Bonded Realities
Bonded Realities is a decent little RPG game that, despite not straying far from the tropes of the genre, still manages to be an enjoyable game.
The story begins with the main character, a child of a young age, being dropped off at a Daycare center.
He and his friends are playing in the sandpit when they are suddenly transported to a new land by unknown means.
There they must join up and go on an adventure in an attempt to find their way home.
The gameplay will feel instantly familiar to anyone that has played one of the many games in the RPG genre from the 16 bit era.
You travel around the world exploring, picking up loot and talking to various characters along the way.
Random enemy encounters lead to turn based battles which reward you with XP that, once enough is collected, will level your characters up.
Stats are assigned automatically each time you level up, with new special abilities being unlocked every few levels.
There are towns to visit that feature inns where you can rest to recover your health and magic points, and shops where you can buy potions and new equipment.
Hitting the Start button brings up a menu where you can check your player stats and inventory, with descriptions for each item you are holding as well as for your special abilities.
Where the game does vary slightly from other RPGs is in the ability to save at any time (as long as you're not in the middle of a battle), and in the fact that when you die you are transported back to your last save point without losing any progress in the storyline itself, though you will lose a little bit of XP.
The visuals in Bonded Realities are fairly simple but there's enough variety in the enemies you encounter, as well as some amusing dialogue to give the game some character.
Grinding is kept to a minimum and the ability to turn off random enemy encounters with the simple press of a button helps keep the experience moving along at a good pace.
There are about 3 or 4 hours worth of playtime, which I think is a good amount of value for the small asking price.
While Bonded Realities may not do anything particularly new and exciting with the genre, it does manage to keep things simple and enjoyable.
Anyone looking for a pleasant little RPG that doesn't require tens of hours to play through, would to well to give this one a look.