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I have a partner as of now but I will keep you in mind if something should happen.

Heyo! I'm DJ and I think writing Game Boy music is really fun. I've been composing music for 18 years and currently compose for indie games and also Toontown Rewritten. (Listen to my TTR music!) I compose chiptune with Furnace Tracker and GBStudio's music editor and can write in a wide variety of a styles with a punchy tone inspired by European composers like Alberto Gonzalez. I've also made my own games in the past, although I do not intend to create my own entry for this jam. Instead, I would be honored to give your game an original soundtrack and contribute and bounce around any ideas to liven it up! Feel free to reply to this thread or DM me on Discord at callmedj if you're interested!

I entered the last GB Jam as part of a team where I learned how to use GBStudio's built-in music editor. Even though the team considered Motel Nebras a bust, I really enjoyed it and I'd love to do more tunes for this GB Jam! Feel free to give the Motel Nebras soundtrack a listen!

I've also been writing Game Boy-style soundtracks in Furnace Tracker, which can both export to WAV and VGM and convert to GBS for GBStudio using a special utility! My soundtrack for Harold & The Curse of Teebeyae, my Harold Jam 2024 entry, won Best Music over both 25 other Harold Jam entries and 85 other Feedback Quest 12 entries! Harold & The Curse of Teebeyae: The Bonafide Album is very much in line with the kind of music I can provide for your GB Jam entry.

I am currently writing an original soundtrack for Buffet Knight in Furnace. Buffet Knight a Kirby-meets-Zelda adventure game that placed 2nd in the Touch The Stars game jam and is being expanded into a full game. While the soundtrack is not officially available, you can find snippets of an adventurous world map theme and a sugary-sweet tune for a candy village in cotton candy clouds on Twitter!

Thanks Moog, always the homie. I think the battle system is a strong foundation but needs a serious overhaul. I ideally want to add many more types of attacks and find a way to replace hints with visual cues.

Thanks for playing! Glad you jived with it. The abrupt ending was out of neccesity, as I came up against the deadline and had to cut some corners to get it over the finish line. The original plan for the ending was to cut to Fred and Eliza being blasted out of the cave and into the water before ending with Harold, Marsha, and David talking about their time as heroes and their retirement before going back into the shack. If I ever do one final update for this game, I'll add that in along with some final bug fixes.

Managed to catch the tail end of your playthrough and I'm planning to watch the rest later. I'll be honest and say I was a little frustrated putting a whole week into bug fixes for FQ7 over other priorities with so little return on investment, but seeing your live reaction was so worth it. Glad you liked it!

Appreciate it! This game was made for a game jam in another community so there's a ton of in-jokes that may be lost on FQ7 testers. I do have my doubts about the story structure as a whole, but I'll leave it there.

Note: Please download the FQ7 build when playing this game! This fixes some serious bugs in the original version which included softlocks that are very easy to trigger! I'm still testing the FQ7 version, so let me know if you run into any bugs. I also think this game could be a foundation for something bigger and would appreciate feedback on what to improve!

The recommended voting criteria advises to save your 5-star rating for the best in each category. Now that voting has ended, which entries got your 5? Did multiple win one category? Did none win at all?

Overall: This was a tight eleventh-hour race. While it ultimately went to Harolds In Time for the sheer amount of love, detail, and effort put into it, Harold In just barely trailed behind for most of the same reasons. They excelled in every category and offered great characters, story, and even custom art!

Gameplay: My favorite-playing game of the RPG Maker-themed game jam was not a RPG. Harold Voidskipper just felt really good to play! I played with a keyboard and mouse which definitely influenced my vote, as having one hand on WASD to move with the other on my mouse to aim, slash, and throw sparks was very comfortable and easy to get the hang of. In addition, the game is very simple from a foundational standpoint, but lay on those enemies thick and make that final boss one crazy mofo and it practically turns into a bullet hell. I mentioned in my review it's a great blend of difficulty and forgiveness.

Music: This one was surprisingly close, but I had to abandon my gripes about 8-bit music in a RTP setting and give it to Crueldown. Sawyer got my 5 with a completely original soundtrack that told a story and created a multiverse. I've been saying Sawyer can just write a really damn good song regardless of constraints. Check out his BandCamp album Heroic Return, featuring both the music of Crueldown and his amazing final boss theme from Harold Voidskipper!

 Story: The best story of the jam is... nothing?! I ended up not giving a 5 to any game in this category. Heroes Come and Go would have easily taken it, but the story ends mid-climax and couldn't receive my 5 for that reason. Harold In and Harolds In Time both exceeded 45 minutes, so I unfortunately had to judge based on the glimpse of the story I got.

Graphics: Once again big Nate comes through with Harold Voidskipper. What sold me was how clear and expressive his sprites are despite the low resolution. This is something I've been dying to achieve with my own game, so this was awesome to see. Honorable mention goes to Harold In for nearly snatching the 5 with its original sprites and distinctly RPG Maker style.

Comedy: POO WINS COMEDY? Brew wins comedy with Mental Gear Solid: The Twin Japes! It was a very tight race between this and Loriesquare's IN-sane eventing, but MGS barely edged it out because it stuck in my head longer. Classic Brew puns and japes everywhere, but the highlight was definitely the timed Snake Eater sequence as Harold climbs the ladder. I also know lightning and air manipulation.

Overall: Beat one boss and hit 47 minutes, but I kinda want to keep going! A certified Moogle classic with all the classic HBW hallmarks and a deckbuilding twist. So glad you and Padr could push through and get this sucker done.

Gameplay: It's a Moogle game; it is going to be good. Didn't really indulge myself in the deckbuilding aspect but I respect it nonetheless. Loving the skill mastery; you're contemplating making me add it to my own game! I just wasn't a fan of items blowing an entire turn rather than letting the rest of your party act.

Music: Some great tunes I recognize from the other HBW games. I don't know if I heard anything original but I hope some of Padr's music made it in. Unfortunately I did not get to do a single song for this game like I promised early on and (Stuck in the) Past Harold did not have Divided by Destiny blasting at max volume during his fight so you get ZERO stars from me. Sorry fellas!

Story: Stuck in the Past anyway I really love the care and details put into the story. The little teeny changes to Reid's village that barely hint at the plot alone bump this to a 4.

Graphics: Wonderful sprites and tiles from the immaculate Padr81. Very convincing 8-bit vibe!

Comedy: Not a core part of the game, but I loved the way you used "Kept you waiting, huh?"

Overall: Tight gameplay, simple mechanics that build in intensity, great graphics and sound; what's not to love?

Gameplay: Felt really good with the combination keyboard/mouse layout. Gameplay mechanics were easy to remember, but all the enemies turned it into a bullet hell near the end. Really great balance of convenience and challenge, a benchmark I think many other devs should strive to reach (myself included).

Music: Great selection of 8-bit tunes and I loved the Sawyer banger at the end.

Story: Not a lot. I also couldn't see how the game ended because Godot gave me a black screen after I beat the final boss. I could still hear everything that happened though.

Graphics: Sprites are really clean and have a lot of character despite their resolution. Loved the CGs during cutscenes as well. It should come as no surprise your art is among the best of the jam and very possibly my 5-star.

Comedy: Not a lot but that's not a big deal.

Overall: Beautiful graphics and a well-written story make this entry a Harold Jam highlight!

Gameplay: Separating MP and sword skills into two separate meters was an interesting choice.

Music: Served the game well and the extra sound effects helped up the atmosphere.

Story:  One of the better stories of the jam, and very eloquently written too! The big issue is it ends too early. I would have loved to see a proper resolution with the tension you built up at the very end.

Graphics: Beautiful work across the board. Love the four-color silhouette drawings interspersed with the gameplay. Having first-person battlers be represented by the player's hands was a really smart choice that looks excellent here. I also love how Harold's sprite changes in the chasm.

Comedy: Enough sprinklings to freshen the otherwise dark and serious story.

Overall: Gameplay-wise, pretty fun. Story-wise, may not exactly be my thing. There's something for everyone at least.

Gameplay: Pretty much only battles, but I think this works for a jam. The FP system worked well enough and encounters were straightforward, although the clouds that absorbed Spark and the bats with counters shook things up a bit. I really wish CPR at least got you to half health. It's pretty pointless when you have 1 HP and have to blow two FP on Healing Water in addition. Lastly, I wasn't even aware that my party learned new skills until the final battle. At least I got to give Harold a pride flag to superpower his spark. Sorry, storyline; he is definitely gay.

Music: Worked well enough. Is it me or did I hear Gerudo Valley at one point?

Story: This strangely reminds me of my own game from Harold Jam 2021; MC ends up in a strange world and finds out there's a McGuffin up in the Local Dungeon that can get him out.

For a game that's half VN, I wish there was more story in between fights than just "Enemy approached!" That would have made introducing CPR feel a little more appropriate than David randomly dying out of nowhere, for one. I also get hella Set Character syndrome where every character has one trait and voice quirk they stick to throughout the entire game. In a longer jam entry like this, it starts to get noticeable. David's traumatic backstory is out of nowhere and has zero effect on the rest of the story or the player.

Graphics: Love the effort put into the hand-drawn art. Battlers look great too.

Comedy: This game falls into the pitfall of "I made this joke, I think it's funny, I will now make it fifteen thousand more times because surely it can't get less funny, right?" It should not have taken precedence over actual story IMO.

Overall: Very ambitious to take on a Soulslike in full 3D! It was a little laggy on my laptop and I didn't beat Ogre David, but I still respect the effort put into this entry.

Gameplay: Haven't played Dark Souls or many soulslikes so I was a little unfamiliar. Camera movement felt odd to me and the lag didn't help.

Music: Fitting tunes for the base of the mountain and the Ogre David fight. Also props to the sound design with David's big meaty thwacks and Unhinged's voice acting.

Story: A little light. Go up the mountain and slay the ogre.

Graphics: This is where the game shines. It's not often we get a Harold Jam game in full 3D! The custom Harold model looked very convincing.

Comedy: Barely any, but not a bad thing.

Overall: Not a bad entry, albeit on the short side.

Gameplay: Pretty straightforward. Played through P mode and managed to keep my MP up throughout.

Music: RTP.

Story: Haven't actually watched DBZ so I wasn't fully in tune with the story. Forgive me, father, for I have sinned.

Graphics: Low's battlers work well here and you pulled some cool action sequencing.

Comedy: Little sprinkles here and there.

The Metal Gear is no different than a Coconut or Rock; all it does is apply Bonked. It's less about the specific items you use and more about the effects they have.

Overall: A hilarious little romp with all the chaotic comedy I could expect from a Snim entry, but could do with some tightening up in the gameplay department.

Gameplay: Walking sim with a twist. Unfortunately the items had weird collisions from time to time. Having to walk over the fairy to talk to her in the forest also tripped me up.

Music: Loved ViRiX/Dave's original music throughout, some really great ambient tunes that are among the better I've heard this jam. Dave being able to play any song in your house was a really nice touch. How perfect is it that your own composer fulfilled one of the jam requirements?

Story: A delightful little tale that catered well to the game's comedic tone. Unfortunately there were quite a few typos and one point where the text went out of the text box, but that's not a total game breaker for me.

Graphics: RTP.

Comedy: Harold meeting Snim is like fire and nitroglycerin. I genuinely can't believe FayDHD is more than a one-line gag.

Thanks KV! Glad I'm delivering well on all fronts, but I really wish I had more time to prototype and test the battle system. Still kicking myself for that.

Thanks ChatGPT! The final battle is kinda glitchy because there's a very specific order to apply states, and there's a bug which removes a state if using it at the incorrect time which borks the whole fight. Pay very close attention to the flavor text at the top!

Thanks! Gameplay was a concept I was really excited to debut, but admittedly I didn't give it as much time in the oven as I would have liked so it's rough. Glad you loved everything else though!

Overall: A strong start with some great art and a very promising story. Something like this with more time spent on lore and character building could be a real winner.

Gameplay: I'm feeling a little restricted in the overworld. No items or running?! Battles were straightforward enough, but I ended up running from most of the random encounters and they really didn't affect how I performed in the boss battles. The final boss actually could have been a little tougher! Sparking was the game changer for me with that crazy DoT.

Music: I know this has been an issue but the knockoff Lamb of God battle music actually got a laugh out of me. Towards the end I actually started to vibe with it!

Graphics: Great art all around! Loved your sprites both in the overworld and during dialogue. Only thing is I wish the blue crystals stuck out a little more. I'd miss them from time to time which cost me dearly.

Story: Some pretty cool worldbuilding going on in Terrortalon Isle. Love how all the enemies are based on fears. The big thing is it felt a little fast!  I really wish this game took a little more time to really dive into the lore of the island and the relationships between the characters. It had a very interesting premise that could have been explored a lot more in-depth. Also just a bit edgy.

Comedy: I told you in RBT a low comedy score isn't the end of the world, but regardless David bumped that score up for me.

I've learned half the jam experience is fixing those bugs and releasing that Definitive Edition.

Overall: Very strong potential here, it's just a shame that you didn't have the time to fully realize your vision.

Gameplay: Unfortunately pretty buggy, although I do like the SRPG-style foundation. Encounters would trigger at random even if no enemies were near me. I also lost track of one of the green drones because it clipped through a wall. Enemies pretty much blowing through your entire HP meter in one turn is frustrating. No game overs was nice at least.

Music: Cool spacey tunes, but unfortunately hampered by no music playing through half of the game. I'd win a battle and the music would just cut out entirely.

Story: Started off really cool, but I guess time got away from you and forced you to put in a M. Night Shyamalan-level twist that just made no sense.

Graphics: Dope all around. Did you make any of these sprites or are they all from elsewhere?

Comedy: Not much to go around.

Overall: Some good bones here, but could have benefitted from a more immersive narrative.

Gameplay: Bonus point for the ARG quiz. Weird way to handle it but the execution was good at least. Standard walking sim stuff outside of that.

Music: Some nice tunes here and there alongside the usual RTP stuff.

Story: Cute premise, love the idea of Harold and Lucius as teachers. Unfortunately the story didn't really come together for me. Harold and Lucius do their jobs and then that's pretty much it. Would have loved to see it tap more into the nostalgia in the title.

Graphics: Mostly RTP, but the custom sprites were nice! One nitpick: Harold and Lucius's house felt a little big and empty. Tightening up your maps may be a good idea for your future games.

Comedy: A few sensible chuckles, but only a few.

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.

And here I was puffing up my chest for doing my soundtrack in five! That's crazy, I would have never guessed you did it that quickly. Also I can't believe I really just called him a hamster like that. You have the legal right to execute me.

Thanks for playing, glad you enjoyed the presentation! I just covered the softlock in a devlog. Pretty much what happens is when you apply a state to an enemy who is immune to it, they lose the state. This breaks battles because it checks if the enemy has the state at the end of each turn to advance the puzzle and you can no longer apply that state. Pretty pissed I never noticed that while making the game but I'll definitely address it in Definitive.

Thanks, glad you enjyoed it!

Nate my dude. You were practically my right-hand man making this game so I have a lot of thanks to give to you as well. Very glad you loved it, and I do plan to address those nitpicks in a Definitive Edition. I've been thinking about expanding this into a full game some day!

Overall: Last year I never knew I needed a VN about Harold as a hamster. This year I never knew I needed a sequel. A simply delightful adventure with one of the most unique depictions of Harold yet!

Gameplay: Not much outside of clicking the right choices, but it's hard to fault a VN for being a VN. I do appreciate the option to immediately retry a wrong choice.

Music: Is the music original? There's no music credits and "Everything else" is attributed to you. If so, great job! Really nice collection of tunes.

Story: Never before have I played a Harold Jam game where the goal is to back that ass up.

Graphics: Even if it's mostly recycled from Piggr, the hand-drawn hamsters are a delight.

Comedy: Hamster Harold is adorable and I liked the edging joke.

Overall: Not too bad for a one-day entry, but the final battle could have used some balancing.

Gameplay: Straightforward enough but I could not get past the final boss! Auto heal before the final boss would have been nice and probably not very time-consuming to implement.

Music: RTP I think? Not crazy familiar with MZ's RTP.

Story: I mean for a rush job it works.

Graphics: RTP.

Comedy: Those trees on the right look like a willy.

Overall: I think you and I both agree AI should not be making our games.

Gameplay: Pretty basic. Battles were kinda pointless and parallax maps were a little annoying to traverse. At least a human being actually made the damn game!

Music: First Harold game I've heard to have djent in it. Unfortunately it's generated by Udio and is probably coming for my dream job.

Story: A decent dungeon romp with a great plot twist.

Graphics: This artist cannot draw hands dude.

Comedy: Did Grok write this game? AI Harold is trying way too hard to be a Marvel character. Island Requirement was funny though, and the ending and credits got a good snort out of me too.

Overall: Uuuuummmmmm

Gameplay: Is the battle a softlock? Everything I do misses!

Music: MY LEFT EAR MY LEFT EAR WHY IS THE BATTLE THEME ONLY IN MY LEFT EAR AAAAAAAAAAA

Story: Pretty much none.

Graphics: Somehow a little nostalgic! Reminds me of games I used to make when I was a kid. That bumps my rating up a bit.

Comedy: Funny in some sort of meta-ironic way.

Overall: This may be the first Harold Jam entry I've ever played which did not come with some kind of game attached. Somehow still as creative as I'd expect a Ronaldbabe entry to be.

Gameplay: Can't say I ever played a Harold Jam game like this before. Always the trailblazer Ronald!

Music: I probably had a song in my head as I plugged the coordinates into Google Maps.

Story: A service to the gameplay IMO.

Graphics: The building with the number on it was pretty.

Comedy: Carried by the premise of this game.

Overall: A shmup in RPG Maker is a bold feat which you've executed very well!

Gameplay: It's hard to find a Nowis game that doesn't feel smooth and easy to get the hang of. I could kinda sit back and hold X with Lucius though.

Music: Nice collection of remixes, and hearing Theme6 when Harold came back was a treat.

Story: Short and sweet with a satisfying conclusion!

Graphics: Loved the custom sprites for the ships! The flying orc boss was a little weird though.

Comedy: Not much to speak of here, but that's not a bad thing.

I get that, the actual story didn't come together as well as it was written. Honestly I find that I can write really well but I'm just terrible at actually making stories that come together and make remote sense. Hope I can work on this as I shift focus to bigger games.

Sorry you couldn't get into it! I feel like this battle system does have a ways to go. Maybe we could see a refined version in a full-length game some day!

Appreciate your feedback! I understand it's not for everyone, and I'm at least happy the Game Boy aesthetic rubbed off on you. I really do think this battle system can be improved and even expanded into a larger game, so feedback like this is important. I've contemplated an alternative approach where it's skills that cost MP instead of expendable items. This also opens up for stronger attacks which cost more MP. I almost feel like I'd be reinventing the wheel though.

The thing with the story is I wanted it to feel like Fred had this nuanced narrative Harold simply didn't care about. As I mentioned in reply to Moogle, the meat and potatoes of the story together was a last-week thing and I had so much to do on top of it that it's pretty much a first draft.  May be worth it to at least do all the mechanics stuff in advance next time and try and put more focus on a cohesive story with a proper start and finish.

Thanks a bunch man, glad you enjoyed it! The story was very rough until the last week of the jam so it's pretty much in first draft state. It was also a lot more light-hearted until I re-approached Fred as a more gray-area character with more complex motives than the black-and-white dumbass Harold. I was at least hoping that it would come across that Fred has a complex and tragic backstory and Harold just doesn't care at all because he's Harold. May be another goal for Definitive down the road.

Tikis locking Heal and Forage is a decision I stand by, although I may turn the chance of them using that down in Definitive. I can understand how that adds artificial difficulty by stalling out a fight. I almost did a perma-Forage lock for one fight but then I quickly realized that would kinda break the game.

Overall: An absolute joy of a game with a great combat system and all the charm you'd expect from something with Iron Brew on the label.

Gameplay: Timing took me a bit to get but I got it after losing to the Werehouse once. The timing for dodging enemy attacks took some time though, and the final boss battle took a ton of tries because of it. I think you handled the final battle very well all things considered, between letting you instantly retry if you failed and keeping Haroldbeam unlocked even if you die. I love the concept, but more forgiveness or responsiveness on the timing would have been nice. Very impressed you did this without plugins though!

Music: Love the original tunes, especially the final boss theme. Sounds like something out of a SNES Contra game. My favorite musical moment will be touched on in Comedy though.

Story: Light-hearted and fit the tone of the game.

Graphics: Hand-drawn graphics had a lot of charm and I loved the parallax backgrounds.

Comedy: Got to the Werehouse and knew it's a Brew game alright. Love the way Harold "talks" too. I had a huge idiotic grin on my face during the entire Snake Eater sequence, especially the punchline. You pulled absolutely no punches with the objectives.

Overall: As the legendary Harold Jam host has put adulting first, so has Harold in a hard-hitting Ethical Dilemma.

Gameplay: I clicked Yes and then I clicked No.

Music: RTP.

Story: Unironically got a lot out of a single decision.

Graphics: RTP.

Comedy: Classic Human being hilariously brief as always. Welcome home big guy.