The version I played was last edited on November 29th, 2012.
Skip to the bottom for a synopsis. I apologize if some elements of this review seem rushed: I actually wrote this and then proceeded to lose the entire thing. That will teach me to use notepad for my text editing.
Also some day I will remember to get screenshots. Maybe.
Introduction
No More Villains is one of two games entered into the Heart of the OHR contest by beloved community member Fenrir-Lunaris. Fenrir has one of the most well known titles ever, Vikings of Midgard, by virtue of its inclusion with the OHRRPGCE. In addition, Fenrir is known for some other titles, such as Final Fantasy H, as well as hosting the Ridiculous Games Contest.
No More Villains plays into all of Fenrir's history with the OHR by including characters from the OHR community's past in conjunction with the games from the Ridiculous Games Contest. In this way, No More Villains is not only the results of the RGC but the introduction of the HotOHR.
Review
Fortunately, Fenrir does an extremely good job explaining who our characters are, and the fact that they are references doesn't play too much into the game except when needed, and even then it's explained. These could all easily be original characters for this game. During our introduction we learn that there is something called the "Heart of the OHR" which can grant, well, basically anything. The leader of this hive mind monster crew called the Kothyl has decided that the winner of this contest will gain the heart. Obviously, being villains, our guys here want it. They all scurry forward, up the tree that contains all of the games of the OHR, in order to get it. Our last guy, Gahn, whose game I do not recognize, realizes that something is up and doesn't go along with everyone else.
We then appear in a world from another game (specifically, Super Harem Builder) - albeit all spruced up with Fenrir magic. Our virus character (Slither, from Mr. Triangle games I think) is appalled at the state of this game, and attempts to fix it up. The other characters are a bit more interested in the seedy-looking harem, though. This is actually the major way this game works: we are thrust into the world of one of the RGC games, each character references it in their own unique way, and then we move on to the next area.
As mentioned, the presentation is so far fantastic. Everything looks great while still maintaining the feel of their own game. A lot of care was taken to make sure that Billy still looks like Billy, despite being completely revamped. Fenrir has gone to great lengths to make sure that all of the references are accurate - I can tell this despite the fact that I've barely played the other games. Meanwhile, the music is a great fit as well, and I personally like how it fades in and out with the current storyline. Since the game is mostly told through cutscenes, the sharp choreography of these scenes is important and Fenrir nailed it. As for the originality of the music, I must admit that I need to do more research. I recognize some of the songs from commercial games and elsewhere, but there might be some original stuff hiding here as well, if not merely due to remixing. Still, it's all fit quite well which is a major plus.
The beginning few areas of the game serve as a tutorial to how the characters actually work. We fight very easy enemies so that we can get a chance to figure out the unique mechanics of each character. Each character has three separate options (none of which are normal "attack") that have some effect on the battle. None of them, for the most part, appear to be plain damage, all have some sort of secondary effect. This is very good. In between sections we also have the ability the buy some items. Each item is for a specific character (except for a couple, actually) and provides stat boosts that they're into. Since the game doesn't appear to have levels, this is the only way to measure progression. Also, the balance of costs is a little weird: everything costs 500 and most battles give you about 500, or 200/300/1000 in some instances. (As an aside, it might be a bit more thematic or cool to instead have a currency item that is traded for the equipment instead of money, but it's just a thought.)
To be honest, this is the entire description of the game. Our OHR Villains go through each of the RGC games, pushing their own brand of humor into each one them, until the OHR Heroes show up. We see some heartwarming scenes between heroes and villains as we beat them up, and continue along our way until the final encounter. I don't want to ruin the story because it is excellent and very well tied together. The idea of OHR Heroes and Villains going through Ridiculous Games on their quest to make way for a new generation of Heart of the OHR heroes and villains is, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Fenrir does an exceptionally good job tying everything together.
Unfortunately, the superb graphics and story are somewhat held back by the gameplay. In any other situation, this game would reign supreme. However, as a HotOHR game, there are some minor points that need to be made. The game is extremely linear in a movie-like way. You actually don't move your characters around very often. It's cutscene -> battle -> cutscene all the way through. This is not terrible and actually works for many games, including this one. (And maybe there's some sort of commentary on this with the game using Final Fantasy XIII's Blinded by Light, but that's just reaching.) However, because the battle difficulty is so easy, it puts the focus on the story and the game becomes a little lacking.
Don't get me wrong: the battles are pretty engaging. The different options that each character has definitely makes the game much better than it otherwise would be. However, because the enemies never have anything interesting other than doing damage, it means that the battle devolve into the Final Fantasy IV "each character has their job and that is it" without any reaction needed from the player. The battles involve selecting the "correct" option over and over up to that point. Now, this is a common JRPG trope that can be dealt with in a bunch of ways, but unfortunately this game doesn't really have any. We have no out-of-battle customization, no party design (except for the very end), nothing. We can't change spells, equipment (except for upwards), or anything. This is a weakness, to me.
In the end, we defeat our main bad guy, and then get to view some credits. The credits really turn out to be the placements from the Ridiculous Games Contest. Unfortunately, because I do not have any ties to that contest, I can't say if this is particularly emotional or not. Is that Clam Digger from that episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force?
Honestly though, I think everyone in the community should play this game. It's definitely not the best RPG we have in the HotOHR contest, but it's definitely something you shouldn't pass up. It's also only about an hour long, which is about the perfect length. It neither drags nor leaves more to be desired. I also have my suspicions that playing through again, perhaps with different characters, might make some difference, but I'm not sure.
Additional suggestions
I don't have a lot to say here. Fenrir knows how to make a good game and I'm sure this is the game that wanted to be made.
I think pulling from Cool Guy Bob Surlaw could do a lot here. Making the battles a bit more difficult, with more variation in the enemies would be extremely good, but allowing the player to disable battles would let them see the story if they don't want to deal with it. Seeing the story is important to this game.
The battle ready meters are almost impossible to see, a color tweak here would help a lot. They also move pretty slowly but I don't know if speeding them up is necessary.
Final Verdict
8/10 - Extremely well put together package, but falls short of creating an RPG experience that the HotOHR contest demands.
Pros:
- Game looks and sounds beautiful
Scripted scenes well put together
Plot is clever and engaging: you will want play it all
Characters are extremely unique, both in battles and in the story
The game is finished, polished, and ready to be played.
Cons:
- No exploration: only story scenes and battle scenes
Battles a bit on the easy side: you will never be threatened
This is very minor but some sounds are so incredibly annoying: I'm looking at you Billy.