Runic Cipher

[Allen Hunter]

Bear with me on this: I'm not a that great with originality when it comes to plot. So I just stuck out a cliched concept that atleast makes sense. Anyway, my top talent in RPG Maker is mostly mapping. Also, this isn't a Final Fantasy fangame, just inspired by it, that is all. That doesn't mean it's going to have Chocobos, Cids, Moogles, Shiva, Ifrit, Ramuh, Bahamut, etc.

The Features:

- Fight alongside a group of rebels resisting a power-hungry emperor from causing global mayhem.
- Wonderful graphics ripped/edited from the classic Final Fantasy series.
- Up to 8 playable characters, each with their own unique personalities and storylines.
- Customize your characters' performances and abilities while in the field before the next battle by learning to use the exciting new Relic system.
- Explorable dungeons, castles, even cities, aswell as various sidequests that add up extra playing time.

The Plot:

Emperor Hilgar is an envious
and power-hungry ruler
who rules the country with the
biggest, most developed economy
in the entire world.

He had studied about the
four ancient Runic Stones,
in which if brought together and
cast under a certain spell,
may very well grant him the desired
"Ultimate Power", as prophesized
in the Ancient Witches' Spellbook.

Eversince then, the emperor
curiously had been showing such strong
desire as he started reading through the
Ancient Witches' Spellbook, and
he realized that he too can have this
kind of power, if he wanted to rule
the Earth and become a god.

But in order to be able to
unlock the "Ultimate Power",
he must scatter his military
around the world to settle
on other peoples' lands,
where protective altars for
each Runic Stone are located.

The countries of Jadin (essence of Earth),
Calupa (essence of Water),
Sassoon (essence of Air),
and Noviat (essence of Fire)
are the four targets of the emperor's plan.

Calupa and Noviat have been successfully invaded
and conquered by Hilgar's military, as many
of the natives were forced out of their
own land to settle in remote territory.

A rebellious squad named "EDGE" are
sailing their ship around the world to
fight off against Hilgar's military by
trying to get other countries to fight with
them and recover the Runic Stones
that were pillaged by the ruthless invaders.

The Runic Stones are natural blessings from the
Four Elemental Gods, whose spirits
strengthen the four elements that
make up our world: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire,
from the East to the South
to the West to the North of the planet.

Innocent people are wanting to know
just why Emperor Hilgar is interested on
collecting the four Runic Stones...

The "Relic System":

Instead of buying weapons & armor, I've changed "Equipment" to "Relics". You get to equip one ability to each six slots for each character (like in FFTactics):

1st slot is called Inflict, which is you get to equip an element or abnormal status ability for your added physical attack effect against enemies' weaknesses)
2nd slot is called Protect, which is the same as Inflict, but it's about protecting you against a bad status or absorbing an element attack)
3rd slot is called Command, which gives you a free special battle command of your choice you have in your inventory other than your initial special one.
4th slot is called Support, it's obviously whatever can boost your attack/magic/speed/defense points for battle or increasing your evasion, etc.
5th slot is called Field, pertains to nothing in the game but your walking characters on the screen, such as being able to walk over tile floor damage or watching out for traps. It takes only one field ability to be equipped to affect everyone in the team with that character on, so you get more freedom this way.

The Cast

Talon
Age: 37
Job: Leader of EDGE
Warrior Class: Thief
Weapon: Double Lance
Initial Battle Command: Steal - Take an enemy's item.

Bio: The leader of a rebellious team. Originally from Calupa, but after it was invaded and taken over by Hilgar, Talon contacted a nearby friend of his and decided to team up and look for other recruits on his friend's ship to be able to get Emperor Hilgar's men off of their land and all other affected nations.

He hopes to confront the tyrant himself one day to settle the score once and for all

Rick
Age: 20
Job: Dishwasher, EDGE member
Warrior Class: Archer
Weapon: Hunting Bow
Initial Battle Command: Poach - Turn a near-death foe into a Relic item.

Bio: A bored jobhunter who looks for new job opportunities all over the city of Regindo, a small remote island that makes fine chinaware and are famous for their food cuisine.

After a lucky meeting with Talon and Veronica at the pub he works at, Rick instantly quit his job there and joined EDGE to get paid more to travel around the world and to help fight stop Hilgar.

Veronica
Age: 24
Job: EDGE member
Warrior Class: Sniper
Weapon: Revolver
Initial Battle Command: Snipe - Assault your enemies.

Bio: She is a feisty gunner that likes to get to the point of things. Veronica was left on the streets of Damen when she was an infant, but was rescued and she was raised by a poor widow of the slums. Lacking much friends as a child, she started using a revolver to defend herself when she's out there in the crime-filled streets.

While Veronica does want to fight against Hilgar with EDGE, she also wants to find out her parents' whereabouts and interrogate them about it. Her only sources is a photograph of her folks and their full names.

Isabella
Age: 28
Job: General
Warrior Class: Knight
Weapon: Excalibur
Initial Battle Command: Swordskill - Powerful knight skills.

Bio: Isabella is the general of Sassoon Castle's Ruby Knight military. She proudly defends her land for the power and the glory of her queen. She is as bold and as brave as her heart is of gold.

As a child, she grew up from a rich family in the city who are good friends with the royals themselves. She mastered the art of swordsmanship and joined the Ruby Knights as early as at the age of 13.

Alex
Age: 25
Job: Adventurer
Warrior Class: Geomancer
Weapon: Battleaxe
Initial Battle Command: Geography - Use the earth as your weapon.

Zafar
Age: 50
Job: King
Warrior Class: Mystic Knight
Weapon: Falchion
Initial Battle Command: Magic Sword - Charge your sword into any element/status attribute to inflict on an enemy.

Kayla
Age: 19
Job: Unemployed
Warrior Class: Magician
Weapon: Scepter
Initial Battle Command: Magic - Cast a stock of spells used to protect allies and attacks enemies.

Barbara
Age: 37
Job: Unemployed
Warrior Class: Monk
Weapon: Fists
Initial Battle Command: Chakra - Unleash the hidden powers in Monks.

Screenshots

Field screen


Battle screen


Menu screen

^ I made these portraits by myself. I'm somewhat of an artist.

Downloads
Version 0.32: http://www.filefront.com/14719579/Runic-Cipher-Demo.rar/

Comments & Criticism are always welcome!

PS: Please DO NOT ask to be a tester;I already have enough doing my dirty work. :naughty:

[Fisherson]

Hmm interesting. This isn't quite Final Fantasy Time and Time again, but it looks good.

[Muraiko]

Looks good to me. The graphics does make one think of final fantasy at first sight, but at least you are still being original.
The Relic system seems interesting as well, it's always great to allow the player to customize the characters to what they see fit.

[Allen Hunter]

BUMP. Edited the original post, and the demo is out. Enjoy!

[JuneMoon]

Your link doesn't work ...

[Allen Hunter]

Sorry, but something is wrong with this forum, so I had to present it in URL.
http://www.filefront.com/14719579/Runic-Cipher-Demo.rar/

[Fisherson]

Sweet, I'll defiantly give this a try latter. I wondered where this game went O.o I thought it was dead.