Even more analysis on Gungnir's mechanics

Day 378

There is a wonderful game lurking beneath Gungnir's surface, but it takes a considerable effort to unearth that game. If I were to play Gungnir again (and that probably won't happen) I expect I'd enjoy it more the second time around now that I better understand the game's mechanics. I'll know not to stand near the edge of a map and always to make sure to loot a fallen ally's corpse lest I lose valuable items permanently. I'm not happy this feature exists in the first place, but my annoyance could have certainly been allayed somewhat if I'd known this was going to happen. It reminds me of Final Fantasy Tactics where units could potentially be lost permanently if not revived in time. In this case, you only lose items, which seems less restrictive initially--but then you have to consider that Gungnir's battle system is built entirely around these items.

 As I've discussed before, each weapon in Gungnir, whether it be book, bow, or sword, features at least one unique attack. Some weapons are very rare and can easily be lost permanently if the player is not careful. I'm still irritated that I lost a valuable accessory that halves casting time from Paulo, who seems to die in just about every mission. I have thus far not found a replacement for this accessory, although other less powerful variants seem relatively easy to find.
What I like about Gungnir is that there's a huge variety of items and weapons, all of which have cool effects. Some items will provide boosts to attack power or utility during combos. There is a very good selection of armor available, all with different strengths and weaknesses. Many armors will absorb a certain element or have other unique effects like shortening Cast Time. It's really fun to level up new weapons and try out their abilities. This is the part of the game that I feel really works, so it's doubly disheartening that enemies in Gungnir seem so intent on stealing or breaking these hard-earned items. A certain boss broke just about every piece of gear on one of my characters; there are no words for how annoying this is.

Positioning is key to strategy in Gungnir. Positioning incorrectly will frequently put your fragile characters in the way of massive combo chains capable of one or two-shotting them. This is especially true in the case of long range classes like archers, throwers, and witches. These classes are also available to the player, but it's much more difficult to set up good combos because of how the player's turn order works so much differently than the opponent's. There have been so many times where I sat there, helpless, as the AI set up an endless chain of combos by systematically moving units into position and attacking consecutively. This does come at the expense of Tactics Points, but this too is one area where the AI frequently has an advantage. Capturing the flags that grant these points is much easier when you have 11 or 12 characters at your disposal, none of which are burdened with the penalty of having to share a turn.

Despite my frustration with Gungnir, I can't say I don't enjoy it in some ways. I enjoy unlocking new items and gear and successfully completing missions is satisfying--as long as I don't have to resort to cheese just to make it through. It is a game that is frequently challenging for the wrong reasons but it does sometimes hit the mark. I have to wonder how much better a game this might be with some tweaks.