Sword of Convallaria review - "A pixel art JRPG for the fans of Final Fantasy Tactics"

• A turn-based RPG for those who enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics.
• Every stage presents a unique challenge.
• Choose your team from a plethora of heroes.

As an RPG enthusiast, I couldn't pass on the chance to try out the latest release by XD Entertainment Pte. (T3 Arena, Torchilight: Infinite), Sword of Convallaria. It's been a trip down memory lane so far as Sword of Convallaria took me back to the days when I was playing Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and later on Final Fantasy Tactics. 

Whenever there's a grid-based battle system to go along with wonderful pixel art graphics, just sign me up for it. 

I've been trying out the test version of the game for like a week now, and so I thought it would be a good time to write a little bit about it. 

Let's talk about the gameplay

As I've mentioned already, Sword of Convallaria is a turn-based JRPG with a grid-based battle system. If you are a fan of the genre, you already know what to expect. 

When it comes to gameplay, Sword of Convallaria doesn't reinvent the wheel. The characters have a certain maximum range that they can move around on the grid and cast their skills. The range depends on the character class for the most part. 

For example, melee tanks need to be close to their enemies in order to perform an attack. On the other hand, a ranger or a priest has a much bigger range. After all of your characters complete their action, your turn is over, and it's your opponent's turn. 

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The objective usually is to eliminate all the enemies. That's the gameplay in a nutshell. 

Of course, there are some other mechanics as well that make things a bit more interesting. For example, you can explode barrels and damage the surrounding characters. Or some characters have the ability to knock their enemies out of the board. Some tiles in certain stages might be burning, causing heroes to take damage over time.

Anyway, I don't want to get into too many details, but what I enjoy so far is that every stage is unique, offering a different challenge.

The story

The story takes place in Iria, a magical town that is a part of the ancient continent of Rodinia. As Iria is renowned for its abundance of resources, it has drawn the envy of other powerful nations. Numerous conflicts between religious and ethnic groups, interference from external factions, and power struggles loom over the town.

As you awaken in a mysterious dungeon, you find yourself becoming entangled with the fate of Iria. Battling for survival, you manage to escape, only to find yourself in the imperilled town of Convallaria.

You take command of the Sword of Convallaria Mercenary Group to protect the town and fight for a better future for Iria.

The pixel graphics bring back memories

Simply put, the graphics are beautiful - at least if you enjoy that form of art. But in my opinion, Sword of Convallaria boasts wonderful pixel graphics, which remind me of old-school RPGs. It's not something groundbreaking or unique, but the nostalgia is there, and it's undeniable. If you played games like Octopath Traveler or Stardew Valley before, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. 

Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention the game's music, which was made by producer Hitoshi Sakimoto. Yeah, the same guy who did the score for FF Tactics and Tactics Ogre.

About the characters

When it comes to the characters and how you can get them stronger, it's pretty standard. You can level them up and raise their stats, equip gears, or star them up with dupes - nothing groundbreaking, really. It's what you'd expect. What's interesting, though, is that each character has a unique branching tree. By selecting various passive skills, you can adjust their performance to meet your style of play. 

There are not that many characters as of yet, but I'm sure there will be future releases. And yeah, in order to get new ones, there's a gacha system.

Progression

So far, progress has been smooth, and I've been enjoying the game. The energy mechanic can be a little bit annoying for someone who wants to spend hours at a time playing, though. I haven't spent any money on the game, but I haven't had any trouble. I mean, I didn't hit a wall or something like that. 

Now, that said, keep in mind that I'm only playing the game for about a week. I don't know how the end game will be. I'm assuming that getting dupes for certain characters can be problematic, but maybe there will be events? Who knows. 

Obviously, if you decide to invest money in the game, things will be a little bit easier. But that's pretty standard with every game that has a gacha mechanic.