Class of Heroes would have been a great game if not for the extreme difficulty.
Developed by Acquire and localized by Atlus in 2009, Class of Heroes follows the player in a party of up to six characters, in a relatively new 'adventurers academy.' It is worth mentioning here that Class of Heroes is set in a universe where for no obvious reason at all, dungeons and ruins and other places where danger lurks suddenly appear, and in them are plenty of treasures for the bold few who venture their way. Many adventurer academies are formed, and the player joins one. From there it's dungeon-exploring and the story doesn't really matter much.
Players begin the game by selecting characters for their party, choosing each individual's race, gender, stats, alignment, and major.Both race and gender are permanent, but a character's alignment and major can be changed when visiting a school. There are ten playable races in the game: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Erdgeist, Halfling, Sprite, Felpier, Drake, Diablon, and Celestian. Each race has different attitudes towards the others requiring a balance of compatibility to be struck. Each race is imbued with different strengths; e.g. Halflings are clever thieves and Drakes are able warriors. The party starts at Particus Academy which serves as a home base where players can regenerate Magic points, purchase equipment, start quests in the labyrinths, and practice alchemy on items obtained in mazes. Once a dungeon quest is started, enemies may be encountered randomly as players navigate the maze of corridors. The turn-based combat system during battles uses a row-based character line-up, where characters in the back rows with short-range weapons are unable to attack distant enemies. As players progress through the dungeon, a tension gauge accumulates after each battle allowing the party to use gambits during future engagements.
Within each dungeon is a magic lock which when opened allows future trips to the dungeon to be bypassed. Players are able to save their game at anytime outside of combat and are also able to easily escape a dungeon when needed. Traps exist within the mazes, and an entire party can be taken out if accidentally sprung. When a character falls while journeying in a dungeon, players are revived back at their school. If the entire party is defeated, they die and new ones have to be made.
The game just about hangs together, but much of the gameplay is marred by the extreme difficulty. Enemies are often overpowered, flee attempts often fail, parties are usually wiped out at the first encounter, and you aren't even taught combat until after you've already leanred everything after dying repeatedly on the first quest. Besides that, if you enjoy grinding and can bear with the difficulty, the game is very enjoyable, with good visuals, lots of playtime, and snippets of humour at just the right places. This is recommended to any hardcore gamer.