A Pirate's Life is a non-profit RPG Maker game created by DeviantArt user Natamin and is the sequel to EverQuest II fangame Natamin's Big Adventure, starring Breakout Character Ardala the Pirate. The first demo released on Dec. 20th, 2024.
Three years have passed since Natamin's big adventure and Ardala, Mighty Pirate, hasn't been doing so well. She's lost her ship, her relationship with her new family is going through a bad phase, and to top it off her reputation as a pirate in Norrath is so low she's not even worth hunting. Deciding it's time to get back on the horse - or ship, in this case - Dala vows to work her way back up to the top and become the most feared pirate on the planet.
It might help if she actually had a ship. Or a crew. Or a horse.
The game can be downloaded from itch.io here
. Information on the game and its progress can also be found on Natamin's DeviantArt page. The latest demo covers the Prologue and the first two Chapters.
Piratey tropes in this game:
- Anti-Grinding: Each area has a set number of encounters that don't respawn.
- Ascended Extra: Mitsu Farria was just a cameo and fight in the first game. Here, she has a more elaborate sidequest attached to her.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Dala and her wives are in the middle of an argument over the former's inability to let go of her thieving ways, which ended with Dala being kicked out of their mansion. However, plenty of moments highlight their love isn't dead at all.
- Dala doesn't bat an eye when people still mention the P'artak girls as her "wives".
- When Dala begins to rack up a bounty on her head, Natamin resolves to capture her and bring her back to their family's manor because she's worried for her. The "Wives Encounters" sidequest involves optional battles against Natamin. Each times, while there is Belligerent Sexual Tension, it's pretty clear they all still love each other. After the first fight, Dala even immediately takes advantage of her victory to give a big smooch to Natamin, leaving the latter both breathless and pleased. During the second fight, Natamin brings Leona with her. The Succubus is eager to tease and flirt with Dala during the confrontation. After Dala defeats them, she also indulges in some teasing of her own - peeking under Leona's dress and complimenting her choice of underwear. Leona is, of course, delighted.
- Similarly, when Dala discovers the vigilante who's hurting Rose's business is Xakra, and even though their subsequent argument is very tensed, Dala lets her go and makes it look like the Scarlet Shadow overpowered and trussed her up - knowing full well this will put her in a tight spot with Rose.
- Bag of Spilling: Dala's back at Level 1 from years of taking it easy. Being estranged from her new family means she didn't get to take her old gear or any cash with her either.
- Barefoot Captives: About a third of the enemies you defeat end up losing their footwear.
- Bound and Gagged: The primary method of handling captives. Though Dala and her crew will find themselves like this throughout the story.
- City of Adventure: Dala gets jobs at the Rusty Anchor in the city of Freeport.
- Covert Pervert: From Dala herself to minor random encounters, it's painfully obvious that a lot of the cast secretly enjoys being Bound and Gagged.
- Crossover Cameo: Dala is recruited by and ends up encountering several characters from the manga series Fantasy Frontier created by LostOneZero in a stand alone side quest mission.
- Darker and Edgier: Downplayed. A Pirate's Life retains the zaniness and light-hearted fanservice of its predecessor, but takes its threats more seriously than Natamin's Big Adventure. The Starter Villain is involved in slave market, and the characters react accordingly to that - as well as to the unfortunate implications she trains her slaves like pets. Freya, the first main antagonist, makes it clear she intends to kill Dala when the latter is caught trespassing in her illegal auction, and actually dies on-screen because the cursed sword she used to fight Dala's team drained all her life. (That one instance being somewhat mitigated by the fact that, since Death Is Cheap for those with the means to use necromancy, Freya may return as a sentient undead.)
- Dressed to Plunder: Dala has received a completely new wardrobe in this game. Complete with Pirate Long-coat.
- Downer Ending: There are once again bad endings if one loses some key fights.
- In Chapter 1, Beatrice Kessler puts her slave collars on Dala, Leela and Athena, and she turns them into pets and walks them on all fours with a leash.
- In the first sidequest, the party ends up in the dungeon and torture-tickled.
- In Chapter 2, the party is captured and sold as slaves instead of escaping.
- If Dala loses to Natamin, she's captured and brought back to the family house to be reformed.
- Downtime Downgrade: The last game ended with Ardala married into Natamin's polygamous family. At this point, they're separated because her sticky fingers kept causing friction with the others. It is however pretty clear they still love each other.
- Dual Wielding: You can equip two weapons to Ardala at a time, gaining the strengths and weakness of both.
- Elite Mooks: Freya Halecrest uses demons, vampires, and debt-bound servants as powerful guards for her vault.
- Everyone Has Standards: The main characters are all morally grey unrepentant thieves. However, they find slavery disgusting.
- Foe Romance Subtext: Leaving aside Dala's canon relationship with Natamin, Leona, and Xakra, the self-proclaimed Pirate Queen also has chemistry with all her rivals: Rose, Alicia, and Mitsu. Rose may be Dala's Quest Giver at the moment, but she also betrayed her and stole her ship again in-between Natamin's Big Adventure and A Pirate's Life, thus Dala is hostile towards her and only works for her because she has no other choice to get back her ship and her Villain Cred. Yet, Dala is also really into it when Rose binds and tickles her - and Dala even mentions Rose was her First Kiss. As for Alicia, she's a rival thief, but apparently a lot usually happens during their encounters, and Dala really enjoys binding and gagging her.
- Front Organization: Freya Halecrest uses her casino as a cover for criminal dealings and supernatural exploitation.
- Gangplank Galleon: The game starts with Dala locked up in a brig on a pirate ship. The Rusty Anchor is also a ship turned into an establishment on the docks.
- Gone Horribly Right: One early sidequest involves Dala being hired by the bodyguard of a famous dancer named Colliope to pretend to kidnap her, so that the bodyguard can pretend to rescue her. During the next sidequest involving them, Dala discovers Colliope loved the experience of being Bound and Gagged and rescued so much she's now the one hiring Dala to bind and gag her, so that she can be rescued again. Which wouldn't be too much of a problem if Colliope wasn't handy with an axe, and unwilling to take 'no' for an answer. Of course, right after Dala binds and gags the dancer, Colliope's other bodyguard - who doesn't know it's a fantasy - walks on her, and mistakes her for a real kidnapper.
- In Medias Res: The game starts with Ardala attempting to free herself from captivity on a pirate ship.
- Lockpicking Minigame: Dala's special ability is she can lock-pick. This allows her to get into locked chests, locations and out of situations if she is locked up.
- Monster Compendium: Dala has a log book where she keeps information on all enemies she's encountered including how they are bound and gagged.
- Mugged for Disguise: During an optional quest after Chapter 2, Leona poses as a nun to lure Dala into the temple under false pretenses. The real nun can be found afterwards, commenting someone stole her dress.
- Ninja Maid: The maids working for Beatrice Kessler double as her guards.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
- In Dala's eyes, at least. She got a pardon for saving the world last game, which was the primary reason her credibility as a pirate tanked so bad.
- During Chapter 2's heist, while undercover as a casino guest, Dala agrees to help a woman whose friend got hurt in the storage room. It turns out to be a trap. The stranger is actually a thief after Dala's VIP invitation. Thus, once in the storage room, she swiftly ambushes Dala, steals her invitation, and leaves her trussed up in the storage room.
- Non-Lethal Warfare: The game makes it clear during the tutorial there is no need to kill people when you can just tie them up instead.
- Obligatory Earpiece Touch: When infiltrating the casino in Chapter 2, Dala gets a pair of earrings that function as a communicator. They're touch-activated, allowing her to talk while making it look like she's just adjusting her accessories.
- One-Time Dungeon: Any areas Dala hits up for a job or quest end up inaccessible after she completes them, either because she refuses to go back as she has no reason to or they become unable to be returned to at all.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Dala and Leela have a pair of Siren Idols from their late father. It will probably be important at some point.
- The Pardon: Dala was given one for helping to save the world. This meant she no longer officially had any crimes under her belt, causing the start of the fall of her reputation as a pirate.
- Quest Giver: Anyone you can get quests from will be clearly marked on the field.
- Rare Candy: Special coins can be found that increase specific stats when used.
- Save the Princess: Princess Elvina needs to be saved twice. The first time she is locked inside a panic room. The second she has been taken captive by Aja.
- Shout-Out: Just like its predecessor, A Pirate's Life often references other DID-related material and RPG Maker games.
- The first sidequest takes place in Castle Dabor, and features characters of the DID-themed Fantasy Frontier digital comics series drawn by LostOneZero.
- One of the books in Castle Dabor is labeled "Rakenzarn Tales", a reference to DarkKyu09's game.
- Dala's main rivals are from other DID-themed fangames: Mitsu from Mitsu Story: The Forgotten Odyssey by ResrirDark00 and Alicia from A Drow's Life by conqueror3.
- Mini-bosses are more often than not Cameos of original characters belonging to artists from DeviantArt who support the project. Michael and Sapphire, the couple Dala's team mugs at the beginning of Chapter 2 to steal an invitation for the casino party, belong to TraceMem.
- Smooch of Victory: Dala steals a kiss from Natamin after defeating her in a battle.
- Soul-Powered Engine: Courtesy of Dessan's magic, Freya Halecrest's casino secretly siphons soul energy from patrons as part of her deal with him.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Beatrice Kessler "trains" women to then sell them on the slave market. While she's not a major antagonist, her actions are portrayed as especially vile.
- Spoiler Cover: Chapter 2 ends with Freya dying. The cover shows her as a main antagonist with a greyish skin, hinting her return as an undead.
- Suddenly Voiced: All the main characters and antagonists all have voices unlike the previous game.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Dessan and Freya have a lucrative partnership, but absolutely no love or loyalty for each other. Their first scene together shows Freya attempting to cheat Dessan out of a powerful artifact in spite of their deal, with Dessan quick to remind her her place.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Deconstructed, then averted. Not doing any actual pirate work means nobody takes Dala seriously as a pirate anymore. The whole rest of the game is about her actually being a pirate and getting her respect back.
- Thieves' Guild: Dala receives jobs at the Rusty Anchor. It seems to be the place people in Freeport people go to get the best tips, jobs and fence stolen items. It even has vendors the player can buy and sell from once Dala finishes her first job and gains a little reputation back.
- Tickle Torture: Dala playfully uses this in the tutorial to get a guard to tell her what she wants to know. And the villains in Dabor seem to use it as their main method of getting information as well as an attack in battle.
- Trauma Inn: Resting in the bed in Dala's room or in certain locations restores health and magic.
- Video Game Stealing: One of Dala's moves is to swipe items and weapons from foes mid-combat.
- Villain Cred: Dala's entire motivation is get respected as a proper pirate again.
- World of Technicolor Hair: The game has an entire spectrum of hair colors for the cast and characters.