Mardek Rpg: Chapter 2 This is what an rpg SHOULD be.
Mardek RPG: Chapter 2 was definitely a great game to play (heck, you provided me a full weekend of entertainment). Quite honestly, this game is near flawless.
The graphics were incredible. I loved the blending of drawn characters in the speech boxes and sprite characters on the field. That was an interesting merge. Even more impressive is HOW WELL everything was drawn. I was particularly impressed by the random monsters. Such incredible detailing, and such variety! Some tiles seemed to be a bit repetitive, like the grass tiles, which were all identical, and a bit of inconsistencies with that would have been interesting, (rocks, flowers, mounds of dirt), but this is just a minor problem that didn't detract from gameplay.
Even more impressive is how you took the professionally drawn characters and animated them very fluently. The attack animations in this game are some of the smoothest I've ever seen in Flash RPGs.
The story was absolutely thrilling. There were no boring aspects of the plot, and the dialogue between the characters is, without a doubt, full of personality and thought. What really stands out in the story is Emela's inner battle when it comes to killing Steele. That was really a wonderfully written part of the plot.
The game isn't overly linear adventure-wise. You provided some type of "Trilobite Cave" if I recall. That was a nice touch, as it gave your viewers more to chew on while we eagerly wait for Chapter 3.
Now, the one thing that most RPGs don't have, and that you've perfected is... the HUMOR. Everything I interacted with had something really funny to say. Unlike the generic drab that a NPC or sign would spew, you had them say things that were satirical of the RPG genre, mocking of the plot predictability, as well as some pretty funny jokes. Even Emela's explanation of her past was humorous. In fact, I recall spending nearly half the play time just walking around and talking to random NPCs to read what they had to say. From Aalia's IM chat style of talking, to the bandit who's "actually four bandits", I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.
Now, the thing that annoys me the most about RPGs is the generic bosses that are merely powerful, but nothing more. Your game has a grand compilation of many interesting bosses. One that really stands out would be Zombified Locksmith. The battle, though frustrating, was definitely an interesting brawl due to his unique ability to destroy me using status problems. Another interesting fight was Moric, the necromancer. Though his "second form" (don't want to spoil it) was rather predictable, it was an interesting fight. (Though easy, lucky I still had a phoenix down)
The music was well composed, and I was impressed how, you alone, could not only program a game, but do the music as well! Incredible! One of my favorite compositions was the battle with the Bandit Chief, Muriance. Definitely a great fast piece with a suitable background to accompany the melody.
There is only one thing I can find wrong with the game:
There should definitely be more variety in attacks. Throughout the whole game, the most I could ever get for each of my party members was Heal and Remove Taint for Mardek, Lightning Bolt and Earth Explosion for Emela, Barrier Break and Power attack for Deugan, and Smite Evil and Dispel Undead for Vehrn. Not to mention, one of those attacks were provided for each of them when I first got them. A bit more variety would have been really nice. I especially wanted to see Rohoph's more advanced techniques, being one the powerful Healer that he is. Every time I leveled up, I looked to see if I learned any new techniques, and sadly, no, the moves are based off of the items equipped.
Overall, this was one of the most epic flash RPGs that I have ever seen on the Internet. Though in need of a few more battle techniques, the gameplay was nice, the music was well composed, and the humor and plot kept me entertained. With the dramatic ending which I will not reveal, I am eagerly anticipating the next installment of Mardek RPG. Well done.
