Development Platforms: Windows, sometimes (officially) Mac/Linux in the newer versions
Export Platforms: See above
Note: While official support tends to be Windows-focused, I've had no issues running XP in Wine. There's also tons of community support for a wide range of platforms. See EasyRPG below for more info.
Overview
I don't think there's much of anything new I could say, to be honest. It's the RPG Maker series. You use it to make RPGs. That level of focus has made it a cornerstone of the indie RPG world, and for good reason.
Strengths
Highly approachable: "Simple enough for a child!" is their go-to marketing line, and yeah, that tracks. I got started with it when I was about 12 and trying to make an MMO in RPG Maker XP (and yes, I technically did... for about a week before getting distracted by some other Shiny New Software).
Huge community: With its age and quality, the series has built up a large and passionate community of artists and developers of all kinds. You can probably find folks interested in your specific niche both playing and making RPG Maker games.
WYSIWYG/no-code game creation: From the beginning, a primary selling point of the series has been the ability to make a game without any amount of programming. Of course, a little bit of scripting can go a long way, but you can definitely have a lot of fun and make some cool stuff without having to write anything yourself.
Extensive asset collection: There's plenty of official DLC sold alongside the software, from character packs to tilesets and more. Of course, there's also a ton of community-made content to be found basically anywhere game assets are distributed.
Weaknesses
Price: If you want the latest edition, you're looking at shelling out at least the cost of a brand new full-priced game for it. I don't think this is necessarily unreasonable, but if you're on a tight budget, it could be prohibitive. Fortunately, I do see them running Steam sales at least once a year around January or February and whenever a new version is released. Watch for their annual RPG Maker Festival. I'll try to shout it out on Mastodon when I see it announced.
Proprietary software: I tend to prefer FOSS projects, but am happy to make an exception for high quality proprietary tools. If this is a hard line for you, unfortunately you'll be missing out.
Limited by genre expectations: If your project fits comfortably within the general bounds of a (J)RPG, then you'll be perfectly happy with RPG Maker. If you want to introduce a lot of new elements, custom mechanics, or otherwise shake things up, you might hit your head against the engine's baked in limits more often than can be considered reasonable. If this is you, don't fight your tools. Go take a stab at something that's meant to be more flexible like Game Maker or Wolf RPG Editor.
Great use cases
JRPGs: Seriously, you'd be hard pressed to find a better engine if all you want to do is make JRPGs.
Writers: If narrative is your jam, then you can easily get a lot of mileage out of RPG Maker. With so many essential mechanics ready to go from the start, there's plenty of space to focus on crafting the story you want to tell.
Fan games: You just finished Final Fantasy. You're addicted to Dragon Quest. You feel the call of inspiration to make Legally Distinct Ultimate Dream: Wyvern's Adventure. Go poke around the RPG Maker catalogue and have fun!
"Why Use RPG Maker 2003 in 2024?" by Riggy2k3 YouTube, Invidious - Just in case you need even more convincing, here's a short but sweet video I came across while doing research.
