A young girl with a hidden past sets off on an epic and mysterious journey in hope of learning more about her own origins in this beautifully rendered, classic-style RPG adventure.
Helen knows little about who she is and where she is, but she’s dying to find out. Stuck on an island with a mazelike castle begging to be explored, Helen lets her curiosity get the better of her. It’s a good thing she’s more than capable. Armed with a plethora of weapons she finds on her journey, Helen must battle monsters, collect amazing relics, and uncover the secrets of her mysterious home.
Very Positive
902 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
| Japanese | — | — | Y |
ツクール版プレイ・クリア済みですが、お布施感覚で購入して再プレイ。
ドット絵の滑らかなモーションが心地よく、FC~SFC時代のゲーマーを童心にかえらせてくれます。
特徴的なのが、FF10の戦闘を1対1でやるような戦闘システム。
お互いの行動ウェイトや攻撃の威力が常に開示されているため、状況にあった行動を取ることで受ける被害を最小限に、与えるダメージは最大限にする工夫が楽しいゲーム性。
ボスクラスとの戦闘ではギミック要素もあり、ヒリついた戦闘を楽しめます。
全滅してもペナルティは特になし。道中をもう一度歩くのがデメリットといえばデメリットでしょうか。
物語の導入は何も知らないヘレンと同じ目線で、何となくダンジョンに向かうだけ。
階層を進むごとに人間関係や世界が広がっていき、色々なものが見えてくるようになった頃、一気に明らかになっていく背景設定。
序盤の緩い雰囲気からは想像もつかない、様々なものの積み重ねの上にヘレンの生きてきた環境が存在することを知った時、紹介文にある
「自分について
すこしだけ考えるRPGです。」
という部分に得心がいくはずです。
ふしぎの城のヘレンは良いぞ。
ドット絵がヌルヌル動くし、ストーリーは短いながらもきっちりと纏まっているし、戦闘も楽しい。
RPGツクール2000という名前の通り2000年に登場したソフトで作成された作品だから
大抵のパソコンで快適に遊べるぞ。だから安物PCでも安心して購入できる！
大事なことだからもう一度、ふしぎの城のヘレンは良いぞ。
It's impossible to describe the love the developers poured into this game. The game starts out seemingly ordinary, but it gets more interesting as it goes on. Playing this reminded me of Undertale, and it's surprisingly cheap considering its quality. You'll be satisfied with this game, trust me. cute story loveable characters
ซื้อเลย
非常优秀的RPG，值得一玩
Great game
pretty short but has really well made combat system and the story is actually quite nice by the end
Honestly one of the best rpgmaker games I've played
I really loved it
There is a story. The combat is unique. I haven't played any games like this one before. I hope Satsu makes more in the future
Fantastic game! I think it stands out as a concise exploration of RPG mechanics; there are a lot of clever design decisions, just enough time to develop them, and very little fluff. It's a mechanical short RPG, in contrast to a lot of other short RPGs which are story-focused. Would highly recommend!
Beautiful Games
I got this from a friend, its not my type of RPG, its just try and try and try until you get it.
不愧是11年红白的优胜作品，这游戏的质量十分的高，而且不少人玩完都没意识到这部作品背靠着一个十分庞大的亚文化系列——VIPRPG。
顺便这部作品还影响到了海伦的形象，要是你看到只会说“！”和“？”的海伦，那十有八九就是在玩这部作品的梗。
另外就是这游戏实际大约70%的素材都是rpgmaker2000和2003的默认素材，不得不佩服作者对素材的运用水平。
You will not find Alice here
This game is super boring, the *interesting* game loop i expected is just not there
this game has ZERO story, not-so-good combat and MEH mechanics
but hey, the music is nice and reminds me of TOUHOU, and it costs less than 1$ so, okay?
스토리는 은근 재밌었고 게임성도 좋은 알만툴 게임
El sistema de combate por turnos es bastante diferente a lo usual, por lo cual vale la pena jugarlo.
Super high quality rpg maker dungeon crawler
I'd heard about this game from some friends who love RPGs even more than I do. If you want to play a good RPG, play this. If you want to MAKE a good RPG, study this. It does so many things right, makes so many cool design choices, that you'll inevitably learn something useful. The combat is electric, the progression is well thought out, and the story is everything it needs to be with an RPG of this size. High marks all around.
VIPRPG2011红白 综合总冠军
过硬的质量正是成王的理由
（本作算是唯一上了Steam的VIPRPG相关作？）
This game must have been made using sorcery.
ts is so peak
Очень понравилась, жаль второй части нет
El diseño de mazmorras deja bastante que desear. Como primer proyecto RPG Maker mola y espero que el desarrollador siga currando hasta dar con su joya personal.
Por dos euros pues oye. Un juego.
Mi único contra es que no tiene logros >:(
今でもやるべき名作。
セールはあんまりしてないようです。
コントローラーからの入力が遅れたりするなど、絶妙な不具合を感じつつプレイすることになる。
全画面も排他モードしか選べない。
しかし、ストーリーテリング、戦闘システムの独自性は抜群で、今でも語るに値する。
アニメーションの細やかさも、現代ハイファイなインディードット絵にクオリティの面ではもちろん劣る。しかし、魂を感じる。
This is the most enjoyable RPG Maker game that I had ever played.
Pros:
+Interesting and funny story.
+Beautiful map design.
+Very unique battle system.
+Many secrets.
+Hidden maze.
Cons:
-No Steam cloud.
-Can't save the game after final battle.
Right off the bat, Helen’s Mysterious Castle is not an easy game to just pick up and play. It took me quite a while to figure out the controls since the game doesn’t explain them at all, and the settings don’t make it any easier. For anyone planning to play, here’s what I learned the hard way:
Movement: Arrow keys
Select: Enter
Run: Shift
Fullscreen: F4 (or sometimes Alt + Enter)
Inventory: Esc key
Save: Shift (while in the inventory screen)
Main Menu: F12
There’s even a trick to turn around and talk to people following you — something I didn’t learn until after I beat the game! These might sound like small things, but trust me, figuring them out is a big deal because none of it is explained anywhere in the game.
Once I got past the awkward start, I actually had a lot of fun. The soundtrack is great, and the combat system is unique and strategic. You can level up your weapons — and interestingly, even “delevel” them in some cases — which adds a nice layer of challenge and customization. Once I realized I could upgrade weapons directly from the inventory screen, battles became much more enjoyable and strategic.
Some fights were easy, but others required real planning. There’s also a bit of grinding if you want to max out your gear, but experimenting with different attack combinations was fun and rewarding.
I really liked the story overall — especially the relationship between the protagonist and her older brother. The monsters and NPCs in the castle were entertaining, though I felt their constant joking and slapstick humor sometimes broke immersion. A more serious tone could’ve made the story feel more believable and emotional.
Exploring the castle and meeting characters like the Collector (who lets you swap weapons you’ve dropped in dungeons) was really cool. Around the mid-game, there’s a point where you’re told to “strike a pose” to enter the Demon King’s Castle. Nowhere in the game does it explain what a “pose” actually is, which caused me a ton of confusion. For anyone stuck there — it turns out “posing” means standing in front of a specific statue and leveling up one of your items multiple times. I only figured this out after talking to every NPC I could find, and even then, I had to look it up online. Definitely one of the most poorly explained mechanics in the game!
The bonus dungeon at the end was one of my favorite parts — fast-paced, challenging, and full of fun combat combos. I just wish it was a bit longer or had more obstacles because it was genuinely enjoyable.
After finishing the game, I received a hairpin and clogs, but I couldn’t figure out what they did. They didn’t seem to affect anything besides appearance, and I couldn’t find any info online either. So, I guess that’s just how it ends.
Despite the confusion and lack of guidance, I still had a lot of fun with Helen’s Mysterious Castle. It’s a charming indie RPG with great music, creative mechanics, and a surprisingly heartfelt story — even if it doesn’t always take itself seriously.
Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy challenging, experimental indie RPGs with unique mechanics and don’t mind figuring things out on your own, I definitely recommend giving Helen’s Mysterious Castle a try.
[h3]とりあえず買って、積んでおけばいい。[/h3]
そして遊んでいたゲームに少し飽きて来た頃とかターン制じゃないＲＰＧを遊んでみたくなったときに、ライブラリの片隅にあるこのゲームを起動してみよう。
起動直後から最序盤は、凡庸なＲＰＧに見えるかもしれない。
しかし２番目のボス戦に挑む頃にはハマっていると思う。
Worth the 2 bucks
Depois de dar final, hora da análise.
Helen's Mysterious Castle é um RPG curto e com um começo bem preocupante... mas a paciência faz valer a pena.
Embora o começo do jogo faça ele parecer bem chato e travado, ele logo se desenvolve em algo bem divertido de jogar!
Seguem os pontos positivos e negativos:
+ Boa música;
+ Cutscenes desenhadas até que bonitas;
+ Sistema de combate interessante e bastante estratégico, com variedade de itens para personalizar seu estilo;
+ História simples, mas bem bonitinha;
+ Boas interações entre os personagens;
+ O jogo consegue te fazer passar várias vezes pelo mesmo lugar sem que pareça repetitivo;
+ Desafiador na medida certa;
+ Dungeon pós-final com mais desafios;
- Efeitos sonoros padrão do RPGMaker;
- Gráficos padrão RPGMaker, sem nada de especial;
- Tem dois finais, mas um deles é completamente ignorável;
- Poderiam ter dado um pouco mais de contexto de como foi após o final.
No começo o jogo é um pouco difícil de engolir, mas acaba surpreendendo bem conforme avança.
RECOMENDO!
.
I am incapable of playing this game. At all. The controls in the readme do not work, nor does my controller. If I click off the window, the game will select New Game, and then Helen will very slowly move to the left and down. Forever. No matter what I do, this is just the state of the game for me.
Very satisfying game mechanics, a bit of mystery and good challenge/strategy.
还可以，朋友送的，古早rpg像素游戏，缺点是没办法自己拉大缩小窗口大小，全屏又不适配我的27寸屏幕，看的很难受，玩法还不错，没有中文，汉化补丁评论区的挂了，找了好久，然后玩下来发现以作者游戏文件夹gamedata都能写错成gamedeta的英语实力（我还是第一次见），如此标准的日式英语，就算不打补丁应该也能啃的动。
Beautiful, engaging, and oh-so-animated. A short RPG with one of the greatest ending sequences in the genre. You owe it to yourself to explore Helen's Mysterious Castle.
!
追加コンテンツ含めクリア済）
名前は以前から知っていたが、内容についてはあまり知らず、システムが良くできた神ゲーと言われるVIPRPGぐらいの認識。
実際にプレイしてこの戦闘システムは神だと感じた。
通常のRPGでは相手の行動はランダムで時に理不尽な敗北もありうるが
自身と敵の行動にWait値があり、カウントが0になるとその行動ができるシステム。
本作は次の敵の行動が見える。Wait値をうまく調整し、相手の行動が終わった直後に自身のターンを持ってくれば後出しジャンケンに持ち込める。
多少の被弾を前提に大技で一撃必殺を狙っても良い。
相手の行動に対して自分が最適な行動を選ぶ、コレが面白い。
通常のRPGは「とりあえず最大火力を出せる◯◯を連打」になりがちだが、
例えば「この敵には最初に弓でジャブを入れた後に盾で防いで、剣、盾、剣・・のループで無傷で倒せる」
のように敵ごとに今の手持ちの中で最適な行動を模索していくことになる。
武器の強さは変わらなくても、自分の行動が最適化されることで戦闘が効率的になっていく。
アクションゲームの上達に近い経験を得られる。
もちろんRPG的な強化もあり、EXPを貯めて武器の強化が可能。両方の楽しさを得られる。お得。
手持ちにできる武器の数には上限がある上、
完全な上位互換という装備は少なく、攻撃力は高いが行動が遅い等、この武器と手持ちの他の装備と交換するべきか？
Wait値が同じものを持っていても戦略が狭まってしまう・・
手持ちの武器と敵の組み合わせによって戦略を変える必要がある等、デッキ編成の楽しさがある。
・・といったようにただの普通のRPGより戦闘自体を楽しむことがかなりできた。
ちなみに意図的にランダム要素は省かれているようで、突然痛恨の一撃を食らって即死、なんてことはないのでストレスもありません。
また、通常のツクール2000作品だと思って遊ぶと動き（アニメーション）の多さに驚かされる。
走りにモーションがあって驚き、敵にモーションがあって驚き、メニュー開いてたらヘレンが動く。
私は結構ツクール作品を遊んできたと思っているがここまでのアニメーションがあるのは初体験。
4～6時間ぐらい？のボリュームだがNPCの会話やストーリーもちゃんとしており
「サクッと面白いゲームを遊びたい」という個人的にフリゲに求めているニーズを実現してくれるゲーム。おすすめです。
攻撃、防御、攻撃時間の設定があるアイテム（技）。
魔法もあって防御無視がついてる。
盾もあって攻撃はできぬが防御が高い。
攻撃時間が経過したら攻撃して、攻撃から防御を引いたダメージを与える。
ルールこんだけ。
なんだけど面白くて。
例えば相手が「時間がかかるが防御ががら空きの技」を構えてたら、「攻撃は小さいが時間も小さく、結果としてDPSが高い技」を連続して叩き込む。
相手が「攻撃は小さいが時間も小さく、DPSが高い技」を構えてたら、「防御が高く、少しの攻撃なら完封できる盾」でいなす。
…と、バトルが楽しいが、それ以外でハマりポイントがあったので解説。
魔王城の扉が開かない
[spoiler]魔王城中央の魔法陣でメニューを開いて放置、ヘレンがウインクするまで待つと開く[/spoiler]
「違う窓を開け」と言われる
[spoiler]ゲーム内ではなく、あなたのPC上で違うソフトの窓に切り替えればOK[/spoiler]
2個目の自宅へのショートカット開通後、どこにも進めない
[spoiler]自宅の外にできているお墓を調べる[/spoiler]
（番外）起動したらなにかのキーが押しっぱなしのような動作になる
[spoiler]私の場合は接続してるゲームパッドを外したらいけました[/spoiler]
The game has an interesting and unique combat system (or at least, if this is a common type of RPG or something, I've happened to never encounter it before), and basically each of your attacks has three stats, and they each take a certain amount of time to charge up before they execute, they each have a certain amount of defense that they apply to you while they're charging up, and they each do a certain amount of damage when they hit, and the end result essentially creates a sort of rock paper scissors dynamic between the various attacks so that instead of just spamming the one singular best attack in the game you have to choose the best attack for the situation, but honestly it only starts there, and there's also thinking ahead because both you and your opponent (I.e., every battle in the game is against only a single enemy at a time, and the game does an amazing job of making that work) are locked in and committed to your course of action once you begin charging up an attack, and so you have to think sometimes not so much of what you want to do right now but more what you will want to be doing once the enemy attack finishes, and there's just all sorts of stuff involving the timing of attacks and stuff that you have to think about here, and more than that, all this stuff isn't just a neat idea in theory, but the developers also did a good job of fine tuning all of it so that it just works really really well in practice too, and the game is generally well balanced and the enemies feel different and unique in meaningful ways and they force you to adopt different strategies to beat them in ways that actually feel meaningful, and just in general I would highly recommend this game just because it's fun and interesting to play and worth it just for that alone, but honestly if I was taking a course on game design and tasked with analyzing a game or something, I might put this up there with Kao the Kangaroo or something as an excellent example to look at.
Anyway, there's also a couple of other minor points, and while playing this game, I didn't do NO grinding whatsoever, but I DID do very minimal grinding, and it just genuinely doesn't take very long to get what you need and what you need is minimal anyway.
I will say as a point against the game, some things could have been explained better, and so far as I'm aware the game doesn't really explain to you that the experience points you collect don't just automatically level up your character like in 99% of games, but instead you have to manually apply them to level up the weapons that you collect as you go around, and also you need to carry around multiple weapons at the same time and switch between them during combat (It's not as complicated as it sounds. When I mentioned you having multiple attacks earlier, to be more specific, what that means is you have multiple weapons with you, and each weapon grants you a different attack, and so you select which weapon to attack with the same way you would select different spells or something in a different game, but you don't have to constantly equip or unequip weapons or anything like that, and honestly I was confused when I picked up my first weapon and was trying to figure out how to equip it but just couldn't and only later learned "Oh, that's not how this game works") but you can only carry so many weapons at a time and there's an armory type place where weapons you've found but don't have on you right now go, and so the deal is, all the time the I would find a new weapon but not have room to carry it because my carefully chosen loadout is all full, but the game doesn't really say whether opening a chest but not taking the weapon counts as finding it or not so it can go in the armory later, so to be safe I would end up swapping one of my regular weapons for the new one and then trekking all the way back to the armory just to swap it out again, and it's also kind of hard to compare new weapons you find with your old ones because your old ones will tend to be highly upgraded while the new ones will have basic stats, so, sure, my old sword is better right now, but will it STAY better if I upgraded the new one? I have no idea, and part of the problem (even though I would list this as a plus side to the game overall) is that none of the weapons are necessarily "better" than the others, but they each just have a different unique balancing of speed and defense and attack so even the weapons you get at the start of the game are still completely usable at the end and it partly comes down to personal preference which ones you choose to use, and so it's hard to say which I prefer when one of them is upgraded way more than the other right now.
I also found the save system to be weird, and first off, to save you have to open the menu and then hit, like, the run button or something for no reason, and then I didn't see an option to load anywhere, and when you die it isn't game over but you're just sent back to a safe area to try again (and also given a food item that grants an HP boost, which means the more you die, the higher your health becomes as a way to help out the player if they're having trouble with an area. Or at least, I assume so anyway, but me personally every time I died I loaded up right away because I just HAD to be a macho tough guy again and make it through the game without its pity health), and so basically as far as I could tell, if you wanted to load up, you pretty much just have to quit out the game and start it up again (and so i actually pinned the game to my taskbar at some point to start it up again faster, but I noticed after a while this meant Steam didn't register it as running, and so my displayed playtime is actually, like, roughly two hours shorter than it should be), and this might not be true because after I played the game I watched a speedrun of it and the guy there DID seem to be able to load without restarting entirely, and I have no idea how he did that because I couldn't see what buttons he was pushing or anything, but it's apparently possible somehow(???), though I'd still say my larger point kind of stands and the mere fact that I didn't know this kind of shows that the game doesn't always explain things that great, but it was never a HUGE problem, and I was able to make it through to the end all right and everything, and I always picked up on everything important like what experience DOES and everything eventually.
Also one of the abilities that you unlock at one point is [spoiler]
the power to read[/spoiler], and I just thought the brief little montage of the guy teaching you was sweet, but more importantly, I love how that's an actual thing our hero learns during the game, and I'd just love to see that summed up like [spoiler]some cheesy 80's cartoon moral like "Remember kids, more than any lightning bolt, READING is the TRUE magic!"[/spoiler]
Also, the game kind of has a lot of backtracking in it, though at the same time the game world is fairly small and there are shortcuts all over the place and it's pretty easy to get used to things, so this is kind of a mixed point.
I'll also say, all of the hidden secret locations and stuff in this game are fair, and there are a LOT of games out there where I'm just like, "Dude, no one in a million years would have found that without a guide, and no, the single pixel that's almost imperceptibly off color does not count as a hint to its location here", but everything here is reasonably findable by a reasonable person. Unless of course there's some mondo level secret I missed or something, but I'll put it this way, and the armory displays how many weapons you're missing from each floor, and I had no real trouble finding them all without help.
Also [spoiler]infinitely stackable haste[/spoiler] is busted. Who knew?
There is not much by way of sign-posts as to where you are, or where you are going. None of the area screens are labelled, they just say untitled. If you don't play the game for a little while, you are likely to forget what to do next. If you like this kind of thing, then fine, but I prefer to have more in the game to guide a player where and what do next. What is the objective?
昔ながらのツクールゲームだが、バトルシステムとストーリーはよく出来ている。
What a neat little game! Can't believe I haven't heard anyone talk about this before!
Every aspect of this game is, at minimum, great. Art, story, gameplay, level design, etc etc, all great! Like, nothing even close to below standard here.
The story was really funny, I found myself laughing multiple times throughout, and my favorite running gag is that Helen can't read anything and responds to every NPC interaction with "?". It's also very charming and I like how lighthearted it is. A very happy game overall, which is definitely a type of game I need to play more often.
The combat really impressed me. It's legit fun and engaging, all thanks to the "wait" system. Basically, each weapon/enemy attack has a counter; whoever reaches zero first gets the hit in. It's very basic, but it adds a TON of depth to an otherwise simple one-on-one combat system! Especially since enemies are very reactive, and will choose their next move based on your current move. Obviously there gets to a point with every part of the "world" where you're so OP you can one-shot every enemy, but it goes back to being engaging at the start of every new part of the "world". So yeah, I really loved this, and would love to see another game expand on this cool system! (Since this game IMO doesn't need a sequel).
Those are the main two draws of the game, as it is quite simple, but I guess I can compliment the art. It's really cute! I like it a lot, and I like how all the characters have portraits. I feel like I don't see that enough in the RPGs I play, though I'm sure that's a me problem. The music was also bangin', so great job to whoever did that.
So overall, if you have any interest whatsoever in RPGs or cute/campy stories, absolutely get this. It's only 2 dollars, so either way I think you'll get your moneys worth. Though, if you ask me, I think it's worth at least 5!
Ciekawy system walki turowej na plus, polecam dla fanów rpgmakera
Bacana!
Бои уникальны, но однообразны
?
The combat is the star of the game. Helen can equip 8 different item slots, each with varying attack/defense/cooldown values. The battle screen has a forecast of how hard the enemy will hit, when, and how much defense they have during windup. The fun comes from finding your own attack patterns that counter the enemy. E.g., you could pepper the enemy with arrows before raising a shield to nullify their strike.
The game is low budget but worth the price for a simple 5-hour playthrough. The game builds on some combat concepts and doesnt overstay its welcome. It works surprisingly well for a solo-character turn-based game.
For some reason there is no music in the Steam Deck version.
klasik rpgmaker oyunlardan, iyi tarafı boş diyalog yok sade oyun türe göre gideri var
This game deserves higher praise. Perfect example of making something excellent with minimal resources and some code.
キャラクターが敵、味方ともに魅力的でストーリーもとても良かったです。
短編作品ということでクリアまでの所要時間が短いですが、その分中だるみなしで最後まで飽きが来ない仕上がりになっているかと思います。
キャラクターではなくアイテムの方にレベルがあるという点が新鮮で、とても楽しめました。
As usual I find myself becoming increasingly pessimistic the more I play video games and I wonder why I even do so. This is probably one of the better designed games I've played that is RPG maker, and an actual RPG. the looks are charming, but I have to say that I loath the deterministic combat system. Everything about it reminds me of NWN1 or Eternal Senia or other games that give you exactly one character. As usual with all of these games, when they focus on turn based combat with arbitrary systems it becomes almost impossible to ever push the player without falling unto unfair categories. I just received what I consider a run ending defeat and though this game lets you respawn as many times as you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ like, for a spoilery reason I'm not feeling inclined to go into, it feels cheap. It feels like a convenience for the developer to not iron out the awful kinks in the combat system.
This is, Mind, AFTER I had been ambushed by and recovered somewhat in the middle of a BOSS encounter because all my character knows how to do is grunt. in an area I had assumed was some kind of extra equipment challenge. In a normal game I might have had a chance. I could have dragged my characters back up from death. Not in this game. In this game, despite it's stellar design, because the conceit is only one character, combat is deterministic, theres simply no way I could have won. as soon as I made ONE tactical mistake I was locked out of victory for what is a grueling long fight. It's simply not something I could EVER recommend to anyone. If you are someone who doesn't care about challenge and earned victory, then go for it. but for me. I feel betrayed. This game is not expensive enough to merit real scathing criticism. But none the less the actual moment to moment gameplay because of these design choices is pain in the form of being WALLED or tedium from crushing through hundreds of unrunnable trash encounters to grind up your weaponry.
I think this is a great example of why SO many people went with quirky walk simulator rpg horror games. When you encounter a true gem in the rough like this one that is focused on the RPG elements, the elements are put together so haphazardly that it can only become a trial and error via unfair and cheap deaths. This games combat system could have been great, but it's implamentation ensured that you have no recovery, no depth, or alternatively, no challenge, and getting everywhere is a constant chore. I dont know if I will ever touch it again, but I'm taking a long break from this.
なつかしーって思いながら楽しめました
For a game that only cost me a few dollars, this is SICK! The fighting system is simple to understand and fun to engage with, and the npc's you meet are pretty funny. The story is alright, and I wish the npc's had more to say, but it's generally wonderful. And the music? goes insane.
This is an old game, and it shows. I had several issues with it:
- Couldn't get it to work with a Dualshock controller at all, had to play it with the keyboard
- By default, it's on a tiny window. You need to use Alt + Enter to make it fullscreen, but the resolution remains tiny, so alt-tabbing is annoying.
- Can't turn off the music, or turn it down, other than by turning the volume down at the system level (windows) or at the headphones / speakers level.
- You can save, but you can't load. If you want to load, you have to close the application, then boot it back up again.
All of the above is annoying, yet I'm giving this game a positive recommendation. So what are the positives?
+ The game is visually gorgeous. It's a lo-fi, retro style, but the art style is consistently excellent.
+ The music is so damn good. I'll take this game's music over that of most AAA jRPGs nowadays.
+ The combat system is very innovative, and works great for this game
+ The game does an excellent job in building up the mystery of its setting and story
The negatives of this game are real, but I feel like the positives make up for them. Very charming game, clearly made with a lot of love.
戰鬥系統很有趣，可惜內容有點少。
《海伦的神秘城堡》：8.7 / 10 （优秀）
单周目流程时长：6 - 10 小时
类型：角色扮演，rpgmaker
——————
吐槽时间
——————
作为一款十年前的rpg，本作虽然各方面都看起来十分朴素，但是它却给了我好久没有的一种感觉，怎么说呢，
剧情虽然童趣，但是结局走向却又让人出乎意料；画面虽然复古，但是每个地方却又精雕细琢，独具匠心；战斗虽然简单，但接触游玩后又能发现其策略与深度。
这是一款能够让人感觉到制作组真挚心意的的游戏。
（虽然steam版本没有中文，但是有民间汉化补丁，详情可以去steam评论区）
——————
游戏性
——————
关于这个部分本来我是不期待的，毕竟rpgmaker的游戏啥玩法懂得都懂。但是本作并没有采用烂大街的回合制玩法，而是做出了自己花样与特色，游玩下来可以说是颇具策略性与趣味性。
本作的战斗机制很简单，就三个需要衡量的要素：攻击，防御，准备时间。
本作中使用所有技能都需要一个准备时间，在这个期间玩家会根据使用的招数获得防御，在准备结束后攻击对手，最终造成的伤害 = 攻击 -对手的防御。
以上就是全部了，在这套玩法下，游戏没有任何花里胡哨的机制，没有任何的随机性，唯一具备的就是与对手的博弈，预判对手的选择从而选择更优的策略就是本作玩法的核心。
具体啥样呢，就以游戏最基本的几种攻击手段为例子，弓箭- 伤害低但是准备时间短；盾-没有伤害，但是准备期间增加大量防御；剑-攻守兼备，准备期间持有一定防御；魔法-效果多样且强力，无视防御但是准备时间长。
用弓箭去破对面的魔法，用剑去破对面的弓箭，用盾去破对面的剑，用魔法去破对面的盾。就是这么简单。
但是等真正接触游戏的战斗了，却又没有这么简单。因为制作组是真的将这个简单的机制玩出花了，敌人的机制与进攻习惯可以说是千奇百怪。
有的一力破万法，管你啥招数反正到我的回合就能给你打个半死；有的不停叠甲当乌龟，当你忍不住要进攻时又会突然偷袭你；有的不讲武德，说是要用某个招数，但是半路又会变招；有的甚至还会一些歪门邪道，遮蔽所有的ui数值来和你战斗，主打一个平等。
而玩家所需要做的，就是收集并组合所有的攻击手段（最多可以准备8种），来组合出破招之法。虽然没有多复杂，但本作的这套玩法可以说是从头到尾都一直让我乐在其中。
——————
剧情
——————
游戏的剧情大体来说是非常“小”的，无论是故事的走向，还是聚焦的地点，又或者是剧情的内核，都非常的“小”。但也正是因为这种“小”，制作组才能将所有的巧思都汇聚其中，让每一处细节都包含心意。
本作的女主，海伦，是真正意义上的文盲+笨蛋，因为不懂文字的原因遇到谁都只会说 “ ？” 和“ ！”，也因此显得又憨又傻（其实是可爱）
她人畜无害 (四处砸罐子！偷别人武器！甚至偷偷吃掉别人汉堡！），天真浪漫（ ？），但又对外界充满了好奇心，也因此不顾哥哥的劝阻，毅然踏上前往遗迹的旅途，开启了属于自己的冒险。
她所生活的世界，以阶层划分，每一层都具备不同的生态，比如第六层是她的家；第五层是神秘而又未知的遗迹；第四层是人类生活的城镇；第三层是魔王的居所；第二层，是“能够看到天空”的地方；至于第一层吗， “ ？ ”。
当然了，海伦的冒险之旅也有一些奇怪的地方。比如，她的哥哥会偷偷尾随她的脚步，仿佛始终在暗中守护她；在人类的酒馆里，骷髅竟然像熟人一样和海伦侃侃而谈；城镇里的雕像，长的竟然和海伦一模一样；路途上的每一位Boss，都抱着“陪她玩”的心态与她“决一死战”；就算战斗失败，海伦也总能安然无恙地回到家中，一边啃着汉堡一边若无其事地继续冒险。
相信通过这些信息，你已经能够脑补本作部分的故事了，但是我可以保证，这些都只是本作剧情的第一层，制作组从来没打算藏着掖着，而是干脆利落地把所有线索都摆在你面前。
但是随着游戏的推进，这似乎发生了一些改变。
（剧透警告）
（剧透警告）
（剧透警告）
本作有一个非常大胆而又取巧的设定，那就是海伦在后期是能够学会文字的（但还是只会！？）。也正是从学会文字开始，潜藏的伏笔逐渐浮出水面。此前那些看不懂的信息，又或者是曾经忽略的细节，在此刻都变得意义非凡。几乎每一句话，每一个角落，都悄然藏着关于这个世界的真相。
最终，在冒险的尾声，海伦历经波折，在众人的祝福中，离开了她所生活的世界。也正是在这段别离的过程中，游戏揭示了最后的谜底：
为什么岛上的居民把海伦当作女神？
为什么当年叱咤风云的魔物，如今在陪女主过家家？
为什么大家都愿意让海伦出去见识下广袤的天地？
为什么所有人都拒绝了统治世界的诱惑，宁愿待在一小块地？
为什么遇到真正的危险时，大家都让海伦离开？
答案已经不言而喻了。
因此，虽然结局海伦与众人分离了，但我并不感到悲伤，因为我知道，无论海伦去哪里，她的家都始终在这里 —— 一个满载着守护与温柔的世界，一个充满着爱她的家人的神秘城堡。
（剧透结束）
（剧透结束）
（剧透结束）
除了温馨而又圆满的剧情之外，游戏还有非常多有意思的设计和细节。
比如初始的长剑明明很弱，但是升级所需要的经验值却多的异常，而当你将其升到10级后，一切疑问都将迎刃而解；再比如游戏里有个boss是沉默的塞拉斯，等进入他的迷宫后背景音乐真的就直接消失；根据击杀四大天王的顺序，游戏会触发有趣的小剧场，揭露四大天王究竟是什么货色（一个比一个搞笑）；后期跟随的小精灵，在每次场景切换或者某些战斗后都会出现新的对话；最后的宴会流程中在一些非主线的场所里能够找到藏起来的npc。
不过这些新颖的设计也导致了很多问题，其中一个最明显的地方就是引导的不足了。
本作有非常多“逆天”的谜题。比如游戏主线有一个必要的通关条件是摆pose，我想了半天也没想到怎么摆，结果就在道具栏挂机的时候海伦突然展示了她的挂机动作，正是一个pose(别说，做的还挺细致，四个方向有四种pose）。
前面提过的沉默的塞拉斯，在他的迷宫里不能奔跑不能战斗，不然就无法进门，对此游戏给出的提示是“不守规矩不能入内” 。
这种类似的解谜在游戏中占比不小，甚至有些还把主线的道路藏进了隐藏墙中，这些都让游戏变得相当容易卡关。
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画面/音乐
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作为一款由古早rpgmaker制作的游戏，本作的画面自然不能指望太多。320x240的低分辨率，再加上部分重复的画面素材，都让整体画面显得有些简陋（不过女主真的很可爱）。
但是在音乐方面，本作倒还是能够让人满意，大部分场景都配有单独的音乐，一些关键场景的配乐更是出色，足以让人代入其中。
——————
总结
——————
其实说了这么多，本作的优点归根结底也就这几个：
可爱呆萌的精灵女主，王道反转的剧情走向，温馨美满的团圆结局，新颖有趣的战斗设计。
但有一点我没有重点提，那就是其无微不至的细节。
正是这些散落在各处的细节，让游戏的剧情足够完整，让女主显的足够呆萌可爱，让战斗变得足够新颖有趣，让最终的结局足够令人感动，让游戏的缺点足够被优点所掩盖。
就如我前面所说，这是一款能够让人感觉到制作组真挚心意的游戏。
（Ps：后面的不少地方都暗示女主应该能说话了，之所以继续？！估计是因为腹黑？？？？？？）
——————
优点：
+王道，新颖而又圆满的剧情
+简单易懂，颇具策略深度的战斗玩法
+无微不至的细节彩蛋
+呆萌可爱的女主（？）
缺点：
-简陋复古的画面
-部分引导的不足
——————
not something you play for the story, but more than makes up for it with a fun combat system. requires essentially to consider your best options, and the investment in return is to choose which inventory items you desire to invest in.
for the price it's at, if you are any level of RPG enthusiast, it deserves at least a strong strong strong consideration from you.
Très bon moment pour un tout petit prix ! Enjoy.
Système de combat simple mais assez original et efficace.
Scénario bien pensé et bien mené. Musiques plaisantes.
Je regrette juste une progression du personnage un peu trop minimaliste et un monde un peu vide.
Mais ça vaut LARGEMENT son prix.
Merci !
Jogo muito bom porem com vários bugs e alguns pequenos problemas de configuração dos controles que poderiam ser melhores e ter a opção de configuração a escolha do jogador fora isso gostei deveria ter mais personagens alem da personagem principal a nota desse jogo na minha opinião e um 7/10 essa nota se deve principalmente aos controles ruins e a falta de uma opção de configuração dos controles fora isso ess jogo e muito bom recomendo que joguem
It perfectly achieves what it sets out to accomplish. Battles are engaging and require you to react and plan appropriately. The flow and structure of the game is very satisfying. The look, sound and story give a classic and nostalgic feeling.
很温馨的故事，想买的提前找好汉化包，我找的没汉化装备和各种名词，稍微吃了点苦。
打不过或卡进度强烈建议搜攻略，减少很多不必要的跑图重开时间，强烈推荐前期升级被动装备，后期会很有用，尤其是魔法斗篷，跟攻略拿双剑，不然后面很难受
This is easily one of the best RPGMaker games I have played on steam. This is so heavily overhauiled, that you would barely recognize it as an RPGMaker game if it used even slightly different assets.
While I'm sure this isn't the first game to use a "timing" based battle system, it was pretty unique to me! Early on, it is pretty straight forward, considering you can hold all of the equipment that they give you, but eventually you will need to make choices of what to hold and what to drop (don't worry, you can "pick them up" later).
The story is... fairly nonexistent until about halfway through the game. At first, it feels very bare-bones, like it is just meant to be a dungeon crawler with no apparent story. However, once you reach the second half, the story becomes WIDE open. It is worth re-exploring areas to find bits of story that weren't available until this halfway mark.
Overall, this game is an absolute gem. It is very nicely self contained (with a bit of patience, you can find everything pretty easily), and it looks beautiful, especially compared to the media it uses. I really hope this dev comes back and follows up the ending of this game, or at least translates some of their other projects. This game is a steal at its current price ($2 in the US).
good
A short, timeless RPG with an incredibly unique combat system, a fun, charming story, and a great soundtrack to boot.
It's 2 bucks so you have absolutely nothing to lose. Try this one out if you're a fan of RPGs in any form.
ストーリーと演出、ゲームシステムの両方の面で一切無駄がない、完璧なゲームです
BGMはフリー音源ですがその選曲も良い
作者のさつ氏が制作後記を出されていますが、クリアしたら是非見てほしい
あとこれは一応VIPRPGで、キャラがしっかりVIPの文化を受け継ぎながら魅力的にできているのも良いです (ただしVIPRPGを遊んだことが無くても楽しめます)
Short turn-based RPG with some nice combat mechanics. Grinding and dying on purpose might be needed in the early parts to augment weapons and health. worth the price, for sure
Short game with a very good story and combat
10年前的RM游戏，10年后依旧好玩。
画面音乐简单，JRPG王道剧情，合家欢大团圆结局，轻松愉快。
追求画面与特效不是正路。现在再看10年前的海伦，地图精致，战斗巧妙。NPC出场寥寥数语却印象深刻，海伦开局竟然是文盲，不识字！识字后再看旅途中遇到的路标和书籍，恍然大悟。
开局长剑拿不到，以为是隐藏剧情，后期再去，发现只是隐藏门的教学。
不会使用经验升级，用没强化的秘银剑打到沉默之王，回忆起来很好笑。
治疗术在战斗外可用，但用一次降一级。因流程短，没完全展开的设计。
被时间埋没的佳作。
cute game.
Dunno much about the RM2k series, but this game looks pretty, feels good, sounds good, AND the battle theme is Battle1! Cinema! Which I don't know if it's a REMIX of RMXP's Battle1 but I don't see this song in the RM2k series' OST... Would love to know more.
Also, I don't know how much of the battle system is modified, but the combat system is really cool for me. Watching the Wait timer is crucial and is almost like watching frame data. The idea of only levelling your items too is really nice, and everything comes together neatly in a way that feels like a game like Riviera... or any other Sting game. Dirt cheap, I recommend it.
За таку ціну вельми приємна коротенька РПГ з непоганою механікою, де ви прокачуєте не героїню, а її зброю. Про сюжет тут не буду, бо ви, як і ваша героїня, не знаєте нічого ні про світ, в якому опинилися, ні про саму Хелен. Принаймні спочатку.
Коротше шанувальникам класично-олдскульних РПГ раджу спробувати.
steam classic love coming back to this game for nostalgia
4/5 star
I played this a while ago and can't get it out of my head.
The story and world are kinda weird in a good way and it plays on some jrpg tropes, but it's not fleshing them out in a way that really hooked me. That said, it can be pretty funny, especially with how the villains interact. Still, not what I'd write home about.
The part the hooked me though, and keeps me thinking about the game, is the combat. I've been feeling lately that jrpg menu combat is either thoughtlessly grindy, or requires strategies that are abstract enough that I can't relate them to what they represent. (An issue for me, but not everyone.) Helen's Mysterious Castle though...the way it has you manipulate enemy actions through the turn order kept me thinking and engaged.
The challenge is on point where enemies get easy only after you've figured them out, and you can't usually grind your problems away, nor are you relying on randomness. It's all about solving the puzzle each enemy provides. I wish more jrpgs were playing with mechanics like this.
Small but complete, this game is a storytelling RPG with unique time counting turn based battle system.
Without any RNG element, player will have to try to combine attacks to play around enemie's gimmick in order to defeat it. Easy while still challengeful- and most importiantly, enjoyful.
Game's tempo is well handled, it won't frustrated player by forcing to farm level. In fact, what can be achieve by farming is pretty limited, while it still effective. Shows a well-balanced difficultly.
The storytelling is simple with a plot twist, heart-warming while have some regret. Even it was a short adventure, it can still impacts player's heart.
This game makes me reignated the interst toward RPG Maker games... Not to mention, that this game's uses asset of RPG Maker's deafault asset, which somehow makes it more charming to me.
Yes
my eyes!
短編ですがよくまとまっていると思います。
ちょっと冒険に出たいときにどうぞ。
Pretty fun game for almost no cost. The story is cheesy but I didn't expect fear and hunger levels of story, I enjoyed it nevertheless. What drew me was the gameplay, which is where most people split on this. Fights are a puzzle to be solved, not a stat stick to out stat stick. It requires some trial and error, but the complexity and depth of strategies available actually surprised me a lot. You are given the tools to win every fight, it's just up to you to put the right pieces together for the right fights. The AI chooses the best move given their situation every time, so you have to set up situations where none of their options are good. I only had to grind at the end when I figured out I needed to level up a specific item to beat the final boss.
There are definitely technical problems with the game, but the people bashing the game for being grindy or too difficult are just self-reporting their own skill issue.
this game rules, it is short and efficient little micro rpg with a really unique battle system! the story is kind of generic but it's still charming.
at only six hours long and costing $2 it is extremely worth playing through
(i played through the game using easyrpg so steam wasn't keeping track most of the time fwiw it took me about 6 hours to beat)
Hands down one of my favorite “short” pixel-RPG games. The entire world has this atmosphere about it that drew me in right away, and Helen, despite being a silent protagonist, has a ton of personality put into her shown through small actions that I couldn’t help but fall in love with. Eventually, I plan to get around to doing several more runs of the game, as I’m sure there’s things I missed.
افضل ماصنعت فروم سوفتوير وكابكوم
10/10 لعبة الزنا
خير من الدن شلال
Fun RPG gem
良いゲームです たのしいよ
쯔꾸르 명작!
Fun short game
Bastante bueno, al principio cuesta entender la mecanica de las batallas, pero una vez lo entiendes todo bien.
what a good game
?
[H1] 🎬 Helen’s Mysterious Castle — “Painfully Mysterious”
A Ryan-George-Style Pitch Meeting [/H1]
(Guest-starring Konosuba’s party + Jinx + Gaige)
[INT. INDIE GAME STUDIO – DAY]
Writer Guy:
So! You’ve got a new RPG for me?
Game Designer:
Yes, sir! It’s called Helen’s Mysterious Castle!
Writer Guy:
Ooh, mysterious! What’s mysterious about it?
Game Designer:
Mostly the part where players can’t figure out where to go, why they’re there, or why they’re still playing.
Writer Guy:
Oh, so it’s a psychological thriller disguised as a spreadsheet!
Game Designer:
Exactly! Players will experience the thrill of walking down the same hallway twelve times while fighting enemies that respawn faster than hope dies.
💥 THE DOOR EXPLODES OPEN
Kazuma:
Alright, who designed this misery simulator?!
Aqua:
I tried purifying the castle and it purified me back!
Megumin:
I demand permission to erase it from existence with one glorious EXPLOSION!
Darkness (dreamy sigh):
Ah… a castle filled with endless monsters… the constant threat of pain and exhaustion…
Kazuma:
Here we go.
Darkness:
Every time an enemy respawns, another opportunity for me to feel the sting of defeat!
Writer Guy:
That’s… a very specific interpretation of “fun.”
Darkness:
If the castle wants me to suffer, then I shall oblige it until I collapse in pure bliss!
Kazuma:
I can’t tell if you’re reviewing the game or flirting with it.
⚔️ THE COMBAT SYSTEM
Game Designer:
So the combat is all about “Wait values.” Every action takes time to execute, so you have to plan carefully.
Writer Guy:
Oh, so it’s strategic?
Game Designer:
No, tedious! Every battle feels like watching molasses make life choices.
Kazuma:
I spent half the game staring at a “Wait” bar longer than Aqua’s apology speeches.
Aqua:
Hey! I apologize efficiently!
Darkness:
Mmm… long waits before impact… the slow dread building… the anticipation of pain… truly exquisite!
Megumin:
Darkness, are you role-playing the combat system again?
Darkness (blushing):
If loving a turn delay is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Writer Guy:
So the game’s target demographic is… this woman.
🏰 THE CASTLE DESIGN
Game Designer:
Players explore the mysterious castle — it’s full of identical hallways and random doors!
Writer Guy:
Sounds confusing.
Game Designer:
It is! The goal is to get lost, get frustrated, and start questioning your life.
Kazuma:
So it’s Dark Souls if Dark Souls had no art direction and infinite hallways.
Aqua:
Every door I opened led to another door that mocked me.
Darkness:
A maze of humiliation and despair? Oh, how the architecture itself conspires to torment us!
Kazuma:
You’d probably marry the castle if it had a pulse.
Darkness:
If it has walls that close in and crush me slowly, then yes.
Megumin:
I have a spell that can fix that problem permanently.
Kazuma:
No more explosions. The studio’s insurance won’t cover it again.
🧩 PUZZLES AND PROGRESSION
Writer Guy:
Let’s talk puzzles.
Game Designer:
Simple! Players just walk into every wall until something happens.
Writer Guy:
Ah, classic “bump-to-win” design!
Kazuma:
It’s not exploration — it’s testing collision detection!
Aqua:
I spent two hours walking in circles!
Megumin:
Was there at least treasure?
Game Designer:
No, just emotional damage.
Darkness (smiling):
Mmm… invisible walls rejecting my advances…
Kazuma:
Darkness, please stop saying things that sound illegal.
🔩 GAIGE ARRIVES
(A glowing portal opens; GAIGE from Borderlands 2 steps through, sparks flying.)
Gaige:
Heard someone mention “bad balance”? That’s my cue!
Writer Guy:
Oh, good, another chaos agent.
Gaige:
Your combat system looks like it was built by an indecisive toaster. Let me patch it!
(Deathtrap spawns and instantly slaps a respawning slime into forty more slimes.)
Kazuma:
WHY DO THEY MULTIPLY?!
Gaige:
Science!
Darkness:
Oh… surrounded, overwhelmed, no escape… glorious!
Kazuma:
We get it. You have problems.
💣 ENTER JINX
(Ceiling collapses. JINX drops in, laughing with grenades in both hands.)
Jinx:
I heard “repetitive enemies,” and I thought, hey, I can fix that!
Megumin:
Another demolitions enthusiast! Sister!
Jinx:
Boom buddies!
(They high-five and something explodes offscreen.)
Aqua:
I can’t tell if we’re still reviewing a game or committing several crimes.
Kazuma:
Both, probably.
Darkness:
The explosion’s shockwave! I can feel it in my bones!
Jinx:
You’re kinda weird, lady. I like it.
🧙♀️ STORYTIME
Writer Guy:
So what’s the story about?
Game Designer:
Helen’s in a castle. There’s mystery. Then, at the end, we dump all the lore in a paragraph and roll credits.
Kazuma:
So basically my diary.
Aqua:
It’s deep, okay? You wouldn’t understand symbolism.
Kazuma:
Symbolism of what? Poor pacing?
Darkness:
To be denied context until the bitter end… to wander lost and confused for hours before receiving truth… divine agony!
Writer Guy:
I’m beginning to suspect you might need therapy.
Kazuma:
She tried. The therapist quit after ten minutes.
🎵 PRESENTATION
Writer Guy:
At least it looks good, right?
Game Designer:
It’s got the timeless charm of default RPG Maker assets!
Kazuma:
So everything looks like it was designed by a medieval accountant.
Aqua:
I like the shiny floor tiles!
Megumin:
You like anything that reflects your face.
Darkness:
I appreciate the lack of polish. The jagged edges cut deep—like the pain of rejection.
Kazuma:
Darkness, you could romanticize a traffic cone.
Darkness:
If it blocked my path and made me trip, absolutely.
🔁 FINAL CHAOS SEQUENCE
Jinx:
Okay, this castle’s too quiet. Let’s wake it up!
Megumin (chanting):
Crimson demons don’t run, they detonate!
Gaige:
Deathtrap, maximum overdrive!
Kazuma:
No no no, let’s not—
Darkness (stepping forward):
Yes… yes! Let the pain rain upon us!
(Catastrophic explosion. The castle, studio, and possibly the Steam servers evaporate.)
Writer Guy (ash-covered):
So… that’s the ending?
Game Designer:
More or less. We call it “player liberation.”
Kazuma:
Or “rage quitting.”
🧾 FINAL VERDICT
Writer Guy:
Okay, tallying up the scores…
Combat: a spreadsheet simulator.
Level design: copy-paste purgatory.
Puzzles: invisible frustration.
Story: dumped like Aqua’s savings account.
Replayability: only for masochists.
Darkness (cheerful):
Five stars! Would suffer again!
Kazuma:
Zero out of ten.
Aqua:
Ten out of ten for shiny floors.
Megumin:
Seven out of ten explosions, could use more.
Jinx:
Four out of ten, but the boom makes it worth it.
Gaige:
Three out of ten, and that’s generous because it crashed my compiler.
Writer Guy:
So that averages out to about—
Kazuma:
Two out of ten and a migraine.
Darkness (blissfully):
Ah… two points of pain out of ten… perfection.
(Cue slow zoom-out as the castle respawns again in flames.)
Writer Guy (nervously):
…It’s alive again, isn’t it?
Kazuma:
Run.
Darkness (excitedly):
No—let it catch us!
(Massive explosion. Roll credits.)
⭐ FINAL VERDICT:
“For players who think frustration is foreplay.”
Interesting little RPG with tactical combat that scratches a very specific kind of itch, almost like simulating a duel with parries and ripostes. The story also took me off-guard... in a good way. It's a little surprising, a little silly, and a little challenging. Don't get scared off my the "default RPG Maker" look. This one's worth it.
やっぱり名作
決めポーズのヘレンちゃんかわいい
Pretty odd game. You need to enable proton or it will eventually break on steam deck towards the end, but I was able to finish it with no issues. For the 99 cents I paid, it's a good deal. A lot of other indie games I find boring or too similar to others. This one actually has an interesting story, world, and the combat system is actually very fun. It's really a strange game though and it kinda drops you in with no explanation, and then explains the story over time as you go further. Compared to other indie games out there, this is actually a good one.
Best 2€ I spent for a game
O jogo mais despretensioso que já vi e que mais entregou.
Já zerei ele 3 vezes (não seguidas), é um ótimo jogo pra relaxar um dia. ele leva umas 4-5h pra ser zerado, então um domingão que vc estiver de bobeira e queira uma história gostosinha e um gameplay divertidinho, pegue esse jogo =)
麻雀虽小，五脏俱全，非常优秀的短篇六边形战士
?
It's a fun game to kill time with.
Si estás leyendo esto, puedes notar que me he completado este videojuego en 8 horas. ¡8 horas por menos de dos dólares! Si quieres algo general, te diré que me pareció excelente y que valió completamente la pena. Si te gustan los RPGs, este juego te podría encantar tanto como a mí. En términos generales, me parece que tiene gráficos bonitos y consistentes, un gameplay estratégico por muy simple que sea de manejar y una historia muy bonita la cual solo disfrutarás cuando acabes el juego. Y si te preocupa no entender por el lenguaje, te diré que los textos son fáciles de entender con inglés básico.
Tienes los siguientes controles, los cuales te acompañarán durante tu aventura:
ACCION: Z, ENTER, ESPACIO.
ACCION 2 (inventario): X, C, ¿TAB?
CORRER (gracias a Dios que existe): SHIFT.
Buscaba un indie barato para descubrir, vi este y me parecía un Final Fantasy, Crhrono Trigger o cualquier RPG de turnos clásico genérico que te venga en mente. Leí las reseñas, las cuales decían que esto es algo "distinto", y tienen completamente la razón.
Al principio me parece que te deja muy en claro de qué va el juego y cómo se juega. El gameplay me parece bastante divertido y profundo; es impresionante para lo fácil de entender que es.
Si hablamos del combate y has jugado YOMI-HUSTLE podría resumirte que el gameplay es parecido (por frames o puntos de acción). Mas, para explicarlo, diré que tienes puntos WAIT y tu enemigo también. Tú inicias la batalla con la primera acción y el enemigo, dependiendo de quién sea, responderá a tu movimiento o seguirá un guión. Cuando escojes tu acción (digamos que ATACAS con WAIT 8), el enemigo también lo hará (arriba en la pantalla aparece qué acción escogió y el WAIT del mismo, por ejemplo, ATACAR 9). Tu WAIT irá disminuyendo y, cuando finalice, harás tu acción. Pero si el WAIT de tu enemigo finaliza antes que el tuyo, este hará su acción antes que tú y tú esperarás al siguiente turno (en este caso, tu WAIT 8 es mejor que el 9 y eso te permite atacar primero y tomar otra acción con un WAIT 1 del enemigo, sabes cómo acabará este turno, pero no el siguiente).
Además, están las armas: hechizos, arcos, escudos y espadas. Los arcos funcionan para daño, los escudos para absorber daño y la espada para ambos. Los hechizos, por otro lado, pueden cambiar la forma en cómo se juega. No te quiero spoilear de las capacidades de los hechizos, así que te diré que al inicio encontrarás hechizos que hacen daño y evitan la defensa enemiga. Después encontrarás algunas habilidades y enemigos que cambiarán tu forma de jugar.
Por supuesto, ten en cuenta que si eres capaz de algo, tu enemigo puede hacer lo mismo e incluso mejor. SI crees que eres rápido atacando, encontrarás enemigos más rápidos. Si crees que haces mucho daño a costa de muchos turnos, encontrarás a un enemigo que lo hace. Si crees que eres inteligente y puedes prevenir el ataque enemigo, créeme que encontrarás rápidamente a quienes te hagan en contra.
El combate me parece bastante profundo, a pesar de siempre sea un 1v1. Las armas y los distintos enemigos abren paso a la estrategia. Además, si no piensas bien tus acciones, créeme que morirás de alrededor de tres golpes. A veces la estrategia es ser MUY defensivo y aprovechar los espacios de acción libres para el ataque, a veces es esperar a que le enemigo tome X acción, a veces es solamente atacar y aceptar el daño, a veces es más complejo que eso y deberás encontrarle la forma. ¡Me encanta!
Si mueres, te volverás un poquito más fuerte. Tampoco es que esto haga algún cambio. De todos modos, por mi experiencia, tuve que mejorar mis herramientas todo lo que pude y decidí farmear un poco aniquilando enemigos fáciles que dan mucha experiencia, respawnean en un sitio de fácil acceso y solo tuve que activar Cheat Engine con velocidad 5.
Lo que sí no me gustó tanto (y hasta me recuerda a Dark Souls y juegos de antaño) es que, al morir, "reaparecerás" en una zona que quizás esté lejos de aquél jefe que te dio los buenos días. Así que te tendrás que tomar el camino más rápido, los cuales aún así tienen segundos de correr en linea recta. En la batalla final, al menos añaden una opción RETRY al perder. Me hubiese encantado que estuviese la misma opción para el resto del juego o al menos partes importantes para no tener que caminar evadiendo enemigos. Preferí guardar y reiniciar el juego cada vez que perdía.
Aunque la caminata desde el checkpoint hasta el jefe es muy tipo Souls, añadiré que otra cosa que tienen en común es el que: si no eres capaz contra X enemigo, quizás no tienes el equipo adecuado.
Podría relacionar los gráficos con algún un titulo de la SNES, hasta tiene 8 direcciones de movimiento y una interfaz de combate que quizás te suene familiar. Si hablamos de interfaces más a fondo, son muy pocas y minimalistas en el sentido de que no tienes muchas acciones y es fácil entender cómo funcionan.
Eso de explicar poco es algo muy normal en el juego (hasta los finales), hasta la historia se rige de ese modo. ¿Qué tal la historia? Me gustó bastante. Si bien te da a entender que vives en el mundo de fantasía con lore genérico (dragones, muertos viventes, slimes...), la historia central me pareció original. Si bien durante casi todo el juego no tendrás ni la menor idea de quién eres o qué haces, poco a poco te dan pistas y al final te lo dejan todo claro. Es algo que me gustó bastante y no buscó de ser misterioso y dejarlo al aire. Además, el final me pareció extremadamente reconfortante. Cierra bien los temas en los que gira y las preguntas que te haces por el camino, a pesar de que deja algunas cositas libres para, quizás, abrir paso a la imaginación de qué pasará después.
Los personajes también me gustaron. Todos los que hablan, por supuesto. Al inicio los diálogos estarán contados pero con el tiempo habrán más diálogos y conocerás mejor a los personajes que se te presentan. Mas tendrás que conformarte con no tener alguna compañía o diálogo por casi todo el juego. Mas, para mi experiencia, esto hace que los tramos finales tengan aún más impacto. Y la batalla final, me gustó bastante.
a
A very neat RPG with a unique equipment-based battle system. At first, combat is just about matching the item you use to what your enemy is doing, but eventually you get access to enough items to tailor your loadout to your preference and encounters force you to understand enemy patterns and plan ahead.
It's not particularly long (my playtime includes one half-finished playthrough and one full one), but I'd say it accomplishes everything it sets out to do without needless padding.
The writing is pretty light in tone and comedic for the most part, but the story does have a few serious beats to it too and the finale is really good.
The difficulty is fairly forgiving, and in particular, there's no punishment for dying other than needing to walk back to where you were, which encourages experimenting with different builds.
All in all, highly recommended if you're looking for a small, unusual RPG.
全体の雰囲気やストーリーも良かったが、やはり戦闘システムが非常に優れている。
単調にならなく、かつどの装備を育てても詰まずに進めるバランスが絶妙。
プレー時間もそこまでかからないのでおすすめ。
Helen's Mysterious Castle é uma das mais gratas surpresas que eu tive jogando videogames ao longo da minha vida.
Eu despretensiosamente comprei esse jogo, sei lá, uns 6 anos atrás, porque tinha sobrado um dinheiro na minha carteira Steam, e o jogo é só 4,29, parecia legal, e beleza. Daí procedeu em pegar pó na minha prateleira da Steam até umas semanas atrás, onde decidi jogar, porque achei que seria uma rápida experiência para começar a terminar os jogos que não passei. E então, esbarrei em um dos melhores jogos que joguei na Steam.
Helen's é um jogo muito simples, feito em RPGMaker, mas que tudo que se propõe a fazer, faz bem. É pixel art, mas é bonito, os criadores conseguiram tirar tudo e mais um pouco de personalidade desses pixels, é encantador, a trilha sonora é ótima, coisa de clássicos dos anos 90, Final Fantasy assim.
A história é super simples, de início, mas tem muitas mais reviravoltas do que eu esperava, sendo inesperada e tratando assuntos que podem ser interessantes, mas nunca sendo tão absurdo ao ponto de se estender demais, ou se levar muito a sério, Helen's parece sempre brincar com seus personagens, quase numa pegada Undertale, ou Earthbound.
Quanto a gameplay, apesar de uma simplicidade enorme, quanto mais tempo joga, mais se nota os limites das mecânicas e estratégias (especialmente quando chega na Dungeon Bônus do jogo), sendo que é só um personagem jogável, o sisteminha de Effect, Guard e Wait tira muuuuito suco dessa laranja.
Não tenho como recomendar muito mais, por esse preço, Helen's Mysterious Castle entrega tudo e mais um pouco.
After recently playing a very bad RPG Maker game that went for like six or seven dollars, it is unbelievably refreshing to find a fun, reasonably content-heavy game for only two. The story and characters are charming, the game genuinely made me laugh at points, and I truly came out of it wanting the best for everyone. There was a part that seemed like an uncharacteristically dark left-turn that, if true, would have done much to harm the game's charm and tone, but it's not really the case, and overall it's a light-hearted romp that lightly parodies the generic JRPG without it ever coming off as forced or trite like so many JRPG parodies do. The story is also genuinely unique, and though it followed some RPG conventions near the end, the journey there and uncovering who and what I truly was was genuinely compelling. Not to mention, the fighting system of collecting and upgrading items while gauging when and how to use them against enemies using the "wait" system was both original and addictive, and I played the vast majority of this game like seven hours straight in one day (the reason my playtime is longer is because this isn't the first time I played it - I played most of it years ago and got stuck and gave up, but came back to it and finished) because I just couldn't put it down. You really can't brute force your way through battles like in the standard JRPG, there's a fun amount of strategy here where even if it takes multiple tries to deal with an enemy, it never feels unfair. Playing a lot of generic RPG Maker games had made me begin to worry if I didn't like JRPGs at all anymore, but Helen's Mysterious Castle made me feel like a kid again and I loved every minute of it.
I'm trying to think of flaws, and there really aren't many - all the things I noted down were extremely minor nitpicks! Like, sure, a decent amount of the game uses default RPG Maker assets (though, as someone who has played and disliked a lot of default-asset-only games for their genericism and laziness, I can confidently say that this game's general design feels very cohesive and not lazy - it looks quite good), the battle guy's hints don't always work properly (he gave me a hint for the Lord of Paralysis, for example, even though he never beat me, and never gave me one for the Demon King, even though he did), there's a small graphical error where what's supposed to be a star never shows in the blacksmith's dialogue when tells you he can't upgrade weapons with a star beside them (but the stars beside the weapons show up fine, and if you click them he'll just tell you he can't upgrade them, so no big deal), and there are a handful of typos. However, most of the typos aren't super noticeable - i.e. it doesn't read like a non-native speaker's translation, and while that of course doesn't necessarily mean it translated the Japanese well (I haven't played it in Japanese so I don't know), it means that it flows very naturally in English - and the two that are super noticeable are so funny that I hope they never change them. [spoiler]"Wrath of Zeuth" and "The 3th Floor"[/spoiler], you will always be famous.
In short, if you want several hours of charming, enjoyable fun, Helen's Mysterious Castle is absolutely worth your two dollars. Worth more than that, I'd say - but I surely appreciate the low price!
P. S. I haven't played through the bonus dungeon, but it's pretty hard and doesn't appear to have any real reward other than "having done it", so I haven't decided whether I'll go through it or just quit while I'm ahead. The ending was satisfying enough as it was, after all!
