VANGUARD

What would you do if the person who you thought had your back, turned their blade towards you instead? The characters of Vanguard grapple with this question after watching their most trusted ally betray them. The party travels together in search of answers: “Why was my faith taken advantage of?”, “What caused this person to change?”, and “When I finally see their face again, how will I punish them?”. Their journey leads them on separate quests for revenge, but along the way, the group discovers the threads connecting each of their betrayals.

This turn-based RPG with a twist features two simultaneous battles fought on each side of the screen. Wage a war on two fronts as you split up party members to fight two seperate groups of enemies, the vanguard to the front and the rearguard to the back. Each side is self-contained, with party members and enemies only able to target units on the same side of the battlefield as themselves. Leaving either side unmanned allows those enemies to strike the other side for a backstab bonus. Vanguard requires that you allocate your resources carefully and move party members between sides as the battle progresses. Formation Skills add an extra layer of depth to this, giving your units access to additional skills based on how many allied units are placed beside them.

Maintaining the appropriate formation is the key to victory, but your foes are not so foolish as to let you position your units as you please. As enemies move units around the battlefield, your strategy needs to change with them. Place your units where their strengths are needed most, and help the characters of Vanguard learn to trust once again as they fight, back-to-back.

Character Key Art

Environment

1. Vanguard’s battlefield is separated into two, isolated sides. Both player and enemy units are unable to target units on a different side than themselves. The player must manage the placement of their units on the battlefield in addition to traditional RPG resources such as HP and MP. If the player leaves a side unattended, enemies on that side will be able to back-stab allied units for double damage.

2. Positioning is the key to success in “Vanguard”. The player must assemble their party so that the strengths and weaknesses of each party member can combat the foes on either side of the battlefield. “Formation Skills” nuance this decision by providing each party member with additional skills based on their relative position in the party.

3. Battles hardly remain stagnant as the player is not only one who change their formation. Enemy units can also move both themselves and player units to a different side of the battlefield. The player must craft an ever-evolving strategy to react to these changes in positioning and defeat the enemy.”

Traditional turn-based RPGs feature a single line of party members versus a single line of enemies. Vanguard expands this to two simultaneous battles fought back-to-back. Fighting a “war on two fronts” provides a unique experience, challenging the player to manage not only their resources, but also their positioning on the battlefield.