In every fantasy kingdom there are problems that one or more heroes have to solve. This tactical RPG is no exception. But it delivers familiar content in a stylish way that gets the players' liking. At first glance, a fairly unobtrusive, though delightful game inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics in hand-animated graphics, simply turns around and enjoys itself.
You will find yourself in a world that has already faced a great threat and has successfully turned it away. It is now being watched by a group of immortals who, by their actions, have earned this flashy position. But everything suggests that the great advice is no longer as good as it once was, and Kyrie, who is her agent, will not let it go. Especially when he sees how the crime to be punished is tolerated. But the courageous warrior does not give up and, along with her party, travels through the country, hoping that justice will be done.
The game has a solid story, which is narrated mainly through numerous dialogues. It is a pity, however, that you are just reading everything, you do not have any choices in interviews and you cannot at least marginally influence the storyline. The text is a lot, but sometimes you just mechanically click it. At least partial dubbing would help, but you will find it in vain. The characters are silent, and if you turn off decent music, you only begin to experience the rare noise of the surroundings and fighting. The visual page is definitely more prominent. Brightly colored environments and characters that you usually perceive in an isometric view on smaller battlefields with a landscape cutout look good. The controls are a little rough, which is probably due to the fact that the creators have also included a console controller. But with the mouse it is increasingly brisk.
In essence, Fell Seal focuses on fighting that is practically constant. The game progresses through the nodes on the global map and almost everyone has a battle. At secured points and after eliminating enemies in turn-based mode, you can choose accompanying activities. So, for example, patrolling, where other enemies will be on the same terrain, and you can open chests with useful items that occur around you. The event will bring you closer to other events and you can make purchases or recruit on some nodes. When you trade equipment, there is a handy system where you try out weapons, equipment and accessories right on the characters, and then just confirm that you really want to buy it all.
When hiring new characters, you literally create each one - you set the level, determine the sex, appearance, choose a profession and then you need to think about its armament. In combat, you usually use a few characters that you initially place on the starting area, but don't hurt if you have more. The heroes eliminated in the fight, although survive, but the next battle already wounded, so it is appropriate to give them a rest in the camp, during which they regenerate. And yet send a standby.
There is also space for unlocking and assigning skills, as well as occupations. They are not fixed. While there are only a few at the beginning of the game, you will gradually make more available, including special ones, and change them for each character. So, for example, a hero-wizard unlocks the alchemist's focus after a few levels, which you can then assign and develop individually. Each profession has a tree of passive, active and counter abilities that you unlock with points.
The hero is assigned a primary vocation with everything that belongs to it, but at the same time he can use a set of skills from another. So, for example, you assign a healing knowledge to a combat character or use elemental spells. This will create a variety of variations that you can change and expand with new abilities at any time outside the battles. And, of course, you can also change the equipment as needed and make various items from the field ingredients. Including decoctions and accessories that can be thrown and can explode, or heal and even revitalize the fallen. It is worth noting that such items are available in small numbers, but in every new fight their status is automatically replenished.
After placing the heroes at the beginning of the battle, both your and enemy characters move in turn mode. Use one action hero to move, the other to attack or apply some ability. Physical attacks are usually conducted at close range, but you can also shoot fire, water and other attack spells from a greater distance and hit a wider area. Be careful not to hurt your own. Similarly, with healing and other support lines, you can also encourage enemy characters in the wrong position.
After completing a character's turn, you also specify the direction in which it will be rotated - ideally facing the enemy. The front impact will cause less damage than if the attack is carried out from the side or from behind. This is especially useful in narrower spaces or when there are other friendly characters on the sides. Because the rivals know what to do, and whenever possible, they walk around your men and cut them in the back. You can see badly injured characters on their knees, so you know when to heal or at least pull them back. Even in this position, however, they are still combatable ... until someone arrives.
Fighting is quite imaginative, even though clicking through actions a bit cumbersome. But at least animations of movements and actions can be set in the menu and accelerated so that turn-based battles are not so stretched. The battlefields do not look bad and do not prove that they are not very extensive. On the contrary, at least you do not have to go far to enemies who often avoid direct contact. However, the terrain itself with cubey ridges is problematic. Some places can only be accessed by unnatural detours or cannot be attacked, even if the enemy is in the optimum target position.
Treatment is counterproductive. To a lesser extent, they treat almost all defensive spells, which will please your heroes, but worse in the case of enemies. Some adversaries are able to regenerate themselves to their full health several times, even if they have already hung their lives in the hair (and tactically retreated into the background, which suggests a decent AI). Fighting unnecessarily stretches even if you speed up movement. Especially in the advanced phase of the game and at higher difficulty it is hell and get ready for battles lasting long tens of minutes, which you also repeat often because you lose them.
Fell Seal is definitely a good choice for tactical game lovers. The main emphasis is on turn-based battles, which, although they have minor mistakes, but overall are fun. The second distinctive feature is the customization of characters with any dual occupation and diverse abilities. It is all connected by simple walking around the map and a fair story, but it is straightforward and without the possibility to influence the course of dialogues and the storyline. But you will spend many hours on the battlefield to satisfy your strategic spirit.
