Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition

TL,DR: I really enjoyed this game and I think it's a great addition to any Steam library. Ara Fell is a turn based JRPG that clocks in at just over 20 hours to complete the game and all side content. Despite the relatively short length it manages to tell a complete and satisfying narrative that ties up its loose ends, develops its characters, and hits all the right emotional beats. Things that stood out to me: Character progression gives enough freedom to the player to feel strategic without overwhelming them with choices. While many of your choices in a single playthrough are permanent, stats can be reallocated for a small cost, allowing you to fine tune your build to suit the permanent choices. I appreciated the abundance of resources to find. Some games require you to go through their maps with a fine-toothed comb if you want any hope of maximizing your party. This game is not one of them. Item crafting gives you access to a wide variety of items that can be used strategically to supplement holes in your strategy. Given that many character upgrades can permanently lock you out of certain strategies, this is a fantastic way to make sure that you're not …

I skipped over this for the longest time because of it being originally made with RPGMaker... shame on me.

Was a great game overall. I finished on expert in about 53 hours. No missable achievements but you need to look really carefully for some things. I didn't care much for the two "reflex" minigames. One is necessary if you want all the achievements, one is necessary to advance the story. If you get frustrated keep trying! After playing the minigame a set number of times, it takes pity on you and slows down. I would play the sequel if it came out.

I'm hooked. Well done.

Love this game. It's a pleasant journey so far. The characters are likeable and well-written. I played the demo through to the end, and then found out it's on the old rpg maker version of the game. This new enhanced version is much better. Better enough that I played through the prologue again rather than continue my demo save in the old engine.

About as high-effort as an RPGMaker game gets, with lots of little details in every map to bring things to life and lots of custom systems. The maps are large and full of items you need to craft your weapons, so it encourages exploration. The story is fine, IMO the dialogue isn't so great. A little too mannered for me. I'd say the world exploration and dungeon crawling are its real strength. It's a little too easy for me - I set it to Hard after a while and still ended up overpowered. People who say it's "like a SNES RPG" don't play SNES RPGs or haven't done so in decades, but it's good at what it does. Definitely one of the better Western-made Japanese-style RPGs, and thankfully done in earnest.