There have been many RPG Maker software titles on consoles in the past. There was one on the original PlayStation that had a wealth of content and flexibility to make almost anything imaginable. It included a second disc where intrepid budding game designers could make and animate sprites. For game making software on a console, it was robust and compatible with the PlayStation mouse. More entries would follow on future consoles, but they wouldn’t always come to the West. As technology advanced into 3D, the interface had to streamline, and features were eliminated to foster software that could be approachable to young gamers interested in making their own RPG. On consoles, creating an RPG is more difficult than doing it on PC with a professional grade RPG Maker software. Is RPG Maker With on Nintendo Switch easy enough for non-programmers to use to build the RPG of their dreams?
RPG Maker With is not a game; it is game-making software that was ported to consoles. The appeal to something like this is making and sharing games. The hope is that the only limit is the maker’s imagination. Regretfully, RPG Maker With is hopelessly limited in too many ways on consoles, and it has nothing to do with the interface that is not ideal for a controller or in handheld mode.
This engine is strictly 2D and, traditionally, users can import sprites or make their own. This is not the case in the console version of RPG Maker With. There is no sprite editor or option to import anything. This is likely a countermeasure to prevent copyrighted or inappropriate graphics circulating on Nintendo’s online infrastructure. Users will be limited to the stock sprites and assets preloaded in the program. Regretfully, the options are limited to very generic fantasy RPG sprites and there is not enough variety among them. RPG Maker With offers a wealth of DLC asset packs for more sprites and options, but without any way to browse the contents, it feels bad to pay for them without knowing what’s in them.
After the initial wave of disappointment washes over from the lack of fun sprites and themes, expect to be overwhelmed with confusion. Getting to grips with the UI and figuring out what everything means and how to get started is most of the experience. Trying to work out how to make a character able to read a sign is a huge undertaking at first. Learning how to assign flags for events, setting values, and scripting is the basics of any RPG or overhead story-driven game. Figuring out how to use all of these features is paramount to making anything remotely playable and will be the biggest hurdle for anyone using RPG Maker With.
The most positive aspect of the technicalities is how it is a serviceable teaching tool for budding game designers who wish to get started on learning the basics. It isn’t likely anyone can make a fun or interesting RPG with RPG Maker With, but it does make for a suitable introduction to the craft. While creatives will be restricted with the art assets, the possibilities for scripting are immense. When downloading user created scripting assets, there were a few that raised an eyebrow, like Lufia-style attacking, and box pushing and pulling. Figuring out how to create features and sharing them is the game.
The interface is kept very spartan and utilitarian. There is some customisation for the menus, but this was meant to be operated with a mouse and keyboard. Trying to do anything with a controller is unbearable and there is no way to use the gyroscope or analogue sticks as a mouse.
There were a handful RPGs to download during the review process. The games that were most complete were made by RPG Maker With‘s developers and were tutorials in the form of a short quest lasting about ten minutes. Making anything is a time-consuming process and it might take a long time for anything worthwhile to be available for anyone who only wants to play the user created content.
