Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis (RPG)

A Traditional Title Screen.

Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis by Neok is a traditional RPG made with RPG Maker 2003. Which means that players will need the RM2k3 RTP installed in order to play the game. And it is available for free. The game, that is. Said so in the readme file. The RTP should also be available free.

Do I have to Google it up? Sigh. You can find it... funny, I can't seem to find the official download for the RTP... Oh well, there are probably unofficial downloads somewhere on the Internet. La la la...

Anyway, Alter A.I.L.A Genesis is one of those traditional RPGs where the player brings along a party of adventurers into dungeons and beat up random wandering monsters for loot and XP. The setting is a post-apocalyptic world. It comes with a decent story told through cutscenes. However, the strong point of the game is its combat system. It is not too complicated to understand, yet interesting enough to keep the player challenged.

I shoot baddies!

Um, yeah, the screenshot is tiny. But the game comes with 2x view and fullscreen options. Good to know for players who do not wish to squint at a tiny image on their high-resolution monitor.

Battles in the game involve a management of resources. There is time, where the player has to wait for a bar (separate for each character) to fill up before the character can make a move. There are the usual items and HP. And there are AP and EX too. The latter two are resources consumed by characters when they use an ability. It is the management of all these that make the game interesting.

Oh, and there is Field Effect too, a continual battlefield situation affecting everyone on both sides. Boss fights usually come with a constant Field Effect. However, the player can create his/her own Field Effect through the use of certain easily available items.

Ah boom BOOM!

Naturally, items have limited number of uses and characters are out when their HP are depleted.

All abilities consume AP and generate EX when used. More powerful abilities require the use of EX. By stocking up AP and EX and stealing those of the opposition (the baddies are subjected to the same combat system - no cheating for the AI), the player can keep performing high-powered moves while denying the baddies a chance to hit back.

Ok, here is a screenshot where the baddies have not been beaten up yet.

Another aspect of the game are elements. Each attack is made up of one or two elements. And each opponent and player character has a strength or weakness to each element. Baddies of the same type (humanoid, robot, etc.) tend to have the same strengths and weaknesses. With a little observation, the player can figure out the proper weapon to use against a certain baddie.

For those who are lazy to observe, Leon (the first character in the screenshot) has an ability that analyzes baddies (one at a time) for their strength, weaknesses and as an added bonus, their current and max HP.

The game comes with a decent tutorial stage to help the player learn about the game mechanics. The tutorial is easy to find - it is right after a little street fight where new players would have no idea what to do.

In between dungeons.

Most of the fun takes place in dungeons, accessed from a game map. Sometimes there would be a convenient store (maybe I should call them convenience stores) on the map for the player to stock up on items. For those of you who are too lazy to squint at the above screenshot, there are also options to save the game and to talk to get a reminder of the current objective. The Un-equip All is a handy little option to take back equipment assigned to someone who has just for no good reason left (ran from) the party with all the good stuff equipped.

I am alone in the corridor.

Dungeon exploration takes place on a 2D side scrolling view. Actually, it is only 1D at times when the character can only move forward and backward. Despite the simplistic interface and the small dungeons, I still got lost. I had to wander around aimlessly until I mentally mapped out the place.

While wandering around, unseen baddies may approach as indicated by a flashing exclamation mark above the character's head. The player may wait and hope the baddie leaves or initiate battle immediately.

In addition to wandering baddies, dungeons may also have hidden locations that are not marked by arrows. This adds a little exploration fun for the player.

Posing for a screenshot.

In summary, Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis is a decent RPG. The graphics may be simple and the story straightforward, but it comes with a good combat system. This is a great game for players who like challenging fights.

For those who have completed the game, there is mention of the sequel to the game, Alter A.I.L.A. Variant. Looks like it is still in production.

Update 6 May 2014:
I just looked up the link above and it looks like Alter A.I.L.A Variant had been cancelled almost two years ago.

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This is supposed to be a boss fight. The bosses are those little guys at the back on the left. The girl in front is pulling a super special move. And this is a needlessly long caption.