One of my favorite aspects of a truly global video game distribution system, which the Indie game market has fostered over the past decade or so, is seeing various fandoms through multiple cultural filters. For instance, today's game - Behold Studios's Chroma Squad - is based the Japanese TV obsession of tokusatsuSuper Sentai-type shows as perceived by a Brazilian development team. Creating a five-person tokusatsu show from scratch, the player is responsible for upgrading the studio, buying or crafting new props and costumes, customizing their team of multi-colored heroes, and even getting the right marketing sponsors to boost audience numbers and income. However, it's more than just a simulator: each episode of the show is played out as an isometric turn- and grid-based strategy RPG in which the player has to take down minions and boss creatures while observing the various conditions the director gives them: defeat so many minions, perform multiple team attacks, keep everyone alive, etc. It's an inspired idea for a video game premise, and it even saw a Japanese publisher for its console ports by way of Bandai Namco: the first half of whom was pretty well-known back in the day for its many anime/tokusatsu licenses, which they more or less used for evil (which is to say, low-effort video game adaptations - they swamped the poor old Super Famicom with over a dozen Compati Hero Series games).

My tolerance for strategy RPGs has waned over the years, in part because I burned out spectacularly on them thanks to Nippon Ichi Software's prolific output in the PS2 era. My issue with those games, which included the likes of Disgaea and Phantom Brave, was that there was no real ceiling to them; as an obsessive completionist type, I indulged far too much in micromanaging my team of heroes and monsters and fighting through optional dungeons. I find that Indie games have certain budgetary and development time restrictions that inadvertently protects them from that type of excess, so the occasional Indie SRPG with a compelling enough conceit and the promise of a more focused storyline as more than tolerable. I'm glad to say that Chroma Squad fulfils those criteria.

While I love the whole sim aspect of working on your team, your studio, and your financial obligations, the episodes themselves have been the highlight for me so far. The game's not shy about going to the meta well early and often, frequently breaking kayfabe to talk about how lousy the new monster-of-the-week's costume is, or having random fans join in on brawls and winging it with the script. It even calls out the game's unfortunately spotty localization - it's evident that not all the typos and grammatical errors are intentional - and the occasional repeated mission type. While you do spend the majority of the game pounding the same four or five variants of enemy goon with the same five characters - though it at least goes far enough to separate your team into specific roles, such as a fast-moving scout, supportive healer, and moral linchpin lead - the various goofy bosses and ever-changing director commands keeps the gameplay dynamic enough. Having each episode be separated by the sim element is also beneficial, letting you unwind with the character editor or the crafting menu: you earn arts & craft resources like glitter, duct tape and cardboard from defeating enemies, which can then be used together to create more valuable materials or gear.

I'm three "seasons" into the game, having just encountered an enormous twist, and I'm having a ball so far. My superhero team is known as the Stingers, and is comprised of Dragonfly, Wasp, Hornet, Ladybird and Mosquito and their giant attack robot Gordon Sumner. You can edit everything from each character's name to their transformation catchphrase, and it's clear that a lot of affection for the tokusatsu format has been packed into every pixel of Chroma Squad. Even as someone who didn't particularly care for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers growing up and wasn't compelled to seek out its many Japan-only contemporaries, the game's enthusiasm has been infectious, though the game's many localization errors and handful of graphical bugs has dampened my own a little. A bit rough around the edges but full of heart: a statement that could easily apply to your TV studio of stunt actors with duct-tape costumes and to Chroma Squad alike.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Just started playing today! Its great!