Chronicles

Morning everyone!

Like I said a while back, updates are going to be kind of sparse for now.

However, today I thought I'd share a real treat with everyone.
For the past 10 years or so, I (like many other gamers) have been attempting to create my own completely unique roleplaying game system.
And, for a very long time, I was struggling with getting it just right.

This past year, I decided to really revamp my efforts and dig in to design this game.
The one thing that hasn't changed in that whole time is the name of the game:
Chronicles.

Some of the original ideas that I had were to grandiose or complicated to work out.
As such, they were scrapped for a cleaner, simpler game that everyone could enjoy.
However, I tried to salvage as much as I could in a reasonable fashion.

Chronicles is a fantasy roleplaying game that uses mastery as the key mechanic.
Simply stated, it means that better training in a skill actually makes you better with that skill on average.
Your mastery is measured by the size of the dice that you roll when attempting a certain action.

And that's pretty much the key concepts on how to play.

I don't have anything resembling a playtest document ready yet, but plan to have one soon-ish if things pan out nicely for me.
However, I do have some pre-alpha testing that friends of mine and I had accomplished a few weeks ago. I plan on putting up a summary of what happened then, as well as their initial thoughts about the game itself.

So, until next time, stay classy readers :)

Legend of Legacy - A Review

Hello again, everyone! Long time, no post.
Thought I'd try to write something because it has been a while.
So, I have a review for everyone.

For today, I present
"The Legend of Legacy" for the 3DS.

To begin, I was drawn into this game by it's look.
It appeared to be gorgeous and suggested some serious differences in the backgrounds and play-styles of each of its 7 characters (which included a frog prince).
I couldn't help myself.

I booted the game up and had a hard time choosing my starting character.
With a little bit of roulette, I ended up with Bianca.
I was excited.
She had amnesia and was seeking a way for the elementals to help restore her memories.
It seemed like a great start.

And then I actually started playing.

While the game is pleasing to the eye, the rest can only be described as a cesspool of regurgitated JRPG errors from yesteryear.
I've heard that other entries in the "Saga" series have similar issues and are well received.
This game has officially put me off of that franchise. For life.

To begin, after I actually finished the starting area, there was no indicator as to what I had to do next.
No helpful NPCs.
No map icons.
No journal.
Nothing.

I might just be "spoiled" by the "advances" that have been made in "JRPGs" since the "1980s," as some would "put it."
But, SERIOUSLY. Those advances happened for a reason.
And I'm sure that people not being able to finish a game probably contributed heavily to their implementation.

Second big trouble: the "level-up" system.
Works just like Elder Scrolls games. You get better by doing things.
Awesome, right?
WRONG.
In an ES game, you have so many wonderful options to avoid fights where you will simply be murdered.
In this tripe-fest, you can run once you are in a fight, sure, but you also a) get sent back to the entrance of the dungeon (which isn't all that bad, to be fair), b) are treated as having each character faint once (which decreases your HP maximum until you rested in town, btw [kind of ingenious, in a way]), and c) if you want to get back to where you were after this fiasco, you had to walk back through just as many monsters.
"Oh, but you can just keep going!" - True. But you are weaker and therefore actually can't keep going.

Third big trouble: GRINDING.
I've addressed why I hate this once before.
And you would think, with an Elder Scrolls-esque level system, this game wouldn't be too bad.
WRONG AGAIN.
Even plowing through enemies, either my stats wouldn't increase or my moves wouldn't get better.
Which, of course, meant I couldn't do jack against any actual threats.
Except run.
BUT YOU CAN'T RUN FROM CERTAIN ENEMIES. AND THEY WILL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOUR PITIFUL MEAT-BODY.
"Oh, but replay-" - Shut up. That argument is garbage.

Overall, I just became disinterested in this game because it was so disappointing.
It started out so well.
But there was just so much about this game that I didn't like.
And it all happened so quickly, too.

Final verdict: 2/5
Visual - 5/5: the graphics in this game were simply beautiful, through-and-through. Particularly the way that the maps "popped-up" like a living story book
Audio - 1/5: there didn't seem to be much of anything in terms of music or sound effects. Maybe I just wasn't paying that close of attention?
Replayability - 1/5: in my humble opinion, even one play through would have been too many. This game is so freaking repetitive, it almost caused me physical and psychological harm. The fact that you can play through with all 7 characters for slight differences in the story is nice, but I couldn't even stand to do the 1st one I picked :/
Controls - 4/5: the actual controls were comfortable and intuitive (A to activate, X for menu, Start for screenshot [okay, that one actually pissed me off], etc.), but weren't any sort of major change-up from what I've come to expect in games recently
Story - 1/5: when I first started playing, I was very intrigued (I chose Bianca's story - she has amnesia). However, very shortly into actually playing the game, I discovered things from JRPGs of yesteryear that really irk me - lack of direction after the story began (I had literally no idea what I had to do to advance the story), requiring complete exploration of an area to have any semblance of an idea as to what is going on

Overall, worse than Lord of Magna.
Don't waste your money.
Don't waste anyone else's money, for that matter.

Catch you later, readers :)