says he gets in the yandere trope, but I don't think so)[/spoiler]. SweetChiel made then "human" ([i]haha Oh, the pun~[/i]), and made then have depth. The same could be said for the secondary characters, and the way they interact with the MC. They connect, they have personality, and you rapidly grow on them. But this game isn't a full "walk through the park" type. He addresses very serious issues - such as abuse, blood, pain, depression, suicide, amongst others. If you don't feel comfortable and is sensitive with these kinds of topics, I advise you to skip these parts in the game [spoiler](like the war, and the bad endings)[/spoiler] and [spoiler]the totality of Rama's route.[/spoiler] Either way, it's not super graphic: these parts can be easily avoided (I [u]don't recommend[/u] it, but still-), and they're much more focused on the text aspect of the game, toying with the player's imagination. Pros: (+) Art: Some people say that they don't like the art, while others do. For me, I think they are lovely and you can see that lot of effort was put onto it - from the sprites, to the CG's. The game has a good amount of them for the game's overall lenght, and I particularly like it. (+) MC: That's something I like in [i]most[/i] occidental/indie Visual Novels - the MC isn't some damsel in distress, little wallflower. The same can be said for Tamara, your character. She is funny, witty, and she can talk her mind when necessary. Her personality is very well balanced between funny/lighthearted and serious, with struggles, when needed to be. [u]However[/u], it isn't a type of game for self-inserting [i]you[/i]. Tamara has a very well developed personality, and this means that you're basically looking at her story, not a [i]"you"[/i] story. You can imagine being in her shoes, obviously, but she is not a "neutral" MC to connect with everyone everywhere - some people will not identify with her; and particularly that's not a problem for me, since she is introduced since the beginning to the player. (+) Love Interests: The boys, oh, the boys. You have 3 love interests in the game: Mitra, Rama and Reksa. The three are equally handsome as they are different from one another, and it's difficult to choose one when you start the game for the first time. Even if they got a little in the cliché tropes, like I said before, they are well developed during the game, and you fall in love with them in different ways. As someone already said somewhere here, I advise you to follow the following order of routes: 1st - Mitra, 2nd - Rama, and 3rd - Reksa. However, this is not necessarily mandatory. Some people also complain that Reksa almost "disappears" during the routes that are not his. I partially agree with that, [b]BUT[/b] (a very big "but" in here) it happens due to the story of the game itself - [spoiler]it's necessary for him to do that[/spoiler]. He doesn't "disappear" during his route because, obviously, you're going after him. So, no: if you're complaining about this, just stop. (+) Music: The soundtrack of the game did work well with the story, so it's a plus for me. Remembering that at the time the game was launched it was a free game, it [i]has[/i] a good music selection. It's not something out of this world, but it's something that worked well with the overall pace of the game. And this is what matters in the end. (+) Encyclopedia and Foreign Words: That was a super cute bonus to the game. I'm not very familiar with Indonesian folklore, and the game helps you with the basics, teaching you words and tales, and everything that is important or is told in the story, since its a fantasy based game. It was done in a very simple and interactive way, so that everyone could understand. In addition, all the foreign and different words that are spoken in the story are taught in a very lightly manner (even because Tamara is learning to communicate with the natives together with the player), and you start to understand certain expressions on your own. Cons: (-) Few Choices: This game is a simple game programming-wise, so that leaves it with few choices and obvious ones: just for you to get a good or bad ending. They don't really make a difference in the story beyond that. I have no problems with that, because when I started playing, I already had an idea on how the game would be like, and I focused on the storytelling more than anything. However, for people who are accustomed to newer Visual Novels full of developments and choices, crazy roundabouts, and lots of advanced programming, these people may not be very satisfied with it. (-) Grammar and Spelling: Through the game, there is minor grammar and spelling errors, but they are so insignificant that it doesn't even bother you during the gameplay, or you don't even acknowledge them. Also, I would like to add that the mother language of the developer is not English, and even so they did a great job on the text. In the end, would I recommend this game? [b]Yes[/b]. Would I recommend it to be bought by it's full price? Also [b]yes[/b]! It's not an expensive game, and for it's final result, it's worth every penny. The creator put a lot of effort into it. Lots of people played the free version of the game, and they've come back just to buy it to support the developer. So, this is saying something, right?

Great art, music, story, and characters It got tedious at times and I almost quit without reaching the main story but I still loved it. Very good value for the money. I'm waiting for the sequel

真的不要错过这款游戏啊！！每个人物都超级可爱的！！不止是攻略人物，配角性格也很丰满，那些文化民俗的融入很自然又非常吸引人，看得出来作者制作非常用心！CG其实画得真的蛮不错的，希望大家给游戏一个机会啊不要像我差点因为画风错过了一个好游戏！ 蜥蜴君Reksa看起来傲娇又嘴硬，实际上可会套路人呢！偶尔霸道总裁真的萌出血！Mitra就是标准的居家好男人，可是他的kissing event非常甜，啊啊啊结婚就要找这样的男人啊！ 以及Rama…………这个绝对是官配！不仅CG最多而且看出来剧情也是最丰富的（其实每条攻略剧情都很不错），而且这个孩子……这个孩子真的就是给我一种如果女主不跟他在一起就不行的感觉……请务必把他放在最后攻略！ This game is really amazing! I had a great time in playing this, and the culture is very intriguing! Hope to see your next game!

Really enjoyed this game. Cute, enticing storyline. Good graphics. Entertaining sprites. Enjoyable music. Played the "free" version on itichio, but enjoyed it so much had to purchase it and support the author and team,

Just a great story i have played several times since i got it from itch.io i just had to get it on steam as well!

怎么说呢，首先肯定是推荐的，虽然立绘和CG不是很美型，但很用心，看习惯了就觉得还挺好；剧情文本量也足够，作者有在踏踏实实讲一个完整的故事。 但也有些想吐槽的部分： 第一个是个无关紧要的点，女主到一个陌生部落，不仅几天就学会了这部落的新语言，甚至还能和本土人谈恋爱，我真的好佩服，她这学习能力也太强悍了吧，我自己也学英语好多年了，可到现在都不能确定可否和外国人拿英语熟练交谈； 第二个是女主角色塑造的问题，目前只玩儿了Rama的线，观感很不舒服，虽然结果是好的，也正因为这样的性格才能让她成为女主角，但我还是不特别能接受女主针对一些事的行事风格。 [spoiler]Rama在剧情里是个表面开朗、实则阴郁到多次试图自杀的角色，他对其他人抱有不信任乃至憎恨的负面情感，而女主得知他想自杀后一直不厌其烦地刺探他的过去，打出“朋友”的旗号问他为什么会这样，我就非常不适，我觉得她没有尊重别人的个人隐私，包括后来她为了向Rama展现她不是在单纯嘴炮圣母，承诺他若是冒险，她也必然奉陪，不计性命，但真在树上遇险后，她惶恐中被Rama救下，心里想着“谢了我还不想死”，那你之前不计性命不就是在说假大空的话吗？再包括，Rama有一段时间因为女主屡次三番来质问他“你快告诉我，你不告诉我我怎么帮你”而爆发，说“我求你帮忙了吗，你凭什么认为你就一定能帮到我”（虽然这种恋爱剧情的套路就是，不管女主的做法多帮不上忙，最终都能被证明是有用的），之后便闭门不出，那女主有因为他的话去放弃口头上的喋喋不休，真正试图去和Rama共情吗？没有，她只是很愤怒，“他就这么一言不发的回去了！还不开门！他在想什么啊！”，或者“啊啊啊，下次我一定让他说出实情”，我就完全崩溃了，你能不能别再扮演别人的救世主了？这跟现实中好多根本不关心你的真正想法、却为了让自己安心跑去关怀你的人一样，令我感到好难受。 而且越到后面越离谱，女主说Rama太不成熟了云云，因为“我差点儿被人强女干，我比你更惨，但我都能坚持，你凭什么不能坚持”，我就？？这是什么比惨大会吗？我搞不懂你的更惨你能受得住和我受不住我的惨有什么一丝一毫的逻辑关联吗？还有“他们虽然背叛过你但他们后悔了啊，你干嘛还push them away”，我……[/spoiler] 不过这部分冲突结束后的主线我个人认为就好很多了，还蛮有意思的，恋爱也甜，女主最后的坚持也很感动，所以总体推荐！只是我不能接受女主解决这个问题的思维和方式罢了！

I've been looking at this game for some time... Then my instincts told me to read it... I was never disappointed. It took me a huge amount of effort to unglue myself from the screen to do daily duties. Sigh... When I finished it? I was giddy... First of all, I like everything. That's the answer to question number 3. Especially... That the main lead is NOT annoying in any way!!! That's a huge bonus. Love it. It's also nice to see that everyone was drawn really well. I had everything to look at. That first question... I can never pick just one guy. They all had their story and all had memorable moments. I liked all of them. I can say this: "Reksa" and "Tamara's" father are both hot. "Mitra" is not bad looking. I wouldn't know how to handle or how to act around "Rama"... I am just... Not that well spoken and I am glad he ended up with someone like "Tamara". I have attractive interest in "Reksa", but I would only end up with someone like "Mitra". Oh wait, I already did. :D (And I know they are all not real... But this is a fantasy... So. :)) AND YES. I prefer "Otome" visual novels, but I will read other stuff... In my category though. I already wrote what made me choose the game above. :D No questions... I just think this is one heck of a treasure of a game and I can't wait to re-read it again some time later... After replaying all the scenes in my mind and adding my own additional stuff. I really hope you continue to make games and for people to continue to enjoy them. I'll be around... Waiting... In a good, well behaved way... A huge thank you to you. Oh and I got to learn about other cultures! That was fun! :D :) =) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Played this game AGAIN! Still super darn super amazing!

An AWESOME little game, with choices and quite a few endings. The musique is really nice, and the bachelors all have something to them, making you empathise with them. My favourite thing about this game is how the Indonesian culture is shown and explained so that it is understandable even to someone who has absolutely no knowledge at all about it. It made me want to know more ! Also, the graphics are reaaally nice !

I played this before it was fine tuned for steam. I bought it and I am glad I did. The final product is great. I love the storylines and the characters. Also the abundance of choices and endings.