A downloadable game for Windows

Buy Now$9.96 USD or more


Overcome the chasm ordained by divine fate!
Charon - Zhetan Chronicles is a 2D Fantasy RPG with pixel art visuals. An epic story with queer characters, strategic battles and handmade artworks awaits you!

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Key Features:

  • Over 20 hours of playtime
  • Dramatic story with LGBTQIA+ characters and epic worldbuilding
  • An expansive world to explore full of treasures, dungeons and optional quests
  • Classic pixel art and handmade artworks
  • Strategic turn-based battles
  • An extensive system for skills and talents
  • Crafting for potions, crystals, abilities and more!
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About the Game:

Two worlds, one fate

For aeons the Great Chasm has separated the World Above from the Underworld. While the people of the upper realm live in peace under the watchful eyes of the gods, the realms below the chasm are plagued by the wicked influence of the Dark One. Then, 80 years ago, he unleashed his legions to enslave humanity.

Only the gods' devoted knights seemed capable to withstand evil.

Make your way across the Land of the Gods!

Accompany knight Sai on his quest across the continent of Zhetan to put an end to a conspiracy of the enemy. Find new companions and face a variety of challenges. Take on fearsome monsters, powerful demons or devious villains... and find out what really is the root of all conflict.

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Characters:

Sai Malrek
(Knight of the Order of the Arkanians' Sword and Shield)

Raydir Anathar
(General of the Order and Sai's superior)


Mara Melakhor
(Daemon Huntress)


Zid Daedalus
(Scientist and inventor from the Technoids)


Reiko Octavia Katsura
(Mage and Vena in Training)





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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME:

Charon - Zhetan Chronicles will be released chapter by chapter (episodic) on itch.io! Here are the most important questions and answers:

> "How many chapters are there?"

Charon - Zhetan Chronicles is planned to have six chapters (two acts with three chapters each). At this time, two chapters are completed; with german and english translation.

> "How long is each chapter?"

Each chapter will contain between 5 and 10 hours playtime. This is an estimation because not every chapter has the same amount of content and there can also be a lot of optional stuff.

> "Are the chapters independent from each other or is it all one story?"

All chapters are part of one story which is continued with each new release.

> "Will content from previous chapters still change?"

No, the content will not change. There might be text corrections and translations, updated graphic and music assets or updated battle balancing e.g. but it is not very likely.

> "Do I pay once? Multiple times? Or is there an all-in-one price?"

You pay once for each chapter with an all-in-one price which is adapted with every new chapter released. Because of the pricing policy on itch.io, already made purchases should be recorded and remembered by the website. Which means: If you already bought chapter 1 and 2, that purchase will be subtracted from the new all-in-one price for chapter 1-3. As a result, only the costs for chapter 3 will remain.

> "Are save files compatible with between releases?"

Yes, the save files are all compatible! When a new chapter is released, you can just plug in your save file and continue to play! You can find them at "[your-path-to-game-folder]\GAME\SAVES" and copy them from the story demo and even older versions of Charon - Zhetan Chronicles (versions 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 or 0.9) to continue your playthrough.

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Releases:

  • Version 1.0: TBD
  • Version 0.9.1: 21.12.2023
  • Version 0.8.9.9b: 02.07.2023
  • Version 0.7.1: 12.08.2020
  • Version 0.7: 08.05.2020
  • Version 0.61a: 23.12.2019

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Links:

Twitter: @FervorCraft
Support us on ko-fi: Support us with 1 coffee!
Discord: Join the FervorCraft Server

StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(5 total ratings)
AuthorFervorCraft
GenreRole Playing, Adventure
Made withRPG Maker
Tags2D, Fantasy, LGBTQIA, Pixel Art, Retro, RPG Maker, Singleplayer, Steampunk, Turn-Based Combat
Average sessionAbout an hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard
LinksSteam

Purchase

Buy Now$9.96 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9.96 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Charon - Zhetan Chronicles | Chapter 1+2 (v0.9.1) | Hotfix (18.02.2024) 404 MB

Download demo

Download
Charon - ZC DEMO (v0.9.1) | Hotfix (18.02.2024) 393 MB

Development log

Comments

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(1 edit)

Hi! So about an hour in so far and loving it. It really does bring me back to SNES rpgs and I can tell you've put a lot of time and effort into this and it shows.

A few minor bugs and some constructive criticism so far (will keep giving more as I get further into the game):

So I'm using a game controller to play, as I assume the majority of your players will want to. There are a few glitches/ weird things with the controller setup. For one, the "cancel" button (I've got a PS controller so it's the X button) is glitchy on the battle menu. For a while, it seemed there was no way to go back when you've chosen an option from the primary menu (attack, magic, etc) which meant you got stuck. I figured out that the "options" button works but only after a while. The first time I tried to press the "cancel" button to back out of a menu, I had pressed "crystal" and my players didn't have any, so I needed to back out for the game to progress. Instead, when I pressed the "cancel" button, the whole game crashed. I haven't been able to reproduce this glitch since then.

When I got to the shrine and Mara cast that spell, there was no way to do it on the controller. I assume many of your players are going to want to be able to play the game 100% with their controller and not have to use a keyboard. Also the constructions were a bit confusing. There was just an icon with a key you had to press. 

Also, for the text, I would highly recommend getting an editor for the english translation. It doesn't bother me since I'm playing the demo version and I'm also a game dev and I like the game, but I know players can be harsh and there are just a lot of grammatical errors that make it obvious that the text was poorly translated. So far none of it hampers my understanding of what's going on, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that it shows. As someone who is multi-lingual and also a native speaker of english, I can tell you that most native speakers tend to be less patient than native speakers of other languages with these sorts of things. I'll also say, in terms of making the game immersive, you end up not having a feeling that each character has their own distinct voice. This is more an artistic-side comment, but for text-based RPGs like this, it's really good for each character (at least the main character) to have a distinct voice.


From a more story development side: I came here for queer content so I'm sensing from the beginning that there is some kind of romantic connection between Sai and Raydir. However, the intro involved a whole lot of info dumping that was a bit hard to process: it wasn't until after the intro that I was even sure which character I was playing, nor was I sure which side the knights were supposed to be on (at first I thought maybe they were from the underworld?), so the betrayal didn't really "hit" that hard. A little more storyline building up the connection between Sai and Raydir, to get the players more emotionally invested in their relationship, would make things hit harder. 

Also-- I'm curious... (no need to answer this. I'm sharing this now just so you can have a sense of the thoughts of a player who's about on hour into the game.) From what I've gathered so far, it seems like a portal hasn't been opened up before. So how have humans and demons come into contact before? How would the knights be experts in fighting demons if this is the first time they've come into contact? 


Anyway, I don't want this to sound like I'm dragging the game! I'm just sharing this as a fellow writer/ developer/ creator in the hopes that some of my feedback will be helpful. I'm super enjoying the game and cant wait to see what happens next.

(+1)

Hi there!
Thank you alot for all that feedback and criticism.
I will address some points in the following:

  • About the controller: Currently the game isn't really configured for game controller, but that's definitely on the list for the full release. We plan to also change up the button display ingame according to the used input device. For now, we can only fully guarantee keyboard support.
  • Regarding the translation: Do you have some examples which stuck out to you? Because the thing is, we actually pay very close attention - especially in later parts of the game - to the translation and until now other native speakers only ever mentioned some minor wording issues in the prologue section of the game. So detailed feedback on that matter would be very much appreciated!
  • About the queer content in the story: While queer characters, themes and struggles are an integral part to the story and world of Charon - Zhetan Chronicles, they are not the main focus of the plot. Simply put: It's not supposed to be "Sai's adventures about being queer", but "Sai's adventures while being queer".
  • To your question about the portal: Portals are nothing new to humans (atleast to those whom dabble in magic). After all, they know daemons for centuries and fight that war for some time... But usually such portals can only be created near the Great Chasm (which divides the World Above from the Underworld), which is not exactly close to the village of Arath. So the question is not "What's a portal?", but "What's a portal doing here?"

Thank you again for your feedback and we'll be looking forward to read again from you!

Best Regards,
Team FervorCraft

Hi there! So I just made it to the end of the demo version.  Wow, can't wait for the full game... 


So just to clarify, as an artist myself,  I like to give feedback because I know how valuable it can be.  Both with giving and receiving I like to take the approach of "here are a few comments reflecting my experience playing this game/ listening to this music/ reading this story/ looking at this artwork, etc (regardless of medium), you don't need to respond or agree but here's the offhand reaction of someone who doesn't know you and has just spend some time engaging with this artwork." Anyway, that's the approach I try to take with both giving and receiving feedback. Saying that because I don't want you to feel like I am attacking or criticizing. Rather just trying to offer up what comes to my mind as I play, and maybe some of it's helpful and some of it's not. 

For the language stuff: I can't give you any specific examples off the top of my head but there were quite a lot of grammatical errors. Unfortunately it's not the kind of thing I stop and take notes on while playing. But it's definitely noticeable. Again, I'm saying this not to be nitpicky or negative but just to bring to your attention that it's an issue, since I really do enjoy this game and want the best for it! If I play through again I will try and make a note of some examples. 

I did notice a few contexts where things have not been translated at all, for instance the message it gives you if you try to learn a skill at a save point and there are no skills to be learned.

About the queer stuff: I agree with the story not being ABOUT him being queer (tbh I get tired of most queer stories and games being about the character being queer and not, say, a man going on an adventure and he just happens to love another man, which is what this seems to be and I'm all for it.) So no need to explain there. I'm all for it.

I was just saying that it was a little hard at first to form an emotional investment with Sai and Raydir-- that a little more leaning into their emotional connection (I don't know how much you want to divulge that early on) might help the players form more of an emotional investment in the characters. Again, I'm saying this as my totally subjective impression as a viewer/ player, which you should take or leave however you see fit. I'm just saying that my suggestion would be something along those lines.

Finally: I found the whole skills/ talents/ abilities system very confusing and overwhelming at first. By the end I was starting to get the hang of it, but not quite. This might come with the info-dumpy stuff as well. At first there was just a whole lot of information to take in at once, from the worldbuilding to the battle system to also wanting to get to know the characters etc. 

In general about the battle system-- It feels like you're making an effort to make the battles "not just another RPG battle system" which makes sense and I appreciate it. It sorta feels like it's almost there but it needs some work to be more "wow, this is interesting and unique" rather than confusing and overwhelming. 

Here's an example: the whole, you don't get gold from most battles but instead you get these collectible items that you can sell. It's a really cool idea. Took me a little while to figure out (cuz I was like "wait why don't I have any money after fighting all these bad guys?") and then I wasn't sure if I wanted to sell these items because I wasn't sure if they did anything or I could use them for something else. It's a cool concept but I was a little confused at first.


Performance issues: I've got a pretty new, middle of the road gaming PC, not the best but also not the worst. I did notice a little bit of a performance issue in some scenes, especially in the village, but none of it caused any serious problems. There was just the slightest bit of lag when the character moved around and caused the camera to be a bit jittery when panning, which made it a bit hard to look at. Other than that, no performance issues aside from the one time that it crashed. 


Since I don't want to sound like I am dumping a whole bunch of criticism, let me make it clear that I'm saying all this because I love the game and I hope to be as helpful as possible. So here are a few things that I loved:

- What I said about info-dumping aside, I love the worldbuilding. From the beginning I feel interested in the plot. It's not some random "you're a knight and you have to slay the dragon in the castle" story. It feels well thought out and intentional. I have a sense of what these places are and what their relationship is. And it's clear you've put a lot of time and thought into this. I coming away from this like ... wow I really want to know what's really going on here. Seems clear there are lots of layers. 

- (SPOILER ALERT) The reveal about Mara being a demon. That's pretty cool and definitely has me intrigued. Also the fact that there are rebels in the underworld. Makes me wonder is there any political discontent in the overworld as well. Again with the worldbuilding... I'm wondering lots of stuff. Can't wait to see the full version and learn more about what's really going on.

- The pixel art: Looks really nice. 

- How gay it is. Lots of people are gay. Nice.

- Again connects with the worldbuilding, but the plot feels immersive. I want to keep playing because I want to know what happens next, and I want to learn more about these characters and see them complete their journeys.


Anyway, once again thank you for all your hard work and for putting this out in the world. I can't wait to play the full version. Best of luck!

Hi!

I'm six hours in, and from what I've seen so far, I guess I have a new favorite to my eternal RMXP Top 5 =D

As soon as I finish playing it, I'll be posting a more in depth comment, stating all the pros and cons. But let me tell you in advance that the work you have done, especially in regards to mapping and exploration is absolutely fantastic.