The Throne of Bernicia

RPG Maker strikes again! The Throne of Bernicia is one of hundreds of low effort retro-pixel RPG Maker asset/construction kit flips spamming the Steam catalog, made with the RPG Maker video game construction kit... in their own words, "Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child." Like all RPG Maker "games", this is essentially a bunch of low quality/canned assets from RPG Maker coupled with a cringeworthy high school anime club fan fiction. This is a painfully generic RPG Maker asset flip with an equally painful high school anime club dropout fan-fiction fantasy plot from some kid who watched too much anime and thought RPG Maker would allow him to tell his imaginary girlfriend that he's a game developer. As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer. The point can be made that the intention of RPG Maker is to make demos and small games to pass around friends, and shouldn't be used for "professional" game development. Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low quality cop…

Generic tile sets, character and enemy sprites, and meh story. Battle system is far too simple and it's a very linear game, though there are some side quests. Very short game but nothing special. In game time 3:30:18 for beating the game

This was a treat to play and of a higher caliber than might be expected given it is free. Easy grind spots if and when desired, fairly straightforward stuff. Your dialogue choices DO matter (at least in certain places) Money and equipment weren't really an issue, also unfortunately there didn't feel like much point in getting another level or two on your characters as the stat differences don't seem to be all that significant (at the very beginning yes but later on it felt unnecessary). The only strange thing I noticed was during the first character side quest it is possible to get a text that refers to a potentially yet unmet character. This is not terrible on its own BUT as you progress through the story it becomes increasingly apparent that parts of this were tested more than others. These are already pointed out quite plainly by other reviews and comments so I can only assume the dev is not interested in fixing them especially considering how much time has passed between the release and now. It is unfortunate but thankfully doesn't prevent you from accomplishing anything significant. I would suggest it is fine that the ghost enemies don't provide any money or experience as some…

Great game. Would live to hive it a thumbs up. Great writing, the concept is evident and well executed. For a free game it definitely delivers on a simple but good jrpg gameplay to go along with clever writing. Then there is there is the elven woods, and I realize it's just about trolling the players. Because there's no other way to explain that. Encaunters every 4 steps. a massive slog of a map, even when the guide points have been unlocked (but not for one sidequest that you can,t finish later). A big, smug dev saying they trolled you for whatever reason that justifies them wasting players time because free I guess? I went frow wanting the next game like this for $$ to not caring about this one at all.

The Throne of Bernicia is a delightful, charming, classic rpg. Entertaining and simple, I found myself eager to get back in and progress every time I stepped away. I highly suggest this for anyone thinking about making an rpgmaker title of their own, as it is a poster child for the kind of engaging work that can be made using stock or community assets; and of course anyone wanting a low-stakes but rewarding turn-based rpg to play. I was able to get more than ten hours of enjoyment out of it (my long playtime is because I left it running overnight a few times, a bad habit of mine) while pattering around and completing all sidequests. You won't find any revolutionary takes on the genre; but there are a few interesting things to find, solid writing, horse jokes, and memorable characters, fools! The second half does have some rough edges - typos and syntax errors begin cropping up, one sidequest couldn't be completed to satisfaction despite meeting the requirements ([spoiler]the necromancy tomes[/spoiler]), and one or two collision issues, a classic bug for rpgmaker titles. None of it is gamebreaking. It is also not particularly challenging, as by midgame you will be well-equipped t…

A good, straight-foward JRPG in the old-school tradition. While there are a few bugs, they aren't gamestoppers. Mostly typos, and one bug that keeps you from completing a side quest. But you can still easily finish the game. It is a bit disappointing that you can't go back to a "dungeon" after you've beaten the boss. Make sure you've finished the side quests before you do that! Also, wandering around the Greenwood trying to finish a side quest, I ran into so many battles that I ended up way OP by the time I finished that dungeon. I didn't mind, but it might be a negative for some gamers. I hope the dev puts out another game. I'd play it.