As you’d expect from a game where one of the primary goals is recruiting all the witches, some of the most valuable party members you’ll see in Stella Glow are these magical maidens. After all, they’re the only characters capable of using song-based spells and abilities that influence single characters, groups, or everyone on the field. Odds are, you’ll want as many as possible in play.
Well, most of the time. Each of Stella Glow’s witches is tied to an element. When dealing with the fire and earth witches, the enemies in those areas will be attuned to those elements. Which means Lisette and her water are most useful when heading to recruit Sakuya to the cause, but you won’t want Popo around, as she’s weak against fire. However, when it comes time to find the earth witch, Popo’s wind spells are great against all the enemies there. Still, even if they’re in a place where weaknesses could be exploited, it tends to be better to have a witch on your side than not.
Lisette, the water witch, ends up being a player’s primary healer in Stella Glow. While she does learn Splash, a water-based offensive attack, and Hip Drop, which deals non-elemental, physical damage, most of her attacks support other players. Her Heal restores up to 75% of a target’s health, Cure removes status ailments, and Water Blessing adds the water element to allies’ weapons. Her initial songs also add a barrier and heal. Two of her passive skills, Heal Boost and Water Veil, also improve her healing ability and protect her, making her a great fit for treatment in the back row.
Popo, the wind witch, is set up as another supporter, but I like to use her as a scout. She has great movement and fantastic range. With a jump of 10, I like to get her to high ground and let her pick away at enemies within range using either her standard bow attack, non-elemental Long Shot, or wind-based Whirlwind. What also helps is her first, standard song spell, Song of Wind, does wind damage to enemies in a block of about three rows in front of her. Perhaps her song spell that effects the field, Rusty Key, is even better since it inflicts Negate Action on all enemies for one turn, then continually whittles away at the defense of enemies for subsequent turns. Her passive skills aren’t great, since they really only aid ally movement, let her dodge arrows, and reduces SP cost, but that someone with such range learns Mini Heal, which can restore up to 40% of someone’s health, is appreciated.
Sakuya, the fire witch, is a little more challenging to use. She’s set up as a primary attacker, but there are some movement issues there. Her range and skills depend on whether her sword is drawn or sheathed, and her stance is determined at the start of a turn before she moves. If she is immediately within range of an enemy, then she’s great. I especially like her sheathed sword attacks, the fire-based Flame Strike and neutral Sparrow Strike, but didn’t find as much use for the standard stance beyond positioning her in the field since only the non-elemental Flash Strike is available until her level gets into the 20’s. It feels like the game wants you to have her sword sheathed drawn, though, as that’s the only way her passive Sword-Drawing Counter and Sword-Drawing Pre-Emptive Strike take effect. Her song magic also acts in contrast to her nature, as she doesn’t start with the offensive Song of Flames, instead starting with the attack boosting Song of Fury and critical up Cherry Blossom. I absolutely recommend using her, but only on maps where there isn’t much movement involved.
We’ll wrap this up with Mordimort, the earth witch. She’s something of a jack-of-all-trades. You won’t exclusively use her for support, but she’s good at that with her Energize ability that increases one ally’s attack, Butterfly Dream trap that might set up a pitfall or decoy doll that debuffs enemies who attack it, and The Night Passes song that inflicts poison, paralysis, and blind on all enemies nearby. The thing is, she isn’t a bad attacker either, with decent gun damage for standard attacks and earth-based spells and songs like Mor… Earth and Lonely Mountains. Especially since enemies can never really hamper her status or movement, since Refresh might cure a status ailment at the end of a turn and Disable Immunity can negate disabling status ailments.
When it comes to these first four characters, I’d say Lisette and Popo are most practical. Their healing abilities and range are incredibly helpful. Sakuya and Mordimort feel more like incidental party members. They definitely belong in a player’s regular rotation, but are also most useful in specific situations. Each one has their merits and benefits. (Not to mention, Mordimort is ridiculously cute.)
Players will be able to meet all of Stella Glow’s witches when the game comes to the Nintendo 3DS on November 17.
