A brief retrospective of some RPGMaker games

[@DaveyGunface]

Pinning a comment here to address the main comment I've been getting and a way to interact with that en masse, "Hey! You forgot (X Game)". Firstly, I didn't. With a few VERY niche exceptions I've heard of/played every game mentioned and have even looked into a bunch. In fact quite a few of the most prominent suggestions I very directly brought up in this video. But this isn't a history of the entire fucking RPGMaker Genre, no person alive or dead would be able to make that video. The title of "A brief retrospective of *some RPGMaker games*" is exactly what I was going for. That being said, I'm gathering a list for a sequel video later on down the line, so if you had a fOrGoTtEn GamE in mind, this would be the place to let me know. I may also passive aggressively remind people to check the pinned comment, if you're here from that, howdy. There's no ill will, just convenience, xoxo.

[@sircarlos4882]

I don't know if this fits your criteria for "forgotten RPGMaker game" but I reaaaally do suggest trying LISA: The Pointless - Scholar of the Wilbur Sin next time around! It'd be fun to see your take on it!

[@fvnyom]

99% sure youve seen this a thousand times but omori’s great also ib is worth checking out too

[@anxietyprimev6983]

It's kinda convenient that you mentioned wanting to cover Yume Nikki and Omori, because those two are at least in my top five favorite games ever and I don't think I could ever get tired of them. And, yeah, I know they're pretty much the two most well known RPGMaker games in the objective sense and whatever, but if I'm being honest I just wanna hear some fun interpretations about spooky hikikomori games and vibe to the cool aesthetics. That and I like simping for Basil. So yeah, I'd watch the hell out of any video you did about those two. Plus, there's always all the weird-ass Yume Nikki fangames. Or you could review something like Mogeko Castle.

[@charleshaskell2056]

Yo, I'd recommend Suits: A buisness RPG. Just generally. Don't make a video about it unless you really want to. It's just a great game, at least in terms of writing. It constantly had me going, "What the hell is going on?" And it's incredible.

[@erielmartin8130]

Whats the song at 1:36:03 ?

[@deerking7464]

Funny how a lot of these games talk or use serious issues like suicide or abuse, and then Hylics is just there with "If you hate the moon I guess"

[@CantusTropus]

Hylics actually has a fairly generic plot (stop the evil moon tyrant), it just chooses the most bizarre and incomprehensible way of telling that story it could possibly think of.

[@deerking7464]

@@CantusTropus Yeah, using randomly generated text as dialogue does that to a story, not that I'm complaining

[@dartoney]

Fuck the Moon Let me Kick it's Fucking Ass Let me show it what i learned in my moon jujitsu class!

[@WoobertAIO]

@@CantusTropus so, is Hylics short for "Hegelian Dialectycs?

[@R0seshad0w]

​@@WoobertAIO No, Hylics is basically physical matter in Gnostic beliefs.

[@CantusTropus]

Not exactly a revelation here, but I imagine that so many RPG Maker games try to be weird and quirky to avoid association with the "lazily made stock asset RPG Maker game" stereotype. Notice how all of these games have very unique artstyles.

[@brian_ego]

I think that's one of the most attractive things about these games. The fact that they manage to be so clean, original, strikingly creative and visually impressive despite having been made in a program basically designed to be an entry point to game dev and notorious for sloppily put together shitposts

[@four-en-tee]

I just thought that was inspiration from Earthbound. Although, Earthbound (and Mother 1 for that matter) literally did the exact same thing to stand out from shit like Final Fantasy and all the other dime a dozen high fantasy roleplaying games. Its just that Earthbound was built from the ground up.

[@GarryDumblowski]

@@four-en-tee It's probably a bit of both, honestly. Everyone who works with RPGMaker wants to be different and unique and standout, and Earthbound is a particularly easy and popular source of inspiration.

[@brian_ego]

@@four-en-tee I believe Austin Jorgensen has said that earthbound was part of the inspiration for Lisa, but otherwise the term "earthbound-like" gets thrown around a bit much with these sorts of games. There was an article in Paste about this, where a bunch of rpg maker developers were just going "no lol" about Mother's influence

[@yikerbones9824]

Space funeral really shows that

[@pyrrhusofepirus8491]

Brad is definitely a favourite character of mine, he’s such a flawed, messed up character, and his idea of ‘Redemption By Any Means Necessary’, definitely leaves something to be desired. But you can’t bring yourself to hate him, because you understand him, you understand why he’s like this and feel that his motivations are pure.

[@jczbas]

Yea I love brad another really complex character I enjoyed in these games is BUZZ

[@ichide7]

The same can be applied to the batter in OFF, if you have heard some interpretations for example white blood cell or the parent ending his children suffering, you can understand that getting everything OFF is not that bad.

[@alemonyoyo69420]

Bad as a character is so powerful, that his circumstances are the only ones in a game that consistently bring me to tears. Playing the game myself, watching videos on the subject, even watching this video. Brad situation always leaves me in tears.

[@zackozga2411]

I really liked OFF’s puzzles, I’m a fan of the “physically write things down” kinda stuff in games

[@mustafu4032]

same!!!

[@LeafyCooldown]

us

[@axo3940]

y'all are fucking horrid.

[@takumidoutou4412]

Have you played Zero escape? I think you would enjoy that franchise

[@zackozga2411]

@@takumidoutou4412 I have not, but I think I might check it out at some point

[@Shadow.Darkraven]

one shot still makes me emotional to this day, from the music to wanting to help niko to the best of my ability to the ending and what happens in it

[@Shadow.Darkraven]

I also love the bird children

[@jczbas]

I watched Markaplier (not a super fan of his) play thru of one shot. Any other play thrus of it you’d recommend

[@davidsphere43]

@@jczbas One play through that I love very dearly and have rewatched many times is by a small youtuber named Rixian. He takes it seriously, immerses himself, and has a nice and calm voice that really just makes the game that much more of a midnight joy

[@jczbas]

@@davidsphere43 I will def watch it’ and I left it in many comments but GSD BOXER who’s jokes voice audio and video quality deserves way more than 4.5k subs, has ALL Lisa and fan games and indie gems and demos! HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM

[@jczbas]

@@davidsphere43 I’m not a fan of YELL TUBERS no shade to them the kids love it but I’m 35 I just wanna dive in the game imma go add him now

[@melindabolding5601]

A guy reviewing RPG Maker games that isn’t just gushing over Omori, One Shot, and RPG Maker horrors? In 2022? And is 3 hours long? Now this is what I call a VERY big gift to the RPG Maker community.

[@frds_skce]

He did took over 40 mins talking about OneShot, but yes it's a good content

[@melindabolding5601]

@@frds_skce to be fair he talked way more about Lisa. And he wasn’t praising it 24/7 and actually included more RPGs.

[@jczbas]

Omori is a master piece so I’m glad it’s gotten it’s just dues even if over saturated

[@inciniumz4671]

Take that ManlyBadassHero! It's what you get for playing Changed instead of Space Funeral!

[@frds_skce]

@@melindabolding5601 Two Lisa games. Really.

[@FishDemonMan]

1:09:01 I agree 100% of how powerful this moment is. In my first playthrough, despite everything that had happened prior, I spammed defend just hoping I wouldn't have to hurt Buddy and when it set in that I had no other option but to fight I just stared at my screen for a solid minute before attacking.

[@se.224]

I remember being 11 and hearing about To The Moon in a game making focused summer camp. There was an entire week dedicated to RPGmaker, and the entire staff told us to use that game as an example. One particular guy was completely obsessed with Lisa, though, and he took a liking to me and my friend group. I ended up discovering my favourite game of all time, something that changed my life. I swear Lisa is perfect for any angsty teen ever, it helped me sympathize with my parents and their hardships and it made my sense of humor what it is today. I will forever be grateful for this game and the guy that told me about it, wherever he may be.

[@ianleather5699]

Lisa helped me a lot through my angsty teenage years too

[@sandorrclegane2307]

Shit, that camp experience sounds so cool!

[@se.224]

@@sandorrclegane2307 yeah it was, too bad I was a stupid child who didn't actually learn anything from it

[@LeafyCooldown]

sheeesh your life sounds awesome

[@boopert3589]

I love Hylics and Lisa. Lisa absolutely broke me, I haven't been able to find a game to top it. it hits really hard for me due to my own personal experiences. if you want more lisa I highly recommend Lisa: The Pointless and Lisa: The Hopeful. game wise, I like pointless more than painful. experience wise, painful is my favorite.

[@outlier9099]

Also Scholar of the Wilbur Sin, Timeless, etc.

[@burgerman72.]

vegaful and brad has a pain r cool too

[@elinquisidorperseverante6835]

Disco Elysium Is really good if you want another story about a broken addicted Man trying to piece himself together

[@bluecoffee3868]

Yes! Try disco elysium!

[@miwamy]

deadass always in tears during the Brad fight at the end of Joyful

[@Alsritt]

OneShot so rarely gets mentioned in lists like this, where the emphasis is on the really striking and dramatic titles like LISA or Hylics, but it's just... It's a phenomenally warm experience. Bittersweet, sad at times, but eternally hopeful and full of joy at all times. It's soundtrack does so much to sell the setting and the story, and it's an experience I cannot recommend enough.

[@plugshirt1762]

Bruh what do you mean lol one shot gets mentioned the most out of any of them besides Omori and Lisa

[@Tramon81]

Honestly, Niko is one of my favourite depiction of a child in videogames, they're is somthing that just doesn't usually translate well for me for these types of characters. I can't really reason this much aside of a general disinterest, yet Niko manages to come of as a very interesting character. I feel it comes from the fact of how as your role as an effective mentor is protective not in a "belittling" sense but in a "supportive" sense, as the Messiah grows as a person and is able to bypass a decision supposed to be the player's and tame the world machine on their own thanks to the experiences you both had on your journey.

[@marcodragon4995]

I'm so glad to see someone talk about Grimm's Hollow. I ADORE that game and out of every game you've talked about it's probably the least well-known and I think it deserves just a bit more love. It also holds a special bit of nostalgia for me bc I met my boyfriend through looking up the game on twitch and finding his stream lol

[@Trivial_Whim]

If you roulette the whole gambling den to death in Lisa The Painful, you get some rooster mascot luchador character just so that you don’t have a party of only Brad.

[@LaurentIpsum]

If you've fallen in love with this particular style, a game that I highly recommend is Space Funeral. It has a really bizarre eclectic soundtrack, lots and lots of really weird hand-drawn sprites, and your can blow through in about 3 hours, or 4 if you're really dedicated to sucking the marrow out of all the bones. It's a rare specimen, truly a labor of love with a lot of thought put into it. I highly recommend at least taking a look at it, and if you enjoy it, look for its unofficial(?) sequel, Earth Birth. Oh yeah, and also a fantastic video, as always. Edit: no, I'm not a dev, just a huge fan

[@ianleather5699]

Space funeral is my jam, it's so weird and fun

[@jczbas]

If space funeral is too much for you to play I recommend watching it played via Vinesauce

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Why are you not the Dev though?

[@Glory2Snowstar]

Did a double-take when I saw OFF in a 2022 thumbnail, and now I see Hylics. Tonight's gonna be a dang good night. OH WAIT THREE HOURS THIS IS GOING TO BE THE WHOLE NIGHT DUDE WHAT

[@cannonballking7]

This was a bold take on this style and I believe it is one which has payed off handsomely. I have played all of these games (except Grimm's Hollow, but I intend to play soon-ish) and consider them all to be fantastic works of art, which make something inspired with tools which anyone can use. OFF is a founding father of this style of game conglomerate; which I would say walked so the others could run, but I would be lying as this game sprinted so the best of the best could match it. While time has caused the game to display some of it's rougher edges, it's style is so unique, and story so mysterious yet griping that it continues to be a pillar for the gaming landscape, while also functioning as a building block. Hylics is something which I value more as an experience and an art piece than a game. While the game is fun, it is the weird non-sensical world, word spaghetti dialogue, fantastic style, and "story" which make this game worth playing. Besides it's really cheep, you aren't losing much by giving it a shot. Mason Lindroth is a true master in his craft despite how strange it is, and I would highly suggest playing the sequel Hylics 2. It's much more of a game, and it's a really good one at that, combat has much more thought and meaning into it, strategies can be formulated and used, there is a story. The jump to 3D really showed what the artstyle could do, and made exploration legitimately fun. And wow the artstyle got even wackier, but in the same way more focused. If you ever do another one of these, (and you should this was fantastic), I would highly suggest giving Hylics 2 a try. OneShot is a fantastic exploration and deconstruction of videogames. The 4th wall is broken from the very start, leading to one of the few games with 2nd person interactions which have lots of meaning. The puzzles are some of the best stuff you will find, outside of a Professor Layton game, as it constantly alters the limits of "The magic circle" and finds new and unique ways of using the games presentation. The story is great, and the characters within it are highly endearing, Niko is one of my favourite characters period, and I got really attached to her and her plights. Simply fantastic. To The Moon is another fantastic "puzzle-exploration" RPG maker game, which tells a simple yet moving story. The small cast of characters really allows you to enjoy and understand them all on many levels, and the twists and turns throughout made me go from laughing to sobbing multiple times. A real highlight of a story. Lisa is one of my favourite games of all time. I believe it to also be one of the greatest games of all time, which shows the powerful stories which can be told through them, and how gameplay can make them even stronger. Ludo-narrative consistency is baked into every fibre of this games being, and it stands up strong for it. I could talk for hours, and write for tens of thousands of words on this game none stop, but all I can simply say is please play it. Please play this honest to god masterpiece of art. If you are two ever pick up on this type of video again I would highly recommend some of the fan games which came from this series, which at their best are one par with The painful. These include but are not limited to: "Lisa: The Hopeful", "Lisa: The Pointless" (With the second request that you check out the mod of this mod "Lisa: The Pointless: Scholar of the Wilbur Sin" as it is easier and contains more content in line with the original), and "Lisa: The Timeless". All these are really really good and that is all I wish to say. Now that I have said my two cents on all these great games, I want to congratulate you on this video. It is fantastic; you said what you wanted to say one each piece, for as long as you wished and your dry humour consistently got a chuckle out of me as I absorbed you points on the games. I would say for a first attempt you hit it out of the ball-park and would love to see similar videos in this style on different topics, as you clearly have a passion for what you cover. Editing was solid, sound was just right, and the script flowed from point to point with ease. Other than my recommendations above I would suggest also checking out "Space Funeral", "Ib", "Corpse Party", and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: 7th Stand User" (Though I would suggest going in with a guide for the last one). Either way, thank you for experimenting and making this fantastic video, keep up the good work, and have a lovely day.

[@Amity_Enmity]

Brief. I'm all here for it Now having "finished" (skipped OneShot since I own it and it's on The List), I really do like this type of quick look videos from you. Looking forward to potentially more of these like you briefly suggested. nicenice

[@jacobcain9008]

What's The List?

[@spritepepsiplushes8353]

Oneshot needs to be played blind I hope you enjoy it

[@RiskyReels]

play it today right now gogogo its so good its so fucking good PLAY IT PLAY THE GAME PLAY IT ALREADY PLEASE YOU ALREADY OWN IT JUST PLAY THE G

[@sponge1234ify]

Yearly reminder to play Oneshot

[@kittenmittenkitten]

Yume Nikki and Omori are exactly the games I was going to recommend, so it's neat that you beat me to that! Yume Nikki is probably the progenitor of the entire scene, and it's an interesting case in itself. Omori is one of the heaviest and most memorable games I've ever played. It's a huge time investment though, but definitely worth it. I'd actively avoid spoilers though since how it reveals its story piece by piece is one of the best things about it. There's a good selection here so I don't really have too much else to recommend beyond Space Funeral. It's perfect thumbnail material if you want to hook people on the weird. It's very much on the shorter side too, by the way, about a 20th of an Omori, easily. The other side of the RPGmaker game community are the Japanese horror games, such as IB and Aou Oni (which is so popular in Japan it has an actual feature length live action adaption), I haven't dived into them much beyond Ao Oni though. But, overall it's cool to see you pivot towards talking about lesser known games, that's always something that's nice to see!

[@Slop_Dogg]

omori fucking sucks lol

[@JorjIto12872]

And remember mad father or witch house too

[@momentaryretrospect5967]

Ao Oni has three movies, an anime and multiple sequels and I find that really surreal

[@jczbas]

Omari is amazing make sure y’all play both routes ! The one where you leave the home and the route where you stay in the home

[@omk573]

I never went back to any zone in OFF my first playthrough, but I saw it in a video and I didn't know what it was so I went back in my save and it completely shocked me, the darker music with the weird baby enemies scared the shit out of younger me I haven't seen anything like it since

[@connorrowe8787]

To The Moon has had a full nelson around my heart since i was 11, love seeing it get attention with all the eyes on rpgmaker recently. Great video!

[@shot-gi6mr]

2:18:53 The choice I made was also return home, and i made that choice because there was some signs that fixing the sun wouldn't completely fix the world, and between having a chance to fix the world and a guarantee to save Niko, I picked the guarantee

[@issacweaver7180]

I am a HUGE lisa nerd. And I recommend these (in no particular order) Lisa:The hopeful Lisa: The Pointless Lisa: The pointless SOWTS (after you play pointless) Lisa the timeless There are more than this, but these are the best of the best.

[@miwamy]

are these games based around Brad and Buddy or is it similar stories?

[@jczbas]

@@miwamy GSD Boxer has amazing playthrus of all the Lisa and fan games and in order of u wanna watch

[@Nanook128]

@@miwamy all of them are following different characters set in the same world. Lisa the hopeful follows a gang of ragtag misfits who are also hunting down buddy.

[@aReT4RTedduck]

joyful in hopeful is a good what if game which includes Terry

[@ichide7]

Can I have the order to play the games, specially hopeful and pointless.

[@nostopit179]

I just started crying at the discussion of taming. OneShot made me cry so much even just hearing about it in that way is enough to spawn some feelings

[@smoop4816]

Grimm’s Hollow is an underrated gem

[@Qwerty-wk3jy]

frrr i played it a while back and its SO NICEEEEE I LOVE ITTTT more people should talk about it

[@akun50]

On "Off", I love the various theories about the world that came up, as you could take things through so many different interpretations.

[@lenglonr6198]

This is super ambitious, and I'm really impressed that you're attempting this. instant like just for the attempt and the OBVIOUS amount of effort you put into making a 3.33 hour long video, and this is doubly true because I already know a bit about some of these games and know that you had to do a ton of trimming to get it down to being that short.

[@bruh-ig3ms]

Honestly, Japanese horror rpg maker games could be in a video all on their own. They’re so many of them and honestly blow my mind with how they work with the engine.

[@empty6004]

games for possible part 2 to this series (will edit if more come to mind): Suits: A Business RPG Suits: Absolute Power Mad Father Misao Ib Yume Nikki .flow Omori Mogeko Castle Space Funeral The Crooked Man The Witch’s House Toilet In Wonderland

[@Toranagi]

Thanks for this comment, I now know Suits has a follow up game (:

[@bobdick5609]

The crooked man isn't a rpg maker game

[@empty6004]

@@bobdick5609 shhh…

[@GregoryMom]

add End Roll!

[@bruh-ig3ms]

Wandanohara and the Blue Sea and Starbot too!

[@zacmaas9699]

I picked save the lightbulb and while it hurt a lot to do that I've had a personal rule where I cannot let my emotions dictate what I do.

[@magentagamingartgallery]

I feel like Lisa The Joyful was supposed to be a mindless murderfest powertrip fantasy that you can't look away from, like a horrible car wreck that draws your morbid curiosity as you drive past that's the vibe I got anyway

[@ovite1240]

oneshot is my favorite game of all time, and I'm so glad you talked about It! btw, ling, the cafe lady, isn't actually...a lady. he's actually a dude! i made the same mistake when i first played the game lol

[@DaveyGunface]

Huh, I genuinely didn't get that. I think they're legitimately the only main character I didn't check the wiki for because of course I didn't. Thanks for letting me know captain.

[@irregularstuff5290]

666 chop delux unironically slaps tho. It is chaotic, but more in a "let me introduce you to something you will hear in your nightmares invading your dream about rainbows and butterflies" way rather then "LOL random" way. It has a charm and very distinct character and I dig it.

[@pikmaniac2643]

Few things spark dread in me as much as the knowledge that some person will be the last human, the last animal, the last creature alive in the universe before the gradual decay into nothingness save for the occasional photon… and dang if your review of OneShot didn’t bring that thought train roaring back. 11/10

[@santaint]

Man I wish more youtubers did this longform content, great video encomassing some of this weird ass niche of 'quirky, indie, earthbound inspired RPG'. Hopefully there'll be a second part because I'd love to see you copy the wackier side with Space Funeral and Toilet Wonderland Also I definitely would recommend LISA: The Pointless as a first experience on LISA fangames, though only a demo, it really feels like official content, and just generally extremely well made

[@insertfunnynamehere1673]

idk if you're still reading the comments on this video, but if you are; the term psychopomp is commonly used to refer to avatars of Death. I think it specifically refers to the beings who deliver your spirit from the living world to the land of the dead, but since the general idea of Death as a being has them serving that purpose anyway I think it works. I could have sworn TV Tropes had a specific trope for psychopomps who are affable and / or adorable, but I can't find it now. Also, love your videos! I've been marathoning them for the past couple of days, really glad I found your channel!

[@Amaiguri]

As both a game dev and a gamer, this video was great. It has taken like 2 days to go through this whole thing but I did it! Thank you so much for making this. To the Moon is what got me into game dev in the first place and I just did do QA on the Lisa definitive edition, but now I really want to get into all these other story-focused RPGmaker games. This was great as a look into what else is out there! I have a full time job at a company (the one that published the Lisa definitive edition) but I've started working on a RPGmaker game on my own time. And between my job making games and making a whole game by myself, I don't have a lot of time to play. So really in-depth summaries paired with your analysis here was super helpful in letting me see what else is out there beyond just googling trailers or even trying to watch whole play throughs. I definitely wanna try out Oneshot for myself now! Anyway, this was a really long way of saying: "Video good and educational and I loved it. 10/10" I hope this format works for you too and that you can make more in the future!

[@soloungatomas6258]

Hylics really remembers me of Gingiva, the art and weird/random thins are very similar. Also, OFF has a fan game called HOME and for some people is better than the original game by a lot of factors so if you liked Off, please play it, I remembered the game for the "Dedicated to our beloved friend Felix, we miss you" sign

[@ichide7]

No mi querido gato, Home is not better than OFF but it give you at least a good ending. And know that you mentioned it Felix the judge is the creator of Home, a mentor to the creator of One ( another Off fan game) and also a mentor to the creator of Oneshot, he pass away.

[@trustytrest]

Gingiva is by the same dev. And its kind of a scummy game considering people originally paid for a different game on Kickstarter, with Gingiva meant to be as a small side project released for free in the meantime before that game's paid release. Then the dev decided "nah im done" and just acted like releasing Gingiva was good enough and stopped all development without telling anyone. He then went on to make a different paid game anyways but that one kinda sucked and wasn't fun to play.

[@ace-smith]

middens and gingiva were definitely inspirations to hylics. and no they aren't by the same dev idk what that guys on

[@thepopemichael]

This is one of the best KZbin longform videos out there right now. It's easily on par with PatricianTV in both production, ease of viewing and entertainment levels. Thank you for all of your hard work on this video, Davey! I'd love to hear your shockingly Mitten Squad -esque voice for MANY more videos in the future.

[@C-Fipp]

In case you are familiar with the Mother series, one fangame done in RPG Maker I highly recommend would be MOTHER: Cognitive Dissonance, not only for the interesting story and atmosphere, but for the well-rounded combat and all the secrets/optional stuff too.

[@plugshirt1762]

Ah he’s in case your familiar with the series that’s inspired 90% of famous rpg maker games lol

[@IsaacClodfelter]

When ever a creator says something along the lines of, "oh and you can use the chapters so you can watch this in multiple sittings", I take it as an indirect challenge to watch the entire video all at once. And that is how I have sat through 25 hour long video essays in one sitting.

[@alexanderjamesaustin]

Even within this genre, OFF feels super niche despite big youtubers like Markiplier playing it

[@Mate_Antal_Zoltan]

simple, people just forgot and went on I want you to imagine all the games Mark has ever made a full or partial let's play of now subtract the ones that people actually remember yeah, not a huge list anymore, is it?

[@plugshirt1762]

I mean it isn’t nearly as niche as some of the other games here like hylics or grimm’s hollow. I mean it literally is the main thing that inspired the undertale genocide run lol so it’s influence is definitely felt all I’ve the place. Arguably I’d say it’s probably the most influential rpg maker game behind yume nikki

[@15Monkes]

A KZbinr I like making a video that mentions LISA, OFF, and other great games? In this day and age? Pretty based

[@morgan7909]

I have no idea if you still want suggestions, but two of my favorite games of all time are "Lily's Well" and "Lost Cartridge - Cold Read" which are both great rpgmaker horror games with really good and unique stories. I heavily recommend them.

[@scottpeltier3977]

Lisa is probably the best game maker videogame to me. The world is engaging despite its limitations, the fighting is simple but fun, the humor is outstanding despite how restricted it is. But most importantly how well done Brads arch is. He’s the personification of “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” You can look at him as the good guy but he does more bad, but only does it to try and save someone who resents him. Honestly it really broke my heart my first play through and it’s really engraved itself into me

[@Our_Remedy]

"World with only men" + "Rampant drug problem that makes them more impulsive" is one of the worst apocalyptic scenarios I could imagine.

[@tahvohck]

Gotta say, I'm here because of the "brief retrospective but the video is 3.5 hours long", but that's kind of my jam anyway. That said, you definitely did a good job with all of that time. I don't feel like you wasted any of it, and it was a great way to spend my morning. Basically exactly what I'd like to have seen, going in.

[@masterzoroark6664]

Oh, Hylics- it's basically if you decided to make a surrealist acid painting into a game. And hey, Hylics got a sequel which is more comprehencable, but still has the Masson Lindroth artstyle to it and keeps the claymation games alive, we need more of them

[@Monomiknose]

If anyone's interested in Hylics but don't like how overly nonsensical it can be, give Hylics 2 a try. It's generally a bit more cohesive, and has more going on gameplay wise.

[@holydezmondgamez1728]

Davey posting a 3 and a half hour movie on my favorite niche genre while finals are going on?! Sign me the fuck up.

[@OldyAlbert]

My fav RPG maker game is Fear & Hunger, it's real special On Hylics - i was really impressed how Hylics 2 went from little RPG maker game into much bigger one while maintaining what what good about the original, good example of a developer getting better and better while not compromizing

[@coolbugfacts3953]

neat a binding of isaac reference like over two and a half hours in awesome

[@rhydianbeard7771]

I realy love this style of content and can't wait to see more also that idea about doing it with a tower defense is a good one keep at it

[@Car-rp8dg]

I just want to say that this is one of my favorite videos on KZbin. Not only is it extremely well made but it also introduced me to Lisa the painful which is my current favorite game of all time. Keep up the good work

[@marioagainsttheworld6248]

LISA,Hylics and Off in the same video? Sir,you're a Chad

[@killer1gamer1]

you can tell he really loves otters because his voice was like maybe an octave higher than usual

[@xx_teethdeity_xx4223]

This was super good!! You didn’t talk too slow or do the oOoOoO sPoOkY voice like I’ve seen in a lot of iceberg videos. This is the first time I’ve been genuinely called out by name in a video, genuinely spooked me 😭

[@plugshirt1762]

I mean it’s not an iceberg video so there’s no reason to do a spooky voice lol

[@SmashMan108]

One thing i like about rpg maker games is how most try to be diffirent by experimenting with all types of things gimmicks, storyline, gameplay etc i love seeing this since most modern rpg games made by big companies try to be very safe and keep repeating the exact same game formula with minor changes

[@Psycchan]

- lisa is incredible and ive played it like 5 times - oneshot made me cry several times with multiple emotions and, for many reasons you covered perfectly, is one of my favorite games - grimm's hollow i have a love/hate relationship with. i played because i thought it looked cute and it subsequently left me an emotional wreck due to trauma 10/10 cant wait to watch the rest of this when i finish the other games!! if you do another vid like this id highly recommend the trio of mothlight, orogenesis, and soulscape (all made by samu) as well as alicemare, all of which are on steam and are genuinely amazing games!!

[@notoriousgoblin83]

Fly me to the moon, Let me kick its fucking ass. Let me show it what I learned In my moonjitsu class

[@Shanghai2433]

I'd love to see a video on Lisa fangames, Pointless and Hopeful are great, you might want to wait for Pointless tho since it's getting a update that adds and overhauls the game. but talking about Pointless as it right now would be good.

[@mr.monotone1908]

Vegaful's pretty good as well. Mr Jim babwe person

[@Shanghai2433]

@@mr.monotone1908 I think it's kinda mid honestly.

[@imunoriginalokay4400]

@@Shanghai2433 agreed

[@numnaut1314]

Lisa the Pointless Scholar of the Wilbur Sin is Pointless but way better, Timeless is pretty fun if you don't mind if the story takes a back seat, Vegaful hard skip it's no good, Bashful Eh okay, Oblivious good(?) never played it, Ungrateful no worse than Vegaful.

[@Shanghai2433]

@@numnaut1314 Scholar is pretty good but it's best to play og Pointless first just to get the experience.

[@imthecoolestguyalive]

I keep coming back to this video with a smile on my face, and joy in my heart, because as a fan of these indie RPG's, this is one of the best videos on 'em. Ever. It's all just paced very well, it's direct and to the point, it touches on some parts I haven't noticed, it has a very simple but pleasant visual presentation with very, very little meandering and tangents, it covers a whole bunch of games I like, and it introduced me to Grim's Hollow, so there's really very little to nitpick, even if I tried. Despite how direct you are about a lot of the events, not softening the blow of any heavy moments, or waffling around the subject matter, you still approached the more sensitive topics (particularly in LISA, because it has probably the most messed up events happen) very respectfully and gently, and that is also very much appreciated. It just feels like a very adult take on these. I know plenty of people who would only really scrape the surface with "Look how weird this game is! Look how scary up this game is! Look how sad this game is!" sort of rhetoric, but this is a very pleasant change of pace. Thank you for uploading this video, I love coming back to it. :-)

[@TheWrathAbove]

I dig this video's concept very hard, and am here for the watch time, but it's gonna have to sit in my watch later list for a bit. It's been like 6 years since I played any of these games and I've just started deep dive of my own replaying a bunch of games in this "genre" and I like to go into things like that with a fresh perspective. (Also I never actually got around to Lisa the Painful during my old RPG Maker kick, and I want to go into it blind)

[@lulacatt873]

Oneshot is my favorite game of all time, and will never change. Everything from the story, to the characters, to the environment, and to the music is just incredible. The game steered me towards the community, which improved my life for the better, and I often think about the game and the characters.

[@bluecoffee3868]

Hell yeah! Two of my favorites, long ass videos and rpgs!

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Davey making video essays. I love it, you’re presentation combined with a content genre I really enjoy, I hope you stick with it

[@nautil_us]

Your analysis of hylics was perfect and incredibly accurate and very complimentary

[@raleo7466]

I know it's a bit meta but covering RPG horror games would be cool too. Mad father, mogeko castle, corpse party, etc. But honestly just upload anything, your voice is so weirdly soothing and the dry humor is so nice

[@ThomasG911]

Really fucking good video. Since you're looking for good famgames, I can recommend Lisa: The Pointless and particularly its fan-add on, Lisa: The Pointless: Scholar of the Wilbur Sin. Normal Pointless is a nice romp but a bit short, but Scholar of the Wilbur Sin extends it massively with several superbosses, triple the content, a second ending, a revamped combat system that encourages more move diversity and harder fights through increased action economy, and good fight gimmicks. I can only recommend a guide or two so that you can get all of the content, but it's really goddamn good.

[@ThomasG911]

And obviously, "fan content for fan content" sounds sketchy, but I'd still consider it the definitive Lisa: The Pointless experience, until the Monster Update gets released in a few years.

[@solarknight3942]

I clicked on this video because I thought it would be interesting since a lot of rpg maker games seem to be my childhood and are inspiring me to make today. Then you said "the length of the video" and now I'm here for the LONG HAUL

[@toldiner]

they’re not exactly in the same genre of rpgmaker games as these, but your turn to die and witch’s heart have had my fancy for a couple years. ayakashi akashi is also good, though it’s in very early stages. cat in the box is very nice as well!

[@mustafu4032]

i haven't played ayakashi akashi yet, but seeing this kinda makes me excited to pick it up and try it out!!

[@cynblack]

I love tower defence games too! I like your personality!

[@angrybirdsmuseum7241]

Me waching this with my half attention: nice 5 minutes later: INTERESTING

[@DaveyGunface]

Yep, that's video essays

[@rder2793]

Man I LOVED this video. I like how honest and straight to the point you are, I liked your humor, and in general I really like how genuine this video feels. This is the first content I found out about you and I can't wait to see more videos in a similar fashion!

[@KyaHimiko]

I personally really enjoyed this kind of video. I really hope you do more ^^

[@jerichode]

Bro what a fucking banger video, whenever I see people talk about games like these it's always over the top "These incredible games that will blow your mind !11!!! Aren't they just so cool and amazing!!!1!?". It's honestly great seeing such a down to earth, genuine look at these games. There's no feigning shock at the more indie and unique ways these games talk about tough topics or use unique game mechanics, just an admittance it's really cool and I think that's dope. Incredible video, keep it up.

[@amusedchortles]

I think this is probably the first time I've ever seen anyone talk about Grimm's Hollow. I picked it up about a year ago for similar reasons and loved it. Also, as someone who didn't use many spells as I've always been scared to use MP type things due to how much of a pain it usually is to restore them, I'd say it was decently difficult, but the battles really were more of a hinderance than anything in my opinion. If it weren't for how linked they were to the endings, I would say that it would probably work better if they weren't included as they were, not that it ruined my experience or anything.

[@purplehaze2358]

"Do all of them benefit from going in blind? Immensely so! Maybe with the exception of Hylics." Yeah, that benefits from going in high.

[@jameshleba8463]

best rpg maker vid out there rn. most are just "rpg maker bad"

[@olivercharles2930]

Probably because most rpg maker games are canine feces.

[@plugshirt1762]

⁠@@olivercharles2930bruh most games are canine feces you only hear about the ones that aren’t while the thousands that are everyone either ignores or makes fun of

[@iamnottheplayer6445]

Great video, Lisa and OFF are my 2 favourite games and Im always happy to see someone cover them. Also if you are wondering about lisa fangames then I would reccomend Lisa The Hopeful, Lisa The Pointless: Scholar of The Wilbur Sin (an upgraded version of the base Pointless but with many improvements and hours of new content) and Lisa The Timeless. Hopeful is the closest to the original Lisa, Pointless has the best gameplay and worldbuilding (especially with the scholar version) and Timeless is the best one when it comes to graphics and soundtrack.

[@therevoltingslob2564]

Hey thanks for the star wars scroll content warnings I love your videos but I had been avoiding this one because I knew it would have some topics I can’t listen to so the clear guide of which parts are and aren’t safe is really appreciated

[@joe_mama__]

If you ever going to make a part 2 to this retrospective then you should cover more japanese RPG Maker games like the Black Souls games

[@imunoriginalokay4400]

It's rare to see games like Grimms Hollow on lists, it's a really good game like LISA and I'm glad to see it's getting some attention like the other games

[@jr637-1]

Being from Kansas City, I did a double-take seeing the name "Olathe" mentioned in the Lisa the Joyful segment and cringed at the pronunciation, which I'm pretty sure was the goal.

[@plugshirt1762]

I had already beat the lisa trilogy, one shot, and off before going to watch this video so I ended up deciding I would rather play hylics, grimm’s hollow, and to the moon than leave the video half finished. So I’ve finally managed to finish this video like a month after starting it because I so sporadically played those games lol

[@cryptid6279]

honestly none of these games have resonated with me as much as lisa the joyful. i think a lot of abuse victims like myself have had that sort of power fantasy, making it so we become so powerful that we never get hurt again. i heavily resonated with buddy and completely understood why she did what she did, and it frustrates me that so many people dont understand her and immediately claim shes evil. what she did was wrong, but i understand and empathize with why she did it.

[@overlordchemm3705]

Fun little thing to note, the short random minigame segment in OFF is very likely a reference to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. There's a massive, albeit optional, dungeon in that game that's broken up into a bunch of short, smaller dungeons with an extremely similar minigame you play when travelling between them. Idk if it's a confirmed reference or not, but if you pull up images for "SMT Nocturne labyrinth of amala" you won't have to scroll down far to see the minigame in question. It's also just as out of left field in that game.

[@fern_farm]

Truly a brief retrospective... To even think you could capture 1% of what makes games like these amazing amuses me to the highest degree. For they will forever have more depth and nuance than you could ever imagine in that brain of your. Whyyy yes I do like drinking red wine at night on my porch, how could you tell? /j

[@TNinja0]

I didn't play whacky Earthbound RPGs when I was in the community. In the early days, we had wild stuff like Tales of the Drunken Paladins I suppose. It was fun. And anyone who managed to completely deviate form the engine's base features were some rare gems.

[@juliamavroidi8601]

"I always try to steer clear of jok3s that might be considered offebsive or in poor taste" - That war crime guy, 2022

[@CoolGuyMcgeez]

i love how rpg maker is a series designed to make classic generic rpgs yet its used to make the most Avant garde games ever.

[@mickad150]

Oneshot spoilers please don't click if you want wanna play the game. I choose saving Niko as I thought that the world was already dieing due to the pixels and,as the world machine said, Niko is the only one worth saving. is that flawed. hell yeah! why does Alula deserve to die? she does not. all of the people of this land have been nothing but kind to Niko. and I did the hidden quest to give rebirth to the plant lady of the Glen. also Oneshot is the only game to make me feel anything other than fun. and has refromed how I see my life so there is that.

[@ineedzemedic5810]

Me when the function has a 3 hour video essay about indie games at the function:

[@Bacxaber]

8:38 "Dr. Peterson, what’s your favourite colour?" "Well that depends on what you mean by favourite. And it also depends on what you mean by colour. This is a very complex question...one must acknowledge the underlying verisimilitude that is irrevocably nested within a multi-layered metaphysical substrate which many people fundamentally conflate with their ideological presuppositions with no uncertain irregularity, causing the inadvertent dismissal of Jung's archetypal extrapolation of the quintessential axiomatic juxtaposition required to achieve Raskolnikov's magnitude of Neo-Marxist existential nihilism..."

[@Winasaurus]

If they're talking marxist, must be red.

[@bearhugsleafbugs]

Reminder to myself to rewatch this video for the oneshot portion (only after playing it for myself)

[@richardtempest7585]

you should check out disillusion, similar to hylics in its bizarre styles but some how done in first person despite being rpg maker

[@teratoma.]

rpgmaker artstyles are the best fr

[@goldengolem4670]

I am gonna skip Grim because i am still lying to myself that ill try playing it again someday... lets hope you didn't put all the best jokes into that one Also the "space monkey ending" in OFF was a response to people asking for an actual good ending from the developers. Not sure if that justifies it, but it is a thing.

[@coreblaster6809]

I've never seen your channel before, but just wanted to say I loved this video!

[@vanderkarl3927]

21:03 That's me, I beat the entire game without knowing that existed. Later, I saw another guy playing through the game, and he saw this, and I was like "wait, what" But, despite leaving to not get spoiled on it, I haven't gone back and replayed the game yet; it's just, a whole lot of invested time for a game I've already beaten, you know? Well, I'll probably get around to it at some point, once I've forgotten most of the details and feel like playing through Off again. I do wish that there was, maybe, ANY hint that revisiting the levels would be worthwhile? Maybe I missed something, but it just never even occurred to me that I might want to. Guess I have to skip the rest of the Off section, though. And Lisa, haven't gotten enough gumption to play that one.