BLADEMANCER

I'm just playing some games made by people I follow here on itch.

This looked cool so I thought I would give it a spin.

Didn't know I would be playing a WRPG heavily influenced by old SEGA RPGs! This was a very nice surprise indeed.

In particular I noticed a lot of mechanics coming from the underrated Miracle Warriors, such as the NPCs in combat that can be conversed with and how enemy difficulty is dependent on which terrain you are travelling on.

It gives it just enough to stand out from the crowd of RPG games made in RPG Maker.

Progress is very attritional (but I like that). For reference I didn't venture over the first bridge until I had bought all the weapons and armour in Daria, bought the cat, bought all the skills at the temple, stocked right up on consumables AND was level 21. Even then I did not feel overpowered.

Difficulty is on point with good balance. The game is not hard as such but IS punishing; i.e mistakes are punished fairly harshly. Grinding for money and items seems much more important than grinding for the EXP.

Would have dearly loved a healer, would have mitigated the grinding to such an extent instead of having to rely on items all the time.

Of course the standout of the game is the visual appeal of the enemies and all the animations in battle, they are all really great.

Overall very good game. Will likely put a few people off with the slow burn at the start, but those who stick with it will find a rewarding experience.

P.S I took the 'good option' when confronted with the antagonist. Might play through again at some time and go with the other option.