Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition

It's a really well-made game and the developers were obviously fans of the classic rpg games and there are several small hints to that. Combat is ok, if you've leveled far enough it gets more or less trivial, but that's fine. The main characters are likeable and well-thought of and there are some interesting developments even later in the story. Two things are a bit annoying and prevent it from getting a full score: Ingredients for crafting and potions are somewhat hard to come by and you have to scan every available trader (and one specific trader in several locations) to find some of them. Since you can't know in advance what you'll need later on for upgrades, this will get quite tedious. Combine this with the somewhat less-than-helpful map and the long distances to travel and it becomes a point of frustration. Luckily, the remainder of the game and the story manage to make up for it, so it still come out on the good side.

"Ara Fell combines the best parts of Japanese-style roleplaying games with the best parts of western RPGs" - Well, the developers delivered. The game offers lovely characters, villains with motivation, a fascinating world and an enjoyable story. Yes the battles are kinda repetitive and there is some grinding, but way less than in most oldschool JRPGs. The best part of the game is that I've felt like taking part in the journey. The second is that it encourage exploring with lots of hidden treasures and interesting/funny NPC lines. The third is that the game alerts you every time a sequence comes where you don't have full control of the things happening, like boss battles or story trigger points. Maybe the only flaw of the game is that the replay-ability is basically nonexistent, since you have only 4 playable character and the only customization is in their character and skill specializations. But hey, I don't mind at all that not every game aims to have you play it until your fingers fall off. I'd like to react to some things I've read in reviews below and find them unfair: - you get a lot more of extra materials, skill stones than you need. If you like exploring and don't mind grinding you'll be done with it too soon actually. - yes, the are no quest markers, but I find that a good thing. Pay attention to the dialogues. - the stats are really not that difficult and you don't need to know precisely how the damage is calculated

I notoriously hate everything, because I don't give shit a pass because I like it. This game is a short RPG but it's REALLY good. It's not super complex. It sets out exactly what it wants to do and does it almost completely well. Some map issues that could have been shored up, I think there's at least one mistake in the text, and the only major complaint I have is super late in game in regards to one thing that *requires* bruteforcing when it should have even a slight bit of hinting either to solution or that its needed to bruteforce. This also might be my favourite game that does stereotypical dickhead elves really well. Writing-wise is fine, amusing no big plot twists or anything. One thing that does bother me in the writing is some characters getting an undeserved free pass on some blame/actions they take in the story, which I found infuriating, but isn't necessarily bad. Music didn't stand out for the most part but it isn't bad or annoying. But when it did stand out to me it stood out hard. It says it's Open World, but if Open World games worked like this they wouldn't be so bad, so don't be put off by that. Class/setups seem like they'd be all viable minus maybe 100% tank on one character like I did (it was still viable, but having no AOE guard still meant I couldn't full tank). Skill choices were fun, consumables weren't massively useful, but I will bet they will be when I go back for expert. One of my favourite RPG's and comes very close to a post game I'm looking for in an RPG.

This is a very conditional recommendation. You gotta enjoy classic, super old JRPGs to have fun with Ara Fell's generic gameplay. The combat is very basic. You get a tank, healer, magic user and fighter for your party composition. Equipment is only upgraded and items are limited to potions, upgrade or crafting materials, and "relic" items with passive effects. The difficulty settings... frankly suck. I'd just stick to the normal mode, as anything higher requires you to grind out levels and money/crafting materials. This is very boring. Other RPGs that does difficulty properly, like Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 or Dragon Age Origins, forces the player to change their tactics and strategies when approaching higher difficulty modes. Maybe this is a problem with classic JRPGs and not Ara Fell specifically. The story is sort of cliche, but it gets the job done. Vampires threaten civilization with nefarious plans. The hero seeks out mysterious artifacts to save the world. The characters were interesting enough, but nothing super memorable. Don't get me wrong. I don't think this is a bad game at all. It just didn't click with me mostly because I want to overcome the game's bosses and challenges with creative strategies, not by mindlessly grinding levels and items. It kills me to give such a mixed review for a fun indie game. I must stress that this isn't a bad game, it just wasn't what I was looking for in a JRPG. I liked it enough to finish it, but probably won't ever return to it. If you DO love classic JRPGs, then I would encourage you to try Ara Fell. It offers a lot for being such an inexpensive game and you will probably have enough fun with it.

Although Ara Fell is an old game, I only discovered it in 2020. The game has aged well and is an enjoyable retro experience reminiscent of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and the Gold Box D&D games. While the gameplay is solid, what really makes a great RPG is a mix of endearing characters and an epic quest. This is where Ara Fell truly delivers. Ara Fell is a strange world where islands inhabited by humans, dwarves and vampires float over a frightening continent called the abyss. The humans live in fear of the vampires who appear ready to crush humanity. As the story progresses, you find the vampires are not a monolithic army of evil, but rather a society filled with politics, backstabbing and some individuals who seem to be trying to do good, at least from a vampire's point of view. The game is a turn-based RPG with familiar controls and classes. Enemies are visible on the map and wander randomly, so you won't often be forced into random encounters. Playing on normal difficulty and intentionally fighting most random battles I came across, I didn't have to do much grinding. I did grind battles early on, but then I realized I had completely missed how to upgrade spells; once my spells were upgraded my party was insanely powerful for where I was in the story. There are a decent number of interesting side quests, some quick and easy and some delightfully intricate. Graphics and sound are definitely dated. Though the game dates from 2003, it feels like an SNES title. If that is a deal-breaker for you, so be it. But if you can appreciate a good game even if it feels 16-bit, then you'll enjoy these pixelated sprites and the MIDI soundtrack. The game finishes with a touching epilogue in the style of the Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings where we get to see where the main characters and a few NPCs ended up after the climactic battle. I felt really touched seeing this final sendoff. All-in-all, this is a fine game for any RPG fan.