Wine & Roses is a mix between Shadow of the Colossus, the Megaman series, and RPGs in general. Added to the mix is my own insanity and depravity, along with my knack for creating ridiculous RPG battle systems.

Here's how the game plays out: you control three exorcists who must explore a giant, haunted fortress and slay the demons within. There are only a handful of battles, and each one is designed to be a challenge. Subduing the evil beings will grant you access to new spells that will help you overcome any other beast, but usually one or two in particular. I hope that the SotC and Megaman inspiration is clear here!

While any of your exorcists can use any of the spells you learn (but only four out of the twenty-seven, and there cannot be any overlap; in short, you can take twelve different spells into battle), they are also unique in important ways. They know two inherent weapon attacks and, if you can find the spirit willing to teach them, a third can be unlocked. In addition, each lady has a simple buff permanently attached to their skillset. These buff abilities also remove an ailment from the ally it's used on, making them even more useful.

What sets each of the ladies apart are the Gifts that are bestowed upon them. Finding a spirit who offers Argent the Kurikara means that Argent can choose to equip that Gift, but Carmanth or Nynavae could never use it. There are nine Gifts unique to each of the three exorcists, but each lady can only equip four Gifts at a time.

Combining Gifts and spells is essential to defeating each of the monstrous demons inhabiting Fort Adder. There is no leveling system, and so it's possible to defeat any of the demons at (supposedly) any time... assume you're prepared to meet the challenge.