Trikrocra is a very multi-talented individual.
Most of you, if you've heard his moniker, probably associate him with the FAQs he's written, or perhaps his BBS (we're affiliated with him). However, he's also working on a game that he calls "The Fairy Tale."
The demo for the Fairy Tale is broken into four parts, one for each of the major characters. There's the elderly elf with a funny accent, a human "warrior" who has just finished his training, a rather barbaric dwarf, and a fairy who's just come of age.
While it's too early to tell how their stories really come together, there's a lot of potential. Parts of one person's story are occasionally mentioned in another person's story -- at least in the demo -- which might make an entire "party" easier to explain and more logical (and natural). The characters aren't terribly stereotypical insofar as I can tell -- it may get better, it may get worse.
The game mechanics are fairly straightforward. Attack, defend, magic. It's a turn based game -- whoever has the higher speed trait will have a tendancy to go first in the round. My only gripe about the game mechanics is the odd balance problem. In the dwarf's scenario, there are oozes that he fights randomly. He can handle one or two, but occasionally the game will give him three, and it's impossible for him to win. It's definitely enough to warrant a retreat, but it might take you a minute to figure out, and by that point it's too late.
The graphics are done mostly by Tricrokra, as far as I can tell, although others have contributed greatly to the cause. The animation can be a bit off at times, but it's really not all that bad.
The characters are voiced, as opposed to merely having text-boxes -- it's rather ambitious. The voice acting isn't wonderful; sometimes the emotion seems over- or under-done, but it's not the worst I've heard. Not by a long shot. There isn't any background "music", but there is what seems to be a looping clip of various sound effects that isn't entirely different from what you'd hear in some Diablo tracks. It's a lot better than you would initially believe.
I've tried to strike a balance between judging the game as I would a professional release, and giving credit where credit is due -- quite honestly, it's impressive that Tricrokra's come this far, so he should get some leeway on certain things - you can't be good at everything. On the other hand, if the game can stand on its own, it should.
I don't know that this will be my favorite game ever, but you can see the effort put into it, and I honestly think it will turn out well in the end. I'd guess it to be in the 85/100 range.
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