Board game

Ventus on the map

The Board Game system is one of the innovative and key gameplay aspects to Unlimited Saga. It is the main dungeon/field view of the game whenever you undertake a main or side quest adventure. The dungeon/field is broken up into a chess like board game, where you move your piece (a silver figure of the current main character) one place at a time, revealing more landscape and potential paths.

Movement

The direction wheel in action

While each dungeon/field appears to be sprawling and non-linear, each movement is controlled by pushing the analogue stick in one of 8 radial directions. By pushing the analogue stick in a certain direction, a wheel appears pointing in the direction you wish to go. By keeping the arrow pointed towards a potential path the piece will move in that direction onto the next section of the map, and consume 1 turn.

Any dungeon/field that is part of a side-quest adventure will have a specific Turn Limit. This limits the maximum amount of actions you can perform before you fail the quest and are returned to the nearest town. If you fail a quest you can choose to attempt it again, with the Turn Limit being reset back to 0 each time. Main quests have an infinite Turn Limit and can be played as long as you require.

Actions

When in a dungeon/field you can select a variety of actions to be performed in your current location;

• Use a specific skill (depending on a character's Growth Panels)

• View, arrange and discard items

• Check and alter your characters' equipment

• View a character's indepth status, including; stats, growth rates, panel bonuses, attacks, spells

• Quit to the main menu

By using Skills you can scan the current map panel for treasure, traps, monsters and engage them accordingly. Using any Skill will consume 1 turn.

Battles

A monster encounter

Battles occur when you encounter a monster on the panel you are on. Like your character, monsters move around the maps one panel at a time. When a monster occupies the same panel as you they may become hostile and attack, or have not noticed you and will remain peaceful. If a monster is present but hasn't attacked you have a variety of options you can perform;

• Choose to pre-emptively attack the monster yourself

• Use a Skill like 'Diplomacy' to remove the enemy from the map (consumes 1 turn and requires use of the Reel System)

• Simply ignore them and carry on (some monster types are easier to evade than others)

When a battle is over you will be returned to the same panel on the map.

Treasure/Items

Treasure chest and items will occasionally turn up on map panels. You can also use Skills to search for hidden treasures but these consume 1 turn each). If an item is found you can simply choose to inspect it and it will be automatically picked up and added to your Items.

When a treasure chest is discovered you can do various thigs, such as; choose to open it, inspect it or use Skills on it. Some treasures have locks and deadly traps attached to them, which will require the use of certain Skills (Sharpeye, Locksmith, Defuse & Fortuneteller) to successfully disarm them and claim the item contained. These will consume 1 turn each (and require the use of the Reel System), but might save you from explosions, poison, damage, a fight or breaking the item if you attempt to force open a lock.

Any treasure chest or item you find will remain on that map panel for the entire quest, enabling you to come back later for it (if you have enough turns).

Objects & Obstacles

Ruby inspects a ladder

You will come across various obstacles on the map. This can range from things like doors, and ladders (which offer access to other areas of a dungeon), to landslides and rivers (that can be traversed with the right Skill). Each object or obstacle can be overcome with the appropriate Growth Panel, such as Obstacle Crossing allowing you to scale landslides (these also consume 1 turn each). In many dungeons, there are bonus treasures, or strong monsters, hidden behind locked doors, or obstacles, making it crucial to explore every possible area of a map.