Myth Xaran

I saw nothing but the bolded part there for about 3 minutes straight. The shock wore off though and I'm ready to give feedback.

Myth Xaran by Xathia Vaster
Reviewed by Tyranos


Gameplay: 7/10

So battles can be a bit slow. If you level up a bit in each area though it's not so bad since the slowness is mostly attributed to the low damage you deal. I find this strange since boss battles were probably perfectly done and I mean PERFECT. Time taken to beat one and the relative difficulty of doing so really made them feel like bosses. All in all I would say keep the pacing where it's at and if you really want to speed up the fights just increase strength a bit. Again I found it a good pace all around except for those few first battles when entering a new area.

As for the challenge of fights. Again level up a bit in an area and the difficulty gets significantly easier. Nothing was too hard but some were too easy, again upping damage a little for both player and monster might not be a bad idea if you ever want to make the fighting seem faster.

How innovative was combat? Well...to put it bluntly it was basic. Not everyone has CBS though and it's fine not to as long as the fighting is not boring or droll. I don't just too much based on systems though so it's fine not to have custom battle systems. Especially when monsters are consistent enough to not hurt your eyes. The only little letdown was that Truesight was not functional outside of the events for the plot. The gameplat is quite solid.


Graphics: 8/10

As stated before every little thing fits in fine. Nothing is popping out at your eyes causing your spouse/significant other to run into the room with a shotgun for fear of a break in. Yes some games have graphics in them so bad people litterally scream like they are being attacked. Well you won't find that in Myth Xaran. That in itself is bonus points since we all know there are not that many graphics that are unused or unliked.

Now we know how the graphics look rm2k3-ish it's not half bad and some tiles look like they have had some extra work on them to make them...whats the word? Clear? I can't place it but they look pretty nice. Lets see...in terms of use? I think they stacked up nicely. You didn't get any sudden urge to look away from any part of the game because nothing clashed so badly or was used so badly that you hurt your eyes looking at it.


Characters: 7/10

This part was pretty good. Even the emperor had a personality and the best part was that you didn't have to go through tons of boring dialouge and flashbacks to understand that. 7 but this one was well earned. Why? Because people are either making overly preachy characters with personalities that seem unreal or they make silent cardboard boxes. This game somehow meets in the middle ground and it's for that ability that I cannot name that I give this game a 7 in catagory. I somehow completely understand how the characters are thinking even though they say so little. Somehow these characters are not just cardboard cutouts and you managed to do it with little to no psychodrama. I knew that the emperor was an evil man just as I knew Kili was a loyal servant and compassionate soul at heart. Again I will never how you pulled this off without tons of dialouge. If you could take this ability and the character fleshout dialouge from some other games you would always recieve a 10 here.


Music & Sound: 6/10

I'll meet you half way on this one. You admit that what audio is here was used very well and I'll admit that there isn't much here. That's all I can really say. The audio quality came through nicely there just wasn't a lot of it. Custom sounds can be hard to come by but you should always keep trying to get permissions to use some as the standard sounds that come with the makers are too fake or cartoonish sounding. Myth Xaran uses some custom sounds that are nice but I would have liked to see some more.


Story: 9/10

This is where the game really shines it's brightest. The story is simply amazing. I loved it from start to finish. Why? Because it was simple yet deep. If you understand that then you understand why Terranigma is a prime inspiration for this part of the game. If not then go play Terranigma once more. This game achieves the same height of story with the same amount of words. No lie it's like the author took that games story and just rolled with the theme. The best part is that you are not some human boy or girl with mystical powers or a huge destiny. You actually play the game as a Rakshasa. For those who don't know it's a man tiger type creature with backwards hands and a knack for powerful magic. Granted you aren't getting all those full blown benefits it's still nice to see that someone is willing to tell a story from a different perspective. As I was saying you play as the later named Kili a creature in the lower realms of the world Exodus. You recieve a mission you believe to be holy mission from your friendly neighboorhood eveil diety Tydus. With this mission comes the power of Truesight. The ability has many names and descriptions in mythology but for this game it grants a type of psychic foresight. If you are still reading this stop now. Go play the game. I will not give up anymore of the storyline or plot. But suffice to say it certainly picks up towards the end and really leaves you wanting to know more not just about your quest but the world Exodus and it's many inhabitants.


Overall: 37/50

This game is a great little old school RPG that shouldn't take you more than around 10 hours to beat. It's a great way to spend a few afternoons. Just remember to pause the story to eat and drink. I found myself struggling to stop hitting space bar to get some water and I ended up doing the whole last fight thirsty as hell. It will keep you entertained in true old school fashion.

3.5 rating.