Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-30093849-20161003161516/@comment-27713488-20161003180520

Most good RPG Maker games are good in spite of the base engine, not because of it, so the stigma isn't entirely misplaced. The engine is quite customizable, though, and of course a game can rely on things like writing. In fact, one sees a surprising number of games made in RPG Maker or similar engines that just have no combat whatsoever, or a completely custom system.

You might want to start with the other things Sierra's worked on. Noxian Nights had its final content update last week. Ouroboros's expanded version is currently in the beta stage, but the final version is supposed to cost money, so if you have no intention of shelling out for it you may as well go ahead and play the existing free version.

Other porn ones... Overwhored is alright, if buggy. Village of Nightmare is one of those no-combat ones - it's more or less an extended puzzle where you play a succubus corrupting the inhabitants of a village (Be mindful of your country's laws on that one, because a small fraction of the content features underage characters.) You'll probably hear about Legend of Queen Opala 1 and 2, but I have to say I found them grindy and can't really recommend playing without cheating.

There are more non-porn ones, of course, especially in English. vgperson translated quite a few Japanese games made with RPG Maker or the similar Wolf, most of which are good, though I haven't gotten around to trying all of them. I'd particularly recommend Ib and Blank Dream, or Standstill Girl if you want something with combat. Interim is short but fun. Eternal Senia's translation is a bit lacking, but it's a good action-RPG (it mentions Ragnarok Online, but I didn't play that and my experience didn't feel worse for it). Yume Nikki is a surreal exploration thing - you'll likely end up needing a guide if you want to "complete" it, but you should try going without first. Last Scenario is pretty old, but it's an actual RPG and I recall it being good.

In terms of ones that cost money... Last Word is good, but RPG Maker in name only - completely custom mechanics. To the Moon is an emotional narrative. I own several more of these, but they're in my backlog, unplayed. >_<