However, that definition of gacha game might be too specific. If you play several different gacha games, it isn't as if those summon "loot boxes" are the only common and defining feature of the genre. Instead these games are somewhat overloaded with different game mechanics, different ways to make your existing characters stronger. And in a blatant absence of originality, the progress game mechanics of all gacha games resemble each other very strongly. They will be called differently, but there sure is something like a "main" account level, which then limits the "character level" of each character, and limits to what level the gear can be separately leveled, and to what level the talents and skills can be separately leveled. Of course there are different resources to grind for, for each of those separate leveling aspects.

If you have been playing Sword of Convallaria since its release two weeks ago, and did neither neglect it, nor overspend in it, your main level is probably around 40 now, like mine. And it is here where for me the real problems of the whole package of game mechanics in gacha games become glaring: The honeymoon period with quick progress is over, and you find that while level 40 removes a hard lock on for example leveling up your gear beyond 40, you simply haven't got the resources to level up all the gear you might want to. You haven't got the resources to level up the talents that account (voyager) level 40 unlocked. Et cetera, et cetera. Basically progress in this part of the game has slowed to a crawl, and you are just supposed to log in several times a day to use all the accumulated endurance to "sweep" (get the reward without actually doing the repetitive grind) of various resource-gathering "worlds". You need to do that for many days to slowly progress your characters, which then allows you to beat more difficult worlds for better grind/sweep rewards. This is a pure time / resource management game, which has very little to do with the underlying RPG and combat systems. You grind a lot for small segments of story progress or access to interesting combat sessions. And of course there are numerous monetization schemes that promise you slightly faster progress for your cash. Having half a dozen more legendary characters wouldn't help me at all, which is why I don't hate the core "gacha" game mechanic; it is the rest of the game mechanics that come with it that I find annoying.

If Sword of Convallaria had only this regular mix of gacha game mechanics, this would be around the point where I would stop playing. So it has to be remarked that none of these comments apply to the "other half" of the Sword of Convallaria game, the Spiral of Destinies. You don't even need to play the gacha part of the game to level 40 if you don't want to, it doesn't help you in Spiral of Destinies. You need to play the gacha part just a little to unlock access to the Spiral of Destinies, and then you get the keys you need to unlock the chapters in Spiral of Destinies for free with time. There is a perfectly fine non-gacha, non-monetized, tactical JRPG hidden in this second part, which you can play for a long time with no restrictions before you reached all the possible endings.