We gave you a brief hiatus to recover after Mike wrapped up our "Best of Indie" lineup with Cave Story, figuring that after such an onslaught of quality freeware, maybe you needed a breather. But now we're back, and I hope you spent the time well, because if you're a fan of classic 8- and 16-bit RPG's, you may be lacking free time for awhile. This week's installment contains not one game, but three, and they aren't short. ...Well, okay, the first one is. After that, no.
First released back in 2007, Pseudolonewolf's Mardek series is a loving part-homage, part-parody of the RPG genre. Backing tried and true gameplay with a wry sense of humor and a classic aesthetic style, he's managed to amass a respectable following for these games, and it's easy to see why. Best of all - and the reason for my focusing on it now - in honor of the new release of Chapter 3, the first two chapters have been updated and revamped, so if you've never heard of Mardek before, this is the perfect time to jump in.
This is the sort of dialogue you can expect from Chapter 1. Mardek is not ashamed of its cliches.
Gameplay-wise, what you'll find here is almost exactly what you remember from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games of our youth (well, my youth... I don't know when your youth was) - you'll guide your party through towns and dungeons, opening chests, managing items and equipment via a fly-out menu system, talking to NPC's, saving your game at save crystals, taking everything that isn't nailed down, etc. The overworld map is slightly more abstracted than those of most classic RPG's, with characters traveling between nodes rather than trudging across the world one step at a time, but once you enter one of the game's main areas, the look and feel will be very familiar. The plot, on the other hand, goes to some rather different places, but I'll let you discover that for yourself.
Dragon's Final Fantasy Quest XIV?
In combat, things are again more or less played by the traditional book, though there are a couple of changes that make the game feel a bit more engaging than your standard turn-based RPG. A timing mechanic accompanies each attack and defense action, similar to the one found in the Mario RPG and Paper Mario games. It isn't implemented in quite as nuanced a way as it is in those series, but it still keeps you on your toes. Experience gain is also handled in an unconventional fashion - every successful hit against an opponent grants XP, so characters will on occasion level up in the middle of a battle, rather than at the end. Not a huge shift, but an interesting one. Otherwise, it's standard fare - the usual Fight, Magic, Item menu - but be warned that the combat in Mardek is not easy, once you pass the short introductory first chapter. Early fights can still pose a serious threat to your party, if you're not careful.
Sure, you start out with rags and sticks...
...but keep at it, and maybe this is in your future. Maybe. No guarantees.
There isn't a whole lot else to say - if turn-based RPG's are your thing, there's a surprising amount of game to sink your teeth into, for a free Flash project. The gameplay is solid, the writing enjoyable, and the atmosphere nostalgic. The most recent installment is hypothetically Chapter 3 of 8, so there may be much more to come, though if it took three years to get Chapter 3 out, I must admit some skepticism about 5 more chapters showing up anytime soon. Still, what's there now is no less impressive for that, and worth checking out whether more ever arrives or not.
Mardek is...
- an ambitious project, well-handled so far.
- happily self-aware, something I'm always glad to see.
- very traditional, but in ways I appreciate.
- certainly worth a spin if you ever entered BKMG or THEF as a character name.
A note: The claim is made that you can carry your saves between the game's chapters. I tried transferring my save from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 without success. I haven't yet tried doing it with Chapter 3. Let me know if you have better luck.
Mardek plays anywhere Flash works - Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3.
Tally-ho! (Play the first chapter. You'll get it. It's something adventurers say.)
"Free And Worth Every Penny" is a column I collaborate on with Mike Bellmore at Colony of Gamers. This piece also appears there.