Battle Hunter (Game)

Battle Hunter

GAME » on April 12, 2001

PlayStation (Platform)PlayStation Network (PS3) (Platform)

Battle Hunter is a turn-based strategy RPG, released for the PlayStation in 2001.

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Story

It has been over sixty years since the fall of contemporary civilization. Global war has left the world in ruins, modern technology has all but disappeared, and humanity is struggling to recover. Desperate to retrieve data from the past and rebuild society, the few remaining scientists have no choice but to hire Hunters: adventurers who, sponsored by information brokers, make a living by exploring the "Relics" of the ancient world and bringing rare items back. The player creates and plays as one such Hunter, competing with rival adventurers and the mysterious B PHS to gather and protect important data for the future of humanity - and make some credits along the way.

Gameplay

Battle Hunter is a turn-based, dice-based, card-based, item retrieval strategy RPG, with character customization. Players must explore grid-based dungeons, or "Relics", to recover the target item and head to the exit. Exiting the Relics with the target item gives a points bonus, though players can also get points by finding other items, finding bonus flags, and attacking Hunters and monsters. The winner of each Relics exploration is determined by who gets the highest points total. Players will automatically sell the target item to the broker who hired them, but can choose to keep or sell other items they've found.

Character creation

When creating a Hunter, players can pick between eight different characters, each with eight different colour palettes. The characters and palettes only have aesthetic differences, as players can distribute their starting 11 ability points freely between the following four stats:

Mv.: Movement. Allows the Hunter to move faster on the map, and helps with running away from fights, or preventing opponents from running away. Three ability points give a +1 to this stat.
At.: Attack, raw damage dealt. One ability point gives a +1 to this stat.
Df.: Defence, raw damage reduction. Two ability points give a +1 to this stat.
HP: Hit points, one's life gauge. One ability points gives a +3 to this stat.

Players level up by paying credits. With each level up, a character gains 1 Hit Point, as well as 1 ability point to assign to any stat. Characters can go up to level 15, with no way to reset stats.

Exploring the Relics

By entering a contract with their information broker, Hunters can explore the Relics, ruins of the previous civilization filled with rare items. The goal is to find the key item the broker wants to get his hands on. The difficulty level of the Relics is the average of the levels of all the human players, rounded up. Every level will always have four Hunters in it, with a minimum of one human player, and a maximum of four human players. Hunters controlled by the computer, and monsters, will always have the same level as the Relics difficulty level. Higher difficulty Relics will have more valuable and powerful items, stronger monsters, and AI opponents with higher stats and better equipment. The Relics are dungeons presented in various pre-set grids. The four Hunters will start at a random spot on the map. Eight boxes, each containing an item, are also placed randomly on the map, as well as four bonus flags, and the Exit. Reaching the Exit without the key item in hand will teleport players to a random unoccupied spot on the map, while reaching it with the key item will end the game. Players may attack an adjacent unit, roll the dice to move on the map, or Rest, regaining one fourth of their HP and drawing two cards. If they move next to another player or a monster instead, they may attack them. If they trigger a trap and fail to evade it, their turn ends instantly; if they evade the trap, their turn continues as normal. Their turn end if they pick up an item or bonus flag as well. After a Hunter finishes their turn, and if they have moved, there is a random chance a monster will spawn next to them. These AI-controlled robots and slimes will always attack any adjacent character, or chase either the player holding the key item, or the one closest to them.

Dice

The results of most actions during the game are determined by a dice roll. On the map, Hunters roll one six-sided dice to determine their movement range for this turn, and again to determine what bonus they get if they grab a bonus flag. During battle, both opponents roll two six-sided die for attacking and defending, as well as escape attempts.

Cards

At the start of a game, each Hunter draws five cards from a shared deck of a hundred cards. If a player has less than five cards at the start of their turn, they will draw a card. If a player uses the Rest option during their turn, they will draw an additional two cards. There are four types of cards:

Blue cards: Movement cards. These add a bonus to the movement stat for one action, be it moving through the dungeon, or running away/ pursuing an opponent during battles. The E card teleports players to the Exit, or guarantees a successful escape from battle.
Red cards: Attack cards. These add a bonus to the attack stat, allowing players to deal more damage.
Yellow cards: Defence and evasion cards. These add a bonus to the defence stat when used during a battle. Used outside of battle, these raise a Hunter's likelihood of escaping traps.
Green cards: Trap cards. These can only be used on the map. They place one of four invisible traps on the spot the Hunter is standing on, and will be activated by any character that next walks through or stops at the spot. The effects range from raw damage to discarding a Hunter's cards, to temporarily incapacitating them. Monsters cannot activate traps.

Once the card deck has been emptied, Dragon will appear at a random spot on the map. Considered the boss of the game, it has very high stats and will relentlessly chase Hunters around the map. If Dragon kills the player holding the key item, the game will immediately end. If Dragon is killed, it will respawn on the next turn, making escape the preferred strategy.

Combat

If a player moves next to a character or monster, they can start a battle with them. Similarly to 100% Orange Juice, battles only last one turn, ending the player or monster's turn as well. The defending Hunter, as long as they are not stunned or panicked, can pick different options:

Counter-attack: If the defending Hunter is not killed, stunned, or panicked after their opponent's attack, they will then strike back. They can use one Attack or Defence card.
Defence: This doubles the defending Hunter's base defence stat, but prevents them from attacking back. This does not double any defence bonus obtained through cards. They can use one Defence card.
Flee: The defending Hunter attempts to run away, preventing them from attacking back, and dropping their defence stat to 0 (though they will still roll two die for defence). They can use one Movement or Defence card.
Surrender: This option is only available if the defending Hunter has at least one item on them. They can pick any item in their inventory, and give it to their opponent. The battle will then end, and the defending Hunter will be teleported to a random spot on the map.

After the defending Hunter has picked an option besides Surrender and used a card, the attacker may use a card as well. Both players then roll two die. The results of the rolls get added to the relevant stats, and the numbers get compared directly. For instance, if the attacker's stats, card and roll total 20, and the defending Hunter's total 15, the defending Hunter will take 5 damage. If defence is higher than attack, then 0 damage is dealt, and it also prevents any status effect from being applied. Monsters will always try to counter-attack. If a Hunter defeats another Hunter, they can steal any one item from their inventory. The defeated Hunter's max HP will then be cut in half, they will be teleported to a random spot on the map, and they will lose their next turn. The same thing occurs if a monster defeats a Hunter, though they won't lose an item. If a Hunter kills a monster, they have a chance to find a random item. To recover max HP, players need to go to the clinic in the main menu and pay a certain amount of credits per max HP they want to regain.

Items

There are one hundred items in the game, with varying values and effects. Items need to be appraised by the information broker to unlock their special effects. Some, like wine bottles and common books, have no effect, and only exist to be sold for credits. Weapons can add to the attack stat, some clothes can add to the defence stat, or help run away from fights. Sensors boost a character's chances of avoiding traps, and special items have unique effects, like doubling the healing potency of Rest. Data discs even unlock wallpaper for the main menu. Finding items and having them appraised ups a character's Hunter rank. Except for data discs, a Hunter needs to have an item in their inventory to profit from its effect. However, players only have six inventory slots, and stat boosts of the same nature do not stack.

Story missions

When only one player character is registered, playing will progress the story of the game. Though it starts off similar to the multiplayer mode, unique objectives soon appear, such as rescuing missing clinic patients, stealing items from B PHS agents, or fending off three B PHS agents to prevent data from falling into their hands. There are 15 missions in all, with unique items and enemies.

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