"Sons of Tiskelion" is a short and simple, retro-style JRPG, made with an RPG Maker engine. It is about 6-8 hours long, depending on whether you opt to re-clear completed dungeons for experience and bigger post-dungeon monetary bonuses (I clocked in at just over 12 hours, clearing out every enemy I could in each dungeon, with a possible bit of time spent of idling).
"Sons of Triskelion" follows a 40 year-old pastoralist-turned-Gladiatorial-slave named Priscus Augustus. Having put his old life as a mercenary behind him over eleven years ago, Priscus's new life with his wife and young adolescent son is up-ended when a grudge from his past returns to clean up their loose ends. Priscus survives the encounter, only to wind up sold into slavery as a Gladiator. Not knowing what became of his family, Priscus was ready to give up in his second match, only to get a second wind when he hears the voice of his beloved wife urge him to stay alive and find them. From then on, he gains the will to fight back, using his past experiences to help him get through the Gladiator Games. Along with Batiatus, a young man who knows little outside of the world of the Gladiator's arena, Paajid, the young prince from a nation in the east who found his way to the arena, and Valeria, a young woman who seeks the excitement of a Gladiatrix to earn her Senator father's approval, Priscus must make his way through the 5 matches he needs to earn his freedom. But with more of Priscus's past catching up to him, including parts that he was only ever partially aware of, earning his freedom may become the least of his and his companion's worries.
Again, this a short game. The biggest point to it is its short story that is wrapped in a pretty easy to play game. Combat is the expected RPG Maker style of turn-based battles. Characters' skill growth is tied to medals earned with each victory and used to learn and upgrade skills. While prioritizing certain skills early on can help make the progression smoother, including Priscus's party stat buffers, Batiatus' Paralyzing Skill (which is a life saver both early-game and late-game), and Paajid's HP Drain, before too long, you should have more than enougn medals to learn and max out everything at Skill Level 7. This is especially true if you take the time to re-clear dungeons — a once per dungeon deal — which will net you increased medals, experience, and bonus Denari upon the dungeon's completion for each enemy slain. Doing this will also help you afford gearing your party, which is especially important for the penultimate dungeon; battles do not give out much Denari compared to what is earned as a bonus.
Two relatively small gripes I have with "Sons of Triskelion" are as follows:
* While the story is engaging, the world-building outside of cutscenes from story progression is limited. The Imperial City is pretty big, but "Sons of Triskelion" opts for apparent realism by only having very few interactable NPCs running about, with naught by two of the buildings having explorable interiors: one of them being a tavern with the most world-building via NPCs in the game but with dialogue that doesn't evolve with the game's progression, and the other being the pretty empty manse of the Senator's, with only a single daughter and a single maid to keep the Senator company. While lampshaded by one of the handful of NPCs in town who do say something when talked to, it does hamper the immersion of it all that the place is so functionally barren. It's a short game, so it's a missed opportunity to expound on some of the story elements through world-building via the city's NPCs.
* The game's only side-quest can't be completed, likely due to a bug. There are 15 Hero's Medals located on statues throughout the arena, the Imperial city, and a couple of the dungeons. Unfortunately, one of these statues, located in the Senator's manse, has no Hero Medal when interacted with. There's also a lack of a formal tally of the Medals. Because of this, you cannot reap the reward for collecting all 15 Hero Medals; I don't even know what it is, but it's likely to have been additional skills, if I had to guess. While it isn't hindersome to miss it, as far as I can tell, it is frustrating to come up one medal short of completing the game's only real side-quest.
Otherwise, however, I enjoyed my time spent on "Sons of Triskelion", which is why I am listing this as recommended. If you're looking to spend a bit of time with a short RPG Maker-engine game that's engaging enough in its rather personal story, then give it try. It even seems to lead into a sequel, though I am not sure of where that sequel's existence lies.
