thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
So, I picked up Kousoku Battle Card Hero by Intelligent Systems (Paper Mario, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem) the other day (somewhat on a whim), and now I find myself hopelessly addicted. 
What is Card Hero?
At its core, Card Hero is a card based strategy RPG. The game can be explained as a competitor to SNK vs. Capcom Cardfighters Clash, I suppose. The game basically sets you in the role of a boy who discovers the sport of card battling, and decides (of course) to be the best there is.
The game play sports 4 mode types: Speed Battle, Jr. Mode, Senior Mode, and Master Mode. This game is a sequel to the JP only GBC version of Card Hero. While Jr. Sr. and Master modes were in the GBC version, Speed Battle is a new and quick way to play a game.
What is the battle system like?
Here is the basic premise: Players have a deck of cards. Each card is one of the following: Front row monster, Back row monster, magic, and super. Front row and back row monsters (red and blue respectively), are designed to either be in the back as low HP/defense long range attackers, while Front row monsters are the tanks. There are a number of different magic cards, including attack power increase on one monster, and casting Lightning on an enemy.
Speed battle goes like this: Each player has two squares to put monsters on: front and back. When the battle starts, both players put their monsters on the board, and via coin toss, the first turn is decided. During this turn, the player can attack as many times as his number of stones allows (in speed battle, you start with 1 stone, and increase by one each time a monster on your side is killed. You lose if you get to 6 stones). Once finished, the opponent goes. The really cool part is that as your monsters die, the battle heats up. You can do more and stronger attacks, and use more magic.
Super cards are evolutions for a monster (each super card relates to a specific monster). Every time a monster kills another, they gain a level. Every monster has either 1, 2, or 3 levels. The levels determine what actions they perform, they attack power, HP, and the ability to evolve. If the player has a super card for that monster when it levels up, and there is another monster on the field that the leveling monster is in range to sacrifice, he will sacrifice the other enemy, and level up to a super powerful monster for the rest of the match.
Jr. Mode adds Master cards. Master cards are basically like a King in Chess. Your mission is to kill the master. Each master has 5 HP, and monsters are deployed in groups of 2 on either side of the master. The twist is that each master also has a permanent shield that automatically reduces all damage dealt to it by 2. Predictably, most monsters cannot do more than 2 damage at level 1. They can, on the other hand, rest for a turn, which adds 1 attack power for one turn, which can then be used as a powerful attack the next turn on the opposing master. There are catches involved here as well, but there's a lot to explain.
Senior Mode is my favorite, honestly. In addition to all the regular Junior mode rules, Senior mode adds magic to the master'S repertoire, allowing them to act as well. Every player chooses (permanently) whether they are a white or black master. White masters are protective, defensive, and healing based. Black masters are aggressive, offensive and attack based. I use a black master, as that is my personal play style, but White is actually a totally viable choice.
I haven't started playing Master mode yet, so I'm not entirely sure how it works.
PHEW. That was a lot. Anyway, Card Hero SERIOUSLY rocks. Both Revenant Kioku and myself are playing it right now, and we're both having a great time with it.
Is it Import friendly?
The game has the option to switch between Kanji mode and Hiragana mode. I can't imagine how anyone can play in hiragana mode. It hurts my eyes just looking at it. Kanji mode is far easier to look at.
That said, the game is not very import friendly if you don't know any japanese at all. If you have a grasp on katakana, hiragana, and some basic kanji, the game would be fine for you. If you don't know any kanji, but know hiragana and katakana, you can play in hiragana mode, but I don't recommend enduring that headache.
Is there a translation guide?
I'm working on translations for the cards as well as the basic rules for all the modes. I'll post it on my blog when I'm finished. Stay tuned.
Why should I play it?
It's fucking IntSys bitches! You should play it on that fact alone!
Phew...okay, I'm done. This game rocks.
What is Card Hero?
At its core, Card Hero is a card based strategy RPG. The game can be explained as a competitor to SNK vs. Capcom Cardfighters Clash, I suppose. The game basically sets you in the role of a boy who discovers the sport of card battling, and decides (of course) to be the best there is.
The game play sports 4 mode types: Speed Battle, Jr. Mode, Senior Mode, and Master Mode. This game is a sequel to the JP only GBC version of Card Hero. While Jr. Sr. and Master modes were in the GBC version, Speed Battle is a new and quick way to play a game.
What is the battle system like?
Here is the basic premise: Players have a deck of cards. Each card is one of the following: Front row monster, Back row monster, magic, and super. Front row and back row monsters (red and blue respectively), are designed to either be in the back as low HP/defense long range attackers, while Front row monsters are the tanks. There are a number of different magic cards, including attack power increase on one monster, and casting Lightning on an enemy.
Speed battle goes like this: Each player has two squares to put monsters on: front and back. When the battle starts, both players put their monsters on the board, and via coin toss, the first turn is decided. During this turn, the player can attack as many times as his number of stones allows (in speed battle, you start with 1 stone, and increase by one each time a monster on your side is killed. You lose if you get to 6 stones). Once finished, the opponent goes. The really cool part is that as your monsters die, the battle heats up. You can do more and stronger attacks, and use more magic.
Super cards are evolutions for a monster (each super card relates to a specific monster). Every time a monster kills another, they gain a level. Every monster has either 1, 2, or 3 levels. The levels determine what actions they perform, they attack power, HP, and the ability to evolve. If the player has a super card for that monster when it levels up, and there is another monster on the field that the leveling monster is in range to sacrifice, he will sacrifice the other enemy, and level up to a super powerful monster for the rest of the match.
Jr. Mode adds Master cards. Master cards are basically like a King in Chess. Your mission is to kill the master. Each master has 5 HP, and monsters are deployed in groups of 2 on either side of the master. The twist is that each master also has a permanent shield that automatically reduces all damage dealt to it by 2. Predictably, most monsters cannot do more than 2 damage at level 1. They can, on the other hand, rest for a turn, which adds 1 attack power for one turn, which can then be used as a powerful attack the next turn on the opposing master. There are catches involved here as well, but there's a lot to explain.
Senior Mode is my favorite, honestly. In addition to all the regular Junior mode rules, Senior mode adds magic to the master'S repertoire, allowing them to act as well. Every player chooses (permanently) whether they are a white or black master. White masters are protective, defensive, and healing based. Black masters are aggressive, offensive and attack based. I use a black master, as that is my personal play style, but White is actually a totally viable choice.
I haven't started playing Master mode yet, so I'm not entirely sure how it works.
PHEW. That was a lot. Anyway, Card Hero SERIOUSLY rocks. Both Revenant Kioku and myself are playing it right now, and we're both having a great time with it.
Is it Import friendly?
The game has the option to switch between Kanji mode and Hiragana mode. I can't imagine how anyone can play in hiragana mode. It hurts my eyes just looking at it. Kanji mode is far easier to look at.
That said, the game is not very import friendly if you don't know any japanese at all. If you have a grasp on katakana, hiragana, and some basic kanji, the game would be fine for you. If you don't know any kanji, but know hiragana and katakana, you can play in hiragana mode, but I don't recommend enduring that headache.
Is there a translation guide?
I'm working on translations for the cards as well as the basic rules for all the modes. I'll post it on my blog when I'm finished. Stay tuned.
Why should I play it?
It's fucking IntSys bitches! You should play it on that fact alone!
Phew...okay, I'm done. This game rocks.