There are a ton of both puzzle and overhead JRPG games on the market, but there’s really nothing that combines those genres together. We have seen games like Henry Hatsworth on the DS combine platforming and puzzle games, while Monster Tale blended platforming, puzzle gameplay and monster collecting, but nothing that used a JRPG visual profile. Flowstone Saga is a remarkable experience in that it nicely combines both genres.
Tetromino-Based Battles
The flow of dialogue and overall progression through the world is very much akin to a JRPG with dialogue, shops and goals to beat bosses and/or find things or powers to move on. The usage of sharp pixel art in the entire adventure is impressive looking and allows for everything to flow nicely from the overhead RPG sections to Tetris-style puzzles. Like Tetris, the goal is to get lines cleared out with the goal changing depending on what you’re doing.
The usage of sharp pixel art in the entire adventure is impressive looking
If you’re mining, then the goal is to last as long as your equipment will last and gather materials and money. Money is a scarce resource, but gathering things like raw minerals and natural goods like wood will allow you to improve your hometown. Gold and rarities are only obtainable when mining when you’ve got some money to spare to dig deeper and for a longer period of time.
Enemy battles are very much like a JRPG with multiple enemies being able to be fought and switched between with bumpers and elemental strenths and weaknesses allowing battles to be easier and also more challenging if you want to avoid taking too much damage. Boss battles are a true test of your mettle because you need to get into Tetris mode to really do well and quickly take enemies out.
The regular JRPG-style portions of the game are a riot and allow the player to explore the world as much as you want. This means that you can still go through homes and get some gold or other perks like a health boost, while exploring the environment usually results in boosts for materials and gold alongside health or strength boosts.
The balancing act between puzzle gameplay and RPG exploration is nearly perfect and as an impulse buy, it has very much been worthwhile so far. Some blind buys can not pay off, but this is an incredible experience within the first two hours and should only get better as it goes on with more in-game lore explored and a greater cast of characters met.
Check out the launch trailerhere. You can grab it during launchweekfor a steep 20% discount, bringing it down to $14.99.
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