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Notes: The best sites to get ohrrpgce
demos and games are Operation:
OHR and The Bahamut
RPG Community. Other ones that you might want to try are Black
Sun, this
place, and of course, the Zantetsuken
Message Boards.
Changes: This page is now only for newly
released demos, not games, and usually not updated demos. The main reviewer
is now King Haggard. He will be the main reviewer from now on, but all
of his reviews and given grades are subject to approval by me (Rinku).
King Haggard reviews most of these games and demos.
He views the grades numerically, F = 1, E- = 2, E = 3, etc., whereas I
view the grades in the following manner:
A = Best I've seen in issues
B = Best I've seen all issue.
C = Better than most.
D = Average.
E = No serious effort.
F = No effort.
Demo of the Spring: Babel
Runners up: Moon Pie: Crumbling Dreams,
Dimensions IV, Sombrero Man RPG
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4th
Year
_ __ _ ___ __ ____ __
__ _
Author: The Dex Master
Genre: I don't know
Difficulty: None
Grade: D-
Release date: 1/20/01
Demo Length: 10 min
Size: 1,749 kb
Download: The
Bahamut RPG Community
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_
|
Linkwolf uses some spell on some enemy. |
| Rinku: This game feels poorly put
together. It isn't very long, and I included it for one reason only: There
is a chracter named Linkwolf in it. The idea of a Link-wolf hybrid is interesting.
Besides that, the game isn't worth very much. The game suffers from the
usual flaw: not enough time put into it, leading to unimpressiveness and
and unentertainingness. I don't really know if this game will be finished
or not. Play the game if you want to see a Linkwolf. |
Much of the game takes place on this screen. |
|
Astroboy
in Armaggeddon
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_ _
Author: psyco2000
Genre: RPG
Difficulty: Low
Grade: C-
Release date: 1/21/01
Demo Length: 50 min
Size: 1,786 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
Wasn't this a "Johnny Bravo" episode? |
| King Haggard: At first, I was going
to write this game off as being just another lackluster OHR game to breeze
through, but despite it's many faults, this game is actually a cut above
the rest. Sure, the gameplay is disappointing; the battles are boring and
relatively easy; there are only two dungeon-type areas in the game. Both
are straightforward and dull. The last area didn't even have any random
battles! You just walk around pressing switches (which are ingeniously
"disguised" as treasure chests, mind you) while collecting weapons and
beer. Woo. Conversing with townspeople is hardly worth the effort it takes
to walk up to them and push the Alt key. Adding to the bad gameplay is
the bad story. A surprising amount of dialogue is stolen from cartoon shows
such as "Johnny Bravo" and "Pinky and the Brain". I don't know what it
is that's keeping me from giving this game a failing grade. Maybe it's
the longer-than-average game length. Maybe it's that guy in the second
town who runs around in circles like a madman. It sure wasn't the ripped
music or the less than average graphics. Overall, this game could have
been much better, but on the other hand, it's much better than a lot of
other games out there. Of course, that's not much of a complement.
[[Rinku: You didn't mention -why- this game is a cut above the rest...]]
(Note to Pysco2000: try to come up with some original sounding dialogue!
It's dissapointing that you would stoop so low as to steal from the "WB"...) |
Four-legged spiders and knife-wielding midgets galore.
The WORST final dungeon in history. Period.
|
|
Blood Brothers
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Author: Tom Hyberger
Genre: Fan Game/Vampire RPG
Difficulty: Low
Grade: D-
Release date: 3/27/01
Demo Length: 2 hours 30 min
Size: 5,826 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
An example of the ripped graphics. Use 'The Sword',
Nathan! |
| King Haggard: There's one thing I
didn't like about this game: I had to play it in order to warn everyone
else to stay far away from it. Unfortunately, this game has too many faults
to list in one review, but I'll try my best. The first thing I noticed
was that this game is based on the novel "Blood Brothers" by Brian Lunley.
Perhaps if I read this book I would gain some insight as to why this game
was so damn terrible... perhaps.
I can't blame this game's creator for the story, but I can blame him
for not being able to think up his own story. What's worse is that the
story Mr. Hyberger stole from Mr. Lunley isn't even presented in a sensible
order. The story was simple to follow at first; the main character, Nathan,
learned that his town would soon be attacked by Vampires, and so it was
his duty to gather up his family and take them to a safe place. but after
finding Nathan's sister in a nearby graveyard, the game's direction became,
well, non-existent. I found myself wandering throughout empty towns bereft
of any sort of wall-mapping. This is not a good thing.
The other aspects of this game are just as disappointing. I was forced
to listen to the same god-forsaken Creed song throughout the entire game,
as it is used for everything from the title screen to the dungeon music.
The only break I had from this horror was the battles. Speaking of the
battles, they were absurdly unbalanced. Towards the beginning of the game
they were ridiculously difficult, and towards the end of the game (read:
the point were everything collapsed on itself) they were ridiculously easy,
but throughout the entire game, they were always ridiculously boring. Ridiculous.
The graphics were 75% ripped, and the 25% that was original were almost
all pure garbage. The "dungeons" were just a bunch of zigs and zags filled
with mundane enemies.
In conclusion, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and had absolutely
no fun while doing it. Don't play this game.
(Note to Tom Hyberger: Hours of leveling up does not equal Hours of
gameplay!) |
I don't know either.
Can anbody tell me what a town icon is doing inside
of a dungeon?
In my wanderings through the forest, I found a magical
hole that transported me back to town and made the Creed song disappear.
Thank you hole, thank you!
|
|
Bugamon
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Author: Bradford & Company Productions
Genre: Failed Pokemon rip-off
Difficulty: non-existent
Grade: F+
Release date: 11/16/00
Demo Length: 25 min
Size: 1,196 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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|
An example of the engrossing story-line. pshhh. |
| King Haggard: You may be asking yourself,
"What's the '+' for?"... well, I'll tell you: the debug keys were disabled.
yep. that's it. Here's something that's been bugging me: do these guys
even play their games before releasing them? I mean, come on! Can the creator
of this game look me in the eye and say that he enjoys playing this? I
highly doubt it. The graphics were amazingly poor, The music was unoriginal,
and it seems that the story must have died in an alley somewhere before
actually making it into the game. Don't insult us with these types of games.
[[Rinku: Also on the good side, this game had no real grammatic or spelling
errors.]]
(Note to Author: please wait until you are older before attempting to
release a demo.) |
The dreaded 'Nazi-Box'!!! |
|
Dimensions IV
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Author: Cube
Genre: Time-travel RPG
Difficulty: medium
Grade: B-
Release date: 10/24/00
Demo Length: 1 hour
Size: 2,214 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
The overworld map is simply amazing. Just look at
the size of it! |
| King Haggard: Wow. I've never played
an OHR game this good. Of course, I haven't played many OHR games (to the
end, anyway) in the first place. This game stands out in many areas, proving
itself to be an invigorating breeze against the hot and sweaty face of
OHR mediocrity. Um... yeah.
The graphics are (while arguably simple) suprisingly adequate, as water
sparkles and chimneys yawn into the morning air. The gameplay is rather
innovative, as each sword you can equip allows for a different spell to
be used in battle, forcing the player to keep a few extra weapons in his
inventory instead of tossing out each old blade for a new peice of equipment.
in addition to this feature, you have the option of equiping spells in
order to raise your stats (attaching the 'cure' spell raises HP, for example).
The one dungeon in this demo was a fine example of how a simple puzzle
here and there can keep the player interested. The battles are thankfully
challenging, but get a bit repetitive toward the end of the demo. I found
myself using the same attack over and over just to get the battles over
with. In fact, I feel the entire quality of the game seemed to drop after
the main character, Gran, made his first trip into the past. Adding to
that feeling is the fact that the demo just trails off without any clear
sign that it's the end. I wandered around the world map for a good five
minutes looking for a way to continue on with the story, but finally I
decided to give up. I wasn't about to waste my time (this may sound a bit
unfair, but if I couldn't find anything after this point, most players
probably won't).
Another disappointing part of this game is the music. The music, although
quite good, is ripped from various Squaresoft games. But that's not all
that's ripped from the commercial RPG giant; the story is almost directly
stolen from Chrono Trigger. This saddens me, as I really wish somebody
would attempt to make a time-traveling RPG that doesn't copy off of CT.
It can be done, people!
In conclusion, this is a very worth-while demo. It's no Chrono Trigger,
but this is OHR remember? 4th generation OHR at that...
(Note to Cube: Don't let the game's quality degenerate after a short
while of gameplay. This could be a winner! ...somebody shoot me for saying
that...) |
I half-expected the guy from Excite Bike to come out
on his little motorcycle and jump these ramps!
I nicely done town.
In accordance with 'The Ten RPG Commandments', fire
works well against the undead.
|
|
Endless Saga
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Author: ZzFenix
Genre: RPG
Difficulty: Low
Grade: D+
Release date: 2/25/01
Demo Length: 25 min
Size: 2,662 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
That sound you hear is the sound of me yawning into
an abyss of no gameplay! |
| King Haggard: I was very prepared
to begin ranting about how terrible this game is, but one thing stopped
me: it's actually not total garbage. The story is nowhere to be found,
the enemies are lame, the music appears to be ripped (though there are
some selections that I have never heard before, which is a plus), and the
battles are of the "hold down the action button" variety.
But I believe that this game has potential. With a lot of work, this
could be a very enjoyable game. One of the reasons why I'm saying this
is that this game (unlike almost every other OHR game) has some semblance
of character development. My friends, I'm talking about flashbacks! Can
you believe it? An OHR game with flashbacks! This really saved Endless
Saga's grade, in my eyes, at least. Another plus are the above-average
graphics. This demo was too short. 25 minutes isn't exactly what I expected
from this title.
(Note to Phoenix RealmZ: focus your energy on giving the player more
options, especially during battle! This goes for every developer out there
as well!) |
Flashback! |
|
Legend of the Lost
Ark
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Author: The Excalibur Soft
Genre: Rip-off
Difficulty: none
Grade: E
Release date: 1/24/01
Demo Length: 20 min
Size: 640 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
"Man, that was kind of adventuring!"? |
| King Haggard: Have you ever wondered
what you would get if you put Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IX in a
blender? Neither have I, but unfortunatley for us someone has. Ripping
things straight from these two games (not to mention from Wandering Hamster),
Excalibur Soft comes out with a ridiculous attempt at an RPG. The music
is stolen from CT, and several names were stolen from FFIX (there is an
ability named "Head Break" and a character named "Waltz" who just happens
to be a black mage).
Don't fool yourself, man. This game is not original and it is not fun.
Sure, CT and FFIX were good games, but the fact that you like them doesn't
justify copying off of them.
(Note to Excalibur: As I said before, try to be a little orginal. Also,
don't give your game a title that has nothing to do with the game itself.) |
Can you count the rips? |
|
Moon Pie: Crumbling
Dreams
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_ _
Author: Taylor Bair
Genre: RPG
Difficulty: Not Really
Grade: B-
Release date: 3/28/01
Demo Length: 2 hours 25 min
Size: 12,731 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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|
Pretty much the nicest title screen I've seen for
an OHR game. |
| KingHaggard: Despite that fact that
this game has little to do with either moon pies or crumbling dreams, I
sort of liked it. The story made little sense, but I get the feeling that
the creator put some effort into telling it. The characters actually had
a certain amount of "character". Of course, they annoyed the hell out of
me, but at least they had the character trait of being annoying. However,
they often did things that made no sense. For example, after being betrayed
by one of his teammates, the main character sets a woman who was sentenced
to life in prison free, and then lets her join the team! "Hey, you seem
like a nice criminal!" It's never even mentioned why she was sentenced
to life in prison! Did she murder babies? Who knows!
There were a few 'mini-game-esque' sections of gameplay, such as (what
appeared to be) going on a date (with the criminal), or fighting in a duel.
The battles were not terrible, but not anything new to OHR games. The graphics
were thankfully a few steps above average. I found myself surprised at
the amount of detail put into the map tiles, and the graphical quality
of some of the enemies (such as the dragon). The music is ripped from (for
the most part) Suikoden and Suikoden II, as well as some SNES RPGs.
One plus was the addition of a tutorial at the beginning of the game.
Low points include a cameo by Chrono during a scene ripped straight out
of Chrono Trigger, as well as some tatseless humor.
Overall, this was a nice attempt at an OHRRPG.
(Note toTaylor Bair: No major flaws (except for your gay bashing "humor")...
read Rinku's design article to improve your skills.) |
Someone will pay.
The fight against cancer.
|
|
Sombrero Man RPG
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Author: Big Foot aka Casey Taylor
Genre: Plotscripting wonder
Difficulty: medium-high
Grade: B
Release date: 10/07/00
Demo Length: 1 hour 30 min
Size: 1,716 kb
Download: Deep
Dark Woods
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|
A shot from the intro. |
| King Haggard: This game is nigh-brilliant
(plotscripting-wise). Never before have i witnessed such skill with plotscripting
in an OHR game. On top of that, there are several more interesting gameplay
points, such as the battle menus (see battle screenshot).
The music, though apparently ripped, was nicley implemented throughout
the game. His selections for town, battle and dungeon musics were sensible.
The graphics were above average, if a bit uninspired.
There isn't much more to say about this game, as it was very short (by
short, i mean there wasn't very much to do besides gain levels). The story
was not quite there... it's never explained why the princess is captured
at the beginning of the game, but that's forgivable for a demo.
[[Rinku: I believe some graphics to be ripped from Wandering Hamster.
But this is made up for by the rest of the game (including some things
which I'm not even sure how he did!)]]
(Note to Big Foot: keep up the good work! Plotscripting is all too often
overlooked by game makers in the OHR community. Just make sure this game
has a story when it comes out, okay?) |
Check out the battle menu. If you can't see, those
are icons. |
|
Sky Born
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_ _
Author: ?
Genre: Blah
Difficulty: Blah
Grade: Blah-er, um...D
Release date: 02/26/01
Demo Length:1 hour
Size: 2,655 kb
Download: ?
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_
|
"Well, you've got SOME sense. Ever consider
making an OHR game, little boy?" |
| King Haggard: I start to wonder sometimes...
don't the guys who make these below average games for the OHR have single
good idea in their heads? I mean, there's so much room for improvement
it's scary! The gameplay attempts innovation, but never comes close. This
game is hard toward the beginning, but the hero levels up way too fast,
and I found myself just running from battles. At the end of the demo, the
battles consist of invisible enemies that die as soon as you look at them.
What's worse, every few steps this happened. This was more annoying than
the "real" battles.
The graphics are okay in some areas, but when it comes to walkabouts
and battle graphics, this game begins to smell funny. The music (I don't
know who wrote this banal garbage, but i'm going to murder you) is bad,
to say the least. The story attempts to be original, but never really comes
off as being too interesting. The dialogue stinks (somewhere along the
lines of, "I want to come with you", "NO! It's too dangerous!", "I'm going",
"...okay")
[[Rinku: We can't find the author or download site of this game. If
any knows of it, email me and I shall correct it.]]
(Note to ?: Lose the composer for this game, and if you yourself are
the composer, give up on music.) |
Battle graphics. |
|
Babel
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_ _
Author: Grandtrain
Genre: Final Fantasy Legend
Difficulty: Too Hard
Grade: B+
Release date: 5/18/01
Demo Length: 1 hour 30 min
Size: 1,995 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
This game is a bit dark... |
| King Haggard: I really would've liked
to give this game a bad grade because of certain frustrations it's caused
me, but that would be unfair. Instead, I'll just voice my dislike for certain
bad points in the game. First, though, I should probably talk about how
good of a game this is (for an OHR game).
The title screen was nice. The character select feature was a good idea,
but I have to admit that I didn't really like any of the characters. For
the most part, they were bland freaks represented by poor battle graphics.
The graphics outside of battle, however, were pretty good overall. The
music (I'm pretty sure it was ripped) is okay, is not pretty fitting at
points.
Gameplay is where this title really shines (with the exception of the
early battles, which were terrible, forcing me to hold down the space bar
for the most part). Enemy NPCs roam the map waiting for someone to fight.
One leader forces you to beat him first through battle, and then by luring
him onto tiles that will electricute him if a switch is pressed. Your party
is split mid-way through the game, and each has their own mini-quest (read:
5 minutes of fame).
Now, on to the faults. While there WAS a section of the game where you
had to input a password, I almost gave up as I could find no clue as to
what the password was. I had to push every key until one worked. It could
be that I'm just a fool, but I feel that the clue should have been a bit
clearer, or perhaps there should have been someone to give out hints. I'm
all for a challenge, but reviewing how many keys are on my keyboard isn't
what I would consider challenging. To add to this boringness is the fact
that some of the enemies were very hard to beat. Note that I did not say
they were "challenging", I said that they were difficult to beat. There
is a huge difference.
The story was pretty good. Certain points had a semblance of cinema,
such as the very end. For the most part, this was a good game, though faulted
and in need of some work.
[[Rinku: I, valuing difficulty, don't agree that this game is 'too hard',
and would have preferred that he didn't use the debug experience cheat
to get through it, but he's the reviewer...]]
(Note to Grandtrain: Work on making the battles more interesting!) |
A flying mini-game.
Fighting a boss.
Selecting your team.
|
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Shifting Maze
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_ _
Author: Ungoat
Genre: Mini-Game
Difficulty: Variable
Grade: C+
Release date: 5/09/01
Demo Length: Variable
Size: 607 kb
Download: Operation:
OHR
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_
|
Who is that weird guy? |
| Rinku: Another game that, like Sheep
Rancher, would have been better as a mini-game inside of another game.
For what it is, it's great. You, a blue square, place down and remove playstation
controller symbols (triangles, circles, squares, and Xs) on the ground,
each of which has a different effect on the evil red squares. The goal
is to herd them into the spot where you began the level. Also like Sheep
Rancher, the levels are challenging, yet few in number.
This game would only work as a full stand-alone game if it had hundreds
of increasing challenging levels. Another good idea would be to take a
hint from Moogle1 and have a timed mode (perhaps the game could save the
best times in global variables, and give a score at the end of the game?).
I gave it a C+ because it's a bit above average in design, yet is nothing
to get extremely absorbed in or adicted to (compared with other puzzles
games, say, Lemmings). |
Abstracts! Take him away! Wait, that's another ohr
game... |
|