Though stay service video games aren’t our typical focus, a current title has captured my consideration: Sword of Convallaria. Developed by XD Inc. — identified for mobile-centric spinoffs of common IPs like Ragnarok On-line — this sport initially appeared like one thing I wouldn’t make investments a lot time in. Nevertheless, after diving deep and absolutely exhausting its content material, I felt it was solely honest to supply my closing impressions. On condition that stay service video games are ever-changing, predicting how Sword of Convallaria will fare in the long term is tough.
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The story begins with the participant’s avatar waking up in a jail cell, affected by amnesia. After escaping, you end up within the kingdom of Iria, which has descended into chaos following a riot. Throughout the riot, your character is killed and results in a purgatory-like realm known as Elysium. On this mysterious place, you should uncover the secrets and techniques of Elysium by discovering Tarot playing cards, a central factor within the Idiot’s Journey sport mode. Armed with the information and energy gained in Elysium, you’ll be able to alter destiny, returning to Iria to vary the course of historical past within the Spiral of Future mode.
At its core, Sword of Convallaria options tactical gameplay that unfolds on a grid. Items transfer primarily based on predetermined velocity stats, which can’t be altered. Tank items normally transfer first, whereas ranged items act final. The sport employs a weapon triangle system: purple (Breaker) counters inexperienced (Defender), whereas blue (Seeker) has the benefit over purple. Terrain performs a strategic position, offering benefits relying on positioning. Whereas the sport doesn’t obtain the depth of tactical classics like Last Fantasy Ways or Ways Ogre, its end-game challenges demand meticulous planning.
As talked about, The Idiot’s Journey mode comprises the majority of the stay service components. This mode includes grinding for assets to improve characters, that are obtained by way of a gacha system. The system isn’t overly restrictive, nevertheless it’s not significantly beneficiant both. One of the complicated facets is the sport’s pity system. At first look, it appears much less beneficiant than different gacha titles, however there are literally three separate pity methods in place. First, there’s a normal pity system at 180 rolls, although that is fairly a excessive threshold. The pull charges are 2%, which isn’t horrible however feels gradual because of restricted foreign money acquire. Moreover, every banner has its personal pity system, separate from the 180-roll threshold, and for those who pull the featured unit, your 180-roll counter resets. A lesser-known side is a hidden below 2% charge pity system that ensures an SSR unit on the following pull in case your pull charge is below 2% charge. One other downside, is the banners are launched at an accelerated schedule to meet up with the Chinese language base model.
Whereas Sword of Convallaria is beatable with lower-rarity items—a few of that are essential in end-game PvE content material—higher-rarity characters are usually stronger, although they lack a few of the specialised instruments discovered of their lower-rarity counterparts. Duplicate characters yield reminiscence shards for ascension, a system much like these in Langrisser Cellular or Princess Join Re: Dive. Though there are comparisons to Hoyoverse’s Eidolon and Constellation mechanics, the important thing distinction right here is you can farm shards to ascend characters, making it extra accessible for free-to-play gamers.
Nevertheless, character development has its drawbacks. At sure ranks, you’re compelled to decide on between two expertise, and unlocking the alternate ability requires a particularly uncommon useful resource known as Castalia. Castalia is tough to amass with out spending cash. Furthermore, development is closely gated by a gradual stamina recharge system, and assets for upgrading characters can run dry rapidly. Ultimately-game, the prices to improve weapons and characters rise sharply, additional slowing progress. To make issues worse, a few of the recharge currencies are time-limited, which creates a FOMO impact for gamers.
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The storyline current in The Idiot’s Journey mode is separate from the primary narrative and is mostly much less partaking. It includes gathering MacGuffins like Tarot playing cards whereas being pursued by spirit-like entities known as the Calamity. Often, you glimpse the viewpoints of characters that later seem in Spiral of Future, providing some extra backstories. Nevertheless, this mode’s story is in the end the least compelling a part of the sport.
Spiral of Future, alternatively, is the place the primary story shines. It capabilities extra like a roguelike. Whilst you can deliver three characters from the primary sport, their stats don’t maintain a lot weight as a result of energy scaling on this mode. Every week, you prepare characters and full quests, which drain stamina. As soon as exhausted, they should relaxation. Because the story progresses, your selections throughout quests decide the route you are taking, primarily based on alliances you type. Future updates promise extra factions, increasing the mode additional.
The story in Spiral of Future is arguably the strongest side of the sport, delivering hours of content material with a well-crafted narrative. The political intrigue and conflicts inside Iria are particularly partaking. Nevertheless, this mode is a major time funding, significantly if you wish to see all of the completely different endings and absolutely perceive the story. A significant frustration is the checkpoint system, as you’ll be able to solely restart from Beacon factors (chapter-based checkpoints). This implies it may well take a number of hours to return to the purpose the place you made key decisions. Regardless of these challenges, the narrative is definitely worth the effort, with completely different factions taking part in vital roles in shaping the end result. The one weak hyperlink is the protagonist—a bland self-insert character with uninspiring dialogue choices.
By way of presentation, Sword of Convallaria excels. The sport makes use of fashionable 2D sprites harking back to classics like Last Fantasy Ways, with a stage of element corresponding to Triangle Technique. The environments are considered from an isometric perspective, although the lack to regulate the digital camera might be irritating in crowded areas. One peculiar design alternative is that items should face the path they’re transferring, which leaves them weak to aspect or again assaults. Regardless of this quirk, the gameplay feels clean and responsive. The Steam model allows you to toggle between a console and cell UI, although the UI might use enchancment, significantly in displaying buffs and debuffs, that are laborious to see. Manually checking enemy buffs might be cumbersome, making it tough to course of all out there data throughout fight. On the audio entrance, Hitoshi Sakimoto’s rating gives a superb rating which exhibits his fashion at work.
Total, I loved my time with Sword of Convallaria, however I’m not sure if it has the longevity to maintain its participant base long-term. The content material might be simply exhausted, resulting in a heavy grind. Whereas the Spiral of Future mode provides a unbelievable story, replaying it’s tough as a result of time dedication required to return to key moments, particularly for those who’re aiming to see all potential endings. That stated, I stay hopeful and look ahead to the sport’s future updates.