Review for Culdcept Revolt. Nintendo 3DS game, the video game was released on 07/07/2016 The version for 3DS came out on 03/10/2017
If not practically certain it is still very likely that none of you have ever heard of before Culdcept. Despite this, the series of Culdcept celebrates its twentieth anniversary in recent months, and to celebrate this date it comes out on Nintendo 3DS Culdcept Revolt, the largest and most ambitious chapter to date.
Born on Sega Saturn for Japan only (with then a port for Playstation, a second chapter for Dreamcast then brought to America on Playstation 2, and finally Culdcept Saga for Xbox 360), Culdcept is a bizarre turn-based strategy video game that combines RPGs, Magic card games, and Monopoly.
Cepter has amnesia
Culdcept Revolt it will begin as an incredible multitude of other titles begin: with a protagonist without memory, to whom we will give a name. Our hero, lost in a world of darkness, is contacted by a voice that reveals his true identity: he is a Cepter, a magical warrior capable of exploiting the powers of monsters and spells contained in the cards called Culcept.
The voice turns out to be Alicia, a Cepter on the run with some companions, and after a short tutorial we will be invited to join the group called Free Bats. The Free Bats are a group of rioters who are opposing the will of the evil Count: he is acting as a dictator in the kingdom and killing all the Cepters, as they are the only ones who could fight equally against his army. Of course the hero will join the Free Bats, ready to fight for freedom and to recover his memories.
My monster is a Hotel
As we have already said, Culdcept Revolt is a title that mixes the mechanics of card games with those of Monopoly. Imagine a game table, different in shape and path depending on the stage, which has different sections of different colors and some check points. At each turn a player can roll two dice to move around the board, trying to reach the check points to get money. Instead, ending up on a colored section you can decide to spend money to play one of its cards (which are drawn with the frequency of one in turn), whether it is a spell or a monster. Playing a monster will place this creature on that square, taking possession of it (the equivalent of buying land on Monopoly), causing the opponent to have to pay us a tax if it passes over that square.
Each monster has a certain corresponding amount of Life Points and Attack Points, as well as any special abilities. This happens because, if you land on a square where an opponent monster is, you can choose to play your own monster to start a fight rather than paying the enemy tax. Basically, the attacking creature will deal a blow first by taking away as many life points as there are attack points from the opponent, and then the defender will counterattack. If the attacker ends up victorious, the enemy will end up destroyed and take possession of the square, while if the defender wins or simply stays alive, it will end in nothing. In any case, the battle is not so linear and predictable, since each of the two players in the fight will be able to play from his hand an equipment card capable of increasing the HP or Strength of his monster, or endow it with special effects capable of upsetting the fate of the combat.
Placing monsters at random is not advisable, however, as each monster has an element of belonging that is equivalent to the colors on the game map. A fire monster that is on a red square will be able to use its special abilities, otherwise sealed, and will guarantee a higher price on taxes that the enemy will be forced to pay if it happens in that position. Not only that: having monsters on more than one square of the same color will increase their Magic Power (the goal of the game is to get to a certain total of Magic Power first), while using money it will be possible to level up monsters to enhance their effects.
My deck is in Meta
The games are usually very long, full of surprises and require a high dose of strategy, as we can also use our spells to put a spoke in the wheel of our opponent. For example, we can use the 1-square Displacement Magic not to decide where we will end up, but to force the enemy to land on that square we own and have advanced to the maximum level.
Each player will have the ability to fully customize their deck from over 800 different cards, playing the story mode or challenging friends locally or online. It goes without saying that there is always a lot to do and the longevity is at very high levels, for tens of hours of play that can even reach hundreds to collect all the cards available. Graphically the title is rather bland, in the average of Nintendo 3ds games without too many pretensions, with a soundtrack, however, very heartfelt that presents quite dark and anxious tracks suitable for the rather dark situation in which we find ourselves.
Culdcept Revolt presents the first real opportunity for us Europeans to get our hands on this series which in Japan is very famous, much loved, and which turns 20 years old. Although it may seem absurd to combine card games and Monopoly, the formula works and also turns out to be very exciting, especially for those who decide to take a competitive path and build a deck that can bring anyone to their knees. Unfortunately, considering the reality of the facts, we doubt that such a game will cause a great sensation in Europe and that it can be very busy online, however we hope it will enjoy the popularity it deserves.
► Culdcept Revolt is a Card Game type game developed by Omiya Soft and published by Nintendo NIS America for Nintendo 3DS, the video game was released on 07/07/2016 The version for 3DS came out on 03/10/2017
