If you grabbed the weekend game giveaway (13th May 2012) and enjoyed it you'll also love this. Basically it's the first in the series, (or as Campy puts it number 0 in the four series set). Thanks to Campy for reminding me about this game. I'd totally forgotten about it.
Ahriman's Prophecy (9.93MB)
Amaranth Productions proudly introduces Ahriman's Prophecy, a beautiful fantasy world doomed to be destroyed by the demon, Ahriman. In a desperate attempt to stop the prophecy, the Daughters of Light send you, a young but powerful magic wielder, on a difficult quest to unlock the secrets of the prophecy and hopefully, learn how to stop it.If you enjoy classic RPGs like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger, you're going to love Ahriman's Prophecy.
Reference accessed HERE
Ahriman's Prophecy, if you've never heard of it, is an "old school" (think SNES RPG-type of graphics and sound) RPG that stars a female lead character. If that throws you back (it did me, at first), then you'll get used to it. It's unusual to see a female lead character when the vast majority of RPGs out there have male leads. It seems to fit this game well, however, and I really can't imagine what it'd be like to have a male main character!
Anyway, you follow the adventures of Talia, the lead character, as she comes face-to-face with destiny, an old prophecy about Ahriman. Her job is to purge the world from Ahriman's evil influence, and to restore the natural order of the universe. A rather typical RPG storyline, but that doesn't mean this game is a typical RPG!
She isn't alone, and eventually recruits several other people to join her quest, up to four people (out of about seven to choose from). You have to recruit one other early in the game, although he ends up leaving your party. I suppose you could go "solo" from that point on, but it could cause the game to crash. It might be interesting to play Ahriman's Prophecy with Talia duking it out with the world! You don't have to recruit others (at least I don't think), but why would you make the game harder than it needs to be?
You'll see a balance between melee combat (as in clanging of swords), magic spells, puzzles that make you think a bit, and places that make the game fun. There are dozens of "side quests", most of which aren't essential to finish the game. Of course, you'll be rewarded for completing these side quests. They're well worth the effort! Be warned -- some of these side quests are evil, and cause your character to become more evil. You'll need to become "pure" by completing "good" side quests. However, there are enough of these good side quests that you can do every evil one and still finish the game as "pure in heart".
There are plenty of equipment items, spells, inventory items, and monsters to keep the game interesting. As with any other RPG, you'll be able to upgrade your equipment as you visit new towns. You will also have the opportunity to join a guild, and from it, learn specialized spells that are only available to that guild!
The music is quite spectacular, not something that sounds rather "generic". My favorite track, by far, is the one that plays while you're in you're in the canoe. I'll sometimes just sit there and listen to the music for a while, letting it loop a few times before continuing on. The sound effects are adequate. I mean, how memorable is the "clang" sound of a metal hitting metal? ;)
It's free, so try it. If you like it, then you're in for 30-40 hours of fun (you can spend twice, even three times that exploring the world aimlessly). If not, then you haven't lost anything.
There are two versions to this game. The first version was done first, and has turn-based combat and random battles, while the "update", known as "version 2" has real-time combat and you see the enemies before fighting them. Play the version that suits your tastes, or play both and have twice the fun!
Reference accessed HERE May 2012
Video:
There's loads of videos available demonstrating this game. I've posted only the first four Let's Play Ahriman's Prophecy videos. You'll find links to over 30 videos in this series alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaAEC6PLOGc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4Y-NHJO1k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtOzrUUabeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dJcxVCPaqU
If you have problems reading the text in game, there is a patch available HERE
You can find a decent fan site HERE where you'll find walkthroughs and a strategy guide.
Download:
You can doownload Ahriman's Prophesy HERE