Curate of Curiosities

I'm sure that you have noticed that I've showcased a number of RPG Maker games on this site. Four, by my count. While I don't wish to remind you again why it's so attractive to indie developers, but I probably should remind you that a lot of them do not bother to change much from the first-person, turn-based battle system built into the engine, if they bother to incorporate combat in their games to begin with. While it is possible to make extensive customizations to gameplay, doing so requires knowledge of the Ruby programming language, which isn't as commonly used as C# or Lua among game devs (maybe it's more well-known in Japan, where the engine is made?)

But there were a few developers that rose to this challenge, among them Space Lizard of Tilde One Games. In 2009, he released The Reconstruction, an RPG with tactical elements which sought to buck trends in bogth gameplay and narrative.

A couple years after that came I Miss The Sunrise, a prequel to the above with a sci-fi setting, even though the previous game had a fantasy setting.

In 2013, he released The Drop, a roguelike serving as a direct sequel to The Reconstruction.

A fourth game in the series, titled How Far, was planned, but not only was never released, but from looking up archives of the dev's blog, had barely even had its genre decided upon.

These games were apparently so well-made and so well-received among indie RPG fans, particularly those on the now-defunct rpgmaker.net, that they were promoted on RPG maker's official website!

With such accolades, it's bound to be a particularly talked about RPG, right? Right?

The best way for me to gauge how well known a certain game is is to look up gameplay footage on YouTube. While I was able to find a complete playthrough of I Miss The Sunrise, and an incomplete playthrough of The Drop, I couldn't find any footage at all of The Reconstruction.

Surely, someone has to have uploaded a playthrough? Unlike with my search for gameplay footage, my search for a non-video playthough has borne some fruit. The only one that I've found was hosted on a blog called Dragon Quill, and did indeed serve some use as a walkthrough. Unfortunately, the blog seems to have suffered the same fate as rpgmaker.net, and even worse, not all of the pages documenting the game appear to have been archived.

(UPDATE 9/30/25: The site's back up. I'd guess that whatever hosting service it's using is having a few hiccups, but whoever's in charge of the blog doesn't seem to acknowledge it.)

While I did start The Reconstruction years ago, I sort of bounced off it due to combat feeling slow and needlessly complex. However, I did give it another try recently, and I can tell you that once you get used to its unique combat system, playing the game becomes much less of a hassle.

So I'll not only be the second person to upload a playthrough of (potentially) all three games, but will also basically be flying (almost) blind.

Sections:

1. No Need For Explanations
   Reconstruction, more like deconstruction. Of whatever scheme you're operating out of that ship.
2. Exterminators For Hire
   Where most RPGs would have rats, this game has bugs. Real subversive.
3. The Gang Spreads Its Services
   Don't you just hate it when your job requires you to relocate?
4. Revenge Of A Nerd
   From public helpers to fugitives and back. Quite a shift in fortunes, that.
5. Vigil For The Fallen
   Character arcs are like gymnastics in that it's important to stick the landing.
6. Welcome To The Jungle
   Long live Six Stars, defenders of the status quo!
7. The Impasse
   Yes, I get it, going back to your family's home country can be awkward at times. The culture shock might be the worst part.
8. Revelation
   Moral of the story: take anything that murderous lizard cultists say with a grain of salt.
9. One Big Litterbox
   Since we've solved so little turmoil so far, now's the time to go for broke.
10. Rise And Fall
    In the end, did any of this matter?
11. The Brink Of Oblivion
    I guess that's one way to justify our being the only ones who can save the day.
12. A Few Loose Ends
    At least this is one of those RPGs that I wouldn't mind starting more than once.