“One of the things about the game that I really enjoy is how deep the gameplay can be as you continue to build new cards and bring new possibilities to your deck.”
Over the past few months, it has become apparent that developers are slowly moving away from PSP and Nintendo DS. Blame it on their dedication to Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 development or the assumption (perhaps inside knowledge) that the next generation of handhelds is not too far off. Whatever the case, there just aren't as many PSP and DS releases as there were a few years ago.
However, there is one genre that seems to be flourishing in the portable world, and that's strategy games. From Yggdra Union (PSP) to Ninjatown (DS), some of the year's best and most unique strategy games have been exclusive to just one handheld. Yuke's Company of America hopes to add another to the list: the PSP-exclusive Neverland Card Battle.
"All of the cards are unique," said Nate Fitt, Marketing Manager of Yuke's Company of America. "They all have different abilities and skills. One of the things with the unit card that's really interesting: some of the more powerful cards (and not-so-powerful) have different methods for attacking. There is the traditional, move your unit up to your opponent and just initiate an attack, a hand-to-hand kind of thing. However, some characters have the ability to use a skill, and that allows them to hit an enemy with a projectile. Also, some cards have a first strike ability, where their first strike prevents the enemy from making a counterattack."
I love strategy/RPGs but haven't gotten into many card-based games. Yggdra Union was good, but it wasn't really a "card" game, per se. With that in mind, which direction does Neverland Card Battles take? Is it a full-fledged card game?
Nate Fitt: The correct answer is yes, it is more of a full-fledged card game than Yggdra Union. I don't know too much about Yggdra Union. But I can tell you that ours is very much different, especially with how the cards are used. Neverland Card Battle takes more of a traditional approach to card-based gaming by offering many different options per card, and those cards are split into different types. The first is a unit card, which are your allies. The spell cards, which you can cast and inflict damage on another character. There is a mana-based system that is very similar to the trading cards of table-top games. People familiar with those will certainly pick up Neverland Card Battle.
Describe the gameplay for us. What happens over the course of each turn?
NF: Each battle in Neverland Card Battle is a sequence of head-to-head battles with various characters that you meet along the way in Neverland. Each battle takes place on an adventure game board. It's the kind of game board you can move your character around on, very similar to the strategy/RPG side. At the start of your turn, essentially, the way your character goes about it (it's a turn-based game), you have cards in your deck and you need to accumulate mana to use the cards.
What makes Neverland Card Battle unique and different from the other card battlers out there is how you fire the mana. That is done by moving your character above the tile and essentially making the tile that you cover your color. A lot of the game, the mechanics, are really moving your character around the tile board, acquiring mana, and using that mana to use the cards in your deck. Now the way that the game starts off, every card dominator (the characters that you fight are called dominators) has a deck of 30 cards. In the beginning you have three cards drawn but at your very first turn you won't be able to use any because you don't have the mana.
As you gain mana you'll be able to use more of your cards. One of the first things you'll come across is that you'll want to summon other units out onto the board. When you do have the mana to summon these units, they can get mana which will go into your collective mana pool.
How will you "conquer territory" in the game?
NF: I find this element really compelling. It makes each battle unique and different. You can take your opponent's mana by moving over their square [tile] after they've acquired the land. And let me clarify; when I say conquering land, I mean making it your own by moving your character over it. That land becomes yours.
Many of the levels have what is called attributed land. What that means is, some of the tiles are color-coded with a border around the title. These colors are attributed to specific attributes such as water, air, earth and fire. Some of the units that you possess in your deck will have an attribute attached to them. If you have a unit with the earth attribute, and there's an earth square all across the board, you don't have to summon the character adjacent to your character, you can actually summon him across the board, preferably in a position where you can steal your opponent's land.
You'll be able to utilize more than 200 summoning cards. Do they make up the bulk of the game, or are there other types of cards as well? And what exactly are the summoning cards?
NF: One of the things about the game that I really enjoy is how deep the gameplay can be as you continue to build new cards and bring new possibilities to your deck. The summoning cards themselves... There's a general term in the game, and they're all called special cards. Summoning cards pertain more to the unit cards and base cards; tangible units and actual base cards that you can throw out onto the board, creating a base they can attack.
Tell us about the story, its characters, presentation, etc.
NF: There's an evil deity who wanted to end the world. His reasoning behind ending the world was to save it from itself. The first character that you'll come across is the guardian. When trouble starts brewing, the guardian has to call the other dominators out to help save the world. You'll learn how to become a dominator and top battler. Other characters that you'll come across... I don't want to spoil it, but some are there for their own personal benefit. Some are there for revenge over the loss of their family.
This game is based on the Japanese PS2 title, Cardinal Arc: Neverland Card War. How does the new handheld version differ?
NF: When we saw the title we were really excited about it. We really wanted to make sure that when we brought it over [to America], we enhanced the features but not change the game [too much]. We wanted an American game experience, but if you change it too much you risk ruining what was good [about it in the first place]. The main difference is the implementation of the ad hoc mode. Card games are traditionally played in cafes. A lot of people like to play on the go. Having the ad hoc mode included really stands out.
Also, in making the change to a widescreen presentation we had to make some adjustments. [Lastly], having the ability to save on the go. I really wanted this feature. Sure, you can just turn the power off. But other times somebody else may want to play and you want to save it, that's not something you can do with most strategy games [save any time]. If something comes up and you want to get away, you can.
