Trials of Kokoro

This is one of the prettiest indie rpg I've played. I love the art and sound direction with this one. The gameplay is engaging and the characters are charming. The story is also well written and dialogue shows the differences in personality. Also, Rhea is adorable and I must protect at all cost.

For those like me who enjoy combat and don't really need a reason to beat the monsters, the VN part isn't getting in the way, dialogues are to the point. To the combat now: Do not get fooled by the first few battles, mechanics are slowly integrated as you play to end up with a static turn-based combat with individual initiative, Stamina/Mana management as well as cool downs and elemental resistances. Interactions between characters is a major point: One unit can liberate an other from webs for example, casting the right buff clears up a debuff and so on. Your best move isn't always kicking a@@ ^^ The monster cast and their mechanics force you into using every skill/item available to get through, even on Normal difficulty. Characters have fairly open skill choices and gear can also help focus on one role or an other. Overall ToK is highly tactical and each new monster encounter had me check their skills and stats to find the weak spot and means to survive. I also enjoyed the fantasy world and its different cultures/areas.

I'm really enjoying this game so far. Everything about the visual style and ambient sounds fit well together... something you don't always see in indie RPGs. The developer describes it as a visual novel--which it is--but I feel the nuanced tactical gameplay shouldn't be overlooked. It's a lot of fun building out characters to your preferred style and going from battle to battle, each one with different enemies using a new set of abilities you haven't seen. I found the default combat setting a tad too easy, but fortunately you can change at any time from the menu and there's a few settings to choose from. The story is intriguing and has potential (as I would hope from a VN). I'm still only a few hours in but am already enjoying what I'm seeing with the character development/party interactions. Strong recommendation from me if you enjoy turn-based JRPGs and/or visual novels.

Trials of Kokoro is a refreshing take on a JRPG. Full of soul, clever writing and world building. Lovable characters and seemingly endless customization. I am now a fan of TD Games and I can't wait to see what they do next.

TL:DR This is a real hidden gem of a game, absolutely deserves more attention for the excellent design, story and love poured into it. Even if you don't like visual novels you may like this one. This game...it must have come from a very talented, passionate and I daresay a warm hearted soul. Though its impossible to judge someone's character based solely on a game there is definitely a special type of gratitude that must exist in the mind of someone to pen a story that attempts to flesh out its characters the way this game does. Typically in doing a review I would focus on the mechanics that make the game but because the story and what I would call the design philosophy of the game is what gives it its heart, the best way to sing its praises is to touch on these things. Its worth mentioning here that kokoro means heart in japanese and that is part of what drew me to this game to see if it could deliver on such potentially cliche or corny premise, I must say it did for me and then some - it surpassed my expectations which is saying a lot. I've played my fair share of games but visual novels usually turn me off. The story like any good book is engaging to the point of not wanting to put it down, I was fully immersed in what would happen next while also being hooked by the combat and rpg build crafting. It appears simple on the surface but there is an attention to detail that rings throughout including the design of skills and how they interact with each other that give a far deeper experience than might come through on first glance combined with the various choices on build, itemization and combat approach make for one of the best and yet most accessible strategic rpgs I've played. The are several difficulties to suit your level of challenge or if you are just there for the story ,which is worth it, but I love well designed challenge and this game's battle system will give it to you. I started a second playthrough 70% into the game just to revisit previous choices, I hate replaying most games and can barely be bothered to finish the majority but this was awesome. I couldn't quite place my finger on it but I realized the combat felt different than normal the dev revealed the game isnt really based on rng, the opponents are programmed to respond to your moves with a great deal of variation in each enemy and combat setup. Apart from the very first section most of the enemies aren't recycled either, they are often treated as one-off unique characters with their own entry and backstory in the bestiary even the unnamed ones and apart from possibly the very first area (and thats still debatable) re-skins arent really a thing. That's a mad level of dedication that only shows the level of care that was put into this game. Normally, saying this would by hyperbolic but this game isnt just a game - its a piece of art and love letter from the dev. No story is truly original but this game has unique elements, but mostly just brings together different elements that you *may* have seen elsewhere and executes them very well. I could continue to gush about how I came for the combat (loved it) but stayed for the story but, ultimately, its best to encourage you to experience it all for yourself. There are things I could quibble about if I really tried or was in a particularly bad mood but I'm not! :D I've never done this before but I give this game a 10/10. Moving on to play the devs first game on steam eagerly waiting a sequel or the dev's next entry. Well done!

It bangs.

Supercool game. Great storytelling, cool characters, good tactical turnbased combat! Yay! Edit: Yes, it's actually stunning how good this is. I'm enjoying this game SO MUCH. It's obvious the writer has looked into himself and others, based on the writing. His understanding of human nature shines through and it makes an already awesome game even better. Besides that it's filled with great values, like protecting those who care about, questions about meaning etc. Superhighly recommended. The turnbased combat is really nice as well, as is the variety of equipment, the ways you can build your characters, the skills etc.

I can't say I ever played a Visual novel Rpg before, never knew this was a thing tbh, but I really am digging this one. It is a great looking game, combat seems to be pretty straight forward, which to me is a great plus, sometimes adding a ton of mechanics just to say you have them is a drag.... so yea I am really getting into the overall plot of the story. Looking forward to diving into it a good bit more and if anything changes I'll update my review but my first impressions of this are pretty positive.