Turn-based RPGs are usually a staple of Japanese developers, but Pixelated Milk has taken on a more Westernized approach to the genre with Regalia. And while it holds true to several conventions put forth by titles like Final Fantasy Tactics it goes a couple steps further and adds its own unique twist to the formula. At its core is a strategy game in practically every sense of the word.
Regalia‘s tale revolves around a young and inexperienced ruler named Kay who’s been suddenly thrust into taking on the role of ruler of his family’s land. The problem is that what’s left of it is a miserable dump. The family’s domain lies in ruins and his family has racked up enough debt to make anyone weep. And to add to the insult everyone who used to live there have packed up and left. Kay and his siblings are pretty much forced to start over from scratch.
Combat is of your traditional turn-based variety along an isometric grid. Use spells and abilities to kill off your enemies but you need to make sure that you’ve planned things out ahead of time. There is no healing in Regalia at all. Other things to worry about is dealing with villagers one-on-one. Listen to their stories and you can earn reputation with them for certain perks that they offer. The same holds true for other kingdoms with the diplomacy system.
There’s a lot to do in Regalia and you can’t do it all in one game. There’s only two years of in-game time before it ends so you’ll have to pick and choose what you want to do. And you can play however you want. Be a diplomat and befriend all the kingdoms you can. Be all chummy with every villager in your domain. Or just go out and whack the crap out of monsters.
Track the progress of the Regalia Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
Thx for the article, backed this game thanks to it!
Turn-based strategy is definitely my favorite gaming genre.
From Fire Emblem to Advanced Wars to Final Fantasy Tactics to Heroes of M&M to Dofus/Wakfu to Disgaea to Phantom Brave, I’ve played my fair share. One thing all of those games share is a healing mechanic in gameplay.
I’m really interested in seeing how the game will work around the lack of a heal mechanism. I think for it to work, unit positioning is going to have to be really rewarding (and really punishing) and units will have to have a high level of speciality (i.e. front-liners are very tanky and ranged DPS will have to be very high). If not, I fear the game will either be too difficult or too hard as well as not reward the best strategies enough.
Looking forward to its release.