Old Skull Publishing
2019
Complexity: 1
Lost in the Fantasy World is a role-playing game loosely based on a cartoon, loosely based on a role-playing game. And if that sounds weird, remember that there is a role-playing game unofficially based on an anime, based on a series of novels, based on transcripts of a role-playing game.
Setting: 1/3 [−]
Lost in the Fantasy World is about normal teenagers who somehow find themselves in a fantasy world where a “enigmatic Mentor” gives them magical artifacts to help in their quest to return home. For those of you who are not awesome enough to be aware of it, that is the basic plot of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series. It’s not so much a setting as a general premise, it’s an okay premise, but it does basically boil down to “it’s like the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.”
Character Creation: 2/5
Creating a character in Lost in the Fantasy World is as simple as coming up with a concept, four traits, and an artifact. In fact I’ll do it right now. Derek, the cocky anime nerd, who is determined, has a good memory, can fit into tight spaces, and has a yaoi paddle. He has been entrusted with the “Trumpet of Justice.” And there we have it, a character. Not a good character mind you, but sufficient for making my point that the process is simple.
While simple, it is another one of those “just kinda whatever” character creation systems that while providing freedom, do so through lack of consistent options.
Mechanics: 2/5
The basics of the mechanics comes down to rolling a d6 against an opposed d6 roll. Character concept and traits can add +1 to rolls if applicable, and using an artifact allows for the best of 2d6 to be taken. Traits also somewhat function as health, with combat failures resulting in temporary loss of traits as a form of damage.
The system provides a lot of flexibility, but once again it’s one of those things where it’s only really flexible because you have only vague guidelines. For as minimal as it is, it seems solid in concept, but a bit nebulous in execution.
Writing: 3/5 [•]
Writing is fine. I’m tired of doing the same generic writeup when there’s nothing notable to say about the writing, so I think from this point on if I don’t have anything to say I’m just gonna give ‘em their 3/5 and skip it.
Presentation: 3/5
Lost in the Fantasy World is another game presented in a tri-fold pamphlet, which I guess must be a pretty good format because the two games I’ve looked at in said format are quite nice looking. Each section is on its own fold of the pamphlet, and everything well formatted with nice illustrations filling out the spacing. Overall just a very nice and professional presentation.
Final Remarks
This is one of those games that seems like it’s trying to present more of a “traditional” role-playing game experience in a very small package, and while it’s okay, I feel like they definitely could have used a few more pages to flesh out the ideas a bit better.
Base Points: 7
Character Creation: 2/5, Mechanics: 2/5, Presentation: 3/5
Adjustments: −1
Setting: −1, Writing: +0, Content: N/A
Overall Score: 40% (6/15 Points)
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