Note: This review is for 1.10b, please note that some reviews are for older builds, and lots of things have been addressed since launch. On to the main review! One thing first: Vambrace is a party-based adventure RPG, not a roguelike. While it borrows the side-scrolling dungeons similar to Darkest Dungeon, the flow of the game is that of a linear RPG. There is permadeath for your companions, but not for your main character. If you wipe in a dungeon, you lose your companions and their equipment, but you don't have to start completely over from scratch. The story is fairly straighforward, but the writing and wolrd-building are solid. For those interested, there are dozens of lore pages throughout the city. Additionally, Lyric can make a few decisions in the course of the game that lead to different outcomes and 3 endings. The game is separated into chapters, most of which have you exploring the frozen city. You choose 3 companions to take along from 10 classes, 2 from each of 5 races. Each class has a specialty, be it defense, healing, ranged attacks, or dungeon-navigating abilities. Part of the fun of the game for me was experimenting with various party compositions to see what works best. Relics allow you to further customize your team. Combat is turn-based. Each character can use an ability or defend. Some abilities build energy, and some cost it. Positioning in the line is important for targeting; you need a mix of melee and ranged characters. It's pretty basic, but I found it a lot of fun. Dungeons also have events that might help or hinder your party. Most of these let you opt out or take a chance for a reward, though there are a few that force you to choose something with no way of knowing the right answer. I never found these annoying, but it might bug some players. Overall, I had a great time with Vambrace. If you approach it as a classic turn-based RPG, I think you'll enjoy what it has to offer.
This is a nice, fun, middle of the road type of game. I had a ton of fun when I played it years ago on Steam, even knowing it had some flaws in balance and pacing. I like the two characters' interactions and differences in gameplay, and the final act was actually a really cool surprise. I would probably rate this a solid 3-star game. Not perfect, but fun enough and decently long for an action-adventure game ~17 hours. However, I am bumping this up to 4 stars for this release. Why? Because the Steam version has Kalypso's horrendous DRM on top of requiring Steam, which has literally kept me from being able to play it again. Whenever a rather obscure game that I enjoy and can recommend divests itself from a double-DRM scheme, it makes me quite happy. I fully intend to purchase this version to play through the game again and show my support for this practice.
Don't put a shmup section in a non-shmup game. I literally can't pass this section and it ruined the game for me.
I have recently become a big fan of roguelikes. I have such a good time with the balance of gameplay and tension. However, most roguelikes have a single way to play them, with the possibility of maybe some different characters to start the game. Tangledeep has all of the main trappings of a good roguelike: permadeath, turn-based combat, tons of items and equipment to find, and more. However, this game gives so many options. I suppose you could call it a "roguelite", but that's doing the core game a disservice. The main mode has permadeath, but with saving a few things for the next playthrough, such as storing items for the next loop, and pets and plants that carry over. But the best thing about this game is that it features a HUGE amount of customization. Not only are there a dozen different character classes, but there is a menu of play-defining options. This is what makes this game a great experience. After you pick your character, you get to pick 2 feats, which can drastically change the gameplay. On top of that, you have a long list of run modifiers. This is important. The core game experience is very, VERY hard. This is perfect for long-term roguelike fans However, I am a little more casual when it comes to roguelikes. As much as I love them, sometimes they are a little too challenging. This is where Tangledeep really shines. Not only are there multiple difficulty levels (including one that removes permadeath), there is a long list of customization options that can make the game more challenging or easier. After playing hours of the default game, I was getting frustrated at the difficulty. Then I decided to give in and tweak the settings. The only two modifiers I have used are "health regenerates outside combat" and "pets return to corral with no penalty". These two minor things made the game a lot more enjoyable for me. And there are tons of these to mix it up. TLDR: Tons of options let this appeal to both casual and hardcore roguelike fans.
I know it's not for everyone, but it;s my personal favorite RPG on the 3DS. I loved Legend of Legacy, but was a bit bothered by the lack of a clear story progression. Alliance Alive adds an engaging story and LOADS of secrets to find. The exploration aspect of this game hearkens back to the best SNES exploration-heavy RPGs, with loads of things to find on your own, while still providing a decent amount of direction if you want to just continue the story. The progression system is based on the power of your character(s) versus the relative power of what you are fighting. Instead of levels, your characters can gain points in skills, HP, or MP randomly at the end of combat. It rewards pushing forward, though occasionally still gives you bonuses in a lower-level fight. The thrill of getting a new skill or stat bonus is one of the best parts of the mechanics. I love this game, though I freely admit it's not for everyone. If you like classic RPGs with a fun (if not terribly original) story, an unusual progression system, loads of exploration and customization, and a load of cute characters, this is the one for you.
I've liked this game for a long time, but I originally only played it on the PS1. Now that I've played in on GOG, I have discovered that the game has a feature I've literally never seen in any other Diablo style ARPG: you can play with two characters. Playing this game again with this feature is awesome. It's not the same has the Fate/Torchlight series where you have a pet, but rather like a Baldur's Gate game where you only have 1 extra character (and can't pause to issue commands...) Still it's a whole lot of fun, the random layouts and quests keep things interesting, and it's just an absolute joy to play. Can't go wrong for $6.
