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It’s not often that people get to experience things from a bug’s point of view, and Bug Fables puts an epic fantasy spin on that. You control a trio of insect warriors sent on an important quest by the Ant Queen. During your journey, you’ll face a lot of bug and plant-related enemies and visit many different places.
The game combines traditional RPG elements with a dynamic overworld that the characters can influence. To have the best chance of surviving this adventure, you’ll need to master the characters’ stats and abilities both in and out of combat. Here's everything you need to know.
Understanding Your Bug Team
Soon after the game begins, you’ll have a full team of three bugs. You’ll need to guide this trio through various wildlands and dungeon-like areas as the adventure progresses. Each member participates in combat and you won’t gain any new allies along the way. The key to success is by understanding each character and how best to utilize their skills.
Kabbu
Arguably the de facto leader of the Exploration Team, Kabbu is a green beetle with a large horn. He’s valiant and noble, adhering to a code of honor to fight for justice and protect those in need. His main characteristics are his high HP and armor-piercing attacks. His standard attack allows him to flip certain enemies which stuns and makes them more vulnerable to attacks from his teammates.
Kabbu's abilities are a combination of strong individual attacks and support skills which protect and inspire his teammates. His main drawback is that he can only attack enemies at the front and can’t hit flyers without using a special item. His actions involve holding down a button and releasing it at the right time.
Vi
A small and energetic bee, Vi is the youngest of the trio who isn’t taken seriously as an explorer due to her size. Despite this, she is very confident and possesses a lot of street smarts. She’s a ranged fighter who can target any enemy with her bee-merang. Her standard attack can be used to knock down flying enemies to limit their mobility and make them vulnerable to all attacks.
Vi specializes in multi-attacks and her Secret Stash ability can heal allies. Her main drawback is that her attacks are ineffective against armored attackers. Her actions involve precise buttons with the right timing.
Leif
The last member to join the trio, Leif is a moth with a mysterious past. They tend to speak in a serious and proper manner. As they struggle to recover their memories, they try to adjust to this new world. They act as the magic-user, being able to use a wide range of ice-based attacks.
Their standard attack can hit any enemy on the ground, while their abilities can hit multiple targets and even freeze them for a few turns. Their main drawback is that they rely heavily on skills. Their actions involve pressing a combination of different buttons.
Leveling Up Your Bug Team
Unlike most RPGs, this game uses a team level-up system. Defeating enemies earns you Exploration Points (EXP) and once you earn enough, the team Ranks Up.
All health and Teamwork Points (TP) are restored and you can choose one of three upgrades:
- Raise each character’s HP by 1
- Raise the team’s TP by 3
- Raise the team’s Medal Points (MP) by 3.
HP determines how much punishment they can take, TP allows you to use more abilities and MP allows you to equip more medals that can have passive or active effects.
How Combat Works In Bug Fables
While exploring the world, you’ll encounter many different enemies. The game uses a visual encounter system in that you will only enter combat if you touch an enemy (or they touch you).
Enemies wander around the different areas and will charge and attack if they see you.
If they manage to land an attack, they’ll strike first in combat. However, you can use your characters’ abilities to stun them and enter combat with two extra moves on the party’s leader.
Actions You Can Perform In Combat
When combat begins, your side will go first unless the enemy ambushes you. Each of the characters gets to perform one of the following actions:
- Attack
- Use Skill
- Use Item
- Strategy
- Turn Relay
Though most are self-explanatory, the two most special are the last two. Selecting Strategy gives you the option to swap out the leader and determine who attacks first. You can swap as many times as you want, but the positioning will be locked in until the next turn once the leader acts.
Turn Relay is a unique option that allows a character to give their turn to another, granting them an extra action. For example, if you were facing three flying enemies, both Kabbu and Leif could give their turns to Vi allowing her to attack each of the flyers.
When enemies attack, be sure to time the button press to block it. A successful block can drastically reduce and prevent status ailments.
How To Navigate The World And Its Hazards
Your journey will take you to many different areas that you’ll need to navigate. Aside from enemies, there will be environmental hazards that you’ll need to overcome. At times, it will be something as simple as jumping across different platforms, and other times you’ll need to use a combination of the characters’ overworld abilities to get through and solve puzzles. Each of their abilities can also be used to stun enemies outside of combat.
- Kabbu’s ability allows him to use his horn against objects. It’s very close range, but it can be used to cut down grass to reveal items or push around loose objects such as rocks. He also has the ability to provide background information on places and characters.
- Vi’s ability allows her to throw her bee-merang straight in front of whatever direction she’s facing. Though it has a limited range, it can be used to hit objects like ropes and switches beyond your reach.
- Leif’s ability allows them to freeze things directly in front of them. This mainly applies to water sources and drops of water which can be made into blocks. Keep in mind that the more active the water source, the quicker it will thaw.
Certain areas are quite large so be sure to save whenever you get the chance. You can do this by striking large blue or yellow crystals found throughout the world.
Tip: Blue crystals simply save the game while yellow ones save and restore your team’s stats.
Quests In Bug Fables
Your main objective is to complete the story quest which will develop throughout the game. However, it’s not the only quest you can undertake. In the towns and settlements scattered around the world, you’ll see notice boards that look like large leaves with smaller leaves nailed to them. By interacting with these boards, you’ll get a list of available side-quests of varying difficulty.
Most quests involve finding a specific item for an individual with details given on where to go. If you’re at a loss, you can go to them to get more details. The side-quests can be time-consuming but are worth doing to earn extra Berries (currency) and special medals. New quests will appear as you progress through the story and complete older ones.