Evil Step

Evil Step is an RPG currently under development in RPG Maker MV.

## Plot

Evil Step follows Buster, a boy living in the city of Downturn with his single father, on an adventure across the world. When he was much younger, Buster exhibited psychic powers, but a traumatic incident stunted their development and he cannot use them for most of the game. With the help of two girls, Lane and Skye, his beloved cat Sunny, and a number of other unusual bit players, Buster travels around the world and returns home, changed greatly for his journey.

## Gameplay

Evil Step is quite clearly inspired by the Earthbound game series: namely Earthbound Beginnings, Earthbound, and Mother 3. It is a classic 2D JRPG with many gameplay elements influenced by Earthbound: enemies that are visible on the field, a rolling health meter, and others. In addition, the graphical aesthetic is heavily influenced by Earthbound, and even many plot elements are as well, such as the use of psionic abilities. This puts Evil Step in the tradition of many games influenced by the series, such as Undertale, Citizens Of Earth, and Contact.

## Main Characters

### **Yasuaki (Buster)**

The main character, an 11-year-old Maplelander who was born in Sunrise. Buster would have been a powerful esper, but as a child he had a strange encounter that resulted in his psionic abilities being nullified. Instead, he relies on the unique martial arts techniques his father has taught him, each of which is based on the stance of an insect, and gives him special boons in battle; for example, the Cockroach stance draws enemy attacks to Buster while simultaneously making him harder to hit. As a child he uses weapons, in particular a Rolled-Up Newspaper, but the older Buster fights barehanded. "Buster" is the nickname the player can give him; his real name is always Yasuaki.

### **Skye**

One of Buster's new friends on his adventure. Skye is a teenage ghost hunter who was originally part of another group of heroes, who fell in battle and had to be rescued by Buster. Although unable to use psi herself, Skye has a number of paranormal abilities of her own, wielding devices that make use of ectoplasm and orbs. She can also dispel possessions, allowing her a one-hit KO on ghosts and possessed people or items. Her standard weapon in battle is her wrench.

### **Lane**

At first disrespectful toward Buster, Lane becomes a staunch friend after he rescues her and Skye from the Sherman family. Lane really does have psi powers and can use them to great effect, especially her trademark attack, Ψ Apparition, which allows her to "copy" herself and strike multiple times. Bigger and stronger than the other two, Lane's standard weapon in battle is a wand; different wands provide different battle effects. Her relationship with Sherman Sherman III becomes an important plot thread in the story.

### **Sunny**

Buster's cat, whom he adopted as a kitten. She's now full-grown and a powerful fighter in her own right, but still holds a grudge against Buster's father for giving away her seven kittens. Sunny doesn't use psi or weapons, but has several talents unique to her, like Prey, which allows her to eat smaller enemies for HP recovery, and Dander, an automatic power that incapacitates certain foes who are allergic to cats. She uses no weapons, but the Laser Pointer can increase her attack potential.

## Story

The story of Evil Step is broken up into multiple chapters. Different characters may be playable in different chapters.

### Part 1: The Mysterious Lady

Six-year-old Buster and his father arrive at the Ikard Air Terminal and are met by officials who are helping to relocate them for reasons unknown. They are given new names (including the nickname 'Buster') and then left alone for a long time, leaving Buster to entertain himself. In the airport's video arcade, he hears the cries of a lost kitten in the ductwork, and sneaks through security to find the kitten. Along the way he witnesses many strange and paranormal things happening in the airport, not least of which is his own rapid development as an esper.

Witnessing a meeting behind closed doors, he learns that a hypnotic device will soon be placed in the airport to control the passengers, at the command of an enigmatic individual named Sherman. Encountering the device himself, Buster battles and destroys it. He is then discovered by the mysterious veiled woman who was holding the meeting, who at first seems to recognize him, but then writes it off as a coincidence.

Seeing Buster as less than a threat, the woman doesn't hurt him. Instead she reveals herself as an esper and places a mental block on him, breaking his concentration and keeping him from using his abilities for most of the game.

Although greatly weakened now, Buster manages to find his way into the ductwork and find the kitten, who bonds with him immediately and helps him find his way to the air vent he heard her from. This leads to an emotional reunion with Buster's father, who had been panicking over his disappearance; grateful to have his son back, he agrees to keep the kitten.

### Part 2: The Hero's Failure

Five years have passed since the first chapter. Buster is now 11 and lives in a city called Downturn, with his father and Sunny, the kitten he rescued, now a grown mother cat who is very protective of him.

At the start of this stage, the player takes control of a new character, Sherman III. He arrives in Downturn in a limousine, accompanied by three kids the same age that he calls Psychic, Genius, and Ninja. They visit an elaborate martial arts temple in the city, defeat its master easily, and gain access to the labyrinth underneath the building. Fighting past the various monsters and solving puzzles, they make their way to the master of the labyrinth, only to be brutally defeated In an unwinnable battle.

The focus then returns to Buster. Buster’s school day is interrupted by the arrival of Sherman Sherman Jr., older brother of Sherman III, who demands Buster’s help in finding his wayward brother. The bossy, gun-toting teenager leads Buster to the north side of town, where they fight their way through a haunted house, eventually defeating the house itself, but do not find Sherman III. Sherman Jr. departs to search on his own, leading Buster to return home. It turns out the martial arts temple is Buster’s home, and its master is his father.

Buster has not recovered his psi abilities, but a new gameplay mechanic appears at this stage. Buster's father tells his son what happened and that the children haven’t come out of the basement yet, giving him a quick refresher on martial arts maneuvers before sending him down to rescue the children.

Buster is accompanied by Sunny into the labyrinth, whose talents of healing and finding enemy weaknesses are handy. Psychic, Genius and Ninja are bruised but alive, but after their rescue, Buster witnesses the death of Sherman III. Using his martial arts techniques, he defeats the labyrinth master, then has a strange vision.

The ghost of Sherman III speaks to hIm, telling him the prophesy that he was trying to fulfill: the world will end if The Hero, a Psychic, a Genius and a Ninja don’t come together to save it. He also says that his father, Sherman Sherman, a business magnate and Presidential candidate, is desperate to keep that prophecy from coming true, as he owes all his power to the evil force that will destroy the world. He also warns Buster not to trust Sherman Jr., who is even more treacherous than their father.

At that moment, Sherman Jr. reenters, just in time to see Sherman III‘s death. Blaming Buster, he’s about to shoot Buster, before Sunny pounces on him and repels the attack.

## Release

The release date is currently unknown. Evil Step is in the earliest stages of development as of this writing, and in truth this wiki itself exists to organize plans and ideas during development.