Translated by
Microsoft from Spain
Microsoft from Spain
The Final Fantasy of the Godín Cubice Quest is an indie RPG made with RPG Maker that has a somewhat unusual premise: a boy fresh out of college gets a job he hates and is drowned in debt. It Does Not See the Exit for economic freedom. What happens then? It transforms its situation into an allegory and turns its problems into an RPG. The Heads of the Debt are monsters that prevent the exit of the Castle of Sanity and to overcome them, must visit the Dungeon of the Ascent to make more money (soldiers).
Enemies are metaphors of routine, annoying, even tragic situations: monsters are called Family Tragedy, some malignant monks are called trivial Relationships, other dragons are Annoying Clients, the Succubi are Ads of Sex Objects in Internet. Fantasy turns the routine world of Bob (yes, common name, but you can put your name if you like) in a Japanese RPG game to beat through patience, exploration and well-loved grinding. But not any grinding, oh no, because just as time is vital to pay the debts in real life, in this game it is also important to manage the time to not miss certain events and possessions in the world: marriage with that girl you like , the three-story house, the sports car, the yacht, and so on.
The game has interesting mechanics: there is no easy way to make money, even though the money is very necessary at the beginning of the game (if you want to do grinding, paradoxically, you need a LOT of money). If you beat the enemies, all you gain is experience and points of wisdom (these only serve for books and if you become a regular reader of some genre, then improve your statistics permanently). There Are Physical attacks and the other attacks, the "magic", are actually metaphors about the ways of relating to the world: human, personal, psychological, artistic, organizational and work, and so on. Some enemies are weak to work, for example, while others are weak to put on batteries, or T-shirt, you know. Yes, well, the twisted values of this game constantly keep you alert to understand how you can better overcome certain situations.
Precisely these twisted values in terms of magic and enemies complicate the game. Like life, the images of this RPG are deliberately built to be ambiguous. Cubice Quest in appearance is quite open, without a specific line to follow, just like a lost person who is looking for the exit. I Preferred to play it with a guide because I found it very confusing, no clues about what to do or where to go. If I hadn't played it like that, I might have abandoned it. Of Course, a game of these ambitions could not make the player simple this search not only for economic freedom, but for a full life. The heads of the game are not only the King of Labor or the Debt Officers, but there are also the Dragons of the Soul or The Emptiness of Life. Although at times allegories seem to be taken out of a self-help book, Cubice Quest in some dialogues gets dangerously existentialist and depressing. I Suggest the player approaching this game not only the patience to explore it and easily lose, but also the tenacity of an open mind, ready to confusion and to feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps, precisely because of this I have just commented, the game is not a comfortable experience for everyone. Not only his difficulty is extremely high, his world is too "open", but his narrative is uncomfortable and allegorical, sometimes pretentious. I Also want to comment that the balance of Cubice Quest, in spite of everything, is noticed obsessively polished. The developer certainly worked to perfect the structure and development of his game. Cubice Quest is a surprising experience, even enjoyable, but also frustrating and at times it feels endless. Perhaps This imitating life is not the best, but eventually the characters break their reality and speak to the fourth wall, realize the truth of their world and the player takes "a role" inside the game. It Is a game with ambitions, which constantly pushes itself narratively and that, personally, I always find it pleasurable to experiment.
I find it hard to recommend this game because I know it's not for everyone. Cubice Quest is an RPG that is a metaphor of life and claiming our right to lost time.
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You can Also watch my play through of this game on Twitch if you click here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/172280519?collection=AULznwU_4RS_5w