Rise of the Third Power

It is, fundamentally, a JRPG, but with a few twists. You learn all of your skills very early on, and you get a full MP refill between every battle, which results in almost every battle being the same set of "nukes" over and over. Not a lot of strategy or challenge. I signed up for the "normal" difficulty as I don't care for grinding, and on that front, it did deliver. YMMV with other difficulties. Team/paired skills are kinda neat, and swapping party members mid battle is kinda neat. I like that there are no random battles, you can avoid them if you want. I fully cleared every area I visited of monsters. In retrospect, skipping most probably would have been completely fine and reduced some of the tedium in them. I like that they're trying new things with the battle system, but the end result is a bit repetitive. Accessories are cool, I like the attunement system. I am mixed on the rest of the equipment system, there is virtually no choice in it, it feels more like leveling up (strictly better) than finding new equipment (important tradeoffs... sometimes). The point of no return warnings are excellent, and should be standard in every RPG. The story is interesting and the writing is good. There is lots of well executed humour. If you have played Ara Fell, you will feel at home immediately, the feel of the game is very similar, but with a number of improvements. There is no continuity of story, although there is a nod or two to those that have played Ara Fell. I look forward to the next game in this "series".

Firstly, I want my review to counter the 1 star review below (which breaks GOG's first guideline on review requirements). I completed the hardest difficulty in about 36 hours. I don't believe I missed any side quests as they were not difficult to come across with a minimal amount of exploration. You run around fighting bad guys, crafting equipment, solving puzzles, gaining skills & levels, and doing side-quests, all while pushing towards your final goal. Standard stuff, but the way it's implemented makes it extremely cohesive & wholly realized. But that's not what this game is about anyway - the story and world are. This is my favorite story to come out of a JRPG in over 20 years. A light-hearted version of a very adult tale. Not getting too deep into it, and to avoid any spoilers, the game follows a group of resistance fighters who've received intelligence that the leader of a former empire has given the go ahead to reestablish control over its two former subordinate polities. You will be that resistance. Your path will be rife with twists, betrayal, and forced love interests (Rowan's serial monogamy is frightening). Without question, it's best to have the experience with no foresight. I strongly discourage guides for your first playthrough. The world is absolutely gorgeous. NPCs are plentiful & dialogue rich. Each time I returned to a town/city it still felt fresh & you can spend a good amount of time just running around learning the lore of each town/nation & the world of Rin. R3P doesn't have an openness to the world until you're about half-way through the game, which was a bummer. Yet, I honestly cannot comprehend how an open world could be done together with the story. Really what you have here is a throwback to the great SNES & PS JRPGs. One that holds itself to the standards of those greats, and then takes it further. It does not surpass it's spiritual predecessor Ara Fell, but if you like story rich JRPGs with a beautifully realized world, buy it.

Another fun and somewhat streamlined JRPG from Stegosoft. Quality-wise it's a noticeable step up from Ara Fell. It's a fairly linear game and the overworld looks bigger than it actually is, which really is more of a vehicle for some of the sidequests than anything else. It has a good and very-well-written story, likeable cast of characters, and some really nice music. While I found the cartoony character portraits a little weird at first, I grew to actually like them as I kept playing. Also there's no need to grind much if at all. I'm looking forward to whatever game Stegosoft will come up with next.

I've just finished Rise of the Third Power – it's excellent and very much in the spirit of Ara Fell (Stegosoft's previous work) but in a totally different, yet self-contained, world. It reminds me quite a lot of the good Final Fantasy games on the SNES – the plot deals with what might be called "mature themes" in a fun, accessible and engaging way without evangelising or shouting from a soap-box. I didn't see all of the plot twists coming, and I liked the fact that your party only becomes complete near the end. Most of the other reviews focus on the mechanistic aspects. I'll focus instead on the storytelling – in brief, the world is engaging and plausible. There is a large, overarching narrative that hangs together well and has plenty of twists and turns – I wanted to get to the end of it. There are lots of funny lines of dialogue hidden in places, both between the protagonists but also between "random NPCs" who know their lot in the world. The exploring is good and the puzzles are straightforward yet satisfying – and a recurring theme of pirates, the resistance and hidden treasures sort of provides a reason why you should _expect_ there to be random caves full of loot. The military themes are dealt with really quite sensitively. I think it's the only game I've seen where characters regret bloodshed caused by their actions in fighting soldiers. They recognise the humanity of their opponent and at several points that is stated explicitly. It's a nice change. Nobody comments on the ethics of killing giant cave moths, however! The "optional extra" baddies right at the end are surprisingly difficult and felt very satisfying to overcome although I'd like to know a bit more about why they were there. Overall, this is an excellent game and exactly the sort of thing that GOG should exist to support – it's made by a very small team and is obviously a labour of love. Play it. You won't regret it and you'll find yourself thinking about the story days later (like me!)