Labronia RPG

I've had this game since...I don't remember when, but I got it for free long ago. It's been sitting on my hard drive ever since, just waiting for me to play it. I've been trying to clear room on my computer, so now's the best time to get it done. Other than it being an RPGMaker game, I don't know anything about it. Is it good? Is it bland? I hope it's short. Let's find out.

A man talks to a book about the world. It's gone "restless," and powerful monsters roam the planet. Across the globe, things called Labyrinths have appeared. Nobody knows why, so our intrepid homeless looking man decides now is the time to find the answers. He's a battlemage, so he grabs his sword, the Sword of Ibez, and heads out to the world map. Before we do, though, we can read a few books around his hut. One is his diary that tells us he's going to look for answers, and another is about the Four Elemental Gods of Water, Fire, Water/Ice, and Wind.
 
It's a rather somber tune, isn't it? I really like it. It seems to be stock music, which is fine, ya know. I'm not a musician, so I'd probably use default stuff, too. Quality is quality, my mans.

From here, something tells us to search for the "four elemental crystals," and it calls us Arres. I'm sure other people call us Arres, but this is the first. We also get a tutorial on how to learn new spells. Throughout the world, there will be places called "cues." Inspecting a cue will grant us new spells and skills. To the east of us is Meidor Villiage. Despite living far away, people know who we are. We can buy new gear and weapons here, which I find odd, but we'll have to do some training first. It's one or two fights to get enough gold for everything, and I'd suggest you do it.

Combat is a simile, FFX style, turn based affair. It doesn't push any boundaries, but it doesn't need to be. Not everyone needs to reinvent the wheel. While we're getting a few gold pieces, head east from the village to the small camp. Check the green tree on the left to learn wind, which will be helpful against upcoming mobs. There's also a leather vest in the tent, which'll save ya some gold. There's an elven forest further west, but I'll get to that later. Once you're upgraded, head north across the bridge. An old man will give you a warning about what we're about to do. "North of here, a land of water reigns. "He knows who we are, but we don't know him. He tells us to come talk to him after we finish with what we're about to do. As we try to leave the bridge, a voice will remind us to seek the crystals again, and Arres will ask the old man if he said anything. The old man says he didn't... Follow his advice, check in with the tobacco farmer if you want, and head to the temple at the mouth of the river. Get the treasure, but Arres will tell us that he can't walk across helipads, so we'll need to turn back.

Southwest of the temple is a cave system. It's blocked by a guard who looks like Captain Farrell from Forever Home to remind you that stock assets are a thing, alright. We'll ask to pass, and we'll be allowed. But it was a trap! The guard will knock us out. Arres will "force open his eyes to see" that we're trapped in a water cavern maze. You'd think a game called Labronia would have labyrinths, and I can assure you, it does.
 
We're trapped down here, and the only way to escape is to find six red crystals throughout the dungeon. If you're into mazes, this is a good one because I got lost for an hour. Fortunately, there are no random battles, and the mobs aren't terribly difficult. The scary sea serpents are actually the easiest; just attack them. Take out the bug if you find it since it's likely to blind you. Remember that Arres has heal unlocked at the start, so you'll be using it. The game is nice, and you can find a Cross Shield down here, which restores AP (MP) every turn. I suspect I'll be saying this a lot, but go find a map. Sure it's fun to explore around, but I walked around for 45 minutes. Once all six crystals are activated, a path forward (at the top of the screen) will open. On the otherside is a  boss fight. Well, sorta. We're up against seven of the insects that can blind you. Arres suggests trying to survive as the fairy with the bugs might change her allegiance. It takes three turns to do so, but she'll eventually buff you. I guarded for all three rounds, but you can try to take one out if you want. The first time I tried to fight, and it went poorly. Her buffs are incredibly strong and will nearly negate all damage. It still takes you two turns to kill a bug, but you should survive. The fairy will flee, and you'll kill everything else, so inspect the gravestone. This is the cue for Wave, your first target all move. As you'd expect, it does water damage, which has a chance of lowering enemy magic defense. You can also find a single target water move down here from a blue blob. You may want to do to save AP. The "boss" will drop the key, so now you have to find the way out!

Once you do, you'll enter the city. Guards will rush you, but they're easy enough, and there are only three (four) of them. At the end, Captain Farrell will say that you're strong enough to go free. We're in the city of Jenise. It's filled with some rich people, but also a lot of poor people. You'll probably steal the lost 20 gold someone has, by the way. It's filled with books on the history of it and gear shops. But you should look for the shoe/accessory seller on the east side. On a desk is a pair of boots that he'll sell you if you bring him violet leather. It drops from ogres, so it's to the world map we go.

Look for the dark green areas of the surroundings, and you'll one in no time. They're big and scary but are weak to water. Without magic, you'll likely die. All is you need is one (and 250 gold), and you can get yourself some light step boots. Before you leave, though, buy the Great Fish Robe. Take them up to the temple you saw earlier, and we can now enter. This may be more annoying than the maze, but that might only be because Rockcandy makes garbage controllers. You'll need to avoid the waterspouts that randomly pop up around the walkway. Some will blast you into a fight, and others will set you back on the path. The fights are worth the EXP, but that guy at the end is the boss of this place. Make sure your HP is at max, and you're wearing the Fish Robe. The Robe increases your defense against water elements, so it's of vital importance. Before I used it, I got wiped by this guy in four turns. Triden uses only water moves, so I'm sure how you can see the worthiness of this armor. At some point, I gained Will Strike as a move, which does more damage than anything else you have at this point. Spam that and get out of here. Triden will drop his trident as a reward.

It doesn't mean anything to us, so take it back to the city where it's always raining. There's a fortune teller who runs the place. She'll be interested in it, and as a reward, grants you the ability to go wherever you want in the city. Take it to a guard north of the Water Crystal, and he'll let you pass. Travel the small maze, and Arres will pry out the gem. We have our first Elemental Crystal, and I called it a night.

Before shutting it down, I went back to the old man. He said more cryptic stuff and teleported away, but he left us a Flame Cloak as a reward. I also investigated the forest from earlier. An elf lady says that this used to be a popular place before the labyrinths showed up. Nowadays, people don't like getting lost, so they don't come here. This is another maze, one that loops, even, so it checks out. We can find a cue for fire in here. Deeper in are werewolves that hunt you down. I couldn't kill them, but they sure beat me up, so I'll get my revenge later. The fire spell is great, and I suspect it'll get used a lot in the frozen north.

Day one in the books, and I'm digging it. It's pretty quaint, but I can get behind that. It's giving me a first time DM vibe, which I can respect. I've only DMed two D&D sessions, so I get that it's hard to make a deep story, especially early on. So far, so good! Also, I don't think English is the devs first language. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'll set my college degree aside for a moment.

So, it turns out I accidentally skipped the opening cutscene. After a bright red light flashes, we learn about the history of this world. Four Elemental Gods ruled over the planet until the Pendent of Labyronia fell into the "hands of gods." The waring nations stopped fighting to join forces against "the new order." Somehow, the wizards defeated the gods, but that did not bring peace. Monsters began to appear on the planet, and contact was cut off.