Vivid World is a follow-up to Vivid Knight, another 2D RPG which has a completely different story, with the characters being redesigned along with other aspects which have massively improved such as the UI and graphics, giving the game a much more cleaner and modern look than its predecessor. It also includes completely new introductions such as orbs, which allowed for even more strategized and in-depth party building.
The various characters allowed for lots of different play styles and combos, keeping each dungeon refreshing and unique.
One thing I loved about Vivid World was the large character roster, there were so many different types of characters each with their own abilities, special skills, and symbols, allowing for many different combinations and synergies. Each unit has their own unique stats, which consists of HP, attack power, defense, magic defense, speed and technical points. As expected the units vary in strength since rarities exist and obviously the higher rarities have a bigger impact in battle, however upgraded units even if common can have just as much of an impact, so it’s a good strategy to collect the same units and upgrade them, as opposed to just picking the shiny looking ones, though that may be a bit too tempting for some to not resist.
After understanding more of the game I did go down the route of trying to collect the same units as much as possible, this though proved to be challenging at times since luck did play a big part in it, which I both liked and hated at the same time. It meant that it wasn’t too easy to just fully upgrade your team, but on the flip side it would sometimes feel like the always lingering luck was never on your side, which sucked to say the least.
A lot of times I would find myself at the jeweler store either wasting my carats by rerolling the units in the lineup or selling all the ones which weren’t being used, to try and get the one I so desperately needed in order to upgrade it. Sometimes I would waste all my carats ending up with nothing and other times I would actually end up getting the exact one I needed, but it’s the risk I took and it paid off sometimes.
Upgrades weren’t the only thing which could make your units stronger in battles and increase your chance of victory, there were also symbols which if you had a specific amount of in your party would unlock various buffs for your units. Each of them have two symbols, the first being a color and the second a crest, aiming to have at least a few units which have the same symbols can be very beneficial and make battles a lot easier, whether it’s an offensive buff such as increasing damage dealt from physical attacks, or a defensive one like quite literally increasing your defense by an amount equal to the number of buffs, it can be the difference between progressing to the next floor or starting at the very beginning.
Upgraded units and matching symbols within your team is great, but there’s also another trump card which does only activate once each battle, however it can be of great help. Union skills become available once you upgrade a unit, their partner will then be revealed and if you have both in your lineup then they can together unleash an attack or give the squad a defensive benefit. These really freshened up battles and gave me something else to try and work towards, mind you I had to actually work to get the specific linked unit in my possession, but once I did they went straight in and were a great addition.
Each time you start a dungeon the linked units will change, meaning that you can’t plan ahead and get the two of them before one of them has even been upgraded. It keeps things exciting and made it a lot more interesting, otherwise it wouldn’t be any fun would it?
Gems were one of the core mechanics of the game and when combined and leveled up would grant many benefits to your team. What was great about them was the fact that there are so many different combinations to the point that even after 15 hours of playtime I still have a lot more to discover. I mentioned earlier how prioritizing upgrades for units was something I thought was the most important thing to focus on in order to clear dungeons, but I’d argue that gems are just as important.
Transmuting them at the alchemist frequently is a wise thing to do, it allows the gems you have to grow even stronger and have a bigger impact in battles. Now I hate to say it and bring the dreaded word up again, but luck did also play a part in the gems you obtained. The alchemist doesn’t only allow you to combine gems but also gives you the chance to buy chests using materials which are one of the main currency’s in the game, don’t fret though they’re fairly easy to obtain and before you know it you’ll have lots, which the alchemist will always be pleased about.
Anyhow, you can use them to buy chests which contain three different gems, unfortunately you can’t keep all three but only one so choose wisely. The great thing about them is that you don’t need to collect lots of the specific gem you want to upgrade, all you need is one of them and you’re good to go. When combining gems you place the one you want to upgrade in the first slot and in the second one any gem will do, thankfully you don’t have to cough up anything for the upgrade so you can go ahead and do it for free.
One thing to understand is there are quite a few gems all of which have different effects, there are a few healing ones, some that deal direct damage to either one or all enemies, and others which reduce damage received. I was a big fan of the wide variety and multiple possible combinations of gems, it allowed me to experiment and see what ones were the best, which resulted in most of my equipped gems in each dungeon different from the last.
That was what I really loved about Vivid World, since there were so many different characters, synergies, gems, and orbs, my party was always different from my previous dungeons which kept the game fresh and allowed me to enjoy battles without ever having to worry about repetitiveness.
Too much greed can be a bad thing, which Vivid World reminds you of in a rather interesting way.
We all know that too much greed is never a good thing, a lesson a lot of us have probably learnt when we were younger in the form of food. Video games also remind us of the lesson if we’ve fallen victim to it again, only this time in a digitalized world.
Mana in Vivid World represents your greed and once you run out of it your units pay the price. They’ll all lose HP for each time you move, whilst you might only lose a small amount for each path you choose to take, overtime it does accumulate quite high and will punish you in battle for your earlier greed. You also lose mana if you carry more units than you can hold, a unique way of punishing players for carrying too much, as opposed to just being able to discard an item like most games allow. Once you make it to the stairs on the level and progress to the next floor, your mana will be restored.
I have to admit that I did get a tad greedy a few times, whether it was to go back to the jewelers store to upgrade a unit or to go to an undiscovered path which gave me some materials or carats when low on mana, it was a risk but sometimes worth it. Both luck and risk do play quite a big part in this game which depending on the type of player you are will leave you either hating it or loving it. I actually didn’t mind it, simply because even when it wasn’t on my side I still found clearing dungeons very achievable and most times easy, not to mention it was more of a challenge.
Don’t be mistaken though, if you do act recklessly by wasting your gems, not focusing on upgrades or simply not strategizing enough then your greed will not be the only thing that punishes you. Long story short if you want to be greedy then by all means go for it, but make sure you either have a healing potion at your disposal or that a boss isn’t waiting for you at the stairs, that way you can actually get away with your rapacity.
