OFF; Purification in progress...

Nobody has linked to this fabulous game yet?

Well, allow me to see if I can describe this lovely game and do it justice.

Spoiler: About OFF

OFF is a 2008 free indie RPG created by Mortis Ghost and the "Unproductive Fun Time" team using RPGmaker 2003. Originally released in French, his native tongue, it was soon released in English thanks to a translation team led by Reconstructed Dragon There is an apparent Spanish version, and a German version of the game is believed to currently be in development. Unique due to its sharp limited colour palette, its odd monochrome characters, and its twisting non-sequitur storyline, OFF has garnered a large cult following, even spawning multiple fan games, colloquially known as spinOFFs. What we also know is that the game is due to be re-vamped in 2017 to be made with better graphics and engine.

Spoiler: Plot Summary

In OFF, the player controls a character called "The Batter". He states his ultimate sacred mission is to "Purify" the world. The game is set in a strange universe, starting off in Zone 0, a tutorial level of sorts, then winding through three more zones and finally "The Room". Along the way, the player encounters numerous bizarre beings, a manifold of unsettling creatures, and lots of puzzles that need to be solved in order to progress.

So basically, you play as a rather bland character simply known as The Batter. You are guided by a strange cat creature known as The Judge, and you begin, "purifying," the different Zones of the world from a menace known as Specters. As the story unfolds, you learn about this strange world and it's elements (plastic, metal, smoke, and meat) and encounter all sorts of strange creatures. You get help in battle from mysterious, circular beings known as Add-Ons. The ultimate goal is to destroy the Guardian of each Zone, and after a few twists and turns you encounter a split ending; who is really the good guy? Who is really the bad guy? Is there really any difference?

Spoiler: Gameplay

There are a total of five "controllable" characters within the game. There is the Batter and three other "protagonists" which assist in combat, but neither have any personality nor dialogue. They are referred to as Add-Ons and their sprites appear to be levitating rings. The fifth playable character is only active for a small portion of the game as part of the plot near the endgame. The Judge appears throughout the game to aid the player with The Batter's sacred mission, and Zacharie appears to sell the player a myriad of varying objects.

Exploration in OFF is viewed in an overhead perspective with The Batter as the sprite that is controlled. There are several puzzle aspects to the game which needs to be solved in order to proceed. Such aspects include: pressing blocks or turning on and off switches in a particular order, riding pedalos, going through mazes, fixing books, finding codes and answering quizzes about the world of OFF. There are also two minigames: a balloon popping minigame, and the "Game of the Mortal Fall."

Battles in OFF can be randomly triggered by walking in certain areas or, in certain cases, as part of the storyline. When triggered, a sound plays and the player is brought to the "Battle Time" screen with the enemies on the left-hand side of the screen and the Batter and his forces on the right. At the start of the battle, the player can choose to "Attack" normally by choosing the commands for each character, use "Auto" to allow the Batter and his forces to fight on their own accord, or take the cowards route and "Flee" only if the opponent was caught by surprise. If the opponent was not caught by surprise, the option to "Flee" is only available in The Batter's personal menu of commands. The battle system is essentially turn-based, but the time until a character can make an action is determined by an interval represented by their respective loading bar on the lower right-hand corner of the screen. It is similar to the "Active Time Battle" system in some Final Fantasy games. The game is an RPG and the characters level as a result. Leveling grants you certain new Competences, the "special moves" of the game, in addition to better base stats (base stats are stats not affected by equipment usage, such as armor or weapons).

OFF is one of those surreal, warped and creepy RPG games that I seem to really dig on lately, but it's also one of the more interesting and creative games I've played in the last few years. Considering it's been around for like 7 years now and still gets high praise should tell you something!

 

The story, music, overall atmosphere? Great.
Combat? It's alright most of the time, but suffers from the worst thing to ever come to gaming - random encounters.
Seriously, I just want to explore the world and every two seconds I get assaulted by some random creature. I enjoy the fights and encountering new enemies, but it becomes a tedious and arduous task.
I loved OFF, and there's a collection of fan games/inspirations that are up to par with the original sometimes.

 

Yeah, OFF's major flaw was with the random encounters... If Mortis Ghost handled the fights like John Clowder did with Middens/Gingiva, the game would have benefited GREATLY.

Also, you're absolutely correct about the fan games being amazing and on par with OFF itself. HOME is one such game!