FortuneExplorer ~Milly and the Mysterious Dungeon~ (Free Roguelike) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played "FortuneExplorer ~Milly and the Mysterious Dungeon~," a roguelike game created with SRPG Studio.
A free SRPG by KuraimanFlameEspadiaThis is a spin-off of "[Title of the original work]".
Players familiar with games made using SRPG Studio will find the screen and controls familiar, allowing them to enjoy a roguelike game.
I learned that the complete, playable version had been released, so I downloaded and played it.

The time it took to complete one playthrough was about 1.5 to 2 hours.
There are three difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, and Mercyless.

Game Overview

This game puts you in the control of Millie, a young adventurer girl who has come to ancient ruins in search of treasure, as you venture deeper into the dungeon.
This is a roguelike game with a similar concept to the so-called "Mystery Dungeon" series.

There are three difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, and Mercyless.
Those who are used to playing traditional roguelike games might find it best to start with the hard mode.

Unlike typical SRPGs where you have to select and move each unit individually, you can move them directly by pressing the movement keys.
However, on the map, you can only see up to 5 squares around Millie.
The game flashes briefly when you arrive on a floor or when new enemies appear, so you should be able to get a general idea of your location.
There isn't a map displayed, but the floor itself is quite small, so you shouldn't get lost.

When you press the select button during exploration, a menu like the one in the image above will appear.
If there are enemies within attack range, you can select a weapon from the attack command and inflict damage.

If there are multiple enemies, be careful not to attack the wrong one.
If neither side possesses a counter-attack skill, the battle will end with only one side attacking.
If you have special skills such as follow-up attacks or consecutive attacks, you may be able to attack multiple times.

You can check the data of enemies you have defeated in the Enemy Memo.
It includes detailed descriptions of the enemies and their attack methods, which will be helpful in your strategy.

The objective on each floor is to first find and destroy the orb.
Once you destroy the orb, a teleportation circle will appear that will allow you to jump to the next floor, so next we'll look for that.
The floor is rigged with many traps that inflict status ailments on Millie, as well as traps that provide positive effects.
Sometimes, there are magic circles that can transport you to rooms where you can earn a great reward in exchange for taking a great risk.
You'll need to consider your current items and Millie's condition to decide whether to take a detour or hurry on ahead.

Once you reach the end of a floor, you'll arrive at a place called "The Abandoned Sanctuary," which serves as your base of operations.
Here you can level up, shop, learn skills, organize your items, and more.

Some of you might be wondering, "Level up?" In this game, you level up by using "WEALTH" on the stone statues at your base.
WEALTH is like money, and it increases mainly by defeating enemies.
Since you generally cannot level up while exploring, you need to make flexible decisions about whether to level up using WEALTH or to replenish your items.

Additionally, upon reaching this floor, you can learn one of three skills that will be displayed randomly.
If you can draw good skills early on, exploration will definitely become easier.
If you don't find any of the displayed skills appealing, you can reset them by spending WEALTH.

Additionally, you can store items in a warehouse called the Otherworldly Storage.
Milly can only carry 20 items, so it's a good idea to make good use of her if you can't carry all the valuable items available in the shop.

As described above, although this game is a roguelike, it incorporates unique and interesting features based on the SRPG system.
I think both experienced and inexperienced roguelike players will find this game refreshingly enjoyable.

thoughts

Once I started playing, I became quite engrossed in the game; it was very enjoyable.
Since it was created with SRPG Studio, I was a little worried about what the gameplay would be like, but it was more enjoyable than I expected.
This game doesn't strictly adhere to the traditional roguelike genre; it also incorporates many original elements.
Therefore, I don't feel the need to compare it to conventional roguelikes; I simply enjoyed this game for what it is.

Because the playable character, Millie, is positive, cheerful, and cute, I think I was able to play the game without feeling too confined despite the setting.
Contrary to his appearance, he's a high-spec adventurer with exceptional talent in swordsmanship and martial arts, and he can even use magic, making him incredibly charming.

In the room to the right of the base, you can acquire skills by combining necessary items, but since collecting those items is difficult, I felt that it might be a little challenging to actually utilize them.
It might be easier to use the game if there were some kind of safety net, such as being able to individually offer acquired items or having acquired skills carried over to the next playthrough (although this would probably lower the difficulty...).

The normal difficulty level wasn't too hard, probably because you can get a lot of items.
If you use up your abundant items wisely and level up by earning money on each floor, you should be able to defeat the final boss without much difficulty.
Even if you die, you're not sent back to the beginning, so it might be a good difficulty level for those new to roguelike games.

The hard difficulty setting was of average difficulty.
While the reduced number of items you can pick up means slightly fewer resources, the difficulty level was manageable once you got the hang of it.
Since it's difficult to find items, I feel that shopping at the base shop is important.
It's not difficult if you buy any missing weapons or healing items and acquire useful skills properly.

The "Marcyless" difficulty level was extremely challenging.
In the early stages, you can still find a fair number of items, but in the later stages, you'll hardly find any at all.
I believe that a solid strategy and policy, efficient actions, and ultimately, a bit of luck are the key to success.
While luck plays a significant role, the fact that it's not entirely based on chance, like mahjong, is what I think made me so deeply engrossed in the game.
It was a mode where you could feel a rush of dopamine when you drew a good skill or item.

Below, I will introduce and share my thoughts on how this game differs from conventional roguelike titles.

- Abundance of long-range attacks
The abundance of items that allow you to attack from a distance, such as bows, magic books, and other items, made the game really fun.
Since enemies often use ranged attacks, I found that having weapons that can be used both at close and long range makes combat easier, similar to SRPGs.

- The gambling-like excitement of acquiring skills
I enjoyed it because I was guaranteed to acquire some kind of skill each time I reached a checkpoint along the way.
If you were to randomly select just one item, it would be almost entirely a matter of luck. However, with a system where you choose one from three randomly selected items, there was a strong sense of satisfaction in having made your own choice.

- There is no concept of unit orientation and no diagonal movement.
In the so-called "Mystery Dungeon series," there was a concept of character orientation, and you had to be careful when attacking.
In this game, you can attack no matter which way you're facing, as long as you select an enemy within range, which was nice and relaxing.
Attacking requires a few actions, but it was convenient that I didn't have to change direction on the spot.
The absence of diagonal movement is convenient for similar reasons, but I think it can sometimes make it a little harder to shake off enemies.

- No satiety level
Since there's no hunger level or anything like that when you move around, it's convenient because it doesn't take up space in your inventory.
However, if you stay on the same level, an extremely powerful enemy will appear, so you can't keep earning indefinitely. I was glad to have that push to move forward.

The simplicity of how money can lead to strength
I liked the simple system where defeating enemies doesn't give you experience points, but rather WEALTH, which can be converted into strength or items.
This makes it easy for dedicated players to adjust their stats, and it seems like it will allow players to express their individuality in deciding whether to prioritize strength or items, so I think it's a good growth system.

Strategy Notes (Spoiler Warning)

Overall policy

- Collect items thoroughly on each floor.
By picking up many items, you can gain ways to defeat enemies.
By defeating many enemies, you can earn wealth, which allows you to level up sufficiently and shop, creating a positive cycle.
Let's collect them properly without being lazy.
Try to make the most of monster houses and different colored teleportation circles to increase your chances of obtaining items.

• Prioritization of wealth investments
Personally, I think it's best to prioritize leveling up and use the remaining wealth to buy weapons and other items.
If you have enough weapons, then buy healing items; if you have enough of those too, then buy whatever you like.

- Keep trying until Thanatos appears.
While it may not be necessary in Normal mode, if you have enough weapons, try to stay on that floor and defeat the enemies there.
Either way, once you reach the base, you'll be able to resupply your weapons at the shop.
Let's keep grinding until just before the warning message about Thanatos's appearance appears.

Strategy tips by difficulty level (Spoiler alert)

normal

Normal mode offers plenty of items, so I don't think you'll have too much trouble clearing it.
If you collect items properly, defeat enemies, and level up sufficiently using Wealth, you should be fine.

hard

While fewer items drop than in normal mode, you can still pick up a fair amount.
Even if your luck isn't great, you should be fine as long as you stock up on weapons at the shop and defeat your enemies properly.
Prioritize leveling up and make sure you don't let your shield run out as you progress.

Mercyless

The main reasons why the Mercyless mode is difficult are as follows:

- Saving is only possible in Memoria.
You cannot save your game once you reach a base; you can only save by obtaining Memoria.
Whether or not you can obtain that Memoria depends on luck, so you have to rely on luck to get multiple elements right, rather than relying on save and load.

- Only one skill appears.
Each time you reach a forgotten sacred site, only one skill is presented to you, so if you draw a useless skill, the loss will be significant.
Furthermore, if a skill you've already drawn reappears, you won't gain anything from it.

• A large amount of Wealth is required to level up.
Leveling up requires more Wealth than in other modes, making it more difficult to level up.
I'd love to do a lot of shopping at the store, but leveling up is also important, so it's difficult to balance the two.
I'd like to proceed with the goal of leveling up by two levels.

- Items are difficult to obtain.
Compared to other modes, the amount of items that drop is noticeably less.
As a result, supplies tend to be scarce, and battles against the enemy often become difficult.

- The shop has a poor selection of goods.
Vera's shop has a smaller selection, and luck plays a bigger role in what you get.
Since there are already so few items to pick up, you'll want to buy as many weapons as possible that are available in the shops.

Based on the points above, I will now write about what I kept in mind when I was trying to complete the Mercyless mode.

Accumulate achievements by playing repeatedly.

If you are defeated during exploration, you will naturally have to start over from the beginning.
In Mercyless Mode, where saving is only possible by using Memoria, resetting the game and starting over will result in the same appearance.
However, some things are carried over without being reset.

Number of Azure Divine Stones
For example, the Azure Divine Stones, of which you can place up to three in your base, will remain as they were previously placed.
You don't have to collect all three in one playthrough, so let's do our best to get Vimilanier.

- Skill room on the right of the base
In the room on the right, you can acquire skills by offering dimly lit fragments and other items.
If you look at the bottom row, you'll see that in this row, you can acquire skills simply by having a few Dim Fragments, provided you meet certain achievement requirements.

The above values will accumulate each time you play in Mercyless mode.
If you keep playing without resetting, it will become easier to acquire some skills.

For example, "Plunder," which is achieved by defeating three or more Desiderio, is a skill that increases the enemy's item drop rate by 5%.
I feel this skill is quite useful in Mercyless Mode, where items are scarce.

Achievements like "Breakthrough," which only requires defeating a certain number of enemies, or "Deadly Blade," which can be achieved by being defeated by Thanatos, should be relatively easy to obtain.
Additionally, if you have cleared the required number of uses for Oracle, you can acquire two skills randomly through "Gambling."
It's literally a gamble, but given the difficulty level where acquiring the desired skills is challenging, a bold gamble might be necessary either way.

Specific policies and tactics

- Defeat enemies without taking damage (most important)
In Mercyless mode, HP recovery options are limited, so it's crucial to defeat enemies while taking as little damage as possible.
Ideally, you should be able to defeat enemies in one hit with your weapon, followed by using a combination of ranged and direct attacks.
If you have many ways to defeat most of the enemies on that floor without taking any damage, then it's a good place to farm.
Stay on that floor and earn Wealth until you see signs of Thanatos's appearance.
It's safest to loiter near the teleportation circle.

In this regard, leveling up and using power talismans are very effective ways to increase your ability to defeat enemies in a single hit.
At this point, using defensive talismans and talismans that increase the activation rate of shields will also be subtly useful.

The importance of shields
Regarding equipment, I feel that shields are of high importance.
It reduces damage with a probability proportional to the skill's value, making battles more stable.
Conversely, if you haven't prepared a shield yet, it might be better to just collect items on that floor and move on quickly.
I'd love to earn Wealth, but if the game balance is such that my HP gets depleted with each battle, I'll end up in a losing situation.

Furthermore, reducing the damage to zero will also nullify the enemy's status-altering attacks.
The rogue's paralysis can be troublesome in the early stages, but you should be able to engage them safely if you have a shield.
→The Rogue's paralysis needle is treated as an item, so shields do not activate, and apparently, even if the damage is 0, it cannot be blocked.
It was an inappropriate example to use.

- Differentiating between indirect attack weapons
In this game, there are many indirect attack methods, such as bows, magic, and concealed needles.
Use them appropriately to gain an advantage in battle.

For example, weapons like the Storm Edge and bows are especially effective against flying enemies.
It can inflict enough damage to defeat Piavis, Pityles, and others in one hit, so if you have other ranged attack options, it's safer to save it for later.

Furthermore, while most concealed needles serve a supportive role in attacks, the Sleep Sting can put enemies to sleep when you're in a pinch.
It can be used as an emergency measure, such as a temporary solution when surrounded by enemies, or when you want to create distance and launch an indirect attack during combat.
Having it on hand will give you peace of mind.

• Use of shops
The selection of goods in each shop varies, but let's make good use of it.
It's best to level up first, and then use any remaining wealth to shop.
If there's something you want, I think it's generally best to use it all up rather than leaving any left over.

When shopping, consider the question, "How can I fight enemies while taking as little damage as possible?"
We'll prioritize acquiring the weapons, shields, magic, and healing items that we're lacking.
Regarding amulets, if you have enough Wealth, you should purchase amulets that provide strength and defense.

Memoria allows you to restart from a point in time by saving your game.
Saving your game when you get good skills or items allows you to experiment and try different approaches, so it's a good idea to use this feature when aiming to complete the game.

My impressions after clearing Mercyless

I felt that luck played a significant role in clearing the game.
However, it is possible to increase the chances of survival, and as I got more used to it, I was able to consistently reach deeper levels.

I was able to use a Dark Fragment early on to acquire the "Plunder" skill, so I feel like I'm gradually accumulating more and more items.
Another thing that greatly contributed to my success was obtaining a skill that "increases all stats except luck by a certain percentage in exchange for speeding up Thanatos's appearance by 60 turns" (I've forgotten the skill name... I think it had the word "magic" in it).

Getting this skill early on boosted my stats by about two levels.
Thanks to this, there are now plenty of ways to defeat enemies without taking any damage, making it easier to earn Wealth, creating a positive cycle.
As you leveled up and your parameters increased, the calculation base value rose, and the benefits of your skills increased even further.
I had the impression that Thanatos would appear quite quickly, so there were times when I got quite anxious, such as when I couldn't find the teleportation circle smoothly.

Also, once I had more wealth, I used the "Gambling" skill several times, and it proved to be quite useful.
This also involves luck, but I was able to acquire powerful characters that boosted my strength (although I may not have received the benefit as it was version 1.00), skills that prevented weapon usage counts from decreasing depending on the skill's probability, counterattacks, long-range attacks, and critical hits (a constant 25% increase in critical hit rate), making my character even more formidable.

The best part was being able to access a special shop at a time when I had plenty of Wealth, using a special teleportation circle to reach a room.
By purchasing the Eternel, an infinite shield, and the sturdy gauntlets with +3 defense, I can now take almost no damage.
This allowed my counter-attack skills to activate frequently, and since I also had a life-stealing skill, my HP concerns were practically eliminated.
Furthermore, I was able to acquire Vimiranie afterwards, which further solidified my offensive capabilities.

The image above doesn't show the final status, but I took a screenshot to commemorate how well I've been progressing.
I wasn't able to draw any Memoria during this playthrough, so I was constantly on edge, wondering when an unexpected accident might happen.
Since I already possess a skill that makes Thanatos appear sooner, I tried to make the teleportation circle appear as quickly as possible and farm near it.

I was able to fight the final boss with plenty of room to spare.
However, when many of my skills were being taken away, my HP dropped significantly, and for a moment it was quite dangerous.
Ultimately, I was able to finish him off with a critical hit from Vimirani, and successfully cleared the stage.