Chained Echoes: An Indie JRPG masterpiece.
This game would be my official entry into the world of JRPG even if the game is inspired by JRPG it is still the first ever JRPG I have ever played. Chained Echoes is a turn-based RPG where you journey across the lands to save the world while it is a simple story it's the characters and the world that intrigues you to keep playing.
I discovered this game through the subreddit r/Pixelart where I was shown a simple concept animation which impressed me as its art design perfectly emulates well with the 2D-pixel games played on the Gameboy and Nintendo DS. This still can be said even after the full release of the game as it hits my mind with a sense of nostalgia with every background, environment, character and animation coming together perfectly well to create this wonderful love letter for the people who made and still make JRPG.
The gameplay at first might be seen as not challenging at first since it allows you to escape enemies (with exceptions being story bosses) with no penalties and lets you fully recover your health and skill points after every battle even when escaping. However, this feature helps you strategize your battles based on characters' strengths and enemies' weaknesses while also dealing with the overdrive mechanic that rewards and punishes players for every action. The game even allows you to strategize even after losing a battle as you choose to retry the battle it takes you to the menu screen to make necessary changes to your party formation or even change their skill sets.
Chained Echoes follows a group of unlikely characters who were under different circumstances forced to work together to prevent a war and unravel the mysteries of the mystical weapon called the Grand Grimoire. In this ragtag of a party, the main character is Glenn a nervous but talented sky armour pilot with the side characters being Lenne a princess who works as royal guard for a different kingdom along with her childhood friend and bodyguard Robb, Victor an Aar who is famous for being great bard for over centuries, Sienna an infamous criminal samurai who likes money, boozes and ladies, Kylian a close friend of Glenn who fought with him under a mercenary band called Iron Bulls and Ba'thraz a mercenary for hire who offers protection to the group who can manipulate metals. More characters end up joining this party with each having their own backstories that will move your heart just like with the main character Glenn as we witness his growing sense of guilt as his actions lead to negative effects rather than positive.
Overall, it is a wonderful way to get into an RPG as it sets itself as a gateway to the magical world of JRPG. And the game also has a wonderful soundtrack to elevate your immersion in each scenario within the game. Along with an engaging battle mechanic, the most obvious reason to play this game is you get to be a freaking mech warrior.
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