Melody's Quest Review

Melody's Quest

Created by NekoBucket

Praises (the most important part)

Melody's Quest is a darn cute game.  That's really all you need to know.  The rest of this review is just me rambling. 

Let's start by saying that for a first-time ever project with RPG Maker, this game is stellar.  NekoBucket has done a great job of making the game feel atmospheric and, for the most part, complete.  Nothing feels especially disjointed or out of place.  The music is well-placed.  The title screen is charming (like the game itself).  There are plenty of fun little objects to interact with, about which Melody gives cute commentary.  And the ending... is adorable!

Update!

I forgot to mention that the writing in this game is actually good and grammatically correct!  Whhaaaat?  It's true!  I forgot to mention it because I didn't notice tons of glaring errors, which is exactly how writing should be. 

Critiques (feedback for NekoBucket)

There are a number of minor passability issues that amount to nothing.  Also, event tiles have been placed next to objects (beneath Melody) instead of on top of objects (on the same layer as Melody).  This means that if you are standing next to an event but not facing it, you can still talk to it.  This also leads to oversights where some objects are only interactable from certain directions (like the magazine in the abandoned building), since events are placed on the floor under Melody instead of on the object she's trying to interact with.  Also worth mentioning is that the teleportation tiles from the northern street to the southern one are not obviously placed.  I was surprised when I suddenly teleported for seemingly no reason.

Another critique is that once in awhile Melody seems to break character.  She will say something that sounds more like the creator's commentary than something a little girl would say (cinnamon roll imposter!).  I'm probably the only one who is distracted by this, but it does break the immersion for me.  

That darn key... took me a few tries of spamming the talk button through all the maps.

Lastly, I would suggest picking a different music for the title screen.  The tune is nice, but it sounds a little home-brewed to have the music fade out when you start a new game, only to have the same music start up again immediately.

Closing Thoughts

I tend to critique thoroughly, so I want to stress what an enjoyable game this truly is!  I'm looking forward to NekoBucket's next game.  Yes, there will be one.  No, NekoBucket doesn't have a choice.    This game shows that she has talent and creativity, and the ability to execute and deliver a unique and well-rounded game.  And all that... in only a week!  Good job, NekoBucket!

-flap

Thank you!! <3

Also, that was really good critiquing, I'm makin' a little list of these things to maybe fix and be sure to implement into my next game!

With the key thing...man, I just thought it was so obvious! but I'm pretty sure that's because I made the game

And yes her commentary was a little character-breaking, for a standard 7ish year old. But she was made to emulate how I spoke as a child sooooo I'll work on actually learning how real children talk next time I make a child-centered game. :3

Thank youuuuuuu for this wonderful review!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're welcome.  Thanks for making the game.

I've been noticing things too about my game that I thought would be obvious to people but aren't 


-flap