Little Town Hero's idea-driven battle system explained

While we wait for Sword and Shield, Pokemon developer Game Freak has another RPG on the way. Little Town Hero hits the eShop next week and brings a colorful world and inventive combat system based on "ideas," as opposed to swords and shields. Indeed, it's the battle system that raises the most eyebrows when talking about Little Town Hero, and thankfully we now have a handy video clearing a few things up about how combat works in this intriguing little RPG.

As mentioned earlier, Little Town Hero won't have you upgrading weapons to gain advantage in battle. Instead, you'll employ Ideas to counter your opponent and upgrade them through a skill tree as you earn Eureka Points after each battle. Ideas in Little Town Hero more closely resemble cards in a card game than attacks in a traditional RPG's battle system.

Ideas form as "Izzits" and can only be used against an opponent when you spend points to make them "Dazzits," which can function as attacks, defensive moves, and unique moves. Every Dazzit is allotted attack and defense points, and every round has you spending your Dazzits against opponents using their own Dazzits against you. Whoever depletes their opponent's selection of Dazzits wins that round, and any unspent Ideas will carry over to the next round.

In between rounds, you'll be able to move around the battle map, which sort of resembles a board game. Different spaces have allies you can move toward for help in battle. Then there are gimmicks scattered across the playing field that can give you an edge, like the cannon we see in the video.

Hopefully that gives you a better idea of how this plucky RPG handles combat. Little Town Hero hits the eShop October 16 for $25.

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