Blackmoon Prophecy is a fangame (or tribute game as I like to call this) that I began in 2004 which is based on the Final Fantasy franchise. I had abandoned it several times between 2004 and 2008 (the last time I think I worked on it before now) for various reasons. Sometimes I would mess something up that affected the entire game, or I'd simply lose motivation for one reason or another and give up.
I decided a while ago that I would stop working on this game, but since it is the only thing I've ever attempted that was almost well received by everybody who played it, I decided... Hey, why not just try to finish it?
So, that brings me to the actual content of this post!
Brief StoryBlackmoon Prophecy is the story of Vahn, a dragoon from the Branch Kingdom. A year has passed since the Crystal War which saw the King of Branch wage war on the worlds via crystal power. The King was defeated and the crystals returned to their rightful shrines across the world.
Now, something mysterious is clearly going on. Strange happenings have been occurring at the Water Shrine, and a local dragoon named Darius has been acting peculiar and defiant in many cases. Can Vahn get to the bottom of it all?InformationWhat is it being made with?RPG Maker 2003.
Why is it taking so long?A few things over the years have caused delays. Sometimes it has been problems with the game itself, while other times motivation has been the issue.
How long is the game at the present moment?For the average person, I would estimate between seven and nine hours. A recent play through by me clocked in at about seven hours, and that is with a lot of random battle skipping. Since I made the game and know it in and out and always know exactly where to go, I would expect my play time to be lower than average.
How big will the download size be?Probably between 100 and 200 megabytes, due to the use of mp3s for music. I may make a midi version, but in this day and age I’m not sure if it would be a necessity. I’ll decide at a later date.
What makes this game a tribute more than just a fangame?I make constant references to the fourth, fifth, and sixth Final Fantasy games throughout Blackmoon Prophecy. For example, there is one location called Branford Hollow, which is home to a mysterious girl who wants magicite shards. The girl was sprited to look like Terra in the form of a miniature Final Fantasy 4 sprite. I also bring Ultros in. Many item names reference particular games in the series. As well, Mystic Mysidia is ripped straight out of Final Fantasy 4. There are other little details, but I think it’s best for the player to find them rather than having me blab about every single thing.
How does it play?Blackmoon Prophecy is meant to emulate the older Final Fantasy games in many ways. Walk speed, locations, battle system, items, character roles, and so forth are all emulated to an extent. Basically if you don’t like how Final Fantasy 4 plays, since it is the game I emulate the most, then this may not be a game for you. However, if you enjoyed that particular game in the series, then you may like Blackmoon Prophecy.
CharactersVahn
The main character. Vahn is a dragoon from the Branch kingdom and utilizes unique dragoon/spear attacks in battle.
Oalston
A novice black mage, and the only one in the Branch Kingdom. Oalston uses black magic spells such as Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder.
Elina
A novice white mage from the neutral town of Mystic Mysidia. Elina uses white magic spells such as Cure, Holy, and Regen.
Vera
Vera belongs to the Four Swords of Ivalice, the four strongest generals of Ivalice. She is a caller, thus being able to summon espers.
Nobumasa
Nobumasa is a ninja from a remote island who seeks to train and grow stronger. He utilizes ninjitsu techniques such as katon and suiton.
Ami
An experienced traveler who knows the wilds of Northern Lenadia well. Ami is able to use blue magic, which is essentially the abilities and spells of monsters.
There are two other characters, but one is not in the game (does not even have a sprite yet) and the other is very important and significant, so they are left off of here for now.
Screenshots
Here is the overworld, which is largely WIP. Generally only the areas that look detailed or not blank are completed. There's still a long way to go with this map, even after four years.
Music/VideosHere is the rocking title music that was composed by Brandon Abley (maladroithim) specifically for Blackmoon Prophecy. It is a remix of the Final Fantasy 4 battle theme. It was originally composed to be the game's main battle music, but I decided that it the cymbals and such made it feel too out of place in the retro 16 bit environment, so it became the title screen music instead.
http://file.walagata.com/w/uprc/Title.mp3And a few videos for the curious.
Maintaining an authentic "old school Final Fantasy" feel is paramount to me and is
what I have focused on more than anything else during the times I have worked on this since 2004. I mean, without that old retro feel, what would even be the point of doing this?
Since this game is six years old now, I started it when I was 19. At the time, I was perhaps a little more immature and it showed in the game's dialogue and, in some ways, the mapping. I revisit old areas of the game often to clean up the dialogue and make some areas less ridiculous in terms of difficulty or length.
Also, here's something pretty neat that I found once, fanfiction for Blackmoon Prophecy! It was pretty cool that somebody wrote a little piece about my game.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2577628/3/Game_logAnyway, so that's that! I'll post updates and such here if there's an interest for it.
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Blackmoon Prophecy