It is that time again – KEMCO have released another retro styled JRPG on an unsuspecting world. However, the game in question this time, Cross Tails, is not a JRPG in the traditional sense. Instead what we have here is a TRPG, a Tactical Role Playing Game, in the vein of Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics.
Is Cross Tails fit to clean the shoes of the above mentioned games? Hell, can it even stand shoulder to shoulder with them?
Cross Tails is presented in a way that very much reminds of the early Fire Emblem games, with a variety of cute looking characters lined up on a grid based screen. The maps are a decent size for this style of game, all with a variety of elevations to take advantage of. There are a range of backdrops too, from villages to mountains, all presented nicely enough.
The characters we control, and the enemies we fight, are well drawn and animated, with the attack animations in particular coming across extremely well. It’s good that the game is viewed from the traditional three quarter isometric view, but the camera is fully adjustable, able to be turned around to give the best view of the action.
However, I’d go as far to say that the audio is only passable, with really only the in-game action to report on. The story sections aren’t voiced, which is a bit of a shame. The music is similar whilst the battle sounds are neat enough, able to portray what is going on. But ultimately, the overall aural package is weaker than the graphical one. Still, if you’ve played one of these types of games before, you’ll know what to expect.
Story is the next port of call, and this is where things take a turn for the weird. You see, the two sides of the conflict we take part in are from the Kingdom of Ranverfurt and the Republic of Hildiq. So far, so normal, right? Well the people in Hildiq are feline, whilst those living in Ranverfurt are canine, with the upshot being that conversations between the two sides look like a furry convention. Yes, in Cross Tails it is all about the cats versus the dogs, and while the story isn’t massively important to the levels (that narrative can be skipped altogether if you wish) it is nice that some effort has been put into the backstory. As I mentioned earlier, conversations are text based windows.
But let’s have a look at how the game actually plays out and once we start a mission, there is a choice to make as to which characters to take. There is a maximum of six available to control at any one time. Obviously, picking the right composition of forces is pretty vital, and a balanced team with melee, ranged and magic fighters will have a better chance of staying alive. Once the mission begins, we have to decide where our units start from a small area, and place them accordingly. From there, it’s all about the objectives that await, mostly “defeat the enemies”. Not massively tactical that and I’d have liked to have seen more challenging objectives to be honest.
In action, Cross Tails plays exactly like other TRPG titles. Each character can move a set number of squares, indicated by a light blue area, and once they have, it’s all about delivering an attack, using an item or defending. The range of attack depends on the class of the character (more about these later), working from one square for most melee type attacks, to two squares for spear attacks, and then obviously more for bow or magic attacks.
That is very much Cross Tails in a nutshell, but there is a whole lot more to it. For example, one thing I’ve learned from Fire Emblem is that it pays to have your squishy archers and mages separated from the enemy by a line of rufty-tufty knights or similar, and this tactic still works here.
There is a great deal of customisation available, as each character can be trained to do not only their main job, which is pre assigned for the main characters, but can also have a sub class assigned too. With a choice of 24 classes to pick from, you can tailor your team towards your particular needs. While this does lead to the same six characters getting a run out (at least it did for me, why send the B team?) this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In addition, each job has a skill tree, alongside upgradable weapons and armour, which can have rune stones attached to them to increase their effectiveness. There is certainly a lot to learn and try out.
You may find that Cross Tails manages to surprise with its depth. Fun to play, you’re basically getting two campaigns for the price of one here. And whilst it isn’t the longest of games, with the variety in characters and jobs, there is a good deal of replayability built in.
If you like a Tactics game, Cross Tails is one of the better ones of recent times. With a little more variation in the mission types this could have been right up there.
