Dream Tactics🎮

It’s not very common for me to play one game right after the previous one, finishing both (the previous one being Timelie), but I decided to have a look at this one and was immediately hooked. To be honest, seeing a “rabbit girl” right from the beginning didn’t seem very enticing to me, but not only did I end up liking the game, but also the characters (including the rabbit).

The game is a turn-based JRPG in which each character you control (up to 4) has a deck of cards, from which a few are randomly drawn each turn. Each turn you can move and use as many cards as your mana allows (each card has a mana—or rather, “MP”—cost), plus other location-related actions. The game is basically a series of battles, between which you explore maps and interact with NPCs.

The game has 4 difficulty options, and the standard one was challenging to me but not crazy, so experienced players in this kind of game will probably find it better with hard or hardcore. If you really want a relaxed time, the easy difficulty delivers.

Lots of equipment to choose from.

Each character has their own deck, although you can share cards, and as you unlock new cards each character ends up with quite a big selection. There are lots of possible synergies with teammates and card (and equipment) combos, allowing lots of flexibility and different ways of playing. Each character has their own small mechanics that are mostly easy to figure out with the help system, and these can also be adapted in surprising ways sometimes. Although the cards available each turn are random, you can swap them for others a limited number of times, making the swap mechanic itself something you can invest in strategically. Over the game you collect lots of equipment, which further allow flexibility, apart from most of the time improving character stats(1) (1)There’s also levelling for that. .

▽ A few enemies and a timed chest. Dream Tactic’s Press Kit image.

Enemies over time are more varied and have different behaviours. They are not shy of focusing on a character and singling them out if they become separated, so positioning in the grid can be quite important. Lots of battles have a timer to unlock treasure chests(2) (2)Although I never had trouble getting any of them. , providing a bit of extra pressure to advance as quickly as possible.

The maps themselves, outside of battles, are okay, and a map helps moving around, although they can be slightly labyrinthine on occasion(3) (3)On purpose, I guess. . You can find chests and destroy some items to get currency (buttons). Some sections are trap/dangerous sections, where you have to traverse some dangerous area (e.g. arrows being shot and things like that). These areas are not very complicated, and every time you get to a place that you “rest” the state is saved. If you die in any of these areas you just go back to the previous saved state/checkpoint.

▽ A dangerous zone

The story is pretty simple. The Dream World is in danger from a Big Evil™, and a human is needed to confront them. Neru is this chosen human, and a couple of dreams (one of the Dream World’s inhabitant types) are her guides. You play as Neru, although over time you unlock new characters and have quite some freedom in how to set up the team.

The story is told slowly, but as I said, it is quite simple. It is serviceable, though, and a strong point of the game is the characters and the relationships among themselves and with the NPCs. Soon I was enjoying the banter and conversations they were having and was even invested in the future of the Dream World. The humour is simplistic, but it did work quite well for me. It helps a lot that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it shows. It tries to be a fun game and little else, and it does it pretty well.

▽ The game comes with good explanations on important concepts.

The game is short, apparently, for a JRPG, but this counts as long for me. Still, it didn’t overstay its welcome, and I still enjoyed it through to the end.

The pixel art was good, as was the music. After 35+ hours I was not tired of either, and that’s not common for me. There’s also some variety in gameplay areas (there are a few worlds to cover), and effects and actions are mostly well presented.

Overall, quite an enjoyable game that I recommend to fans of the genre and even to people on the fence.