Indie developer Crema’s Temtem scratches a particular itch for those tired of Pokémon. Like most games in the monster capture genre, Temtem has players traveling around a region — albeit one floating high in the air — while they capture monsters, battle other tamers and challenge dojos. It’s a fun and colorful MMO that brings a refreshing coat of paint to this particular genre.
Comparisons to Pokémon are inevitable, but Temtem includes some fresh spins on the expected mechanics that are arguably an improvement upon Pokémon‘s approach. While the turn-based combat is reminiscent of other RPGs, Temtem‘s Stamina system work as an evolution and improvement upon Pokémon‘s PP system.
In Pokémon games, each move has a set amount of Power Points, of PP. Stronger moves have fewer PP, and when the move runs out, it can no longer be used until it is restored either at a Pokémon Center or by using an item. A move’s PP can be permanently increased with the PP Up item, but these are rare and there are limits on how many can be used. Overall, it’s a fairly simple system that only takes a few battles to understand.
In contrast, Temtem‘s Stamina system operates vastly differently.While it serves the same purpose as PP, Stamina is more along the lines of a mana system, with one bar of Stamina being used by all four moves. There’s no individual move stamina to manage, and the Stamina bar refills after every battle. It also refills a little bit at the start of every turn — more if you order your Temtem to rest.
Despite this, Stamina is still something to keep an eye on. Each move uses up some Stamina, which you can see thanks to the little number on the move. Stronger moves use up more Stamina, and if the Temtem’s stamina runs out, it will hurt itself from overexertion, causing them to need a turn of inactivity to recover. This penalty means players cannot simply spam overpowered moves; they must balance strong and weak ones to maximize their Temtem’s Stamina.
The fact that Temtem can be hurt by overexertion also means players will sometimes need to refill the Stamina bar in the heat of battle — which will cost a turn regardless of the method employed. Ordering a Temtem to rest will restore some Stamina, as will use of Ethers and Tonics. While these items are useful at lower levels and will easily fill the Stamina bars of weaker Temtem, it’s better to invest in fruits like the Energetic Kiwi and Energetic Banana after reaching higher levels, as these restore percentages of the Temtem’s total Stamina rather than a fixed amount.
There are other ways to manipulate Stamina. The move Cooperation averages the current team’s Stamina while also restoring health, making it a useful move when you have a heavy-hitter paired with a softer touch. There’s also the move Strangle, which overexerts both the user and the target, preventing both from attacking next turn. Since every battle in Temtem is two-on-two, this allows the exerted Temtem’s teammate to finish the opponent off or gives the player a chance to heal.
While, on the surface, Temtem‘s Stamina resembles Pokémon‘s PP, it’s actually closer to the mana systems seen in other JRPGs. It’s a resource that requires careful management and strategy instead of mindlessly mashing buttons. Temtem may borrow a lot from Pokémon, but it’s developing its own identity and systems, making it a game to keep an eye on.
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