Ahhh, there's nothing better than returning to this lovely corner of the Internet and discovering a new tickling game. :wub
I'm a bit late but I hope my feedback will help the author, either with this project or with future ideas.
THE WRITING (warning! Spoilers ahead)
Most of the tickling scenes are very well written and I truly love this grimdark feeling that you put into the setting. You mentioned that you drew inspiration from the Deus' and Animewatcher's style, and it definitely shows. The victims *do* look like they are begging for mercy, the act of tickling is depicted as a devastating tool of punishment and furthermore, as a torturer the playing character has a fervor (almost a bloodlust) that is an awesome thing to see.
The only thing I would point out is that sometimes the scenes are brief. From what I understand, the death scene of each tickle spirit is supposed to be some kind of lifeforce draining process, thus ultimately a gradual process. Sometimes it feels a bit weird if after half a dozen text windows it already looks like the spirit is disappearing.
The NPC dialogues and the narration, on the other hand, are not quite as polished. Some interactions with quest-giving NPCs are a bit silly (for example: the captain of Stonekeep gets a look at you, a complete stranger, doesn't even ask you your name or credentials and immediately sends you to find a nameless, non-descripted missing woman... without even telling you a direction. Worst military officer ever!). Several plot-related dialogues are in need of a bit of polishing too, for example the dialogue in the orc-infested ruins with the two exotic-looking women and the orc chieftain could use a bit of third-person narration to show who's talking to whom (especially since there are no sprites for Iris and the Orc), and pretty much all the end dialogues that follow the trial for murder are a bit disconnected. Some additional narration might be required there too, to clarify what happens (for example, how exactly did you enter and/or leave the area of the trial by combat? And why nobody protested when the combat didn't happen?).
(end of spoilers)
Anyway, I see this entire chapter as a big foreshadowing of things to come. Thus I'll wait for the next chapter, before starting to form an opinion on the general plot.
THE MUSIC
I had yet to listen to a score from The Lord of the Rings in a RPG Maker game. I think it's actually very well used too. Kudos to you for that!
THE GRAPHICS
If this is your first game I can't honestly complain. Some areas are admittedly a bit crude, but as the game progresses I get the feeling that you have been improving steadily. Stonekeep, for example, is quite well done; I guess the next chapter of the game will be even better.
THE GAMEPLAY
I played Mage and Warrior.
I get what the game balance is supposed to be: the mage is the canonical glass cannon, meant to dish vast amounts of damage but with low health, no real defenses and a limited supply of energy. The warrior has lower DPS, higher health and defenses, and his/her mechanic is based upon spamming "normal" attacks and the occasional TP skill.
The mage, however, uses spells that are REALLY expensive in terms of energy. I think their damage is properly balanced (and their names are hilariously fun), but he/she is forced to rest with terrible frequency due to the limited number of spells he/she can cast. Because of this, there is a severe limit to the amount of enemies that can be farmed and more importantly, the caster is left in a terrible position against bosses that win by attrition. Quite often, even finding the weak spot of a boss enemy forces you to waste a couple of spells, and that is enough to ensure that your mage will by run out of energy well before the battle can be finished...
The warrior on the other hand has a big problem whith enemies that can raise their stats arbitrarily, especially because the game mechanics negate even a single point of token damage against enemies with sufficiently high defensive stats (thus making the warrior's attacks totally useless; the main example is the Elder Sproutling).
My gameplay suggestions are as follows:
MAGE
- Cut significantly the mana cost of the mage's skills, to allow him/her to hold her own during prolonged boss fights (and to farm experience points a bit more easily). The mage is still limited by his/her low health pool and the lack of healing and defensive skills, so there is still a good attrition factor even if you tone down the energy problem a bit.
WARRIOR
- Brace is theoretically a very useful skill, but it would become more practical if the defensive bonus had a longer duration (or alternatively, a slightly more powerful short-term effect) because for a class such as the warrior, wasting turns to keep up a buff is a big sacrifice that further diminishes the already low DPS.
- To help with the DPS of the warrior without upsetting the game balance, I think the best solution would be to give Saber (at early levels) a single, TP-fueled, high-damage melee skill that will allow him/her to inflict some spike damage every once in a while if the player feels that spending the TP to use Brace is not the right call.
- Divine Favor currently has no purpose: it offers minimal bonuses coupled with the highest mana cost of the game. Personally I think that the concept of a costly but powerful mass attack buff that is meant be used sparingly would be a very nice idea for the warrior, but as it is now it is far too weak to be worth using.
OTHERS
- I think that the Elder Sproutling should have her burrow skill nerfed. The general working of the skill is ok, but the bonuses to defense and magic defense must be toned down either in duration or in effectiveness, otherwise after three consecutive burrows the stacking effect will make the boss utterly invulnerable to melee attacks, and by the fourth burrow even the mage will start crying.
- Could you give an inherent speed bonus to the "Guard" basic skill? Poor Iris keeps being hit by monsters before she can even put herself in a defensive stance! It's so cruel...
SOME OF MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS
Pretty much everything concerning Xastur and her "pet". I hope to see them again!
I have to say that I was impressed by the cultist torturer with the peasant girl. Crazy grimdark fanaticism at its finest :cool
The Watcher in the Waters opening scene was another awesome moment. It's not really unexpected, but as you start the scene you suddenly have the feeling that it's actually a game-over scene; the tension is built up masterfully... excellent writing there.
THE BUGS
The only bug that I found really annoying was that you get stuck permanently in Xastur's illusionary house if you tickle Gustav.
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All in all, I'd say this is a wonderful little game, with considerable potential. I eagerly await for the next chapter!
