Solune

"Solune" is a very good epic old-school JRPG made with RPG Maker MV that I can highly recommend to anyone who generally likes these kinds of games. The story, though not groundbreaking, is competently written. It portrays the relations between dragons, who once protected humanity, and the humans. As we - being kinsmen and representatives - all know: Dealing with humans rarely ends well for other species. A long time after certain events, now in the present, dragons are supposedly extinct, even forgotten by most. When our (renameable) protagonist stumbles upon a certain tool that grants him magic abilities, he's drawn into a massive plot that endangers the whole of humanity, and must travel the world with his friends to prevent an unforeseen disaster. It's pretty classic stuff, but its execution is well done. Dialogues are expertly written throughout the story, including many (funny) NPC dialogues that are updated over the course of the story and sometimes even slightly different depending on your present active party members. The story features a normal and a true ending, and both can be obtained in the same playthrough. While the endings are bit on the short side, they still offer satisfying conclusions without any unnecessary cliffhangers or "sequel baits". Beware, though, that the game forces you to alternate between two different parties from a certain point on and in a rather long lapse of time until the reunion (though it's justified by the story). I struggled a lot with myself: When should I mention the game's greatest weakpoint? This game has a lot to offer (see below), but I say it here and now: Graphic wh*res won't be pleased with this game. The assets used are mostly ones that come with the software, and the mapping is serviceable, but really bland. I've seen a lot worse, but also a lot better. Dungeon designs also suffer as a result of this, but they make up for it with well thought out structures and pathfinding mechanics. As I always say when dating: "Yes, I know I'm ugly, but shall we explore the depths beneath the surface now?" The game offers a lot of interesting/accomodating mechanics, some of which can only be unlocked by avid explorers. Freely travel the world by ship and "airship" (late-game)? Check. Fast-travel to previously visited locations (late-game)? Check. Force random battles with a single key press (late-game)? Check. Adjusting the random encounter rate from "nearly every step" to none? Check. Gradually unlocking new tools to overcome obstacles and unlock new passages in previously visited locations? Check. Challenging arena battles and enjoyable casino mini games? Check. Rebuilding a town and recruiting residents, like NPCs that keep track of all treasure chests opened and available throughout the game? Check. There's a lot to discover and enjoy, since playing JRPGs is more akin to a marriage instead of a quickie. The turn-based battle system is nothing short of excellent, though it shines the most during boss battles. You got your normal attacks (which, as always, you won't use often), skills (which use TP that can only be build up during battle), magic, items (which are very helpful, but can't be used in arena battles or in one certain optional dungeon at the beginning), and you can defend (which is actually really useful at times, since it recovers 30 TP and makes the defending party member unable to swoon from mere damage for this turn). The magic system needs its own paragraph. Party members can only use magic when being in possession of and/or equipped with a "Scale". All party members earn one Scale over the course of own's playthrough (or already have one when they join the party), and they can find/equip a second Scale (later), but most of the additional Scales aren't exactly stored along the main road. Each equipped Scale grants a party member 100 MP, and MP can't be raised through level-ups or item usage (though MP amount and costs can be influenced by equipment). During battle, you need to activate a party member's Scale first (which doesn't consume a turn) in order to use magic, and while the Scale is active, the respective party member gets a stats boost, but loses a certain amount of MP at the end of the turn (conversely, while the Scale is inactive, a certain amount of MP is recovered at the end of the turn). Consequently, Scales can't be activated (and are even forcefully deactivated) when a party member's MP reach 0. It's a clever system that really makes you think about how and when to use magic, but it also shows this isn't exacty a game for players who enjoy being able to brute-force their way through the battles. Elements play an important role, too, since, for example, only party members equipped with a Water Scale can use recovery magic. Earth and Darkness are also important Scale elements, since the related skills can mitigate, negate or even absorb (physical or magic) damage. Status effects are relevant, too (like "Shock", which doubles the next damage inflicted), and they're restricted to the appropriate element (Lightning in "Shock's" case), so you really want to give some thought to your party setup. Skills are also of varied nature (like a bow skill that, if it would miss, hits critically instead), and their availability changes dependent on the type of weapon equipped. This mechanic encourages the player to experiment with different setups. And beware, enemies can use some of the same skills, too. If you encounter an axe-wielding enemy that uses "Enrage" (which recovers 100 TP), you'll know that a big attack is about to be unleashed next turn. Boss monsters can also use a variety of different skills, and sometimes even their very own combat gimmick (like one enemy that can utilize various "stances", each of which "discourages" the player from using certain means, e.g. skills or magic, to inflict damage). Boss battles can be challenging, but are never unfair. Nevertheless, this is a game that won't let you succeed by mindlessly attacking and sometimes healing inbetween. There's a lot of really helpful equipment to discover, especially late-game, which enables you to level the playing field. Still, the most difficult optional boss and the true ending main storyline boss provide challenges that force you to use all means at your disposal. Are you still with me? We haven't even talked about the puzzles yet. Throughout the game, the game offers 50 intricately designed "puzzles" with varied mechanics. It begins with simple boulder-pushing, but soon escalates into all sorts of puzzle, riddle and (reaction-based) mini-game shenanigans. These puzzles can be as fun as they can be frustrating at times (at least none of them are tied to the main storyline, which makes them entirely optional). Fortunately, the developer provides a very helpful puzzle walkthrough (in form of a YouTube video), so if you're like me and hate picture tile sliding puzzles, you can simply see for yourself how it's done. Unfortunately, on the other hand, if you want to earn all Steam achievements, you will have to engage with the puzzles. I enjoyed most of the puzzles even though I can do without puzzles in JRPGs, so I think it's fair to treat them as a welcome addition. Sadly, the game isn't totally devoid of permanently missable content. A few treasure chests must be opened in the city that you can rebuild before you actually begin to rebuild it, a certain bandit side quest involves different steps which are time-sensitive (must each be completed before advancing the main story too much), and it would be good to know beforehand about two "unwinnable" boss fights that are actually winnable (and must be won to earn the related achievements). Apart from this, the game lets you comfortably search for all its well hidden goodies, which is also thanks to some of the features mentioned above, and most achievements can be accomplished naturally by "following your nose". Conclusion: Great game, character limit reached. :D

First of all, thanks to the dev for a review copy. Very basic, and lacks a lot of polish and anything that would set this apart from the literal hundreds of other RTP-based RPG Maker games on Steam. This shouldn't be sold for any amount, as there feels like there's no depth to it, and everything is very, very basic and/or put together in a very amateurish manner.

I'm a big fan of RPGmaker games, I bought this game on a whim with some extra cash I had in my steam wallet. After playing for about half an hour I was hooked and found it hard to put it down, I've played for 15 hours according to steam and have yet to finish the game. I'm sure you could finish the game a lot faster if you skip all of the optional objectives but I do enjoy doing all of them. I also am a big fan of the customization in the game as well as the premise and the plot, the characters to me have some depth and I find them funny and enjoyable. All in all I'd recommend this game for anyone that is a fan of RPGmaker games or that style.

alot of fun n puzzle and a nice story line hope the developer make more of these games!

If you're looking for a cathartic and well made rpg maker game, this is an excellent option. It's just experimental enough to keep things interesting, while also remaining intuitive and easy to get the hang of. The mechanics themselves are pretty varied, the most important is definitely the main protagonists transformation ability. Limited forms are always really fun additions and make combat a lot more dynamic. The enemies feel good as well, the bosses I've encountered so far do require some level of strategy to beat, but are not so hard that you need to spend any time grinding. The puzzles are a great part of this game. From what I've seen they're all completely optional. I actually would probably be annoyed if the game threw so many of them if they were required, but making them optional with a hidden reward feels very nice. The writing is definitely the strongest part of this game, it's quite nice. It strikes a good balance with giving you relevant plot info and telling you where to go next, and building on the lore of the world you're in. Overall I've found the game to be enjoyable and give it my recommendation.