Soul Saga: update on the battle system

Yesterday evening, Disaster Cake posted another Kickstarter update for Soul Saga, this time in order to talk about the battle system. A while ago, they asked players if they wanted the game to keep its Final Fantasy inspired combat zone system, or switch over to a more dynamic system, inspired by Chrono Trigger. And it’s the latter which “won” the vote!

Here’s a video showcasing the new battle system:

According to the developers, the battle system of Soul Saga fixes one of the most important issues regarding the battle system in JRPG (even classics): monotonous battles. The core concept of the battle system is “full control”. You’re the one who decide when and which of your characters act. In fact, you can even delay your actions to pause the enemy’s turn, it seems.

The battle system relies on IP (Intervene Points). Here’s how you can get some:

• Taking actions: you get one IP for every 3 actions you take. Also, note that enemies can also get IP that way;
• Delaying actions: unspent IP will be kept until the next turn. Also, delaying actions do not consume whatever current action buff is in effect.

Here’s how you can use your IP:

• Take multiple small actions;
• Use a single strong skill;
• Intervene the enemy turn for strategic reasons.

But what does “intervene” means? It’s simple: you pause the enemy turn in order to use the IP you’ve accumulated. Using that at the right time can make the difference between victory and defeat.

Finally, there’s the Wheel of Morai: found in the bottom right corner of the screen, it foretells the buffs and debuffs that will apply to the next 5 actions (and as explained above, delaying an action does not consume those buffs).

Here’s some of the buffs to be found in the game:

• Double Attack Power: attack power +200%, strenghtens damage dealing skills;
• Double Support Power: support power +200%, increases healing/shielding skills;
• Half Attack Power: attack power -50%, weakens damage dealing skills;
• Half Support Power, weakens healing/shielding skills.

To win in battle, you need to take action at the right time, in order to take advantage of the right buffs.

Here’s some pictures:

Soul Saga (Wii U) comes out later this year in Europe and North America.

Source: Disaster Cake