Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition

Nice little JRPG. It's most certainly nothing groundbreaking but the several hours of content are still polished, with plenty to explore outside the main quest as well. One of the best RPGMaker games I've played.

Fun game, cool character, very cool story. Very cool overall. You should def try it out.

I've played a large number of RPGs and JRPGs over the years. I will say that Ara Fell was a worth while experience. I enjoyed the characters, the combat, and story.

Story: A
At first, I thought the story was very cliche. "Vampires?" & "Chosen one" as examples. I thought I knew what the games was going for and in the final act, was actually surprised by the direction and some of the twists. I went into the game completely oblivious of anything.

Exporation and Navigation: B
It can be a little confusing with the larger areas to remember where the entrances and exits are. Luckily, the teleport waypoints help a lot. Once I was more familiarized with an area, it became much easier to navigate. There is quite a bit to explore. Nothing really is missable. Exploration is highly recommended.

Shopping: B
Buying and selling stuff in the game became a little bit of a chore trying to upgrade equipment. Eventually, I was picking up stuff I had paid several thousand for a little earlier in the game.

Combat: A
Turned based where turn order dependents on your character's speed. This can be manipulated with skills by your characters or by enemies. Leveling up was such a weird focus in the game, as I wanted some characters to always be faster than Lita. AOEs then multi-single target attacks, and healing at the end. Also, 5K damage is really easy with the respec option for leveling up points. Heck, I even did over 5k damage in the final battle without the respec. Battles are usually quick, which is good.

Music and Sound: B
The music is okay. I had to turn it down, but that might just be how I am. Sound effects were for the most part spot on.

Characters Progression and Crafting: B
While I was not very enthused by the skill and the optional class system, as it makes you choose existing or the new class for each playable character. Upgrade to equipment really was a driving force for me. Upgrading skills was also once I knew what I wanted as a play style. Not a fan of Reflect's upgrade. Like who thought having it lose reflect was a good idea? Upgrading equipment sometimes took a little bit of grinding if you want to upgrade early, which I did. Reaching level 50 is an achievement, but it is not the cap and you can comfortably beat everything in the game on a normal playthrough without reaching level 50. I grinded out from level 46 to 50, but was very doable without doing so. Experience is plentiful.

Overall, I would give the game an A, despite all the B ratings I gave it above. Somehow, despite all of the issues I had with the game, they came together nicely. It also has motivation to replay it by having an Expert mode only achievement. It's short enough that replaying it would take considerably less time.

A nice classic feeling JRPG (think Chrono Trigger, FF, etc.).

I went into this game not knowing much about it and ended up falling in love with it. The art style is what you'd expect from any RPGMaker-style game, but where this one shines is in the writing, characters, and world lore building. The story can be summed up as basic save-the-world plot, but there was enough variance and hardships that the characters went through to keep me interested. I really like the characters, they were unique enough, the interactions with each other well done, and the dialogue was both funny and heartfelt at times.

Combat was just okay, again, something you would expect from RPGMaker-style games. Turn-based fighting, basic abilities and 'ultimate move,' buff/debuff, healing, etc. There was no elemental damage system. There was no real character customization. It was just enough to not make me bored, but just barely. The gear system was kind of nice; instead of wading through tons of loot and having to constantly swap stuff, this game uses the same exact gear the entire game, but you upgrade it to different tiers with material loot. At first I was a little put off by it, but after a while I really appreciated the simplicity of it. That's also the extent of the crafting, in addition to consumables, nothing fancy, but not overly complicated. I like it really.

Overall I highly recommend the game, it was very enjoyable mainly for the characters and writing. My actual in-game play time, for a slow, meticulous playthough was right at 39 hours for all the achievements. My Steam hours are inflated because I wrote a full guide for the game and had it paused a lot to take notes - check it out!

**Overall Gameplay**

Anytime you play a game for over 100 hours, it strongly indicates its quality. This game is a gameplay nostalgia trip for those who grew up during the Super Nintendo and Nintendo era. It features an engaging storyline and a solid battle system. For seasoned RPG players, the difficulty might be around six out of ten, but for those less experienced, the battles could feel more challenging, with a rating of around seven. I truly enjoyed the game's overall feel and narrative, especially how it leaves room for a sequel at the end, something many role-playing games fail to do.

**Recommendation**

Regarding "Ara Fell," I highly recommend this game, especially if you're a fan of classic role-playing games. It beautifully captures the nostalgia of old systems like the Super Nintendo. The characters are endearing, and the storyline follows the classic RPG format. However, I can't give this game a perfect score of 10 out of 10 because I wish it were a bit more challenging. Additionally, it would have been great to see a few more types of spells and perhaps one or two extra characters to enhance Gameplay. I recommend this game, and I hope they release a sequel.

**Rating**
8.5/10

This is a super cute game. The story and characters in this are top notch. The writing here is some of the best I've seen. It had me even crying at points. This is a hard recommend.

I think Ara Fell was quite the enjoyable little RPG. Gameplaywise good ol turn based combat, with a few twists and turns but fun enough. A cool system of ugrading your weapons etc. with the stuff you collect, I enoyed that quite a bit, a pretty neat idea for a rather short game.

The story is a bit predictable (except maybe for the end itself) and gets thinner and thinner the further you get into the game (same btw with sidequests, I wonder if the game was once planned to be longer) but fun enough.

The Main point why the game is realy worth the time is that it is super charming. Quirky, fun dialogue, beautiful maps that feel like areas people might actually live in, the ability to swim (A quite fun idea in a world full of 2D games where water means death) you just have a good time playing Ara Fell, even though it is not revelutionary.

Enjoyable. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, the protagonists are very aware of how absurd certain RPG tropes can get, and the lore doesn't fall over itself trying to justify everything.

Perhaps could have used a slight bit more challenge and complexity towards the end, but all in quite an enjoyable experience.

Superb RPG, simple commands, Heartfelt story ! Story is that a little girl, Lita, finds a ring, put it on, and now, she must save her world from the baddies ! There's even a playable epilogue !
i recommand this game and, from the same studio, Rise of the Third Power. They are verry alike !
You don't need a powerfull system to play (no 3d here).

Cute RPG that runs just long enough not to outstay its welcome, with impressive environment design and a somewhat predictable and cliche fantasy plot, that nevertheless has enough quirk and humour to differentiate it.

The game looks better than it is. There is no real story or even a "quest" that you go on. It's more of a sandbox type game where you explore the region, do sidequests for NPC's and gather crafting items. It's the kind of game my girlfriend who isn't a gamer might enjoy. That said, the actual sandbox elements are not strong enough to really make the game worth a play.

The combat and level-up system is decent, but without a story driving anything, it just feels empty, like you're just walking around fighting animals at random for no particular reason.

I would not recommend the game. I feel like there's a ton of better options if you're looking fro a pixelated RPG. Now at this price, you aren't setting your wallet back too much but I feel like the real loss would be the time you spend playing this game.

Ara Fell is a fantastic game which hearkens back to the days of RPGmaker 2003. I remember playing a version of this back in the mid 2000s I believe (back when I believe there was a stake used to kill vampires?), and after finding it was fully released on steam, I knew I had to play it. A wonderful story with a fun combat and gearing system, Ara Fell shows all the hallmarks of a great game. The music never felt too repetitive, I loved the characters, and while the map could be difficult to navigate at times, it was still an incredibly enjoyable experience. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to see what people were making back with the old RPGmaker systems, and who also would love a fantastic game. 10/10

Enjoyed it very much.

bow shoot

Loved the game. It was simple and it respects your time.

Good length and number of side quests. It never felt tedious, even if you wanted to get everything out of the game.

The combat and gameplay were simple and traditional, a plus for me. Too many "innovations" in games nowadays just tend to over-complicate and drag down the gameplay.

Progression felt a bit front-loaded. I wish you would gain a new skill or two in the second half of the game to keep you experimenting. You'll likely repeat the exact same strategy for every single enemy in an area, but the battles go by quick and they're relatively easy to avoid if desired.

The "Normal" difficulty is a bit too easy if you're the type to explore around and do side quests. I had no problem maxing everything out and never saw a game over screen. I gravitate towards selecting easier difficulties nowadays (time), but in hindsight, I probably should have stepped it up.

I normally don't care about story in a game like this - it's just there to give me a reason to move forward. Similarly, characters just need to not be too lifeless, or too over-the-top. This game was the perfect middle-ground. Nothing to complain about on this front.

This game actually scratched a Chrono Trigger itch for me. Not that this game is on the same level (characters, world, sidequests, music, etc.). It's not as memorable, but I had just as much fun while playing, and it didn't wear out its welcome. Easy recommendation to anyone with similar tastes.

Utterly fantastic game in every respect, worth every cent and then some.

Worth every penny!

This game is excellent. Just read the positive reviews, they are correct in all respects. There is no need for me to rehash all the positive elements in this game which have been covered in other reviews. If you like the old style turn based type of game, you will like this one. Highly recommended.

Great story, Beautiful art style, Turn based combat that is actually fun, and a great ending that surprised me.

only complaint i had was the movement speed (when traveling through areas already explored)

10\10 more than got my moneys worth

A++

You can pet the cat. Also, this game is fantastic so far. Very charming writing style, visuals, and audio. There doesn't seem to be mouse support but if you have a gaming mouse you can just rebind keyboard keys to your mouse as a quick fix.

Good. Makes me wanna play JRPGs again

I don’t know if words can properly express how deeply I enjoyed this game, but I will try.

Ara Fell is a stunningly beautiful homage to the 16-bit era of RPGs that shaped my childhood. The game was a complete joy from start to finish. The storytelling was artful and compelling. The dialogue was witty and fluid, making me smile, chuckle, and even tear up at times. It was never forced or snarky. The game creators really built a visual spectacle that was fun to explore. Despite being an adult with little to no free time, I really enjoyed taking my time with this one. I could choose to move the story line at will, while simultaneously taking a break from it to spend 20 minutes going off the beaten path to adventure and level up.

No part of this game was a “grind”. The battles were fast paced, with lots of monster variety. On harder difficulties, battle strategy was a necessity, while also not bogging down the battle pace at all. The system of development for weapons, armor, and abilities was refreshing and simple. There was a tremendous amount of latitude in the customization of your characters, from stat builds, to ability improvements, to armor augments, to class decisions. It was stylistically unique, but never complicated, allowing the opportunity to play through several times just to test out different character builds.

The music fit the scenes very well. Relaxing tones set to a visually striking world design. None of the music got repetitive or boring. The “high pulse” moments all had fitting soundtracks to match the mood. From the moment you turn the game on, the opening soundtrack immediately pulls you into the world (immediately following the damn stegosaurus roar at the intro 😉. Might want to turn your speakers down a tad when starting the game!)

I really enjoyed completing all the little side quests. They were manageable, and didn’t require 100’s of hours of monotonous game play. Additionally, ending the game with a fully playable epilogue was an ingenious stroke of game design! My compliments to the designer who implemented that, it made the whole experience end on a note that could never be easily forgotten. My next move will be to hunt down the sequel, these folks at Stegosoft Games deserve every penny I can throw at them. I highly recommend this game. 11/10.

One of the many RPGMaker games, highly inspired by Japanese RPGs and whatever else fantastical elements - but a fun one, in my opinion!

Some people might argue this falls short in comparison to other similar games, but this was personally my first exposure to games like these: pixelated, turn-based combat fantasy with characters falling into stereotypes like 'mages, marksmen, healer,' etc.

So! If you're just here to have a good time, I like to think that Ara Fell has a nice balance of problem solving, exploration, magic, and lore for the average player ♪(^∇^*)

jRPGs are very cheap to produce (for videogame standards), but are nothing special in terms of gameplay, usually. So why would you play one? What does a great jRPG look like?

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky has some of the best writing I've seen in a videogame. The worldbuilding and the main characters are phenomenal, making for a deeply memorable game.

Chained Echoes is very innovative with its combat system, has solid worldbuilding and a good plot, and fairly good aesthetics. Playing with the game's systems is very enjoyable.

Heroes of Spyria has excellent character writing and some of the most haunting and heart-wrenching moments I can remember.

For a jRPG to be worth a player's time and money, it needs something special. That special something could be the story, the characters, the systems... and Ara Fell doesn't have it. The art style is good. The combat system is serviceable. The characters are generally likable. The plot is simple and predictable. The worldbuilding is decent. The dialogue is mostly good.

The villains are kind of offensively bad and the music is occasionally grating, but in most respects the game is perfectly serviceable. However, in a world where there are many excellent jRPGs, I can't recommend one that is merely serviceable (my play time is bugged, I played this offline with Steam Deck which somehow didn't get recorded)

Amazing JRPG, had me hooked. I loved the story and the spells/weapons progress is really cool too

Pretty fun little JRPG. I think that it isn't quite as good as Stegosoft's subsequent game, Rise of the Third Power, but that is a high bar. If you're into the genre, and like them relatively short/simple, this is a great entry for you to try.