Stargazer is charming, warm, and funny, with a great spin on the RPG Maker XP battle system and unique maps. I took six years to play it and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. The story revolved around a surprisingly well done central romance, where the majority of the game is driven by the leads' shared bonding, not the grand quest the player can see rumbling in the background. It's unique from the previous games I've played and how they prioritize stories, and added depth to the leads and their dynamic.
The rest of the cast is a ball to be around, too. Grayson is probably my favorite character of the bunch - a fiercely committed, stern ex-soldier with an environmentalist streak who really just likes being part of a team. Other highlights include Scarbeck, an enthusiastic and confident detective who drives some very fun sidequests, and Kala, a late game party member who rides a giant Firewing bird named Mila.
The gameplay was fantastic, taking exactly what I love about RPG Maker XP and giving it personal flare. The battle system replaces attacks and skills with actions unique to each party member, requiring a bit more strategy than the default take on the RPG Maker battle system without requiring the player memorize a bunch of element match-ups and feeling far more fluid to me and helping characterize party members. And in Stargazer, it allows for a world where magic has largely disappeared, while still giving the bulk of the party interesting skillsets. The maps were similarly great. They emphasized elevation in a way that both made for a really fun exploration experience, and mimicked the game's focus on summits really well. Despite these tilesets being really common in the RPG Maker XP community, I feel like this is a fresh take on them that I've never seen before. There are times when you get to interact with the map in unique ways, slowly learning new ways to explore an area, which are some of the most fun I've ever had playing a video game.
Do yourself a favor and play Stargazer!
The rest of the cast is a ball to be around, too. Grayson is probably my favorite character of the bunch - a fiercely committed, stern ex-soldier with an environmentalist streak who really just likes being part of a team. Other highlights include Scarbeck, an enthusiastic and confident detective who drives some very fun sidequests, and Kala, a late game party member who rides a giant Firewing bird named Mila.
The gameplay was fantastic, taking exactly what I love about RPG Maker XP and giving it personal flare. The battle system replaces attacks and skills with actions unique to each party member, requiring a bit more strategy than the default take on the RPG Maker battle system without requiring the player memorize a bunch of element match-ups and feeling far more fluid to me and helping characterize party members. And in Stargazer, it allows for a world where magic has largely disappeared, while still giving the bulk of the party interesting skillsets. The maps were similarly great. They emphasized elevation in a way that both made for a really fun exploration experience, and mimicked the game's focus on summits really well. Despite these tilesets being really common in the RPG Maker XP community, I feel like this is a fresh take on them that I've never seen before. There are times when you get to interact with the map in unique ways, slowly learning new ways to explore an area, which are some of the most fun I've ever had playing a video game.
Do yourself a favor and play Stargazer!