Boot Hill Heroes

Boot Hill Heroes is one of those games. It's clunky, weird looking and you can list a lot of flaws when you think back on it, but it's fun and has its charms. There's always a "but" that comes up whenever I think back about it. The story isn't that deep, BUT it's delivered well enough through how it's paced. The combat is an absolute ATB mess, BUT each encounter types has its own flavor text and rewards you for playing well. There's a deep equipment customization that allows weapon to stay relevant beyond its attack stat, BUT grinding for reagents is a joke and comes too late into the game. Honestly, the biggest problem I have with this game is that it's supposed to be a multi part story and in nearly the decade the first game came out there's no signs of a conclusion. On the plus side, the dev still seem to keep an eye for this series.

This game has no business, being as good as it is! I bought Boot Hill Heroes ages ago. It's been lingering in the darkest recesses of my library. I'm surprised, I was able to find it under all the dust & just as surprised, that I didn't contract a sinus infection, from blowing away said dust. For some reason I decided to fire this up & give it a rip. I'm so glad I did! BHH has so much character & charm. The characters are awesome, the story is spectacular, the world isn't huge, but the pacing helps mask that, the combat & skill system is a bit to get used to, but once you do, it's pretty good. The only real blackmark I'd give the game is due to a few achievements.

Earthbound graphics, rest have nothing to do with earthbound. Not sure why they compare themself to Chrono trigger. nothing in common.

why did i buy this?

Utterly fantastic. Boot Hill Heroes tells a story in a classic western vein about a boy following in his father's footsteps and dealing with the past left behind. It is incredibly engaging and every bit you learn leaves you wanting to know more, accompanied by a great soundtrack (composed by Jake Kaufman) that sets the mood in every scene. The combat is also excellent, with an active battle system that leaves battles involved but not overly tedious. My only real complaints that the postgame is a pain to go through, and there are some technical issues too, mainly controller mapping not working and settings not being saved. Overall I would absolutely recommend it, though maybe on another platform if you can get it there.

The story and overall experience of this game is best enjoyed on the Steam Deck. It is a very good game to just play on the PC too as a wonderful tribute to the West, Earthbound, JRPGs and just good videogame storytelling. However, the game just feel "right" on the Steamdeck. Although playing this game on a big screen with friends is also fun once you unlock new party members your friends can actually control them in battle. I know a lot of RPGs have that function even though it is not widely used but more should. The written story in this game is extremely well crafted. I really like the thought put into the writing. It is also fun to play combat wise and the music was well composed.