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Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
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Power Master 1: A Strange Journey (can be shortened to Power Master 1, PM1, or A Strange Journey) is the first game in the Power Master series.
The game was released through the itch.io site on March 18, 2016 for Windows PCs.[1] It is currently available for free with an optional name your price donation (as of December 14, 2017)[2], despite the creator stating that it will remain free earlier[3]. A demo was released before the main game on September 2, 2015 and remained available for download until October 31, 2016. On July 1, 2016, the build of Fora Temple, which was built using the Unity Engine, was uploaded and can be played in the browser[4].
A remake titled Power Master: A Strange Journey MV is currently in development.
Plot
The story takes place a thousand years after the defeat of the "Fallen Guardian," Exitilus, following the ancestor of the old heroes.[5] After defeating the Silver Knight and returning to the Town of Fora, the player will receive a note, warning them of the returning danger and tells them to find the Warrior in the Town of Bora. After defeating Hypnock, it is revealed by the Mysterious Man that Exitilus has returned in someway.[6] It is up to the descendant of the original heroes to set out and stop Exitilus from taking over the world.
Along the way, the player will encounter three friends to partner with: The Warrior of Bora, the Digger from Uora, and their cousin in Dora. All four must work together to gather the twenty-six Gems before Exitilus does and help the towns return to normal. Once the player has all twenty-six Gems and goes to the Town of Cora through Yora's well, the final battle with Exitilus will begin. Upon his defeat, the Gems lose their power, which was the only thing keeping the Guardians alive much longer than they were supposed to. Afterward, the player finds a journal in Fora's bookcase, leading into the events of the next story.
Gameplay
The objective of the game is to gather all twenty-six Gems from each of the twenty-six towns, each with their own issues. Most of the Gems are stolen by Exitilus's underlings, while some others are kept by their Guardians until the player meets a specific requirement. In the field areas, the player will encounter enemies at random. Each location has their own set of enemies, and these enemies can also be found in the Land of Moneo near their locations. The Land of Moneo also has many secrets to find, which can be found by blowing up mountainsides with a Bomb or burning a tree with a Book of Fire.
Controls
The game uses the simple and ready-made controls given by RPG Maker.
- Arrow Keys: Move player/cursor
- Z Key: Check/Talk/Open/etc.
- X Key: Open menu (in the field)/Cancel (in the menus)
- Shift Key: Hold to run
Battles
The game uses the ready-made battle system given by RPG Maker.
At the start of the match, the player will select what their characters will do from the options: "Attack", "Special", "Defend", and "Items". "Attack" will make the selected player simply attack with their equipped weapon. If no weapon is equipped, they will punch the enemy dealing their standard Attack power to the enemy. "Special" has the player choose one of the character-specific special attacks to use. "Defend" will make the character take a defensive stance which will reduce the amount of damage they take. "Items" will let the player choose an item followed by who to use it on in the team. The player also has the option to run at the start of the turn, unless the player is in a boss or mini-boss battle.
Once everything has been selected, the battle will play out, alternating between player and enemy characters based on their Agility. Once a character reaches 0 Health Points (or "HP"), that character is removed from the battle, but can be brought back using certain skills or items. Once all characters on the enemy team are defended, the player is brought back to the field, though the player will be given a Game Over and has to resume from their last Save if all of the player characters are defeated.
Characters
The player can choose between four different characters before starting the game. Who they chose will change the story slightly. These are the characters the player can choose from:
- Stephan: The "Boy 1" option. Cannot use magic, so he relies mainly on offensive tactics. Uses swords, shields, bows, and axes.
- Jennifer: The "Girl 1" option. The quickest in the game and has both offensive and status inducing/recovery skills. Uses swords, shields, bows, and magic.
- Hamilton: The "Boy 2" option. The strongest in the game and is capable of wielding two weapons instead of one. Uses swords, axes, and magic.
- Helen: The "Girl 2" option. Not the strongest character, so she relies mainly on defensive and helpful skills. Uses whips, magic, bows, and shields.
If the player chooses to start the game as anyone but Stephan, Stephan will fill the role of the chosen player. For example, if the player chooses Jennifer, Stephan will fill her spot in the Town of Bora as the Warrior.
After the player chooses their character, they have the option to rename them. When they find the other characters in the game, they can rename them then as well. The player can also deny the inclusion of the other characters on the team, playing the whole game solo if they wish.
Major Characters
These characters are integral to the game's story.
| Portrait | Name | Role(s) | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
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Stephan | Hero, Ally, Enemy | Town of Fora/Town of Bora |
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Jennifer | Hero, Ally, Enemy | Town of Fora/Town of Bora |
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Hamilton | Hero, Ally, Enemy | Town of Fora/Town of Uora |
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Helen | Hero, Ally, Enemy | Town of Fora/Town of Dora |
|
Guardians | NPC, Enemy | Most towns |
|
Hunter | NPC, Boss | Eora Dungeon, Kora Fortress |
Minor Characters
These may provide the player with information or help the player in some other way. See also: Generic Characters
| Portrait | Name | Role(s) | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pam | Shopkeeper, Enemy | Most towns |
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Violet | Innkeeper, Enemy | Most towns |
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Scott and Smith | Blacksmith | Town of Dora, Town of Yora |
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Butch | NPC | Town of Bora |
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Jill | NPC | Town of Bora |
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Mysterious Man | NPC, Enemy | Area Unknown |
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Stacy | NPC | Town of Aora |
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Fade | NPC | Gora Mansion |
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Charles | NPC | Yora Yore |
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Alexander Bodine | NPC | Various places |
Quest Characters
These characters give out quests or are part of one.
Enemies
The enemies were drawn by both Alex and his brother, Geoffrey Bodine. Geoff worked on the computer-drawn sprites and the Dragons whereas Alex worked on the hand-drawn ones.
Enemies are listed in alphabetical order.
- Alien
- Ant
- Archer
- Bat
- Bee
- Blazing Soul
- Bird
- Butler
- Bombot
- Chester
- Corpse
- Dragon
- Eel
- Elite Worker
- Fire Magician
- Goldbot
- Golem
- Guardian of Hora
- Ice Magician
- Knight
- Lava Creature
- Leech
- Mole
- Monster
- Mummy
- Pam
- Poisoned Soul
- Raven
- Rock Warrior
- Shark
- Spider
- Swordsman
- Tarantula
- Thief
- Thief (Villager)
- Violet
- Wind Magician
- Wolf
- Wondering Soul
- Worker
- Worm
- Yeti
Bosses
This is a complete list of Bosses and Mini-bosses that appear in Power Master 1: A Strange Journey.
Mini-Bosses
Locations
The name of the locations are simple: a letter of the English alphabet with the suffix "ora" added. According to the creator, the original suffix was "orn", but that would've created a few words he didn't want in the game, specifically causing possible controversy in the first area of the game and the Town of Pora.[7]
Accessible Areas
- Land of Moneo
- Town of Aora
- Town of Bora
- Town of Cora
- Town of Dora
- Town of Eora
- Town of Fora
- Town of Gora
- Town of Hora
- Town of Iora
- Town of Jora
- Town of Kora
- Town of Lora
- Town of Mora
- Town of Nora
- Town of Oora
- Town of Pora
- Town of Qora
- Town of Rora
- Town of Sora
- Town of Tora
- Town of Uora
- Town of Vora
- Town of Wora
- Town of Xora
- Town of Yora
- Town of Zora
Mentioned Areas
Items
There are a total of 13 different regular items and 11 different important items, for a total of 24 different kinds of items.
Standard Items
| Image | Name |
|---|---|
 |
Health Vial |
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Mega Health Vial |
 |
Heal-All Health Vial |
 |
Medicine Vial |
 |
Bomb |
 |
Apple |
 |
Gold Bars |
 |
Life Vial |
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Mega Life Vial |
 |
Rock |
 |
Star Shard |
 |
Mother's Love |
|
Child's Apple |
Key Items
| Image | Name |
|---|---|
 |
Key |
 |
Scroll |
 |
Log |
 |
Wedding Ring |
 |
Jewels |
 |
Gems |
| Aqualung | |
| Heat Pack | |
| Ice Block | |
 |
Music Box |
 |
Cards |
Weapons
There are 23 swords, 21 axes, 21 bows, and 12 whips in the game, for a total of 77 weapons.
Magic Books
Along with the physical weapons, there are also forty-one magic books, organized on this list based on their internal ID number and their placement in the player's inventory. Several of the magic books are fused, meaning they were created by combining two types of books, and fall in two different elements on the list.
Armor
Below is a list of armors in Power Master 1: A Strange Journey, split between shields, headgear, bodygear, and accessories, listed based on their internal ID number. There are 20 shields, 8 headgear, 12 bodygear, and 5 accessories in the game, for a total of 45 armors.
Skills
Below is a list of all the skills that can be learned by characters and bosses alike in Power Master 1: A Strange Journey. A large number of the skills used in this game were provided by the RPG Maker VX Ace engine, and as such, there are many skills in the database that go unused, which explains the "gap" between numbered skills used in the game. For example, there is Heal and Heal III, but no "Heal II". Additionally, every character and enemy knows the basic Attack command. There are a total of 62 skills in the game.
Quests
There are a total of thirteen quests found in Power Master 1: A Strange Journey. While the quest numbers are not shown to the player during gameplay, the quests are numbered internally.
- Lost Husband
- Lost Love
- Josh's Quest
- Sleep Tight
- Leftover Worries (Quest 6 internally)
- Fashion Sense (Quest 7 internally)
- Underwater Possession (Quest 11 internally)
- Lost Girl (Quest 13 internally)
- Dark Desire (Quest 14 internally)
- Hide-and-Seek (Quest 17 internally)
- Long-time Lost (Quest D internally)
- Tome Seeker (Quest M internally)
- Jaxer's Quest (Quest S internally)
Music
A majority of the music used in Power Master 1 was provided by the RPG Maker engines XP, VX Ace, and MV. However, two songs were composed by the creator: "Searching for the Gems (Dungeon Theme)" and "Music Box Theme". "Searching for the Gems (Dungeon Theme)" was originally meant to be played during the dungeons, as the name implies, but is used in the Bottom of the Well map instead. They were composed by the program MusicMaker and are of lower quality than those provided by the RPG Maker engines.
Development
- Main article: Cut Content of Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
Power Master 1's initial planning started in 2008.[3] It has been drawn and redrawn several times before being finalized in its current notebook form. The actual development of the game started in 2014, using the Unity 3D engine.[8] Development moved to the RPG Maker VX Ace program in April 2015 after Alex claimed the Unity program to be "too difficult."[9] The alpha build of Fora Temple created using the Unity Engine was posted on July 1, 2016, though was restricted in March of 2023 due to the Unity Web Player no longer being supported.
Alex first began making games as far back as 2002, using a Super Mario action figure he got in a Wendy's kids meal. He played with it, often forming his own levels in the vein of Super Mario 64, which he claims served as a big inspiration for his game. In 2007, he started drawing out games based on Nintendo's properties, such as Mario, Zelda, Fire Emblem, and Pokemon.[3] Only the Mario and Zelda notebooks are still around, with Fire Emblem's and Pokemon's being lost. In 2008, he started planning a game called Dot's World, but soon moved on to start building Power Master.
The original name of the Power Master series as a whole was going to be called Tales of the Unknown Land. Alex omitted the "Tales of" part to avoid conflicting with Atlus's Tales of series. Then, his brother claimed to have a story called "The Unknown Universe," so for a while, Alex had no name for his game. The paper listing the items for Power Master 1 still says "TUL," the abbreviation for The Unknown Land.
Development on the current game started in April 2015 for the RPG Maker VX Ace program. Said program was bought for him by his aunt, Pam.[10] Alex teamed up with a few people to help create the game. One being his brother, Geoffrey "Aaron" Bodine, who provided most of the custom battlers in the game. Edgar Gobo (who gave Alex permission to use his original character, Marceus, in the game) originally was going to provide the character artwork for the game as well as a possible Portuguese translation. Both of them have since left the main development (with Geoffrey leaving to focus his time on his "Legends End" stories), but Alex said this is a good thing and allowed him to focus more on the game himself and get his thoughts together.[3]
Power Master 1 was originally going to launch on March 26, 2016, but was pushed forward to March 18 due to things progressing faster than originally intended.[11]
Naming Codes
Depending on what the player names a character, different things will happen, such as characters changing graphics or giving the player an extra item.
- "Megamode" - Makes the character sprite grow large.
- "Minimode" - Makes the character sprite shrink.
- "^^vv<>BA" - Gives the player 99 Mega Life Vials.
- "Sonicspeed" - Increases the character's movement speed.
- "LegendsEnd" - Changes the graphics to those based on Legends End.
- "ckrit2evy1" - Gives the player a Spiked weapon based on the character (in Helen's case, a Shooting Whip)
- "S Rank" - Gives the player an Arcfire Tome.
- "Rosebud" - Gives the player 9,999,999 Sers.
Credits
Game Design, Character Concepts, & Dialogue
Alexander Bodine
Custom Portraits & Title Screen Art
Geoffrey Bodine
Battlers
Geoffrey & Alexander Bodine
Beta Testers
Zachary Etherington
Spencer Bodine
Scott Smith
Special Thanks
Pam Kuhn
Doug Bodine
Michelle Bodine
And all the rest of my friends, family, and the fantastic people on the RPG Maker forums who helped and supported me to make this game
This game was created using assets, such as music and sprites, created by the engines RPG Maker XP, VX Ace, and MV. (c)2004-2016 Enterbrain/Degica/Kadokawa Games Program created by ASCII
The land Andrabax and the characters therein are creations of Geoffrey Bodine and the character Marceus is a creation of Edgar Gobo. Both used with permission.
The Party-Based Graphics script was created by Hime.
The large tree used for Tora Tree was created by Celianna.
The Basic Side-view Battle script was created by Fomar0153.
The Arcfire Tome is a property of Nintendo/INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS. Used without permission.
All other properties are properties of their respective owners. (c) 2016 Fictional Dungeon Productions
Reception
According to Alex, the game has received mostly positive reviews[12] and was downloaded 100 times by May 7. The only piece of criticisms offered were that some areas felt too large and/or devoid of detail. By the end of 2016, the game reached 145 downloads[13], 150 downloads on February 20, 2017[14], 200 downloads on September 25, 2018[15], 250 downloads on May 20, 2020[16], and 300 downloads on May 1, 2022.
Issues and Updates
Upon release, a game-crashing compiler error occurred when players tried to leave the Town of Fora, either by walking out or using the Gem to warp out.[17] Alex states that the main overworld of Moneo was too large for the game to render the bitmap correctly.[18] To fix the problem, he included the main data for the game, which allows the game to render the overworld, but also allows players to look through the game files.[19] The update was released the following day on March 19, 2016. A second update was released in early July, which added the forgotten event in Aora Avalanche that checks for the Heat Pack.
Update v1.1
- Fixed bug where Moneo does not appear
- Included the RPG Maker VX Ace project data
- Removed unspecified unneeded and unused graphics/events/music
- Various unspecified cosmetic changes
Update v1.2
- Added the event which checks for the Heat Pack on Aora Avalanche
- Corrected enemy ranges in Moneo
- Cosmetic changes and typo fixes
Demo
On September 2, 2015, a demo was released showing a glimpse of what was to come in the full game. The player could only play as Stephan and could explore the town of Fora, Fora Forest, and Fora Temple, as well as the Area Unknown in the Inn. There are notable differences between the demo and the full release, however. There are noticeable spelling and collision errors, the player's battle portrait does not appear as it was not yet made, and the Monsters are slightly stronger. Once the player defeats Silver Knight and returns to Fora, the demo will end.
On October 31, 2016, the demo was taken down and is no longer available for download. By the time of its take down, it was downloaded a total of 43 times.[20][21]
Remakes
The first remake of this game is titled Power Master: A Strange Journey MV, appropriately named after the newly obtained RPG Maker MV program. The game is currently in development and will include new characters, updated graphics, and different mechanics.
Another remake of this game, titled Power Master 1R: A Stranger Journey, was planned to be created sometime in the future, with the "R" standing for "Remade" or "Remastered", though was canceled as elements were being used for Power Master: A Strange Journey MV instead. The written story, which was free to download and read from the original site, though is now posted here on the wiki, is based off of the planned redone version and was uploaded on August 22, 2014. However, many of the story's aspects are being used in Power Master: A Strange Journey MV.
References to Other Media
Power Master 1: A Strange Journey contains lots of references to other forms of media, such as games and books.
- The mechanic of burning bushes and blowing up mountainsides was inspired by the original The Legend of Zelda.
- If the player blows up the mountain just south of the Town of Aora, they will discover a cave that looks and acts similar to the caves in said game. The man even says "keep this a secret from everybody."
- The naming system holds a few references:
- The code "^^vv<>BA" is a reference to the Konami Code.
- The code "ckrit2evy1" is a reference to the phrase "secret to everyone" from The Legend of Zelda series.
- The code "S Rank" references the marriage mechanic from Fire Emblem Awakening.
- The code "Rosebud" is a reference to the money-making code found in The Sims.
- Of the many transformations the players undergo in Doppel's Dimension, one of them is a set of characters based off of Legends End: Eko (Stephan), Kat (Jennifer), Clayton (Hamilton), and Rona (Helen).
- The player can also look like these characters if they name that character "LegendsEnd" when prompted.
- In Aora's house, a book reads "There's a tale of a bounty hunter in the far reaches of space." This could be referencing Samus Aran from the Metroid series or Boba Fett from the Star Wars series.
- The bookcase next to Butch in Bora references Pokémon by saying "There's a book here about magical creatures that fight each other."
- The old lady in Bora's Shop says there are many Pams and that she "heard of another Shopkeeper in a different land with the same relations," referencing Anna from the Fire Emblem series.
- When opening the gate leading into the Town of Cora, a message saying "Responding to the power of the Gems, the door opens slowly." appears. A similar message is displayed in Super Mario 64 when unlocking a door with the Power Stars.
- The rolling boulder in Dora Pyramid acts similar to the one in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- In Fora, a bookcase in the Inn says "There's a story here about a young elf-like kid who left the forest to save the world," referencing Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
- Gora Graveyard has a grave that reads "Here lies Link.", the main charcter from The Legend of Zelda series. A similar grave appears in Final Fantasy.
- In Lora's house, a book reads "There's a book about a guild of magical fighters who save the world," which references the Fairy Tail stories.
- In Mora's house, a book reads "There's a tale of a heroic, mustached man who rescues a princess," referencing the Mario series.
- Nora Spider Web's design looks similar to the Inside the Deku Tree dungeon from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
- A book in Oora's house reads "There is a book here about race cars from the future," referencing the F-Zero series.
- The books the girl has in her house in Qora references both the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series of books.
- The player can find a "staff with a blue orb on top" in a house in Rora, referencing Marina from Power Master: A Strange Journey MV. Additionally, Alex transforms into Marina herself when under the effects of Doppel's Dimension.
- In Sora's house, there's a book that reads "There's a story here about a young boy traveling to different worlds to fight some organization," referencing Sora and Organization XIII from the Kingdom Hearts series. The reference is due to the protagonist from that game and this town sharing the same name.
- In Sora's inn, there's an old man that states that he wants to go beyond the clouds, "To boldly go where no man has gone before." This is referencing the theme from the Star Trek series.
- A book in Tora's house reads "There's a book here about a legendary king who commands an army to defeat a dark dragon," referencing Marth, specifically from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
- In a house in the same town, there's a story about Roy from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
- The enemy Dotwood shares his name with the great tree from Super Paper Mario.
- A book in Wora's house reads "There's a book here about an angel flying around to defeat a Goddess of Darkness," referencing Pit and Medusa from the Kid Icarus series.
- The house with the person who changes the players' names in Yora has a book that reads "There's a book here about a plumber, a princess, and a dragon... kart-racing?" referencing the Mario Kart series.
- Marceus is a character based off of the Fire Emblem series, even giving an Arcfire Tome for completing his quest.
- A book in Zora's house reads "There's a fairy tale story about a boy and his shadow," referencing the Peter Pan story. This perfectly corresponds with the boss of the area, who acts as a "shadow" of the main character.
Gallery
For this subject's gallery, see Gallery:Power Master 1: A Strange Journey.
Stephan
Jennifer
Hamilton
Dora
Helen
References
- ↑ itch.io:power-master-1-a-strange-journey
- ↑ facebook:1736623609715762
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 User:Alex95/Wikia Thread 1
- ↑ itch.io:power-master-1-fora-temple-unity-alpha-build
- ↑ "...Today is the thousandth year anniversary of when your ancestors, the Legendary Heroes of Moneo, defeated the wizard Exitilus." - Guardian of Fora, Power Master 1
- ↑ "The evil is Exitilus. [...]somehow he got out and is once again after the Gems. I'm still investigating how..." - The Mysterious Man, Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
- ↑ "Originally, [the names of the towns were] going to [end in] "orn", but that would've resulted in one or two words I didn't want in my game." - Alex in Rora, Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipx5GXxnzoM
- ↑ "The Blacksmith, Scott, by the way was named after my uncle who payed for Unity 3D for me, but that program proved to be too complicated for me and I added Scott to this game as a sort of apology. The blacksmith in the Yora is named Smith, which is his last name." - Alex in the Town of Dora, Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
- ↑ "The characters Pam and Violet are named after my aunt and cousin respectively. They were added as a sort of condition for my aunt buying the full version of RPGMaker for me. (Thanks Aunt Pam!) They told me to include them where ever I wanted, but I thought they'd fit well as the Shop and Innkeepers." - Alex in the Town of Bora's Shop, Power Master 1: A Strange Journey
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-VzYu-Vfw
- ↑ http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/61199-how-to-go-about-selling-my-game/&do=findComment&comment=599894
- ↑ 145 downloads
- ↑ 150 downloads
- ↑ 200 downloads
- ↑ 250 downloads
- ↑ http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=62204&p=4288506
- ↑ http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=62204&p=4288712
- ↑ http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=62204&p=4289691
- ↑ facebook:1306832366028224
- ↑ facebook:1315219355189525
[Edit] Games
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Games | Power Master 1: A Strange Journey (2016) • Power Master 2: The Legend | ||||||||
| Remakes | Power Master: A Strange Journey MV | ||||||||
| Other | PM1 Demo (2015) • Fora Temple Unity Build (2016) • PM1MV Demo (2017) | ||||||||
