Definately Worth Playing (UPDATED REVIEW!)
Griever (re)plays Forever’s End:

Gameplay: 10/10

First off, battles are much better than they were the first time I played this game. They are now very entertaining and it is clear that the developer has put a lot of effort into diversifying them since the release of the first demo. Balancing is the key here, I believe, as the battles are balanced much better now than they were the first time I played through this game. The insistance was that the player required a skill early on and that I had simply missed it on my first playthrough, but now the player is given this skill as a matter of priority the balancing seems a little less skewed (if a skill truly is vital, it shouldn't be hidden away in a corner somewhere). Don't be fooled, though, as it isn't just this that makes the balancing better. The fact is that the balancing is much better in general: the first boss battle is no longer a complete bitch, enemies are threatening without being overpowered and the heroes are suitably-skilled to exploit enemy weaknesses when they are present (by which, I mean, the game doesn't give you loads of enemies with x-weakness before x-type attacks are available to your party, making any sort of strategy that could be employed null and void). This keeps battles strategic and also makes it so that when new elements are introduced it really does feel like your abilities are expanding. The effect is obvious.

Battles have improved in other ways, the most obvious being the addition of new features in-battle, such as the monster capture system and the scouting system, that add to the fun of battles immensely. Giving the player more to think about that just space-bar mashing their enemies into dust is always a good thing and these systems are an extremely welcome addition. The monster capture system is especially impressive as it doesn't just diversify the in-battle gameplay, it diversifies gameplay on the area-map too. Being able to capture monsters makes battles less monotonic, sure, but having to properly explore to make sure you get all the monsters in an area caught before leaving also adds another level to the gameplay. That the rewards for doing so are sufficiently impressive that they are worth the work you need to put in is just the icing on the cake, and this is also true of the feature that makes it so defeating all the enemies in one area will reward the party with stat-increases or a similar bonus. These two features boosts the area-map gameplay by giving you a reason to explore other than the occasional item in a chest. Sure, the incentives are essentially the same (items/stats) but they are presented to you in a variety of ways and that broadens the gameplay.

Enemy encounters themselves have also improved since the last demo. Back them, enemies just mindlessly charged at the hero all the time, but now a simple system has been put into place that makes enemy encounters much more strategic. Basically, enemies will either follow their own path or they will chase the hero when the hero gets close enough. Enemies that follow their own path can be dodged easier (as if you'd dodge them when you can get rewards for catching/killing them though!) and enemies that chase you eventually run out of steam and stop, allowing you to get the initiative in battle against them if you attack them in this state. It is very simple, as I already said, but it means you need to keep a proper look out for enemies to make sure you get the advantage in battle. Keeping the player interested in the area they're in is key to keeping them playing your game and this simple system does just that.

So, the fighting has improved and the area-maps manage to keep you interested with a variety of small features. What about the other things, like puzzles and dungeon-design? Well, these aren't too shabby either, but that was true of the first demo. These features didn't really need to improve, they just needed to have a continued presence. They do, the new maps I have played kept me entertained in the same way the older ones did. I suppose you could say that when puzzles are present they tend to be of the simple kind and that they tend to be puzzles we've seen in a lot of other games (raising/lowering water levels in sewers, for example), but this doesn't bother me. They're solid and they keep me entertained.

I don't have enough good things to say about how much the gameplay has improved since the last demo and this is obviously reflected in the score for this section. I think that every issue I raised in my last review has at least been considered and several areas of the gameplay are now better because of the implementation of the suggestions made both by me and by the other people who've reviewed/commented on this game. A lot of the issues were mentioned by more than one person and how much this game has improved as a result just shows that more reviews are desperately needed in this community - they really do help developers get better! This game is now much tighter as a result of the comments it has recieved and I don't have any complaints with the gameplay anymore (except that the aforementioned sewer map is too laggy, but I hear that is already being sorted out!)

Characters: 9/10

I like the characters in this game. The main character’s internal struggle is well portrayed throughout the start of the game and the support character’s are also well fleshed out. The non-playable characters are also pretty well written, Marcellus being one of the stand-out characters in this respect. He just gets better and better with time, the "power-behind-the-throne" archetype being portrayed perfectly throughout each and every scene he is present in.

Speaking of power and thrones, the King himself is another character who just gets better as the game goes on. His insanity comes across a lot better than I thought it did in the first demo and I think this is a result of the increased length of the game (and the resulting higher number of scenes that the King is in) rather than any "actual" changes. Now I have seen him over a longer period of time I can see where his development is going a lot better. I said before that he had a lot of potential as a character and that it seemed to be being waste, but that potential is now being fulfilled.

The only problem I had character-wise in the previous demo was with Elise and this is still the case, although how much it bothers me has lessened quite a lot. This is because, as a character, I think she is beginning to be well fleshed out. It is also because I think that her backstory is good and this gives me hope that when some of the major story-arcs start being resolved I will get answers that sufficiently explain her early in-game choices.

Storyline/Setting: 10/10

"Why does it always have to be snakes crystals? Why does it have to be crystals and someone intent on using them for the forces of evil? Why does it have to be crystals and a monarch influenced by a dark, unexplainable power behind the thrown? It’s not cool anymore. Fortunately, this game somehow manages to rescue itself from this pit by interweaving some other interesting plotlines in with the main one, and also by pulling off the cliché well.

Settings, on the other hand, are definitely well pulled off. For instance, in a village the main character is attacking at the start of the game you see people running into houses, guards trying to ambush you rather than just standing in a street waiting for you, villagers who genuinely fear for their lives. It is very believable, as are the other settings the characters are forced into. Nothing really needs to be changed in this aspect."

This is what I said about the storyline/setting in my previous review and it is very much the case that the game is preventing the crystal cliché becoming an issue. Having seen more of the game, the crystals are starting to be a really minor part of the storyline for me. In the previous demo, the threads of storyline that were being laid down were good. Now they are developing and intertwining with each other they are becoming more and more gripping. The storylines developed revolve much more around the characters than the crystals and these storylines are so gripping and interesting that I have little time to care about the crystal cliché.

I want to know what happened to Slade to make him work for the King. I want to know how the King died. I want to know what the King has sent Slade to look for. I want to know more about Elise and her power over the crystals. I want to know why an extremely powerful man is using a King as a puppet when he could clearly get the crystals himself. I want to know why an old Paladin is being shown to the main protagonist in his dreams. Etcetera. The demo leaves me wanting to know more and this is the best thing a demo can possibly do as this is the main thought we aim to evoke by releasing demos.

The higher score in this section reflects how impressed I am with the storyline progression, I think.

Graphics/Mapping: 6/10

"The graphics in this game are, overall, pretty good. There aren’t many clashes in the chipsets used and the character sprites pose and respond how you’d expect them too. The cutscenes are also pulled off well, especially those that are performed within the battle system, with the graphics in battles also looking rather sharp.

The mapping, however, had two of my biggest gripes contained within it. First of all, maps that I can walk to the edge to and be stopped by the end of the map. A field does not just magically stop at the edge of your map. Neither does a town and neither does a cliff. Either drop the lazyness and map more field/cliff/town or make it so I can't get to the edge of the damn map! Confusing passability was the other major flaw included in this game, the kind of confusing passabilty where a hero capable of cutting down monsters and soldiers isn't able to walk over a small patch of flowers. Erm, say what?"

All this is still true. The graphics are competent but there are a lot of little flaws that you will notice the more you play. Passability is a big issue as there is a lot of weird passability - you can quite often get to places you're clearly not meant to be able to and, although this is never advantageous or disadvantageous, it is pretty irking. Other little things, such as the battle animations not reacting to the tinting that is being used in a battle, will be easily spotted and noted as you play through the game and - although the gameplay is good enough they'll never make you put the game down - they will bother you slightly.

However, like I said, the gameplay is too good for these little errors to matter. They don't break they game, they just make it slightly less pretty to look at.

Music/Sounds: 9/10

Both the music and sounds in this game are top class. The sounds in battle are especially worth mentioning and I really don’t have enough praise for them. The only bad sound effect I mentioned in my previous review has been fixed and I am impressed with the choices made in this area.

However, although I am impressed with how well the music and sounds reflect the things they are supposed to reflect and although I am impressed with the moods the music manages to evoke, I have to point out that some people will not be equally impressed. Why? Because a lot of the sounds are so familiar. The so-called "Square-sin" is committed a number of times and most sounds are taken from immensely popular sources (for instance, the flute used to call a merchant on the world map uses a certain Zelda tune). This does not bother me, it never has so long as the music/sounds are used correctly, but it does bother some people immensely. If you are one of those people then knock several points off here.

Overall: 9/10

The improvements made since the last demo are immense and I can't recommend this game enough. The battles are definately the stand-out section thanks to the features added to them, features that make the battles more interesting and also make area-map exploration much more rewarding and fun. However, this game isn't all about a solid battle system. It has a genuinely gripping storyline and I cannot wait for the next installment of this game to be released. I literally want it right now and if you play this game too you'll see why - and probably end up feeling the same way.

The half-a-star this game has lost is purely because of the graphical issues. I have to because it is an issue, but the game is brilliant regardless.

This better not end up a cancelled project.

4.5 / 5 stars

Impressive, enjoyable RPG experience with a few flaws.

Eliminator

01/15/2010 04:54 PM
This review follows the newly uploaded version of Forever's End (as of New Year's 2010 I believe), not the old, nigh unplayable one. The purpose of this review is to:

1) Give information to those interesting in downloading and playing the game.
2) Provide feedback to NicoB in hopes of him improving the game.

This is my first review of an RM game. It's a bit long. Hope I don’t sound like I’m rambling the whole way through, and I hope you like it!


STORY, CHARACTERS, WRITING
7/10

The story starts off as one giant cliché storm and does not let up until a few hours pass. If you’ve ever played a JRPG, then expect to see plenty of reused plot devices and character archetypes. It gets better. After a certain point the characters start to show a bit more (and deeper) personality, and the plot really picks up one its own.

Most of the story concentrates on Epoch Lander and his struggle between morals and following orders. Joining him is Elise Alkenridge, who is probably the main heroine of the game and a girl with mysterious powers. An interesting note is that the story does not follow Epoch all the way to the end of the demo. At a certain point you will play as a character in a flashback(?) sequence. At another point you play as a young boy named Lee on the run from Evil Empire, with the help of a talking goblin named Goldo. Of particular note is a sequence where you briefly play as another character.

On the antagonist side, we’ve got King Richard, an evil king bent on gathering MacGuffins (and they HAVE to be crystals!) to conquer the world. There’s also a mysterious shadow monster race called the Lost (probably the most interesting villain so far), a hooded man (…yes), a demon hunter named Slade (is it a requirement that every RM game have a character named Slade?) and an evil advisor named Marcellus, who seems like the main adversary to Epoch and crew. I am guessing his demise involves him getting raped in some basement by a leather-covered manchild. Or not.

No, but seriously, the story does get better in the second half of the game. Characters start to get much more interesting, new plot threads appear, and there are quite a few twists that appear out of nowhere. Twists! Hell yeah! Sometimes the pacing felt a bit off: there were no towns until about a few hours in, and a cutscene bombardment occurs at one point. Still, this is no big problem as it goes with the flow of the game.

Maybe some reworking of the first few hours of the game could work. Especially try to make the characters appear more interesting and less cliché (I was already sick of Epoch whining about what is right and wrong in his head before leaving Rikalia Castle). Flesh out some characters, add depth and personality and stir away from the same old archetypes we see in Final Fantasy and other big-name commercial RPGs. You seem to be able to figure it out and do this later on in the game, so why not give the first few sections similar treatment?

+Interesting setting.
+Some grammar mistakes, but effective writing overall.
+Protagonists and antagonists have huge potential.
-Cliché storm story so far, which only gets good halfway through.
-Characters without much personality, could use a bit more development.


GAME AND MAP DESIGN
9/10

Aesthetically superb is all I can say. There are two mapmakers, and you’ll be able to tell when you see the maps later on despite the fact that the same chipsets were used. Rudra looks great, and NicoB’s maps still look terrific. I suggest not worrying too much about mapping at all, whatever’s in there does the job perfectly. There are a couple areas which use standard Mack and Blue / RTP chipsets, but they seem to fit in well. I can’t see a game of this scope using only Rudra in the completed version, so it’s only fair.

Not much to say about characters and animations. There’s lots of cool effects, especially in cutscenes later on. Skills look great when used in battle (though spells seem a little simple). I didn’t understand why some guards were charsets pasted into monster designs (Hyuga), some guards were FFVI guards which looked like giants compared to Hyuga and his buddies, and some were cartoony-looking Rudra guard rips.

As for design, it’s pretty and pretty top-notch. There’s lots to do here—a stealth mini-game that’s actually pretty fun, useful items in treasure chests, being able to camp out and interact with characters on the world map, and other neat little features. There are only two towns (more like one since the other is just a preview) but they feel complete and lively. I also liked how there were no towns in the first half of the game, it seemed like a break from the regularity of most traditional RPGs, which is a plus in my book.

Dungeons, while neat, are pretty simple overall, with nothing mind-bending about them. I hope in the future you add some more puzzle, or clever design segments. Something like that stealth section.

Also, points for monsters on the screen that chase you when they see you and go back if you run far enough.

+Exceptional map design with little flaws.
+No random encounters.
-Dungeons are mostly simple and straightforward.
-Some mismatching/clashing problems.


GAMEPLAY
9.5/10

Those who played the first demo of Forever’s End will most likely be glad to hear that the difficulty has been toned down quite a bit. The first demo was extremely hard, but not challenging, just tedious. In this demo, random encounters are quick and painless (no longer am I spamming Epoch’s Atom Slice as it’s the only thing that does damage), boss fights are much easier to handle, and the flashback dungeon is actually possible now (okay, I’m exaggerating, but I could not get past that without cheating). You also have easier access to items, and a new gameplay addition simplifies things even more while keeping the game unique.

The latter addition is the monster capture system. In the game, each dungeon consists of several enemy encounters and you have the ability to trap them in crystals, which can then be used as battle items, or can be traded in to a monster collector for valuable items. Capturing a monster is simple, but requires a couple different items: a Scan Crystal (which can be used on any enemy to identify their HP totals, weakness, etc) to gather information, a food item, and a capture stone. When you scan the monster, you will be informed of the type of food they prefer. Now, use that particular on the enemy and they will begin eating it, after which you can use the capture stone to acquire that monster’s ability stone. You’ll want to use and abuse this system, because not only are the monster abilities immensely powerful, but trading monsters in nets you some rather awesome items or equipment. Also of note is that every time you scan a new monster, you gain scouting points. Get enough of these to raise your scouting level and be able to fight new fiends on the map. In one instance I was able to fight an optional boss which I believe only appeared when your scouting level was high enough. Very cool.

Unfortunately, this system has some problems, again relating to the game’s difficulty. For one, you can use the monster abilities more than once – I’m not sure how many times as it doesn’t say (let the player know in the future version). This makes them a bit cheap, especially the powerful damage dealers such as Kaasht and Tundra. Two, and more importantly, is that capturing a monster is 100% guaranteed once you feed them their food, provided you are at a high enough level, which you will almost always seem to be. There is no chance of failure. This means that you can simply throw a food item at a certain monster giving you trouble and then capture them, erasing them from the battlefield completely. While I did not run into any enemies that gave me a hard time, in future versions this could be a cheap tactic to winning a battle. A suggestion would be either to make the % rate higher depending on how hurt the enemy is, or higher depending on your level.

Have I talked about the battle system at all other than capturing enemies? No? Oh yeah, well the battles are fun and fluid. Epoch, Lee, and Goldo are unique in that they have different fighting styles. Epoch has to learn new skills through magazines which he can then upgrade, Lee draws skills from enemies which he then keeps permanently (again with 100%), and Goldo can steal tools from enemies that he can use to make new items, which only he can use but cost MP to be used. I’m not sure what Elise’s unique role is, but she seemed like a genuine spellcaster to me.

Another cool addition is being able to equip books to learn new skills from winning battles, similar to Starless Umbra’s magic learning system. I liked how the books were real classics like Dante’s Inferno, which teaches fire, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for water. I look forward to equipping Stephen Colbert’s I am America! in order to learn the ultimate magic.

Other than that, everything about the gameplay is right on, without any big issues. The big problem again is the difficulty, as the game is absolutely too easy. I did not get a single game over, and every single boss fight was a joke. I did fight every single enemy in the dungeon beforehand though. This is encouraged of course, since you not only get something special for clearing out an area, but so you are able to capture every monster and get even more neat things. Since regular battles are so simple it is easy to clear out an area, which then means you’d be ready to wipe the floor with the boss of the area. Then again, I’m pretty much a completionist and not everybody is the same way, but I just breezed through the game with only the desert ruins being a little harder than anything else. Also, Lee is an absolute GOD in battle, and when you get Goldo you are unstoppable.

One last thing, even though the game needs some balancing, it is still miles better than the original version. In the original I could not get past the desert ruins because I was out of items and the enemies were brutal. I had heard the bosses get even more frustrating after that point. If anything, you could make the bosses in the new version offer quite a big challenge, but keep regular enemy encounters the same difficulty.

+Excellent, polished battle system.
+Different characters with unique battle skills and abilities.
+Cool monster capturing mechanic.
-Too easy.
-Monster capturing can be abused.


MUSIC
4.5/5

This is commercial game music, so expect to recognize many tunes. Again, a lot of it fits well into the game, and some tracks that I barely heard in their own games were used to good extent here, which made me like them even more. Much of the music is from Shadow Hearts (Covenant I believe). All of the battle themes including the boss themes are, I believe, and so are the world map and title screen themes. It's almost as if you were making a Shadow Hearts fangame, so I dunno, maybe get some variety in there? Other than that, there's also some Final Fantasy, Chrono, and ARMs in there, and some original pieces. I despise popular game music in midi form in video games, and fortunately Forever’s End uses all .mp3 quality themes.

I liked that there were different battle themes, and a handful of different boss themes. Really cool when you don't have to hear the same boss themes over and over - the theme played during the sewer boss deserves mention because it is absolutely AWESOME. I know it's from Shadow Hearts but which one? Whatever, it's AMAZING and should be used for the best, most epic fights in the full version. Okay, maybe not, but you really did a good job picking out some of the songs.

+Good choices for music.
+All high quality; no midis.
-Overdosed on the Shadow Hearts music – actually this is not really a bad thing, just an observation…


BUGS / COMPLETION / OTHER ISSUES
4.5/5

I took off some points because some sections felt a bit incomplete, besides the last town which was fine since you warned us about it anyway. I believe there was an inaccessible treasure chest in Namu Pass. There was also a skill I learned from a monster with Lee that popped up as something else.

Let’s see what else:

-Goldo should have a Scan Crystal ability at some point.
-There should be a merchant in the desert ruins. I ran out of scans and couldn’t get all the monsters there.
-There is a music glitch in the Royal Hunting Grounds, or maybe not as I’m not sure you intended for it to be this way. When you enter, there is no music, and after a battle you hear the world map music the rest of the way. It changes to the dungeon music when you get to the save point and stays like that for the rest of the dungeon.
-Is there a monster encyclopedia anywhere, or have you not added it in yet? I thought I saw a screenshot.


Nitpicking aside, it’s a great game and I look forward to the completed version. In terms of overall game design, what you’ve crafted is impressive, and I believe you have the potential to finish this. The story, while starting off rather lame, also seems to be gradually getting stronger.

It is a lot of work, and it seems like quite the ambitious project, but I have faith in you. This is currently one of the best traditional RM games out there, and it has potential to be one of the greatest projects in 2K3 if it is completed.


Final Score: 35/40 = 4.375/5, rounded to 4.5