Developed by HitherYon Games and published by Meridian4, Paladin Dreams is an indie RPG released on August 12, 2021 for PC via steam. It utilizes the RPG Maker engine which may put some people off but it has original elements as well. This includes well-done hymnal songs performed by Mioune along with an original soundtrack that adds to the ambiance of the medieval fantasy setting. The game also features pieces of unique art as well. The game is only available to play in English.
The world of Paladin Dream isn’t the biggest as it tends to be a short RPG that can completed within ten hours or even quicker. There are side-quests you can do which might add to the added completion hours but even then, not by too much.
Aptly named
Every night, Josiah, the main protagonist, has the same dream. He is at the entrance of a cave in the mountains far away from his home in Adrelian Abbey, in which lives and trains in in order to become a paladin. He along with the other students hold the Abbey with sacred regard.
Continuing in his dream, he is approached by a knight wearing gray armor. This is no ordinary knight as the knight appears to be almost the spitting image of Josiah. He then battles the man, but alas he is too powerful, and Josiah ultimately loses. This is the point when he awakes every night.
Man in the mirror
Here Josiah comes face to face with the man that appears in his dreams. Don’t worry about winning as this is a scripted battle. Fighting is fairly basic in Paladin Dream reminiscent of very early RPGs with a limited party or even a single party member like here. Take advantage of the using the button to show the target enemies’ info. It probably won’t matter early on but can be helpful when enemies are susceptible to elemental attacks. As a side note, Josiah’s name comes from the Hebrew “Yoshiyahu” which roughly means “God supports.” A great name for a paladin no less.
Some immediate advice
Notice the map. On the upper left section, there is a person who is actually a monster encounter that can be repeated as much as you want before you leave the Abbey for the first time. As this is on the floor you first start, odds are you might talk to it thinking it is an NPC. Without any or very little equipment, there is a good chance you might get defeated (I’ll admit, I didn’t equip the equipment on the floor and had to start the game over) and will have to start the whole game over again, including the dream if didn’t save right away. There is no auto-save so try to save often and take advantage of multiple save slots.
I recommend searching everywhere in the abbey to get armor, a shield, a ring, and a weapon. After this, you are free to fight the NPC above, tackle a small side-quest involving fighting in the abbey, and finally fight the person guarding the exit to the abbey.
Breaking bread
There are not many levels to gain in Paladin Dream. The maximum level is 15 and only at level 4 do you get a healing spell. This means until then, which is good portion of the beginning of the game, you have to heal via items or go to a church in town and heal. Try to stock up on loaves of bread early because enemy attacks can build up quickly when there is just a single party member as there is in Paladin Dream.
Nothing fancy
As with fighting, the equipment capabilities as well as the status of the player in Paladin Dream are very basic and commonplace with any other RPG. The status categories and each equipment slot are fairly self-explanatory.
Lure yourself in
The game doesn’t provide too much mandatory backstory. In the abbey on the first floor to the right, there will be books to learn about Paladin Dream. Allow me to quote them to give you a better feel of the game. There are only three books and they are relatively short:
Book 1: The Demon War Many years ago, when the demon Nazar came forth from the Nightmare Realm, our world was shrouded in misery. As the world fell into despair, humanity waited for a hero to emerge from the darkness.
Book 2: The Hero A virtuous man named Adriel rose up against the powers of the nightmare demon, and its wicked followers. After a long and epic struggle, by the grace of the Light, our champion vanquished the foul foe.
Book 3: The Abbey Following the fall of Nazar, Adriel the Hero built this Abbey in the middle of the war-torn valley where his glorious victory ensued. Virtuous people from across The Wild Lands flock here today, and enlist to preserve the will of the Light.
That’s how it usually starts in RPGs…
Monster battles occur via symbol encounter and not random encounters. I don’t think there is an preemptive strike/ambush system and battles just start normally. There isn’t running in the game unfortunately, but the monsters don’t run or chase after you either. It is usually relatively easy to avoid monsters unless they are wedged in a narrow corridor.
Explore everywhere
Although the game does not have many interactable objects like searching bureaus and other things in houses, you can enter wells in this game so try to explore various things and see if you can interact with them.
Old-school battling
Battles, to reiterate once again, are done via a first-person perspective with basic attack and magic options. The battle dialogue remains on the top of the screen while there is some albeit limited battle visual effects. It is very old-school and a throwback to the early days of the JPRG-era in the 80s.
