I love the arcades in Japan.  They are always changing the games, and are always full of people, much different from my arcade back home that probably still has that Mortal Kombat II machine sitting in the corner.  After visiting the arcade on a regular basis I started to really get interested in the card battle style games that were popping up.

The first one I ever saw was based on the three kingdoms history of china and that was less than appealing.  Then Square Enix released Yu-sha or Eternal Wheel.  I picked this up and tried it out.  It was a fairly decent game, but a bit too simple and you didn’t feel like you had that much control over what happened in the game.  You directed units and they attacked the bad guys.  Simple, to the point, but not quite what I was looking for.

Then, a few months ago, Lord of Vermilion dropped from Square.  A game with dark overtones even the good guys look to be rather evil.  You have a character you control plus a team you run into the battle area.  In this multi-part article I’ll be discussing the ins and outs for you guys, in case you can’t take a jet plane over and try it out for yourself.

Starting Out.

I guess the best place to start is from the beginning.  LoV (it’s shorter) all starts with buying a starter deck, just like you would for any other card battle game.  They sell them right at the machine where you play and it comes with all you need, your first monster cards, your character card, and your NES System card that records all your data.  You can also buy card sleeves and more NES Sys cards (you get 100 plays per card).  The price of the starter deck is about five dollars American so it doesn’t break the bank, but it might make you decide if you really want to commit.

So you sit down at what looks like a giant table top, but its a touch screen/play screen/card reader type device.  It reads your cards, and tells you what’s going on on the ground.  You also have another HD tv in front of you to see another view of the action.  The first thing you have to do as a new player is of course create your character, you can choose male or female, name them whatever you want, and begin configuring your team.

There are three modes of play for LoV, one being the standard story mode with two difficulties accessible from the beginning easy and normal.  The story is basically a tutorial to play and slowly takes you through all the steps to getting in place, the different ways to win, and other things you need to worry about.  The actual story itself is a bit dry and really doesn’t need an explanation.

The second mode of play is all Japan PvP.  All the arcades that are worth going to in Japan have the Internet, and that means all the arcade machines are linked into their own networks.  LoV is no different, and their PvP lets you challenge any one else that maybe playing at the same time.  This is the main mode I play and I have never had to wait for a match so there are plenty of people playing this game.

The final mode is of course fighting the cabinet across from you.  This is a good mode for friends that also like to play the game and want a chance to take you on.  I’ve never seen anyone challenge someone they don’t know, but I’m sure it might happen.

Basic Play.

So you’re ready to play you have a team, a character, and a pocket full of dollar coins (the game is 3 dollars to play 2 to continue).  There are from what I understand three basic points to winning the game.

The first is to just destroy the other teams “Arcane Crystals” as they are described.  You do this by having your team stand in the circle near the crystal and watch a timer go off.  Not that exciting but depending on your cards (for another part), can take no time at all to win your match and get you some serious experience points.

Another way is to go into the fray with the other player using the attacks of your team to wipe his team out repeatedly thus draining his life bar and winning the match.

The last way is to destroy the gates from which the teams come from, there are three of them and if you do this then kill off his team it’s a very very easy win.  The most common strategy I have seen from other players is a combination of all three that way you don’t get your self in situations where you can do nothing against the other team.

In the next part of the article I will discuss the different types of cards.  Show a few off, and explain the deeper strategy of the game.  See you then!

Tags: Arcade, card, collectible, Japan, lord, vermilion

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2 Comments » Retarded Penguin on November 2, 2008 3:20 am Thanks for the info. I missed my flight to Japan =P Sean Mitchuson on November 2, 2008 3:41 am It’ll only make me feel good if knowing you reading that made you miss your flight. :) Part two coming soon! RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.