Hello there!
Today's topic of discussion is a fantastic video game I recently played, Rakuen. Rakuen is an RPG built in RPGMaker, the video game creation tool that was used to build To the Moon and Finding Paradise, which I've written about before.
Unlike To the Moon, which is almost entirely story based, with very few gamelike elements, Rakuen involves various puzzles and quests throughout the game, making it more like an RPG, following the namesake of the platform it was built with.
That said, Rakuen has a rich story, just like To the Moon. You play for most of the game as a sick child in a hospital, whose mother introduces him to Rakuen, a children's book about a fantasy world called Morizora’s Forest. She says the world is real, and that you can get to it through doors hidden inside the hospital. After meeting a few of the doctors, patients, and volunteers in the hospital, you gain access to hidden hallways that lead you to the world of Morizora’s Forest.
You spend a decent chunk of the game in both the hospital and the forest, trying to complete the five main story quests. These quests consist of resolving the conflicts or emotional trauma of the people you meet in the hospital, who each have parallels in Morizora's Forest. In resolving these quests, you not only play as the boy, but also as each of the characters themselves, reliving their memories and helping them find closure.
There are also darker events that are hinted at throughout the game, if you read various newspaper clippings or journal entries that are hidden in lockers or on the floor and walls of hallways. The game references the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and several in-game events are directly influenced by it.
The game also makes references to other games, including a green mushroom who complains about a mustachioed man trying to eat it for an 'extra life', referencing the Mario franchise, and a painting of an man and a woman dancing next to a lighthouse, referencing To the Moon.
Although most of the game has a whimsical, childlike feel, there are emotional events and deep, meaningful messages as well. The game deals with death, guilt, depression, loneliness, alchoholism, and the incredible grief of losing loved ones before their time. I personally was almost moved to tears twice near the end of the game, which I consider a hallmark of a well-written story. If you can make the observer of a story so enamored with your characters that when something ill befalls them, the observer is moved to tears, you've probably done a good job.
One more note: The music in the game is also very, very good, although personally I preferred the music in To the Moon a bit better.
Anyway, if you want an RPG with a moving story and impactful characters, I would highly recommend Rakuen. It's also only $6 on Steam right now, so it's a pretty good deal too :)
That's all for today!
-- Bradley