Luigi's Adventure: Divide and Conquer

[RECKENEFIN]

Hello there! I was here a while back looking for some help, but I was a little vague. Now that I've done a little bit of work on the game I'm making (and I mean a little), I think it might help my chances of getting some help. So, here's a little synopsis of the game I'm working on RPG Maker VX . . .
LUIGI'S ADVENTURE: DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Inspiration:

Spoiler

I don't know why I like Luigi. It could be because he's tall (like me); it could be because he wears green (my favorite color). Regardless, the fact remains that Luigi is my favorite character in Mario continuity. The thought occurred to me one day that Luigi has never had his own adventure. "Luigi's Mansion" doesn't count; he was stuck in a haunted house scared out of his wits. None of the games where you play as Mario AND/OR him count (although the M&L Series and Super Paper Mario are a step in the right direction). No, Luigi needs an adventure that is his. He's the main protagonist. He saves the girl. He defeats evil. And since I like RPG's and the style of the M&L Series, I set out on a quest to create a game for him.

Story (Knowledge of past Mario games may be helpful in understanding the plot, but I'll do my best to help you out. May contain spoilers from past games.):

Spoiler

Luigi is doing what he does most of the time: watching the house while his brother, Mario, is off battling Bowser. When Toad drops by with a message from Princess Daisy about a cake for Mario, Luigi offers to go pick it up for him. When he arrives at Daisy's Castle, however, he discovers that it's a trap set by none other than Dimentio, the evil magician whose game was ended during the events of "Super Paper Mario" . . . or so they thought. He's holding Daisy hostage and has taken over her castle to proceed with his schemes. To prevent Luigi from interfering with his plans for revenge, he blasts him to a distant place.

He lands unconscious on Starry Hill (not to be confused with Star Hill) where Twink (a Star Spirit in training) and Rosalina (an expert on all things "star" and Twink's teacher) discover him. In a bright flash of light, Luigi splits into three versions of himself: Luigi, his dark-side alter ego Mr. L., and an over-cowardly version of himself whom Mr. L. later dubs "Squeegee" (Squeamish Luigi).

After they come to and Rosalina gets a handle on the situation, they're all off to Star Haven, where things are even worse than originally thought. Dimentio has stolen the Dark Crystal Star, a container designed to store all of the negative energy from selfish and evil wishes. The only possible way to cancel its power is to find the scattered and long-forgotten pieces of the legendary Star Stone, the first shooting star ever to be wished upon.

With Mario preoccupied with Bowser and Luigi now directly involved in the situation, it's up to the man in green to recover the scattered fragments and save the day! With the help of Twink (as his final test for Star Spirit status) and Mr. L. and Squeegee (because they have no choice), this is bound to be Luigi's biggest adventure yet!

World:

Spoiler

It's the Mushroom Kingdom. That's where most of the games in the series take place. In Star Haven, there are 5 doors. Each has been sealed for longer than anyone can remember. Each one leads to the location of one of the scattered Star Stone pieces, and each door can only be opened if one is in possession of the piece found in the previous door (except the first one, because there is no previous door). These doors lead to five locations:
Starry Hill: it's a hill . . . in the stars. This towering mountain is located in an uncharted area of the Mushroom Kingdom and is one of the few places that actually reaches to Star Haven.

Shady Glade: a dense, yet pleasant, forest location. Finding the shard shouldn't be too difficult . . . unless someone else has already found it.

Desert Dunes: a dry, hot, sandy region. This barren location seems devoid of all life and fascination, but there are many secrets beneath the sand.

Snowy Summit: an icy mountainous locale. Legend has it that there is a powerful stone in the shrine at the top, but other dangers wait as well.

Haunted Hollow: a dark, creepy forest area. Luigi thought he had escaped the haunted mansion routine; he was wrong.

Once the five fragments have been found, it's time to take on Dimentio at his fortress in the dark sky.

Characters:

Spoiler

Luigi, Mr. L., & Squeegee: Luigi is the younger brother of Mario. Usually playing second string during the adventures, he longs to have one of his own. On the adventure in Flipside, he was actually turned into the villainous Mr. L. by Count Bleck. Fearless and self-serving, Mr. L. had a knack for technology and a thirst for battle. He remained dormant in Luigi's subconscious until the personality split. In the need for universal balance, the release of Mr. L. also created his polar opposite: Squeegee, being Mr. L.'s opposite, has a desire to help those in need, but is hindered by an extreme amount of fear. Can Luigi find balance between his inner demons, both inside and out?

Twink: an adventurous star kid with big dreams. After helping defeat Bowser in the events of "Paper Mario", Twink began the training process to become a full-ranked Star Spirit. His desire to his best in everything and his willingness to help are his greatest assets. He does have a slight tendency to be rush into things without thinking, but when the cards are on the table, there's no one more reliable. Now presented with the "final exam" of helping Luigi save the world, Twink's dreams are within reach. His real desire, however, truly is to help Luigi succeed on his quest.

Dimentio: the evil manipulator of time and space. It was presumed that his game was over after the events of "Super Paper Mario", but, when he absorbed the energy of the Chaos Heart, he received enough points to continue his game. Comparable to Heath Ledger's Joker (just in personality, not necessarily in total awesomeness), Dimentio has some backwards priorities, believing that chaos is order, for one. Now, with the ultimate power of darkness in his possession and Mario completely distracted, nothing can stop him from destroying all of existence and reshaping it to fit his own vision of a perfect world.

Screenshots

Overworld Shots (Yes, I know they're empty. I'm working on it)

Spoiler

And some screenshots of the battle system in progress.

Spoiler

REALLY Short Demo:

http://www.mediafire.com/?yqeinuyyjmw
NOTE: I'm pretty sure you'll need to install the included font from the "Fonts" folder.
You'll also need to download the RTP package from the following link:

http://tkool.jp/products/rpgvx/eng/download.html

(It's the link after the license agreement.)


So that's about it. I know the demo is really short and extremely rough, but it is a work in progress. I have people helping out with tiles and the battle system, but there is something that I have yet to find help for: sprites. While some of the many sheets that are out there will be very helpful in putting the game together, there are some characters that are either totally new or haven't been sprited in the M&L style. That's why I'm here. I'm hoping some of you will be able to help me out a little. If anyone is interested, PM me, and I'll let you know what I need (I'd rather not take up anymore space with the whole list of sprites). Obviously, credit will be given in the game.

And for those of you who are not interested in the spriting requests, please comment and leave feedback. It'll help me see things from a different perspective. I'll try to keep the game up-to-date as changes are made.

Thank you for your time, and thank you in advance for any help I may receive.