An enjoyable JRPG experience regardless of how short it is (my first ending took me 7 hours and 54 minutes to achieve).
You may think of this title as "Black Souls 1.5" in terms of both quality and polish -- that would be where it stands in regards to Toro's two previous JRPG creations (which strongly inspired N.P.C Dreams).
Battles are challenging yet fair -- in fact, they are even more fair than Black Souls II, as some exploitative strategies (such as the infinite usage of items that do not consume any turns, like Rabbit's Pocket Watch) were removed.
The exploration in N.P.C Dreams is uncumbersome due to the protagonist being able to run extremely fast from the very instant you start the game; the absence of random encounters; and the seemingly endless amount of collectable items that they player will find throughout the game's environments (seriously, the urge to collect every single shiny object that appears glimmering on your screen is borderline irresistible as you dash through maps).
The atmosphere/aesthetics deserve praise as well, as both the enemy and character designs, as well as the sound ambiance feel respectively interesting to look at and hear.
In summary, if there is something that N.P.C Dreams showcases is that players don't need a long and complex JRPG nor extensive text exposition in order to create a fun and engaging title.
You may think of this title as "Black Souls 1.5" in terms of both quality and polish -- that would be where it stands in regards to Toro's two previous JRPG creations (which strongly inspired N.P.C Dreams).
Battles are challenging yet fair -- in fact, they are even more fair than Black Souls II, as some exploitative strategies (such as the infinite usage of items that do not consume any turns, like Rabbit's Pocket Watch) were removed.
The exploration in N.P.C Dreams is uncumbersome due to the protagonist being able to run extremely fast from the very instant you start the game; the absence of random encounters; and the seemingly endless amount of collectable items that they player will find throughout the game's environments (seriously, the urge to collect every single shiny object that appears glimmering on your screen is borderline irresistible as you dash through maps).
The atmosphere/aesthetics deserve praise as well, as both the enemy and character designs, as well as the sound ambiance feel respectively interesting to look at and hear.
In summary, if there is something that N.P.C Dreams showcases is that players don't need a long and complex JRPG nor extensive text exposition in order to create a fun and engaging title.