SPHERES
Demo Version: 1.3
Created by: Ashaya88 (aka Erk64)
Download the Demo:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bxe0jjesulv Game Rating: T for mild violence and language
Demo Length: Approximately 5 hours
– The Story – It all began in the world known as Kyro. Long ago, two major races dominated the world; the humans and the Dragons. The two races were unable to coexist in peace, and eventually a full-fledged conflict broke out that lasted for centuries. These battles later came to be known as the Dragonic Wars. The humans, though far more numerous than their foes, were slowly losing the war. The Dragons’ mastery of Dark Mana, their magical essence that granted life, proved far superior to the petty spells the humans had at their disposal. In their desperation, mankind turned to a group humans known as the Light Sages, who had so far remained neutral in the war. These Sages were gifted at wielding Light Mana, the polar opposite energy of Dark Mana that grants life to all humans and most animals. With this power on their side, the humans slowly began to turn the tide of the war. Ultimately, the Dragons were defeated and their race disappeared from the face of Kyro.
However, toward the end of the Dragonic Wars, the Dragons foresaw their impending doom through a series of visions. They quickly assembled to complete one final task in retaliation to the humans. The Dragons kidnaped hundreds of innocent humans, and tortured and corrupted their souls through repeated exposure to Dark Mana. The ones that survived were no longer human, but they were a new race altogether; a race that would come to be known as the Dinge. When the Dragon’s defeat finally came, the Dinge remained. They attempted to integrate themselves back into human society, but with little success. The humans mistakenly associated Dark Mana with evil, thus shunning the Dinge from their towns and cities. With no one else to turn to, the Dinge grouped together and fled into the dark forests and caves of Kyro, where they would not be disturbed.
After spending years fighting the harsh elements and the resentful and cruel nature of mankind, the Dinge began to desire revenge. Their best spellcasters came together and poured their energy into a ritual of terrible power. It was all as the Dragons had foreseen. However, the Light Sages received word of this, and at the last minute they rushed the Dinge and were able to reverse the ritual to target the Dinge instead of the humans. Once more, the Dinge were forced to withdraw, and humanity seemed to have been saved. But one last problem remained; in order to keep the Dinge at bay, the ritual had to be repeated every hundred years.
“Spheres” begins twelve-hundred years later, as the twelfth ritual approaches. Inside the poor village of Iroana, a boy named Aaron and his twin sister, Rachael, live together, fending for themselves after the untimely death of their parents. They live together in peace, blissfully unaware of the world outside their village. But when they resolve to help a man they find unconscious in the woods, Aaron unwillingly becomes a crucial component to the success of the ritual. He will embark on a journey that will push him to the limit, forcing him to make difficult decisions, and befriend an unlikely host of characters. His relationship with these characters will ultimately help decide his future as he journeys on an epic quest of truth and deceit, loyalty and betrayal, and life and death. Virtually nothing is as it seems, and Aaron must decide just how far he’s willing to go to save the world.
– The Characters – Aaron The main character of the story. Aaron grew up in Iroana alongside his twin sister, Rachael. He has never ventured outside the village before, and knows very little about the plights of the world. After the death of his parents, Aaron was forced to step up to support himself and his sister. He makes frequent trips to the woods north of his village, and he soon developed into a fine hunter. Aaron is a kind-hearted, caring person. Although he is sometimes quick to lose his temper, he always acts with the best of intentions. He cares about his sister more than anything else, and sees it as his responsibility to keep her safe.
Rachael Although she is Aaron’s twin, very few people make the connection because they have such different personalities. While Rachael is just as virtuous as Aaron (perhaps even a bit more so), she often acts rashly and impulsively. She can never abandon a person in need, and will go out of her way to make someone happy. Rachel is somewhat resentful of her brother’s over-protective nature, but she humors him and rarely talks back. She spends most of her time caring for the house, but she will occasionally venture out to search for flowers, which she adores.
Maxwell Maxwell was discovered unconscious in the woods by Aaron and his sister. He is shrouded in mystery, and he is willing to tell Aaron little about himself. He dose admit, however that he is a mercenary, and he was hired to track down some sort of artifact. Maxwell seems very knowledgeable, but refuses to talk about certain matters. Aaron is a little unsure if he can fully trust Maxwell, although the man appears to have the best interests of the world in mind. Maxwell shows little emotion, but can be quite talkative if the mood suits him.
Randolf As a Light Sage, Randolf has gone through rigorous training the majority of his life. He was the one who was destined to become the savior of Kyro, until Aaron unintentionally got involved. Randolf holds a serious grudge against Aaron for this, and only agrees to accompany him upon the orders of his superior. Randolf has a very quick temper and always seems to be in a foul mood. He constantly reminds Aaron that he wants nothing more than to finish their quest as quickly as possible. He despises distractions, and when he sets his mind to something, it can be very difficult to convince him otherwise. On the other hand, he appears to be loyal and dedicated, he is incredibly knowledgeable about Kyro and the Ritual, and once he starts something, he feels the need to see it through to the end.
Lauren Lauren is a very unusual person, not to mention an unusual Light Sage. She seems to take a liking to Aaron, but is incredibly wary of his companion, Maxwell. Her greatest desire is to fight the Dinge on the front lines, but—as is the case with most female Light Sages—her skills are more tuned to healing and support than they are for combat, a fact that she greatly resents. Her requests to fight are constantly being denied by her superiors, and she often finds herself doing menial chores around the Light Sage Enclave. She feels discriminated against by male Sages, and her self esteem is unstable at best. Lauren tries to hide this with her I-can-take-care-of-myself attitude, but she will often turn to Aaron for support.
More to come...
– The Spheres – Spheres of Power are scattered across the world of Kyro. Each one serves a unique purpose, and they can be used in different ways. Spheres are most commonly classified into two categories: Type A and Type B.
Type A Spheres Also know as “spell” spheres, they can only be used by those individuals who excel at wielding Mana. Type A Spheres have the power to teach a new spell to a party member. The elemental affinities of these Spheres, as well as their strengths and effects, will vary greatly from one Sphere to another, but no character is limited to learning only one type of spell. Aaron and Randolf, are capable of using these types of Spheres, but the decision of who learns what spell is ultimately left up to the player. Do you teach only Fire-based spells to one character, for instance, or do you try to give everyone the same spells? You can customize a character any way you see fit, based upon your personal playing style, but be warned: Spells cannot be unlearned. Luckily, the characters do not have a limit to the amount of spells they can learn.
Type B Spheres These Spheres require less energy to activate, and therefore they can be used by anyone. Type B Spheres fall under one of three possible classes:
Equipment Spheres — These Spheres can be equipped as accessories. Their powers are only active while equipped, and they offer such benefits including, but not limited to: improved strength, defense, or status immunity.
Utility Spheres — These Spheres operate like traditional items, but their effects tend to be more powerful. Utility Spheres will disappear after use. They offer a larger range of abilities; they can heal, inflict aliments on foes, or even give temporary boosts to party members.
Miscellaneous Spheres — These unique Spheres are the ones that don’t fall neatly into any other category. These are often the most bizarre Spheres out there, and their purpose isn’t always immediately obvious. However, each one serves it’s own role; unlocking the proper function of each of these Spheres can make the game a lot more interesting.
Sphere Fusion [not currently in demo] At one point in your adventure, you will be given the ability to fuse some of the Spheres in your possession to make new, more powerful Spheres. A user-friendly system will ask the player to simply select a Sphere in their inventory, and all of the fusion-compatible spheres will be automatically displayed. If a player has not discovered one of these, a question mark will be displayed in its place. A serious player will work hard to acquire as many Spheres as possible, as many new spells can be crafted using fusion.
Spheres and the Demo
I have a grand total of 80 Spheres/Fusion Sphere that will be in the final version, and this number is still growing. However, only a small portion of these appear in the demo.
– Game Features – Character Relationships Normally, I lean toward games that allow you to affect the storyline by committing either good deeds, or acts of evil. However, for “Spheres,” I decided to try something a little different. You will still be faced with difficult decisions from time to time, but because of Aaron’s kind nature, you will be unable to commit acts of evil. There is a way to drastically impact the plot, however, and that is through the other characters.
During certain cut-scenes, the player may be given a choice with two or more options for Aaron to say or do next. If the people around you approve of your decisions, you will gain positive relationship points with that character. If this disapprove, your relationship status will go down. To make things a bit more realist, you may occasionally be forced into a situation where your decision will make one person happy, and inevitably you will upset another. In these situations you must consider whose relationship you value more, as well as consider any other consequences of your actions. As the game progresses, the strength of your relationships (or lack thereof) will affect: (1) the path you follow, (2) the characters in your party, and (3) the game’s ending.
Game Information The current run-time of the game is estimated to be about 5 hours.
There are two towns, two full dungeons and two “transitional areas” that are not dungeons per se, but are still full of enemies. There is a grand total of 139 maps, where 51 of these compose the human capital, Sangura, alone.
Spoiler for "Screenshots" :
Characters are extremely expressive, each boasting a variety of emotions. Aaron alone has 16 different facial expressions.
Battles are front-view and turn based. Once your yellow time bar fills up, your character can perform an action.
Don’t expect the game to be straight forward. Every time things seem to be progressing too smoothly or too predictably, something is bound to go wrong. Expect frequent plot twist, both on a large and small scale. They range from, “Huh. That’s interesting...” to, “OMG! No way, I can’t believe it!”
Never let it be said that this game lacks a sense of humor, even though it has a rather serious tone. Odd bursts of comedy crop up in unsuspecting places. Investigate everything and speak with everyone to experience all of these moments.
The dungeons (at least the ones included in the demo) favor a more linear path, but each one has it’s own unique flavor. But wherever you are, expect to go a little out of your way to track down the best treasure.
That man looks...shady. I wonder what he’s doing there? More importantly, what do you have to do to get him to appear? Hmmm...
Dungeons locales vary from forests to mountains, and from mines to towers. If you look carefully, you notice the quality of the maps improve as you progress through the game. I guess my skills developed along with the game.
Puzzles are built to keep players on their toes. Screenshots just don’t do this type of puzzle justice, where success depends upon observation and imitation. Don’t expect to get this one on your first try.
Boss battles are tense, and they will push you and your party to the limits. Use everything at your disposal; don’t hold anything back! On a side note, I do my best to develop enemy encounters and bosses so that little or no level grinding is needed.
The mine, the newest area of the game, contains several puzzles that require you to travel in mine carts. Weee!
At certain points in the game, you will be forced to chose your path. Your choices not only affect your relationships with your fellow party members, but will alter the outcome of several events, big and small.
Open your Sphere Index for a complete list of each Sphere you have aquired throughout the game. Strive to collect'em all! Wait, where have I heard that before...?
I want to hear from you! Please contact me with any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions.
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