Mari and the Black Tower

About

Mari and the Black Tower is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Joshua Keith and was released on September 18, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Mari and the Black Tower is a throwback to classic JRPGs and rogue-like dungeon-crawlers. Join Mari, Abbie and a team of heroes to scale the Black Tower in this classic experience with a modern twist.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 10 reviews

music3 positive mentions

gameplay2 negative mentions

The game features a surprising amount of character customization and class choices, allowing for varied gameplay and team building.
Despite its limitations, the game has an engaging plot hook and interesting story quests that keep players motivated.
The gameplay mechanics encourage strategic planning, particularly with the anti-Miasma skills and class roles.

The game suffers from poor graphics and a lack of polish, typical of RPG Maker titles, which detracts from the overall experience.
Players have reported frustrating gameplay issues, such as frequent random encounters and limited visibility in dark areas, making exploration tedious.
The game is criticized for being too short and lacking in content, with only one dungeon and minimal towns to explore.

story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players expressing a preference for a more defined cast of characters rather than random mercenaries. While the plot introduces intriguing concepts, such as humanity's chaotic energy, it is often overshadowed by gameplay focus, leading to a lack of engaging dialogue. Despite these criticisms, the game features a compelling plot hook and varied quests that keep players motivated, even if exploration can feel tedious.
- “As for how this fits into the plot of timeline 1, the game explains that humanity has a sort of chaotic energy in them that makes them prone to violence, and Zamas didn't like that, so he screwed up the balance of that energy even more to make them destroy themselves faster.”
- “I love the storyline!”
- “Personally, I prefer the other games having a set party of important characters who all have story relevance, rather than just having a bunch of random mercenaries.”
- “This game is definitely more focused on gameplay than story, even compared to KB1.”
- “Exploring everything, trying to do all the quests and finding all the secrets is a huge chore.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The gameplay is a mixed bag; while some users criticize it for low-quality visuals and poor execution typical of RPG Maker titles, others appreciate its complexity and focus on gameplay over story, highlighting the unique class choices and party synergy as enjoyable elements.
- “This game is definitely more focused on gameplay than story, even compared to KB1.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game featured extremely low quality copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looked awful, and had even worse gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is a bit more complex compared to the other games in the series due to the class choices, as well as how most of the classes aren't traditional RPG ones, but it's still fun to see how your chosen party synergizes despite their lack of traditional mages.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the RPG Maker JRPG is well-received, complementing the game's strong characters, art, and dialogue, contributing to an overall solid gaming experience.
- “Yes - a RPG Maker JRPG with good characters, good art, and a solid soundtrack that enhances the experience.”
- “The music perfectly complements the game's atmosphere, making every moment feel more immersive.”
- “I love how the soundtrack evolves with the story, adding depth to the characters and their journeys.”
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics in this RPG Maker game are criticized for their low quality, particularly in fullscreen mode, lacking full HD support and customization options, which may disappoint dedicated modern PC gamers.
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displayed badly in fullscreen and didn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”