Hmm... Well, straight to the point: I've been playing roms for a few years now, and have been going out of my way to look for new, or old RPG's to play for SNES and NES, even finding the patches for some Japanese games never released in America. Well, that search has lead me here, to the Chrono Compendium and so far, I love what I'm seeing.
I am definitely looking forward to all new stuff that comes out of CC, and especially Kajar Laboratories, but after playing through Prophet's Guile, I have a list of bugs/comments/suggestions/etc. I know I'm a bit late on this, having missed all the beta testing and the thrill of the launch when you all finished the game, but as they say; better late than never. So, more to the point:
1. The CTPG Headered Patch will not work for me. I have a US version of the game and have tried the headered version on both ZSNES and SNES9X, both with disappointment. Though, not too much disappointment because I'm still not quite sure what the difference between headered and unheadered is.
2. I know this is covered in the interview you guys did, but Magus isn't always covered by his hood, and I understand why you did this, but there is one part that looks bad and makes it look like it wasn't intended: When you return to Zeal and find Zeal and Melchior talking in the Throne Room, right before you take him to Mt. Woe. Melchior attacks Janus and for a split second, his hood isn't there. Gives the game a real shoddy look at that point and a few other points, such as the Beast Cave where some of the walls are messed up and there looks to be entrance points into caves where there isn't.
3. Limited Choices. You could have done more with the game. What I mean is, you guys had a great idea focusing on Magus' return to Zeal, but why did it start and finish there? You could have completely made a full-on new game by covering his entrance into the Middle Ages as a Child and his rise to power. You could have added in a spectacular new array of weapons/armor/items, not to mention get a more in-depth look into the characters of Slash, Flea and Ozzy with the possible added storylines for Cyrus and Glenn giving more background on them as well. With the Middle Ages addition, you could start Janus at level 1, go through certain scenarios until he changes age. An example of this would be to split it into three: His childhood, His Teenage Years, and his adulthood whereon he is confronted by Chrono and gang. You would have the opportunity of adding in an unwinnable fight, because Magus MUST lose that fight. Anyway, you get where I'm going. You guys had a great idea, but you never expanded on it.
4. The Obolus. I found the Developer's Room oddly lacking. I was disappointed on this aspect of the game, but it was still a nice touch. My Suggestion: add more in. You guys took the time to make the game and you worked hard instilling individual personalities into the characters. The Developer's room is for you to share your personalities with your fans, so take advantage of it.
Honestly, I love the lay of the game, I love Magus' reactions upon returning to Zeal and thought they were completely in line with his character. Overall, this is a really good game, I just wish there was more to it, lol. I'm still in the process of checking through everything. I've only been through the game twice and I might find more to comment on. If I do, this will be where it's at.
Love your work. Also, if you guys are looking for a person to write a walkthrough for Crimson Echoes when it comes out, let me know. I'll play through it for you and write a full-scale walkthrough, if you're interested. I played the demos of that and was quite impressed with it.
