I'll be the one to tell you: I don't really play games that have a gacha system. I always felt that it was a money grabbing, potentially addicting system that drains players' money at a CHANCE of getting something good. It also feels very pay-to-win as free-to-play players are at an immediate disadvantage with limited resources and attempts at the gacha while those that pay - and even worse, are whales - will have many more attempts at the gacha and, therefore, more chances to get something good. And, unless a person has the worst of worst luck, that player WILL eventually get SOMETHING good. The last gacha game that I have played extensively was Fire Emblem: Heroes.
I have dabbled here and there with other ones, but that was the last one that I put a significant amount of time in to. No, I did not spend any money. But, it was clear the longer that I played that my refusal to spend money was a bit hampering since I tend to have the worst luck in gacha games. I admit, the developers were a bit generous with some of the resources so that more parts of the game were easily enjoyable but the grind for those resources got a bit boring for me. I also didn't like that some of the units I obtained early on that were 5* were outclassed by later units that were released. For example, I ended up getting Lucina as my first 5*. She was great for a while, being that I played early in the game's life. Over time, with the release of newer characters, her use and role changed/diminished due to the newer characters having better skills/stats/abilities and the system of the game also changing.
So, what's the point of this blog post? Well... In the days since I last streamed PSO2: New Genesis on Twitch, and complained about how bad it is, I went ahead and checked out the new gacha/MMO that was on the way. It is anime styled and open-world. There was a character creator and it was released in China back on December 16th of last year. I did not know that there was a beta for it recently. But, I downloaded the character creator and signed up for the game after watching a few videos. I streamed making a character and decided that I will check this game out. That game, is Tower of Fantasy.
Having released on August 10th, at first glace, it is definitely a waifu/husbando gacha game that has striking similarities to one of the top anime gacha games, Genshin Impact. I have not played Genshin Impact at all, so I can't make those comparisons, but from those that were in my stream, as well as those streams I have been to, many people see the similarities. I will say, for now, the game is pretty fun. It has many elements that I wish PSO2 did. On a side note, many of the PLAYERS from PSO2 are now playing this. Despite lag, server disconnections, server crowding and hacking going on (that I haven't personally witnessed), my experience with the game after about a week and a half, is overall positive.
The game can be played on mobile or on windows for the moment as a Steam version and Epic Games version are planned for release later. Depending on how things go, I will probably switch to the steam version. The game is vibrant and colorful and the world is full of life. And it can be traversed on foot, on a mount, over water, or through the air.
There are enemies, NPCs and havens scattered all over the world - named Aesperia. The controls are a bit funky at times as you can play keyboard and mouse (eww) or with a controller. The problem with the controller is that it is not FULL controller support and you will need to use your keyboard and/or mouse to certain things. The combat can be done with the controller completely but the menu navigation will require at least the mouse. Also, all controller types are not supported. By beloved PC/PS4 controller is not compatible with the game (maybe the Steam version fixes this) and I can only use my alternate PC/XBOX/PS3 controller. Also, button remapping is not implemented so you are looking at some controls that may not fit your style of play. You also cannot invert your camera settings for controller so, you may find yourself turning the camera the wrong way a lot if you are used to inverted settings on a controller. If you are on mobile, a controller can be used if you have the software for it if you prefer it over pressing your screen. A major drawnback for the game would be the menu navigation and the clutter of the screen. It can be overwhelming for newer or less experienced players as it is easy to get lost in the menus figuring out where you want to go.
As you see in the above screenshot, there is a TON of different menus. And don't forget in the screenshot before this, there were menus at the top of the screen. I have found myself clicking thru many menus to find where I wanted to go.
When it comes to the characters, it's your general mixed bag. Some NPCs you love (Claire, Shirli), some you hate (that male doll in Navia that I can't even remember his name as well as Black Dog) and some you don't know about (Zeke). Your character is voiced but it seems that all characters have the same male or female voice. I would hope that maybe a different voice feature is added later down the line. The story itself isn't anything that is groundbreaking - your character gets stranded, gets attacked, gets injured, then rescued, has amnesia, sets out to help the people that helped them, uncovers a deeper threat, develops a bond with a character and sets out to save them and take down the threat - but it's decently fleshed out and a bit longer than what I've seen lately in other MMOs (ahem, PSO2: New Genesis). Customization is nice, albeit limited, and you can create your character to the point where they are unique. I like that I haven't seen anyone looking my character in the ten or so days that I have been playing.
I earned this outfit through in-game challenges and I love it. Especially after I recolored it.
The sound of the game is decent enough. There is voice chatter with enemies and the music depending on where you are seems to fit where you are and what you are doing. Save for the avengers assemble styled music that plays when you draw from the gacha. I don't know what that is all about. It's very over the top for me.
So what about the combat? The controls are responsive, keyboard or controller, and everything runs smooth. You have your standard attacks, that are one of four elements, based on the weapon you have equipped, special attacks, as well as other abilities you can use from special items called Relics during combat. Things can get hectic really quick in combat, especially if you are playing with others, which can make it easy to lose sight of your character. I do wish that there was a better alert for when a teammate is incapacitated. You have your healing items at the ready, too, and they can be switched out at will when needed.
There is the typical RPG fanfare of HP and status effects like burn, freeze, bleed and shock along with the grievous effect that is for non elemental weapons. You can buff, debuff and heal, too.
There are multiple ways to go about playing. If you are story based, you can focus on the main story. A bit of the story is released each day (along with a raise in the level cap - it's currently 44 as of this writing). If you like to explore (my way to play) the world of Aesperia has five regions (Astra, Banges, Navia, Crown & Warren in order) that you can explore but, be mindful that you may have to level up and upgrade your equipment before accessing some of the later areas. Another planet, Vera, is not released yet. The space station-like colony, Hykros, can also be explored at your leisure, but you only go there for quests, your mount, and story related things at this time. Exploring is rewarding in the fact that it's the best way to obtain items, called Gold and Black Nuclei, that you use for the gacha, as well as materials for upgrades and cooking.
If you are mission based, you can complete daily and weekly tasks for money and rewards (which I recommend at least doing them) like bounties and training, as well as do certain solo and multiplayer challenges such as Joint Operations, Wormhole, Bygone Phantasm, Ruins Exploration, Dimensional Trials, Frontier Clash and more. I personally am a fan of the Bygone Phantasm and Wormhole for solo content as well as the Joint Operations and Frontier Clash for multiplayer. All of these modes rewards valuable items and/or money that can be used towards your character. Mia's Kitchen provides buffs that last about 30 minutes after you give her a visit. This is good to do before doing the instanced content.
And, if you like PvP, the Apex League in the above photo is for you. It says unlimited, but I believe you can only do it between the hours of noon and midnight each day. It's still twelve hours, which is a lot, and, I'm not sure on the time zone, as it could be relative to where you live or it could be UTC, but, it's there for those that want to fight others. I, myself, was never in to PvP in any MMO, so I have yet to participate to tell you what I think. I hear it's balanced, though. But, some weapons are better than others.
Speaking of weapons, what can you use? With three weapon layouts and three weapons per layout, you have some room in how you want to plan. This is where the gacha comes in to play. You start of with a basic volt element sword and twin daggers that will need to be replaced nearly immediately as your damage output is horrid. There is also a low level bow, too, as well as a frost spear that you obtain but, again, it's bad and will need replacing quickly if you obtain them. Every character can use everything so, you may want to plan out what you use. The difficulty in planning is the gacha.
The above two pics are the current gold and black gacha for the game. There is also a limited time red one not pictured. In addition to these two weapon (called Simularca) gacha, there are also gacha for weapon boosting items called Matrices, that are affixed to your weapon, which requires a different item (gold book) with a limited time special version (red book), as well. Each has their own success rates while the gold versions have a pity rate, too. If you are lucky enough to get a SR rarity or SSR (the best) rarity, you can start planning. Obviously, you want the SSR rarity Simulacra but there is a huge luck factor involved. At the time of writing, there is an event for new players that, if you complete certain tasks in a certain amount of time, a free SSR weapon box is given to you where you can choose the Simularcum (singlular version - Simularca is plural) of your choice. With my luck, that's how I received one of the weapons I am using since I have yet to get it from the gacha.
Each weapon, at SR or SSR rarity, has it's own Simularca attached to it. When you obtain one (you get one SR weapon for free as part of the story), you have the option to also run around as that character, which their voice lines and all, I'm not a fan of that as I preferred to use my own character, but that option is there for those that have a certain character they like to play as.
The above screenshot shows my preferred Simulacrum with her weapon. Since I obtained her weapon, I am able to play as her. The other five you seen on the picture are available for me, too. There are more that I obtained that aren't pictured. Also, when obtaining your weapon, you can choose to awaken your Simulacrum to obtain certain boosts from them. It seems that, even if their weapon isn't currently being used or equipped, as long as you have the weapon unlocked, you can use these skills. To awaken the Simulacrum, you have to give them gifts. Each Simulacrum has their own tastes and likes so, you'll have to be mindful when giving gifts. The better the items, the faster they awaken and warm up to you.
Whether you get the weapons you want or not, you also have to perform upgrades. They directly tie in to a stat called CS (I assume it's called Combat Strength). It's not a hard stat requirement for much of the content but it is a good idea to reach the requirements for certain things as a higher CS usually means that you are stronger in areas of HP, defense, attack and so on.
Each upgrade costs a certain amount of money and resources that slowly increase with each upgrade. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you use the gacha, and you get a duplicate of an item that you already own (SR and SSR only), you will get a core that you can use to advance your weapon to its next star level. This is actually a key part in raising your CS and getting stronger as certain abilities are available on weapons after they have reached a certain star level. The final thing I'll say about upgrades and equipment is that once you reach a certain level, there is equipment that you can put on your character for more stat boosts. It's a good idea to keep up with this as these boosts are important, despite being small, when they start adding up across all eight pieces of equipment. They also can be upgraded and enhanced, too.
If you look on the left side of the above screen, that is the equipment section. When it is unlocked, you will place any equipment you find there.
The currency in the game can only help you. As you see in the above screens, there are different forms of currency that can be used in different ways. There are different shops for them that give different items and the only currency that costs real money is the one that you see with a 0 in my screens. It's called Tanium. Spend responsibly, my friends.
There is so much more to cover in this game but, I could have you here all day or night reading if I did that. While I enjoy the game, I feel that the best way to experience it is to actually give it a try. If you have a decent PC or phone/mobile device, give it a try. It costs you nothing and you aren't obligated to spend anything if you don't want to. I have spent nothing and, while I am a bit behind those that have or have played more that me, I feel that I have progressed well in the game. Perhaps I'll see you in game somewhere? Solaris server if you do!
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