Before anything, I want to say that I hate RPGM and all these top-down sprite games like it where you walk and walk aimlessly bumping into stuff hoping that something happens.
The last RPGM game I played has been the original "Legend of Queen Opala" when it was new. Then the fact that Young Griff got me to try his game at all is already an achievement on its own.
The fact that at least he designed his sprites in a setting-appropriate style and with correct proportions instead of chibis surely helped.
While the description of the setting didn't attract me too much, I'd say that it's well-built and with a small magic premise (the control devices that ensure nobody breaks the laws) an untenable political system like the Golden Dawn (eh, eh, reference caught) suddenly becomes believable.
I like the originality of the fantasy setting:it feels unique and not the usual recycled ersatz of this or that historical culture. The architecture is recycled, but, well, the assets are what they are and there's not much to do about it.
the story is captivating if a bit obvious and the player has a lot of freedom about how to play his character. Being a decent guy in a completely rotten evil empire is something that I personally like a lot and had very few chances to play, whether in front of a screen or around a table with friends.
This ability to role play is what I like to see in games, so top score for getting the "RPG" part of "RPG" well! Unfortunately, it's a great burden for the developer, as there are so many branching possibilities.
I see that Young Griff gave evidently a lot of thought to the game mechanics and the various menu options. I don't truly care a lot about these things, but the hard work behind the curtain should be praised.
As a bad note: many of the renders are lacklustre or just plain wrong.
Take the Bami servant: her sprites look severely deformed. Maybe they were shot putting the camera too high, or maybe there's been a mistake with the resolution, I don't know.
In general, the women's skin is dull and their features don't stand up. The lack of makeup (and a setting where high-class women do not use makeup is pure fantasy!) doesn't help, but it's not the only issue: the lighting is just plain unflattering.
Another set of sprites that disturbed me is the fat slave trader: when he gives his hammy speech the camerawork becomes wonky and starts spinning around: it looked very silly and made my eyes bleed.
After the initial scene with the father, the number of full renders in the game dropped significatively. I perfectly understand that time is a limited resource, as having been there myself, but it still left me with a bit of a bad aftertaste. Maybe it's because I'm not used to RPGM games.
Anyway, keep up the good work! I'm curious to see how the various love interests will catch up with the abducted MC and what path he'll follow to get back his position.