Towards the end of last month, SEGA released a free-to-play RPG on mobile devices. The game is called Hortensia Saga, and it contains a surprisingly expansive and in-depth plot in comparison to other free-to-play games. The game is set in a medieval fantasy realm where a chaotic war is raging.

Three years prior to the beginning of the game, a treacherous duke killed the king and raised his own kingdom from the ensuing chaos. Having come of age in secret, the rightful heir, disguised as a man, begins her quest to save her homeland alongside her loyal friends. Thus the tale begins.

As I mentioned before, the game packed full with plot. The main missions serve to progress the central plot by attaching a couple minutes of story to each battle. Every now and then there are also some flashback missions that take place shortly after the fall of the king in order to add even more depth. The game even throws in extra story missions for each of the game’s many recruitable characters. These missions express how each character came to first meet and join up with the princess.

In regard to the gameplay, you can have up to 5 characters in your party at a time. The character classes include swordsmen, lancers, axemen, and ranged attackers. Every enemy stands in a 3×3 grid, and each character class is able to attack in different ways. Swords can swipe at the entirety of the front row, lancers can strike an entire column, axemen can hit a 2×2 square, and the ranged attackers snipe at the entirety of the back row. Since enemies have the same classes, a lot of strategy comes into play when deciding where to place your characters on your own 3×3 grid.

Like a lot of turn-based RPGs, Hortensia Saga makes use of its own version of the active time battle system. When the player taps a ready character, their portrait will appear in a battle timeline at the top of the screen. This game’s variation of the system comes from there being certain power-up slots in the timeline that allow for things such as healing or doubling of attack power.

Like many other free-to-play mobile games, the game includes four different kinds of currencies. The generic cash is used to purchase upgrades, the knight points are used to buy normal character cards which can, in turn, be sacrificed to improve rare ones, the gems are used to buy the rarer character cards, and then materials are used create special character abilities. Each battle will have extra objectives that, if completed successfully, will reward the player with bonus currency.

Hortensia Saga also sports a multiplayer PvP component. In order to take part, you must join a guild of up to twenty other people. You can then battle another guild of equal rank for thirty minutes, twice a day. The battle system is a little different in multiplayer mode. You are allowed a party of up to ten characters, but only five at a time are allowed to attack. You also have no control over the actual battle.

Your party has the option of choosing between three different actions during the duration of the thirty minute window in which your guild is battling the other. These actions include using BP to attack, to heal HP by resting for three minutes which will also cost BP, or to simply defend an attack from the opposing force. No matter if you win or lose, the game will still reward you with some cash and new grid layouts.

As of now, the game has only been released in Japan, and nothing has been stated as to whether it will expand to other regions any time soon. Personally, I really hope it comes to America. What are your thoughts? Do you think this game will be a lot of fun, or will the free-to-play aspect dissuade you from trying it out? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Source: Kotaku

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