For the first time, RPG Maker 2003 has been given an official English translation and release! Many game developers got their start with either this engine or RPG Maker 95/2000 before it. Some of those users moved on to other engines and some of them stuck with the RPG Maker series, slowly turning it from simply a hobby into a commercially viable tool of game production. Whatever you’ve gone on to do since, or if you’ve never encountered it before, this release is worth checking out.
This newest version of 2k3, an extensive project overseen by RM veteran Archeia Nessiah, has been in the works for months. This 2k3 will work without incident on the newest versions of Windows and has dozens and dozens of new additions and fixes that aim to bring out its full potential. 
We asked the members of rpgmaker.net (RMN), a community where RM2k3 is still held in very high esteem, to articulate why the engine continues to be so appealing. Here are some of their comments.
“It was an era of exploration and innovation. A time when people pushed past the boundaries of what they thought could be done and experimented, sharing their knowledge with their fellow creators. A time of expression and thought, when mapping wasn’t all that a game should aspire for, when graphical consistency didn’t matter so much, when you made custom menus just to prove you could. It was a time of discoveries; an era of moving ever-forward with design and forging rules and ideals that we now take for granted.” – Liberty
“Rm2k3 is just so comfortable, nostalgic, and – if you’re good enough and patient enough at it – can make so much more than just your plain’ ol’, typical RPG Maker games, like puzzle games and overhead action games.” – Addit
“I like the side-view, ATB-based battle system reminiscent of Final Fantasy VI.” – AubreyTheBard
“I love the graphics. I like the rough, unpolished, Super Nintendo look they have. It looks like it could have been on the SNES console.” – pianotm
“2K/3 just feels a bit more retro, for the retro lover in me, plus a person can learn a lot just from the events without having to resort to scripts. What y ou can learn to do yourself through events can easily be carried over from one maker to the next.” – amerk
“I think if you’re fully aware of the engine and how much time it actually takes to develop a project, you can more fully appreciate a developer’s creativity within the limitations.” – Blindmind
“If you can, I recommend hooking up a PC to an old CRT television, finding a gamepad, and playing an RM2k3 game. IT’S LIKE TRAVELING BACK IN TIME.” – kentona
You heard the man! Travel back in time and check out the new and improved RPG Maker 2003!
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