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Carpe Fulgur is slowly making a name for themselves in translating foreign games (primarily Japanese ones at the moment) and making them available in English on PCs, much in the same way Working Designs did on consoles years ago.
Their first game, EasyGameStation's "Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale", made waves for its amusing blend of cutthroat item shop economics, hack 'n slash dungeon crawling, and anime art style. It was an unexpected hit that propelled the company into an amazing degree of success.
Lizsoft's "Fortune Summoners" is their latest with a free demo available casting players into the role of adventuring prodigy Arche who is off to attend her first day at magic school after moving to the town of Tonkiness. Armed with a sword almost as big as she is and a mean jumpkick that Chuck Norris would be proud of, slimes on her way to school are mere pimples on the face of success.
This isn't a game that will test anyone's SLI setup and that's intentional. The classic, 2D look of the game matches the slashy gameplay remiscent of the post-Symphony of the Night 2D Castlevanias, or Ys III on the SNES, though much more deliberate in its moveset which can take a little getting used to.
Mashing moves won't get Arche anywhere other than a fast trip to permanent detention, but the good news is that she's as durable as a small tank on two legs. Arche also doesn't have to go alone when she makes a new friend who is conveniently capable of spellcasting.
It's still a little rough around the edges with the occasional oddball character in the text, but the demo can take up to two or so hours to plow through and is quite fun with either the keyboard or a gamepad like the Xbox 360 controller. The save file for completing it can also be used in the finished game.
Carpe Fulgur has come a long way in a relatively short time. And with Fortune Summoners, Arche's slime bashing adventure looks to have the right stuff to keep pushing them forward into bringing even over more exciting dungeon romps. Perhaps even an RPG involving magic cats.
Arche explores Tonkiness, her new home.
Her training is impetuous, her defense semi-impregnable.
Arche's first day leaves an impression on her classmates
There's always one of these at school
Adventure prodigy Arche's jumpkick is an amazingly effective attack
Sana saves her spellpoints while Arche delivers a flying jumpkick