RPG Maker 2003 on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

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For the first time ever, RPG Maker 2003 is officially available in English! This legendary game development engine is both highly affordable and easy to use, and it remains one of the most popular RPG Maker installments to date.

RPG Maker 2003 is a game development, rpg and design & illustration game developed by Gotcha Gotcha Games, KADOKAWA and Yoji Ojima and published by Gotcha Gotcha Games.
Released on April 24th 2015 is available in English only on Windows.

It has received 762 reviews of which 711 were positive and 51 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.7 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 19.50€ on Steam, but you can find it for 5.26€ on Instant Gaming.

The Steam community has classified RPG Maker 2003 into these genres:

Game Development RPG Design & Illustration RPGMaker Web Publishing JRPG Education Software 2D Pixel Graphics Singleplayer Anime Retro

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at RPG Maker 2003 through various videos and screenshots.

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

OS *: Microsoft® Windows® XP/Vista/7/8
Processor: Intel® Pentium®4 1.5GHz
Memory: 256 MB RAM
Graphics: 1024x768 or better video resolution in High Color mode
Storage: 100 MB available space
Sound Card: DirectSound-compatible sound card

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Feb. 2025

Are you plugged in? Alright, ready? One, two, a-one, two, three! I don't play video games no more I never play video games Except for little bit of God of War Never play video games

Feb. 2025

Ok here goes for my review for this software, I've actually used RPG Maker 2003 way more than what steam says because I use it with a community patch called maniacs outside of the steam environment(I also already had the non steam version of RPG Maker 2003 before getting this version). Pros over other RM Engines: ======================= 3x3 Auto Tiles More Advanced Event System (do more without coding knowledge) Better performance on older hardware and lower spec computers Has Midi support for BGM (this is if you want to optimize for file size, Midi file support was dropped after VX Ace) Engine is Cheap Small File Size (just over 1MB with a blank game, RM2k is 750KB is your curious and want to go even lower! This is all without compression btw) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pros with the two popular community projects (all thx to the patch eula! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ With Easy RPG Player: ================== Games made with 2000 and 2k3 are able to play on multiple platforms including Android and through a web browser. OGG Support Better performance on modern PCs QOL features such as Fast Forward(like in emulators) and Support for input devices Has some support for Maniacs Patch Still getting support and actively being worked on ================= With Maniacs Patch ================= Support for OGG BGM and Sound Effects An Extensive expansion to the base eventing system (tbh it's getting very close to just being another programming language while keeping the easy eventing system structure) Direct Programming via the TPC System (and now some javascript support) Ability to change font, customise windows and change game screen size within the database(similar to MZ) Better performance on modern PCs Still getting support and actively being worked on ===================== Cons of RPG Maker 2003 ===================== Old interface and aesthetic is very Windows XP, but that doesn't affect the engine itself and it's capabilities, just preference Image Files have to be 8 bit, a max of 256 colours per image file(however every image can have different 256 colours from each other). This won't actually affect most people as it's very unlikely you will use a palette larger than 256 for pixel art and most pixel art tools have a palette size of 256(8bit) anyway. 16x16 Tiles not only this but your limited to one image file per tileset, while in MZ for example, you have up to 9(this method changed after XP with VX). This can be good or bad depending on user preference. Harder to find third party resources, while it is possible, it is definitely harder to find resources and tutorials for this than for say, MV and MZ. However there is still a strong community for this engine which will help you if you ask for it. --------------------- In Summary ---------------------- While for more modern style games you'll be better off with RPG Maker MZ, if you want to make games purely with eventing, want to make a retro style game(particularly from the SNES/Megadrive era and earlier), keep your final export size as low as possible and/or enjoy low level tinkering then this is the RPG Maker engine for you!

Jan. 2025

Its really hard to navigate if you haven't watched or read any tutorials. But I get that this was probably made for people that know what they are doing (I have no clue). I watched a youtube tutorial and was able to make maps and simple events, but I still don't understand most of the features. Though overall I like this software a lot, the best part is the pre-made music and sound effects. Most of the time I open rpg maker just to listen to the music (It's so good I cried to it). Maybe one day I'll actually make a game to use it in.

Nov. 2024

You will open this software and wonder why are things the way they are. You'll struggle to figure out how to make an autotile properly (Especially the animated water autotiles). You'll scream at the fact that you cant just type into the editor, and a lot of the code is done through DROP-DOWN MENUS. but then, these quite intense limitations will start to embed deep into your subconscious mind. and you'll be going about your daily activities when suddenly you get an amazing idea for a world that nobody has ever tried before. You will have a love hate relationship with rpgmaker 2003. That's just how it goes. It really puts the 0/10 in 10/10

Sept. 2024

I bought this software when it was on sale, just to see what it was like. After playing around for it a bit, I was quite surprised how easy it was to use. Pros: Easy to use Can make old school JRPG games with this Lots of tutorials available online Lots of 3rd party resources available online Cons: The newer versions of RPG Maker look significantly better.

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Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates

Steam data	08 April 2025 15:03
SteamSpy data	11 April 2025 17:27
Steam price	16 April 2025 12:47
Steam reviews	14 April 2025 15:45

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about RPG Maker 2003, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about RPG Maker 2003
SteamCharts - Analysis of RPG Maker 2003 concurrent players on Steam
ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck RPG Maker 2003 compatibility