Lost Dimension character breakdown: Sho Kasugai

As we wind our way towards the release of Lost Dimension on Steam, we thought it'd be fun to provide breakdowns of all the playable characters in the game. Rather than a character bio, which you can already find online or read on the game's website when it's finalised, we thought we'd try and provide you with an insight into using the characters during an actual battle.

This approach will hopefully whet your appetite for some of the fun you'll be having when Lost Dimension arrives on PC, as well as providing a bit more info than you might find in a regular bio.

To bring you this valuable homespun wisdom, I've finished the game several times, seen all three endings and have managed to 'Platinum' the game in both its PlayStation guises, so I think it's fair to say that I've got a decent handle on each of the playable characters' strengths and quirks. :)

(At this point I'd like to note that these opinions are based on my personal preferences, after blazing through the game ten or more times. Your own preferences may vary!)

So, without further ado, let's kick off with the game's main protagonist, Sho Kasugai:

As the game's lead character, Sho is the only party member who *must* feature in every battle you have. How great, then, that he just happens to be one of my favourite characters, as he's got some really useful abilities that always give me a real power trip! ^_^

In particular, Sho has some amazingly useful powers that can alter the flow of turns and even the turn order itself, as well as more conventional one-on-one and area attacks. My favourite of his skills are as follows:

Mystic Shot:

This is a standard one-on-one attack, with typical range and solid damage, plus it has a decent chance to insta-kill the target, which is obviously good news!

This is pretty much my go-to attack for Sho if I have adequate GP/Sanity remaining. Grab it as soon as you can!

Rubble Strike:

You're often outnumbered in Lost Dimension, so area attacks are always a good idea, the only downer being that your allies won't assist you after an area attack.

On the plus side, you might take down several enemies with good planning. Rubble Strike is a fairly standard area attack and is the only one Sho has without sharing Materia, so it's pretty essential.

Premonition:

Ah, Premonition! This is a passive skill (and I am a huge fan of passive skills in games wherever possible, as it saves me having to remember to trigger something specific.)

Premonition is awesome, as it gives you the chance to stop an enemy during their attack and replace it with an attack of your own! This will even stop enemy counterattacks, meaning you'll be taking them down way more easily with careful use of this skill.

Daydream:

For me, this is the BIG one - maybe my favourite skill in the game! It's certainly one you'll want to make use of to get 'S' ranks for all missions, as turn count seems to be the major requirement in how ranks are calculated.

With enough support from other characters to keep his GP and Sanity meters topped up, Daydream will allow Sho and friends to theoretically complete any level in a single turn. 'How' you ask?? Basically, whenever you use Daydream, there's a slip in time at the end of your turn and it begins over again, but with all your previous actions remaining intact! Needless to say, this is a must when squaring up to some of the tougher enemies...

So, there you have it, my thoughts on Sho, who handily enough is one of my favourites in Lost Dimension.In the coming weeks I'll be back to discuss two other characters: Himeno Akatsuki, the surly, fiery (literally) redhead of the group, and Toya Orbert, the electrical master of ranged combat. See you then. :)

(Blog written by Ghostlight Ltd. All screenshots are taken from the PS3 version of Lost Dimension.)