Unfortunately and embarrassingly, I can't seem to find officially recognized art for the first three games, so here's the cover for Epic Battle Fantasy 4's Steam Release.
The main Epic Battle Fantasy series is a flash-made, turn-based RPG and follows a Final Fantasy-esque gamestyle which includes limit breaks. The games follow Matt, "Meat Shield" (good ol' swordsman-tank), and Natalie or casually Natz, "Hot Chick" (classic Mage character.) Later, Lance, "Gun Freak" (gunner), and Anna, "Nature Girl" (archer-mage) join the team.
The games have difficulty levels of Easy, Normal, Hard, and Epic.
Epic is not fooling around.
The games are also rather known for having amazing soundtracks. I have the album from iTunes.
In terms of rating in general, I'd say the game is 13+. It's not really graphic, however the developer, kupo707 or Matt Roszak, likes to poke fun at fanservice (You can click on Natz's bosom and it jiggles. This gets you the Pervert Medal in later games.) and occasionally mildly lewd hints. By that, I mean the two boys thinking about Natz (Lance more than Matt.) Anna is safe though, and those thoughts don't pop up as often as you'd think.
Also there is the questionable actions of the tentacle eyeball monster, The Beholder, but let's not get into that at this moment in time. Don't worry, anything inappropriate is censored with a good, tacky black box. Like that one NPC.
In one of the voting specials, Epic Battle Fantasy 4 was actually a contender in one of the groups! Fancy that.
Epic Battle Fantasy 1
I'll be honest and say the first game does not have a thick plotline. It's more of a fun way to pass a lot of time by beating dudes up with 9999 HP and 999 MP. This game only features Matt and Natalie. The game follows the "Beat all the enemies, move onto the next area" gameplay. I believe you get the fancy screen transition of them running in the next game. Occasionally the characters react to certain things and say something humorous (though I may be mistaking this with the second installment.) Sometimes the game does not take itself seriously, such as the fact that some of your summons are Pokémon as well as one of the bosses. This also shows up with the final boss which is...
It's been a few months since the events of Epic Battle Fantasy. Although Matt and Natalie won, Goku's death caused a massive eruption of seismic and gamma rays, which are tearing the Earth apart. Monsters are mutating due to the extreme radiation, and survivors are struggling and arguing on how to rebuild their civilization. An ambitious man seizes the opportunity. He gathers an army of monsters and robots, and then tries to take over the world. Matt and Natalie must stop them, and that they do.
Enter new antagonist. Which is Lance. I would put it under another spoiler, but since he returns in the next two games, it wouldn't really matter.
The gameplay style is still similar to the first game, but includes mini-games with the sidekick slime-cat NoLegs to get money. The last game also had shops but I feel this one handled it slightly better. Slightly.
This game is a bit more serious than the last and to my knowledge does not include Pokémon. It's humor still returns however. Also, "Do not eat random bugs."
Continuing forthwith, we move onto the huge jump to that of Epic Battle Fantasy 3.
Epic Battle Fantasy 3
This game is where Epic Battle Fantasy really becomes more immersed in the RPG genre. Now, you can navigate through the map and explore the worlds! Pick and choose your fights and talk to NPC characters who lay quests on you like a slave! This installment introduces an achievement system and handles it pretty well. Lance now joins the team! Characters can now level and you are able to choose which skills to invest in.
Wiki
After the defeat of Lance at the hands of Matt and Natalie during the events of EBF2, the world managed to rebuild civilization and proceeded to live in relative peace. The three heroes, meanwhile, banded together, hoping that no evil would be able to overcome their combined strength.
A few years later, the heroes stumble upon the resting place of the infamous Akron, an ancient demon god so powerful he was sealed away to prevent the destruction of the world. Unwisely, the heroes prodded him (Matt poking him just once with his sword) to test his vitality. Akron awoke with a violent shockwave, draining the heroes' power. The heroes were only saved from death by the fact that their combined power was too great for any one entity to completely absorb. They awake in a distant land, determined to recover their lost strength and defeat Akron for good.
As the heroes discover more about their current location, they also discern the resting place of Akron. Driven by vengeance, the heroes begin their trek north, regaining some of their powers as they go. Their first obstacle is a thick forest, home to a swarm of poisonous bees, enchanted trees, and worst of all, an enormous robotic pumpkin. Their next destination is a lake, full of nudists and pirates, crawling with Crabs and Jellyfish, and plagued by a perverted giant squid. A frozen valley provides a sudden change of pace, and the heroes find themselves facing bizarre magic creatures, powerful minibosses and the world's last woolly mammoth. Again providing a drastic environment change, the heroes ride the mammoth into a desert, dotted with the ruins of a fallen civilization and defended by their creations.
Final Plot Action
Finally, the party scales an active volcano, slaying a three-headed dragon at its summit, and entering the rift that Akron had created with his newfound powers. After a climactic final battle for the fate of the universe, Akron is killed once and for all, and the heroes go on vacation at the beach.
The open world was a nice addition and caused a pleasant surprise. Though, now we move on to my personal favorite, Epic Battle Fantasy 4.
Epic Battle Fantasy 4
The game with the most initial hype (so far), the game that introduces a new female character, the game with a nice storyline, the game with the new art scenes, and the first that managed to be put on Steam (!), Epic Battle Fantasy 4!
The gameplay is still similar to EBF 3, but the new character adds for a new change of tactics to the game! Anna can also take Natz place as a healer, so if Natz goes down, you have a backup for once! This also gives you the chance to turn Natz into a full-out offensive mage. However, Anna's offensive attacks are no pushover either. New enemies, new areas, and new medals are also featured!
Wiki
After their defeat of Akron, the party had to eventually resort to pillaging defenceless villages in order to survive. This is technically justified since the party saved the world, and therefore the villages they steal from are in their debt anyway, or at least that's what they tell themselves. In any case, when the crystal of Greenwood Village is stolen, Anna the Ranger suspects the party and sets out through Ashwood Forest in order to find them. Eventually, it becomes apparent that while the party did in fact steal from Greenwood, they were not responsible for the theft of the crystal.
The party then joins Anna on a quest to reclaim the crystal. Early on, they are challenged by the treant Mighty Oak, who joins the party (as Anna's Limit Break) after they prove their worth. Their path leads them through the Crystal Caverns. Inside, after defeating the Crystal Golem, the party is ambushed by a mysterious, glowing, cat-like figure. They barely survive the encounter, and learn in the nearby town of Whitefall about the legend of Godcat - a creator goddess who created the cats in her image and humans as their servants. The party suspects that someone is trying to steal the three crystals and revive Godcat, so she may purge the world of humans and restore the cats' reign over the Earth. This is confirmed when Whitefall's crystal is stolen. Clearly, by this point the quest is no longer merely a hunt for a thief but rather a race to save the entire world from destruction at the hands of its creator.
Spoiler: click to toggle
The party needs to go to Goldenbrick Resort in order to prevent the heist of the last crystal, but to do so they need a powerful hammer with which to smash the boulders blocking the road. They venture into the depths of Whitefall's Waste Disposal Plant in order to retrieve a hammer rumored to be inside, but soon find that a rogue A.I. has taken over the facility, and due to budget cuts the staff was unable to prevent it from hacking into the Plant's alarmingly large array of deadly weaponry and high-tech robots including the powerful Praetorian. After a gruelling battle, the party defeats the robot (which Lance hacks into joining the party as a summon), finally obtain the hammer and continue on the path to Goldenbrick. Their progress is further impeded by the collapse of a bridge, forcing them to take the long route through Lankyroot Jungle. Before leaving the jungle, the party is once again met with opposition from Godcat (although a darker-looking one). The party is nearly killed but survives as Godcat is yet again unable to sustain a physical form. After destroying a dangerous carnivorous plant known as Rafflesia, blocking the way, the party rushes to Goldenbrick. Unfortunately, our heroes find that a group of cats has stolen Goldenbrick's crystal as well. The party chases the cats deep into the Temple of Godcat, where they witness the resurrection of Godcat. After a final climactic duel, Godcat expresses empathy for the party's bravery and recognizes the worth of the human race, deciding to spare this world and leave to create another one. The cats who stole the crystals in the first place were also honoured for their bravery and lived in the stars with Godcat forever after. Then the party winds up back at Greenwood, where they celebrate and live happily ever after (until the next game?)...
EBF 4 was the first of the games to release the soundtrack for sale, though you could find the other games' music on YouTube.
I'm sure I've missed plenty, but that's the gist of it. Kupo707 has not really hinted an EBF 5, but who knows for sure besides himself?
But wait! That was the main series... Epic Battle Fantasy includes spinoffs! Those will be put in the next post (at some point because the above took some time to write and research check) as well as character descriptions.
"Player 1" (until EBF 4.) Warrior, tank, you get the idea. Matt is kind of a meat-and-potatoes-hold-the-potatoes kind of guy. Meat is also something he really likes. He'll eat pretty much anything. Including poisonous things. Because he's the gosh darn main character and he does what he wants. (That has been brought up in the games at least once.) He is primarily the fighter, in all the games, but he does have a few buff-debuff spells. He has different swords to choose from which each have a different element they enhance and different stats. This leaves an interesting road of choices to help fit the situation.
He has a Bushido skillset, which mainly focuses elemental attacks. While his moves are best fit to single enemies, he has a few moves that affect all enemies on the field. Matt has moves that can drain HP as well as put a Poison status effect (though he says he doesn't prefer poison as an attack.)
His limit breaks focus on mass-damage, rather than one of Natz's which focuses on buffing and debuffing. Cleaver single-targets with a frenzy of strikes and uses the sword he has equipped. Ragnarok rains weapons from the sky and finishes the mass damage with a giant sword. Annihilate has a chance to one-shot enemies and can be learned by Anna as well.
Natalie
Picture from EBF 3
"Player 2" and more often refered to as "Natz." Cutesy and a tree-hugger, says the Wiki bio. Before Anna, Natz kept the two boys in line. In comparison to morals, she probably second only to Anna. While she tries to advise the group a bit more, it doesn't do too much good since she's not exactly the leader. Natz is often used for fanservice, but that isn't all that she's good for. She does have quite a bit of character despite a limit break of hers having a feature of jiggling breasts.
You pretty much don't want Natz doing a standard attack, because her staff hit isn't all that powerful. Her magic is obviously her main arsenal, as it's in the magician's class description. The first three games have her spells split into Black Magic and White Magic. Black magic includes the main attack spells and mostly elemental skills save for two non-elemental spells. Her skills usually include a single target, low mana cost spell and a stronger, large area of effect, and higher mana cost variation of said spell.
Her White Magic spells usually deal with healing. She has a basic healing spell, a party-wide heal, a dispel that removes status conditions, a revive, and so on. (Thanks Wiki.) Natz has a spell that raises the team's magic defense. She also has some high damage Holy spells, but they don't leave any status effects.
"Natalie's signature Limit Break is certainly Kyun. With a fan service-like gesture and a jiggle of her breasts, Natalie uses a very powerful party-wide heal that also places a variety of status buffs on the party. She can also unleash Genesis, a massive angelic beam of holy energy reaching all the way into the skies, that deals Holy damage to all enemies and revives members of the party (or places Auto-Revive status on those who are alive). On the darker side, she can also use Black Hole, a very powerful, but dangerous Dark Limit Break that damages both the foes and the party and may kill both foes and players instantly. (In EBF4, Lance can learn this move as well). "
Copied from Wiki. This will be edited and summarized tomorrow afternoon.