I’m a sucker for old school turn-based RPGs in the vein of series like Final Fantasy, but even then the combat gets stale pretty quickly. Which is why I find a game with some unique mechanics much more refreshing. In the case of Nadia Was Here there is indeed more depth to battle strategy and the demo helps to go into detail just what to expect from the final game. I took a look at it to get a feel for how it all plays out.
Here’s the thing. The pitch itself doesn’t go into very much detail how combat works, although the first (of currently only two) updates did provide a video explaining this in more detail. However, I’m more of a hands-on person and had to experience it all for myself. I didn’t get through the entire demo but I did get a good idea of how it’ll all play out in the end. It’s worth checking out even if you don’t decide to pledge.
Nadia Was Here is a tale about three unlikely heroes as they go questing for their purpose or something. The part of the demo that I played only covered their quest to find Hogan’s shield and even then I wasn’t able to get it due to some frustrating boulder puzzles. At least they are delivering on that most of the battles are optional. Except for when you first enter a new area. Those are mandatory but not that hard if you keep an eye on health and positioning.
With all that said, combat in Nadia Was Here is fast paced and you’ve got to stay on your toes. While each character will attack automatically with whatever skill you have equipped at the time you will need to keep an eye on everyone’s health and where they are on the track. You can move them around at any time, not just when their turn is up. For example, if you have someone near death you can move them to an empty spot so they don’t get attacked. Be warned though, as the enemy can do the same thing.
Combat in Nadia Was Here is deceptively simple but full of strategic depth if you’re willing to dig deep enough. You can swap out abilities and equipment on the fly, letting Tereshan learn a new skill or Nadia steal an item then swap them out for attack abilities, for instance. There’s a lot of potential here and adds that unique…thing that I’m looking for beyond the whole “attack…attack…attack” pattern. If they do get funding I’d love to see how deep these tactics can get.
Even though the demo is quite good and worth playing just to get a feel for how it all plays out, the crux of the matter is that Nadia Was Here needs to get funded first. At the time of this writing there’s less than three weeks left and over $7,000 left to go. It’s doable but not without a big push. The fact that there’s only two updates posted so far is cause for concern as I’d love to see more communication from Joep Aben. In any event, I do hope it makes it as this could be what retro turn-based RPGs need.
