Noblesse Oblige: Legacy of the Sorcerer Kings

This game was clearly made with a care not usually found in RPG Maker projects. The environments were lovingly filled with detail and little tidbits of lore for the interested; the standard RPG Maker combat was refurbished with the goal of making a more complex and dynamic turn-based system while keeping it from becoming overwhelming; characters are interesting and all feel valuable to the plot in their own way; party members have unique mechanics that evolve over time and begin to synergize with other's as friendships and relationships blossom between them; and the multi-route story was written in such a way that makes every choice feel like it matters while also offering sensible and eminently defensible options for all kinds of players. If you love classic RPGs, look past the RPG Maker graphics and give this game a chance. You won't regret it.

Edit: While a lot of what I have said below was true at the time, I have found that my enjoyment of the game has diminished a lot. I think the further you get, the slower the pace gets. The combat gets less and less interesting and, to be frank, the story starts to feel ridiculous. Spoiler Alert: I'm not kidding when I say, I actually cringed when a King came from a flying ship to threaten me at my court because of me taking Ligae with me, a commoner who is at best, the daughter of a somewhat important person on that King's court (saying important is rather generous, too). The King walks in, outright ignores all arguments and Ligae's response, and not only threatens you with joining your enemy's side (over the daughter of a commoner, mind you!) should you not do as he says, but the story actually does as he wants and when he asks for you to prove it and entertain his dumb demands, it forces you to do it! One of the lowest points in the story, to be honest. I actually was cringing just picturing the scenario and how out of character so many of the characters had to be forced to act for the scenario to even take place. Honestly, I am going to put a pause on playing the game just because of it. Having said that, here is what the old review said: Well, after 43 hours played (in under a week lol) I can confidently say, I love this game. It actually hurt my soul when I realized I didn't have any more content to go through (so far). I'm not the biggest fan of RPGMaker games but I am a big fan of games with decisions that fundamentally change the story in them, so I gave it a chance and I don't regret it at all. I might buy that DLC later to support the devs a bit, I know the game is in early access but I feel a little bad that I enjoyed this game as much as I did and didn't have to pay anything for it, especially when considering that, given the descriptions, there's only one dev working in the project. Honestly, just give the game a shot. I'm sure you'll love it. That's not to say the game is not without it's flaws, like I said, I'm not the biggest fan of RPGMaker or whatever it's called. Maybe you like it, so that's not an issue for you, but I would be lying if I said at times it didn't bother me. Sometimes combat is far too long and tedious to go through, it's not that it's difficult, it's just LONG and it gets old really fast. The game starts slow, everything before you take Castle Kharos is considerably weaker and less entertaining than what comes after taking Castle Kharos, so do keep that in mind. The first few hours I didn't think the game was anything too special but the deeper I got into the game, the more I loved it. I also had some issues with some moments where I personally felt we should have gotten a decision and we didn't get that. For example, (minor spoiler alert, I suppose) recently, we just sent one of our most recent allies (white haired woman who helped us earlier in the story, I forgot her name) to investigate about Medea and Ariston, we even are presented three options in dialogue as to different things we could send that woman investigate, but no, she's automatically sent to investigate Medea and Ariston, when I think both of the other options seemed far more valuable. As to why that happens, well, it's obviously because the dev wants to take the story there, but it doesn't stop it from being annoying, there are many instances where similar things happen with big story moments, you really don't get a say at all in them, and it really feels like you should get that say. You do get to influence a lot of things, so I won't say like it feels like your choices don't matter, but I do think there should definitely be more of those 'big choices' that the story takes by itself given to the player. I understand it would be impossible to write something that branches into a trillion different paths, but in that Medea and Ariston thing, well, it really feels like we should get at least some type of choice, even if the conclusion at the end is ultimately the same. As for the characters, they are great and what elevates this game, the world building is good if you take some time to go through the different books and just enjoy the story as it reveals more and more of the world to you, but the characters are definitely the best part about this game. Ariadne, Sindarion are the two most interesting ones, imo. I think Somnus could get there as well since he has quite an interesting story depending on where the dev wants to ultimately take it, but as of now I don't know enough of him to put him at the same level of Ariadne and Sindarion. Alexander, the protagonist, is... A mixed bag, but this review is long enough as is so I won't get into the many issues I have with him. There's a lot to enjoy with his character, but he has such a strong personality, it sometimes is a bit annoying, especially when I'm trying to think about 'what I think is best' to choose when I'm playing a character like him. The dialogue is quite enjoyable and definitely fits the medieval fantasy setting. No complaints there for the most part, sometimes it does feel really repetitive in terms of content, especially as far as Ligae is concerned (seriously, I must have gone through virtually the same conversation about ten times with her feeling like she doesn't deserve the trust I give her, or that I overvalue her). The first time, it was great. The second one, not so much, by the tenth time I see a conversation heading that way, I just smash the enter button so I can be done with the interaction, and that's not a good thing. Thinking about it, we really should get a say when it comes to the romance stuff. I understand Ariadne ultimately has to be the Queen and Ligae has to be around or else the whole story needs to change, but I really would have preferred to be able to say 'no, I don't want to have a threesome (lol)' or 'no, I'd rather we just be friends (to Ligae)'. Maybe it's too late to change that, but it did sour my experience quite a bit, usually the least I expect in an RPG that has romance is to be able to say 'no' stuff like that. Even though I wager many might say yes, given the option, something about *not* getting a say is annoying and makes it hard to get immersed. Huh... I realize towards the end I complained about many things, but I really loved this game regardless. I can't wait for the next update. Update: The more I play this game, the more I realize combat IS getting quite annoying. It overstays it's welcome in terms of length and it is not particularly engaging. It's really souring my enjoyment of the overall game.