The rundown: Graphics: 2.5/5 Sound/Music: 2.5/5 Gameplay: 3/5 Story: 2/5 Fun factor: 3/5 The gist: A turn based combat game ala FF Tactics/Shining Force / Disgaea. You start with three charcacters who have a pretty basic load out of equipment and abilities. As you progress, you can purchase (via a shop) or gain new abilities(by levelling up). The crux of the game is the turn based combat - presented as quest points on a world map. You select a quest you want to do - a textbox gives you the backdrop of the quest and a list of main and side objectives you'll need/want to complete. The quests are your standard fare of turn based combat. You pick a character, and then you move/attack/use an item in whatever order you choose and see the results. Rewards for these quests include xp, gold, and power gems and it's this last reward that is key to progress in the game. Each item/equipment/ability have upgrades that cost power gems and you can add/take away power gems from them at will before engaging with a quest. Initially, you can be pretty carefree about this but as the game progresses you will need to really put thought into what to upgrade for that particular quest. The problem with the game however, is that it doesn't do anything well. If the only real gameplay in a game is turn based combat then the turn based combat needs to be strong. Unfortunately, it's about as basic as it gets. Over time characters gain a list of abilities to use and eventually swap out to suit the quest but that's it. Nearly every srpg in the past has offered something much more not only in gameplay but in other parts of the game as well. Everything in this game feels phoned in - especially the music and story. And so I'm sad to say that I just can't recommend this game. If you want to play a SRPG then I advise picking up any other SRPG game in the past 30+ years (the titles I listed at the top are all good ones). It likely has much more to offer on that front than this game.
If you enjoy Metroid-Vania type platformers then this game is for you. A vibrant, colorful, world with some most excellent platforming and challenging areas and bosses. Easily worth the $27 I paid for it. Combat feels good, controls are pretty good (I'd like clearer hitboxes on the shield) and it's a ton of fun. In my opinion there are two cons to this game: The first is that the story feels phoned in. The second, and this is more a personal pet peeve, is Zeke - a little dragon ally that is a character you often interact with as you progress through the story. Unfortunately, he also helps you on bosses if you failed to kill a boss after the first two times. The game designers made a bold and frankly arrogant decision to assume players would want help with a boss after the first two attempts. First, Zeke showing up in this way makes no sense to the story since he's often supposed to be off at a different area entirely. Second, it takes away the joy and feeling of accomplishment to have figured out the fight and beat it on your own without assistance. My advice in future games is to always ALWAYS give the player the choice. This could easily have been done by granting the player an item that will allow the player to magically summon Zeke should you decide you need his help. This could easily be handled in the context of the world and story and gives control to the player. Unfortunately the phoned in story and Zeke are enough for me to dock a star from this otherwise fantastic game which still comes strongly recommended by me. If you're looking for a great metroid-vania type platformer you'll be well served by this game.
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs is a cute tactical/turn-based combat game that also incorporates time management, town construction, and relationship building. Good: Cute, fun, and light. Combat strikes a good balance regarding difficulty(I played on Normal). Each battle offers a couple of optional challenges meant to make the fight much harder. Completing them will reward you with more xp and increase the chances of finding treasure. It's fun to see how each relationship grows. The game strikes a good balance and gives you room to play and build how you want to while also providing a good amount of pressure to adhere to the chapter deadlines. Bad: Fishing is pretty poor. Very monotonous and boring. However, it can present some nice rewards if you're willing to stomach it. Memory leaks are a thing in this game. Fortunately I only experienced game crashing when I would switch focus from the game to something else as it was loading. Other than that if you play for more than a couple hours you will begin to notice the game starts to slow down and skip frames. I recommend saving as soon as you can once this occurs. Although it never crashed on me it only gets worse the longer you wait. The final boss is kinda crap. Things I wish I knew before playing: You won't be able to progress every single relationship before the end game. Each character offers unique skills for your party or opens things up. It's good to think about how you intend to play the game and focus on that. The only way to max out a faction is to side with that faction every time. You will not get an opportunity to fix this in the future. I never liked it when a final boss relies so heavily on a select few gimmicks which - if you aren't prepared for (and aren't given any reason or indication to do so) - will make the encounter much more difficult. Perhaps the simplest thing to suggest is to bring a character(s) that can poison. There's a couple other ways but that's the easiest.
It is sad the game is as buggy as it is and unfortunately I don't think there's anything GoG can do about it. That said, this game is my all-time favorite computer game. It's fun, and very witty. The game itself is a blend of RTS meets city (well, dungeon) building where the rooms you carve out of the surrounding rock will influence the creatures that come to support your cause. Keeping your creatures happy and well trained is also important. For some fun little easter eggs play the game around 11pm - 3:15AM (or just set your windows clock to these times if you don't want to stay up that late) and receive "hidden gaming tips" from Horny himself =).
