The way the game works for the first three chapters is simple enough. You select three members of your team to go out and face the three members of the opposing team. Each member faces a member of the opponent's team once, in the order they were selected. For example, if I select Toshimi, Bomber, and Yukiko to face opposing team members Hitomi, Riyu and Beauty; then Toshimi will face Hitomi and Bomber will fight Riyu. If either side wins both of those matches, then their team is declared the winner of the contest. If the score comes up 1-1, then Yukiko and Beauty will face each other in a tiebreaker.
The matches themselves are played out through the use of a simplistic card battle game. The blue corner is where the player's stats are displayed, and the red is used for the CPU. As for the stats themselves, they're read from top to bottom, left to right:- Throw: Grappling moves (body slams and backdrops.)
- Joint: Submission moves that attack the joints.
- Power: Full-on attacks (shoulder blocks, powerbombs)
- Fly: Acrobatic techniques (flying kicks, top-rope maneuvers)
- Body: The character's main hit points. The lower these are, the easier it becomes for the opponent to successfully land harder-hitting moves and score pinfalls.
- Arm: The amount of stress the arm muscles can take.
- Leg: The amount of stress the leg muscles can take.
The fact that there's three sets of hit points might lull you into a false state of security, but the fact of the matter is that the Arm and Leg stats only count for submission moves and even at max will each only be able to take half as much punishment as the body. Submissions each attack one of the three HP stats, and if a single one is emptied by (or already depleted prior to) an opponent attacking that area with a submission, then the afflicted character will give up and lose the match.
When a match is started, both sides are given a hand of five random cards and the player cannot see the CPU's hand. A single new card is issued for each card used and there is an infinite supply - As long as your character can keep fighting, you'll recieve a new card after each exchange. Each card is marked with a character representing the four main Throw/Joint/Power/Fly stats and a number which shows how strong the move performed will be.
After selecting a card, a sub-menu pops up, asking you to select a move from the category represented by the character on the card face (Example, selecting a "Throw" card will give you options such as body slam, front suplex, and backdrop). Each character starts off knowing a number of different moves, and will usually have more moves for the categories where their default stats are highest. Moves that are lower down on the list are stronger, but are less likely to connect if the opponent's HP haven't been successfully whittled down a bit first.
When both card and move are chosen, they're brought up to the center of the screen to compare against the opponent's and see who will attack successfully that turn. The general jist of the calculation involved in deciding this is that whichever character has higher stats will win the exchange and get to attack. Using the image above as an example, if Yukiko and Beauty were to both play Fly-type cards, Yukiko would most likely win the exchange since her Fly stat is much higher. If both were to play Throw-type cards, then whichever side has the higher-number card would win. In the unlikely event that both players play the same type of card while having equal scores in the represented stat, then it would come down to HP and the power factor of the move. If all factors are equal, the CPU will generally concede you the exchange and let you attack.
Aside from the four main cards, there are also defensive cards (colored black with white lettering) and rare special cards (red with gold lettering). Defensive cards are designed to be used if your character has an otherwise unusable hand for her stat build and allow her to execute a known defensive action. Most characters have access to an illegal maneuver for defense (Use of a steel chair inside the ring and slamming the opponent into the turnbuckle outside), as well as a general-purpose guard; however, the more acrobatic characters will have access to special defensive holds such a small package or rolling cradle pin. Defensive cards work by matching up against the opponent's card and checking the user's stat for the opponent's action and matching it against theirs, although a high enough numbered defense card can still override an opponent whose card-stat match is higher.
As mentioned above, the special cards appear rarely (although they can show up at the start of a bout, something which seems to happen to the computer more often than the player...) and grant the use of one of two special actions. A taunt, which will allow the character to automatically cancel out the opponent's next move, or the character's finisher, which does high damage and always has the greatest priority over all other card-types. Special cards are always ranked higher than any other card, and if both the player and CPU put them forward, the player will win the exchange.
The last feature of the battle system is the cyan colored border surrounding each character's portrait, which serves to monitor the physical condition of each fighter. In its default state, the fighter is alright and will slowly recover lost HP for each of the three bars every turn they are not hit with an attack to that body section. However, some moves have a chance of hitting hard enough that they cause the opponent to bleed. When this happens, the cyan condition border turns red, and the fighter will no longer be able to recover their HP each turn. A fighter in this condition has a significantly harder chance of coming out on top.
Well, that's enough about that. Tomorrow: Match aftermath and stage flow (also boobs for those who like that sort of thing).
- Azure out.
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