[Released] PS: Fated Epistle - Episode 2

[isacc0909]

I found the level curve a little extreme by the time i was fighting the purple shirt guyst hey jump from 32 to 40's and I like only at highest have a lvl 36.

 

[Ray2064]

I found the level curve a little extreme by the time i was fighting the purple shirt guyst hey jump from 32 to 40's and I like only at highest have a lvl 36.

Hey uuuh , even though it wasn't clear nor mentionned at all , the Routes 1 and 2 , and Fall Pass were full of rare candys . Sadly it's not really mentionned anywhere except in the guide. But the swamp should've been a good grinding spot , wasn't it ?

 

[AenaonDusky]

I found the level curve a little extreme by the time i was fighting the purple shirt guyst hey jump from 32 to 40's and I like only at highest have a lvl 36.

Yes we had lowered the levels a few updates ago, here's a list of things you could have done before that part of the game (although not really mentioned in some cases), and what you can do now that you're a bit underleveled:

Spoiler:

1. There's a lot of rare candies spread all over Fall's Pass, Route 1, and Route 2, I'd say around 50 (you get 2 each time you interact with a spot)
2. Fighting all the trainers in SW before heading off to the Gym, as well as the Audino guy gives you a head start
3. Grinding a bit in the swamp can help (since it's hinted in Norella that there will be consequences when you get back)

and once you've returned:

4. Grinding a bit in the University which now has higher level mons will help a lot (you can unlock a healer in the big building east of the University)
5. Alterantively, spawn-heal in the museum until you can clear it
6. you get access to the PC and some mons you might have overlooked after you clear the Branch

if the level jump is still too high for you, provided you couldn't do, and you are unable to do, any of the above, hit me up with your savefile so I can boost you a bit.
In general the game only hints at certain things and expects you to be prepared the 2nd time around.

 

[AenaonDusky]

Version X1.1 is up, a bug that prevented you from talking to a woman during a late-game event has been fixed (credit: Yrgulian).
Some minor changes, including a new evolution theme (credit CocoaButterKisses).

As always, don't forget to check out the prequel (completed) which is a much more conventional game! Link in signature!

 

[isacc0909]

Yes we had lowered the levels a few updates ago, here's a list of things you could have done before that part of the game (although not really mentioned in some cases), and what you can do now that you're a bit underleveled:

Spoiler:

1. There's a lot of rare candies spread all over Fall's Pass, Route 1, and Route 2, I'd say around 50 (you get 2 each time you interact with a spot)
2. Fighting all the trainers in SW before heading off to the Gym, as well as the Audino guy gives you a head start
3. Grinding a bit in the swamp can help (since it's hinted in Norella that there will be consequences when you get back)

and once you've returned:

4. Grinding a bit in the University which now has higher level mons will help a lot (you can unlock a healer in the big building east of the University)
5. Alterantively, spawn-heal in the museum until you can clear it
6. you get access to the PC and some mons you might have overlooked after you clear the Branch

if the level jump is still too high for you, provided you couldn't do, and you are unable to do, any of the above, hit me up with your savefile so I can boost you a bit.
In general the game only hints at certain things and expects you to be prepared the 2nd time around.

I actually was still able to get by the level jump mostly caught me off guard is all likely should have pointed out in my post oops but yea I discovered the university's new levels by accidentally entering it when I wasn't pay attention and meeting a lvl 36 Raticate. and I'm just curious what other pokemon I could have found? I for reference currently have delibird, talonflame, weezing, galvantula, roselia and I caught and evolved a poochyena currently it's a mightyena cause figured a dark type would be helpful.

 

[AenaonDusky]

I actually was still able to get by the level jump mostly caught me off guard is all likely should have pointed out in my post oops but yea I discovered the university's new levels by accidentally entering it when I wasn't pay attention and meeting a lvl 36 Raticate. and I'm just curious what other pokemon I could have found? I for reference currently have delibird, talonflame, weezing, galvantula, roselia and I caught and evolved a poochyena currently it's a mightyena cause figured a dark type would be helpful.

Well...

Spoiler:

you caught a mon with that ball, huh? So you forgot your "promise"...and got locked out of a certain lore-heavy event!

Also, don't forget to update your game!

 

[isacc0909]

Well...

Spoiler:

you caught a mon with that ball, huh? So you forgot your "promise"...and got locked out of a certain lore-heavy event!

Also, don't forget to update your game!

Hmm Guess I might make another save I had a feeling it was for that but wasn't 100% sure.

 

[Ray2064]

I actually was still able to get by the level jump mostly caught me off guard is all likely should have pointed out in my post oops but yea I discovered the university's new levels by accidentally entering it when I wasn't pay attention and meeting a lvl 36 Raticate. and I'm just curious what other pokemon I could have found? I for reference currently have delibird, talonflame, weezing, galvantula, roselia and I caught and evolved a poochyena currently it's a mightyena cause figured a dark type would be helpful.

You could've had Drapion or Toxicroak , Houndoom or even Honchkrow ☹️

 

[Sirius Black]

You could've had Drapion or Toxicroak , Houndoom or even Honchkrow ☹️

Except you really want to do your due diligence in remembering that there is a reason that catching devices are very limited for a reason and that they shouldn't be wasted frivously.

 

[Ray2064]

Except you really want to do your due diligence in remembering that there is a reason that catching devices are very limited for a reason and that they shouldn't be wasted frivously.

Spoiler:

We do a little trolling

And after all , Pokeballs and mons are rare in Artemisia , why would you deprive yourself of their powers ? There would be absolutely no reasons to not do it , riiiiiiiiight ?

 

[Sirius Black]

Spoiler:

We do a little trolling

And after all , Pokeballs and mons are rare in Artemisia , why would you deprive yourself of their powers ? There would be absolutely no reasons to not do it , riiiiiiiiight ?

riiiiiight? :toireto:

 

[AenaonDusky]

Hmm Guess I might make another save I had a feeling it was for that but wasn't 100% sure.

Assuming you have enough time to invest, making a new savefile right now would be prudent only if you followed the walkthrough, since it can guide you through the 18 sidequests, some of the secrets, and collectables.

EDIT: updated side-episode's link, version is now 1.3 (fixed a bug that got you stuck if you tried to enter a building in SW) - credit: Toireto man above

 

[Sirius Black]

my review of Postscriptum: Fated Epistle without spoilers​

I'd like to start by saying, this review is of my own opinion and in no way should anyone take anything I say to be reflective of the creators of this game, I have been in their discord community for several days while playing PS:FE and PS:MS (The side-story which unveils more of the current lore of the game and some more of the characters mentioned in PS:FE either overtly or directly.)

When I first started playing PS:FE I was not active in their discord, and I played it like I would ANY other Pokémon fangame - I talked to NPCs, and got a feel for the world around me. I immersed myself in the surface level. This is a mistake. PS:FE is much more than this, as I soon came to find out. You can very easily play this game and miss a lot of side-content that is hidden just well enough to really cause you (the player) to have to think in order to find it. Which I personally find to be excellent.

With that said, there are serious moments in the game that get pretty close to touching on a lot of real-life issues, including morality, philosophy and religion. This is part of the games charm, but it can be offsetting to many people. Fair warning.

Those serious moments are also offset by very unserious moments, wherein the MC (Main Character) may do or say something that may cause you (The Player) to snort in laughter or roll your eyes in exasperation. Totally depends on your humor. I found them to be mildly hilarious if not a tad overdone at times.

I was able to invest roughly 30-40 hours in a true playthrough of PS:FE, which was doing everything I could to go outside of the box and discover everything I could. I truly did enjoy that 30-40 hours of gameplay, which involved a LOT of usage of their discord and Google when I was stuck. I truly think it was worth my time.

This game has a really interesting and in-depth lore, the likes of which I feel I have very rarely seen in recent years. It definitely isn't meant for the younger audience however, and the game itself does attempt to be just confusing enough to offset the younger audience which is a good (and bad) thing.

There are cons as well though, due to the need to try and dissuade the younger audience from playing the game, the intro of the game is quite... rough to get through. It's confusing. There are better ways to go about doing this, however in order to do so effectively and remain in lore with the series is another topic of debate altogether.

If I had to rate PS:FE and PS:MA (I haven't gotten around to TFJ - Episode 0 if you will) i'd give it a solid 8/10 for Lore, Gameplay and Creativity.

As stated before, this is my own opinion and I will stand by it, I'll definitely be playing any and all future releases. I do truly like the game thus far, a lot.

 

[Shagust]

Just finished the game today. Gotta admit, I got stuck in the game many times and I kinda need to ask the creator on discord to tell me the way XD

And yes, that is basically the con of the game, it is not very player-friendly especially when you are at the beginning of the game. The city is humongous and there are really too many NPCs that are technically irrelevant to game progress. You get stuck all the time without looking up the walkthrough.

For the pros, oh man, I like this game a lot. There are some points that are noteworthy, although some of you may have pointed out already:
1. The realism in the game. Unlike many other pokemon games where you have the freedom and luxury to select your team and buy your items, in this game it is not the case. You need to earn them (esp. the mons), and even so you don't get OP mons and basically no good items at all. It is kinda like reality right, where you need to work hard to make your ends meet. In addition, how often do you see a game featuring only one big city with tons of characters in it? Unlike other games where cities only have a few houses, this one is definitely original and realistic.

2. The story itself has meanings to it. It is trying to show the process of learning and growing up of the protagonist. As the plot says multiple times, there is no hero in the reality, and individual power does not matter. We need to take this hard fact and accept that we are not the super hero as in most pokemon games. Apart from being a game, it does explore on deeper thinking and may even help you reflect more on your doings.

3. The boss battles are quite challenging. Just think of it this way. You own ordinary pokemons and very limited items whereas the bosses have specific teams to target yours. Not to mention the great items they have like leftovers and life orb. All you got is a single focus sash (and trust me it is extremely useful). Without overleveling, you really need to come up with a plan and hope for the best.

All in all, this game is unlike any other fan games I have played, and I have played quite a number of them. Apart from not having convenient healing spots and more hints into where to progress, this game is a brand new experience and is definitely worthy of a shot. Just remember to tolerate the first parts of the game and don't rage quit XD

 

[Thuxo]

I found the beginning of a let's play of PS_TFJ on Hero Voltsy's YouTube channel and I was curious about the game because of the nostalgic music and how it struck the right idealistic emotional chords of going on a nice adventure with friends for the older generation as a precursor to the main games. So I tried it ... and (major spoiler:)

Spoiler:

f u for making it Pokemon 1984, lol, but also

I really enjoyed the game, and after I finished it, I was looking to see if there were any other projects by the creator or anything else like it. It was at that point that I realized it was actually the prequel to this project. So I gave this a shot because of how promising TFJ was ... and basically played it non-stop for like a day and a half ... with some sleep of course ... and have now finished episode 3. I've played or seen let's plays of quite a few Pokemon fan games. And this is probably tied for first in terms of most promising projects I have seen. My other favorite is Pokemon Empire. Both of these games are somewhat similar, but also very different.

I play video games for intricate worldbuilding and interesting themes. My favorite video game series is the legend of heroes trails sub-series. So if you're familiar with that series, then you know right away that I enjoy high quality, immersive, rich, deep, detailed worldbuilding. This game is very promising and was of higher polished quality than pretty much any other Pokemon fan game I've played so far. The game feels like what if a philosopher/scientist/author someone with an immersive, impressive understanding of different aspects of the human condition woke up one day and decided to yolo create a Pokemon fan game for the heck of it--for the sake of pure entertainment while enjoying the creative side of making the product at the same time. Randomly putting together a ton of ideas without necessarily needing it to mean something in particular, but with so many interesting things in one place, interesting meaning is bound to spring up. Something like that. Though I'm still suspicious that there is more authorial intent than the original creators let on...

I really enjoy the intent to make this experience painful for the player. I don't say that in a masochistic way. I mean it in a sense that appreciates how this contributes to the message. Everything feels earned, even when nothing tangible is gained other than a step towards a habit. This game really is unusual in the best possible way. For anyone that enjoys something text heavy, with worldbuilding and an overwhelming amount of npc's with connected backstories and different elements of lore all being set up one piece at a time, the game is a thrilling treat. More than just having detailed worldbuilding though, it delves into a lot of territory you don't usually see fan games explore (or even professional games), and it does so in a nuanced, funny, deliberate, thorough, provocative way. The main characters (especially the mc) all undergo some amount of character development in varying degrees (and the mc's is great). I think the choice of having an "ugly" protagonist was an interesting one that I also enjoyed. There's a lot of unique elements in this game that I haven't seen in other games that I think are very strong reasons why this game should be checked out. It's a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Well, there's probably 5 more episodes or so left though, I suppose? I think the creators of this game are a bit too humble... like our protagonist... Regardless, I've experienced many Pokemon fan games that I've enjoyed, and for most I just watch let's plays because it simply takes too much time to play and it's faster to fast forward through (less significant) battles and avoid grinding and usually the games don't pull me in enough to have me play all the way through. The only games I've played all the way through in recent memory were Pokemon Empire, Pokemon Reborn, and Pokemon Postscriptum: Fated Epistle which says something about the quality of this game at least as far as my subjective opinion and personal tastes are concerned. I want to spend some more time reflecting about the game, because I really enjoyed some of its themes and lessons.

The music is phenomenal. Definitely high quality. Some of the themes are especially fantastic, like

Spoiler:

the municipal officer theme and some of the themes that play during our protagonist's internal explorations

.

If I were to have any criticism for the game, it would be

Spoiler:

that the romance feels a bit rushed and not really earned. All of a sudden Elea is flirting with the protagonist after they've talked a total of two times--and she treated and saw him like trash just before that point. Same with when Sylvia offers to join you out of the blue when you just happened to find her in the university. It's a bit jarring. It'd be nice to see more interactions somehow crop up between the protagonist and the other parties before these scenes happen. With Sylvia the main issue is that even though you did see her once or twice at the ladder, it didn't really feel like any sort of real connection was being made at the time, other than during that one scene when they were suddenly revealing what happens to the losers and winners of the ladder. At least with Elea, the protagonist had visited the orphanage, but it might have been nice to see him process the incident at some point beforehand which would have made it a smoother transition later on which shows how he's changed his perspective on her. I think it would have more impact and feel more earned in terms of development. I'm fine with the outcome, but think the process could be more thorough, perhaps? As an aside, in episode 3, if Elea had appeared a few more times or other threads tied in more to her actions, I think her role in the outcome of episode 3 would have also hit a bit harder even though I really enjoyed it as it was. (By the way, this is something that I think Pokemon Empire nails pretty strongly, so I recommend checking it out in case you were interested ... in my random opinion, lol.

But this is minor, since this hasn't been a major focus of the game so far.

For now, I'll be excited for future updates of this game. Thank you so much for creating this game. It was a real pleasure!

 

[Ray2064]

Oh , there actually IS a reason for Sylvia
Just not the one that you'll think it would be

 

[gautam8795]

SUBARASHII !!

 

[AenaonDusky]

I found the beginning of a let's play of PS_TFJ on Hero Voltsy's YouTube channel and I was curious about the game because of the nostalgic music and how it struck the right idealistic emotional chords of going on a nice adventure with friends for the older generation as a precursor to the main games. So I tried it ... and (major spoiler:)

Spoiler:

f u for making it Pokemon 1984, lol, but also

I really enjoyed the game, and after I finished it, I was looking to see if there were any other projects by the creator or anything else like it. It was at that point that I realized it was actually the prequel to this project. So I gave this a shot because of how promising TFJ was ... and basically played it non-stop for like a day and a half ... with some sleep of course ... and have now finished episode 3. I've played or seen let's plays of quite a few Pokemon fan games. And this is probably tied for first in terms of most promising projects I have seen. My other favorite is Pokemon Empire. Both of these games are somewhat similar, but also very different.

I play video games for intricate worldbuilding and interesting themes. My favorite video game series is the legend of heroes trails sub-series. So if you're familiar with that series, then you know right away that I enjoy high quality, immersive, rich, deep, detailed worldbuilding. This game is very promising and was of higher polished quality than pretty much any other Pokemon fan game I've played so far. The game feels like what if a philosopher/scientist/author someone with an immersive, impressive understanding of different aspects of the human condition woke up one day and decided to yolo create a Pokemon fan game for the heck of it--for the sake of pure entertainment while enjoying the creative side of making the product at the same time. Randomly putting together a ton of ideas without necessarily needing it to mean something in particular, but with so many interesting things in one place, interesting meaning is bound to spring up. Something like that. Though I'm still suspicious that there is more authorial intent than the original creators let on...

I really enjoy the intent to make this experience painful for the player. I don't say that in a masochistic way. I mean it in a sense that appreciates how this contributes to the message. Everything feels earned, even when nothing tangible is gained other than a step towards a habit. This game really is unusual in the best possible way. For anyone that enjoys something text heavy, with worldbuilding and an overwhelming amount of npc's with connected backstories and different elements of lore all being set up one piece at a time, the game is a thrilling treat. More than just having detailed worldbuilding though, it delves into a lot of territory you don't usually see fan games explore (or even professional games), and it does so in a nuanced, funny, deliberate, thorough, provocative way. The main characters (especially the mc) all undergo some amount of character development in varying degrees (and the mc's is great). I think the choice of having an "ugly" protagonist was an interesting one that I also enjoyed. There's a lot of unique elements in this game that I haven't seen in other games that I think are very strong reasons why this game should be checked out. It's a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Well, there's probably 5 more episodes or so left though, I suppose? I think the creators of this game are a bit too humble... like our protagonist... Regardless, I've experienced many Pokemon fan games that I've enjoyed, and for most I just watch let's plays because it simply takes too much time to play and it's faster to fast forward through (less significant) battles and avoid grinding and usually the games don't pull me in enough to have me play all the way through. The only games I've played all the way through in recent memory were Pokemon Empire, Pokemon Reborn, and Pokemon Postscriptum: Fated Epistle which says something about the quality of this game at least as far as my subjective opinion and personal tastes are concerned. I want to spend some more time reflecting about the game, because I really enjoyed some of its themes and lessons.

The music is phenomenal. Definitely high quality. Some of the themes are especially fantastic, like

Spoiler:

the municipal officer theme and some of the themes that play during our protagonist's internal explorations

.

If I were to have any criticism for the game, it would be

Spoiler:

that the romance feels a bit rushed and not really earned. All of a sudden Elea is flirting with the protagonist after they've talked a total of two times--and she treated and saw him like trash just before that point. Same with when Sylvia offers to join you out of the blue when you just happened to find her in the university. It's a bit jarring. It'd be nice to see more interactions somehow crop up between the protagonist and the other parties before these scenes happen. With Sylvia the main issue is that even though you did see her once or twice at the ladder, it didn't really feel like any sort of real connection was being made at the time, other than during that one scene when they were suddenly revealing what happens to the losers and winners of the ladder. At least with Elea, the protagonist had visited the orphanage, but it might have been nice to see him process the incident at some point beforehand which would have made it a smoother transition later on which shows how he's changed his perspective on her. I think it would have more impact and feel more earned in terms of development. I'm fine with the outcome, but think the process could be more thorough, perhaps? As an aside, in episode 3, if Elea had appeared a few more times or other threads tied in more to her actions, I think her role in the outcome of episode 3 would have also hit a bit harder even though I really enjoyed it as it was. (By the way, this is something that I think Pokemon Empire nails pretty strongly, so I recommend checking it out in case you were interested ... in my random opinion, lol.

But this is minor, since this hasn't been a major focus of the game so far.

For now, I'll be excited for future updates of this game. Thank you so much for creating this game. It was a real pleasure!

Wow, first of all, thanks a lot for your really great, in-depth review. We're quite flattered, and very glad that you found the game that intersting. I don't have a lot of words, really. Though it still is somehow perplexing that a game that doesn't have any meaning, and no reason to exist, is being interpreted that way. It's very intriguing, don't you think? After all, it's just a fangame, and these have been known for quite some time to be subpar in almost every area and hey - are they real, "true" games, in the end? Most reasonable netizens, especially the more, uh, cynically-inclined would have said no, right? I can assure you that the game made itself, and there was no intervention from the Authors - but then again they are known to intervene in a lot of worldly affairs... That aside, the game has a bottom-up character writing where the story springs forth from the character's expected reactions to the world. The writer has to put themselves in the shoes of the character and let them evolve organically, rather than write arcs for them. On the other hand, the writers are illiterate so I don't really understand how that works. I mean you can clearly tell that from the writing. There are 3 more episodes to go, perhaps even 2 depending on how things go - due to certain unfortunate circumstances, what would have ended in 2019 as a project, went way past its deadline.

You are indeed right about the presentation of Elea and Sylvia in regards to that, but then again, the MC is the kind of person that probably has a very childish outlook on such things, which has to be design-bound by necessity. But yes, thanks for clarifying that, I don't it's been brought to the table before. On the other hand, and due to the huge amount of work that is being done on other side eps and stuff currently, it'd be very difficult to go back and improve upon that. Would you like to help with it? The game has always been community-driven within certain bounds, so if you can come up with some scenes or dialogue, then just hit me up.

Spoiler:

Though what Ray said above is quite applicable to Sylvia's case for very, very, good reasons - it's not so with Elea. Perhaps you have taken Sylvia far too lightly. Have you played Mission: Alyssa?

-

Spoiler:

You have mentioned Empire, and while I haven't had any time whatsoever to check out any fangame in the past 4 years or so, I've read the main thread. I have a question. Does that game, well, explore the pre-modern vs modernity, and pre-enlightenment vs enlightenment themes? The royalist - modernist struggle, and the way it is written in the thread seems to be implying, at least on paper, certain behind-the-scenes philosophical/historical situations, which require a lot of precise historical knowledge and understanding of the road that led to modernity, to handle properly. Assuming that's the case, then it's probably going to be a very interesting game. Though that makes me wonder, how close to the target has that game really aimed, and what could that target be? Anyways, if you want to discuss that further feel free to chime in on the discord.

I have to say that even the most remote comparison of this game to the Trails series is a humongous compliment. So much so that I've read that line 10 times to make sure I was reading it right. I mean, all this living in the mountains thing and avoiding showers is healthy and all, but it just exaggerates the illiteracy. Or is it the opposite?

A side game will be released in August 10, and another one a few weeks after. Following that, either an update to the main game or that, plus episode 4.

Again, thanks a lot for the review, and I'd encourage you to create your own world someday, as you seem to have a knack for certain things. The next best step would be to put those things on paper. On the other hand, art comes from the heart, so I would say use your mind only where you really need to. Also, to everyone reading this: What are you waiting for? Make your own game or story, even if you don't think you "got" it. Not thinking you can do it probably means you can do it better in the first place... Strange how that works.

 

[Apophaus]

i would love to play your games but im haveing a problem with the software i use to unzip it. gets to apart then i get error message then it stops working and usally takes hours to get to that point while unzipping to. i all so check the folder after its done to see if the game is in there and some files are and the gameexe is never there

 

[AenaonDusky]

i would love to play your games but im haveing a problem with the software i use to unzip it. gets to apart then i get error message then it stops working and usally takes hours to get to that point while unzipping to. i all so check the folder after its done to see if the game is in there and some files are and the gameexe is never there

Are you using 7zip? Make sure you use that, it's a free program and it's great. If you are still having problems, then it's probably software on your end (e.g. antivirus) interfering with the process.