RPG Paper Maker

This is for the community edition of RPG Paper Maker, which can be downloaded entirely free, wasn't sure if I needed to check the box at the bottom of this review as a result though as I wasn't given it, but I thought I'd start this by at least mentioning that. From my knowledge both the commercial version, which is really only required if you wish to distribute paid-for games using the engine is exactly the same functionality wise, it is not limited by being free/community edition. I feel like this is perfect for someone who wants to at least try out a game engine like this, and might eventually want to create a commercial game they can sell. From what I also know, you can still distribute any games you create for free with the community edition, so it is great for hobbyists as well who just love to tinker with game engines like this. This engine is very capable, and a planned new 3.0 release is also coming soon with even more features, the guide explaining how to get started and how to do mostly every operation you'd need to do during the design process is also available on their website and is well written and I highly recommend going through it if you plan on using this game engine. This game engine provides an HD-2D like style for JRPG games, and provides a lot of what you need to get started. It is fully expandable using JavaScript, but includes a very easy to use reaction system where you can build game scripts using a bunch of easy to use dialogue boxes, it reminds me a bit of RPG Maker 3 from the Playstation 2 in that regard, as I feel it has a lot of the same options for creating cut-scenes, character dialogue and being able to interact with the game world. It also has support for a variety of file formats, such as .OBJ files for full 3D models, and has various plugins which further enhance the base experience with such things like Fog, realistic water like in those popular HD-2D games, and enhanced lighting. Every project can be exported to all 3 popular operating systems as stand-alone executables, and can even be exported to the web so your game can be hosted directly on your website. Since it is free to jump in and try, if you have any curiosity in JRPG design, and wanted to try designing your own HD-2D inspired game world, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Was great until the update. Now the engine crashes constantly.

im on the hunt of engine that is easy to use without coding knowledge this is one of the engine along bakin i will put a thumbs down for now because version 3 still not coming up is this engine dead? i was wondering of more features like can use vector arts as sprites and tile making built in the engine? i will change the review once theres a more features soon.

At first glance you already know it was inspired by RPG Maker (be it UI or the title, it is obvious). I would say, especially it was inspired by RPG Maker, it is a good engine, I can see the potential (people still like Pokemon and Mario paper games), however the engine lacks tutorials (the same way as Godot) and they are charging for commercial license (the same way as GameMaker). Okay, you could say Godot's tutorial/course base is nonexistent, and since this engine was inspired by RPG Maker, it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out on the fly, and you are right, but this engine is still a different one, there are nuances and aspects you have to know beforehand, hence where the importance documentation and tutorials come into play. And about charging, you could say, instead of instantly buying RPG Maker, you could get this engine for free, and then decide if you want to publish your game commercially or not, and you are again probably right, since they almost have the same price. Overall, it is not a bad engine, but at this stage it is still not a better engine than RPG Maker (nothing is better than RPG Maker, the bar is just too high hehe), it doesn't do anything that RPG Maker can't do + it is an abandonware.

good shi

This is a neat way to make simple games. It has some good samples and content to use. It's free for non-commercial use.

nice n easy to use

"RPG Paper Maker" is definitely some kind of ripoff, looking at the ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTY FIVE UNITED STATES DOLLARS price tag on this "free" ripoff of Kadokawa's RPG Maker (the worst thing to happen to gaming ever). And these guys definitely are trying to muscle in on Kadokawa's territory with this RPG Maker ripoff cash grab. As a product, this will allow you (if you pay enough money) to create a crap Final Fantasy ripoff JRPG fan-fiction about your anime girlfriend, which is something that is done a lot, should never be done, and absolutely should never be published on Steam. And these guys trying to get paid for facilitating that damage to the gaming industry is beyond reprehensible. You're forced to sign a highly questionable yet legally unenforceable End User License Agreement... for such a relatively low effort, low quality product, this comes across more as a delusion of grandeur than anything else. This agreement includes questionable requirements that may attempt to revoke consumer law protections that gamers expect to have, which is also highly problematic. Developers must learn they are here to serve gamers, not control them. I had my cat walk over the keyboard while the EULA was displaying, which fixed that problem for me. On the important matter of pricing and value for gamers, there's a lot going on here with monetisation, so this really shouldn't be considered a truly free product because of that. There's no initial download price, but the developer was charging $70 USD for this. Holy crap, that's some serious delusion. Price barriers, especially on low quality products, can be a direct cause of failure. It also tells us that the game wasn't good enough to succeed as a paid product. This is also a bit of a slap in the face to anyone who showed enough questionable judgement to pay money for this... nobody got refunded. Even after that, you're expected to pay up $145 USD (ouch) to unlock basic functionality through DLC purchases. So this is not free, it's a scam. The product should not be considered completely unlocked until you empty your wallet for the developer. This is misleading and predatory pricing on a product falsely marketed as "free". Bearing in mind that free games don't add +1 to your game collector count, should you bother adding this to your library and downloading it? What's the verdict? Nope. This isn't worth downloading. I didn't pay money, but I still feel almost as ripped off as Kadokawa. I hope they sue.