I would like to preface this review with the disclaimer that I adore the RPG Maker series of game development software. For those not in the know, RPG Maker is a program that comes in a variety of different instances and generations, each more powerful and feature-packed than the last, which allows users to create their very own Dragon Quest-style RPG with, optionally, no program at all. Each generation comes with pre-loaded sprites, animations, and music, with newer generations including tools to develop one’s own sprites and back-end programming utilities should the user desire a more customizable experience.
7 Stories is developed with one of those RPG Maker programs. This itself is forgivable; RPG Maker is a great tool to use to learn the mechanics of game development and design, and if a person is able to monetize the game and their experience of learning a skill, I say all the better. The problem is, in my view and evidently the view of the role-playing game community as a whole, that the program comes replete with so many assets that it actually discourages originality and uniqueness. Because so many of the games made with RPGM utilize the preloaded assets with a minimal amount of customization, they all tend to play the same, look the same, and in the end are entirely forgettable. This is the real problem with 7 Stories: its complete lack of originality.
As far as stories go, we’re presented with a pretty typical and safe RPG storyline: Elderly King of Fantasytown must choose a successor to his throne, here by dispatching seven adventurers on a quest to retrieve four magical orbs. Whomever succeeds in retrieving the orbs will presumably earn the crown. To be fair, the creator did spend a bit of time on their characters, the titular seven different protagonists the player is able to choose to play as. Each has their own style of dialogue and skill set and although there isn’t much a light displayed on the personality of the characters more than their objectives for wanting to take the throne, they each feel tangibly different, much more than just a color-swapped stock sprite. The differences in learned skills and attributes allows for some small amount of party customization. Once immersed in combat however, this fails to make much a difference, as the battles are effectively reduced to the rinse-wash-repeat pattern of tap fight/skill, tap the enemy, and wait for the enemy to attack you.
The game difficulty scales rapidly and unevenly; the first area has two types of enemy who are easily killed. A battle with these enemies can yield 15-50 exp points depending on the number of enemies fought, with the average earned being about 40. In the second area, the enemies grant roughly double the exp points, but are much harder to kill and will harm you much quicker. In terms of resource management and battle efficacy, it makes more sense to just grind in the first area until strong enough to bypass the second area all together.
The setting is dull and boring and is the aspect of the game most obviously hindered by the game-in-a-box approach that so many RPGM developers utilize. There is an overworld map representing forests, plains, mountains, deserts and oceans, with little 2x2 tiles representing towns, castles, dungeons and caves. It is sparse and ugly. (As a side note, why is this type of level design still acceptable in 2018? Just design the level proper, stop being lazy and relying on an overworld map.) Once the player interacts with a 2x2 town tileset they’re transported into the town with scale-appropriate buildings, trees, the occasional townsperson milling about, etc. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen this before. It’s nothing new. The dungeon designs aren’t much better.
And that’s pretty much the game. With all said, I would rate the game 2/5. It’s passable and serves its purpose; I bought it to mindlessly slaughter monsters and to engage in the occasional grindfest while I’m waiting for appointments, coffee, etc. and that exactly what I would recommend it for. It also doesn’t have a paywall or pester you to upgrade or spend money on in-game resources.
That said however, I ultimately had to award the game 1/5 because, and this is an important note, there is a game-breaking bug in the second dungeon. Once you enter the dungeon, for whatever reason you are unable to leave. Attempting to walk out simply transports you back inside. This doesn’t appear to be a feature of the level as it continues to do it even after you defeat the boss. Because this bug broke my game and make progress impossible, I have to rate it 1/5.
PROS:
- Mindless grinding is always fun
- Characters feel tangibly different
- Party customization
- No paywalls or in-game purchases!
CONS:
- Uninspiring, routine gameplay
- Lack of originality in world design, chipsets, animations, or story
- Game-breaking bugs disallow the continuation of the story
- That overworld map
3.8
