So against my better judgment, I'm going to give this one more shot. I got a new name (partially because the other one already got off to a bad start, partially because Shadowfear was a stupid ass name). So here we go.

Let me start by saying: This is a Final Fantasy fan game. I'm not going to change the fact that this is a Final Fantasy fan game. If you have a problem with this, don't waste your time on this project.

I've been working on this for some time now, have had a topic or two on it before, and want to get it back in the public's eye, so to speak. So, here it is.


Videos
The first town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFP3HKuoJk
Opening (without music due to my composer not having it done yet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu6B1WR3Mpk

Background

Thousands and thousands of years ago, the world was in constant war and chaos as no one kingdom could best the others. It seemed that the human race would struggle into oblivion in it's blind quest for power. This all changed, however, when one of the kingdoms uncovered a power of legends, sealed away since the time of the Ancients, allowing them to easily crush their opponents and start the Garudan Empire, which spanned the entire globe. For many years, the world lived in relative peace, though the secret that led to the power that enabled this empire to arise was more closely guarded than any other.

In the millenniums since, the mighty empire has fallen, and the old kingdoms have begun feuding again. Though the conflicts haven't been to the same scale as the war thousands of years ago, a recent decoding of ancient texts regarding the secret to the Garudan Empire has sparked a mad rush to discover the path to absolute power. At the beginning of the game, only a few passages, vaguely mentioning four crystals, have been decoded. All the armies of the world, including several independent forces are now setting out to explore ruins from that ancient Empire.

The story begins at this time, following a young man who recently became a high knight in the kingdom of Alcmaeon.

Characters

Denzel Berber :: Paladin (emphasis on White Magic) :: Age 21 :: An orphan who recently joined the elite attack force of Alcmaeon, the Crimson Swords, who serve as a guard for the royal family. Denzel is inexperienced, slightly naive, and is somewhat insecure about the world around him. Growing up with very distant foster parents has left him very ignorant about many things. He has great faith in the rulers of his kingdom, especially the princess, who he idolizes for her decisiveness. This is partially due to his constant searching for a role model.

Zacht Berber :: Blue Mage :: Age 19 :: The son of the couple who adopted Denzel. The two of them have been as close as blood brothers since that day. Zacht is slightly less cynical than Denzel, often finding humor in serious situations. Growing up, Zacht was always shown clear favoritism, leading him to gain a sense of superiority over Denzel, though he secretly respects him deeply for risking his life for the kingdom. Zacht was born with magical powers that run in his family, and is currently training to be a scholar, despite his ambitions to travel the world.

Zigbar :: Thief :: Age 26 :: A ninja who aids Denzel and Zacht when they are in dire need. Inexplicably has connections with the highest ranking knight in the kingdom, Princess Liana's personal guard Kain. Zigbar is extremely secretive at first, so not much can be said here. All that can be said is that there's more to Zigbar than meets the eye.

Kain Highwind :: Dragoon :: Age 36 :: The princess's personal guard and best friend. Kain has been trusted with the princess's safety ever since he risked his life to save her from a band of rogues twenty years prior to the beginning of the game. He is very knowledgeable and has a laid-back approach to most situations, except when the princess is in trouble. It's Kain's help that led to the princess being as decisive and confident as she is. He has a soft spot for Denzel and tries to act as a mentor to him.

Vasil Byrne :: Black Mage :: Age 21 :: A former citizen of Alcmaeon who was kidnapped from his home by radical anarchists as an baby. For the next sixteen years, they performed a number of horrific experiments on him which had three affects. First, he was left physically frail. Second, a magical energy was implanted in him, which now flows through his veins. Finally, his physical appearance was grossly altered so that he had to wear a face concealing hat to avoid being shunned in society. He is extremely bitter and cynical, and is hunting down the one who he blames for his misfortunes.

Cyril Rhasphody  :: Paladin (emphasis on physical strength) :: Age 27 :: A knight of shady alliance. Her idea of loyalty is one of the strictest fealty, but who knows whose side she's really on? Cyril seems cold and impartial, but when you really get to know her...

Lucidia "Cid" Elaris :: Summoner :: Age 29 :: A childhood friend of the princess's. Cid was part of an aristocratic family that was in very well standing with the royal family of Alcmaeon, but was disowned when she fell in love with a poor merchant and eloped. She now lives with said merchant and their three kids. Tomboyish and gauche, many have mistaken Cid for being rude and self-centered, while in reality, she would do anything for those she cares about.

What I Need
Any of these I can't find someone willing to help, I could find a way to do myself, but I know this project will turn out better if I ask others to help in the areas I'm not proficient in.

-Long-term Beta testers- People who wouldn't mind if I sent them the project after I add in new features to test for bugs or enjoyability
-MIDI composer- I have a friend of mine working on MIDIs already, but he isn't the most, shall I say, time-efficient composer in the world. So if anyone's interested in this, please please please let me know.
-Sound effects compiler- I'm going crazy looking for sound effects, would someone mind doing it for me?

That's really it for now. Anyone who helps will have their name in the credits and, in FF tradition, can choose an appearance/message/action in the game's hidden developers' room. I'll update this main post whenever I have some new information.

There isn't too much to look at, yet. There are still some height issues and strange layout problems with Alcmaeon, but it's definitely an improvement over the original you showcased awhile ago.

I would strongly suggest either using more FF6 chips (in lieu of rudra et cetera) or fewer of them (with more emphasis on custom stuff), but right now it seems sort of like a grab bag of graphics that have no real bearing on one another. Cyril is a guy's name. Zigbar, on the other hand, is an awesome name!

p.s. please use only this account from now on you are confusing the shit out of me

Hmmm the world map still seems strange but it may do. The new town is okay too ^_^. Nice job.

There isn't too much to look at, yet. There are still some height issues and strange layout problems with Alcmaeon, but it's definitely an improvement over the original you showcased awhile ago.

I would strongly suggest either using more FF6 chips (in lieu of rudra et cetera) or fewer of them (with more emphasis on custom stuff), but right now it seems sort of like a grab bag of graphics that have no real bearing on one another. Cyril is a guy's name. Zigbar, on the other hand, is an awesome name!

p.s. please use only this account from now on you are confusing the shit out of me

Surprised you pointed out Cyril as a guy's name and not Cid. =P

I do see what you mean, and the more I look at it, I am noticing that Alcmaeon is rather poorly laid out... but I probably will redo it at some point, so no worries.

The rest of the chip sets fit the char sets well enough, but the tiles in the third screenshot need to be changed. They are way too bright. Other than that, it looks to be pretty decent. I would rewrite the text for the intro, but that's just me.

I'll mess around with them in IrfanView and see if I can get that one toned down as far as the vibrancy and all.

Oh, and the text is basically just a placeholder that I came up with on the spot.

Hmmm the world map still seems strange but it may do. The new town is okay too ^_^. Nice job.

Thanks =) Keeping in mind what you said on the other topic, I'll probably make the rest of the continents more spacious. I may end up redoing the first one as well, though probably not TOO drastically.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, sorry about the other topic. =P

-MIDI composer- I have a friend of mine working on MIDIs already, but he isn't the most, shall I say, time-efficient composer in the world. So if anyone's interested in this, please please please let me know.

When you have a computer that crashes every half-hour you'll understand why you haven't been given any music yet. 
I'm getting a new Mac in the next few weeks, you'll have your music by January.

I am going on a limb here but I am guessing you're the 'friend'.

I am going on a limb here but I am guessing you're the 'friend'.

Yyyyyeah, shot in the dark right? 

Garudan Empire, huh? Why not weave some Hindu themes in there?

Garudan Empire, huh? Why not weave some Hindu themes in there?

Was considering it, probably will now that someone mentioned it. Though one of the main themes of Hinduism is already woven into the core plot, as you may be able to tell from the title. (The rebirth part, I know the phoenix is Egyptian/Phoenician/what-have-you =p)