A downloadable game

Seven years ago the Kingdom of Torloria was besieged by the bestial Goa Empire. Through decisive strategic planning and the sacrifices of countless heroes the Iron Guard of Torloria managed to keep the relentless hordes of Goa at bay. The Kingdom now finds respite under a thin veil of peace.


“The Roshel mines are undermanned.”


In the country’s outskirts, many of the young are summoned to the frontlines while those who remain toil in the mines, seeking a rare resource coveted by a religious order.

The sudden reappearance of monsters in the mines will spur one young miner to challenge his destiny -- to confront his shameful past, seek redemption, and carve out a legacy befitting the son of the fabled 'Hero of Torloria.'

To succeed he must decipher a cryptic message that he alone can hear:


“You must protect Fate.”


His is a journey fraught with tribulation, but his companions just might be the strength he needs to overcome the trials that lie ahead.

Will they rise to the occasion, and together save Fate from the forces that lurk in the shadows?


Key Features:

  • 30-40 hours of story-driven content
  • On-map encounters and classic JRPG gameplay
  • 14+ playable characters, all with unique skillsets and synergies
    • Build your best party -- will you go all offense, defense, or a nice balance?
    • Dynamic party dialogue depending on who is in the active party
    • Optional content for all party members
  • Explore a massive world across five nations
  • 200+ unique enemies, including bosses that fight intelligently
  • 500+ unique skills across all allies and enemies
    • Exploit enemy weaknesses to temporarily stun them in battle
    • Some abilities require precision timing for best results
  • 300+ unique arms and armor
StatusIn development
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(12 total ratings)
AuthorRC Dunn
GenreRole Playing
Tagsepic, Fantasy, JRPG, Narrative, Pixel Art, Retro, RPG Maker, Story Rich, Turn-Based Combat
LinksTwitter/X

Development log

View all posts

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(+2)

I enjoyed the demo and I can't wait to see more.

Deleted post

Thanks so much for playing Ecko!

Deleted post
(+1)

The demo was really amazing, I'm looking forward to the whole thing! Very nice characters and stor!

DriftwoodGaming recently did a nice first impression video which you can check it out here:

Finna go live

Thanks again for playing the first half of the demo! There's definitely a lot of cutscenes in the first hour which take much longer to read through out loud, but I feel they're important in setting the tone of the story and the main characters.

(+4)

I am perhaps a little biased since I knew the developer in college, but I had a chance to play the full version of an earlier build of this game, and it pretty much maxed out my nostalgia meter. It's a clear and unashamed tribute to the 16-bit JRPGs that shaped my childhood, and I'm always down for a little of that nostalgia when it's done well (and it certainly is, here).

The narrative captures the spirit of '90s RPGs perfectly: the characters are well crafted and believable, and the story and world channel just the sort of old school feel that takes me right back to my childhood, but without being too campy.

The real standout, though, is the combat design. Each of the large cast of characters feels different and individual; it's clear that a ton of time went in to not just designing these kits, but balancing them as well. Each character's combat kit matches their personality and role absolutely perfectly, and in what I see as a real victory for a cast as large as this, they all feel both fleshed out and interesting, and also truly unique. No two characters have even remotely similar kits, but they all feel viable and I tried several endgame bosses with a few different parties that played out the encounters in wildly different ways. I have played tons of modern JRPGs from actual professional studios that don't do half as good a job of creating varied and balanced parties as this game does.

TL;DR: story good, combat excellent. Indulge your nostalgia. You won't regret it.