These come in handy, but they are also a pain (or, in some versions, impossible) to modify. RPG Maker also provides you with many pre-made systems, like a save system, a battle system and default menus. It's not a question of laziness: most small developers simply don't have the time, skill and resources to make everything from scratch. That's why RPG maker games tend to look very similar. Most RPG Maker devs use the default assets the engine provides, enhancing them with the occasional custom character/illustration here and there. RPGs require a massive amount of assets: locations, characters, monsters and menus. RPG Maker games have always been around: people just used to post them elsewhere. After all, why post your first game on a forum when you have the opportunity to put it on Steam like a real developer? These aren't the cheap works of malicious devs: most games with low scores are clearly the first works of inexperienced developers. That's why the platform got invaded by simple-looking JRPGs. For the first time, RPG Maker users got the opportunity to directly release their works on Steam. When RPG Maker VX appeared on Steam, Steam Direct was blooming. People pirated the engine, illegally translated it, and used it to make small RPGs to post, play and comment on in tightly-knit communities. RPG Maker games have always been hereįor years, RPG Maker didn't have a Western publisher. I have a few thoughts that might help us to understand what's going on. But why have they got such a bad reputation?
There: RPG Maker games are officially not bad.
On average, RPG Maker games have a median value of 76 per cent positive reviews, putting them firmly in the "Mostly Positive" category. The ones without a thumb icon have fewer than 10 reviews. Most games without a score were released after the launch of Steam Direct. On average, an RPG Maker game receive 227 reviews. :: Best gaming keyboards 2019: Digital Foundry's picks "Positive" games are those with a positive score, but fewer than 50 reviews. Those are the scores of all the 559 games I analyzed:ġ90 games do not reach the minimum of 10 reviews, and therefore don't get a score. Steam reviews aren't truly indicative of the quality of a game, but are a good instrument to gauge if a game is well-received. Projects can't be ported between newest versions, so people usually choose an engine and stick with it for years. RPG Maker VX has been around for a while, and has the highest numbers of custom resources/plugins freely available to devs. Having said that, the RPG Maker Steam tag more or less contains: There were also a couple of games I wasn't able to identify, because they looked too different from your average RPG Maker game. Guessing the exact version used to make each game involved a lot of squinting at trees, so I can't assure you my estimations are 100 per cent correct. Many RPG Maker versions have been released over the years, and even the older ones are still in use. That's why I took a deep dive in the Steam RPG Maker tag, gathering data about all 559 tagged games released to this day.īehold the results of my foolish research. RPG Maker games tend to look the same, so this means that only untalented developers use it, right? Mine is the endless battle in defence of RPG Maker, accused by many of being a bad engine only used by lazy developers. These are just the ones I know of.We all have our petty personal crusades to fight. There are quite a few more good games out there. It captures the feel of the classic FF games very well, while having an original story. There are a few out there, but this one is the best, I would say. But it's so good that you should check out the demo nonetheless.Ī Final Fantasy fan game. The only game on this list that isn't actually finished. There is combat, but the real focus of the game is on exploration and solving the mystery of what happened to the town. This game was made in only six weeks, but I think it's a great example of what can be done with the engine. Not free, but really worth checking out.Īnother of my personal favorites. It's more like a visual novel, but it has a fantastic, very moving story. There's a sequel as well, but its not free. I haven't gotten very far in it, but it's solid. A more typical rpg with over 20 hours of content. One of the better known RPG Maker games in recent years. It's a very humorous game with an interesting story and a good level of difficulty. Not sure how recent you're talking, but here's a few good ones I've played that were made in the past few years:
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