The World of Labyrinths: Labyronia

Surprisingly decent for a niche RPG, The World of Labyrinths: Labyronia offers a great blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and strategic gameplay. Its revamped visuals and updated mechanics breathe fresh life into the original, making it the definitive way to experience the series. Fans of deep dungeon exploration and puzzle-solving will appreciate its challenging difficulty—it's rewarding to uncover the many hidden "cues" required for progression, though some can be a bit obscure​.

While the game’s steep learning curve might frustrate newcomers, it's a satisfying experience for those who enjoy methodical, challenging RPGs. The community seems to agree that perseverance is key, and those who stick with it are rewarded with a highly immersive world​. However, there are some occasional bugs and minor technical hiccups, though these don't detract from the overall experience.

All in all, if you enjoy old-school RPGs that challenge both your wit and your patience, Labyronia is worth a try!

clean up versionl labyrindonia 1

It's an OK game, 6/10. It's more good than bad. Still, I would not recommend investing your precious time into finishing this game.

--- Graphics ---
I honestly had no problems with the RPGmaker assets. The low quality art were 1) the character portraits (except Arres), and 2) some of the monster sprites.

--- Sound ---
I liked the music on the game's start page. The sound effect for the bosses powering up a special attack sounded loud and garbled. The sound effect when using a flinger was comically anticlimactic (possibly on purpose).

--- Story ---
The lore and worldbuilding details were great, specifically the details given about monsters, magical symbols, and religions. I greatly preferred to read about the game world through the books and notes, rather than hear about it from a character's speech. two reasons: 1) I could re-read the books, unlike character speech, and 2) I could read the books faster without dealing with clunky speech bubbles.

The actual story script, meaning game's playable plot and the character dialogue, is awkward and mind-numbing. I would cringe almost every time Ann and Arres interacted.

--- Gameplay ---
Most of this game is navigating through tight mazes or, worse, the giant open maps that loop on themselves, like the ice field area and the desert. There is no way to place markers on the floor to guide yourself through the mazes, and there's no way to map these mazes unless you use pen and paper (or screenshots). Even if you've memorized the path perfectly, it's still a chore to get through these mazes because of the enemies crawling inside that all respawn when you go through a door.

The other problem is the pacing of the game. The entire first 2/3 of the game felt so excruciatingly slow, both because of the two big open maps (ice-field and desert) and because of how much backtracking a new player ends up doing across the world and through dungeons to get to other cities. A few times I would backtrack to fully heal at an inn in a city. (You can't rest in the overworld, in your vehicle, or even in your own home). Some of the backtracking is just to exit a dungeon you are already in, because you have to fight and navigate your way backwards to the entrance, like the fire and water mazes (the earth and air mazes have shortcut exits once completed).

Once you get Artemis, you also quickly get 2 other characters in your party. It's an abrupt transition into endgame with a full party and full map freedom. I feel Garric should join you (permanently) much earlier in the game, possibly during the player's first time inside the ice-field map. This way you spend 1/3 of the game alone, 1/3 with two characters, and the last 1/3 with a full party. Backtracking through previously-explored areas with Garric is now rewarding because you can experience how different these old areas feel with a second character. But the abruptness of getting Artemis is still an issue, so I think we should get access to the rowboat earlier, maybe as a cut-scene inside the desert map.

--- Small Suggestions ---
- Garric should be able to wear the Aero Cloak so he can attack more often, and thereby gaining BP faster.
- A way to quickly exit to a dungeon's entrance, like an escape rope item or a teleport-to-safety spell, would be helpful.
- A self-revealing minimap would be a big improvement for this game. Or, just a way to mark the floor.

--- Summary ---
In its current state, this game wasted my time too much with backtracking, maze solving, and grinding. I beat the game and found all but 3 of the cues and almost all of the secret items. I played 35+ hours (sometimes I played offline), and paid under a dollar for this game. Even if the game were free, the rewards did not outweigh the negative aspects. Without the bloat and aggravation of grinding and wandering, I would then recommend the game and I would even be pay 3 to 5 dollars for it.

My suggestion: Just watch a video playthrough.

Nice RPGMaker, so far, on the cheap: art, music, story, smooth scrolling. This stands out from other RPGM for unique style. Also characters/art, music are (new) not same ones you see in other rpgm games. The story is different.

Barely started. This is one of my "go to games" I open when I don't plan for a long sit-down. The very beginning (cave) was tough but 1st town is on other side.

that`s good

TL:DR I would not have played this game if I did not want to finish the achievements. However, by the end I found a couple gems that made the whole experience worth it. Not enough to play the sequel but enough I have found an appreciation for this game.

First and foremost I am not a fan of these types of games. I found it very tedious and irritating. The start of the game was soo bruh I just couldn't even with the game like what am I suppose to do, what are the cues, how do find things, to be honest if I didn't care about achievements I would not picked up the game again. I had soo many questions that never got answered. So I went looking for guides and while they were helpful they were also outdated, two thumbs way up! *ugh* With the help of the guides and just absolute determination I made it through this game and could finally see a little of the magic in it. The final boss fights were actually kinda fun and challenging, the place to go grind levels was clever and sooo easy to do once you found it although still tedious. While I may have complained about it and dreaded the first 15 hours of grinding to get to actual story, partially just me trying to figure it out and being bad these type of games, the end of the story kinda made it worth it. The story wrapped up and it felt complete, like a good story should, with the promise of a sequel, which is out there and third game.
Then the thing that really caught my attention was getting the last achievement, Find all cues, that little surprise; I loved the way this was done. Whoever thought to that pat on the back, hand shake thank you because it made my night!
Also as a side note the atmosphere of this game was enjoyable. The way the music pulled you in and in a way never got boring amazed me a few times during my play through.

I guess if you like a story of good vs evil, good use of music, magic systems, turn based fighting, having to grind a little and then using strategy of your items to win the fights and solve puzzles. Oh also tons of mazes (wouldn't have thought that from the name of the game), getting lost in a vast desert of illusion, a god forsaken tundra and plenty of walking until you get the airship. Then you'll probably enjoy this game.

It was going well until I came across a greenish looking glowing egg that one tapped me.

I'm going back to CSGO.

BULLSHIT Game

I love the Labyronia series. They're very well thought out and great story lines with plenty of stuff to discover. I definitely recommend them.

Got this game from a coupon, was surprised by the amount of content for the price. Its a great hidden gem in my opinion, some fights was hard, but they can all be overcome by using different cues and gear. The ending was my least favourite part but each to their own haha. Loved the music.

Fantastic game totally worth more than the current price. Gave up on the boss fight and watched the ending on youtube tho, too long pre fight scenes and could not manage to defeat them. 10/10

Great RPG with good mechanics like the cue system. The graphics are nice, the music is good and the story is easy to follow, and draws the player in fast. I'm stuck in one large looping area at the time of writing this. It's a bit frustrating but otherwise, the level design has been good enough so far, especially in the cities. Thumbs up!

Much like the other installments, can be redundant and a bit of a grindfest. Some boss fights are too long and over dramatized. I literally dozed off a few times playing. You get what you pay for.

Let me start this by saying that, before buying the Labyronia Bundle i'd never even played a single turn-based rpg before in my life and the fact that i even stumbled upon Labyronia was a pure-1 am-boredom fueled-sale scrolling-coincidence (that im of course grateful of).

Now, onto the reviews!

Short review:
A highly polished game that manages to tie storytelling, lore, soundtrack and gameplay into a pixelated medieval maze world that sucks the player right in and challenges them to unfold it. It's honestly an absolute gem that, unfortunately for the average person, requires a little TOO much patience at times which can make it seem a bit off-putting and slow.

In-depth review:
Despite having my doubts at first (i mean, what should anyone expect from a 1.55 euro bundle that includes 3 games?), im happy to say that the first game left me feeling ecstatic by exceeding all possible expectations. It's not perfect by any means (i'll get into that later), but it definitely creates a unique experience that I definitely enjoyed being a part of.

Immersion (10/10)
I spent 35 hours in 3.5 days trying to complete the game (granted it's not 100% and for some reason the achievements are not working). I just picked the game up and couldn't stop playing it from the very start to the very finish, which to me is a huge win.

Soundtrack (9/10)
The music suits every area and every cutscene, but my favorite by far is Glimthar's steampunk-like feel you get, while roaming around the small snowy village followed by it's beautiful soundtrack.

Map (7/10)
While the travelling becomes a LOT easier later in the game, it is frustrating trying to find a single item and having zero sense of direction on top of the already difficult terrain. Most notable example: motherfucking Alathar. I found all the cues in that white little shithole EXCEPT for the flower. I spent 30 minutes combing the place from top to bottom trying to find it, before i got too frustrated and decided to continue my quest.

Bosses and enemies (labyrinths and rest of fights, except ending) (6/10)
If you grind up your characters a bit in grotto, im willing to bet you can possibly win all 4 major labyrinth-bosses (with the proper gear of course, not with the starting equipment by smashing "ATTACK" all the time). Having said that, the same does not apply for the rest of the game. You'd need to practice on some stronger enemies in another area for that.

Gameplay (9/10)
A great fusion of mechanics, strategy and storytelling.
I loved the cue system, it gave me a reason to explore every area thoroughly instead of just doing my quest and leaving for the next major plot point.
The battles didn't get stale surprisingly and actually encouraged the player to experiment with the heroes and their abilities.
The story was extremely compelling for someone playing a game like this for the first time (aka me) and kept me reeled in for the majority of the time.

Overall, i loved this game and i'm definitely curious to see what the next two in the series have in store.

Keep in mind that ive never tried a game like this before (thinking turn-based were too boring and slow to follow), so the review is purely subjective and others might find this game a little less "special" than i seem to find it.

Overall I recommend this game. It is one of the better hobbyist indie rpgs out here on steam that I have played, and the developer's passion and care for it shines through. That being said, it does have its flaws. I'll go into more detail below, where there will be spoilers, so be warned.

--- SPOILERS BELOW HERE ---

This game improves significantly upon the original version (which I've also played a couple years ago). The combat is somewhat more balanced and more content has been added, in terms of story, exploration and gameplay. However if you have played the original, do be advised: some previously optional areas seem to have been made mandatory, and the game does not necessarily hint at that very well, like the fire cavern.

There are a couple of new additions that will impede progression if you miss the one vague hint the game throws at you from random NPCs, such as the necessity to upgrade the pickaxe you eventually get. For the longest time, the story does not require an upgraded pickaxe to progress, as most of the obstacles hide treasures and extra abilities, so by the time it's required to actually complete the game, you forget how and what you're supposed to do to upgrade it in the first place, if you even had a hint of that to begin with. I myself needed a guide to figure this out (Janice smith -> ship haven smith, incidentally)

Speaking of things that show up too late to be relevant: the two side characters who join the party. They appear far too late in the game to have time for their stories to develop organically. You get a plot dump backstory cutscene for each of them as soon as they join, which would have worked much better if it was revealed over the course of the game, had they joined earlier. There is also the issue of the frankly silly and hilarious love subplot between the main character and one of the characters that joins. Again, this character shows up and joins so late into the plot, the game can do nothing but shove saccharine love at first sight cliches down your throat to maintain even an ounce of credibility.

The writing itself is not the best, and makes me think the writer either doesn't practice creative writing often or english isn't their first language. The plot beats are easily understandable and there are no confusions, thankfully, it's just the dialogue and narration quality that leaves to be desired.

There are also the two open areas, the desert and the snowfields. The desert gets a map, thankfully, though you cannot carry it with you so better screenshot it when you do get to view it, however the snowfields offer no such luxury. These two areas are confusing to navigate unless you go to great lengths to memorize where all the landmarks are in relation to each other. Add this to the fact that they both have their own time limits, one a literal countdown, the other ticking down your health every couple steps. This added grievance turns the wandery mess these areas are into a frustrating experience.

My final issue is with the exploration aiding accessories. They take up the character's accessory slot, so you can only use one at a time, as only the main character can even equip them. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if there weren't the occasional places that require the use of at least two of them, which ends up in a lot of menu hopping. If it was up to me, I would have made these accessories key items instead and have the obstacles automatically passable once they are in your inventory.

The combat is significantly improved in this version of the game. When I played the first one, it was an unbalanced mess of creatures that could oneshot you early on to zero threat after a certain level. While the latter is still somewhat a concern after a certain level in this version of the game, it is now much better balanced. My only gripe would be the endgame bosses in relation to the creatures that populate their dungeons. The random encounters are incredibly weak by the time you're prepared to face the disproportionately deadly bosses. And then there are bosses that aren't a threat, but just take forever to kill due to their massive health pool.

The game world is interesting, and there is definitely a great amount of effort put into worldbuilding. Exploring it is mostly fun, especially when you're looking for all the optional extra abilities, though the fact that you cannot get them all until you have all the characters in the party is yet another argument against how late they join. some of these extra abilities also prompt some dialog from the party, which makes me think it was a missed opportunity for character building to not include scenes for more, if not all of them.

The simplicity of the story (defeat four elemental monsters, get their crystals, find out the truth about yourself) serves the scope of the game well. It's no grandiose convoluted plot and I can appreciate that. The main character, though bland and without much development, is a good player insert to experience this world for the first time, making this a good introductory title to the Labyronia series. You receive the traditional jRPG airship just in time for the backtracking to start getting old (though i question the necessity of the seaship, as you only need it to get a small number of treasures out of the ocean, equipment that by the time you're getting would realistically already be outdated by your current equipment anyway).

I really appreciate the encounters in the dungeons being physical creatures you can see on the map, rather than invisible random encounters a la final fantasy. Thi does not apply to the more traditional approach on the overworld, but I prefer it this way.

The cue system through which you gain new abilities is a wonderful core mechanic, and is the backbone of this game in its latter half, as some of them will make your life much easier. I only have the two aforementioned issues with it: you can find many of them early but you can only obtain character specific ones once those characters are in your party, which happens very late into the game., and the cues themselves are a wasted opportunity for more character interactions.

If I sound overly critical in tone to the point where my recommendation surprises you, it's because I enjoyed my time with it despite its flaws. All in all, it is a charming indie title. Passion went into this and it shows. It's far from being a polished product, but the developer took the time to create a complete experience. For the price, I'd recommend it, especially since few indie jRPGs here on steam are of this level of quality.

Hidden gem. Play the entire series.

Better Lore than Fallout 76

This game is simply fantastic:

Great storyline
Cute fun graphics
Open world
Leveling
Lots of chracters

sold 10/10

This is an interesting and fun game. You are a warrior named Arres who sets out on a mission to stop the flood of monsters that have appeared in the world in the fifty years since a savage war between the divine and arcane (literally, war between gods and wizards). Will you save the world? Or doom it?

The game is set a number of years after Legend of Mysteria, considering that some of those you meet in that game are some of the gods mentioned in this RPG.

played a little of the original then saw this was coming out in a few days so i waited.a few things like graphics have been changed and its all fine except the portraits are god aweful.I mean it looks like a 8 year old drew them but all and all for 2$ who cares right? good concepts like Cue's learning skills etc.