Hey Steemians!
Still getting used to Steempress (created by @steempress-io). Thanks to @vornix for enabling me to set this up pretty easily.
So this is a new series of blog posts I will be starting where I talk about games that I've played; what they're about and my experience playing them.
Today we will be discussing Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle! I will keep this post story spoiler-free so don't worry if you haven't played it yet.
If you're unfamiliar, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo Switch, and was released quite a while back in 29 August 2017. It's the first and only turn-based tactics game in the Mario franchise.
Here's a trailer if you haven't seen it:
I'll be going through different aspects of the game in detail so this will probably take up a few posts.
Gameplay and Controls:
Gameplay consists of 2 modes: the main single-player campaign as well as multiplayer mode (Co-op and Versus). I will cover the multiplayer modes in another post.
Gameplay is similar to an RPG where you control a single character, Beep-O (with your 3 heroes following behind like an entourage) in the overworld, while the battles work quite differently.
As Beep-O in the overworld, you can solve puzzles to progress and/or find alternate paths to uncover hidden treasure chests with different types of collectibles (3D models/concept art/soundtracks). There are also some minigames you can play to collect Weapon Chests and unlock new weapons, which you will then have to buy in the weapon shop, or Battle HQ, with coins you collected.
Battles are triggered when you enter an enemy-inhabited territory (symbolised by enemy flags flanking the start and end barriers of the arena). Most battles require you to eliminate all or a certain number of enemies but there may be other objectives as well (not mentioning due to potential spoilers).
You'll start the battle with these options.
Prepare for Battle allows you to have an overhead view of the arena, and to examine the enemies present, including their stats and techniques.
Battle HQ allows you to adjust your party so you switch out members and change their weapons however you choose.
When you're ready, it's time to FIGHT!
During battles, the player's team of three heroes and the enemy team take turns.. During each turn, players can perform up to three actions with each of their available heroes; Movement, Attack, and Technique.
Movement: Players move a cursor to direct a character to a place on the field within their movement range. Characters can dash into enemies to deal extra damage, enter opened pipes to reach other parts of the map, and leap off of each other to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
Attack: Each hero can attack with their main weapon, which ranges from blasters and rifles, or secondary weapons such as melee weapons or grenades. Certain weapons may trigger status effects, such as dealing extra damage with Bounce, Push or Fire or inhibiting certain actions with Freeze or Honey attacks.
Technique: Each character has a primary and secondary technique that have their own unique support effect, ranging from barriers that can lessen damage to overwatch attacks that can be triggered outside of an Attack command. Techniques have cooldowns, requiring players to wait a certain amount of turns before they can be used again. Additionally, certain characters possess passive abilities that are unique to them.
At the end of a battle, you get a rank based on how well you performed in-battle. If one of your heroes fell in battle or you use more than a certain number of turns, your ranking drops, but it still counts as you having cleared the battle.
However, you can lose a battle when all of their heroes run out of health and are knocked out, or you fail a level-specific objective.
When you clear a chapter, you receive coins and Skill Orbs, which can also be found by exploring the Overworld. Skill Orbs can be used on each character's Skill Tree, granting them new unique abilities or increases in stats such as health and movement range. The great thing about the skill trees in this game is you can reset your skills any time, and there is no cost to you doing so. So if you want to switch it up and try a different build for a certain character, go right ahead!
Plot:
Without spoiling anything, I must say the plot was very interesting; the bosses were unexpected and exciting, and the way they introduced new characters just demonstrated the superb writing. Not to mention there were also some twists and turns that pleasantly surprised me.
That's all for now! Tune in to my next post where I delve more into the aesthetics of the game: Art style, music, and more!
Thanks for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://tacocat.vornix.blog/2018/06/19/tacocat-games-mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle-part-1/