Quick Review: Secret of Magia

Whatever happened to my goal of reviewing plenty of RPG Maker titles?

You may choose... but there's no difference.

Made by Senpai Studios and released on August 21st, 2015, Secret of Magia is the story of Kerzok or Kani (you choose your player character before the game starts; Kerzok is male, Kani is female). Kerzok/Kani dreams of a bird that asks them to bring the souls of the elemental deities. After they wake up and train for a bit, the protagonist is invited to join the local guild. As Kerzok/Kani discovers the world, they begin to learn about the local legends, and a greater story unravels…

The tricky part with discussing RPG Maker games, since they all share the same basic game design software, is to see how details change from a game to another. Some won’t bother with extra scripts in the software’s Ruby language, and keep their project simple. Others may go all-out and include everything they want.

Slash till this thing is dead!

The first, and most notable, difference in Secret of Magia might be the combat mechanics. Instead of turn-based combat, the game employs action RPG mechanics. Rather than wait for their turn, Kerzok/Kani will slash at whatever’s in front of them, inflicting damage, and must then wait to reload. Oh, enemies can hit back – if the protagonist is unlucky enough to be in an enemy's line of view, they can become a prime target. (The Slimes, an early enemy, are particularly annoying as they can hit multiple times in quick succession in a way that the protagonist can't escape, showing the system's flaws early on.) The hero’s HP, MP and EXP progress – all is shown on the main screen.

One of the only three times the
hookshot will be used.

Other differences: Save points are in the overworld, instead of being a menu option. There’s a crafting system to build items and improve weapons. The game has a quest log, allowing you to gather quests from NPCs. The character’s equipment page is different, adding an extra accessory slot as well as a slot for tools. The protagonist can equip special items that will help their progression. Stuff like lanterns, bottles, a hookshot… Yes, a hookshot. Like in The Legend of Zelda. It’s acquired early on. Secret of Magia is thankfully sparse in its homages to that series...

The story here is pretty bland overall, something that involves elementals and gathering the souls of the powerful monsters. Nothing that stands out all that much. (I would also like to note the many, many spelling mistakes in the text. Hey, game; it’s “Guard”, not “Gaurd”.)

The bosses merely try to overpower you
with large-range, hard-hitting attacks.

The action RPG battle system makes the game feel different, even if it lack finesse; most battles will end with the enemy trapped in a corner and hit over and over till it dies. Removing the Save option from the main menu and replacing it with save points spread across the game might have been a choice to prevent the characters from ending up in an inescapable situation, but it adds unnecessary difficulty and ends up feeling archaic and impractical. The quest log is nice, but you’ll end the game with only 5 or 6 quests, at best. The idea behind the tools system is barely utilised, as the only two Tools you get are the lantern and the shovel. The hookshot? You use it three times, at most, in the entire game. The extra inventory items for accessories? You NEVER get accessories anywhere.

How the fuck do you want me to craft a better
scythe when the recipe for a better scythe...
does not include the fucking scythe?

The crafting system has an EXP system and levels so you can improve your ability to craft, but some crafting recipes don’t work due to missing information. Want to upgrade your scythe? Can't; the Tier II Scythe recipe is missing the Scythe ingredient. Invest in swords instead. Also, there’s only one forge in the whole game – in the second town. You can never upgrade weapons past the second tier, not even by leveling up like crazy at the forge – you don’t unlock new crafting recipes. It would have been nice to be able to craft further improved weapons, and it would also have been nice to have more than one forge. You can craft potions at an alchemy station later (again; only one in the whole game), but I've never found some of the materials required to make them!

Credit where due, the final boss fight is a
decent challenge. ....Because it's incredibly
unfair!

There are several things that were overlooked. In one town, you can enter in one house and, when you leave, you'll be leaving from a different house. I never figured out how to get Kerzok tol use magic spells. At least, some weapons earned for defeating bosses can cause status effects, which does help a lot against later bosses, especially the (extremely unfair) final one. I was also never able to meet the King in the third town, something at least hinted as possible. Some secrets seem to have no answer, such as how much money you must give a Sacred Tree to obtain something in return, or what’s the code an old man asks for so you can get something from him. The worst part? There isn’t even an ending. You beat the (again, extremely unfair) final boss, and… Back to the Title Screen.

I like that this game tried to do as many fresh things as possible, things that aren’t in the average RPG Maker game. There’s a few nice things to it, but it feels very half-baked in execution. Too many things either barely work, or don’t work at all, or could have been expanded on. I don’t recommend it. But hey, if you want to see what it’s like (because you’re intrigued by RPG Maker games like I am), it’s on Steam for a dollar.