Having not even realized what's going on it would appear I've accidentally had myself a German Month. I also decide on a new backlog-first and cover a free RPG Maker game and brand new TV show both sharing that very same country of origin. Can you feel the cultural difference compared to the usual stuff? You tell me. I'm not sure whether I'll make it a habit to cover non-commercial stuff seeing as that would REALLY balloon my already bulging backlog, but this was short and sweet enough to include.
End of the Year approaches fast...
Erayu
( PC (RPG Maker) – Adventure – 2016 ) + TEASER
It was inevitable that I would branch out past commercial releases at some point and here we are with my first take on a fan game. Unlike most RPG Maker titles Erayu is not, in fact, an RPG, but rather a Point & Click adventure foregoing myriad of RPG mechanics editor was made for. Is it worth the effort, though?
Considering the genre it falls under and said genre's traditional strengths are it should be pointed out we have a native German game here, meaning I've played a fan translation of somewhat dubious quality. Understandable when you know all parties involved did it for free. There were more than few instances where lines were off, like trying to use nonsensical item combination in a puzzle resulting in “I should sleep” response, but I think occasional obtuseness derived from language barrier and arbitrary game progression was worse.
What of Erayu's story, you may ask?
Interestingly enough it involves two worlds – one where Josh, your average teenager with daddy issues, finds the eponymous game during his school vacation and has nothing to do but indulge to see where it goes as form of escapism, and blank slate protagonist in said game you get to name while dealing with amnesia in a world gradually being taken over by the ever growing Darkness from which there is no escape as few diminished places of civilization remain. I'm not sure how to exactly describe the pacing of this story because game toys with you as fantasy and real life stories switch priorities. Throw in some twists for proper experience you'd expect out of JRPGs Erayu borrows heavily from sans the customary damage numbers.
Yet while a JRPG would customarily have a crazy cast of character that's not really the case here. Maybe because game lasts only 3 to 4 hours, but amnesiac protagonist certainly doesn't help because proper revelations are reserved for the last fifteen minutes or so. You are quickly separated from support cast apparent leaving you largely to your own devices tackling an endeavor way above your pay grade. Even playing as Josh in the real world there's barely anyone to interact with other than your brother and father. Game also has that awkward storytelling structure where everything feels rather disjointed until the last quarter before clicking together into touching and poignant whole. Keep in mind our protagonist is a teenager going through his rebellious phase as it affects the tone, though.
Remember how I talked about genres in the opening? Yeah, that's where Erayu's mechanical problems start rearing their ugly heads. RPG Maker operates on tile-based triggers for events and re-purposing it for mouse-driven P&C adventure breeds its own set of problems. Chief of which are pixel inaccuracy when display is blown up to fullscreen because there are no resolution options and general reliance on highlighting interactive “hotspots”. Even with extensive effort that went into visual side of things, one that did not go unnoticed, you're still working with repeatable tilesets and all hollow stumps look alike. I assume this was the reason why puzzles were kept relatively straightforward and simple while retaining basic inventory functionality, such as combining items. Functional journal system felt like an overkill, albeit a welcome one, in a game this short that doesn't expect from you to keep track of multiple objectives or anything.
If there's a single department where I don't have anything but praise it would be the presentation. Saying visuals or audio trump this one would be selling the other short because outstanding effort went into both, multiple times over compared to most RPG Maker titles content to rely on stock assets provided with software itself. Soundtrack in particular stole the show for me, though. So much so not even arguably short loops and generally depressing tone of the compositions got in the way of my enjoyment.
Final Thoughts and Rating?
Impressive production powered by RPG Maker is the single-most hallmark feature of Erayu when put side-by-side with its other free contemporaries. At its core a Point & Click adventure game dealing with two worlds, one our own and other a fantasy video game devoured by the Darkness with an unlikely route to stopping it, I'd have to say we have a case of mechanical negatives getting balanced out by more positives. Engine of choice leads to certain difficulties with cursor targeting and pretty lightweight puzzles, but the entire affair is wrapped in fantasy JRPG logic and occasional edgy teenager exposition. Somwhat wonky translation from German rears monstrous head, but as long as you can tolerate some vagueness from time to time you'll be fine. Comes with the walkthrough for good measure.
Barbarians ( War Drama – 2020 – 6 episodes ) + TRAILER
I had no idea Netflix was even producing Barbarians until the entire thing was released and I read about it receiving high praise for its costume designs. Following up one more opinions I decided to give it a whirl for myself.
Making the entire affair lead up to Teutoburg kinda makes the rest of the show meandering dealings with tribe drama and Roman politics when Arminius is the one that matters, though. Not helped by the sequel hook because one of your three main characters was just kinda there for the duration and get sidelined by war-makes-love-a-convenience pair. I guess I shouldn't be surprised the Romans, as seen by already mentioned Arminius, were more interesting than WE'RE DEAD PEOPLE barbarians because we get the resident strong female character of Thusnelda to represent the latter. It wasn't as cringy as I expected it to be seeing as her character exposes herself to not being above scheming and pulling a ruse or two to get the entire thing going alongside Arminius' military expertise, but she has plot armor and worst harm that happens comes by her own hand. I'll even buy "female warriors" on the battlefield if Germanic tribes had to bring everyone who could feasibly fight to better their odds against three legions. All the character whining aside I have to admit the very last episode definitely kicked the presentation up a notch from what were previously rather bland and muddy visuals. Some pretty neat warpaint makes for striking high points among the Germanics... and Rome gonna Rome in style to match.
Main problem is you could've probably achieved the same result with half as many episodes and less "I'll sell my daughter to you for five horses" that only ends up in setting up obviously treacherous characters as treacherous. I'm not sure where the sequel is headed other than yet another foregone conclusion.
