Neverending Shadows

played for about half and hour and i have to say that i love this game already!) a seemingly classic and cliche plot unveils with many new twists and turns that i, for one, didn't see coming and was positively surprised by - the main storyline is probably the best part about the game, too - it follows multiple plot threads all of which trace back to the major conflict at hand, which i, of course, won't spoil - you'll have to play it for yourself - trust me, you're gonna love it) the humour is the second strongest point, i think - few they may be but the jokes that are in the game land well and are very much memorable (like the one unusual chicken, the "ded" slime or the basket full of apples lmao especially the last one), your signature battle sprites are also back and i think they got better, too! the characters you meet, name and fight along the way are a memorable bunch, too - i like Gualterius the most) what can i say, i just like boys with glasses... >_>

still though, the game has its fair share of problems, the main of which is definitely the balancing - the game is noticeably more difficult than Heart of Gaia, and although it can be solved with grinding, i don't like doing it - the homeless person i kidnapped, strapped to a chair and forced to grind mountain lions for an hour straight doesn't seem to mind it, though - not that he can really complain)))) the early game is like walking through hell on barefoot if you decide not to grind, which i did just for funzies even though my intuition was shrieking that i should go and farm some random encounters for some time, and although once you get to the peaks the game stops showing you the defition of malice and misery through ways of battle, some stuff still would be lovely to see changed - for example, the main character's Fire skill (also, thank you very much for letting us players choose the mc's gender - i always pick the girl when i can!) which deals the same amount of damage as a normal attack and i think also comes out slower than your normal slashy slash slash move..? in any case, boosting it's damage by 25% would be nice, i think) next, Falcon's Hide move should really get a 100% success rate, considering how easy it is to dispel and that it lasts not that long, next, more of a description problem than a balance one, but Edraele's Poetry skill doesn't restore energy, it restores AP - better correct either the effect or the description to what you originally intended her skill to do) finally, i think a lot of the balancing would be easily solved by depleting the enemies' defense parameter a bit - i've played my fair share of rpg games in the short time i've been alive and trust me, the most annoying type of enemy isn't the one that strikes you with the force of a road roller, it's the one that's like an impenetrable fortress - most of enemies like that aren't hard to fight but they sure are annoying to, and i'd rather have a hard fight than one that feels more like a chore - so, yep, if you decide to go back and do some rebalancing giving most enemies -10 to their defense and magic defense would be nice!) aside from that, not much to complain about except the usual - the grammar is good with occasional slips and while the maps aren't anything to talk about, they serve their purpose and that's fine by me - most people aren't that much into decorating maps so i understand why you decided not to bother yourself too much with them)

so, yep, that's it for my review - for now, at least. another reason as to why i'm writing this is that i'm kinda stuck))))) i just beat the second calamity jewel holder and got back to the monk temple and i don't really know where to go from here :< perhaps the pass of courage? my intuition tells me that it's an optional area, so, i don't really know...