Development Log #3

This is ROCOCO GAMES!

Today, we’d like to give you a little sneak peek into the battle system of The Perfect Prince.

Although it’s an adventure game, it actually features battles!

But they’re not about simply defeating enemies —

they’re verbal duels that decide how the story unfolds.

Battle Basics

The core rules are simple, based on a rock-paper-scissors style system,

but with Active Time tactics and deck-building strategy, it offers plenty of depth and tension!

The player is dealt three cards, while the enemy gets one, all at random.

Each card has its own activation gauge, which fills over time.

The background shows the battle flow like a tug-of-war.

Push the gauge all the way to your side and land a finishing card—that’s your victory!

There are also a few mechanics that make the fights more dynamic:

・Taking damage fills your acceleration meter, making cards activate faster.

・You can reload your hand with the X button.

・Time your card just right to parry an enemy attack as their gauge fills.

・And of course, enemies have their own special skills (coming soon!).

We think you’ll find the battles surprisingly tense and exciting!✊✌✋

During the TGS demo (especially on Business Days),

our tactical setup turned out a bit too challenging… and, well, we kind of defeated everyone who tried it.

(That’s the classic dev mistake—making your own game too hard… sorry about that >< )

(And on the public days, after we adjusted the balance parameters a bit and added some UI guidance,

everyone quickly got used to the battle system and seemed to really enjoy it. What a relief!)

Face off against unique and expressive foes,and compete to shape the course of the tale!

The UI is still largely in a temporary state,

so we plan to refine it and improve the overall feel as development continues.

However, we’re also considering a rework of the battle concept itself.

Originally, our idea was to make battles feel like verbal exchanges—

but right now, it leans a bit too much toward pure tactics and strategy🤔

We want to bring back that sense of “real conversation”—

the feeling of choosing your own words and clashing them against the opponent’s.

While keeping the fun parts of the current system,

we’re aiming for a balance that feels more emotionally and narratively connected.

Once that takes shape, we’ll be sure to share more updates!

That’s all for now.

Thanks as always for supporting ROCOCO GAMES and The Perfect Prince!

Stay tuned for the bonus 4-panel comic at the end!