Platform: PC
Developer: Werk
Genre: Tactical RPG
Release: 2005
Every fan’s dream is a crossover of his favorite titles. And in my case, this is what Battle Moon Wars is all about! To see my beloved Type-moon creations all interacting in one game is something to be really hyped about, even if it’s just doujin soft.
What’s a doujin soft? They are games created by Japanese hobbyists more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games.
TVTropes writes about Battle Moon Wars:
“Take the three major facets of the Nasuverse: Tsukihime, Fate/stay night and Kara no Kyoukai. Then mix them together into a Massive Multiplayer Crossover, and add a duo of original characters on top. Through four acts, what starts as a not-so simple maidnapping explodes into a new Grail War, as one by one, a mysterious enemy is bringing back defeated villains from Nasuverse past, with shiny new power boosts to boot.”
Saber to Kohaku: “I ask of you…Art though my Master?”
We get to assume the roles of either these two characters: Takumi, specializing in melee combat (high HP & strength, and far moving distance) and Haruna, who can attack from afar (low HP & average strength, and has little coverage when moving around). The game made these originals probably to avoid having any special treatment to any single title.
They both work for Shin’i, an organization that uses magitek and prevents the supernatural from preying on humans, as well as encourage cooperation and co-existence between the neutral supernaturals. You’ll be seeing the story from their point of view as they interact with the various Type-moon characters.
The Super Route (Takumi) would deal more on Shingetsutan Tsukihime, while the Real Route (Haruna) would be more on Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel Route. Though after finishing the game, you can start a New Game Plus where you can carry over your powered-up characters, and get the most out of both stories.
The gameplay mostly switches between character dialogues super-imposed on locational backgrounds to progress the story, and the actual turn-based battles themselves, which are very reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics. The story is good as the writers were able to come up with concept where all the different titles are taken into account.
Just like Final Fantasy Tactics (and chess), the battles will always be on a map/game board where you’ll control several super-deformed characters with different abilities, and can only move a certain limited distance per turn. To win, each battle has certain conditions for you to achieve. But most of the time you’re just gonna need to kill ’em all.
The math balance behind character stats, skills, and the level up system are actually pretty good. Attack, damage taken, and chances of evasion would depend on the stats and distance of the characters involved. They can be augmented by casting a spirit skill at the start of the turn. The percentage of success of both characters will be shown while you decide your move.
Signature attacks of characters contain brief cutscenes to make the battles more visually captivating, but one can get tired in seeing them after a few times. This can be turned off at the start before accepting a skirmish.
After every battle will be an intermission scene where you can upgrade your characters through BP (Stats & Weapons) and FP Points (Skills & Abilities), as well as use stat-boosting items.
My favorite eye-candy? Tohno Shiki and Ryougi Shiki’s combination attack!
RATING: 7.5/10
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