Dungeon Trawler

Moshimo no Meikyuu ( MOSIMOの迷宮),  by   ksg-nushi (ksg主)  aka  Enryuu (えんりゅう) 2007, PC (RPG Maker 2000) My introduction to Enryuu's work was their earlier Alex no Mousou  (アレックスの妄想), a rather strange JRPG that combined a silly multi-crossover plot with unique and fascinating battle and equipment systems. It was also so hard, I still haven't beaten it. Moshimo no Meikyuu  is both less difficult and less unusual, being a DRPG¹ with more recognizable systems and drawing from the VIPRPG community's collective Moshimo setting rather than a dozen different licensed works, but it's little less interesting. The lukewarm early-game had me unsure I would finish it, but once the game finds its groove, it really shines. Nowhere is this clearer than in its dungeon design. B1F is linear and largely empty and the next few floors aren't much better, but, starting with B5F, most floors have interesting geometry, unique central gimmicks (occasionally descending into Labyrinth...

Arisa no Bouken Ki ( アリサの冒険記),  Soleil 2006, PC Originally released for the 2nd Kouhaku RPG Festival, one of Japanese RPG Maker community VIPRPG's yearly game jams, Arisa no Bouken Ki  is a turn-based JRPG, the first (and to my knowledge only) by its developer, Soleil. You may not have heard his name before, but you've likely heard his work: a prolific composer, he distributes free BGM for use in other games. Unsurprisingly, his game boasts a completely original soundtrack (a rarity in freeware), and a solid one at that. Though "completely original" doesn't mean you won't have heard any of it before—these tracks, too, were made available for others' use. I recognized a couple from One Way Heroics. The eponymous Arisa is an aspiring novelist in search of material who feels somewhat smothered by small-town Nisan Village. Coincidentally, the Kingdom of Nisen is holding a Hero Exam to select a successor to the missing current hero; sensing an opportunity to gr...