Avarice

Avarice is a non-linear action RPG made in RPG Maker VX by Anaryu, Solitayre, and Krisanna. The game was based on the idea of "opposite forces", in this case, magic and technology. It is rather short, (only three dungeons) but the gameplay and storyline are both polished and engaging.

The plot centers around Lexi, a tech-savvy Action Girl, and Vandeli, an arrogant mage with loose morals. The duo goes through three different dungeons to deal with mages (that were previously Vandeli's allies) that have been causing trouble.


 * Action Girl: Lexi.
 * Action Prologue
 * Anticlimax Boss: Arguably Haldez. If you've gone through Elyne's dungeon beforehand you'll have Flame Pulse, which will make very short work of him. The fact that he's the only boss who's straightforward and doesn't rely on gimmicks helps.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Played for Drama in a rather disturbing manner
 * Beef Gate
 * Bullet Hell: Bosses will frequently spam you with tons of projectiles. For that matter, with the right weapons, you can unleash bullet hell on other people.
 * Character Level: Averted, although you can still use experience to purchase "talents" which can have similar effects. (Increasing damage of certain weapons, reducing MP cost, etc.)
 * Climax Boss: All of them, though Haldez in particular.
 * Devil in Plain Sight: Vandeli.
 * Difficulty Levels
 * Difficulty Spike: The final boss battle.
 * Fake Difficulty: The bosses are sometimes a lot harder than they should be because they usually unleash a Bullet Hell, which makes the game lag heavily on most computers. The subpar engine of the RPG Maker VX does not help.
 * Final Boss:
 * Flunky Boss: Elyne.
 * Genre Blind: Lexi. However, she inverts this right before, when she suddenly becomes very Genre Savvy.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Done very cruelly with, a demon summoner. In order to do so, of course, she needs to make a portal to Hell.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: While Lexi carry dozens of heavy weapons at a time, and pull them seemingly from nowhere. It's even lampshaded by the gun salesman when you first meet him: "I bet you're carrying at least three concealed weapons right now."
 * Magic Versus Science: Though they aren't actually diametrically opposed, there is definitely something going on here with Vandeli and Lexi...
 * Mentor: used to be this to Vandeli.
 * More Dakka: Lexi starts with a one-shot flintlock, and works her way up the rapid-fire ladder to a gatling gun
 * Multiple Endings
 * Redemption Demotion: Turned around from its usual form;
 * Scavenger World / Lost Technology: As stated above, the game's theme is magic and technology. The idea is that the Kydera were once a great civilization, but once they died out, people were left with an abundance of both magic and technology, but an understanding of neither.
 * Smug Snake: Vandeli.
 * Villain Protagonist: Arguably, Vandeli.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: subverts this by showing that  is not so easily disposed of.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: subverts this by showing that  is not so easily disposed of.