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[harleyw]

Ahoy,

I spent my weekend seeing if this idea worked, and managed to get it working (and mostly presentable) :

Itch.io Page



The battle system is the same kind of flip/matching game from the Toad Houses we all remember (right?) but I've tried to also make some kind of strategy viable - once you know where some of the matching pairs are, there's usually an optimal order of execution.

This build has a few simple enemies, 8 types of Item/Action cards to match in pairs, saving and loading, and 2 types of upgrade shops you visit between battles. This build also has debug commands mapped to some unused keyboard buttons, so by all means feel free to mash your keyboard, but you might end up with some weird results

Any and all feedback very much welcome - as well as a heads up if something breaks during gameplay. Most things should be pretty solid, but you know how it goes.

[harleyw]

Cue some updates in progress after discussing mechanics and balancing with some friends -

1. Overworld - for accessing Shops in a non-random way, as well as a very OG Final Fantasy Inn, for fully restoring HP & MP for a little Gold:



2. Hint System - 3x Hints per Battle, just so the random chance element isn't so punishing if you're not fully healed:



It's a very brief little flash, but will get you out of a pinch.



3. Enemy Variety & Depth - I had some really nice suggestions on the topic of more interesting enemies. Generic mooks like the Slimes and Skeletons will stay, of course, but once you've nabbed a few upgrades maybe you'll start to see enemies who use shields, have immunities, can steal your Gold, or shuffle the current cards around...



4. More significant Chain count - in the WIP build, Attacks and Critical Attacks now scale in damage based not just on Sword upgrades (with a bit of RNG) but also are multiplied by the Chain counter, so racking up a long combo can unleash a devastating hit