Scarmonde

[h3]Thoughts after 60 hours:[/h3] I love it. An FF1-style RPG that feels really unique thanks to its mysterious/engrossing world and modern approach to mechanical depth. The battle system is still turn-based but incorporates things like aggro and procs, and emphasizes buffs/debuffs, status effects, resistances, and misc modifiers. Equipment stats aren't randomized, and almost every item and piece of gear has its use even through the postgame. Your characters level up and you also spend orbs to purchase their active and passive skills. Despite the complexity, combat is still snappy and includes 2x, 3x, 4x speed modifiers. The majority of the game is dungeon crawling, so don't expect story beats per se. More like a Souls-style atmosphere where you're traveling through the ruins of a miserable world and learning its history piecemeal through NPC interactions. I found the premise very engaging and the postgame does a great job of concluding the "mystery" of what's going on/answering all your questions. The art and music were also wonderful. I would've liked to see more enemy variety, and there were a few instances where I got lost and wasn't sure how to proceed (shout out Steam …

Scarmonde is what happens with you take Final Fantasy 1 and integrate the game design decisions and lessons learned over almost 30 years of RPG design. Party Composition is important to consider, but allows for excellent min/maxing as well as just throwing a team together and seeing what happens. The jobs all feel unique in either their roles or passive boons. Gear and trinkets always have a use case. Status effect magic is useful - nigh critical - for many standard enemy fights and boss battles. If a fight is ending poorly, consider your options. Itemize for elemental or physical defense. Silence enemy mages, blind enemy physical combatants - figure out ways to neuter your enemy's strengths. Transit options open up reliably after major boss battles, serving as solid shortcuts through already-trodden roads. Additionally, very early on, you are granted an item that allows you to return to the surface at-will, and greatly reduces frustrating backtracking. Combined with the ability to save anywhere, and you have a game that can simultaneously support picking up and putting down as well as punching your way through 45-minute boss fight because you're just too stubborn to restart and…

I love the pixel art, the music, the depths (no pun intended) of character dialogue, and even the 100 floor dungeon update. The classes, some are more useful than other's, such as Sage being a wonderful class for group magic damage, and it comes with a natural magic reflect chance I just found out about?? It feels very inspired by early Final Fantasy games, because I usually have no idea where I'm specifically supposed to go, but finding some place new most likely leads to something you need. The game itself moves you forward, but good luck feeling like you're on the right path. My only down sides, are that I can't record the game through Steam with any audio being picked up.

A very enjoyable classic dungeon crawler. Buffs, debuffs, and status effects are all useful. There's a good bit of class customization and not all equipment are strict upgrades. Good tunes too! I wish they were available somewhere!

A great throwback to the Final Fantasy 1 era JRPG. The classes, items, and dungeon design is thoughtful. The variety of classes and customization should provide a lot of replay value. The gameplay is essentially dungeon exploration and random enemy encounters, so you have to like those two things to enjoy the game.

It feels like a sped up NES Final Fantasy with a real commitment to the look and feel of 8 bit RPGs. UI and design is streamlined enough that it feels snappy and never really gets in your way. Battles are strategic but not overly long. The writing and setting is excellent, and delivered very well. You are given just enough to exercise your imagination, and you really have to seek out NPCs and world-building. Talk to characters multiple times!