Rhyme and the Hallowed Runes is a short game created in RPG Maker VX Ace by Tatters The Bat as a hobby project to celebrate Halloween. Players take control of Rhyme, a magical cat-like ghost, and venture out into the thematic Hallow's Valley to discover why the sacred Hallowed Runes - powerful artifacts that kept demons out of the valley - have been displaced. Along the way, they encounter various Halloween-themed enemies while traveling through four visually-distinct areas.
The game was released to Gamejolt for free on October 26th, 2021. It's page can be found Here
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'Rhyme and the Hallowed Runes' contains examples of:
- Ability Required to Proceed: In order to railroad the player towards recruiting the third party member, impassable vines block the way to progress in the story, which can only be burned through by said party member.
- Blob Monster: Several enemies in the Swamp of Souls' Power Plant are large sentient wads of bubblegum.
- Carrying the Weakness: A lot of status-inflicting enemies have a chance of dropping an item that cures said status.
- Character Level: As is traditional in RPG games including RPG Maker titles such as this.
- Damage Over Time: The Poison and Burn status effects, naturally.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Many of Rhyme's magic arsenal consists of Dark-typed spells.
- Dual Boss: The bonus rematch of the Pump-Action Kinbot boss.
- Easing into the Adventure: The game opens with Rhyme delivering some flowers back to Ricky for his Halloween decorations meant for the Halloween festival.
- Equipment Upgrade: You can buy better weapons for each party member at each new shop you come across. Restoring the last rune also grants one party member the most powerful weapon of their class.
- Fight Woosh: As is the norm for RPG Maker games, there is one before entering combat.
- Final Boss: The Demon King possessing the Haunted Mansion serves as the final encounter of the game.
- Healer Signs On Early: Ricky is your second party member and has multiple healing spells.
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: A few are here and there, mostly in secret areas.
- Maximum HP Reduction: The Psycho Lantern for Punky halves his Max HP in exchange for more attack power.
- Noodle Incident: Examining the piano in Ricky's mansion twice reveals that Rhyme once summoned a demon while playing it and using catnip. This is never elaborated on, even after Ricky joins the party.
- NPC Roadblock: Costumed demons block progress in the town of Tricksburg until you give them the Sour Candy they want. Humorously, they do so by hitting you with a (non-damaging) magic attack.
- Optional Boss:
- Early on, you can find Seasonless Seymour, a ghost that resembles a snowman and uses season-themed attacks. Fighting him, or wrestling him as he puts it, is entirely optional, and not recommended until you have more than two party members.
- Towards the end of the game, you can find a password door — putting in different descriptive passwords unlocks harder rematches of most of the game's story bosses, one of which includes a self-insert of the creator.
- You have the option of smashing the friendly ape Squatch's favorite vase when he expressly tells you not to. This triggers a quick but tough bonus boss fight against him, also changing the area boss fight to be against his brother, a yeti.
- Party of Representatives: Quite the variety - a ghost-cat, a human, a fire demon, and a puppet.
- Turn-Based Combat: The game is a turn-based RPG.
- We Buy Anything: You can sell any of your weapons, armor, and items at any of the game's shops.
