By Jamie Lambert
RPG Maker is not only a program for creating games, but an engine that anyone can use and that many games are based around. Not necessarily RPGs either. There are hundreds upon hundreds of games developed from this engine, including adventure and survival horror experiences. A fairly large community has evolved around this style of play. Since the community hosts so many different games, I have narrowed down the top five recommendations.
RPG Maker is not only a program for creating games, but an engine that anyone can use and that many games are based around. Not necessarily RPGs either. There are hundreds upon hundreds of games developed from this engine, including adventure and survival horror experiences. A fairly large community has evolved around this style of play. Since the community hosts so many different games, I have narrowed down the top five recommendations.
Wadanohara & the Great Blue
The first thing to get out of the way with Wadanohara is this: It’s damn adorable. The sprite art is adorable, the enemies are adorable, the characters are adorable and the script is adorable.
So this is a linear, story-driven RPG. You play as a witch called Wadanohara, who is travelling with her three familiars back to the Kingdom of the Sea. Once getting there, we find that there are magical barriers scattered around on various islands that must be fixed. As a witch, Wadanohara is tasked to fix them. This is only the beginning of the story, as events become much more dark, twisted and mature as the game goes on. Unfortunately, this means I have to heavily suggest you don’t play this game if you’re below sixteen-years-old. If you aren’t then I suggest you set aside time to play through this game, because it is magnificent. And cute.
Link to download http://vgperson.com/games/wadanohara.htm
So this is a linear, story-driven RPG. You play as a witch called Wadanohara, who is travelling with her three familiars back to the Kingdom of the Sea. Once getting there, we find that there are magical barriers scattered around on various islands that must be fixed. As a witch, Wadanohara is tasked to fix them. This is only the beginning of the story, as events become much more dark, twisted and mature as the game goes on. Unfortunately, this means I have to heavily suggest you don’t play this game if you’re below sixteen-years-old. If you aren’t then I suggest you set aside time to play through this game, because it is magnificent. And cute.
Link to download http://vgperson.com/games/wadanohara.htm
Yume Nikki ("Dream Diary")
Here we have a real psychological horror game. You play as a girl called Madotsuki, exploring what is assumed to be the world of her dreams.
No dialogue introduces an aim or even any characters, but instead the player is presented with a room full of doors, each leading to a different world. The gameplay is based around exploration, and finding “effects” that can change how Madotsuki looks or moves. Some of the worlds are just plain strange, some horrifying and some confusing. Hurs can be spent wandering around not finding anything, but you may find many effects in a short amount of time. Some effects are even required to find others. There are very few characters in the game, and they are not characters that I can introduce. They must be found on your own terms when playing. Yume Nikki also takes the prize for the most unsettling and ominous soundtrack of any game.
Link to download http://www.theneitherworld.com/yumenikki/links.htm
No dialogue introduces an aim or even any characters, but instead the player is presented with a room full of doors, each leading to a different world. The gameplay is based around exploration, and finding “effects” that can change how Madotsuki looks or moves. Some of the worlds are just plain strange, some horrifying and some confusing. Hurs can be spent wandering around not finding anything, but you may find many effects in a short amount of time. Some effects are even required to find others. There are very few characters in the game, and they are not characters that I can introduce. They must be found on your own terms when playing. Yume Nikki also takes the prize for the most unsettling and ominous soundtrack of any game.
Link to download http://www.theneitherworld.com/yumenikki/links.htm
Mad Father
We’re having a lot of horror games on this list; Mad Father is a story-driven horror adventure. You play as Aya, a girl who’s mother just passed away and has a *ahem* 'Mad Father.' The game has you facing horrifying creatures. One would assume that these creatures are something to do with the titular father, and one would be correct. The father’s human subjects for his experiments have returned to life due to a curse, and they’re out for blood. You’ll be solving puzzles to get behind Aya’s father’s motives, but not without a few scares along the way. For best effects, play in a dark room, alone and with headphones. Once again, I should advise not to play unless you’re aged sixteen or up.
Link to download http://www.vgperson.com/games/madfather.htm
Link to download http://www.vgperson.com/games/madfather.htm
To The Moon
This is a story-driven adventure, where you play as a pair of employees of Sigmund Corp. You’re in possession of a machine that allows you to change a person’s memories, and are called out to an old man on his deathbed. He tells you that his dream was to visit the moon, so you must explore his memories and slowly travel further back through them to change his memories, letting him remember going to the moon. The game is terribly emotional, and will have anyone with a heart bawling their eyes out by the end. This is enforced by the absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. Really worth playing, however it is the only game on this list that isn’t free.
Link to download http://store.steampowered.com/app/206440/
Link to download http://store.steampowered.com/app/206440/
Will You Ever Return?
The last game on the list is one that doesn’t take itself seriously at all. It takes the twisted themes of other RPG Maker games and turns them into plain silliness. The game begins with your unnamed character being shot in the gut by a mugger. Finding yourself in hell itself, you have to find a way to escape back to the mortal realm. Doing favours for hellish beings has never been more fun!
The inconsistency of the graphics, the bizarre and silly script and the basically non-existent story make this actually worth playing. It’s so bad, it’s amazing. And there’s two parts!
Link to download http://www.indiedb.com/games/will-you-ever-return/downloads/will-you-ever-return
The inconsistency of the graphics, the bizarre and silly script and the basically non-existent story make this actually worth playing. It’s so bad, it’s amazing. And there’s two parts!
Link to download http://www.indiedb.com/games/will-you-ever-return/downloads/will-you-ever-return
Or make your own!
RPG Maker was first released in the early nineties although it gained wider success about a decade later when the advancement in gaming began to tread heavily into the mainstream. Anyone with basic PC knowledge, as well as bags of patience, can put together a full RPG (or similar game) using the software often freely available online.
Do you have what it takes to make a game in the same standard of these five? Let us know in the comments below!
Do you have what it takes to make a game in the same standard of these five? Let us know in the comments below!
RSS Feed
