The flames of war are spreading across the continent of Valeria. The assassination of the King of Vaaland threatens the balance of power, while Odin’s Breath slowly spreads in the south, plunging the continent into a revolutionary war due to resource scarcity.
With Crystal Collapse, we present a game strongly inspired by JRPGs, particularly tactical ones like Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre. In its development, we worked with attention to detail to capture the charm and feel of these games.
What is Crystal Collapse about?
Valeria is protected by a network of powerful Mother Crystals, forming the heart of four significant cities: Vaaland, Besalia, Rosenburg, and the sunken Nabodies. The power of these Mother Crystals is crucial to keeping the feared toxin mist known as “Odin’s Breath” at bay, which is relentlessly consuming the continent.
Each of these cities harbours an influential knightly order, whose foremost task is to protect the Mother Crystals. These knightly orders are led by nobles and rulers of the main cities. Yet, despite their royal status, the hands of these nobles are tightly bound, as a mysterious and powerful judge sits at the head of each order. However, beneath this rigid power structure, a fire of hope for a better life for the peoples of Valeria simmers, for which they will fight.
Gameplay
Crystal Collapse follows the principle of “easy to learn, hard to master.” At the beginning of the game, each player assembles a team of four heroes, with each hero assigned a suit from the poker card deck. Each team must have one instance of each suit, with the suits also determining the roles of the heroes in the team.
Diamond heroes form the front line of the battle and are indispensable for the courage and bravery of their team. Kurado is a Knight and an excellent example of a Diamond Hero,
Heart heroes are powerful mages who support the team in various ways. Feena is a White mage who can employ healing magics to help sustain your party members
Spade heroes are exceptional characters without specific archetypes, forming the backbone of the team and full of surprises. Hector is one example who will keep you on your toes! He is very powerful and gets more powerful if he is interacting with a crystal giving you a massive advantage for destroying Crystals!
Club heroes are globetrotters, adventurers, rogues, hunters, and much more. They usually form the second line in your team to shoot the target from a distance or perform a flank manoeuvre. In this case, Viktoria with her trusted companion Noodle provide excellent ranged support!
Each hero has two abilities, one active and one passive. The active ability is activated by playing a card of the same suit and includes strong attacks or wicked spells that have negative effects on enemies. Passive abilities are usually area effects that strengthen other heroes in the team and provide the opportunity to create interesting synergies.
In battle, you win the game by reaching 8 Quest Points, gained by completing quest tasks or eliminating enemy heroes.
The battlefield is a 9×13 grid, divided into various heights that influence movement and hit probability, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics.
Combat System
For the combat system, the poker deck is divided into two stacks: the Skill Deck, consisting of all suits from 5 to Ace; and the Fate Deck, consisting of cards numbered from 2-4 and a Joker. Skill cards are used to perform attacks or activate abilities, while the Fate Deck offers additional ways to influence the course of combat.
During an attack, both players secretly play a skill card from their hand, with the attacker attacking and the defender defending. Both cards are then revealed simultaneously, and the attacker’s hit is calculated. Combat is based on simple calculations, with the attacker’s attack value added to the value of the played skill card and the defender’s defense subtracted from this value. You must then roll equal to or under the resulting value with a D20 die. Critical hits can be achieved by rolling the exact number required.
Crystal Collapse rewards skilful positioning and the targeted use of abilities with Fate cards, which can modify attack or defense values. For example, heroes are harder to attack from the front, and heroes attacked from the front receive the value of a drawn Fate card added to their defense value. Conversely, attacking heroes receive a bonus to their attack value when attacking a hero from behind. Terrain heights also affect these values. We call these effects “Manoeuvre Effects”, and the rulebook contains more to help you make use of the battlefield environment.
Another way to influence the game is by playing God cards. The cards King, Queen, Jack, Ace, and Joker represent the gods of this world, and by playing these cards, their powers can be unleashed. Each god brings an individual effect with them, which players can use to their tactical advantage.
Miniatures and Components
Attention to detail was also given here: all artworks are from Augustin Graham Nakamura and Alexandro Oukino, who are both well-versed in the anime setting. These strong art style has made it possible to model anime-inspired miniatures at a high level, retaining the basic nature of their style while still being usable for an international market.
The miniatures are crafted in a 40 mm scale, providing ample space for details and enough area for painting. They are made of high-quality resin, 3D printed to ensure the highest possible quality with no mould-lines/flash or vents/feeds/sprue marks that you commonly find on cast metal, resin and plastic. With out models, no additional clean up is necessary, just glue them to their bases, prime and paint! Additionally, the miniatures are all supplied in one-piece, making it easier for hobbyists to get started with playing the game – no need to spend all evening assembling 30 tiny pieces into a single model before you can play!
Miniatures are supplied with MDF bases, which allow you to indicate the direction of the heroes’ gaze thanks to the little triangular “nose”. Crystal Collapse launches with three hero packs, covering the factions of Besalia, Vaaland, and Gysha. All heroes and packs can be combined with each other so you can pick your preferred party from across the factions.
To ensure a full and high-quality gaming experience, all token materials that players frequently handle are made of wood. This promises a pleasant tactile experience and long-lasting components. Crystal Collapse can now be pre-ordered, and there are a variety of beginner-friendly offers available, including the “Start Collecting: Crystal Collapse” package. This package includes two hero packs, MDF terrain, and a game board, as well as additional accessories such as high-quality wooden tokens and an exclusive pre-order miniature.
You can find more offers in our store at https://crystal-collapse.com