Yeah,
Ex Clash of Heroes isn’t really an RPG at heart. There is a story, but it’s perfunctory; the only true RPG elements are that you can level up your unit types (not individual units), and even then, you reach the level cap quite quickly in each section.
The game is definitely a pretty equal split of match 3 puzzler and small scale tactical game. You basically choose a combination of unit types that have different attacks and special abilities. Smaller units (of which you can choose up to 3 types at once) can be lined up in like-colored groups of 3 vertically to make an attack that take a variable amount of turns to occur depending on the unit; they can also be lined up horizontally to form a defensive wall. Larger units (of which you can choose up to 2 types at once) are more powerful but take up more space in the limited battleground, require 4 additional like-colored units be lined up to activate, cannot form walls, and are permanently destroyed when killed (more can be purchased, but money is limited).
Beyond that, units can be stacked to increase offensive and defensive power, and like-colored groups can be timed to attack on the same turn, which increases their power. Different units introduce different mechanics, and battles can have specific and different victory requirements. For the most part, battles are won by getting attacks past the opposing defensive units and hitting the “general” at the top of the screen, who has a visible HP gauge.
It’s honestly a beautifully elegant system. For all the layers and possible team combinations, it remains very easy to understand.
I’m getting deeper into Knights in the Nightmare, and for a bit I wasn’t sure if I was actually enjoying it, despite finally having an understanding of how the game works. After some more time, though, I’ve really become enamored with it. I like Sting games generally (Baroque, Riviera, Yggdra Union) because they’re completely unafraid to take genre conventions and toss most of it out the window while flipping the rest on its head, but this game is truly something else. I can’t think of anything that even comes close to replicating the game experience.
It’s an incredibly complex game in terms of the available systems, and having no direct analogue, it’s super tough to get an initial hold of. There are 3 sets of tutorials in the game, comprising probably more than 50 individual sets of instruction, so it’s super time consuming and intimidating to get started. It’s also not immediately clear how much of the (many) systems need to be engaged with and how deeply in order to play the game successfully, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I can confirm that you don’t need to engage fully or at all with all systems in order to make progress (at least thus far), though I imagine you could break the game wide open with a firm understanding of them.
The core gameplay loop is something like this: you control a ‘wisp’ via the stylus that hovers over a small TRPG battleground. The wisp cannot attack directly, though it is the only thing that can be harmed by the enemy shmup bullets that frequently crowd the screen. Enemies roam in set patterns on the battlefield, generally putting them within range of your stationary units. You must avoid enemy bullets in order to touch your units with the wisp, holding the stylus in place to charge attacks. Basic attacks don’t do damage, instead generating MP that must be collected by the wisp to power skill attacks. Skill attacks are initiated by dragging weapons (4 can be brought into each battle; units can only use certain weapon types, which have differing attack patterns) from the inventory in the top right to the unit who will use it.
Each battle progresses through a limited number of 60-second rounds in which you try to destroy as many of the enemies as possible. Time only ticks down when you are either charging an attack or when your wisp is hit by an enemy bullet, so you’ll initially feel rushed when you start playing, but eventually you find it’s much more effective to take things slowly and cautiously. Each enemy corresponds with a single square on a bingo grid; killing an enemy fills that square and gives loot, and the battle is won by clearing a row vertically, horizontally or diagonally on the grid. Between rounds, you do a “roulette” that allows you some control over which squares on the bingo board you’re trying to fill.
Additionally, there are 2 phases that you manually cycle through: law and chaos. Most weapons can only be used in their corresponding phases, and units have differing attack patterns depending on the phase. There is a limited amount of MP that can be gathered to power skill attacks before it becomes depleted and you must change phases to gather more.
Units can only face certain directions (e.g. Up and Left, Down and Right, etc.), and some are able to move around the field with certain attacks. There is an oppositional elemental system (both weapons and units have elemental types) that allow for weaknesses/resistances. Weapons and units both degrade upon use, and there are systems to strengthen and combine both.
Objects on the field can be destroyed (only by the Warrior class) to obtain items that allow you to recruit soldiers permanently by bring the item into battle and dragging it to the unit associated with it.
It’s a fascinating game, though obviously not for the faint of heart.