Recent reviews by funewchie

A very relaxing simulator game.
You drive a semi-truck around, delivering cargo. You also can manage a garage, buy and upgrade trucks and trailers, hire drivers, and manage a cargo-delivery empire.

(And if you're like me, trying to find way to speed without getting caught by the speed cameras and the 5-0. (And yeah, you can just turn that system off...but where'd be the fun in that?))

But the main draw of the game is the beautiful scenery and the fun of just driving around.
It gives a very lovely view of California, Nevada, and Arizona.
(With New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Washington (with possibly more coming) available as DLC)
Very nice for those of us that haven't really got to see the west coast.

Overall, I view this game as being kinda zen. It's strangely relaxing if you've had a rough day, and just want to unwind.

Mighty No. 9 has had a rather harsh history and drama in its development, that is true.
Myself, I neither funded this game, nor was I ever any part of the community.

Instead, I am nothing more than a long-time fan of Mr. Inafune's former pet project: Mega Man.
I anticipated playing this game to sate my thirst for the gameplay of the blue bomber, with this spiritual successor.

However, I am sorely disappointed.

From the start, it was a nightmare to both get the game to function, and to (while set to "Low" graphics setting) render at a frame rate higher than 20fps... while playing on a PC with an Intel i7.

However, more importantly, the gameplay is brutal, unfair, and unbalanced.
After playing through 4 of the game's stages, despite my years of experience with sidescrolling platformers, including Mega Man 1-8 (and X1-X8)...I nearly threw my controller in disgust.

Quite simply, I am NOT enjoying this game. I should have at least some satisfaction during play. Not even the story is captivating me, as I can't view it due to the game's poor stage designs.

Bottom line: How bad is this game in my opinion, you ask?
I own the infamous Sonic 2006 on Xbox 360.
I speak in all honesty: ...I would rather play Sonic 2006 than play this game.

If you don't mind a game that's badly designed and wants to punish you for playing (something like Battletoads), and if you can get it on sale, then you get some enjoyment out of it.

Otherwise...there are way better choices available.

As has been stated, this game is an excellent example of what skilled designers can do with RPG Maker. This game is of excellent quality, potentially rivaling a number of big-name-studio RPGs.

You control a character who is visiting the island nation of Nusakana for one year.
Aside from that, the story depends on what you choose to do. There are quests that can be carried out, people to befriend (and perhaps even a girl to fall for), monsters to fight, items to cook or forge, and huge mysteries to solve.

The various systems are streamlined for ease of use:

• Such as the cooking/forging system, there is no need to be anxious, as the game is beyond generous with giving you items. Very little item-farming is needed, if at all.
  
  
• The battle system is designed to be quick and simple (very rarely will a battle last more than a few turns, one way or another), and the leveling up curve is surprisingly gentle.
  Much of the hero's stats will be based on his equipment, so there's very little level-grinding at that (which is a very good plus for an RPG).
  
  
• The story is nicely paced, and has to be discovered by you.
  One can potentially go through an entire playthrough and learn nothing about the story or the cast.
  But for those willing to work at it and uncover the secrets of Nusakana, they'll find an interesting story, one that can be somewhat shaped by the player.
  
  Yes, your choices will have an effect on the game's story as you go. Your choices in dialouge and choices in quests will have consequences, good or bad.
  Sometimes, even the most minor dialouge choice can change how the story goes.
  Even losing (or winning) certain battles can affect the story.
  
  
• It's rare to find a Game Over moment in Nusakana, but they are there (especially if the "Extreme" difficulty setting is chosen).
  Of note, the "Extreme" difficulty plays like Hardcore mode in Minecraft (i.e. if your character hits HP 0, the game is permanently over. You start the entire playthrough over from the beginning. Truly a challenge only for the true masters of RPGs.)
  
  The various difficulties are there for whichever kind of playthrough the player may wish, such as "Easy" mode for a player that just wants to relax, or "Extreme" for the player that wants a challenge, and earn a view of a few secret plot points.
  
  
• Even the fishing system is made to be streamlined and easy. This is important, as fishing mini-games have often been a sore subject with gamers.
  However, in Nusakana, they went out of their way to make the fishing as smooth as they could.
  The fish will react to certain baits, and will almost always go out of their way to bite the lure when you cast your line. It's fairly easy to land many fish in a short time.
  In addition, various NPCs will sell certain fish, thus easing the fishing even more.

As for comparisons to other games:

• If you want a nice RPG that doesn't try to slap you in the face, then you'll like this game.
  
• If you use RPG Maker and want to make a game, you owe it to yourself and your players to buy this game and take lessons from it. Because this is how it should be done.
  
• And finally, if you're a fan of Harvest Moon (Story of Seasons), and especially the Rune Factory games, then this game will definitely appeal to you.

In short, if this game cost $20, it'd still be a good buy.
But at it's price of $9, you'd have to utterly hate RPGs in general to pass on this. For $9, I'd say go for it, and try it.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this game.

Many people have said this is reminiscent of the Sega Genesis era. However, I'd say this game surpasses that era. Honestly, this game is action packed, the gameplay does have a learning curve (meaning you won't just blast through it in a day).
And the bosses...are epic, and will punish those who can't keep up with their patterns.

As for the story, I can honestly say it rivals a good JRPG in terms of storyline. And the voice acting is top-notch (These actors actually put real emotion and personality into their roles. It may be one of the few times an anime-like story actually has excellent English voice acting)

Some have compared this game to Sonic the Hedgehog, and that's a fair comparision. But Freedom Planet has managed to capture everything that made Sonic legendary, and even improved on it in many ways. Sonic Team could stand to take a few notes from Freedom Planet, because this game is how you do it.

In my opinion: If you go for this, you'll be getting an excellent game for your money.
Lots of platforming action, surprisingly tricky boss fights, and a story (and voices) worthy of a Square-Enix JRPG masterpiece.

RPG Maker has always been famed as being just about the best of the "Do-It-Yourself" Game Makers. With this, you don't have to master complicated programming languages or coding to make an awesome RPG. It's mostly point-and-click, and easy to define events and scenes.
And if you don't like the default characters, settings, enemies, etc., you can go ahead and draw your own creations. Same with the music and sound FX; or even adding videos to make awesome cutscenes. The sky's the limit.

RPG Maker VX Ace is reliably stable, and easy to work with. And for the more advanced user, if the default system isn't to your liking, the Scripting option allows you to alter the game's coding to suit your tastes.

Admittedly, the price tag is a little bit steep.
But, consider this: How many times have you spent $50-$60 on a single RPG game, with a strange, excessively philisophical, "over-your-head" kind of story? Or featuring a line-up of characters that your just simply don't like? And ultimately, at the end of the game, leaves you feeling cheated out of a good gaming experience?

But with this software, YOU can write a good story, one that YOU like! Create whatever characters that you want, and define their personalities however you see fit! Make the game (and the battle system) as easy or as hard as you want!

You technically can get/make MANY RPG games, all for slightly more than the cost of one regular, over-hyped $60 RPG. And, on Steam, you also get a fine community of fellow RPG game makers.