Repost of a review I wrote two years ago, saving it for posterity and better visibility. It holds pretty well even today.
I think the game is an interesting and surprisingly heavy story of people stuck between the politics of two warmongering empires. I particularly like the character writing for the two central leads, Lunair and Revier. They start out rough, but over time, solidly build up a complimenting relationship, featuring reckless, well intentioned bravado on one side, and cold, calculated yet oddly humane pragmatism on the other.
But that's the rub - it takes so long to truly get going. The first Act is extremely rough, and even when getting to the considerably tighter second Act, there are still multiple rough patches of poorly paced and ill fitting scenes to get past. However, the experience at the end is worth it - there's an intensely tense plot involving high politics and personal stakes, which eventually escalates to a dramatic, sober finish.
The third and fourth Acts aren't as strong, but still have many enjoyable moments. Particularly outstanding is the backstory of a protagonist's "fake" sister, where she reveals herself to have acted as her since childhood to cover up for her death in a freak accident. Also notable is a big climactic battle between the protagonists and the evil Duke's elite forces, which ends in a pyrrhic victory, with the Duke still alive and fleeing.
However, the game is most notable for highlighting the author's roots, and indeed, many of his later story tropes and ideas can be clearly seen here. A protagonist being drawn to fulfill a childhood promise? Check. Childhood trauma affecting their later development? Check. Telling backstories through memory travel? Check. Exploring the futility of mindless wish fulfillment? Check. In that sense, it's a fascinating historical trip through his creative mind, if a bit bumpy at times.
Do note however that this isn't a game with good gameplay. Most of the interactivity boils down to "press arrow keys to move". There's an incredibly janky battle system, but there aren't that many battles (which is a good thing overall). There are, however, tons of minigames, and quite a few fetch quests around. Most of these minigames aren't too bad by themselves, but a bit...poorly placed? Some of them make no sense narratively, and RPG Maker makes most of them feel a bit awful even outside of that. In short, don't play this if you want a good gameplay experience.
As a final, and somewhat gloomy note, this game wasn't finished. It abruptly ends teasing a chase between the protagonists and the main antagonist, as well as a protagonist heading somewhere to enquire about their real sister, but not much comes out of it. The author cheekily says they're "almost there", but this is a big fat lie - it has been thirteen years and he hasn't updated it since, being focused on his commercial entries instead. Bit of a bummer, even if understandable.
All that said though, I recommend it, as an interesting little JRPG story that delves sincerely into some intense themes, even if it's constantly held back by some amateurish writing and design decisions. If you like stories of imperial politics, transhumanism, wish fulfillment and relationship drama, then this is the game for you!
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