Cute lil parody thing. It's smarmy about itself but moreso in the charming hehe scrunkly side rather than the "h i yes do you gett this one???", although there's still a bit of that which kind of makes me roll my eyes. But it's kind of like the roll your eyes when your friend's making that really dumb in-joke you have together, that you've probably heard like 10+ times from them but still kind of makes you internally smile because it's coming from that genuine point in history you two share. In this case we've both played moon and we really liked moon, we're giggling about moon's jokes that are (really harmlessly) riffed right off. It's cute, we had a good time, extended metaphor included. That being said if you made it past that really lame joke (I've been inspired) and feel like this game might be a bit underwhelming I'd suggest trying out Magic Wand cuz that game's really cool.

Franken is a great RPG. I beat it in under two hours.

Love is a very important aspect of the game making process. It's not something you can or should give a numbered score, but you know when it's there and you especially know when it isn't. You don't need to take your game seriously to love it, but you do need to respect it.

Franken, in more ways than one, is a game about love. It's a game that loves the fact that it exists. With simple and entertaining combat, vibrant and beautiful artwork, equally hilarious and engaging writing, it loves that it is an RPG. It has its fair share of satire on the genre yet it never feels like an admonishment of these aspects, but rather quirks that it wears proudly on its sleeve. It takes everything you love about RPGs and compresses them down into their most concentrated forms. Love is in its themes as well, from wanting love and wanting to be loved, grief, and pirated anime music during the big climactic boss fight. Okay maybe that last part doesn't fit, but *I* loved it. It brought back feelings of a bygone era of fangames and early game dev in general. I only wish that it didn't cost the developer the ability to make any money off of the game directly. (btw you should definitely give her money for it indirectly https://twitter.com/splendidland)

Is this a lot to say about a game that's only a couple hours long? Maybe! It truly did touch me in a way that I was not prepared for, though. Once I started I didn't want to put it down, and once it ended I was truly a different person for having played it. It was much-needed reminder, as silly as it sounds, that games are as much or as little as what you make them. If the game in your head is only and hour or two long, or even 30 minutes, make it. As long as you're loving making it, because that love and excitement will shine brightest above all else. Thank you, Splendidland. Thank you, Franken.

Such a short and simple game, but extremely charming. Franken is an RPG that pokes fun at all the tropes RPGs have built up over the years but does so in a way that feels fresh and not as in your face as other meta-games. I also loved how fun and colorful all of the sprites were.

There were a handful of moments that really got me with how on the nose it was and that ending is just a masterpiece of video game writing. Despite how meta the writing was it really felt more like a love letter to old RPGs rather than it being a malicious critique of the genre. The game is so short and such a fun time that this is one of my strongest recommendations for a free game.

This is not really a video game, but an experience. It was a fun hour, with a few good laughs.

Realistically speaking, I wouldn't grade it as some great game. There's no decisions, or strategy really. The only decisions you make are whether or not to talk to optional characters. XP is a bit of a joke and the game knows it, as leveling up does literally nothing. Every player will progress through the game in pretty much the exact same way.

Highlights of the game were most of the orb bosses, and well, the scorpions. And the ending.

Franken is an interesting game. It's easily beatable in less than an hour, and is definitely worth the brief time investment. The gameplay is deliberately as simple as possible, which I don't strictly think is a benefit. The humor is pretty much the only thing the game has, and the writing is pretty funny. It's so blunt and absurd, and combining that with the scenarios, rpg tropes, and some funny music choices means I was consistently entertained. But I can't help but feel as though there were opportunities to spice up the humor through gameplay. Maybe some sort of twist on RPG gameplay to make even more jokes, instead of just making it one button. Cool game, I'd like to see more from this developer.

cute little game from splendidland (whose art i've always enjoyed; used to follow them in my social media days) with absolutely no depth to speak of... but i say this as a good thing. it knows what it is and simply serves to be a fun little breezy adventure and clear love letter to titles like moon and final fantasy iv. i like that it doesn't try to do some sort of moral/tonal twist at the end that completely falls flat - much like many of its 'quirky' mother-inspired contemporaries. it's just goofy and sweet and i like that. this is cool. it's like an hour long. check it out if you want.

Loved it. Franken is one of the most focused games I've ever played. It has the courage to strip away complicated gameplay in order to center the story, humor, and art in a way that works so perfectly - by deliberately simplifying the combat system, the game removes any pretense of trying to do something special with it, expertly setting your expectations and allowing you to clearheadedly enjoy everything else it has to offer. It's so naturally funny in a way that just makes me feel really nice. The length of the game is also a strength, the whole experience being just an hour long also contributes really well to the focus and makes it so easy to just enjoy in a single short sitting. Can't wait to see what else splendidland makes in the future!

splendidland is so very good at condensing specific feelings into all of her art. Franken perfectly surmises the classic RPG experience into a breezy hour and a half journey. The art is fantastic, whether that be adorable overworld sprites, the dialogue portraits which bring to mind Leiji Matsumoto's work, or the battle art, which is simultaneously intimidating and cute, and all of this is delivered in a style that is unmistakably splendidland.

The gameplay surmises the content of an RPG in a manner reminiscent of one of my favourite Game Boy games, For The Frog The Bell Tolls, and much like that title uses every mechanic it has as a vehicle for telling jokes and had me smiling the whole way through. Highly reccomend.

Games like this are always a bit of an odd one for me because oh how irritating I find them if they’re done even slightly wrong. Self-aware games that basically serve to parody existing titles and genres always run the risk of coming off as insanely annoying due to feeling totally misguided in how they approach the comedic aspects of the games. Thankfully Franken is a game that avoids a lot of this with the way it’s another of those games that feels as if any fun its poking is entirely in good spirits and from a position of pure admiration from the art. It also helps that the game is only an hour long to make sure it never really outstays its welcome, keeping the jokes about silly aspects of JRPGs present in a way that consistently still feels fun to play through and having some jokes that honestly feel pretty funny and original. The 4th wall breaks are also kept to a minimum, thank god. Just a really fun time that ends on a high note with some of the dumbest and greatest “plot twists” possible, would recommend it especially if you’re into old school JRPGs like the original Dragon Quest and this style of quirkier game.

Estando como estoy harto del meta humor en los videojuegos, Franken me ha caído en gracia de principio a fin. Lo más normal en juegos que pretenden hacerse los graciosos con respecto a los tópicos y clichés del medio o su propio género es que sean ejercicios de verborrea que intenta jactarse de estos lugares comunes sin saber cómo esquivarlos.

Franken no hace ni una sola mención a lo burdo del sistema de niveles, al grindeo obligatorio, ni al dramatismo impostado de muchos JRPGs post Dragon Quest. Simplemente se dedica a exponerlos sin dedicarles una sola palabra juiciosa mientras desarrolla su humor verbal de forma paralela. El logro del juego está en lo increíblemente similar que se siente su breve experiencia con respecto a epopeyas de decenas de horas. No es necesaria tanta chapa para matar a Dios. Es raro que una sátira tan obvia desprenda tanta humildad.

An incredible parody of typical JRPG games while still being great in it's own right. The combat in the game isn't anything special much like said JRPGs. I can't tell if it's just clever to cover up for it or not. I enjoyed the actual content of most battles though so I guess that's what matters. The actual story that goes on is fantastic. Like I said it just pokes fun at mainstay JRPGs of old but still manages to be its own thing enough to be enjoyable. No spoilers from me though.

I also want to point out every other aspect of this game is incredible. The characters are all funny even when they have one line. Most of the monsters have unique and excellent looking designs in an art style I really dig. Anything that wasn't that was part of a joke and still good because of it. The music in this is phenomenal. I don't think there's a track on the whole game that isn't a banger. The game is just straight up funny too. I loved it.

I don't really want to cover much more on it than that. This game should be enjoyed and explored with fresh eyes. Easy to do when it's free, lasts two hours max, and can probably run on any computer made in the last decade. Excellent time if you can appreciate humor and have played some old school RPGs. HUGE recommend.