Love it? Hate it? Want to harpoon it with a spork? Damianzeking’s Laxius Power serial is something of a cult classic in Rm2k, despite (or most probably because of) often differing extremes of opinion and the flame-fests such sentiments inspire. Indeed, since (as I know him) Indinera Falls first debuted his work “Laxius Power: Random Story” on Don Miguel’s Rm2k World forums some couple years ago, LP has found an audience of die-hard zealots and an equally vocal clique of ready critics. And now, with a third installment, LP becomes a trilogy. Oh, snap.

Background For those otherwise not in-the-know, Laxius Power is the opus of French game creator Damianzeking (aka Indinera Falls and DZK hereafter). Completed in 2002, LP – or at least DZK – boasted a complex work of very lengthy game play, filled with multiple intertwining paths and unique characters in a style reminiscent of a dating sim meets fantasy role-player. What players got instead, at least with the first game, was a jumble of mismatched difficulty (alternative modes of play offered different degrees of challenge, but even on “easy” you were bitch-slapped by a random encounter every other step); a bland mix of RTP and rippage with mediocre design connecting the two; and a generally “WtF?” type plot. Of course, DZK’s ingenious talent to market the game to audiences even outside of the Rm2k scene awarded LP a fan following blissfully unaware of current house standards, yet nonetheless enthralled with a homebrew RPG. A sequel soon followed per popular demand, met once more with mixed reviews – and thereafter LP fell completely off my radar. It was much to my surprise to find the game’s Official Website, let alone a third sequel. Yet given its track record, I was somewhat disinclined to download the demo – a whopping 30Mb, double the size of the previous complete games. But hey, I’ve got DSL. :P Suck on THAT, broth’a. Bwahahahaha… Ha. *cough*

Story The thing you have to understand is that Laxius Power follows more in the style of movie trilogies than that of RPGs. Think “Back to the Future,” or even “Star Wars.” Not Wild Arms or Final Fantasy. LP3 will begin with a quick (all text) recap of the previous two games, which more or less follow Random Pendragon, Sarah, and their fellow adventurers as they set off... looking for adventure… and stuff. Better yet, think NEW “Star Wars,” like Episodes 1 and 2 and soon maybe 3. Sans Vader. And sans coherent quality. Truthfully, LP’s story isn’t particularly bad – it just lacks solid delivery, requiring you to invest a great deal of time to reach the juicier parts. An investment that most wouldn’t be willing to make. The game begins innocently enough – Random and friends have been invited to a museum event in capital city Metrolia, the “Greatest City in the World.” Luciana and Random are all ready at the hotel, awaiting the arrival of Sarah (whom I affectionately call “that green haired elf with big tits,” as will be explained later on). They’re summoned to the king’s chamber by new party member Sylvenia, where they expel a demon possession and are then dispatched to infiltrate a dangerous cult, essentially in a “fetch quest” style. Luciana is also suffering from dreamlike premonitions of an evil demon type. That tends to happen when evil cults are afoot. Admittedly the concept is interesting, albeit clichéd. Mostly the game suffers from an expansive necessity of search-and-find, an often tedious style that one can easily get lost in. The dialogue in-game tends to be awkward, yet that’s understandable (English is, after all, DZK’s second language). It does lend itself to some funny moments, though. (“We had a little retard.”) Art Aesthetically LP is a sharp departure from its earlier style, mostly a blend of chispets per Japanese authorship (Mack ‘n’ Blue, if I’m not mistaken) with some miscellaneous (statues and the like) ripped graphics. Indeed, old school cartoony RTP is nowhere to be found. Map design – especially interiors – is quite refined as well, and the game is pretty good stuff. Nothing that quite leaps out and grabs you, no – but more importantly nothing that irks the eye. The only major detractors are that character animation is otherwise pretty static (aside from Sarah humping Random when they are at last reunited after an eight month abstinence), and there’s a tendency to overuse the “Dark Magic” effects of the RTP at just random intervals. Likewise, blatant nipple-age is amiss, a more than welcome subtraction. (The original LP was notorious for its static character portraits featuring female cast members – Sarah especially – that were apparently very, very cold.) Laxius Power also features a mostly original score, which is actually pretty nice. There are some occasions when the music doesn’t quite fit the mood one would expect, but otherwise it’s classy stuff.

System LP3 doesn’t particularly strike me as a technically advanced piece of work, mostly a default program through and through. Guilds – introduced in the previous game’s story – play an important part in-game, requiring you seek out guild-member assistance in a variety of tasks and the like. Random himself is a member of the Fighter’s Guild. Otherwise the game is a very solid piece of work, sans any noticeable or interfering bugs, at least.

Conclusions Laxius Power 3 is an okay game. There, I said it. :P Admittedly, I went into this game with rather low expectations, given the track record of mixed opinions on previous installments. Yet LP3 shows a good deal of maturation in terms of presentation, as opposed to LP’s previous mantra of quantity over quality. However, it often feels uncertain of itself, presenting things in much a cartoon-style yet attempting to tackle serious themes or sexual scenarios – attempts that often fall flat. Likewise, I got lost very easily. Would have to “go fetch,” and I’d search and search and would never find what it was that I was looking for. That was annoying. “The Final Terror” would probably easily blend in with most RPG Maker 2000 games from the last year or so if it weren’t for the fact that it is the final part of a trilogy. Graphically the game is decent, but nothing eye catching. Story-wise it’s cliché and reasonably predictable, but interesting at least. Assuming LP3 follows the style of its predecessors, however, the game’s true charm will undoubtedly be found in the sheer size of its content, side quests et al – which, if this passable quality is maintained, could really define the success of LP3.