Carlsev Saga: Special Edition Review

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Intro:

I was originally given the chance to play Carlsev Saga because Deckiller was interested in getting a few members of the UI community to put his project through Beta Testing in its original version.

Please note: I’m not really good at calculating ‘values’ for stuff like this; it’s largely a subjective, not objective, skill for me. The ranking I’ve given this is my best estimate of a score for the commentary I’ve gone with.


Graphics:
There are two main points to dealing with graphics in a video game: One, they should be reasonable (as opposed to eye-watering combinations of color and pattern) and two, they should be consistent. That is, graphics of the same type (multiple chipsets, for example) should be in the same style, and sets of graphics, such as character{Charaset, Face, Battler} should have a clear and noticible relation to one another.

Map Chips: The world map was a modified RTP-style chipset. Local maps (anything not the worldmap) were mostly, although not entirely, Refmap sets - and those which weren't appear to have been chosen so as to match the Refmap style to within a reasonable degree of accuracy. The worldmap was the only one with even a slighly out-of-place feel to it, and that was minimized by the fact that Deckiller planned the maps so that the shifts which rendered it so were gradual enough not to be noticed unless specifically looked for.
Character Graphics: Character graphics were, as far as I can tell, reasonably consistent in style. This is helped, no doubt, by the fact that most of the characters the player will run into at first are members of the Carlsev military, all of whom wear one of three styles of armor. The sprites are in the generic RTP style, which helps to hold them together - nothing really distracting about them.
Face Graphics: Face graphics were...unusual. This was the weakest area graphically for Carlsev Saga. While the various characters were given face graphics that went with the character design, which is a plus, these face images were drawn from so many sources that there was no real consistency-of-type among them. The face image for at least one playable character was of a style so different from any other that it jarred me every time I opened the menu while that character was in my party.
Battler: N/A, RM2k game.

Sound:
A video game can be well-designed, and the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, but without sound, it will seem dull and lifeless. There are two kinds of sound; point-in-time (aka 'sound effects') and constant (aka 'background music').

The background music seemed to be chosen to fit in well with the areas it was playing, and the events occuring in those areas at the time. Nothing really stood out, either positively ('Wow, amazing song!'), or negatively ('Why on earth did he use that here?') about the music.

I don't recall much about the sound effects. Nothing really stood out as being out of place, but also little stood out at all. The only effect I specifically recall was a slight whistling/grating sound in the obligatory ice dungeon - it helped to give the feel the characters were, perhaps, skating across the ice rather than sliding; a nice touch. The sound chosen was a soothing one, as well: Don't let my use of the word 'grating' to describe it mislead you.

Map Layout:
Some games don't need map design. Pong, for example. But for most games, especially VRPGS, maps are critical. They don't just show the world, they are the world, and should be treated accordingly.

The map layout for Carlsev Saga was fairly well done. Chipsets were chosen appropriately, and further, were retained - even near the end of the game, any attempt to go back to new areas in old locations would use the same chipset (expected) in pretty much the same manner (not always expected). Care and attention were given to each area to hold to a feeling that this is a uniform world, even when shifting between chipset styles in order to obtain certain effects - the game habit most likely to break that uniformity. Areas were often large, but not excessively so: There was a good amount of space to wander around in, without the risk of becoming seriously lost.

Story:
What's going on? How much do we see, how much do we learn?

Which story do you want? The overall plot to Carlsev Saga is a tale within a tale within a tale - what seems to start off as the beginnings of a military revolt in a single nation blossoms into a massive storyline invoking multiple world powers, with nicely done doses of the traditional heroism and loyalties, but also betrayals, web-within-web deceit, and a quest to stop a massive, possibly worldwide war...or, perhaps, start it.

Characterization:
What are video game characters? Are they simply collections of pixels and statements, or are they people, with real personalities?

Major characters had full personalities. In general, the playable characters reacted in certain ways to the situations they faced, and the important non-playable characters also had specific personalities that helped to define them. Roland, the first major PC you're introduced to, has a no-nonsense attitude to everything he does; it appears that this means his teammates personalities can grate on him from time to time, which at least some of them appear to return. With the exception of the prologue, each of the playable characters had some quirk or distinctive reactions that helped to say 'yes, this is a real person'.

Similar care was lavished on the nonplayable characters as well. Even those who basically exist to get themselves killed still show signs of personality and distinctiveness, and those with larger roles do get more time to display these personalities on the screen. It's a bit disturbing how effectively Deckiller was able to define, in a small number of scattered statement blocks, the somewhat sadistic personality of the King of Carlsev...a man who brings to mind the following, paraphrased from a novel I once read. "You know how small boys sometimes pull the wings off flies? He's the king...no one ever told him it was wrong to do that."

Minor characters didn't really get that kind of treatment - reasonable ('minor' means 'joe bystander' or 'jill average' in the towns), but perhaps a bit more could have been done. From what I could tell, many of these characters seemed to exist simply as attitude foils for some of the major characters.

Gameplay:
How well was the game designed? Do things interact nicely, or is the player likely to throw down their keyboard in disgust?

The gameplay in Carlsev Saga: Special Edition was fun for the most part, but there were a few things that weren't.

First, cash was rare, and so, in a similar way, were items that could be sold for cash. There were some times in the early game when attempts to grind only brought in enough to recover from the damage taken and MP spent during the attempt, which wasn't pleasant. This was compounded by the second item on the list.

Deckiller created a custom system of stat-increase not by leveling up, but by finding various objects to be transformed into 'Tonics' which boost a particular stat. The items used to 'purchase' these tonics were, generally, found by defeating monsters - which means they too fell prey to the above 'overgrind' problem.

The dungeons and other diverse locations were generally easy to handle (apart from the battles), although a few could become frustrating. (I'm looking at you, invisible maze.) The only real problem was that, partway through the game, the structural style of the battles shifted. Originally, the battle style focused largely on innate character skills and regular attacks; after the shift, it focused largely on special items and skills drawn from the enemy. The shift took time to get accustomed to, and caused a major spike in difficulty until that was resolved.

Please note, these do not constitute the whole of the argument. They're just the parts that stood out to me - I was bugtesting, and something that felt off or didn't seem to mesh was more likely to catch my attention. Story, not gameplay, was and is Carlsev Saga's big draw, but the gameplay itself wasn't really lacking except for these few points, most of which corrected themselves over the course of the game.

Minigames:
Take a break from the action. Why not try a refreshing minigame while you wait?

There were a few minor quests and optional dungeons, but I do not recall any real 'minigames' in Carlsev Saga. The only thing really interesting was that, about 1/3 of the way through, a battle 'game' of sorts was implemented - it became possible to fight certain monster parties on demand, without having to wander around until they chose to show themselves. This greatly eased the difficulty level of grinding for both cash and alchemy items.

Custom Systems:
What kind of custom systems are there? And how well designed are they?

Scan system: The scan system was reasonably well done - useful, since it's pretty much required in order to determine what play in the elemental rock-paper-scissors game will be needed to beat the enemy. It helps that a single scan attempt will give the stats (HP Remaining and Element) for all enemies left in the battle.

Steal system: Only bothered with it the one required time; I dislike stealing. I suspect this may be part of the reason I had as much trouble as I did; I think Deckiller was planning on having the player gain a large amount of their 'extra' goods from this.

Tonic Alchemy system: The idea of strengthening the characters through the use of special items, rather than level grinding, was a nice one, and adds to the originality of the game. However, because of the grinding difficulties mentioned above, early-game doesn't see a good useage for this. It's not until the Monster-Grind 'game' becomes available that Tonic generation becomes effective, although once it does, the idea proves its worth quickly.

Draw system: Deckiller implemented a two-prong 'draw' system into the battles; one prong can also be used during some map events. The first 'prong' was the ability to draw 'essences' into a stock of useable items (the major method of elemental attacks at this point), the other was a single character who could study the enemy to permanently learn a new skill. This system was cornerstone of midgame battles; an interesting idea, implemented well, but hampered by battle structures. (It doesn't help that your most effective healer is also the one doing the essence drawing.) What essences could be drawn appears to have been determined by enemy party, rather than actual enemies; it was possible to get rid of all of one type of enemy, but still draw the essences associated with it when making a draw attempt.

Trigger Commands: Several important battles had Trigger Commands; special skills that took advantage of the surroundings or conditions on the battlefield for special effects. (Such as hiding behind something to avoid an otherwise unbeatable super attack.) An interesting idea, but largely only useable in boss battles or other event-triggered scenarios. Still, it was a nice touch.

Bug Count:
How well fumigated was the game? Are the bugs mostly dead, or are there still plenty of them crawling around to make problems for the player?

Which version? I was playing as a beta tester - my entire purpose for playing was to try and trigger as many bugs as I could in the game. I ran into a lot of them: most minor, some major, one gamebreaker. However, anything I ran into I logged, and handed off to Deckiller. Although I haven't played the finished version yet, from what I've heard back from Deckiller and from others who have tried the game, the bugs were pretty well fumigated...the gamebreaker, in particular, I know has been removed, simply because people were commenting on things that happened after it triggered.

Replay value:
Is the game worth replaying? Are there places of non-linear decisions that invite a 'what if I did it this way?' mentality?

The game is largely linear. It's fun once you get past the early-game troubles (or around them), but I'm not sure it'll entice players into a second playthrough once they've done everything the first time around.

Conclusion:

Worth the download time, worth the time to play. Carlsev Saga is a good example of how an RM2k game can and should work.

Final Score:
Carlsev Saga: Special Edition scores 8/10.