Unique and quirky characters? Check and check.

Many of the features have already been covered in our initial preview (linked to above), so I’ll only be detailing a few that I wasn’t able to cover until actually playing the game. For those unfamiliar with Citizens of Earth, it’s constructed like an old-school Earthbound-style RPG but with modern sensibilities. Players take on the role of Vice President of the World who’s recently returned to his hometown only to find that things are amiss.  Exploration of the town and its surrounding areas lead to strange events and meeting a wide cast of quirky characters, many of whom the player will be trying to recruit to his/her team.

I was very impressed with the combat system. It was one of the question marks I had back when the game was announced. Battle takes place in a turn-based system once the player encounters enemies by running into them. While the team is technically made up of four characters at a time, the VP is only there as a commentator while his three companions do all of the dirty work. Each character has their own power meter with some abilities refilling that meter and others (typically more powerful) using up the power. It produces a nice balance of having to leverage different attacks at different times, and it keeps the player from ever being too overpowered. Getting the jump on enemies by basically hurling the party at them will give an immediate boost to each fighter’s meter, whereas getting ambushed produces an initial penalty.

Speaking of the enemies, the demo included a nice variety which quickly change depending on the locale of the party. Many of the enemy designs are even more bizarre than the human personalities the player meets during exploration. There are also a few bosses in the demo for good measure. While the individual enemy battles were not that difficult, I did find the bosses to be a good challenge in terms of having to balance attacks, buffs, and debuffs amongst the party.

Leveling up can increase nearly a half-dozen stats, and specific stat bonuses come into play when different characters are paired together. Party members can be swapped out at any time between fights allowing the player to experiment more liberally. New individual abilities are introduced every few levels which keeps the battling from getting stale, and it’s a nice touch that the abilities are tied to the character’s job or personality.

The stylish artwork may be the most defining aspect of CoE.

I grew up playing RPGs like Dragon Quest and to a lesser degree the more light-hearted Earthbound series. I’ve also played Zeboyd Games‘ modern takes on the genre like Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World. While those newer titles would be the most apt comparisons to Citizens of Earth in terms of tone, what really separates this game is the visual style. There are no retro sprites to be found here. The artwork is sharp and well-defined, and it’s such a beautiful change from what I’m used to in this type of game. It might have left a more indelible mark than any other part of the experience playing through the demo.

Despite there being a few technical issues due to it being an early build, what I’ve been able to play so far has certainly whet my appetite for the full game to be released. The team is still deciding if and when to release a demo to the public. So if these impressions have you curious, unfortunately you’ll have to wait. Again, no release date has been officially announced so keep checking back here or on the CoE website for updates.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Each character recruited by the player not only has their own unique abilities to lend in battle, but they also hold day jobs. And the more the character is used in battle, the better he or she is going to get at their craft. For example, some of the game’s player classes will run shops during the day and can eventually provide unique items. Some classes can unlock new functionality like zooming in and out to uncover secrets. Other abilities unlocked make things easier on the player by allowing vehicles or buying items remotely. So not only is leveling up a concern, but the potential to open up new abilities is something to factor in when choosing the current entourage.

If you’re like me, when you play an RPG you tend to find a group of characters that you like and stick with them. It’s simply easier to go with what you know instead of being burdened with keeping alternate characters equipped with the best items. Eden Industries is trying to encourage players to swap characters in and out by including not only the day job system, but also by promising that those alternate characters are ready to play “out of the box”. Equipment does not have the same impact, meaning trying out a new player won’t have the same high detriment to your success as in many RPGs.

Combat allows the player to bring up to three additional party members as they fend off the quirky townsfolk and experiments gone wrong. If the battle starts going south, players can restart at any time and swap out their combatants. The aforementioned vehicles can also be used to take out enemies. Best of all? Despite the throwback inspiration, there are no random encounters. Getting a jump on the enemy can give the player an advantage, but it also works the other way around.

Unlike some modern RPGs, the developers are focused on keeping the adventure short, but broad. A lot of the content included in the game will be optional, but likely well worth exploring. Drawing comparisons to the oft-revered Earthbound series, Citizens of Earth uses a modern theme but introduces a wide variety of bizarre characters and locales to comedic effect. It’s impossible at this point to tell just how humorous the game will end up, but the premise and character design alone are good signs.

Eden Industries is going for humor with the game’s settings and characters

Although Eden Industries is going old school with a 2D isometric view, they’re also promising a lot of razzle dazzle in the visual effects department. Included are hand-painted artwork, bloom lighting, real-time shadows, a day/night cycle, and the distortion effect previously seen in Waveform. Having talked with Eden Industries off and on since the release of Waveform, it’s obvious the studio has a focus on tech in their development, and I think it’ll come through in a big way here.

Eden Industries is promising a lot of interesting ideas in Citizens of Earth. While details have been plentiful, the game isn’t far enough along that they’re willing to share more than a handful of pieces of character art and screenshots. Although the studio has a lot to prove now, it’s certainly whet my appetite for a modern spin on the classic RPG. No official release date has been announced yet, but keep checking back at The Indie Mine for the latest news.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.