Heroes of Spyria

You can really tell that this is a product of love. A solid 10/10 JRPG. The map designs, the colorful characters, the simple yet entertaining plot, the cool quests, the great script, the astounding battle system, etc. I could go on and on but you get the point, this is really an awesome game that reminds me of my favorite JRPG, the Aveyond series. Really, thank you for making this game.

I bought Heroes of Spyria on sale last year. A 20+ hour rpg for about the price of a coffee? (my playtime is not a good measure. I am slow at games). That was a steal so I took it. Worth it. I would have been fine paying full price as well. There is nothing groundbreaking about the game; it is a standard RPG Maker game. I was not looking for anything earth shattering anyway. Just a fun adventure with a lot of heart I can sink hours into and enjoy the ride. All in all, that is what I got. HoS followed the whimsy I remember from my childhood. Biggest main story spoiler will be the second to last spoiler tag, and I do my best not to give up the mystery in that section of the game only what I found engaging about the worldbuilding. Rest are context people may rather discover on their own. [b]Story/Characters:[/b] The story is a classic stop a demon incursion plotline. There is more history to it than first presented, which was fun to piece together. Nothing surprised me with the main questline, but I did not need it to. The characters are great and seeing different reactions to scenarios they were placed in. Outside the saving the world, there is a nice throughline of what people will do processing grief and receiving power. If I had a tiny critique, it is on Madilyn. Most of the party have some baggage or connection to the villains. Not everyone has to have a traumatic backstory, and I love a character that does the right thing just because it is the right thing to do. Still, I wish there was more of her interior conflict following orders versus doing what she believes is right. She has a few scenes that showcase her sense of justice (and desire for a family) but I wish there was more. That is a minor nitpick and the character writing for the whole game is amazing. I did not think I would end up loving temporary party members since adding more characters in a short game can stretch the time spent with everyone very thin. The ways all the characters are added and split apart at different points in the game feels seamless. This was my favorite part with the games writing. I ended up being attached to all of them even if the time spent with some was less than the core party. [b]Side Quests:[/b] The little changes that you can cause outside of saving the world adds nice depth. Spyria feels more lived in and you can make an impact outside of being heroes passing through to fight the big bad. It is nothing huge that will change the outcome of the game (though how certain NPCs and kingdoms react to you is a factor), more so it is the small things. The party is not just charging through and can change the fate of some NPCs. [spoiler]For example, if you oust the mayor of Astoria Bay you will find him hanging out at a port in another town.[/spoiler] A couple of the side quests are pretty dark. Not a pro or con, simply an observation. One section, part of an optional side quest, the player is prompted saying it will be uncomfortable for some players and to go with a toned-down version of events. I will say the warnings for those scenes are not far from what you’ll expect from certain context clues beforehand: [spoiler]alcoholism, child abuse, and animal abuse.[/spoiler] Including this in my review because I spent a long time looking up what said triggers were and want to offer it here so people unsure can maybe find it better. [b]Battles/Encounters:[/b] This is the first game in a while where I had to deal with random encounters. I am not a huge fan. That said, the encounter rate was not the worst. I could walk a dozen feet or halfway across the room before hitting another. The size of most maps and dungeons were compact enough that the encounters did not overstay their welcome. There were only a couple locations where I felt annoyed by the end of the section. There’s an option to turn random encounters off (assist mode) and gives the warning to do so means no steam achievements. I trust the balance of a game to match the encounter rate: without running away from battles or grinding for levels, I expect to keep pace with the level curve. The results following this method kept me on equal field. One area did I feel like I was over leveled and the fights felt easier than I think they were meant to be. That could have easily been from experience from an optional boss beforehand though since I have no idea if I fought it at the right time. I appreciate the use of the time progress battle system. It makes speed buffs and debuffs more impactful. Instead of getting first or last in a single turn, it is easier to “lap” slow enemies all together. This helps with squishy hitters in the party. I had a lot of fun figuring out the best strategy for Winter and without the feature I probably would not have. I wished I could gather information on enemies to see what weaknesses they had, in terms of elemental attacks and spells. Some are easy to guess and others I knew or guessed based on common enemy types in other RPGMaker games. It was hard to keep track or notice for ones I did not know so I just cycled through different attacks. I don’t know where to place this, but the white flash for transitioning to the battle screen was almost a dealbreaker. I’m not sure if that is the default for RPG Maker games and my eyes are just more sensitive now or what, so it may not be the fault of the dev. It is random encounters so you cannot prepare or know when you’re going to battle. I tried to look for an option to turn off flashing but there was none. I would recommend for future games to consider a different battle transition if possible. More than random encounters that was what almost made me quit the game early on. I got used to it after a couple hours, but the first session I played was almost headache inducing. [b]Exploration/Puzzles:[/b] The random encounters sometimes caused me to deprioritize searching rooms to make sure I got everything. Exploring dungeons were still fun though exploring towns without that worry was more enjoyable. [spoiler]The flavor text of different characters commenting on their cooking skills and the inopportune time to cook was fun. Collecting apples (or more elusive carrots) was a blast.[/spoiler] I don’t know if not being asked “do you want to steal” is a benefit or hinderance. It is funny a couple times ([spoiler]10/10 will try to steal from the king again[/spoiler]) and others I feel robbed by involuntarily robbing someone I do not want to ([spoiler]like a poor family’s life savings[/spoiler]). The achievements are something that I kind of fell into. If it is something fun, like a side quest or looking at clocks then I will do it. If not, then why should I bother? I looked at all the clocks because they offered an interaction, with sound, not given to almost anything else. It was obvious to me they were meant to be special. The incentive is in the game itself. Big props. Wish practice dummies had a bit more. Practice battles outside of combo practice in aRPGs are a hard sell for me personally, so that’s more of a me thing. Others will like to beat them up more than me, and the comments from various shop owners offer some fun text. [spoiler]The claw marks on the dummy in Birchwood Grove and being told to ignore it was my favorite part of the worldbuilding and context clues in that town. The dummies just standing there in every town is worth it for that alone.[/spoiler] None of the puzzles felt convoluted. I was able to put most of them together with a couple minutes of parsing clues. There was one I had trouble with yet that was more of the obstacle of the room itself than the actual puzzle part of it. [spoiler]I’m talking about bigger light puzzle in the catacombs. I fell down a lot trying to get back to where I left off.[/spoiler] I appreciate the lack of encounters in that room though. I would never remember the path otherwise. Solid first game. Vesper good studio mascot. 8/10