Aveyond: The Lost Orb

Aveyond: The Lost Orb

A mysterious girl with ties to Mel's past reveals a shocking secret.

Mel's wedding day isn't going according to plan. Her worst enemy has stolen her man, and a mysterious ghost has appeared to inform Mel that her evil ancestor, Mordred Darkthrop, has passed down his most precious possession to her: a magical orb with the power of death.

Wanting nothing to do with her wicked ancestor, Mel must now seek out the orb and destroy it, before someone else with the power to use it discovers its location.

Begin your amazing adventure in Aveyond: The Lost Orb, or continue the journey you started in Aveyond: Lord of Twilight and Aveyond: Gates of Night.

The Lost Orb is part 3 of the Orbs of Magic series.

RPGFan Review:
Chapter 3: The Lost Orb: A wedding should be a joyous occassion, right? Not for the poor girl who has been completely sucker punched by Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong for her, making what should be a joyous day into a terrible one. Of course, this whole thing could be a blessing in disguise and/or an intention of fate. Of course, sometimes fate's best intentions feel like its cruelest. The machinations of fate may not always make sense at first, but eventually they reach the intended destination. This is a theme that seems to recur throughout Aveyond 3 and fate's intended destination is finally reached in Aveyond 3, and not always in the manner you might expect.
Since this is an episodic series, everything carries over from one installment to the next. However, should you decide to start an installment without a carryover save, early events will play out slightly differently. Although it is possible to play each installment as a standalone game, I would not recommend that at all. I would also highly recommend that players go through the first Aveyond game to get the full backstory between the fan-favorite vampiress and knight who are featured so prominently in this game.

Gameplay
Each installment of Aveyond 3 can take anywhere from 6-12 hours to complete depending on the difficulty level chosen and how far off the beaten path players are willing to explore. Since this is an Aveyond game, plot direction can sometimes be more vague than your average JRPG, thus players are not only encouraged, but often required to venture off the beaten path, go exploring, and hunt for objectives. This can be hit or miss for many gamers. Those who love exploration will be right at home, but those who play for the story and prefer linear pathways with clear objectives may find progression in the game a bit uneven. Field and dungeon areas are not as expansive and mazelike as Aldorlea's fields and dungeons, but they offer a decent challenge.
Enemy encounters can be seen beforehand and depending on the difficulty level chosen, some may not respawn after being killed. Battles are turn based and though, in true Aveyond fashion, there is no escape option in the menu, there are a limited number of Green Warp Eggs hidden throughout the game that allow escape from battle. They're rare so use them wisely.
Outside of battle and exploration, there are some cool puzzle solving sequences. The puzzles are not as intricate or advanced as those in Blossomsoft's or John Wizard's games, but they get the job done. As with prior Aveyond games, players can invest in real estate. Early on, Mel rents a small apartment, but later on she is able to upgrade to a mansion. One cool incentive to buying a mansion is filling it with tons of gowns purchased from the various gown shops in the world and playing dress-up with one of the characters. Another aspect I like about this is talking to all the other party members while in the house. Ah, if only buying a house in the real world were so easy.
Graphics
Aveyond 3 was created primarily using the RPG Maker (XP) software so it resembles a 16-bit Final Fantasy game with higher resolution and brighter colors. It's amazing that Asguaard and Aveyond 3 both use the same game engine, yet both look and feel distinct. Although many stock environmental textures and sprites are used, there is custom work peppered throughout the game, namely in the playable character sprites, the character portrait art, and many building fronts. I found Mel's design very appealing and the vampiress she meets early on looks dead sexy. This only serves to make her even more of a fan favorite character. With so many newer RPGM games sporting larger custom art for monsters in battles, the small stock art for many enemies felt a little dated.
Overall
From Ahriman's Prophecy to the present, the evolution in Amaranth Games' storytelling, difficulty balancing, and overall design is noticeable in Aveyond 3. Aveyond was one of the first RPG Maker games to go commercial and has grown into a strong series, with Aveyond 3 being its strongest installment. It featured the kind of plucky female protagonist I most enjoy playing as, some of Aaron Walz's best music, an optional add-on with good voice acting, solid gameplay, and a traditional feel. There is even an intuitive GUI specifically tailored for mouse playing (which John Wizard later adopted for their Lilly and Sasha game). It can be argued that there are better commercial RPG Maker titles out there, but Aveyond's charm cannot be denied.