Artifact Adventure

*Yes I highly recommend this game.* Not often do I complete rpgs let alone hit max level and complete the optional final dungeon. It is an old rpgmaker game but ran excellent on windows 11. I played with a keyboard. The rpgmaker menu is in Japanese but the rest of the game is in English. I just completed the game so here is my (disorganized) review: Artifact Adventure is in the style of NES rpgs, (specifically dragon warrior/quest 3 and ultima). It does have some great quality of life features, in town/dungeon movement speed is quick and there is even a way to speed of movement in the over world later in the game. There are reusable items to teleport you to every major town in the game. Battles are fought quickly and you can hold down a button to speed through text. There are also ways to increase exp gain/money. What makes this really stand out is all the quests have multiple outcomes and/or consequences. It feels like western crpg in that regard. Some of these outcomes are apparent right away. Some you won’t find out until you reach an ending. The game is non linear and quests can be tackled in any order. The game is short (15 hrs for the standard end boss, 20+ for the secret end game boss) and is replayable. I completed everything you could in a single playthough. This includes completing every quest and finding all the jar goblins. I reached max level. I fought every enemy in the game including the quest where you can release a caged beast and find later as an enemy. I completed both different end bosses which give different endings. I also completed the secret final dungeon with a third challenging endboss and a different ending. Jar goblins are an awesome concept. A little annoying but at the same time comedic in some of the dungeons (come here you ♥♥♥♥!) I actually like this more than the tiny medals of Dragon Quest. The graphics have a retro aesthetic which I love. Instead of only palettes swaps (which there are) they use creatures the same pose but with a different drawing (goblins, skeletons, etc.). All the bosses look good and menacing. All the music ranges from good to great, nothing is annoying. Simple but effective sound effects. For a nes inspired rpg it has a good story with some depth. Some of the quests are very grounded, they don't have a single "the best" solution. The quests with the worst outcome may have the best rewards. It has light hearted moments but nothing that takes you completely out of the world. Some negatives: This game has a really rough start as there is no guidance in the beginning and the developer doesn’t include a game manual (Thankfully there are steam guides for the basics as well as walkthroughs). You collect “artifacts” which act as spells and passive abilities, but you have to switch to the character (Q and W on the keyboard) you want that artifact bound to. So, if you have a Warrior who has zero MP and interact with a spell artifact it will be useless. Also the artifacts are vague about what they do. This initial hurdle almost put me off to the game. You have three choices in the beginning, you can only choose one. You are locked out of the other two the entire playthough. There is a quest in which you can only choose one of two different areas to go to. (drill quest) I do wish there were more art assets for towns/npcs/dungeons. Some of the main characters side facings look bad. Some of the enemy sprites look amateurish. I wish there was more music. Some of the quests you have to answer oddly to get the response you want (fishing village) which is annoying if you don’t want to use a guide. Overall it's worth your time. Huge thanks to everyone on the steam guides/discussions for this game!