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Soul Shepherd
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This is a game for those who want a game that fights back. Soul Shepherd offers high levels of customization, strategy, and a whole lotta challenge.
Features:
-Many 100% unique script additions coded by me that you won't see anywhere else. Along with completely altered battle mechanics and formulas.
-Finite grind, the effectiveness of JUST gaining XP is severely limited (though there are many other ways to improve your characters), as a result strategy and wits are required to topple challenging enemies, not just grinding away levels.
-The Soul System, kill enemies and steal their soul, equip it to gain that enemy's strength and learn their abilities.
-Totally revamped graphical interface, compared to the standard RMXP build, the text is a lot easier to read, graphical meters are used for various stats, and multiple windowskins are offered, as well as much better status, shop, and equip interfaces.
-The Impulse System, fill your IP meter to unleash special attacks on enemies.
-The Shard System, shatter enemy souls into shards, equip these shards to gain special effects.
-Complexity, many more than the stock character stats have been added to this game in order to create more room for strategy and customization.
Game Status: Demo
Game Length: About 12 hours
Game Genres: RPG, survival horror, dungeon crawler
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Comments: (27)
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zombero (Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:03:25 -0400)
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ANNOUNCING SOUL SHEPHERD 2.00
The download link has been updated. ~25 hours of gameplay. |
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zombero (Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:06:17 -0400)
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An RPG Maker game taking an idea from a commercial RPG? Shocking!  You can pretty easily call "Simpsons did it" with just about anything people put in their games. Though, I don't think that lessens it any, especially if people put their own spin on the idea. But yeah, I made no effort to hide it, I even took the time to come up with an "I" word so that the points you use for the skills would still be called IP. 
P.S. the start of the game was made slightly easier, but the hero wasn't really specifically buffed in any way. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:01:03 -0400)
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The impulse system sounds vaguely like another game I've played (hint, hint, Lufia II anyone?), but I liked the idea from that game so it's okay. Hopefully, now the hero is a bit stronger. |
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Sprynx (Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:14:43 -0400)
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type. (Only one sentence per post? Lame.) A way to store abilities to reassign later would be great! |
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Sprynx (Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:13:15 -0400)
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I like the new additions, and I don't think the story is bad at all. It's a really good game of its |
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zombero (Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:36:57 -0400)
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The new version of the demo is complete. The play time is about the same as before, but 3 new systems have been added: soul shards, impulse skills, and rallies. Also, the GUI was massively revamped and many of the underlying formulas were changed. Enjoy |
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zombero (Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:15:19 -0400)
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UPDATE! Within a few weeks, I'll be re-releasing the demo. The new version will have a completely revamped graphical user interface, as well as new features and modified mechanics. This edition will incorporate changes based on feedback I've received on the demo over the past several months, as well as my own ideas for changes. |
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zombero (Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:12:03 -0400)
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Thanks for the comment, doomed2die. A key element to the game is that simply gaining levels really doesn't help too much, so battles are more about having and using the right skills and commands. Having high level souls is pretty key though, and you have to learn said skills, so there is some amount of grind involved. |
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doomed2die (Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:10:27 -0400)
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Frankly, I think that this game was judged on the wrong scale (the one of a typical story driven RPG) rather than how the game actually is built (a dungeon crawler.) The intro was decent and if I had downloaded without reading, I would have thought this game was story driven.
Enjoying mechanics greatly. Game is very challenging. However, I'm getting the feel of grinds as I can't seem to beat the kobold evented fight and I'm gaining levels and looking for souls while getting ready to do so :( |
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LockeZ (Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:07:38 -0400)
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If you don't like dungeon crawlers as a game genre, chances are pretty high that you won't like this particular dungeon crawler. I like FF style games more than dungeon crawlers myself, which is why I made my game that way. But as dungeon crawlers go, I think this looks like a good one. We'll see how it turns out when it's further along. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:48:32 -0400)
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I thin you're right zombero. Metal will never understand where I'm coming from, and vice versa. All around, pretty good game, just my taste runs different from other ppl. |
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zombero (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:33:06 -0400)
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TheMetalOne is one such person who took a shine to this type of game with my initial distribution of it (before posting here). But alright, cool off the flame war please. I'd rather have discussion/argument/debate about what is in the game than about what is not. I think this topic arc has gone as far as it can. |
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TheMetalOne (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:09:31 -0400)
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@Bulmabriefs Man, what is it with you and story. It's a game, not a book. Where do you get off saying games are incomplete without story. Maybe FOR YOU they are, but no one here cares about your majority view. You do not "work on it", as you said. The developer clearly states that the game is not about story. WHAT IS SO HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT? How is it nonsensical to plan for the game to not have story? Enlighten me. UGH. I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you're talking about. and I can give the game any rating I want. There won't be "mindblowing good graphics, the story is inspiring, and the mechanics is top-notch. " on this site. It's games made by RPG Maker, how the hell are they going to have mindblowing graphics? and you may think inspiring story is important, but I'm personally sick of games about heroes and villians and blah blah blah save the princess. I just want to play the game. That's what you get with Soul Shepherd. If you don't like that, then stop playing and commenting. AND I did not say your game sucked, I said if you want a game you can just run through, yours would be a good place to start. It's not for me, doesn't mean it's not for the masses. I did not take Final Fantasy out of context. You commented on a game developed by one person and the entire comment was about Final Fantasy. You're a fanboy. If you don't think good mechanics are enough, then don't play the damn game. But don't come riding in on your high horse telling people what's wrong with the game when they've already said they don't care about something as inane as story. Your opinion is yours to hold. If you're going to comment on a game, trying playing it first, and then provide some actual feedback. And since I can't say it enough, get your worthless story somewhere else. Seriously, games don't need story, and there's hundreds of games out there with story if that's what YOU want. |
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zombero (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:04:25 -0400)
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Yes, I did mean SMT: Nocturne. I will certainly consider any feedback on mechanics in my future design, I've already taken quite a bit of feedback and turned it into changes on mediums outside of this site, and intend to continue to do so. Perhaps my stance on story wasn't clear enough, so I edited my game description. I do not see the lack of story as a flaw, I see it as a different type of game. Just as the examples I gave are different types of games due to the absence of story. Changing my game to a type that some people would like more is not an improvement, it's a horizontal movement to another type of game, and I chose not to make that type of game when I started this project. To me good gameplay mechanics are enough, I don't need story in my game, I have books for that and will choose to read them instead of playing games if I'm in a story mood. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:12:11 -0400)
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(Stupid no-edit function, now I have to make a new comment)
As for you, Metal, your "defending people with good sense" seems misplaced. I can understand not having a completed story, just as my game doesn't have completed mechanics. But you call that a demo, apologize for it, and work on it (that's what I'm doing with my "crappy game". You don't just say in the article "I planned it that way" that's nonsensical. Just as you don't give a game a 10, unless it is mindblowing good graphics, the story is inspiring, and the mechanics is top-notch.
Enough flaming, here's the thing. My game may suck, but I'll keep improving it, until it's good. In the mean time consider the other people who responded, LockeZ and Sailerius. LockeZ has a game, which has an intriguing battle system with kinda interesting mechanics, and it has a super-hard mode where you can't buy potions or stuff. LockeZ game also has something of a plot, and nearly this game's difficulty. Sailerius is consistently in the top 10 best rated for awhile now, because the story of Vacant Sky is popular, and yes it also has good mechanics with the skill-learning system. And this game is a pretty good model of what a good game should be, not Final Fantasy (as you so unfortunately took out of context), but what it does and that is REINVENTION. Good mechanics are not enough, Sailerius saw things wrong with the first game, and what did he/she do? The second game changed because of it. The skill system is gone because it was glitchy, and tight railroaded plot also went in favor of a more open-ended game. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:38:44 -0400)
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Yea, I guess it's a compliment. I also like the idea you put of them being paralyzed (brutal as heck, but it would actually add a sort of semi-plot, that the characters are all bound to the one), I never considered that.
And nope, never played any of those. I've played Wizardry though, and hated the series (the description of Etrian Odyssey seems like Wizardry). Btw, do you mean Nocturne (1999), or Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, because wiki mentions that too, and I have played the Shin Megami Tensei series. From the descriptions on wiki, these games are all dungeon-crawler 3d games, if you want a better example of a good mechanics game (with the same direct 3d view), try the Elder Scrolls series (Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion). They have the plot, and they have definitely their own mechanics (level building by skill use), plus you get outside the dungeon to a Europe-sized world. |
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zombero (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:53:08 -0400)
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Considering Nocturne uses the game-over-on-main-char-death system, and considering how much I love Nocturne, I did give using it a good deal of consideration, but I just don't like the mechanic. A lot of game overs in that game felt like being cheaped out instead of being totally destroyed. Total destruction is so much more fun. Also instant death attacks are rough with that mechanic. It would make -sense- for it to be a game over, though it would also make sense for the dolls to be useless when the main char is asleep, panic'd, paralyzed, etc, and realism takes a backseat to mechanics for me. For the doubles on souls this was mainly just to encourage more diverse parties. I disagree with your assertion that a game is half a game without a story. Tetris is not half a game, the Wizardry series are not half games. Games are not inherently stories, and this idea that RPGs have to saturated in story is a part of the mainstream mold. Games tend to have pretty sub-par story compared to good books. I generally like to get my stories from books and my game from... games. I tried to save people who don't feel this way from being subjected to it. But if your review means you give my story a 0/5 and my game a 6/5, I'll take it as a compliment. |
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TheMetalOne (Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:13:42 -0400)
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I just read bulmabriefs review...... Perhaps Zombero should just put "This is not Final Fantasy". And for the record, Final Fantasy IS the "factory made RPG" newb. I bet you've never played Etrian Odyssey, Nocturne, or Dark Spire either, since you're in love with your story. You should just play Xenosaga for the rest of your life. |
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TheMetalOne (Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:03:41 -0400)
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First of all, I'm not a f***ing sock puppet. I gave the game a candid review. Don't get an attitude because I gave a good game a good rating. Secondly, I played your game a bit after reading your moronic review. And you mentioned that you had the game, or I wouldn't have even bothered to click your name and find it. I felt compelled to defend people with good sense. You talk about the creator saying you can't have mechanics and story, but that's not what he said. If you had bothered to read his description, you'd see it's exactly what he says it is. Seriously, if this game isn't for you, then don't play it. But after reading your stupid comments it only seemed fair to give this game a comment that actually highlights some of the aspects, instead of making things up.
And as far as "similar grammatical format", do you mean good grammar? |
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bulmabriefs144 (Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:36:03 -0400)
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Ummmm, why do I get the sense Metal is a sock-puppet? It is curiously citing my game BY NAME, when it is virtually ignored in most cases (against my best efforts, but that's okay), giving a 10 in the rating, and there is similar grammatical format. I'll think I'll review this game in a bit. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:49:47 -0400)
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"Hard, hard, and hard, with an emphasis on hard. Seriously, you aren't going to just run through this game mindlessly. look elsewhere for that(Oracle of Tao is one I found on here that would suit those interests more)."
Ummmm, thanks? (Ish posting below, and it's my game)
I seriously need to work on my game balance though. Making progress in that regard, by having more of a levelling curve, but ummm battles are still kinda weird. I might need to do more battle tests.
I personally found this game kinda difficult, as in, I'd die just like that. I'm also not sure why you couldn't have doubles on souls (if you had two of the same soul type, you couldn't equip it on another homunculus, to for example have an army of bats). Other than that, it is an original system you've got here, and the low story doesn't seem to matter much (no, it's not an excuse, just barely). One critique though: the homunculi should be like pets, that is, add a code in battle that says If Hero HP is 0% it's gameover. I can't imagine the critters carrying out without their master, after all (if you did it this way, you may need to rebalance the hero's HP though). |
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TheMetalOne (Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:24:08 -0400)
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This game is exactly what the developer claimed it would be. A difficult game focusing on gameplay and NOT on story. If only more gamers saw things the way this guy does, we'd all be better off. Imagine a world where you can actually play your game instead of reading it. That's what I call heaven. But to get right to the point, I enjoyed several aspects of this game:
Very little story
You can explore wherever you want. If you die, that's a good indication you're too far, although you might just be too weak as well.
Hard, hard, and hard, with an emphasis on hard. Seriously, you aren't going to just run through this game mindlessly. look elsewhere for that(Oracle of Tao is one I found on here that would suit those interests more).
The FOE's are a great way to test your strength and skill.
The game gets harder as you go, instead of staying the same the whole time.
The focus is on equipping the right souls and not so much on leveling.
Learn your enemies, you need those abilities later.
Grinding isn't really the point of this game, except that you have to fight to learn abilities.
There were FOE's that I had to fight as many as 10 times (Harpy) to really learn their patterns and figure out what was best against them.
I particularly enjoy the mechanics of the game. All too often buffs and debuffs are a waste of space in a game. Not here. They're as important as your sword.
All in all, I'd love to see this game picked up and made by a company. Too bad that'll probably never happens. 5/5 |
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LockeZ (Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:46:24 -0400)
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I'm impressed, you made an RPG that is actually legitimately very difficult, without ever once feeling like I died from something cheap - every battle requires real thought. And the soul system is rather unique, but is not hard to understand and works extremely well. I don't think it's a rip-off of SMT at all, I think the battle system is just developed under similar theories of what makes a good game. The emphasis is clearly on designing a good battle system and customization system, and I think it shows - these parts of the game are excellent. |
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snowlesswinter (Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:12:46 -0400)
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This game took too much references from Shin Megami Tensei. The mechanics might appeals to others but for a SMT fan like me, it's just... repetitive. |
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zombero (Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:46:13 -0400)
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Not sure what you mean about it being an excuse, I'm not saying it can't be both. I'm just warning people that it's NOT both, so if they want story focus they won't waste their time. I personally prefer to play games with minimal story. |
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Sailerius (Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:28:55 -0400)
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That just sounds like an excuse.You can most definitely have a game that focuses on mechanics+story. |
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bulmabriefs144 (Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:18:38 -0400)
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Uhhhhh, shouldn't a good game have both? I have a game that pretty much requires you use magic the whole way, which means you have to actually know your enemy, and be good enough to make it a fair way into the game (since the first part of the game you only have a white/effect type), but uhhhh I'm trying to do some worldbuilding too. Nonetheless, I've played some story-heavy games, so let's see what you're talking about. |
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Game Details
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Developer:
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zombero
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Platform:
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RPG Maker XP
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Genre:
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RPG
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Status:
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Complete |
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Last Updated:
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2010-10-06 |
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Views:
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4469 |
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Downloads:
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-- |
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User Rating:
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  22 Vote(s) |
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