At the beginning of RPG Maker's 2 debut, many people were toying with it, hoping they could find some way to get over the, well, really crappy menu system and battle system. Since that time, it has happened numerous times, and in various ways. One of the earlier ones was the Action Battle system, and was displayed in a game called Zelda: Link's Adventure.

Dave Carter. By some considered to be the god of RPG Maker. Dave has completely shattered the "limits" of RPG Maker time and time again with his astonishing platform games. Fufu the Acid Trip bunny became the first platform game released with RPG Maker, proving that the system was not limited to your run of the mill RPG games. (Dave's game even inspired me to try to create a non-RPG game and helped me to devise a system for a party-type genre of games.) And then, when the approach of RPG Maker 2 was nearing, Valkysas announced the RPG Maker Pavilion's final RPGM contest. Out of nowhere, Dave released "Nano Bot." The game became another instant classic (not to mention being the Game of the Month at the Mag Dec.-Jan.) And now, with RPGM2 finally making its debut on US shores, Dave has once again put his creative genius to work, and has released his first demo of "SD Paradise." Here are Dave's comments on the game:

"The platform game is "Klonoa" style rather than the typical PS2 Crash Bandicoot/Jak and Daxter style.

Story: You star as Sid Grisly. An orange bear that must fulfill his destiny by saving a tropical island from a volcano. You must perform the legendary Ket-Su-Ken katta atop the volcano to summon the Red Phoenix. Once summoned, the Red Phoenix will grant a wish to spare the island from a being pure of heart. It's like Dr.Slump meets Mario Sunshine."

And finally, I would like to say I am honored to have SD Paradise as my first Review of the New year, and my first review of any RPGM2 game. On with the show!

Dave Carter has just raised the bar for RPG Maker 2. Not only did he make a near-carbon copy of a classic puzzle game (Crystal Castles) in his first release, but he also enhanced his platforming engine first seen in Fu-Fu The Acid-Trip Bunny! The result is SD Paradise, a campy Platform/RPG where you take on the role of Sid Grisly, local souvenir dealer. Because of the predestined eruption of Mt. Volcanon, Sid is recruited to stop it by any means necessary.

As the intro to the game states, "Being lost on this isle, you decide to come into town, disturbing all the peace." Make what you will of that. Maybe you can figure out what is going on, because I sure couldn't.

Knowing this game is a demo I expected it to be short. And I was right. If you have little time and like Demos, this is the game for you. I beat it in 15 minutes and it's one of the best RPG Maker 2 games I've ever played.

Grab some waffles and some Cherry Pepsis, because we're going hunting! For whom you ask? Why, the big bad wolf named Gargantua, that's who.

Spheer is a game unlike any other on RPGM2. Wait, let me start over. If you're a fan of puzzle games, Spheer is your second coming. Nah, that's not quite right either. *Ahem* I'm gonna try this one more time.

Well, it was bound to happen at one point at time. I'm not talking about the discovery on how to travel at the speed of light, no, I'm talking about a game based on religion.
Even though it is religious, does that make it a bad/good game instantly?

RPG Maker 2 is truly a wonderous piece of software when in the right hands. After playing The Farm Life, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that one of those sets of hands belong to Doyleman.