Rise of the Third Power is the second game from Stegosoft. While not a sequel to thier first game, Ara Fell, it fits in this analogy:
Final Fantasy 5 : Final Fantasy 4 :: Rise of the Third Power : Ara Fell
If you played Ara Fell, you will immediately recognize the interface and some of the features. However, Rise of the Third Power improves on every aspect of its predecessor; details broken down below.
Generally, "Rise" is an exemplar 16bit SNES RPG style game. 2D pixel art, turn based combat, a large cast of characters, engrossing music, and a save the world mission make this an indie gem.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/698700/Rise_of_the_Third_Power/
Battle
The turn-based combat really shines in "Rise". Battles are meaningful and because they are not random, but encountered on the map, you can adjust to the volume of battles that suits you.
The turns are round based, with skills and stats that affect turn order (and even number of turns). Characters can choose to wait until the end of the round as well, which adds a nice depth to strategy around character combos and effects.
The greatest strength of "Rise"' combat system is the interaction between character skills and the limitations that hold them in check. Characters interact primarily in two ways: powerful Chrono Trigger-esque two person combos and status effects that power up other characters' skills. The former is fairly traditional and built off team points. The latter is held in check by turn order, energy cost and cooldowns.
This is one of the best battle systems I've played in a long time with only three standout faults.
- Characters need better tuning around balance. The difference between the strong and weak characters is too great. You end up using the same three or four in most battles. The one exception is that I had a default AoE team for very large groups. There is an exhaustion mechanic; where characters become tired when you don't sub them out; that tries to address this, but fails.
- While there is no Attack action, some characters have an Attack disguised as a skill that requires no energy. This is fine, especially since there is usually a side effect, like building energy. However, some characters lack this type of skill. Their turns at low energy feel wasted. One in particular must take a full turn to regain energy, and while I believe she is supposed to make up for that with powerful attacks, the attacks aren't powerful enough to compensate.
- This is less about the battle system and just a general comment on large cast RPGs. I love when the party is split and two or three groups must be made to conquer a dungeon. "Rise", unfortunately doesn't take advantage of this.
Story
If the battle system is "Rise"'s strongest feature, the story is second. There is a grand story that is on the level of saving the world, but in a political, World War way. The protagonists are not fighting demons or evil monsters looking to rebirth the world, free from the savages of human waste etc, etc. This story is more reasonable and reigned in, humans vs humans, monarch vs monarch. This allows for more emotion, choice, and character development and I am all for it. It's also told well, with humorous and meaningful dialogue; rarely overdone.
"rarely overdone" Try ordering your next steak that way.
Each character has its own unique personality, strengths and flaws. Most characters are working through some baggage, together with help from the others. It plays out through the entire game in small pieces, so you aren't overwhelmed with emotional drudgery. One other very nice touch: the brooding, aloof character trope is used for comic relief, instead of badassery.
Art
The art is done well for the 16 bit SNES era, but has the feel of a well crafted RPG Maker game. It doesn't standout or bring anything new to the genre. The characters and enemies in battle are the standout art pieces.
My favorite part is the world map. It's very much an homage to Chrono Trigger's world map and it works.
Regarding animation, it seems most of the time was dedicated to battle animations and it shows. They are fun and flashy, with nice touches like rats and cats amongst the particle effects.
A huge blemish, however, is the font. At the resolution this game runs in, the font is a poor choice. Dialogue is difficult to read to the point I was skimming the ends of sentences. I'm pretty sure I got the story right, but who knows?
I have a couple of smaller nitpicks to mention.
- Some animations feel broken. Of note is Aden's Detonate. It changes color oddly and lasts too long to the point I wondered if my game had frozen.
- Always opening chests from the front for the sake of animation. I would rather there be no animation than watch my character auto move around a chest to see the same animation I've seen one hundred other times.
Sound
I'll start with the sound effects. I actually believe that getting these right means a player doesn't really notice them. There's very few times you remember a sound effect because it sounds so cool. A door opening should sound like a door opening. On the other hand, when effects sound off, you remember them. "Rise" does well in this regard. None of the effects stand out for me.
The music, however, amazing. Considering the music is licensed, I'm very impressed. Different styles really set the tone for different scenes. I found myself searching for Rise of the Third Power on Spotify and I was disappointed to only find a podcast.
Progression
Ok, I could write this section as lengthy as the Battle section above. There's a lot to talk about. I would classify "Rise"'s progression as borderline experimental but on the safe side.
Here's why: 1. Each character has two weapons the whole game. A basic weapon, and one that comes with a benefit and a drawback. Almost like choosing between a Power or DoT build in an MMO. 2. Most other equipment is crafted but... it is equipped cumulatively. You never unequip crafted equipment, it just builds on each other. 3. One piece of "equipment", Relics, is shared across all characters and is never unequipped. These are essentially permanent boosts to the entire team. 4. Experience is earned by the team. If a character finishes a fight dead, or you never use them, they still progress the same as every other character. Along this vein, talent points are given to the whole team. You end up having to make (not that hard) choices about which characters to strengthen. 5. Talent tree. This isn't new by any means, it's just not something I see often post FFX Sphere Grid. (There are three kinds of people: love sphere grid, hate sphere grid, what's sphere grid?)
Ultimately, it works and the game even has that pre-final dungeon lull where you can travel the world looking for better equipment and side quests.
Grind
I won't say much here except that "Rise" offers multiple modes of difficulty, requiring different levels of grinding. Huge plus in my book.
Conclusion
Rise of the Third Power is a solid entry to the genre. It doesn't set out to break new ground on never-before-seen mechanics or features. And it doesn't need to. It has flaws, but it solidly iterates on what its RPG ancestors have done. The game is a fun ride all the way through.
This one goes in the SHOULD PLAY category.