The Sterenritt
You start Chained Echoes playing as a young man named Glenn. After a... jarring... introduction to the game, you'll wind up in the belly of a ship called the Sternenritt. You need to follow some apparent compatriots, but first, explore the hold. There's a Snack in a chest just south of where you start, and if you check the top-left bunk bed you'll find 25a. a is the currency of Chained Echoes, and you'll need plenty of it.
Have a chat with the mercenaries lollygagging throughout the hold - notably, you should tell one of them to flee battle in case of trouble - then head east. You'll find two sets of stairs. If you go downstairs you'll find the engine room of the Sterenritt. Standing on the right side of the engine is a technician who's having trouble with the engine. Glenn can help him get the engine back in shape, and he'll give you Sweets as a reward. Check the east end of the engine room for a chest containing an Angel Wing.
Go back upstairs, then up another level. The bridge is to the west. (As well as a guy who seems to think that using dynamite in combat is a good idea.) On the bridge you'll find Marlock, the commander of this force, and he'll tell Glenn - as well as a man named Kylian - to get suited up in their Sky Armor. The pair of them head out, and battle is inevitable.
Combat
Chained Echoes runs on a turn-based combat system, meaning each character takes actions based on their speed. The order of combat is displayed in the top-right corner of the screen as a timeline, allowing you to easily determine who is going next. The goal is to reduce the enemy's Hit Points (HP) to zero while keeping your own HP above zero. Your foe's HP is displayed as a red bar above their head. Using the Attack command will allow you perform a basic strike against a single opponent.
While fighting you can expend Tech Points (TP) to use Skills. Skills are special moves that often have effects above-and-beyond inflicting damage. Glenn, for example, can use the Piercer Skill, which inflicts 2.2 times normal damage, but he can also use Poison Salvo, which inflicts poison status on an enemy and saps them of health for five turns. Your characters will learn more Skills as you become stronger and proceed through the game. Note, too, that the Skills your characters know vary depending on whether or not they're wearing Sky Armor.
Whenever you win a battle you'll (potentially) earn three things:
- Loot, which can be sold for cash
- Materials, which can be used to upgraded your equipment
- Skill Points (SP), used to upgrade your Skills
Your first battle is against a Tarynean Sky Armor. You can't target its weaknesses, so any combination of Skills or normal attacks will take out down with little fuss. A second Tarynean Sky Armor will show up and give you the same battle. Things are going well... at least until Glenn and Kylian are shot out of the sky. You'll need to proceed on foot from here.
Wyrnshire Castle
You're now on the beaches of Wyrnshire Castle. Kylian will join your party for this leg of the journey, and should prove useful since he can heal your party members with Helping Hand. Head north and you'll find the battle in full swing to the west, barring your passage. Use the handholds along the cliff to the north to cimb around it, heading west. Be sure to check the chest containing 100a at the top of the handsholds before proceeding.
You'll run into a battle ahead with Tarynean Soldiers, though Glenn's Cross Slash and Kylian's Wide Slash will make quick work of them. Follow the winding path generally north until it veers through a hole in the castle's walls. You can go down some handholds on your right before entering the castle to find a path leading to a chest. It contains Sweets.
Through the breach in the walls you'll run into a Tarynean Commander. He can buff himself and improve his defenses. Using Glenn's Armor Break will make him a little easier to take down, then go with Cross Slash over and over. Behind him is an entrance into Wyrnshire Castle.
You'll find yourself in a storage area. Check the rear room for a chest containing a Snack, then go up the stairs. You'll be on the outer walls. Head west, back into the castle, then back out again. Another Tarynean Commander is waiting. Past him and further west is another door, though ignore it a moment and keep following the walls north. You'll find a chest containing a Snack. Snag it, then head back south.
Assuming you told the mercenary from the beginning of the game to flee from trouble, you'll find him waiting inside the castle. He'll give you an Angel Wing, Sweets, and two Snacks as thanks for Glenn's advice. Head outside and you'll run into a contingent of soldiers, though Marlock will jump in to help out. This fight brings up a new combat mechanic: Overdrive.
Overdrive
Representative of the party's level of synchronicity, Overdrive is a mechanic unique to Chained Echoes. Overdrive appears as a bar in the top-left corner of the screen that gradually fills as you take actions. Almost every action will nudge the gauge from the left to the right. Highlighting an action will show you how much using it will fill the gauge.
As the gauge fills it will go from yellow to green. Once the gauge is in the green your party will be in Overdrive. Once this happens their attacks will receive a bonus, and Skills will cost half the normal amount of TP. Push Overdrive into the red, however, and the party will go into Overheat, making them especially vulnerable to enemy attacks. You need to keep the gauge in Overdrive without letting it tip over into Overheat.
There are a few ways to reduce the Overdrive so it doesn't jump into the red for too long:
- Use a Skill of a particular type. Once your party becomes Overheated a particular Skill type will appear by the gauge. Use that Skill type to reduce the gauge by a great deal.
- Switch characters in and out of your party. Eventually you can change your party members in combat, but not yet.
- Use the Defend command. This will increase the defenses of your characters but will prevent them from attacking.
- Use an Ultra Move. These are somewhat self-explanatory, but don't come into play until later in the game.
Get past the soldiers and you'll find the Opus Stone, the chink in the enemy's armor that your force has been trying to destroy. Before you can take it out, though, enemy Sky Armor will soar down to engage your team in battle.
Wywyan
The first boss you'll fight, Wywyan isn't too bad. He uses normal attacks on a single target or Fire Tail on everyone, and is fast enough to go a few times before everyone on your team gets a turn. Have Hyne poison Wywyan and Marlock buff everyone with Motivating Words, then go to town on the mech with your strongest Skills. Wywyan will occasionally buff his defenses, so use Glenn's Armor Break to bring him back down to size. For the most part Kylian should be on healing duty, using either Helping Hand or items.
This fight will be your first test of Overdrive. Wywyan takes a while to defeat, and the gauge will rise steadily as the fight progresses. Wywyan will do substantially more damage to your party members if you're in Overheat status, so be sure to keep an eye on the gauge and use appropriate Skills / Defend as necessary to stay in Overdrive. Be sure not to burn through your characters' TP too quickly, as you want to be able to drop back out of Overheat on a moment's notice.
You'll receive a Grimoire Shard for defeating Wywyan. This will upgrade everyone's stats to, essentially, the second level. All heck breaks loose in the aftermath of the fight with Wywyan, and once the dust settles you won't be steering Glenn around for a while.