I'm playing this right after I beat the entire Final Fantasy Pixel Remake Collection and I have to say I'm actually pretty impressed. It's easily one of the most fun indie JRPG's I've ever played and, despite the humble RPG Maker visuals and game mechanics, it tells a pretty detailed and compelling story which addresses some surprisingly complex and mature themes, not shying away from heavy stuff, while staying true to the genre's more lighthearted conventions.

The vibe reminded me of classic games I've loved, such as the aforementioned old school FF games, but also of stuff like Lunar Silver Star Story and even some of the better modern indie retro games like Shadows of Adam.

The level of detail in the story and the character interactions quickly brought to mind the first Trails game, Trails in the Sky, since Xero and Enda are reminiscent of Estelle and Joshua Bright as much as they're reminiscent of Alex and Luna from Lunar Silver Star Story, while still remaining their own persons.

The fact that this game is currently on sale for less than a buck boggles my mind, as does the fact that it costs just a couple of bucks at full price. If you like JRPG's but you look down on indies and/or RPG Maker games, give this one a try and keep an open mind. If you still hate it because you are dead inside, you'd only be down two bucks at worst.

My only nitpicks, and I'm reaching here for something to criticize, are that a minority of the character portraits (like Sandra, Slash's wife, and especially Throg) kind of clash with the rest because they seem to be made in a slightly but noticeably different style; and I would've liked to be able to quicksave at any point, which is a common modern QoL feature. Having said that, the lack of that option is not really a problem since the game does allow you to save at inns, anywhere in the over-world, and also at checkpoints in dungeons, one of which is always located right before the boss.

Other than that, the game does a good job of implementing familiar and interesting game mechanics, such as purchasing new skills and spells, crafting gear and items, upgrading equipment, managing a party of several characters that come and go while the core duo remain available for most of the game, and so on. I'm sure I've played a fair amount of recent big name JRPG's that are nowhere near as good as this hidden gem I only found by random happenstance through word of mouth.

If you took a gritty medieval setting reminiscent of The Witcher or Game of Thrones and decided to tell a story about a brutal barbarian invasion of a kingdom whose ruler has gotten old as has not yet settled his succession, so his youngest son must step up and fight the invaders away, only instead of people from different countries the story was about rats vs frogs, this is what you'd get.

It's a very good looking game with a great atmosphere and clever visual design and overall presentation, for sure, and I enjoyed the bit of humor and references, such as the names of the characters or the part where, in a nod to the game's narrator, it mentions that the king's chamber smells of lilac and gooseberries.

The gameplay is solid enough, though it's not really that much of an RPG and it's more of a metroidvania, and the campaign itself is not too long. It took me about seven hours to finsh the whole game, including sidequests and the expansion.

And it gets extra points because the game is dedicated to the creators' pet rats and they share the name and fur coloring of the game's main cast. I just found out a sequel is coming out starring a side character you briefly meet at the end of the game, and I'll be sure to play it.