Hero King Quest: Peacemaker Prologue
- May 13, 2022
- Sounding Stone / 老奉毊
Get on SteamIn "Hero King Quest: Peacemaker Prologue," play as the Dark Lord's sister on a mission to slay the Hero King and begin your conquest of humanity. This short JRPG, though set up as a classic hero versus dark lord tale, offers a unique twist with morally gray characters and thought-provoking themes. Your choices along the way will shape the story, providing a distinctive experience for each player.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The main scenario writing and translation are standout features, providing a well-crafted narrative.
- The game offers a unique perspective by allowing players to control a morally grey female protagonist, adding depth to the character.
- Combat mechanics are straightforward yet engaging, with a focus on strategy that respects the player's time by minimizing grinding.
- The game is very short, lasting only 2-3 hours, which may leave players wanting more content.
- Gameplay is linear with limited choices, making it feel more like a visual novel or point-and-click adventure than a traditional RPG.
- Boss designs and enemy variety are lacking, leading to repetitive encounters and a lack of challenge.
- story11 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's story offers an engaging twist on the traditional fantasy hero versus dark villain narrative, maintaining player interest with its quick pacing despite its brevity. While the plot is intriguing, some reviewers noted that the villains lack depth, which may become a drawback if the story were to be extended. Overall, the narrative is compelling enough that players can even opt to skip combat entirely to focus on the story.
“The story is an inversion of the fantasy hero - dark villain trope, which works well, and the game is short enough that the plot moved quickly and kept my interest.”
“You can even turn combat off entirely just to see the plot, which speaks to how confident they are in the story.”
“A minor complaint is that the villains of the story are a bit one-dimensional, which is not enough to be problematic because this is a prologue, but I could see it being a bit boring if extended to the 'main story'.”
“The game is pretty short; I beat it in about 3 hours, but the story and general feel of the game kept me hooked.”
“The story is paced fairly well, but I wish it had more complexity.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a standard turn-based RPG with fun mechanics, though it is criticized for being short and lacking in difficulty. While the combat is well-balanced and visually appealing, the boss design is considered bland and could benefit from more unique features. Overall, the game offers entertaining tactical combat but leaves room for deeper gameplay elements and complexity.
“Good game with fun mechanics, if a little short in length and low in difficulty, but there is the promise of a next game I look forward to.”
“The gameplay is well-balanced this time, but I think the bosses need more unique appearances and skill sets.”
“The tactical combat gameplay has a lot of potential: entertaining as it currently is, but it could stand to gain more features and tactics to employ in battle.”
“The gameplay is standard turn-based stuff, like most of what you're used to seeing in RPG Maker games.”
“In practice, a character's HP/follower count doesn't actually have any effect on gameplay, at least compared to games like Conviction.”
“However, the boss design in this game is bland, both visually and mechanically.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game feature a traditional JRPG style enhanced by modern, high-quality 2D anime artwork. While some players feel that the graphics are not groundbreaking, the well-crafted sprites and character portraits are generally praised for their quality.
“Traditional JRPG style with modern, beautiful 2D anime artwork.”
“Graphically, the sprites are well done and the character portraits are high quality.”
“I've played better RPGs with worse graphics.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack the polish expected from modern games.”
“The environments are bland and lack detail, making the game visually unappealing.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find grinding in the game to be frustrating due to static enemy behavior, which detracts from engagement. Many suggest skipping grinding in favor of strategic battle approaches, noting that the game allows for efficient resource gathering through respawning weak enemies, making it less of a resource management challenge compared to similar titles.
“Grinding is annoying because enemies do not move towards the hero.”
“Skip grinding and farming to rely on strategies in battles.”
“Balance-wise, the game is designed to be less of a resource management puzzle compared to other games, mainly because weak enemies can be respawned for more efficient grinding.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players finding it attempts to create a specific mood but ultimately feels off-putting.
“I understand trying to set the atmosphere, but this was kind of off-putting.”
“The atmosphere felt bland and uninspired, failing to draw me into the game.”
“Despite the effort to create a unique atmosphere, it ended up feeling hollow and lifeless.”
