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Without any arms Brad cannot use his Armstrong Style at all and can only bite at opponents (though certain skills can still be selected).Īt the start of the game, the player controls a child named Bradley Armstrong. The loss of Brad's arms drastically lowers his stats and increases his Joy withdrawal frequency. Depending on the player's choices, Brad can lose one or both of his arms, or some of his party members.
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Throughout the game, Brad is forced to make choices that affect the core mechanics of gameplay. Each party member has a different playstyle for example, the anti-Joy crusader Ajeet's standard attacks are various Pokes that do no damage but provide guaranteed status effects on the enemy, and as such his only method of direct damage is through his special moves. Other party members use a variety of techniques for both offense and defense, and applying status effects such as poison or paralysis.
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In battle, Brad and some of his companions are able to use combination attacks using the "Dial Combo" system, allowing the player to press a sequence of keys to use powerful attacks like fireballs. There are thirty different possible companions, but all of them except for Brad are susceptible to permanent death through either scripted events such as Russian Roulette or against certain enemies, who will occasionally use permanent-kill moves. The overworld features an assortment of settlements with shops and bars, where potential party members can often be found. Brad and certain party members are addicted to a drug named Joy that can drastically increase their power, but gives them serious withdrawals when unused. Lisa features a combination of traditional turn-based RPG combat in a 2D side-scrolling overworld. Brad using the combo-based "Armstrong Style" in combat against an enemy snake.
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