Being a fan of RPGs and games like Dungeons and Dragons, I've always loved the idea of creating my own game. However, I lack the programming knowledge. RPG Maker MV for the Switch certainly makes it easier for someone like me to build my own world and with little to no programming experience.
That doesn't mean that you don't need some basic logic knowledge, because you do. And with RPG Maker you can make the games as complicated or as simplistic as you'd like. When you start up the game, a prompt asks if you'd like to start with a tutorial. The tutorial is pretty short and gives you some very basics of the game. In the tutorial you play a young boy who is guided by a king who guides you through creating some simple tasks to get your feet wet. The things you learn in the tutorial will give you a general sense of what you can do in the game. But there's a lot more than what you are taught in the tutorial.
When you start a new creation, you'll be asked what you want to name the game. You're able to change this if you decide on a different name later on. You start on the map editor, and there is a lot of different options you can choose from when creating your world. In the map edit, you can also create different maps in the map list. This is important because if you want to create a event, where you have a character enter into a building, you'll need to create a new map on the list for that.
Events are the tools that you'll use to create the logic in the game. For instance, if you want a character to say a certain phrase when you approach them, you'll create an event for that. Or if you want characters to move in a certain direction, you'll create an event for that. This is where it can get a little tricky. The tutorial walks you through really basic logic, having a character move and having them talk to your character. However, it doesn't explain how to have dialogue that is event based, that is, if you talk to a character and you want the character to say something different next time you talk to them you can, it's possible, but the tutorial doesn't explain this feature.
There is a data base feature in the game which allows you to really bring your world to life. You can create new classes and abilities in each class. You can create monsters, along with how much damage they do, how many hit points they have, and even aspects like how much experience and gold you'll get for defeating the monster. There are a lot of different options to choose from as well. And there are plenty of different character assets to make your monsters. If you wanted to have an RPG that takes place in a fantasy world, you certainly can do that, or if you wanted to have a haunted house RPG, that's also possible. And there are going to be future DLC that will allow you to add to your asset collection.
The game also allows for touch screen and for a keyboard, which is really nice if you have a lot of text you wanted to add to the game. The only issue I had in regards to the menu and over all display, is that in handheld mode, everything is pretty small. It's a minor issue, but still something that I noticed.
Probably one of the best aspects of this game is the ability to share your creations with others. And the best part, you don't need to own RPG Maker MV to be able to play other people's creations, as there is a separate, free, RPG Maker MV Player which will allow you to search and download games created by the community.
Final Grade: B+
RPG Maker MV is a tool to allow those that may not have the programming chops to create their own RPG and share the game with the world. There is a lot of different features available to you to create your world. Unfortunately, the tutorial just scratches the surface for what you can really do with RPG Maker MV. If you want to make more complicated events, you may need to consult the internet to see if anyone else has done the same thing. In handheld mode, the menus and options are a bit small, but you do have the ability to use the touch screen. Overall it's a great tool for creators to bring their worlds to life.
Review copy provided by NIS America
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