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| Creator | chromaji |
| Engine | SRPG Studio |
| Download | Here |
| Score | 38/80 |
| Rank | 10th |
| FEU Link | Here |
Reviews
Judge 1: Darrman
Gameplay: 2/10
The chapter is set with no clear initial objective beyond “protect the green units”, though they are all fairly durable and one in particular is under no threat whatsoever. After a few turns pass, the strong green unit is blown away by the boss. The objective then clears up, revealing itself to be a kill boss map. This boss is far too durable for what is framed as an early-game boss, with the main form of damage being 2*2 from the lord on an enemy with over 50 HP. The solution is a simple one too: stand the two units together and cast the invincibility spell while sitting on a fort.
I appreciate that this is the creator’s first SRPG chapter, so my advice would be to give the player some more reason to get involved in fighting the normal enemies. I didn’t notice I could walk on water until the boss appeared, so it would be nice to point that out. (Maybe a tutorial pointed it out, but I turned them off as I am not a beginner SRPG player.)
Presentation: 3/5
The most impressive factor in the presentation in this chapter are the portraits. These are hand-drawn and have many expressions each. I do respect the work put into drawing these. I also liked the music, freed from GBA limitations.
However, the lack of any battle animations brings things down, along with some placeholder map sprites.
Story: 2/5
The chapter is openly a proof-of-concept for a full-length game. The chapter opens with a Grima-like CG, which is the lord seeing a vision. After that he picks a fight before being saved by some form of robot. A lot of proper nouns are thrown around without explanation – I felt like I was supposed to know everything beforehand. A big monster appeared from the sea, and the two main characters fought it off. In the end, they make sure the green unit commander is okay before they all leave. The story doesn’t neatly resolve, and is quite obviously a chapter one of many. I did smile at the ending skit, at least.
Total Score: 7/20
Judge 2: BandanaSplitzzz
Gameplay: 3/10
Omen of Apsides is a pretty cinematic prologue for the start of a game. Both (yes, “both”, there are only two) of your units have pretty unique toolsets to clear out enemies, with self-warping and stunning attacks and all sorts of gimmicks. That’s where my praise ends, though. With so many allied units eastward and so few pressing matters for your units to do, it doesn’t create much of an incentive to do much of anything. Saying that is a bit of a stretch, you still are needed to defeat the boss that shows up in a couple of turns, but the decisions you make don’t amount to much of anything. If you generally move east and generally beat up lizards, you will solve the map quickly.
I will give specific praise to the village conversation. I liked the subversion of making the village dweller a scared child instead of another unit (which in a 2-man map would have been greatly appreciated), and the gameplay implications of a +2 mov unit. I thought it was kinda cool…
Presentation: 5/5
It almost feels insulting that I have to explain why this looks good. You’ve got eyes, too, right? Loads of beautiful custom portraits for each new character, plenty of cool music to complement the scenes… The mid-map event where the general got knocked back was a huge shock, and I can only imagine that was difficult to pull off. All the cutscenes were dynamic with map events and raw text… I even noticed that the map was hand-drawn, too.
I still have some complaints. The map sprites use inconsistent art styles, and self-admittedly used the wrong assets for the jellyfish. That’s where it ends, though. A patch could fix these issues soundly.
Story: 3/5
Omen of Apsides follows a decently standard story of guards defending the town against monsters. The bigger draw of this story is the setting, which is incredibly unique for an SRPG, with these weird half-human characters prancing about the stage. Even without the narrative, just the casual existence of some of the setting’s more interesting characteristics serves as great hooks for a grander story, like the star-themed clairvoyance Luneres seems to have. That’s it, though, they are great hooks. Being a prologue of a larger game, Omen doesn’t resolve much in its runtime, letting its story hooks continue into chapter two. I am interested in how the story will unfold, assuming later chapters get made.
Total Score: 11/20
Judge 3: Fringus
Gameplay: 3/10
More than anything it really feels like a tutorial for a longer game more than anything else. There’s some fun ideas introduced, especially with the village giving a map-long buff to the visitor. But most of the actual play of the map is watching very capable green units battle enemies while your two playables lightly chip in. You don’t really even need to protect the unit the game tells you to, as said character is far more capable than any foe.
Then the back and forth with the sudden boss you need to kill is more than a bit drawn out, bogging down pace near the end.
Presentation: 4/5
What’s here is a total delight visually. The unique assets, from the player chibis, to the cutscene mugs were great. The one with the protag clawing at the little banner under ’em was a super notable one. As well, the fully drawn map for the chapter itself is especially standout, and it’s as impressive as it looks. There’s some use of SRPG Studio RTP, but it fits relatively well all the same.
As well, honestly, until the description on the jellyfish pointed out that they weren’t, I’d practically gaslit myself into thinking they were jellyfish.
Story: 2/5
It feels like a prelude, which leaves a bit to be desired when this is all there is for the content. It gives a bit to establishing the duo you play as, but it serves a goal well of introducing the world, but there’s overall not much to say. But I did really enjoy the in character shenanigans when it came to the post-game thanks and the little reward for enough greens living, overall, it was charming.
Total Score: 9/20
Judge 4: Electric Serge
Gameplay: 3/10
In its current state, this map feels more like a playable cutscene with a couple of interesting ideas than a fully fleshed out map. You’ve only got two units to work with, each kitted out with unique HP-costing abilities a la Echoes combat arts, and you’ve gotta help some green units protect a village from monsters. Though, with how far away most of the monsters are from you and how durable the green units are, most of the map is spent watching NPCs tickle each other to death while you pick off the stragglers… until the boss shows up, though that comes with its own share of problems since he’s way too tanky and not all that more interesting to fight than the peons.
There is potential here with some features such as the village giving the visitor a chapter-long buff and the various techniques, such as a spell that inflicts paralysis or one that blocks damage for a hit. I think with some tweaking of damage numbers to make combat less sluggish, and more player-focused maps, you could make a pretty interesting game. This map is just playing things way too safe.
Presentation: 4/5
The handful of screenshots showcasing the custom portraits already left me impressed, and I’m glad to say they look just as good in game, in addition to all the named characters having various expressions. The map itself also looks very nice, with a very pleasant accompanying score and some generally nice map sprites and icons. The only thing holding this game back from a perfect score is a lack of animations; I would’ve loved to see how these characters and monsters moved in combat, though I’d imagine that’s something that’ll be added in future builds of the game.
Story: 3/5
There’s a lot of subtle intrigue built into the story of this prologue, with the principal characters appearing to be members of a sort of fantasy species, the main character’s clairvoyance, and the premonition of some sort of Cthulu-like creature that’s being built up as a major threat. The main goings on of the map are relatively simple, with a bunch of guards defending a village from monsters, and the main character (a pirate, by the looks of things) and his guardian spirit coming in to assist. The characters bounce off each other pretty well, but there’s not much else going on since most of the events serve as setup for the greater narrative. The ending skit’s pretty cute, at least.
Total Score: 10/20
Results
| Category | Darrman | Bandana | Fringus | Serge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gameplay | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Presentation | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 |
| Story | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Total | 7 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 38 |