Esperia ~Uprising of the Scarlet Witch~ a FE inspired SRPG and visual novel hybrid on Steam!

[Windshipping]

Hello!

So... Do you like Fire Emblem? I know, a brilliant question on this forum, right? And... Do you like visual novels?

Esperia is a tactical RPG and visual novel hybrid, it's similar "in spirit" to games like Tears to Tiara, Utawarerumono or Eien no Aselia. If you have no idea what these games are, Esperia uses a Fire Emblem like gameplay for tactical phase on maps and a visual novel narration for the story. I'm the developer of the game, so what follows will be full of biases! Also, this got sanctioned by Ike, please don't delete me yet 😛

Esperia has been released on Steam on March 1st, so it's very recent! The reviews are positive so far, and there is a free demo covering the first chapters if you want to give it a try! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1138210/Esperia__Uprising_of_the_Scarlet_Witch/

Without further ado, here are some details about the game! You can look at the screenshots to get a feel of it, too.

Overall:

• Playtime is over 30h, there are 22 main chapters, 8 secrets/character chapters and 4 additional maps. The story part is very rich, too, with CGs and choices.

Gameplay

• Since we're on a Fire Emblem forum, let's explain it in "Fire Emblem" words :
  • The overall gameplay is similar to GBA-era Fire Emblem as far as equipments, classes and positions go. Formulas are closer to old FEs, and it's 1 RN.
  • There is a weapon triangle for physical and magic weapons. All weapons have durability, too.
  • Units have personal and class skills, as well as skills you can buy. Units learn skill at level 5 and 15, but can be promoted at lvl 10. Level is reset to 1 at promotion so there is a trade-off is you don't promote immediately. Once two units reach a specific relationship level, they can learn the other unit's class skill.
  • Class system is a "single-path" system, no multiclassing and each unit has their promoted class. Character stories (see below), however, can unlock new classes for unpromoted units.
  • Level up is defined by the unit's growth rate as usual and RNG is initialized so you can end up with a very different unit than another person. At each level up, the unit receive bonus points that can be spent to increase their stats. The higher the GR, the less points it costs.
  • What "isn't FE" is the support magic system. Instead of a couple of staves, there are over 50 support magic (staff, orbs, charms) that can buff/debuff a unit (increase defense, reduce speed...), change the terrain (create a river or spawn mountains) and do AoE attacks and heal. Buff/Debuff is really important in some maps.
  • Permadeath is a thing. It affects the story, too, read next part for more info!

Story / VN part

• The story takes place in a medieval fantasy world with a lot of Arthurian myths references. The main heroine, Diana, is the second (bastard) princess of the kingdom and has to run away after being accused of treason and witchcraft. The main theme of the story, beyond war and political schemes, is family and acceptance. The dialogs can be both serious and lighthearted, but underlying themes are a bit dark sometimes.
• The story is divided into three different parts : the main story follows a similar structure as FE games with one 'chapter' per map, including secret chapters, relationship stories that are similar to FE support mechanics, except much more developed, and character stories, where characters who reached a specific support level can unlock exclusive story chapters. So far that last part is very appreciated.
• There are in-game choices that will unlock new events in the story and affect the relationships. So far the game has a normal ending and a bad ending, another route is in works though, depending on some of these choices. Relationship stories will unlock character specific endings when they reach the highest level
• When a character dies on the game, they die in the story. What I mean by that, is that instead of having a death quote and forgetting their entire existence 5 seconds later, each chapter has a specific death scene that triggers if a character dies in this chapter, and there is a flashback scene after each character dies, and a burial scene. FE characters’ indifference toward a friend death is something that always bothered me so I had to correct it.
• It's better if you're not allergic to reading and the visual novel genre. The first chapters are a bit light in this aspect, it gets much more important from chapter 7 onwards.

The game has been developed with SRPG Studios, it's the same software that was used for Vestaria Saga. I've been working on it for quite some time now, so I'd be glad if you could look at it, maybe wishlist it or even try the demo (and who knows, buy the game? Now I'm dreaming^^). I'd love to have some feedback here or on the game's community!

Thank you all for reading, and have a good day (or night)!

PS : I do update the game quite frequently, the next update will very probably be a full randomizer, and as mentioned, a new story is in work, too!

[Integrity]

i told the guy this was fine to post btw

[Heir of Dragons and Beasts]

I will be keeping a look out on this because not only does it look amazing, everything sounds really good and intriguing.

[Armchair General]

Not being rude or anything, but was it an intentional decision to have an cavalry unit to move 8 spaces through an mountain range?

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I needed a break from my current Fire Emblem project so I took a look. Considering the Fire Emblem games I had been playing lately, I'm very easily impressed by the UI letting me just mouse over units for basic details (enemy Atk vs my unit's Def) without having to pull up their stats. Actually, playing Fire Emblem with a mouse is obviously optimal over a controller and I never stopped to think about it because the series has never been on PC. One thing bugs me about the interface though. I can't tell what weapon types my units can use without first putting them in their inventory as an experiment. For instance, my healer being able to cast light magic or sword users being able to throw 1-2 range knives. Surely there's space in the Status screen to have a list of weapon icons giving first time players an idea of what our units can use.

I'm very intrigued by special obituary scenes for characters. I thought to myself I had better get someone killed to see it, but I didn't need to try at all. Chapter 5's Silver Axe reinforcements came down and one shot Sylvie on the final turn before I could clear. That'll teach me to drag my feet on the Escape chapter. I didn't get a death scene, but I'm guessing it's being held for the next time you're back at Base? And there's no Base visit after chapter 5.

Edit: My theory was correct. And wow, what a scene. I've always claimed this was what Permadeath has been missing, but it's another thing entirely to see it brought to life. I'm extremely intrigued at how these scenes are written and re-written to account for who is left, or what chapter you just finished, because it seems like those details actually matter here.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Zapp Branniglenn