I think you really nailed the JRPG style. Combat is fun, even though it doesn't have a lot of depth. Artstyle is very good (I am surprised you managed to do it in only a month).
It seems to me, that the game might feel a bit unintuitive for people unfamiliar with the genre. (And for ones familiar as well. It took me some time to realize that you can open crates, for example). This is probably the only serious nitpick I have.
Other than that, this is a very well-made game. I hope you will continue working on it.
However, I find it rather difficult (final boss, at least). I didn't finish it. Because of the lack of checkpoints, I don't really have the motivation to try it again (I've reached the final boss twice, but failed both times). The problem is, that I have to play through easy levels, to get the boss, which is not ideal. Also, disability to heal encourages passive gameplay (basically, I only attacked with L, and avoided all close combat)
On the plus side - the game looks very good. Conceptually gameplay is rather interesting, but (imo) it didn't manage to fully unlock its potential, because of the issues mentioned above.
So, it is definitely good for a prototype, but it could be much better with few changes. Which is a shame.
I really liked the game, so I'm going to be nitpicky.
I agree with XCVG that this game needs some sort of tutorial. However, I think on my second walkthrough I was able to figure everything.
I don't mind black and white esthetic, however, UI needs some work. For example, the victory textbox doesn't look too well, because it has the same width as a screen. I think it should be shorter.
The interface is a bit unintuitive. Hints, about where you can go next, or which card you can use, should be more noticeable. Also, what items in a shop do wasn't immediately clear for me. This leads me to the next point.
When your health is full, you can still buy it in a shop. I felt for that.
I think this game would benefit from having difficulty settings. Or at least a hard/challenge mode. As it is now - after you finished a game once you are pretty much done. It is not even that difficult, once you get the hang of it (it took me only 3 tries).
Sometimes game decides to play two music tracks at once, which sound like a cacophony (one way to achieve it - is to press the reset(?) button (I'm not entirely sure what this button does, actually, but it has a spiral on it))
Speaking of bugs, if you end your turn while your character is moving, and one of the enemies attacks him during that moving animation, he kind of gets stuck.
Speaking of what I liked.
Music is great.
Exploring the game mechanics was pretty rewarding.
This game is pretty balanced for a card game. At no point, "random" was something I could blame for my failures.
I think the whole concept of "combos" is rather new and creative. Take this with a grain of salt, since I haven't really played many card games.
As a whole, gameplay fun and captivating. I had a lot of fun playing your game.
Overall, this is a very solid entry. Very nice job indeed.
It is a shame, that you didn't have enough time to make backgrounds, because I liked your style.
Story-wise, this game is pretty straight-forward but I still enjoyed it. Probably it is mainly because of the silliness of the premise (in a good way). Maybe, it would better if the game was a bit longer, but yet again, time is also a thing.
I am indeed considering working on this later because the story didn't quite work as we originally planned. We have some rough ideas, about how it can be improved. It really depends on ilyamokka, though.
Flying made the difference for me. I think most of the other games, including mine (at least, based on what I played so far), didn't really do anything interesting with the magical girl theme gameplay-wise. So, I like your attempt, at doing that. Flight control feels a bit janky, but I quickly got used to them (this goes to walking as well). Other than that, this mechanic is great.
I feel that fighting could be designed better, because currently, enemies are too passive, and it's very easy to run/fly away from them and heal.
Art and modeling are well-made (for a game jam), however, the city feels somewhat repetitive.
Overall, I liked your game, however, it definitely needs some polish. For example: ● It would be nice to be able to move diagonally when pressing two buttons simultaneously (in battle). This would make movement feel less awkward. ● It's not always clear where to go, I think it would better if there were some sort of indication. ● I didn't like that you can only shoot horizontally - it really limits your movement. ● There is no fullscreen mode, and game window is not resizable. (Might be a problem specific to me)
Also, the game is too short, which is understandable, given time constraints.
Gameplay is fine, it serves its purpose, but (imo) it needs a bit more depth.
On the plus side, this game has some attention to details (like water shader, for example), which I really like. The transformation sequence is very cool, and so is your artwork in general.
I think, that more development time would be really beneficial to this game. Alas, we don't always have that luxury. So, in conclusion, I think this game is good, but it definitely has room for improvement.
P.S. Submitting your game 28 seconds before the deadline is something. Glad you managed to do it in time ;)
