No developer has more expertise in the cutesy top-down RPG genre than Kemco, and its latest project – Sword of Elpisia – looks like an absolute winner.
Following a brief pre-registration campaign starting in mid-July, Sword of Elpisia is out now on Android and iOS.
Story-wise, the game sees you playing as Aldo, a young man who repairs magitools for a living. Aldo meets a girl called Alice, who has no family and needs help, and the two of them set off on an adventure.
Then things get weird.
You see, it’s not uncommon in the game’s fantasy setting of Terra for people to accidentally turn into Magiswords. Alice chooses to undergo this transformation in order to rescue her friends. Aldo is the swordsman who wields her.
Aldo and Alice are joined on their quest by Nate, a traveler whose lover was turned into a Magisword, and Ariel, a Magisword user in search of her missing parents.
These Magiswords may be a strange fantasy invention, but they have real tactical implications in battle. To use a Magisword or unleash skills you need AP, which charges between attacks. That means you need to constantly make decisions about when to fight and when to sit back.
You can have Magiswords with up to three weapons set, too, adding to the tactical depth of the turn-based battles.
For most, though, the appeal of Sword of Elpisia will probably lie in its pixel-perfect retro visuals. Like every Kemco RPG on mobile, Sword of Elpisia looks like an RPG from the golden age of 16-bit gaming.
If you’ve played a Kemco RPG before, you know exactly what you’re getting: another slice of vintage adventuring with a compelling story, rich characters, and well-balanced gameplay.
If not, this is a good place to start.
You can download Sword of Elpisia right now on the Google Play Store and the App Store. The game has an official site too.
