The one idea that potential RPG creators should make sure to not have before booting up RPG Maker is that they will be able to create something that rivals, say, Final Fantasy IX. Sure, it is possible to do so in terms of character development and plots, but the enormous complexities involved in letting the user develop an entirely 3D environment are far too much to handle at this point, and thus, RPG Maker makes use of only 2D. Don’t let that discourage you, however; there’s a limitless amount of pieces that can be strung together to from amazing and epic adventures that will fit on the size of a mere memory card, instead of four jam-packed CD-ROMs.

RPG Maker is essentialy divided into two separate categories for development. The first is titled simply RPG Maker, and this is where most of the details in terms of gameplay are created and all of the pieces come together to form an actual RPG. The other option is Anime Maker, which allows the player to turn their PlayStation controller (or preferably, mouse) into a paintbrush and start hand drawing his or her own characters and objects to be placed in a created RPG. It’s possible to create the characters' looks, but you also have to go through the task of animating them; a single animation would look pretty bad while walking around in game. The tools provided are actually incredibly versatile and powerful, but the simple fact the PlayStation’s mouse is fairly unavailable makes it so that the frustration of attempting to draw with a normal directional/analog pad will end up making most people use the default artwork available in the RPG Maker mode.

If there ever was a genre that required so much nitpicking and detail changing, an RPG is it. RPG Maker, fortunately, lets you customize and edit practically every aspect. The only part that cannot be changed is the actual battle system, which while understandable, is a bit disappointing; the battle system that’s in place is incredibly simple, boring and positively bland looking. It looks strikingly similar to the battle systems that are used on turn-based Game Boy and NES RPGs. But considering the amount of other options that have to be attended to and the other pieces of customizability present in RPG Maker, the battle engine is an aspect that should be able to be overlooked by most people.

There are some games that are easy to pick up and start playing right from the get-go, but RPG Maker ain’t one of them. Agetec has taken the time to produce two amazingly big manuals (compared to other PlayStation titles, anyway) that are full of screen shots and information that will explain the intricacies of developing a game using RPG Maker’s options. Of course, there are certain aspects that cannot be explained simply in a manual and the player has to experience them for themselves through the process of trial and error, but certain aspects – take the “Scenario Data”, where you create events that are triggered by the player – are extremely complex and even with a excellent manual that Agetec has included, it can be hard to figure them all out.

How often does a game like RPG Maker make it over to the US? In fact, it doesn't happen often, if at all. Chances are, if this title doesn’t sell well, we might not see another publisher attempt to bring one of its kind over again. So, wanna be RPG developers of the world, make sure to give RPG Maker a shot; while it might not be up to the visual caliber of the current era of RPGs, it is a flexible and resourceful title that can bring forth an experience unlike any other - as long as you’re willing to fork over the time commitment.