RPGM - Completed - Sir Stretchalot - The Plight of the Elves [Final] [Apple Tart]

Sir Stretchalot the Plight of the Elves is a roleplay game that is entirely focused on story and dialog made by Apple Tart. Despite being made in RPG Maker and having actual combat, all gaming mechanics are next to non-existent, making this game practically just a kinetic novel or a walking simulator. There is no leveling up system and the combat is meaningless so you better just avoid it totally to not waste your time. The story completely fixated on comedy tones with jokes and references spread on almost every line of dialog. Unlike the majority of games that try this style, the dialog here is not cringe inducing, but it can’t be considered high value comedy either. It’s appeasing at best and just boring at worst. The plot is about one adventure of the protagonist Stretchalot whose purpose is to stretch hotties. As the title predicts, he is tasked to help elves. The story is very concise, not stretching itself beyond its borders or exploring further regions or even more than a couple of characters. It’s a very simple and objective game without branchings and a very linear story. Overall this would be considered just an average boring-ish novel, but considering the genre of the game and the purpose for why people would want to play it, it has a very significant flaw, the spacing between adult content is ridiculously long. At the five minute mark you are teased with content, as if that would be part of the game, but no. The scenes are very mediocre and far between each, a classical mistake in novels. For a novel the developer must correctly balance the distance between dialog, progression, and the adult content. Ignore the content, then your audience will just drift away from the story because that content is the main reason for why people started playing in the first place. When the rare scenes happen you see that Apple Tart has a good hand at drawing, but unfortunately the player will not be able to properly enjoy it. It saddens me that this cute game deserves a low grade, it could have been such a fun rpg with a bunch of scenes and charismatic characters.

Important Note: This is a heavily edited version of my original review. I was quite subjective instead of objective with my first review and that led to a dishonest review, which is not fair to either the dev or the couple of people who might read this review. I'll put my main issue with the game in a separate section.

Story - Welcome to the 2000s - This game is a kinetic novel, not an RPG. There is one section of the game where you must choose path A or path B, but shortly after you do the other path anyways and your choice has no effect on the story. The game is written with a very "American who grew up in the late 2000s" style of humor to it. It stays constant throughout the game, so if you're not into it then it will get very old, very quickly. There is also an excess of swearing, which I feel is a bit off-putting. The dev notes read, "Over 60k words of dialog!" and boy do I not think they're exaggerating.

Gameplay - It's fluff - It's a kinetic novel... for the most part. There is a small RPG combat system but since it has no reward (you don't gain levels, gain moves, or other basic RPG things) it's kind of just fluff content.

Hentai Quality - It's ass - No, literally. This game has a heavy focus on anal so if you're not into that sort of thing then go elsewhere.

Hentai Quantity - There's not enough for the game length - There are eight h-scenes total. Eight. There is literally hours worth of story dialogue, but only eight scenes. Not only that, but only six are sex scenes. The first two are just Mira flashing her asshole at you. That's worth a couples of seconds of static CG, not an entire scene that you spent a long time waiting to see.

My Main Issue - Muh Tomboy - The main girl, Mira, has three scenes. Two are the aforementioned asshole flashes. The third is the last scene in the game, which she shares with her blonde friend, Ella. My issue with this is that Mira is the main girl of the game. She is the primary character of the story. However, Ella receives almost all of the h-content focus. Even in Mira's final scene, the one that you just spent hours trying to unlock, Mira's only actual sex scene, Ella is present. As someone who really wishes there were more short-haired girls (more so of the pixie cut variety) in h-games, it's really disappointing to see. It was quite a lot of effort for not much of a reward.

Some Positives - I was too harsh with my initial review, which led to me being ignorant and not leaving some positive remarks, so I'm going to amend that. First, this game is legit just $5 USD. You're not breaking the bank to pick this game up. I've played a lot of h-games that are significantly worse and cost significantly more money. Second, I do feel the dev was actually passionate about this project. A lot of h-devs, especially Japanese ones, give the feeling of just going through the motions with their games. So, while I feel stuff like the dialogue might be a bit cringe for my taste, I feel the dev was passionate about the project when writing it. Also, to be fair, I did have quite a few chuckles at Sir Stretchalot's banter. Third, this is a Patreon h-dev who actually finished his game. If you know, you know. That's an accomplishment in itself. Fourth, if you're into Ella, then you'll like this game. She has the most detailed scenes and the most scenes overall (to confirm, I'm not counting Mira's asshole flashes as scenes). Lastly, the artwork quality is nice (not just the hentai). The pixel art is fantastic and the characters are appealing.

In conclusion, if you're into Ella, the type of humor presented (you'll know right away if its for you), and are a fan of reading h-games; then this game is for you. For me, it was a miss, but for you it could be different. I do think that if the dev takes a lot of what he put into this game and improves upon it, he can have a real hit in the future.

Pros:
-The art is lovely

Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE
-The characters are dumb and annoying,
-Its literally a kinetic game with extra steps, gameplay inexistent
-You cant skip dialog so and 80% of the game is you waiting for the next scene to finish (you WALK ONE STEP and then you have a long scene of characters being idiotic for "comedy" sake)
-Sexual content isnt even worth the time you spend reading scenes over and over again

The drawn art is nice, the pixelart assets are ok. They didn't really take away too much from the experience.

Main problem is the writing. It had its moments here and there but overall it was an absolute slog to read through. I regret giving this game's writing an honest chance.

The game has strecthed music and interface, strecthed battles (you can just backstab almost everyone), strecthed scenes, strecthed humor. But the game itself is strecthed. I mean there is a lot of to do for small output.
The game contains some sharing, but without scenes and that is a shame.

Pros: Art is good, writing is funny, it's anal focus which is rare.

cons: RPGM is annoying, content is lacking (there's only 8 scenes), and the "animation" is a slideshow.

Has a lot of potential, but lack of content & using a garbage engine lowered my opinion quite a bit.

It's a good game focused on Anal and Bj's. I loved the stretching jokes. Art is nice but the biggest issue is lack of content. We only get 6 real scenes which is a shame. I'd love to see 20+. For sure a recommendation to anus enjoyers.
Art 4/5
Story - 3/5
Gameplay 3.5/5
Fapability 3.5/5
Music 3/5
Originality 5/5

This is a light game that doesn't takes itself seriously with really nice art style.

The strengths of this game are mainly its splash art and maybe some of its writing. It has good moments and the main character has actually a character in him, but I found the overall story and gameplay pretty boring I'm sad to say.

The combat doesn't had much to the game, it is really simple RPGM style combat, but on that note, the devs knows it and lets you play on story mode, which lets you 1-hit every mob which is good and very self aware.

What I found out to be the most disappointing in this game is that the animation tag is just for the 2-frame animations, which really I don't get how it is called animation at all.

I can't really call it RPGM game. It's more VN, because on almost every opportunity the game let you the freedom to move, after moving about 5 grid blocks, they take back the control from you to play more dialogue. This is really annoying and frustrating for a player.

I had a great time with it, good art and animation, often funny writing, absolutely no dubious consent which isn't always a plus but I appreciate it here. Gallery unlocker is extremely appreciated, most of the scenes are anal which I'm a fan of but if it's not what you're in to then this whole thing probably isn't going to do it for you.

5/5

Animated, nice artstyle (well drawn and very likeable characters). The game is pretty much straight to the point, which is good IMO.

I had trouble running the game on my potato PC, but it was still playable and quite refreshing.

Pros:
Art.

Cons:
That was a lot to endure just to fuck Mira. Yeah, we get the queen but she was a side note, probably the worse part of this game is having anal forced on you. Hey look, some people like, some don't. I would've like to have had options. Options with the queen, the blonde and definitely Mira. It was a lackluster end also. The guy simped for the elves and ended up with just panties? No loot? Wealth? He's sleeping outside for Pete's sake.

3.5/10

The artwork is really good... ... ...

That's about all the positive things I have to say. Sir Stretchalot is more of a Visual Novel than a game. MGQ had more gameplay and story depth, and I don't think that game's as good as most people would like to believe. The "game play" in this is equivalent to the typical JRPG trash where mashing A/X for 30-40 minutes counts as passable game design.

The pacing of the story (which really isn't that bad, mind you) needs work. It's way too slow, and you get almost no payout for about 2 hours. The MC is super cringe, but he's written well enough that you don't mind it, and is the only thing carrying the story through the first 2 grueling hours of "press A for the next block of text".

Overall, this game is cute, but lackluster. Like a pre-alpha demo that needs a lot of polish to meet standards. If the quirks are ironed out, I can possibly see this as being a great experience. For now, though, I'd steer clear, unless you have a lot of time to waste.

It was alright, had some decent pacing for what it was, and the characters were consistent through out with their personalities. Just wish there was more H-content in the game, since it is quite minimal, and pretty much every single scene was the same anal POV and nothing else. I mean even the queen with the huge tits didn't have a cow girl scene, wtf?

Not a bad little game. The artwork is passable (not as great as the screenshots led me to believe but not bad) and the humor is what I like. It's not too long, maybe 3 hours or so. The combat is nothing special, there is no power progression so every fight has to be scaled keeping in mind you have very limited abilities and no ways to get stronger. There are maybe 4-5 mandatory fights and everything else can be skipped or bypassed via a 1-shot mechanic if you run into the enemy from behind, something that is very easy to do.

The pacing in this game is bad. Everything is so slow. You will know 90% of what people are going to say before they say it but you'll still have to wait for a clunky back and forth that just takes too long. The camera loves to slowly pan over to a spot you can already see on the screen then just hang there for a few seconds. There are too many times where I thought I would have control over my character so I could get moving but nope, he'd like to walk a few more squares then offer another line or two of dialogue. It was a slog the second half and I ended up just skipping over everything with the "Q" button, something I rarely do. It's not a bad game but certainly disappointed as it looked great going in.

It's a well-made game, and it's a shame that despite tremendous effort and quality, it's not fun to play. It feels slow. Dialogues, while well-written, are long and you get bored from stretching jokes.. guess they're s a bit s t r e t c h e d oh my god it's spreading
Also, it could be a good VN, because gameplay between dialogues is mostly meningless

Pro: Funny game with a lot of anal content. Almost perfect artwork and a hundred percent fapmaterial.
Con: Slow I think RPGM is not the right format for this game and the game feels too linear.

Overall: 8/10 you should try it (especially if you like buttstuff)

Total waste of time.

Story:

The "choices" and "paths" really didn't matter much. You fought the people who kidnapped you only to save them, have them "influence" the whore queen and it all ends in smiles and rainbows. The character Mira is the only redeeming quality. She had common sense unlike everyone else including the main character who is pretty much a walking imbecile. He ends up sleeping outside while the queens "slave" will probably sleep in your bed.
Animations:
.....

Art:
Okay.

Conclusion:
The stretcher dying by the giant spider would've been more appealing.

A well-made and very fun game. The premise is silly, and the writing leans into it in the best way. If you're looking for gameplay or deep mechanics, skip this one - it's mostly a lot of dialogue interspersed with occasional fights or decisions. There's also no useless backtracking, bullshit sidequests, or unnecessary fetch-quests: You get the main story until it's over.

This game stands firmly on its writing. I honestly laughed out loud several times, which is not something I can say for most media, much less a micro-RPG. It's what kept me going until the end, even as I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen.

Be warned: It's not a very good porn-delivery device - there are only a handful of scenes, they're pretty similar, and there's a lot of stuff between them. If you're just looking for something to fap to, give this one a pass or you'll be pretty frustrated

All-in-all, you'll be glad for the 2-3 hours you spend on this game.

[V1.3]

Sir Stretchalot is a nice little game. The premise is "basic", but well executed, and the MC is likeable.
This game seems to use a comic register, and would benefit from exploiting it more: by adding more jokes to the scenario.

PROS:

+Neat artworks (the heroines are hot & sexy).
+Animated game.
+The story is not bad.

CONS:

-Needs optimization (the game crashed 3x on my end).
-Lacks some freedom of movement for a RPGM.

Overall, Sir Stretchalot is a quick and pleasant experience, when we get past the fact that it's some sort of visual novel, but made with RPGM.

A fun little game. Not as awful as some portray it to be, not as great to rate it 5 stars.
Nontheless, there are just a few points I'd like to make. You've probably played a lot of these by now and you can see for yourself if RPGM stuff is bearable for you or not. Yes it has some unskippable stuff and generic combat which you're used to so much; but the good parts are still there: amazing art, not too complicated yet cool characters who don't go outside of own boundaries for plot reasons.
All in all, even though this isn't the game I'm gonna run and recommend to just everyone, I've decided to finish it despite the flaws that I and other reviewers has mentioned. One simple reason for that is that the game really is so chill and so subjectively likeable I can't really help it. There are plenty of games with same structure but there aren't many in which the creator has put their heart into. And I could tell, this is the one.

Art: 5/5
Plot: 3/5
Gameplay: despite how it may look like, it's a visual novel; giving a gameplay rating to which would be an oxymoron
Characters: 5/5

Overall: 4/5