Kotaku
Rondo of Swords, coming soon for the Nintendo DS via Atlus, looks like your standard turned-based strategy, but once you've see it in motion you'll quickly realize it's an altogether different animal. While some elements are the same - you still equip your characters, level them up using experience, catch snippets of storyline in-between battles - the unique Route Maneuver System is what sets it apart. Rather than simply sidle up to your enemy and hit attack, you actually program a path through them, allowing you to damage multiple enemies at once. I've spent a bit of time recently playing through the game, and so far I am really liking what I am seeing.
The key to playing Rondo is letting go of your old turn-based strategy habits. Seeing a screen filled with enemies heading your way is very daunting until you realize that a few well-placed charges through their ranks will leave them completely decimated. You've also got to realize that having your characters too close together means the enemy can charge through you as well, so it isn't only about where your route takes you, but your final destination as well.
Basically it works like this. You select your character, which has a defined movement range. Instead of a flashing dot showing your final destination, a route marker shoots our from your character as you move the cursor. The only limitations to movement are you cannot cross your own path, and cannot land on another character or enemy. Once you choose your route you get moving, with combat taking place in the form of a sort of cutscene on the upper screen. If an opponent counter-attacks or blocks you, your charge stops, potentially leaving you very vulnerable.
You can also plan your route through allied units, some of which add effects to your active character when they pass by. This adds yet another layer of strategy to an already strategy rich system.
Then you have to figure in a unit's Momentum Counter points. The more enemies you defeat, the higher your MC raises, increasing the likelihood of enemy attacks. Certain skills can lower a unit's MC drastically, allowing them to move nearly unseen through the enemy ranks and strike vital targets. Likewise, you might need to be careful with your spellcasters, who can take out groups of enemies at once at the cost of having every baddie on the map suddenly gunning for their robe-wearing asses.
It really is a lot to take in. I found myself replaying levels over again after completing them, playing around with the system, seeing what worked for me. I often found myself using my front line fighters to make a huge bloody racket at the beginning of a stage to allow my more stealthy character to reach an objective relatively unscathed, or changing up my troops' routes in order to optimize positioning for the enemy turn.
There's much more to Rondo of Swords than the Route Maneuver System of course. You can send inactive characters on errands during battles in order to gain training, items, and open up new quests, for instance. There's the skill system, which allows you to spend skill points on each unit every level to learn new abilities or strengthen ones they already possess. Want your caster to have every spell in the book at a weak level or a limited number of extremely powerful ones? It's all up to you.
Having only played about a third of the way through the game, I'm quite impressed with Rondo so far. The storyline can get a little dull at times, but turn-based strategy storylines are rarely their major selling point. It's all about the combat system, and Rondo of Swords' movement-based system makes traditional TBS mechanics seem like they're standing still.
Rondo of Swords is due out April 15th for the Nintendo DS from Atlus.
