Basil here is a countryside village. There's an optional fight with living plants that I kept losing against. Have to come back here after leveling in the story.
Chained Echoes is an indie Role-Playing game inspired by classic JRPGs. It boasts a nice set of features enough to carve out its own unique identity. Set on the war-torn continent of Valandis where three kingdoms vie for control, the game follows a ragtag group of mercenaries, heroes, and outcasts who set out on a journey to stop a war and eventually discover a world ending threat.
In Chained Echoes, you start each encounter at full health, encouraging you to approach every fight with fresh tactics rather than worrying about resource management. The Overdrive mechanic rewards strategic play, pushing you to balance aggressive moves with defensive ones to maintain the upper hand.
The game's battle system is genuinely fun! I taste defeat a lot in this RPG compared to other ones, but I never felt outmatched - a change in strategy always led me to victory even if it required a few tries. The leveling system reminds me of Chrono Cross - you get a Level Up as you progress the story but in Chained Echoes case, it's very customizable because you get to choose where to put your stats and skill bonuses. This game knows how to make RPG progression engaging.
While I'd recommend this game to any JRPG fan, the difficulty can be punishing if you're expecting a casual experience. But that sense of accomplishment when you finally crack a tough boss pattern after multiple attempts is incredibly satisfying. The story starts slow but builds into something genuinely compelling with memorable characters and surprising twists. You can watch my playthrough below:
Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ_uh-Wp0_EE