Massacre Continent (All Ages Version) (Free Strategy Simulation) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This article is about the free strategy simulation game "Massacre Continent".
This work is a trial version of "Massacre Continent Complete Edition" and is positioned as an all-ages version.
(The complete version is for adults and contains quite grotesque and brutal content.)
Even though it's a trial version, you can rest assured that you'll be able to play the full game to the end.
I'm not a fan of excessive cruelty or grotesque imagery,This game was genuinely fun, with an engaging story and engaging gameplay.
Some conquest simulation games have so many things to do that they can be difficult to get into,This game has a very simple design, making it easy to play.

Download the full version here (DLsite.com product page)

(As of May 2020, the price is 1760 yen including tax.)

Game Overview

story

A certain incident triggers a state of war across the entire continent.
Queen Celia of the Kingdom of Lightningford, the country controlled by the player, forcibly abolishes the parliamentary system of the constitutional monarchy and adopts an absolute monarchy, setting out to conquer the continent.
In a typical SRPG, Celia might appear to be a spoiled, selfish girl who would definitely end up suffering a terrible fate.
Whether she is merely a cruel ruler or someone who truly loves her country and acts accordingly, it's up to the player to decide as they progress through the story.

Overall map

Basically,In a traditional conquest game, you strengthen your own country using resources while seizing territory from enemy nations.
The map allows you to see at a glance the movements of enemy units and the scale of their operations.
Time progresses in real time, but you can pause the game to slowly plan your next strategy.
On this screen, you can move your units and replenish any units that have been damaged.
Additionally, over time, you will automatically acquire three types of resources depending on the occupied territory.

In this type of game, the map screen can be overwhelming because you can do so many things.
However, since the things you can do on this screen are quite limited, I find this game to be very simple and easy to understand.
The difficulty level can be freely changed during gameplay, so even inexperienced players can enjoy it.

Domestic affairs screen

When the clock in the upper right corner of the map completes a full rotation, you will be taken to the domestic affairs screen.
There's a lot written here, but what you need to do is simple, so there's no need to be intimidated.

Census information
You can check the national power and military strength of other countries.
While some information can be seen on the overall map screen, the estimated resource holdings of other countries can only be viewed here.

Commander's return to the front lines and military training
By consuming various resources, you can revive commanders who have been defeated.
Additionally, you can use the "personnel" resource to raise the level of your commanders.

Castle Information/Reinforcements
You can use the resource "steel" to upgrade your base's level.
As your base level increases, the terrain effects when you are attacked and the resources you can acquire will also increase.

: Appointment of commander
We will increase the number of commanders by consuming various resources.
There are various classes such as infantry and spearmen, and compatibility is very important when engaging in combat.
By capturing specific locations, events may occur that significantly reduce the resource consumption required for appointments.

Engagement

When you attack an enemy base or encounter an enemy, the game will switch to a combat screen.
The battle screen begins with positioning your allied units.
You can freely arrange the pieces in the 5x3 grid to the right of the center.
You can deploy up to 10 units; you cannot deploy more than that.
If you operate with a large force, you can swap out damaged units with reserve units in the next turn, minimizing unit losses and allowing you to attack with a full force again.

Once you've finished positioning your units, the next step is to select your attack targets.
There may be compatibility issues depending on the class, and attack power may decrease as you get further away.
Choose your attack targets while considering the enemy's positioning and compatibility.
The order of attacks is determined by agility.

Agility is a very important parameter.
To put it in extreme terms, if we can launch the first attack and reduce the enemy's numbers, the damage we suffer from their attacks will also be less.
The key is to use highly agile units to reduce the number of enemy units first.

Once you've selected your targets, the attack order will be displayed on the screen, and you'll attack in that order.
A commander is typically accompanied by 10 soldiers, and they all launch an attack on their target.
Therefore, be aware that if you have fewer soldiers, the total damage you can inflict will also be less.

When the number of soldiers decreases, the damage each individual takes increases accordingly.
Therefore, it is important to either withdraw units that have been reduced in number as soon as possible or replace them with reserves.
Replenishing soldiers doesn't consume many resources, but bringing commanders back to the front lines requires a fair amount of resources.
It is important to increase the total damage dealt by the enemy while decreasing the total damage dealt by your allies.

Review (contains spoilers)

I've completed the first week.
The story ended with the successful unification of the continent, leaving a sense of anticipation for the future.
Personally, I interpret Celia's case as a staged performance she staged to bestow divinity upon herself.
In any case, the relentless plot development made it very entertaining.

I started playing on "normal" difficulty, but halfway through, I significantly lowered the difficulty to get a feel for the game.
Even so, if you let your guard down, your troops can be wiped out, so I felt that the game had a pretty good balance.
I was fumbling my way through things until I established my own tactical patterns, but I think they're starting to take shape.
For my second playthrough, I plan to try to complete the game on the normal difficulty setting as much as possible.

While it's easy to be captivated by the extreme and brutal scenes, the portrayal of war as a political tool is quite compelling.
I particularly enjoy seeing how Emma adapts Celia's vague instructions into realistic responses.

This exchange was probably the funniest part.
The fact that she acknowledges "even I can't do that" shows just how impressive Celia is.

The toughest opponent I faced was Isabella's toughness.
Although he appeared when the battle was almost over, he managed to reduce the damage from most attacks to just 1.
We managed to defeat him by concentrating the attack of all our units, but it was a gruesome sight to see him endure the concentrated fire all by himself.

In the later stages of the game, when the number of units on each side increased significantly during combat, the game would occasionally crash. (Large-scale battles, such as 80 vs 50 units)
Depending on your PC's specifications, it might be a good idea to save your game before a major battle and then restart it.
There have been times when the game crashed after a fierce battle when the enemy leader appeared, which is quite sad, so be careful.
(Added: August 15, 2019)
It has been reported that the behavior may become more stable if you change the "Commander Portrait Display" setting to "Lightweight Display" or disable "Wave Effect" in the system settings.

This is my review after playing through the first week.

Regarding playtime, I think it's actually shorter because there's time when the game is left running.
Since the difficulty level was significantly lowered midway through, it's natural that the number of weeks elapsed and the number of casualties are low.
Regarding remaining resources and castle levels, there was no need to upgrade them further in the later stages, so they weren't rated very highly.

For my second playthrough, I fixed the difficulty to "Normal" and focused on advancing as quickly as possible.

Although the "survival" rating is poor, I was able to clear it at my target difficulty (normal) at a reasonable speed, so I'm very satisfied.

The recommended order for completing the objectives is Gandvar ⇒ Cakeridge ⇒ Sylphine ⇒ (Milita City) ⇒ (Tower of Black Clouds) ⇒ Yungrio ⇒ Radgossar.
The period from after conquering Cakeridge until around the time of conquering Sylphine was extremely difficult.
Since enemies regularly invaded Gandvar from Milita City and the Tower of Black Clouds, the plan was to defend those areas while advancing north from the direction of Cakeridge to target Silphine.
Gandvar's defense was managed with limited forces by employing tactics such as positioning troops at the T-junction north of Goth, and using small units to hold off the enemy once their destination was known while concentrating defensive forces at key locations.

We managed to capture Sylphine, Milita City, and the Tower of Black Clouds by taking advantage of opportune moments when the enemy forces were eliminating each other or when the invading forces were deployed.
When the enemy's castle level is high, damage is hardly dealt at all, so it was necessary to bring classes that are a good match for the enemy's castle, and also to actively include Celia and Emma in the battle.
Furthermore, Lightningford has abundant human resources,I found it to be efficient to actively raise the level of my troops and concentrate high-level units in the invading army.
When upgrading castles other than those on the front lines, it's a good idea to prioritize iron and manpower, which tend to be scarce in the mid-game.

Strategy Notes

Early game strategy

In the early stages, it's often difficult to assemble a sufficient force, but the goal is to secure territory as quickly as possible to increase income.
Spearmen and mages require a lot of mana in the early stages of the game, and it's also costly to bring them back to the front lines, so it's probably best to focus on infantry and archers in your early-game army.

If your commander is defeated, you'll need resources to revive them, and your overall fighting strength will decrease.
Spearmen and mages, in particular, have high recovery costs, so be careful.
The basic strategy is to "attack with a larger force than the enemy, and prevent annihilation by frequently replacing depleted units with reserves."
As stated in Lanchester's First Law, it is extremely difficult for a small group to defeat a large group.
If you can find a combination that maximizes compatibility and terrain effects, it might work out...

Furthermore, if Celia or Emma are injured, a significant negative modifier will be applied to all units.
Just in case something goes wrong, it's best to avoid having them participate in combat as much as possible.
However, if the domestic affairs turn is approaching, you can revive them immediately, so in that case, mobilizing them might be a good idea.
Celia and Emma are certainly excellent as a fighting force because their soldiers are as tough as their commanders.

Combat Techniques

Regarding specific tactics, the key is to deploy units that are compatible with each other and to choose attack targets in a way that maximizes the bonus effects.
In other words, it means choosing your attack targets in a way that maximizes the total damage you inflict on your opponent.
If you want to win that battle, it's better to engage enemy units that are still intact rather than trying to finish off enemy units that are already in an annihilated state.

While there's a risk of inflicting less damage on the enemy if you can't secure a decisive victory, if the enemy is forced to deploy weakened units in the later stages of the battle, victory becomes more likely.
The enemy AI tends to try to finish off your units, so it can be effective to deliberately place sacrificial units to minimize casualties on other units.

However, if the objective of the engagement is to weaken the enemy, it is better to eliminate them one unit at a time, as reducing the number of enemy commanders will make it more difficult for them to recover their forces.
The same applies to field battles; even if the enemy still has a commander, they cannot immediately replenish their troops, so it's best to aim for maximum damage.

Utilize archers

In the early stages, it's difficult to assemble a unit that is conveniently suited to your strategy.
For example, this might happen if you want to deploy spearmen against the enemy cavalry, but you don't have any spearmen on your side.
In such cases, use archers to reduce the strength of your opponent's forces.
Archers have high agility and can often act faster than other classes.
It's a bit easier if you concentrate your archer units' attacks on enemy units that are at a disadvantage against you, reducing their numbers before they can act.
However, to reduce the enemy's numbers, you need to concentrate attacks from two or three archer units, so if there are many opponents you're weak against, you won't be able to handle them all.
It's crucial to check the commander's information beforehand and prepare your forces thoroughly so you can bring along units that are a good match for them.

For example, as shown in the image, if there is only one cavalry unit isolated, you can concentrate the attack of two or three archer units on it to minimize casualties among the infantry on the front lines.
However, archers also want to attack the two magic units in the enemy's last row, so if there are multiple cavalry units, they won't be able to handle them all and it will be tough.

In an extreme case, if the enemy is mostly cavalry, we would reinforce our front line with spearmen.
By using archers to concentrate their attacks on and eliminate enemy infantry, which are a weakness for our spearmen, we can protect our spearmen.

Ultimately, I think the easiest strategy is to place five units of demon soldiers on the front line and five units of archers in the back row.
If you use archers to attack the enemy's mages (the demon soldiers' weakness) and have your demon soldiers attack the enemies in front of them, you won't lose easily.
If you can acquire Sansion Castle, the cost of the Demon Soldiers will drop significantly, so prioritizing its acquisition might be a good idea.
The challenge and the most interesting part of the game is figuring out how to get through the early to mid-game before you can create this kind of troop composition.

Regarding the difference in skill levels

While numbers are important in battle, the quality of soldiers is also crucial.
If there's a base you're having trouble capturing, assemble a team of high-level troops.
A well-trained archer unit can almost completely wipe out a low-level enemy archer or mage unit in a single attack.
If you can wipe out the enemy's rear guard with a preemptive strike, your own casualties will be drastically reduced.
High-level archers become significantly more powerful when deployed in groups.

The opposing country's troops aren't particularly strong even in the later stages of the game, so as time goes on, we'll have a relative advantage.
Leave lower-level units at your base for defense and train them using auto-battle.

Regarding defense

The captured bases will now be targeted by the enemy.
They are fairly strong even when holed up inside,My recommendation is to position units, mainly cavalry and archers, at intersections along the roads.

There are many points where multiple routes intersect, so controlling these locations makes it easier to concentrate defensive forces.
Furthermore, cavalry and archers gain terrain advantage points on roads, giving them an advantage if their strengths and weaknesses are roughly equal.
Even if we can't hold them off on the main road and have to retreat to a rear base, we can replenish our troops there (as long as our commander isn't killed).
Fighting on the main roads can also delay the enemy and offers many advantages, so I think it's a good idea to actively utilize this kind of two-stage defense.
With a two-stage defense, unless there's a significant imbalance in enemy classes, I get the impression that you can hold them back to about 1.5 times your numbers.

Also, if you want to buy time for reinforcements to arrive at a base you want to defend from other bases, you can send just one unit against the enemy forces to slow down their advance.
Even if you retreat immediately after the engagement begins, it will still be a delaying tactic, so it's a good idea to station two units at your base to hold them off.
If all else fails, abandoning your base is also an option.
If you're unsure which of your bases the enemy is targeting, it's helpful to station forces between the two bases, confirm the direction they're coming from, and then enter the base.