(CG) Final Fantasy Blackmoon Prophecy, Finally completed! Options

[UPRC]

Some of you "might" remember this, as I have posted about it a few times over the years here whenever I decide to randomly pop in. I also used to post about it on Gaming World before it bit the dust, and I post updates regularly over on RMN.

So what is this game?

Blackmoon Prophecy is a fangame (or tribute game as I like to call this) that I began in 2004 which is based on the Final Fantasy franchise. I had abandoned it several times between 2004 and 2008 (the last time I think I worked on it before now) for various reasons. Sometimes I would mess something up that affected the entire game, or I'd simply lose motivation for one reason or another and give up. I released several demos between 2004 and 2007. Initially, not a lot of people took to Blackmoon Prophecy. There were lots of bad maps, dialogue was overly juvenile, and the overall presentation (such as battle animations) was a little disheartening. With each demo, I refined the game more and more to carry a more authentic Final Fantasy feel until it seemed that almost everybody who played the later demos at least partially enjoyed the game. Negative feedback dropped quite a lot over the three years of demo releases. It has now been a few years since my lastdemo and I can safely say that, now that the game is finished, the refinements I've made since then are very thorough. Many dialogue sequences and maps have been completely remade and, in some cases, areas of the game have been completely removed because I deemed them to be too amateurish. There are still a few bugs lurking in the game and a few dialogue sequences are still pretty outdated, but general reception on my hosting site (RMN) has been exceptionally positive so far. They're also helping me out immensely by locating bugs and eventing issues, so I'm very quick to iron out any issues and upload fixed updates.

As for the story, it is meant to emulate classic Final Fantasy titles of the early 1990s. Because of that, the following description is brief.

Blackmoon Prophecy is the story of Vahn, a dragoon from the Branch Kingdom. A year has passed since the Crystal War which saw the King of Branch wage war on the worlds via crystal power. The King was defeated and the crystals returned to their rightful shrines across the world. Now, something mysterious is clearly going on. Strange happenings have been occurring at the Water Shrine, and a local dragoon named Darius has been acting peculiar and defiant in many cases. Can Vahn get to the bottom of it all?


What was it made with?
RPG Maker 2003.

Do I need to RPG Maker 2003 RTP to play?
No sir!

Can I edit the game if I find any bugs or errors that halt my progress or result in my character getting permanently stuck?
Yes, but the David patch is required due to the monsters in this game requiring more than 999 for stats and 99,999 for HP. If you are going to open this game in RPG Maker 2003, be sure that you have the David patch! It is available on Blackmoon Prophecy's blog on RMN.

How long is the game?
This is a very good question. After two full days, I've had some people on RMN playing for about 10-15 hours and they're only halfway through the game. By RPG Maker standards, it's a decently long game. I expect that it should take most people about 20 hours, maybe more.

How big is it?
123.7 megabytes. Not bad for over 1200 maps and a wealth of compressed mp3s! As well, I frequently post updates which are only 1 to 2 megabytes in size.

What makes this game a tribute more than just a fangame?
I make constant references to the fourth, fifth, and sixth Final Fantasy games throughout Blackmoon Prophecy. For example, there is one location called Branford Hollow, which is home to a mysterious girl who wants magicite shards. The girl was sprited to look like Terra in the form of a miniature Final Fantasy 4 sprite. I also bring Ultros in. Many item names reference particular games in the series. As well, Mystic Mysidia is ripped straight out of Final Fantasy 4. There are other little details, but I think it's best for the player to find them rather than having me blab about every single thing.

How does it play?
Blackmoon Prophecy is meant to emulate the older Final Fantasy games in many ways. Walk speed, locations, battle system, items, character roles, and so forth are all emulated to an extent. Basically if you don't like how Final Fantasy 4 plays, since it is the game I emulate the most, then this may not be a game for you. However, if you enjoyed that particular game in the series, then you may like Blackmoon Prophecy.

Will powerleveling be required like in the original NES titles, or the original Japanese version of Final Fantasy 4?
Yes and no. If you skip most fights and only get by on bosses at first, you won't have many issues due to the game starting off quite easy. However, the game will eventually punish you if you don't make an effort to level up at least once in each new area that you visit. There are two distinct difficulty spikes in the game which make themselves known as soon as they are reached.

Minigames? Side quests?
There are hidden side quests all over the place and, in most cases, the player must really look for them. NPCs in towns who look completely unimportant may hold the key to obtaining some nice loot. There are a few minigames of sorts as well such as an arena where the player can fight and unlock treasure chests, a sheep chasing game that awards items based on how many sheep are caught, a Black Jack clone, and an auction house that functions exactly like the one in Final Fantasy 6. There are also LOTS of optional locations to visit.


What was it made with?
RPG Maker 2003.

Do I need to RPG Maker 2003 RTP to play?
No sir!


How long is the game?
This is a very good question. After two full days, I've had some people on RMN playing for about 10-15 hours and they're only halfway through the game. By RPG Maker standards, it's a decently long game. I expect that it should take most people about 20 hours, maybe more.

How big is it?
123.7 megabytes. Not bad for over 1200 maps and a wealth of compressed mp3s! As well, I frequently post updates which are only 1 to 2 megabytes in size.

What makes this game a tribute more than just a fangame?
I make constant references to the fourth, fifth, and sixth Final Fantasy games throughout Blackmoon Prophecy. For example, there is one location called Branford Hollow, which is home to a mysterious girl who wants magicite shards. The girl was sprited to look like Terra in the form of a miniature Final Fantasy 4 sprite. I also bring Ultros in. Many item names reference particular games in the series. As well, Mystic Mysidia is ripped straight out of Final Fantasy 4. There are other little details, but I think it's best for the player to find them rather than having me blab about every single thing.

How does it play?
Blackmoon Prophecy is meant to emulate the older Final Fantasy games in many ways. Walk speed, locations, battle system, items, character roles, and so forth are all emulated to an extent. Basically if you don't like how Final Fantasy 4 plays, since it is the game I emulate the most, then this may not be a game for you. However, if you enjoyed that particular game in the series, then you may like Blackmoon Prophecy.

Will powerleveling be required like in the original NES titles, or the original Japanese version of Final Fantasy 4?
Yes and no. If you skip most fights and only get by on bosses at first, you won't have many issues due to the game starting off quite easy. However, the game will eventually punish you if you don't make an effort to level up at least once in each new area that you visit. There are two distinct difficulty spikes in the game which make themselves known as soon as they are reached.

Minigames? Side quests?
There are hidden side quests all over the place and, in most cases, the player must really look for them. NPCs in towns who look completely unimportant may hold the key to obtaining some nice loot. There are a few minigames of sorts as well such as an arena where the player can fight and unlock treasure chests, a sheep chasing game that awards items based on how many sheep are caught, a Black Jack clone, and an auction house that functions exactly like the one in Final Fantasy 6. There are also LOTS of optional locations to visit.







Blackmoon Prophecy can be downloaded on its host website, RMN: http://rpgmaker.net/games/427/downloads/

This post has been edited by UPRC: Apr 10 2012, 02:22 PM

[Titanhex]

I know I"ve seen this game before in production. It's got some notoriety in that way.

However unti you post screenshots I don't think I'll be able to move this to GC. Please post at least three. People prefer to see screenshots before playing a game. Go figure.

[amerk]

Just chiming in here, but if it's completed (aside from some minor touch ups) wouldn't this go to CG once approved?

[Robocroakie]

Well I'll be damned, I never thought I'd see this game again! UPRC, I'm not sure if you'll remember me, but you threw me in the credits a while back when I was under the alias MCR, and I loved the shit outta this game back then. Best FF fan game I've seen for RM IMO, glad to see you finished it. I'll definitely be playing this.

[UPRC]

Well I'll be damned, I never thought I'd see this game again! UPRC, I'm not sure if you'll remember me, but you threw me in the credits a while back when I was under the alias MCR, and I loved the shit outta this game back then. Best FF fan game I've seen for RM IMO, glad to see you finished it. I'll definitely be playing this.

And you, along with a few others who simply said inspiring words, are still in the ingame special thanks.

[amerk]

I will say you have brought a shiny ray of hope to fan games world wide. Congrats on its completion.

[Penance]

Total noob here..... Do you need anything to play this, or can you just download and go at it??

[Lato]

Yeah I am not able to play this because that website has banned me...Go RMN!!!! AHAHAH

It actually looks good, can you upload it here to?? or ANY other place.

[riomin]

Is there a way to replace the moving/blurring screen for the cutscenes or whenever I go to a different map/floor? Game seems nice, those tiles are just making me really dizzy. (no offense meant)

[lethitax]

The cave where you have to go save Marie: the first puzzle where you have to move those chests; it doesn't work in reverse, which is probably why you were teleported back to the beginning after saving her, however, if you went back due to a missing chest: you're stuck as the puzzle doesn't work backwards.

Sadly, I saved in the area passed that; not knowing the first puzzle can't be worked from the opposite side. No idea if I'm going to re-do everything, even though it's still early on in the game: I still spent quite a bit of time exploring, and leveling.

PS - Please, if there's anyone who can prove me wrong, let me know!.

This post has been edited by lethitax: Jun 21 2012, 02:26 PM

[MagitekElite]

Oh wow! You finished the game? Awesome! Awesome! The link won't work for me though. Is there someplace else I may download from?

Great work, by the way!

[UPRC]

Ha, completely forgot about my topic of RRR.

The cave where you have to go save Marie: the first puzzle where you have to move those chests; it doesn't work in reverse, which is probably why you were teleported back to the beginning after saving her, however, if you went back due to a missing chest: you're stuck as the puzzle doesn't work backwards.

Sadly, I saved in the area passed that; not knowing the first puzzle can't be worked from the opposite side. No idea if I'm going to re-do everything, even though it's still early on in the game: I still spent quite a bit of time exploring, and leveling.

PS - Please, if there's anyone who can prove me wrong, let me know!.

That issue, as well as many others, have since been fixed.

For those who can't access RMN for whatever reasons, I'll add a Mediafire download when I update the game next (within the next seven days).