Bastard!! Utsuronaru Kamigami no Utsuwa

Bastard!! Utsuronaru Kamigami no Utsuwa ("Hollow Vessel of the Gods") is an RPG based on the dark fantasy comic series by Kazushi Hagiwara. The wizard Dark Schneider and his companions have found themselves in an unfamiliar land, stripped of their memories. His only hint is a ball of light, which when touched, projects a visage of a familiar woman named Yoko; he vows to find her and restore his memories. Like many contemporary RPGs, the game is divided into exploration and combat modes. Exploration takes place entirely from first-person, with the player exploring each area and interacting with objects to solve simple environmental puzzles, with occasional character events taking a visual-novel style form with full-screen illustrations and text narration. During exploration, enemies can be randomly encountered; combat takes a turn-based form with each side placed in opposing 4x4 formations. At the start of combat, the player chooses the formation for their party, which affects which kinds of abilities are most effective and which special moves are available, then each team alternates giving a command all units in order. Throughout the game, many characters will join the player's party, though only four characters be active at once. Each character has a class and one or more elemental affinity, and can level up to gain strength and learn more abilities; characters who frequently fight together will also gain affinity with one another, making them stronger together. Some characters will only join the player's team if certain story requirements are met or if the player selects the correction options during dialogue.