Abilities
The play has two “modes” to choose from, offensive and defensive, or Fire and Water. They are represented by moko, which can be modified by figurines (or attributes). Each moko grants the authority to control up to a maximum of three figurines, which imbue the moko with different characteristics.
Moko
The moko worn on Kō’s shoulders represent her authority to command the power granted to her by the deities of fire and water. As she gains more mana, she is granted increasingly large and elaborate moko. When she starts, they are basic and do not allow her to augment her abilities with figurines. As she gains mana, her moko afford her the right to use up to 3 figurines per power.
Figurines are not permanent, they can be moved at will, and switched between water and fire moko.
Figurines (or Attributes)
There are three types of “figurines”: Momentum, Size, and Absorb. They act like Paper-Rock-Scissors: Momentum beats Size, Size beats Absorb, Absorb beats Momentum.
The figurines can be mixed and matched. Generally speaking, two combined figurines will draw with the third, be strong against the weak figurine in the combination, and weak against the strong one. For example, Momentum+Size will beat Size, draw with Absorb, and fail against Momentum.
Figurine Strength
A figurine starts out in a weak state, and grows in power each time it’s used. For example, a Momentum figurine will make whatever it is socketed with faster and faster (up to a maximum value) the more it is used.
Enemies
Enemies also have these primary characteristics (and can also combine them). For example, a Big enemy loses against a Momentum attack.
Here are charts with all the combinations:
Fire Abilities
| Mod | 1st Mod Effect | 2nd Mod Effect | 3rd Mod Effect | Weakness | Strength | Draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [None] | Creates a small Fire on the ground that burns for a limited time and damages enemies that pass through it. | N/A | N/A | Only the slowest, dumbest enemies will walk through this | N/A | N/A |
| Momentum | Fire Dart that can travel 1/3rd the length of the screen | Dart can travel 2/3rds length of the screen | Dart can travel entire length of the screen | enemies that can absorb are not hurt by this (unless you can fire several in quick succession) | Large enemies can't dodge this and you can stand back from them to attack | Projectile Enemies can just shoot back, and fast enemies can often dodge your dart |
| Size | Inferno spreads a distance in front of the player, like a fire that has extended horizontally | Inferno becomes taller, or becomes longer (not sure because I don't know how important height will be) | Inferno spreads out in both directions, instead of just in front of the player | Fast enemies can jump away or burrow to escape | Absorb enemies can't absorb all the inferno, so it backfires causing even more damage (see notes on Absorb) | big enemies can move away but not simply jump away |
| Absorb | FireForm engulfs player in flames, dealing damage to any who touch her | Larger flame for wider area of effect | Absorb is so strong now that there is a wide area of effect and enemies are sucked toward the player as if by gravity | Big enemies will knock you away from them and not be affected by the gravity | small, fast enemies will be sucked in more forcefully | Absorb enemies will take only half damage |
| Momentum + Size | Fire Bomb is like a grenade that can be lobbed, and which causes an inferno in the place it lands. It can travel halfway across the screen | x2 Momentum, the bomb can be lobbed all the way across the screen | x2 Size, the bomb will have a larger inferno | momentum enemies will snipe you as you slowly lob the bomb, and simply dodge when it explodes | big enemies can't get near you and can't get away from the inferno | Absorb often absorbs the bomb before it explodes, so it's only sometimes effective |
| Momentum + Absorb | Homing Dart will track enemy and try to hit it | x2 Momentum, the dart will travel longer | x2 Absorb, the dart will track more faithfully | can be absorbed just like a normal dart | Beats momentum because you can stand anywhere on the screen and fire while the enemy has to be adjacent to you to hit | Neutral against size? It actually seems like size would be especially weak against this, since big slow enemies couldn't touch you while you rained darts on them. That's a problem. Could be solved by swapping size and momentum? |
| Size + Absorb | Fire Clone is a clone of you in fireform that fights for you for a limited time | x2 Size will produce 2 fire clones | x2 Absorb will make the fire clones area of effect wider | big enemies can knock the clone away, preventing damage | beats absorb by chasing him down (damaging him) and being too big to absorb | clone can be sniped or dodged |
| Momentum + Absorb + Size | Fire Darts travel from off screen, hit all enemies, and converge at the player, causing an inferno | N/A | N/A | far off absorb enemies won't be hurt by the darts | nearby size enemies will feel the hurt | darts will hurt momentum enemies but inferno won't do much against them |
Water Abilities
| Mod | 1st Mod Effect | 2nd Mod Effect | 3rd Mod Effect | Weakness | Strength | Draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [None] | Heals Kotiro | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Momentum | Levitate jets water downward, boosting your jump by 1/3rd | jump boosted by 2/3rd | jump boosted by 100% | Absorb enemies can cut the jump off mid way | big enemies can be avoided by jumping over them | you can jump, but often fast enemies will jump right along with you |
| Size | Repel creates a halo of protective water that pushes enemies who are very close to the player away | radius increases | radius increases | the ability takes a moment to fire, leaving you vulnerable to fast enemies | Absorb enemies will also have their *life drained by repel | slow enemies are pushed away normally, but then again they are slow and easy to avoid anyway |
| Absorb | Waterform makes you temporarily invulnerable | increases time | add *life drain effect | you're not able to pass freely by large enemies, so despite being invulnerable, you have to navigate around the large enemy anyway | fast enemies can't hit-and-run or do anything to you, and when they try, they just end up helping you (when you have life drain) | invulnerable to absorb enemies and reasonably passable, but they are not life-drained |
| Momentum + Size | Stasis field around player causes enemies to freeze | x2 Momentum lets player lob the ability like a fire bomb, which creates the area of effect upon landing | x2 Size increases the stasis radius | charge up time allows faster enemies to escape the radius most of the time | big enemies can't absorb or dodge this effect | absorptive enemies absorb half of the effect, making them freeze less |
| Momentum + Absorb | Bubble is lobbed at an enemy, and when it lands, the enemy is enveloped in the bubble and floats some distance away | x2 Momentum makes the bubble float farther away | x2 Absorb increases the size of enemy that can be bubbled | absorb enemies just absorb or deflect this | momentum enemies are small so they stay floating for longer | size affects whether the enemy can be bubbled at all, and how long the bubble lasts |
| Size + Absorb | *Life Drain in radius causes all enemies to contribute health (but not be hurt themselves!) | x2 Size make the radius larger | x2 Absorb increases the life drain effect | this radius attack should be strong against big enemies who can't leave the radius. This is a problem. Could be solved by swapping size and absorb. | absorb enemies give more health | fast enemies give normal health but they can quickly leave the radius also |
| Momentum + Absorb + Size | Life Drain from everything on screen followed by a stasis in a radius around player | N/A | N/A | fast enemies will give some health but jump away from the stasis field | big enemies will give health and be stuck in the stasis field | absorb will give more health, but freeze for less time |
* Life Drain in this context means that enemies will donate their life to the player, but unlike traditional Life Drain spells in other games, this doesn't reduce the enemy's health
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About Pete
Plucky polymath, software engineer by day, dreamer of dreams by night. Longing to behold and beget beauty and love, Kōtiro is an expression of my passion for the magic of the world in which we find ourselves.