A breezy, simple, inexpensive JRPG in the mould of the classics.

Visually impressive, perhaps the best use of the 2k/3 RTP of all time, with a well chosen soundtrack. The story, characters, and combat, however, leave a bit to be desired. If you're looking for that kind of simplicity in the writing and don't mind a bit of a button masher, then you likely won't care too much- but overall I was left wanting a bit more from the cast and the plot, and feeling somewhat unchallenged and uninterested on combat.

Despite this, if you like games like Lufia, Breath of Fire, or Dragon Quest and you're looking for another game with the same sort of oldschool theatrics and storytelling then you'll probably enjoy Tales from Zilmurik. It's easily as good as many SNES classics and well worth the small sum it costs.

While the game does use the 2k/3 RTP, it brings it to probably the highest level that's actually possible with the limited tiles. Having been a member of the RM community for 20ish years I feel comfortable saying this is pretty much the best use of the RTP I've ever seen, and likely ever will see. There are a small number of instances where the complexity of the visuals get in the way of the readability of the maps/playability of the levels, but they remain few and far between and never seriously impede the game.

The game also features an impressive variety of locales and visual themes, achieved with a fairly limited palette of tiles, another impressive feat. You never get the sense that you've been in the same place twice or that anything is repeated- and that's quite an accomplishment with a base of only 5 different tilesets to build off of.

The story, however, can feel like a speedrun of a classic JRPG at times, with character arcs suddenly showing up only to end what feels like moments later, and the setting & lore sometimes feeling glossed over and obfuscated in brief bouts of exposition that leave you feeling a little vague on the details. At times I felt as if the game had assumed I already knew certain things about the world, the characters, and the history thereof (beyond the offered in-game historical/religious texts, which are a nice addition), like I was watching a movie based on a book I hadn't read.

Likewise, dungeons are short and combat is somewhat rare and brief, leaving you feeling like you're being whisked from one place to the next without much time to settle and dig into things. The game gives you a fair number skills to play around with and tosses weapons at you like candy, but really doesn't ask you to do much beyond hit the attack button over and over. Options aside, the most efficient and effective method to deal with almost every encounter in the game is to maximize the attack stat of each character, equip weapons with the highest damage multipliers, and go to town.

Sitting somewhat alongside the lacking characterization of the cast is the fact that any character can equip any item- leading to every cast member feeling a bit sameish mechanically, especially when there aren't any encounters that really make you consider each party member's elemental loadout or slight statistical leanings. I can recall perhaps one or two times throughout the entire game where I felt it necessary to use a specific elemental defense spell or use a specific character for their elemental alignment.

In the end though, I could say these things about a lot of the oldschool classics, so if that's what you want, that's what you're going to get. A perfectly average JRPG with some fantastic usage of RTP assets that oozes the personal investment, dedication and emotional attachment of the (solo) dev near constantly, and doesn't overstay its welcome in any way, for better or worse.

I'd probably give it about a 5/10- when it comes to JRPGs you could do a lot worse for 3 to 4 times the time investment or 5-10 times the cost.