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alias_sqbrSo after several friends being VERY ENTHUSIASTIC at me about this rpg I gave it a go, despite not really enjoying the demo, and after a difficult beginning am quite enjoying it. It's superficially an old school rpg, about a human child who falls into the Underground World of Monsters and is trying to get home despite the many unfriendly monsters trying to kill her along the way. There's random encounters, save points, shops to buy armour or restoratives with money from battles etc. But (a) It's charmingly funny, cute, and well written and (b) you can choose to be a pacifist and not hurt anyone you "fight", in which case they become your friend.
Pacifistically "defeating" a foe requires you to figure out what will make them like you: patting a dog, laughing at a would-be comedian's jokes etc. While you're convincing them they still try and kill you, and surviving requires dodging attacks in real time (everything else is turn based). I am VERY BAD AT THIS. They always use the same attacks, so you can learn the pattern, but I just react too slowly. On the plus side you can grind for gold and buy lots of health restoratives, and can run away from all but the boss fights. So I run away from everything I encounter on the way to the next boss fight, beat the boss, save, then grind for a while, save again (getting back to full health each time), and go towards the next boss. According to a friend this approach should get me through the game, hooray. EDIT: It did not.
This review goes into more detail. It reminds me a bit of the walkaround parts of Homestuck, which is also inspired by Earthbound (a classic rpg I have never played)
*****Moderate spoilers*****
Apparently even if you reset the game it remembers what you've done, and characters react differently if you've previously been murderous/friendly. Thus pacifism for everyone from the get go and watching the murder route on youtube is the least disturbing approach.
Also apparently some surreal/surprising things happen that some people who are sensitive to that kind of thing found distressing.
Pacifistically "defeating" a foe requires you to figure out what will make them like you: patting a dog, laughing at a would-be comedian's jokes etc. While you're convincing them they still try and kill you, and surviving requires dodging attacks in real time (everything else is turn based). I am VERY BAD AT THIS. They always use the same attacks, so you can learn the pattern, but I just react too slowly. On the plus side you can grind for gold and buy lots of health restoratives, and can run away from all but the boss fights. So I run away from everything I encounter on the way to the next boss fight, beat the boss, save, then grind for a while, save again (getting back to full health each time), and go towards the next boss. According to a friend this approach should get me through the game, hooray. EDIT: It did not.
This review goes into more detail. It reminds me a bit of the walkaround parts of Homestuck, which is also inspired by Earthbound (a classic rpg I have never played)
*****Moderate spoilers*****
Apparently even if you reset the game it remembers what you've done, and characters react differently if you've previously been murderous/friendly. Thus pacifism for everyone from the get go and watching the murder route on youtube is the least disturbing approach.
Also apparently some surreal/surprising things happen that some people who are sensitive to that kind of thing found distressing.
