Leo & Leah was started on a whim. It started just as a simple idea and it flourished into a project that I am very proud of. I’ve always toyed with simple ideas in RPG Maker games and tried to flesh them out with a different angle. The story for this title is that Leo’s girlfriend, Leah, gets captured by two imps and he must take chase after them. As more of the plot unfolds, a grey-haired villainness named Brandy comes into play, wielding a shotgun that she isn’t afraid to use. The chase ensues through many different environments, including an insect-infested forest, an underwater frog castle and a haunted pirate ship. Leo is joined by a mysterious beast named Daisy at the beginning of the game.

My main inspiration for this game came from the Donkey Kong and Mother series, as well as Super Mario RPG. Like the Flower Points in SMRPG, the party is granted a fixed number of “Survival Points” that Leo and Daisy must juggle throughout the battles in the game. The humour and quirkiness in this game is much derived from Earthbound and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, such as the fourth wall breakage and unexpected viciousness juxtaposed to bright and colourful graphics.

Leo himself acquires a number of skills throughout the game, not only to be used in-battle, but out of battle. Examples of such would be the Dash skill, which could be used to slam into enemies and get that much-needed “first attack” in the battle; a “Faded Smile” item which allows Leo to completely dodge any on-screen encounters; and “Green Fins”, which allows Leo to swim through Jellybomb-infested waters…