Hourai Gakuen no Bouken! Tenkousei Scramble

Dynamite adapted JRPG gameplay to a remote island school setting for The Adventures of Hourai High, whose zany chapters ran the gamut from occult rituals to Santa impersonators. Several genre staples (enemies, status ailments, battle commands, churches, etc.) are framed in a light and parodic manner that almost recalls EarthBound's bizarro-world RPG. Its summon mechanic (leveraging player-invested, battle-earned FP) is unique in performing ally-exclusive techniques rather than AoE spells, but a better case of revision is probably found in their School Clubs, a class change system that allows for up to three 'jobs' (and accompanying skillsets) per unit. Unfortunately, the lack of balance undermines its potential. Despite the options available, combat is far too easy to encourage anything other than basic attacks, a problem further exposed by its high encounter rate, and - in general, a problem that turns goofy charm into button-abuse ad nauseam.