If you think only major companies like Square/Enix, Atlus and Nintendo can produce great console RPGs then you're definitely not getting your complete gaming diet. There are a number of smaller independent developers out there who've been carefully crafting some surprisingly solid epics that hearken back to the genre's 8 and 16-bit days. A lot of these RPG experiences are equal to, and in some cases, better than a few of the more popular offerings that fans automatically snap up without hesitation. One of those games is Aveyond, by Amaranth Games, which just so happens to be one very talented person named Amanda Fae. She created (and has recently updated) this excellent epic using Ascii Entertainment's RPG Maker XP program, along with a few skilled friends who assisted on art and music duties. Aveyond is the sequel to Fae's first RPG, Ahriman's Prophecy, and while you don't need to have played that game in order to fully enjoy this one, getting both from the Amaranthia website is definitely recommended - and Ahriman's Prophecy is available for download FREE! You'll see Fae's progression into an indie developer worth watching while finding yourself captivated by the tale she's telling. The new update fixes the issues that made the original version a bit frustrating at times, making for a more excellent game overall.

Aveyond is the lengthy tale of a young girl named Rhen, as she goes from her carefree days of life in Clearwater to her true destiny as a Sword Singer. Well, there's a lot more in between those two points and that's where Aveyond really shines. Fae has constructed a well-written storyline with plenty of surprises from downright hilarious to shocking. This blend of humor and drama keeps you hooked even when you're doing a few maps' worth of backtracking in some of the game's quests. Things certainly get off to a great start in the opening hour, as Rhen is kidnapped and taken to the distant town of Galarah, sold as a slave to a wealthy woman with a particularly annoying son, Lars. With his penchant for disrespecting anyone who's not of his status and constant belittling of Rhen as a human being, he's one of the more irritating RPG characters of recent memory. Right away, you want to strangle the pixels out of this guy, as Fae makes him Rhen's tormentor at every turn. However, she throws the ultimate monkey wrench into any player's revenge fantasies after Rhen reveals her hidden powers during a moment of stress. Right after she uses her magic, Rhen is discovered by two traveling instructors looking to enroll gifted children for the Magic Academy at Veldarah, who immediately offer her free induction to train as a Sword Singer. This of course automatically frees her from her year or so of servitude, while not exactly endearing her to Lars.

Interestingly enough, Rhen has to hoof it to Veldarah all by her lonesome, but you'll finally get out into the overworld and experience the turn-based combat system during this time. Rather than using random battles, which can be an annoying bane of some classic RPGs, Aveyond places all the monsters onscreen in each area, so you can avoid them if you're deft with your keypad or controller. However, you don't get any experience points or gold pennies (the game's currency) by constantly running from monsters; at some point you'll have to fight - and get used to fighting a lot. The kicker is, early on, those inky dinky spiders and killer fowl just outside of town are more than a match for Rhen in groups of two or more. So you'll be killing a few until you level up, then running back to town to rest or buy healing supplies. Combat is pure turn-based bliss, so yes, you can get up in the middle of a battle and grab a drink or take a bathroom break.

The trip to the Academy is lengthy and tough, but by the time you finally reach the Veldarah city gates, you'll be moderately buff enough to tackle those creatures that previously gave you the willies. Conversely, you could just fight near Galarah until you have enough scratch to use the horse-drawn wagon to get to the Academy - but trust me, you'll need all the combat experience and levels you can get and any cash you'll gain for necessary supplies. Once at the Academy, Rhen goes through some training exercises and tackles a few quests before she gets her first partner, thanks to another Fae curveball. Rhen's final exam involves a fairly difficult stretch that gains the party a new member for the trip to an area that's packed with tough-to-kill monsters. Soon she finds her true destiny is to lead a group of druids to Aveyond and put an end to the plans of a resurrected demon lord.

You'll need to pay close attention to conversations in Aveyond, while frequently checking Rhen's journal for quests. Fae has added a recent patch that drops hints in some areas, which is a welcome addition that new players and those less skilled will find quite helpful. Still, this is definitely a thinking person's console-style RPG, so piecing together what you need to solve a quest can take quite a bit of time. Talking to anyone and everyone helps, in tandem with exploring, as a bit of tough travel time can unearth necessary quest items before you find out what you need them for. There are a few quests you come across about 5 or 10 hours into the game that can't be fully resolved until about 20 hours later, even if you know what to do or where to go. The story is also structured with some branching paths that determine the fates of some NPCs, while others affect your party.

Speaking of which, as you gather new companions, you can swap out members anywhere except during combat. This allows for some interesting team combinations, as you can only have four members in an active party. Do you add the goth-looking vampire chick or keep the wild fighter gal with the powerful elemental magic? Do you want a healer in your party, or will you rely on items to keep healthy? It's all up to you, but unlike many other console RPGs, the game doesn't give experience to unused characters. Therefore, it's entirely possible to end up needing to use a woefully under-leveled character to get past a particular enemy and not having the necessary spells or skills. So don't go hating some of the less likable party members - they are all useful in one way or another.

You'll certainly want to spend a ton of time in each new area, especially as the monster difficulty increases geometrically in some spots. One example is in the Ice Queen's palace in the Northern Isles; when you're first tackling her slightly amusing quest (you need to settle an argument she's having with her spouse that's causing the weather to go awry throughout the snowy realm!) you may be tempted to drop below her castle and explore for a while. All I'll say is, going underground that early in the game will be sending you back to your last save, period.

All the characters in the game become more powerful physically, but if you prefer your RPG characters to be heavy magic users then you'll be in heaven as the game progresses. There are some great spells that do massive damage, silence enemies' spells, infest them with weevils and much more. One character can find or buy different magical orbs to attach to a staff, with different combinations proving more effective on certain enemies and less on others. Monsters regenerate if you leave an area or dungeon level and return, so it's hypothetically possible to move back and forth between floors in a dungeon and gain a ridiculous amount of experience and loot for as long as you like, especially if you have enough HP and MP-restoring items. As you bring each druid to Aveyond's Sun Temple, you're rewarded with special weapons or items that you'll find to be incredibly useful. Most of the other neat gear is tucked away in the game's later shops, or locked up in special chests that are inaccessible for a long time. You'll get to most of them, provided that you don't mess up and complete certain quests too soon.

The game also forces you to make decisions that alter the plot, allowing for either good or evil responses to some requests. This is another nice touch that changes the plot significantly for some characters, as they follow their own path through the game's events. It's tempting to be bad, but I decided to take the more helpful route each time it was offered… at least during the first time I played through! While you're dealing with the emotional stuff, Aveyond doesn't let too much time go by without a good laugh or two; from militant squirrels to finding a bride for a boat dealer to the payoff you get from a certain escort side quest, the game has some pretty funny situations sprinkled throughout.

Another thing to consider is that, unless you cheat, money is quite tough to come by most of the time. In addition to the occasional treasure chest, you'll need to search dead monsters for gold and items, which is a nice touch. However, it takes a long while to get enough gold pennies to afford better weapons and two of the most important items in the game: the rowboat and sailing ship. Until you get the rowboat, you can only pay an NPC to take you to the frozen Northern Isles area where a few quests await. Even after you've finally bought the boats and found all the different wagons that transport you to the game's different towns, you'll still be doing hoofing it around a lot, as this is the only way pack on the experience points.

As to 'illegal' means of getting by, Fae has added a cheat for the truly desperate players who didn't want to do some real work in the form of a hidden 'cash cow' that dispenses 10,000 gold pennies at a time to an unlimited amount. Amusingly enough, the first time I played, I only discovered this about 35 hours into the game, so I already had both boats and a nice chunk of money stored away. Fae has also uploaded some game saves that allow players to hop into a new game with buffed-out characters, weapons and cash, all of which should appeal to those who need this sort of assistance. While these goodies certainly help those folks who want the easy money and skills early on, it can also be a hindrance if you simply travel all around the game world hitting areas you shouldn't be able to so early on. You'll still need to do the proper detective work to solve some quests, but it's entirely possible to become hopelessly stuck because you've gone and taken on too many quests and have lost sight of the game's story structure. Of course, a few of you out there won't heed this warning, but go on ahead and knock yourselves out if that's how you want to play!

Aveyond's presentation is very solid throughout, with some nice-looking environments, well-designed maps and many different monster types. There have been some major art changes from version 1.0 of the game, so the realistic-looking (and fantastic) character portraits have been replaced by more familiar (and equally fantastic) anime-style art. You can choose which portraits you prefer, courtesy of a patch. You'll also notice slicker combat menus and enhanced visuals throughout the game that pump things up quite nicely over the original version. There are also nice visual touches that deserve a mention, such as the enhanced spell effects and use of lighting. The gloomy winter tone to the Northern Isles, for example, accurately reflects a dreary winter environment while that quest is unsolved.

Despite the cute 16-bit visuals, as I've already touched upon, the game can be extremely difficult. In fact, until you get your party to around level 40 or so and gain some powerful spells, venturing too far into a dungeon or overworld map can be hazardous to their health points. I absolutely love leveling up in a decent RPG and uncovering new powers, so I ended up with party members at around level 78 by the end of the game. The minor technical issues and bugs in version 1.0 are gone, making for a more stable gameplay experience. Of special note is Aveyond's excellent soundtrack, comprised of actual orchestrated music that's really well written. In version 2.0 you'll hear new title music, some nicely redone tunes for some areas and all-new battle music that replaces the Western-sounding horn theme from before. Since the game is old school RPG goodness, you don't get any voice acting here at all, just plenty of text to read in Fae's excellent writing style.

The biggest issue with Aveyond, even in this new, more user-friendly update, is the overly ambitious scope of the story. The game maps now include location names (yes!) and you also get the name of the current location, along with your available funds onscreen at all times. As mentioned above, some quests take quite a long time to actually complete, so when you add the multi-path aspect of the storytelling, you can actually end the game with some quests unfinished because you've lost track of when you were somewhere else in the middle of doing something else. That said and done, I rather liked the fact that you'll not see 100% of the game on your first go, even with an in-depth walkthrough. Still, the game has been patched a few times since its release, with a number of updates, so perhaps the game's map issue will eventually be addressed. This minor issue aside, Aveyond certainly has a way of growing on you and when it's finally over and done with, you'll want to jump back in and play it all over again.

While it doesn't have the budget or high polygon production values of better-known console RPGs, Aveyond's simple charm and surprising depth make it truly memorable. There's a hell of a lot more spirit and actual challenge here than in similar games that needlessly dump frustratingly arcane battle systems and generically shallow characters on players who are looking for otherwise respectable entertainment. As I've already said, Amanda Fae is a talent to keep an eye on as she continues to work on any upcoming titles, so definitely show support to this independent developer as she polishes her craft to a nice sparkly finish. Could the reinvigoration of the console-style RPG be coming from smaller developers? If Aveyond is any indication, I certainly hope the answer is a resounding "Yes" that makes the bigger developers and publishers stand up and take notice.

Reviewed by Greg Wilcox for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).