As my reviews have gotten bigger and hopefully also a bit better, I'll start posting them here in my blog in addition to Steam. I doubt I'll get much traffic but you never know, and I can make them even larger here by including screenshots and videos if I so see fit. This way I can make them into a sort of portfolio for ease of access if I ever get into writing or similar.
My principle has been for a while that I review every game on Steam that I deem completed, usually by having all achievements but sometimes for other reasons. A somewhat bizarre effect is that I review a lot of short and easy games, but every now and then I'll stumble upon a rough gem or a hidden diamond and give it a shot.
Starting out this blog post, I reviewed Tales Across Time just last week and it being the last game I reviewed it's a good way to start this endeavour.
*****
Tales Across Time
Briefly: I've been a fan of Joshua's work since 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey. Tales Across Time is their new game and I can say it's splendid work both visually and storywise, exploring tropes rarely used in gaming.
In Tales Across Time you play as several characters over three vastly different eras, all of which are bound together by a common antagonist. While there's no time travel, storywise it's got some similarities to such gems as Chrono Trigger and Eternal Darkness, though it's neither a horror game nor a grand RPG, as it's only few hours long.
The game was first introduced at Indie Game Making Contest 2015 that introduced the twist of growth. This early theme can still be seen through the area and the world changing with the eras. In comparison, the published game is a lot more polished both graphically and storywise, especially with the third story that looks to be expanded tremendously.
One game, three stories
First two stories are short, about one hour experiences. All three stories are very different in tone, from a simple exploration to politics to frantic chases and have different casts: after all, they occur at different eras.
In every story there are many characters to acquaintance in addition to the protagonist. Pretty much all characters are likeable and I found it refreshing that other characters are not idle but act in meaningful and interesting ways.
The natural main character for an RPGMaker game is a fighter. Thus, in the first story you take the role of the the seasoned warrior who guides the expedition to an old temple ruin in a desert. The story builds an anxious atmosphere of unknown danger and mystery.
As the guide you deal with any dangers (i.e. monsters) encountered. There are no random encounters, instead every combat is predetermined and usually unavoidable. I'll talk more about combat further down.
Skip ahead few unspecified years and there's the second story at a flourishing trading hub that has emerged out of the desert. Tone is very different, merry and oozing of expectation and happiness, until a twist turns it into a darker mood. Overall there's less exploration and more reactive action than in the first one.
Finally, again an era later the setting has turned from a mild fantasy one into a straight-out science fiction. The alarmed setting feels both mysterious and tense at the same time. The epic conclusion of the millennia long storyline, the third story is the longest of the flock taking almost 2 hours for myself, possibly because it's got more exploration than the first two stories.
Non-random encounters
Scrapping the usual random encounters and even levels, the combat system is refreshingly different. Without levels there is no grinding. Instead every fight is like a separate challenge or sometimes comparable to a puzzle. Usually every monster is only encountered once or twice to keep it fresh.
You even begin every fight at full health and half action points. Action points (AP) are similar to magic points: they are needed to perform special maneuvers like super attacks, full parries or heal-ups.
Normal attacks of different strength replenish AP, the weaker the attack the more AP replenished. This way you have to manage them to be able to beat the enemy. Consequently every fight is technically 1 vs 1, though supporting characters can do some critical special maneuvers as well.
Fights can get rather difficult, especially if you don't immediately see how to counter enemy moves and manage health and AP accordingly. I had to redo a couple of fights several times. Luckily, dying (or otherwise losing) usually only restarts you to the start of the current scene where the encounter happened and has no other adverse effects.
The only ability progression happens by story-based events or finding enhancing crystals hidden around, granting a few bonus max hit points or AP. I think other kind of improving would be unrealistic anyway since the stories occur over a few days at most. For a short game like this the combat system is perfect.
Visuals and technical side
For an RPGMaker game the graphics are top-notch and soundtrack is cool and fitting. I encountered a couple of bugs but they were quickly fixed after reporting them in the forums.
Otherwise, the only possible problems are:
1) the lack of Steam overlay (because of the engine) and the resulting clumsiness of screen capping (so you have to go to the forums and find the instructions) (also, take that and my laziness as a reason for my lack of screenshots in this first off-Steam review)
2) having only 4 save slots
3) inability to change controls the exact way I want (again because of the engine). If you can bear the standard controls it works well. I played with keyboard and also tested that my X-Box 360 controller handles correctly.
Conclusions
The whole game lasted just 4.5 hours for me. In comparison to their earlier title, 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey, Tales Across Time is more story-focused and linear as this time around it's not an open world. That said, every scene in the game has a purpose and it's very focused on keeping the story flowing onward.
As a short title, I liked it quite a bit and it's cheap too. Call me crazy to say so but I even thought it was a bit under-priced: in my opinion, 5 € would've been perfect for this content.
So, want a good JRPG-style RPG adventure? Get this game.
*****
That's it! My first review on my blog!
I will want to post some of my older reviews here as well, edited to a better quality if possible. However, I'll publish at least one new one every time before posting an oldie to keep it fresh.
Until next time!
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