Tales Across Time

A short game and not hard at all. But still a fairly nice game.

Short and sweet. A simple story-focused RPG with most of the usual complexities of RPGs stripped out. There's no grinding, EXP, levels, or equipment to manage. The combat system is also simple, but has unexpected depth owing to its focus on resource management. I had a good time with this one.

Interesting little game. The aesthetic is more 16-bit, though the game mechanics are almost the same as the 8-bit Adventures games, albeit somewhat simplified since you don't actually level up and the only way to get better "stats" is by finding crystals that raise your HP and AP pools.

The story is interesting and the characters are engaging, but the game is pretty short and light on the actual game play. It reminded me in that respect of the first Evoland, which felt a bit like a sketch of a game and not really a full game.

Other than that, I liked it quite a bit and now that I've played all three games made by this creator and enjoyed them a lot, I can confidently say I'll be on the lookout for anything he releases in the future because two of the games were lots of fun and the other one was one of my favorite games in recent memory.

I gotta hand it to the creator, he knows how to design an interesting final boss battle, and this one was a memorable as the last boss for both 8-Bit Adventures.

Bite sized little game for a quick fix of a classic RPG.

A short and enjoyable game if you are looking for a game more on the story-driven side. It is not big on gameplay/strategy so do not expect too much in this matter. Other than that I think the story itself and the concept of the story are quite interesting and the overall vibe of this game is pretty nice. I recommend the game to everyone who likes pixel graphics with a really good soundtrack.

Let me start of with the good:
The combat system is great!

And now for everything else:
It feels more like a proof of concept for the combat system rather than a proper game.

The reason I say that is that it tells three half-finished stories that are very, very loosely tied together by the antagonist.
The stories feel half-finished because as soon as they start going somewhere, they're done and we move on to the next one. All build-up, no climax basically. Well, the first two stories didn't really have build-ups either... hm... The third story sort of has a payoff, but it mostly feels forced.

I think all three stories could make for interesting games if they were allowed to be properly explored, not thrown into a vague pile.

Honestly, if the third story was the only story told and the first two stories were told as flashbacks or explanations as to why things were happening, I think this would be a lot better. Because the third story is the only one that's remotely developed.

I'm a big fan of the developer's previous game, 8-Bit Adventures, and bought this to support them and see what their next work would be. I've enjoyed the overall presentation and battle system so far, but it overall feels sort of less consequential than their previous game, which is weird considering as that was so slight graphically and mechanically.

It's less clever than their other work, which means it's more of a run of the mill RPG Maker experience with some interesting mechanical flairs. I'd recommend, but less enthusiastically than 8-Bit Adventures.

A very cool way of telling a story of a powerful evil facing multiple generations of heroes. The gameplay is pretty simple, but it fits well for this game. The story is the most important part, rather than combat. That said, there's a bit of a difficulty spike for the enemies in the final chapter. (Fortunately, the final boss feels relatively balanced. Challenging without being frustrating—no one-shot attacks if you're paying proper attention. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and I actually appreciate that it was a nice, short play. Well done!

Worthwhile small game, though I gave up on the last battle as it was tedious and difficult. The three stories are varied yet related. Good for a few hours of relaxing gaming. The music is also nice. It's more like a short story collection than a novel in terms of the stories. Most of the battles aren't bad once you get the strategy of them. Don't expect a big shiny RPG, this is a smaller game, enjoyable as is.

This is a very unique RPG experience. It focuses much more heavily on story and characters and has a unique turn based battle system that focuses on tactics and strategy as opposed to leveling up and stat progression. It's pretty enjoyable, but also a bit frustrating as when you start to get the hang of one character, the story moves on and you have to relearn the next. Overall, a strong indie RPG and worth your time and money.

Short game. Took me about 3 hours to complete it. Not the kind of RPG you level up on or anything. The story was mildly interesting. Not deep at all. Some parts, such as how the mask ties into the 2nd part then the chick popping up at the end didn't make much sense, as I don't see how she had a bone in the fight. Overall the story was kind of shallow but still somewhat interesting. For the few dollars I paid for the game, I would still recommend it. Music was probably the best part about the game. Really reminded me of Secret of Mana back in the day, as well as the games graphics also reminded me of Secret of Mana. Battles were interesting. No random battles in this game. If you want to try something different, this game is that and will only take up a few hours of your life. If you got 3 to 5 bucks to burn, you shouldn't be disappointed. You get your moneys worth

Although the graphics are not high resolution (8-bit), the game itself is wonderfully made and I enjoyed it very much.
The story itself is also very interesting, as it consist of 3 separate tales that are across different time era but they are all intertwined. In the final epic battle all is made clear, and I finished the game with an extremely satisfied feeling, because all the stories and characers come together for a great ending!!!

Thanks, "Critical Games" for making such a fun rpg.

It's a short game - about 2.5 hours for me. Combat is of reasonable difficulty overall. The combat mechanics have been simplified to make them easy to pick up and there is no stat or inventory management, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. The writing is pretty good. For three dollars, it's a good value.

This game has a very creative and engaging storyline. I also really enjoyed the variety of monsters and challenges that were presented in it. A short and sweet game. :)

Briefly: I've been a fan of Joshua's work since 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey. Tales Across Time is their new game and I can say it's splendid work both visually and storywise, exploring tropes rarely used in gaming.

In Tales Across Time you play as several characters over three vastly different eras, all of which are bound together by a common antagonist. While there's no time travel, storywise it's got some similarities to such gems as Chrono Trigger and Eternal Darkness, though it's neither a horror game nor a grand RPG, as it's only few hours long.

The game was first introduced at Indie Game Making Contest 2015 that introduced the twist of growth. This early theme can still be seen through the area and the world changing with the eras. In comparison, the published game is a lot more polished both graphically and storywise, especially with the third story that looks to be expanded tremendously.

One game, three stories

First two stories are short, about one hour experiences. All three stories are very different in tone, from a simple exploration to politics to frantic chases and have different casts: after all, they occur at different eras.

In every story there are many characters to acquaintance in addition to the protagonist. Pretty much all characters are likeable and I found it refreshing that other characters are not idle but act in meaningful and interesting ways.

The natural main character for an RPGMaker game is a fighter. Thus, in the first story you take the role of the the seasoned warrior who guides the expedition to an old temple ruin in a desert. The story builds an anxious atmosphere of unknown danger and mystery.

As the guide you deal with any dangers (i.e. monsters) encountered. There are no random encounters, instead every combat is predetermined and usually unavoidable. I'll talk more about combat further down.

Skip ahead few unspecified years and there's the second story at a flourishing trading hub that has emerged out of the desert. Tone is very different, merry and oozing of expectation and happiness, until a twist turns it into a darker mood. Overall there's less exploration and more reactive action than in the first one.

Finally, again an era later the setting has turned from a mild fantasy one into a straight-out science fiction. The alarmed setting feels both mysterious and tense at the same time. The epic conclusion of the millennia long storyline, the third story is the longest of the flock taking almost 2 hours for myself, possibly because it's got more exploration than the first two stories.

Non-random encounters

Scrapping the usual random encounters and even levels, the combat system is refreshingly different. Without levels there is no grinding. Instead every fight is like a separate challenge or sometimes comparable to a puzzle. Usually every monster is only encountered once or twice to keep it fresh.

You even begin every fight at full health and half action points. Action points (AP) are similar to magic points: they are needed to perform special maneuvers like super attacks, full parries or heal-ups.

Normal attacks of different strength replenish AP, the weaker the attack the more AP replenished. This way you have to manage them to be able to beat the enemy. Consequently every fight is technically 1 vs 1, though supporting characters can do some critical special maneuvers as well.

Fights can get rather difficult, especially if you don't immediately see how to counter enemy moves and manage health and AP accordingly. I had to redo a couple of fights several times. Luckily, dying (or otherwise losing) usually only restarts you to the start of the current scene where the encounter happened and has no other adverse effects.

The only ability progression happens by story-based events or finding enhancing crystals hidden around, granting a few bonus max hit points or AP. I think other kind of improving would be unrealistic anyway since the stories occur over a few days at most. For a short game like this the combat system is perfect.

Visuals and technical side

For an RPGMaker game the graphics are top-notch and soundtrack is cool and fitting. I encountered a couple of bugs but they were quickly fixed after reporting them in the forums.

Otherwise, the only possible problems are:
1) the lack of Steam overlay (because of the engine) and the resulting clumsiness of screen capping (so you have to go to the forums and find the instructions)
2) having only 4 save slots
3) inability to change controls the exact way I want (again because of the engine). If you can bear the standard controls it works well. I played with keyboard and also tested that my X-Box 360 controller handles correctly.

Conclusions

The whole game lasted just 4.5 hours for me. In comparison to their earlier title, 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey, Tales Across Time is more story-focused and linear as this time around it's not an open world. That said, every scene in the game has a purpose and it's very focused on keeping the story flowing onward.

As a short title, I liked it quite a bit and it's cheap too. Call me crazy to say so but I even thought it was a bit under-priced: IMO, 5 € would've been perfect for this content.

So, want a good JRPG-style RPG adventure? Get this game.

A great game which completely focuses on its story. I had an amazing time playing it.

Pros:
+ great story
+ likeable and not annoying characters
+ an enjoyable battle system (not too easy, not too difficult)
+ no grinding necessary (as said in the description)
+ scenery looks beautiful
+ a great price/performance ratio

Neutral:
~ the character design (the face mostly) looked a little bit weird to me

Negative:
- The assignment of keys for the XBox Controller could have been better. X to confirm and interact with stuff and B to open the menu or or go back. Mostly it's the other way around and that was confusing. And the analog stick used to move the character seemed to be a little inaccurate. Well, at least I occasionally ran into a false direction :D

All in all still a great game and I loved it!

This game is great!
It's got all the great RPG stuff, without the grinding, and levelling up.
It's a story based adventure, and an achivement game.

The most you get out of it, is locating and unlocking all the achievements ~
I'd recommend it if you like stories, and achievements, over grinding, and strategising.

It was a $3 game.

That's not to say it's a bad game, but you certainly get what you pay for (I'm sure this can be beaten in one sitting if you have 3 - 5 hours to kill, but I took breaks). Again, not a bad thing.

The fights were unique, which is good and bad. They were more of an annoyance, but I DID enjoy the resource management in them.

Bosses had a limited range of attacks, so it was kind of annoying to see the same attacks so much, but that's not a big deal.

Cared very little about the story to be honest. Can't say more; spoilers.

Overall, I'm not mad I got it; it was worth the money. If you have $3 and a free 3 - 5 hours to bang out a small game, do check this one out.

Holy moly! I got finished with it and MAN! Do I recommend you get this game? Yes, yes I do.
The battles are not hard to figure out, and the mechanics make it fun. The story is well done and I enjoyed it very much. You'll love the characters too.
This is an "everybody" game where everyone will enjoy it!

Tales Across Time follows, unsurprisingly given the title, the stories of three characters across different timelines: you'll eventually discover that these stories are somewhat all connected.
The game provides a very enjoyable narrative spanning across different eras and interesting, if cliched, protagonists for each story: the actual gameplay is very simple but works well enough to never get dull.

PROS:

-a good art style makes the simple graphics pleasant

-truly nice and varied soundtrack

-the plots for each timeline are a bit cliched but done well, the overarching narrative is very interesting and unfolds at a good pace

-while you don't spend hours with them each protagonist is given a decent amount of depth through their dialogue

-the game isn't afraid of being dark and/ or violent when needed

-simple yet enjoyable combat system

-going through different timelines is a compelling experience especially when you see references to the previous ones

NEUTRAL:

-could have used an "instant text" option

-most enemy encounters (bosses included) provide little to no challenge

-adequate length at 3,5/4 hours

CONS:

-last boss fight feels slightly drawn-out and is a bit of a chore as mechanics go (it also bugged out on me the first time)

-some relationships might feel a bit forced as they seem to bloom in a very short span of time

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=669812861

I was pretty surprised by this game, the whole "short-story across different areas" concept is what made me buy it but I wasn't expecting such an enjoable time. The actual stories aren't very original but they're still narrated with enough competence to make them enjoyable: the overarching plot is what I found to be most engaging as it affects the protagonists' lives quite deeply and it made me want to go forward to see how things'd end. Said characters also follow the tropes of the genre quite closely but they're at least given some well written dialogues that gives them some depth and makes you care for what might happen to them.

As gameplay goes things are quite simple for the most part, you have an AP system that governs skill usage and three different attack options differing in strength. AP recharge rate. Some eras will switch things up a bit but fights are never too complex or challenging: thankfully there's no random encounters and the number of fights seemed good enough to not make things dull.

The only thing that made me frown a bit was the last boss of the game: the fight itself isn't hard as the mechanics are quite easy but it feels a bit of a chore due to its length and the fact you're simply asked to balance AP usage, healing and skills. It also bugged out the first time I've attempted it, forcing me to close the game using the taskbar and go through all the previous cutscenes.

For a 3$ game Tales Across Time is truly nicely done and smartly puts its timelines idea to good use providing an enjoyable and quite engaging narrative. Pair this with serviceable combat and a good attention to both its graphics and sound and I'm going to say this one is quite the hidden gem.

Positives

+Colorful, well-crafted sprite art backgrounds, characters, and monsters
+Evocative music (reminded me of some of the best of the SNES/PS1 era RPGs)
+Low price (US$2.99 as of 04/20/2016)
+Characters each have their own personalities and convey this very well through their dialog
+Should you fall in combat you are given the option to retry without having to reload from your save
+Some very cinematic presentation techniques used on occasion

Negatives

-Very low, fixed resolution (I realize the reason for this is the game engine's limitations but it was definitely a negative to have to choose between a small 1:1 window or a stretched out full screen)
-Some pretty cheesy dialog at times
-A few 'deus ex machina' moments defeat some of the built up tension in the story
-Characters seem to form incredible bonds of love, mentorship, trust, etc. within 5 minutes of meeting each other
-Monster sprites, while mostly well-made, are not always thematically consistent with their surroundings or each other
-No character levelling or skill development, so combat mostly felt like an impediment

Summary

Tales Across Time is a short, sweet Adventure/RPG. It features very nice sprite art and music, and an intriguing fantasy story involving characters in multiple eras facing their own personal challenges as well as a shared supernatural foe. Combat is basic and serves mostly as a narrative device linking story segments, rather than a gameplay hook.

This is a story delivered by means of a game engine, with some pretty, if low res, visuals and nice music.

I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this game. I enjoyed the concept, and especially appreciated the focus on narrative. My only gripe with this game, and I'd hardly call it that, is that you only experience three different time periods. However, given the price of this game and overall experience, you more than get your money's worth.

Highly recommend!