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Late Hero and The Barrier of Light's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #2 | 3.550 | 3.550 |
| Graphics | #6 | 3.900 | 3.900 |
| Overall | #7 | 3.650 | 3.650 |
| Gameplay | #8 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
| Music | #12 | 3.200 | 3.200 |
| Comedy | #15 | 2.650 | 2.650 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Good use of RTP and great custom art! Combat system is challenging needing to really use the right skills in the right situations. Harold was epic with his dual giant swords, but sure he was tough and impossible to beat without constant debuffing his healing and dispelling. Took me many attempts before beating him.
Late Hero and The Barrier of Light is a standout entry in this year’s Harold Game Jam, offering a fresh and engaging take on the traditional RPG formula. By flipping the script and allowing players to step into the shoes of elite soldiers serving the Demon Lord, the game provides a unique perspective that sets it apart from other entries.
The story is one of the game’s strongest points. It’s engaging and well-written, drawing players into the conflict between the Demon Lord’s forces and the familiar heroes Harold, Theresa, Marsha, and Lucius. The narrative is compelling and keeps you invested from start to finish.
Gameplay and balance are handled exceptionally well. The battles are challenging yet fair, requiring strategic thinking and careful planning. The mechanics are solid, and the game manages to keep players on their toes without becoming frustrating. The RPG elements are well-executed, making for a satisfying and immersive experience.
The music fits perfectly with the game’s theme. It enhances the atmosphere and adds depth to the storytelling, ensuring that each moment feels impactful. The soundtrack is well-composed and complements the overall tone of the game beautifully.
Graphically, while most of the assets are from the default RPG Maker RTP, the game shines with its custom-drawn battlers and bust art for all the main characters, including Harold and his crew. These custom elements add a layer of polish and individuality to the game, making it visually appealing and memorable. The UI is nicely done as well.
There’s really nothing negative to say about Late Hero and The Barrier of Light. It’s a well-rounded, thoroughly enjoyable RPG that excels in all areas. The unique perspective, engaging story, balanced gameplay, fitting music, and custom graphics make it a top contender in this year’s Harold Game Jam.
In conclusion, Late Hero and The Barrier of Light is a fantastic RPG that offers a fresh take on the genre. It’s a must-play for anyone looking for a high-quality game jam entry. This game is easily one of the best in this year’s competition and a testament to what can be achieved in a game jam setting.
I got excited when I found out I could move around as the demons. I liked the dialogue when the heroes were struggling. The only downside was that the game got a bit hard for me. Good work on the sprites/portraits as well!
Overall: A solid, straightforward RPG with an interesting twist on the usual RTP-focused plot. Didn't get past the TML fight but I may come back to it later.
Gameplay: Solid. I was easily able to outrun the soldiers that noticed me. I also wish items didn't go after the enemies attacked. I wasn't sure what each type of attack did either.
Music: Some great non-RTP tunes that fit each situation.
Story: Playing as David and Davina was a surprise! Few broken English typos but not a total game-breaker.
Graphics: RTP graphics get buffed by the adorable portraits!
Comedy: Few chuckles here and there with the RTP party, but otherwise a serious tone. Shoutout to the victory fanfare making game overs funny at least.
I liked the custom art, icons, and menus, but the art style kind of clashed with the RTP in my opinion. Not sure if there would have been a way to address that without a significant scope increase in either sourcing or drawing new tiles, but it's something to consider.
Tonally the bust/character art also clashed with the very dramatic music and dark-fantasy-inspired gear and skill names. As well as the story, come to think of it, but I'm less sure on that because I got a somewhat goofy vibe from the writing at times (not sure if it was intended). David seemed one-dimensionally arrogant, and Davina was almost exclusively a foil for that personality. I did get more "character" from the HTML crew, mostly along the familiar tropey lines we normally see them as.
A pretty basic "you're the bad guys" scenario which isn't bad per se, but it wasn't executed in such a manner that made me excited to see what happened next. I didn't get to the very end, because the enemies were very spongy and combat got repetitive quickly, with a slow trickle of new skills and occasional side-grade Equipment not being enough to keep me invested. A lot of things felt "off" in terms of battle balance, and many of the skills dealt exaggerated numbers of hits, so it was tough to parse how much damage was actually being done at any given time.
I actually liked being required to use Dispel Strike on the first boss, unlike some of the reviews I read after my playthrough. To me that was one of the better aspects of the battle system, and I wish there were more interactions like that instead of pure big-number spam.
Playing as a demon with an innate weakness to fire felt bad, and the fire mages liked to dogpile that character with their strongest skill. It wasn't unmanageable, just sort of a chore, as was learning that the Glass of Water item didn't provide any protection against being re-burned immediately, so it was almost pointless to use. Having to then Dispel Strike each fire mage in turn felt like just a more tedious version of the preceding boss fight, unfortunately. I think a new gimmick for that battle would've been advisable.
Overall I think this game might have benefited from being reformatted into a boss rush. There were a lot of encounters and most of them semi-trivial, which felt somewhat padded, but I could see it being quite fun given some streamlining and re-focusing.
Thank you for playing my game! Wow, that's a long review.
This is not the first time I being told that my art clashes with the RTP. I actually planned to draw my own tileset for this jam but when I start drawing it, it doesn't feel worth the hassle. I also have drawn a few battle backs for this game, but I didn't use them because they looks ugly. I guess I still need a lot of practice drawing backgrounds.
I'm glad you like the Dispel Strike mechanics. I also try a couple of skills that can synergize with each other. For example, David's third skill, Revenge Blade which deals more damage at low HP, synergize well with Necessary Sacrifice, David's sixth skill that make him immune to all incoming damage while decreasing his HP until 1. This skill can be enhance further by Davina's third skill, Void Thrust, that double physical damage taken by the target for a few turn. When the immune effect of Necessary Sacrifice is gone, David can use his fifth skill, Draining Strike, to bring him back to 50% HP. In case of the three mages battle, their barrier would decrease 99% of incoming damage but only one time. Therefore you can remove all the barrier just by using a weak AOE skill like Demon Lord Roar. I should have present all the mechanics better. Making the game intuitive always has been my weakness for ages.
For the boss rush reformatting, I kinda agree. I actually enjoy making boss battles a lot more than the filler encounters. Still, this game is already finished and I do not have any plan to change it (except for balancing, bug fixes, and typos). But I will consider a boss rush format when making a new game. Thanks for the suggestion!
Totally fair! I definitely have similar regrets when it comes to the format of my entry for this jam but also don't plan to make any revisions - those will be lessons learned for a future project.
I did see that the mages had a different barrier skill name than the first boss, but without a State pop-up or tooltip advising how it was different, I didn't connect those dots.
I'll look forward to seeing a boss rush style game one of these days, perhaps?
Solid romp through some traditional RPG Maker style battles. Found some battle choices interesting and engaging. What did stand out was the custom art and the really good map eventing of battles. The execution of the map scenes I just found quite expertly done.
The final bosses were pretty tough! I was relieved not to have to fight all HTML at the same time, as Harold was a handful on his own.
Thank you for playing!
Harold is really strong. He doesn't need anyone's help to kick ass!
This was pretty fun.
Though I didn't get get to beat Harold, but I did get to his serious state, before the time (45 minutes) went up, esp since I lost to Lucius, Marsha, and Therese after a longish fight XD.
Love the custom graphics (just wish that all the menus could have gotten that treatment too, along with some sort of rtp-revamp perhaps)
Hearing the party get all energized (esp that music!) right before the demons show up was interesting being that they weren't the ones I'm playing XD
Thank you for playing! Glad you like it.
I actually want to make all the menus custom but the amount of stuff I need to draw for the plugins is kinda demoralizing.
Overall: Not a bad little romp!
Gameplay: Okay, the RTP Crew was tedious as hell to deal with, but fighting against Harold is fun, and the boss was actually challenging. Not sure on respawning mobs on a short rest, but Harold and company would have been an absolute nightmare otherwise.
Music: Fit for purpose.
Story: Interesting playing as the demons for once.
Graphics: The RTP Crew looks great in this style!
Comedy: Harold's non-serious face was amusing, and I love that the demons' edginess was an act.
Congratulation on beating the game! And thank you for playing! Glad you like it.
I forgot to comment on stream (could've sworn I did)! I really enjoyed the look and feel of this one, however that (what I assume is the) final fight is so overly tuned towards the enemies that it feels almost impossible to tackle. I have a feeling it was intended to kill every soldier you came across, and buy as many healing items as you could. But the way I played it was to avoid as many of the soldiers as possible (like a stealth mission) and then got to the end and got TROUNCED. That kinda killed the vibe for me as it felt insurmountable.
I saw the VOD, you did write a comment but forgot to post it.
Well, it was not intended to kill every soldier since the level cap is 10 and I gave David an exp increase item at the start of the game. I just have a bad habit of creating a hard game. Even a max out party would still have problem fighting the bosses if the player doesn't use the skills effectively. Looking back, I should have make Lucius less overpowered (I love healer/support class).
Anyway, thank you for playing! Glad you enjoy it.
Overall: I like the concept and the art, I like playing as the bad guys and I like the level design, but the very long battle between the girls and the Daves lost me and I quit. A DNF because the battle was just tedious.
Gameplay: I like that all of the battles were active events and not random monsters that pop up at you. Very nice. As I already said, however, long battles loose me.
Music: I wasn't thrilled or offended. I have volume control on my head set and just turned it way down.
Story: As a DNF all I can say was that the set up was strong enough for a jam entry.
Graphics: Lovely art, and I love the change to a wounded look when the HP got too low. Very nice. Best part about this game, honestly.
Comedy: It wasn't really a funny game.
If the battles were more balanced I'd like to play this again, because it was fun and interesting. I liked the art.
I assume the battle between the girls and the Daves is the fight with Therese and Marsha. Therese does have a skill called Last Guardian that give her 80% damage reduction buff, but that buff can be easily removed by Davina's first skill, Dispel Strike. I actually almost put \c[10] (make the text red) and all caps the "cancel all their buffs" on Dispel Strike skill description, but I shelved that idea because it felt too passive-aggressive. Looking back, I should have done that.
Anyway, thanks for trying my game! Glad you love the art.
The portraits and enemy graphics are nice, and the selection of skills allows for some nice strategic choices. As always the sound is EXTREMELY loud...
I gave myself 30 minutes, and time was up after defeating the first boss... this boss was extremely tanky and I was never, even remotely, in any danger of dying yet it took ages to chip away the HP. As such, I never got to appreciate the "heroic return".
By the first boss I assume the fight with Therese and Marsha. Well. Therese does have a Last Guardian skill that permanently give her 80% damage reduction buff. But, if you notice, Davina's first skill, Dispel Strike, can remove the target's buff. By using this skill, you can remove Therese's tankyness easily. Also, this is the first boss. Of course the player doesn't need to be in any danger when fighting the first boss.
Anyway, thank you for trying my game.
"Of course the player doesn't need to be in any danger when fighting the first boss."
What's the point, then? I just think it's suboptimal design to have a boss that has zero ability to defeat you. But if you disagree, hey it's your project!
I think I should have worded my previous reply better, but the point is to give the player false sense of security before hitting them with the real bosses.
Ah I see, that makes sense. I actually enjoy being pounded to the ground in turn-based RPGs, so will try it again after having finished my mandatory queue!
Gameplay: This game is the most “generic” rpg maker game of the games I’ve played so far and its also the one I enjoyed the most. Could do with some balance in terms of economy, xp, mobs stats etc.. but was fun.
Music: It was fine but default.
Story: Generic again but fun, I liked playing the bad guys. Interesting, have a feeling there’ll be a twist at the end.
Combat: Basic but relatively fun, probably needs a balance pass but decent.
Comedy: Some kinda wholesome humor where I kinda smiled as opposed to laughing out loud.
Overall: Just an rpg maker game doing rpg maker things, gloriously average yet all the better for it in terms of the jam.
In my last game jam (mid May 2024), I create something so unrpgmaker with RMMV. It's a rougelite bullet hell. Personally, I think that game turns out good but it was so exhausting. So I decided to create something generic in this Harold jam just to unwind and hopefully creating something good while I'm at it.
Anyway, thanks for playing this game! I'm glad you enjoy it!
Took me 3 tries to beat the final boss. First time I got him down to really low HP twice but not enough to KO. u_u
The little twist ending caught me by surprise in a good way, I won't spoil it for the others but it made me snort hard.
I always appreciate custom art in an RM game. While I was a bit bothered by how Therese has no pants despite being clad in full armor everywhere else, I liked how Lucius is portrayed as a comically serious intellectual as well as the two protagonists having cold expressions as their default face.
Yay! You beat the game! Thank you for playing!
When I drew Therese battler, I was watching SMTV stream. Let's just say that SMTV monsters and character design were affecting my Therese battler mid drawing.
This was a very neat title! The artwork was great and the combat had a decent amount of depth! I liked most of the fights, although the battle with TML and the guards was BRUTAL and honestly so unfair that I had to dock a point in Gameplay. I was unable to get past them within 45 minutes of repeated tries, so sadly I didn't get to see the rest of the game.
Of what I did play though, I had a fun time with it! This was a very good entry, just bogged down by some balance and encounter design issues.
Well, I'll admit I have a bad habit creating a hard game. But if you know the pattern and what to do, you could easily beat them (I can beat the game in 27 minutes casually, but I am cursed with developer knowledge). There is also Harold fight after that, and I think that one is harder than the TML+Guards fight.
TBH I'm quite sad that you didn't finish the game. Maybe I'll put easy mode or something similar for my next game.
Anyway, thank you for playing!