Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET Many indie games nowadays attempt to capture the essence of retro old school 16-bit titles, but only a few are able to truly shine and stand out. Matthias Linda’s Japanese-inspired role playing game Chained Echoes not only pays immense homage to the games we played under the covers when we were kids, but also brilliantly embraces some modern mechanics while honoring old ones. Originally started as a Kickstarter back in 2019, this indie pixel turn based RPG created by a solo developer is finally releasing on all modern day platforms. I’ll just say it now: Chained Echoes starts off very slow and quite confusing, but stick with it. You play as several different characters, with different backgrounds and motivations, in various parts of the game world. The characters fatefully cross paths in a narrative set piece that ultimately forms your starter party for the rest of the game. The game is set on the continent of Valandis, where a raging war ensues among three kingdoms, and super cool advanced mech battle robots and dragons exist in the same reality. Since you end up gathering a team of multiple characters, there isn’t one central main one.TOP/BEST ADULT VIDEO GAMES IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

But I guess you can say the “main” main character is Glenn, a red haired boy adopted into a group of mercenaries who just happens to also be an excellent mech pilot. He is accompanied by his mentor and friend Kylian as they venture out to find the source for a weapon of mass destruction. The other four characters in your party of six include the sly but kind hearted thief Sienna, an undercover princess Lenne and her bodyguard Robb, and a noble lord Victor. Matthias Linda has created a live and thriving fantasy steampunk world here with an incredible backdrop for a narrative filled to the brim with lore. Don’t worry, you’ll meet tons of characters that you can recruit into your party as the narrative progresses. Gameplay plays out in stereotypical turn-based fashion, where your party members and enemies take turns whacking each other. A nifty visual timeline is available to you at the top right hand corner of the screen that shows you whose turn is next. The game markets itself as one that features no random battle encounters because enemies can be seen running around on the field. While this is true for the most part, there are still some moments where enemies may pop out of nowhere and gank you, which pretty much equates to a random encounter.

Fast paced turn-based battles.

Some of the attack animations during combat can get dragged out and repetitive, especially after hours of gameplay, with no option to skip or fast forward through them. A nice quality of life feature is that battles feature seamless transitions, which seems to have taken inspiration from Chrono Trigger. Your party’s ultimate ability meter is also automatically filled when you enter a boss battle. Mech battles play out in similar fashion, with your mech suit containing its own unique set of moves and abilities. Even though Chained Echoes is inspired by many classic RPGs such as Xenogears and Suikoden 2, it introduces some outstanding elements that makes it stand out. The Overdrive System, which adds a unique flavor to combat, forces you to balance out which skills to use during battle. An overdrive meter that slides left or right on the top left corner of the screen dictates whether you get benefits or detriments to your party members. Keep the meter in the green zone and you get perks such as increased damage dealt, reduced damage taken, and reduced cost for skill usage. Drag it over to the red zone and your party will overheat, resulting in significantly increased damage taken. Think of it like a thermometer, where certain skills bring it up and others lower it down.House Party

Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

This mechanic represents how synced your team is and intuitively drives you to not spam the same abilities over and over again. Another fascinating system that the game uses is the tag team mechanic, allowing you to switch out party members on the fly during battle without using up a turn. This essentially means that you can have up to eight party members, four active and four in reserve, to strategize with during combat, opening up endless combinations and synchronizations. You can’t just swap any member out for another and instead must customize the formation of your team in the settings menu. The game also utilizes a “stagger” mechanic where an ally can get staggered by an enemy attack and be unable to move, forcing you to naturally switch them out for a reserve team member. Downed allies are automatically revived after the end of a combat scenario, as are all your health and stamina. This is a little surprising considering most turn based JRPGs don’t function in this way, as this pretty much renders consumable items useless and makes the game less challenging. If I had to pick a genre of video game I couldn’t live without, I’d probably have to choose turn-based RPGs. From Pokémon to Persona, these games have just been too big a part of my life to toss aside.

Tons of items to be looted, stolen or crafted.

It’s not just the classics I’d miss though, this year some of my favourite games have had turn-based combat. Jack Move is the perfect JRPG for those who didn’t have thirty hours to spare, Atelier Sophie 2 is the best game in a series well over twenty years old, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero finally brought a game to western audiences that was absolutely worth waiting for. It’s been a fantastic year for people who love a good RPG, which makes it all the more impressive that Chained Echoes is far and away the best of the bunch. On the continent of Valandis, a peaceful life is all but unheard of. The three kingdoms that occupy this fantasy world have been battling for supremacy for so long that most people live their whole lives in these times of conflict. When a mysterious magical explosion kills thousands all at once during a crucial battle, the kingdoms finally take a break from fighting and an age of peace begins. With rulers and generals who are still desperate to wipe out their long term enemies though, it’s hard to imagine the peace lasting long. Our main character Glenn is a mercenary, happy to fight for whichever kingdom that will have him with his band of buddies and hulking mech suit. At least that was the case until the day of the explosion.Halo The Master Chief Collection

Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

You see it was actually Glenn who accidentally caused this devastating disaster, thanks to a mysterious crystal that it turns out is a weapon of mass destruction. The guilt of killing his friends alongside thousands of others is clearly taking its toll on Glenn, so he decides he needs to dedicate his life to finding and getting rid of the crystal once and for all. The story of Chained Echoes is frankly incredible, with believable characters, heart wrenching moments and relationships that are built throughout the epic adventure. Alongside Glenn you have a host of interesting allies like Lenne, a princess to one of the kingdoms who ditched the castle to see the world and is horrified by her brother’s lust for war. There’s also master thief Sierra who joins the gang to avoid capture from some baddies who she owes some cash, and ends up deciding that this cause is more important than a life of crime. Every single one of them has their own unique charm, and even the enemies you have to strike down have interesting backstories. Those enemies need striking down though, and that turn-based combat you know and love is the only way to do it. As you’d expect the four members of your team get to take turns swinging their weapons or using their skills on the enemy, but even from your first encounter the different abilities you can use make things interesting.

Customize your own airship.

Some characters have attacks that hit multiple enemies, others take advantage of the elements or apply hugely impactful buffs and nerfs. Each member of the team has a totally unique moveset that can be expanded and upgraded throughout the game, and because between every battle your health and tech points are restored you’re incentivised to go all out every time. The most interesting aspect of combat though is the Overdrive meter. This is displayed at the top of the screen at all times and when you use an ability builds up. You want the meter to reach the green section in the middle because you’ll deal way more damage and all your abilities will cost half the tech points, but if you keep raising it past that it’ll go into the red and your party will take more damage and deal a pitiful amount back. To push the meter back down there are a few options at your disposal. You can defend, tag in one of your party members that’s sitting this one out, or use an ability highlighted in yellow to push the meter in the opposite direction. Managing the Overdrive Meter adds an extra layer of complexity to the combat, and means you’re not just using the same powerful abilities over and over again.

Between fights you’ll have plenty of opportunity to level up your party by using grimoire shards. Instead of gaining experience in battle, you’re given these shards that provide your characters with a skill point and stat boosts at set points throughout the game (usually after boss fights). There are also Class Seals you can equip to raise certain stats and gain new abilities, and an in-depth weapon forging system that you can use to make your swords stronger by putting fuseable crystals in them. There’s no shortage of ways to make the team stronger, and before long you’ll be taking on enemy soldiers and wild wolves with ease. No matter how much you level up, you won’t be as powerful as a mech suit makes you. It takes many many hours to finally get access to your mech suits, and when you do combat is shaken up yet again. Firstly all the numbers are bigger (dealing thousands of damage at a time after thinking hitting for eighty is reasonable) but the Overdrive meter works differently too. To keep in the green this time you need to switch gears, because doing so makes all your abilities push the meter in a different direction. Shifting gears also means you’ll take and deal different amounts of damage, so there’s a lot to think about in this different style of combat.

Chained Echoes Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

It sounds complex, but they introduce mech combat at the perfect moment when you’re starting to feel like you’ve mastered everything. When you aren’t spending every moment of Chained Echoes killing everything that crosses your path, you’ll probably be exploring the vast environments. Each new area you reach feels really open, and is full of nooks and crannies to explore. You’re rewarded for doing so as well, thanks to the reward board that gives you handy items and even levels up for completing various goals. Finding all the chests in an area, beating up powerful optional boss monsters and digging up treasure in the ground where arrows meet will all net you rewards, and really incentivise exploring the gorgeous locales. You can probably tell that I’m a bit in love with Chained Echoes, but it just does everything right. The pace of the game is extraordinary, with no random encounters to worry about, a movement speed on the overworld that feels perfect and fast travel if you want to go back to old places. Even combat is lightning fast, with no lengthy animations to worry about and no need to worry about going into a menu to heal between fights.Sacred Valley Switch NSP

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