Magical Machine Dolls and the Abandoned World (Free ARPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I finished the free game "Magical Dolls and the Abandoned World".
I really enjoyed the same author's previous work, "Pinocchia After the Extinction of Humanity," so I played this game with high expectations.
I was able to play the game with great enthusiasm, so I thought I'd write about it, including a review and my impressions.

If you want to fully understand the story, you might want to play "Pinocchia After the Extinction of Humanity" before playing this game.

Game Overview

The description page stated that the estimated completion time was 6 to 10 hours, but my completion time was 10 hours and 30 minutes.
I feel like the pace is a little slower than usual because we took our time to build up our lead in the second half.

If we were to categorize it by genre, I think it would fall under the category of Action RPG.
To use the wording from the game's description page, it's an "action RPG where you leave all the fighting to your companions."
The protagonist controlled by the player has no combat abilities, so battles will be left to the companion "Magic Puppets".

story

The protagonist is a person who has come to investigate a dangerous, sealed-off area.
Their true identity and motives will be revealed as the story progresses.
The story begins with the protagonist reactivating and awakening a "magical doll" that had been left abandoned in a dangerous area, in order to explore the area.

Several magical puppets will join your party, and their individual stories and the circumstances leading up to their transformation will be revealed through flashbacks.
These flashbacks are closely intertwined with the story, so those who enjoy analyzing the background and setting of a story will find it quite exciting.

Game flow

The basic flow of the game involves exploring dungeons, returning to your base to strengthen your party, and then setting out on another exploration.
Dungeons hold a variety of treasures, including item materials needed to strengthen your party, item recipes, information on unlocking new dungeons, and materials that reveal the background of the story.
And in some dungeons, you can recruit new magical puppets to join your party.

Selecting a dungeon from this map screen will begin your exploration.

Exploration and Combat

The search screen looks like the image above.
While various documents and items are hidden within the dungeon, combat is the most important aspect of the game.

The battle begins when either an allied or enemy mecha recognizes the other.
Normally, the magical puppet accompanies the protagonist, but this means the protagonist will be walking through the battlefield, increasing the danger.
In such cases, there is a "charge order" that sends the mecha forward ahead.
Additionally, there's a "gathering command" that instantly summons the magical dolls back when the protagonist is in danger.
By skillfully using these two things, you can get through battles.

Item Synthesis

At the base's synthesis device, you can combine materials collected in dungeons to create new items.
This is an important facility for creating doll equipment, healing items, and items necessary for progressing through the scenario.
You can also store the materials and items you collect in your warehouse, so make good use of this feature.

doll enhancement

The doll's parameters are enhanced by the equipment it possesses.
However, there is a limit to the number of items you can carry, and you cannot have an unlimited number of items.
In "Doll Enhancement," you can increase the number of items your dolls can hold by using materials on them.
Increasing the maximum number of items you can possess allows you to carry more equipment, making your dolls stronger.
By strengthening them several times, they may acquire unique skills.

Review (contains spoilers)

I started playing and ended up playing through it almost straight through.
In the early stages, the strategy was to increase attack power and defeat the enemy before they could defeat me, but the interesting part was how that gradually became less effective.

After the second Miisia joined the party, we had two combat members, which made things even more chaotic and exciting.
Around this point, I gradually began to understand the importance of "surrounding one enemy and attacking them together."
What's interesting is that each of the mecha dolls has a different detection range and movement speed, which often leads to Miisia charging in and becoming isolated.
It was fun trying to adjust things like Sense Enhance to get everyone on the same page as much as possible.
Soon after, we were able to recruit Shiki smoothly, so we were able to gather enough members relatively quickly.

In the middle of the game, I spent some time diligently gathering materials.
I wanted to strengthen my magic puppets, so I wanted to give them as many different enhancements as possible. However, the protagonist alone couldn't carry all the materials, which made managing items during exploration a bit cumbersome.
It might have been easier if you could possess an unlimited amount of materials.
However, in the latter half of the game, once you acquire the portable storage, you hardly have to worry about the protagonist's inventory limit, which is great.

Around this time, I started finding exploration difficult, but after I began giving my character healing potions, I was able to progress through the exploration smoothly.
I was hesitant to give consumables to a routine exploration character because it felt wasteful, but having a healer on board made a huge difference in their ability to sustain combat.
If I had kept it on hand from an earlier stage, I think the stress of having to return to base frequently would have been reduced.

At the Eternal Library, I had overlooked the recipe for the star egg in the town depicted in the book, so I frantically searched for it in the latter half of the story.
Since obtaining the Star Egg recipe, strengthening dolls and other materials has become easier, and my motivation to gather materials has increased.
After obtaining the Sword Flame recipe, I was incredibly busy trying to switch everyone's Sword Enhance, but eventually I got tired of collecting magic stones, so I only switched the weapons for Misia and Esginil.

The final boss could be defeated fairly easily by brute force, provided you had some full recovery potions and area-of-effect recovery potions on hand.
Since weak monsters kept spawning one after another, I summoned a Skeleton Swordsman for the first time to increase my attack options, but it was still a very close call.
I haven't played it extensively, and I haven't collected all the materials yet, but I'll post a screenshot of the game after clearing it.

Regarding the story, I never imagined that the protagonist would be the same person as in "Pinocchia After the Extinction of Humanity."
After successfully completing a difficult mission in the previous installment, he is burdened with immense responsibility due to his final orders, but the fact that he doesn't make excuses for it shows a certain kind of resolve.
In the previous game, I could participate in combat, but in this game, I have to leave everything to others.
When he took off his suit for the first time, his bare face was that of a gloomy, handsome older man, and he looked really cool.

Strategy Notes and Strategy Website Introductions

There weren't any parts that were particularly difficult to get stuck on.
However, hidden passages and walls that can be destroyed with sticky bombs can sometimes be difficult to find.
I think it's important to understand the building's structure and explore while observing carefully.

If you don't care about the passage of time, you can intentionally have the protagonist get defeated by the enemy, and they will be able to return to their base.
However, if the magic doll is defeated, you will lose items when you retrieve them, so make sure only you are defeated.

If a teammate is about to become isolated, you can use a collective command to temporarily bring them together.
However, there is a brief period of stiffness when the group assembles, so caution is advised.
Fighting one-on-one in narrow corridors is inefficient, so either lure the enemy into a larger room, or have the protagonist go ahead to a larger room and gather the teammates there.

If you want to collect specific materials, check the monster encyclopedia located near the recovery station at your base.
This section lists the items that can be dropped and where they can be found.
For scales, the Misty Valley is recommended; for magic stones, the Dream Chaser Mine is recommended; and for green light stones and wood, the Wandering Forest is recommended for farming.
If you can obtain the items in the Plains of Clusters, gathering them there is efficient because there are many enemies.

Notes on observations

I'm writing this to organize my thoughts on the facts that can be inferred from the game's materials and recollections.
There are probably many mistakes, but this is just a rough memo for now.

·main character
In the previous installment, after restoring the Se-Ki-Roader system, he issued the command "to prevent humanity from becoming extinct" before dying and being immediately placed into cryogenic sleep.
Following that order, the remaining humans massacred the native inhabitants of the planets they arrived at, almost wiping them out.
200 years later, he is awakened by Sakura and learns the consequences of the orders he gave.
Most of the natives should be dead, but a magical barrier has been erected over parts of the continent, and you venture into it to search for the survey team (Sakura and her group) who lost contact earlier (at the start of the game).

・Remay
The circumstances under which it became a doll are unknown.
In a conversation with Miishia, he mentioned that he might have been in a similar situation to hers.
He was found collapsed in the forest and taken in by the witch Carol, becoming her apprentice and searching for his own roots, wondering "Who exactly am I?"
Using a secret technique acquired at the Eternal Library that allows for the swapping and sealing of minds, she temporarily takes Carol's place and uses the doll-making technique in various locations.
Esginil was one of them.
He attempted to uncover his own true identity by observing the process, but it seems he was unsuccessful.
Carol's counterattack manages to escape, but he wanders around and remains dormant for a long time deep in the forest, completely shut down.
Although it appeared they had killed each other, Carol's survival can be confirmed in a cabin at the very back of the Misty Valley.

・Misia
At the age of nine, she was taken (sold?) from her adoptive village and turned into a doll by the Magical Engineering Kingdom, which wanted to advance the development of sophisticated weapons.
Based on the analysis data of Rimei found in the Wandering Forest, it appears that they have succeeded in stabilizing her personality.
Since he likes fluffy pancakes, it is speculated that he has a relationship with Kiseno (someone close to Clifford, perhaps his wife?).

Shiki
A maid who serves Clifford.
In order to bring the deceased Kiseno back to life, Clifford becomes a test subject for the doll-making technique he learned from the Witch of the Valley of Mist (presumably with the spirit of Rimei).
It seems that after being turned into a doll, she pretended to have lost her sanity in an attempt to stop Clifford from resurrecting the dead.
However, his deception was exposed, incurring Clifford's wrath, and he was forced to repeatedly fight monsters until he broke down.
Perhaps there was also some jealousy involved, towards Kiseno for continuing to be needed by Clifford.

・ Esginil
A prince whose country was destroyed (though he has a large chest...).
Upon returning to his country, his residence became the Sky Castle Esginil.
However, due to its technological prowess, it was considered a potential enemy by other countries, leaving it isolated and surrounded.
He is forced to transform himself into a doll in order to gain power.
Remei, impersonating Carol, transformed her into a doll, thus preventing the invasion of the "enemy" (the humans of Se-Ki-Roader).
However, he could not prevent the destruction of other nations that did not trust Esginil, and he ended up cooperating with the King's plan to eliminate them.
When left alone, she looks a little lonely.

・ Ragtoria
The name of the planet where this story takes place.
Its original name was Nα-3.

・Fourth region
The continent into which the protagonist invaded as part of the second survey team.
It appears that originally, a power known as the "Sunlight Region" was at war with the other six countries.
Then the protagonists, the "enemies," appear and launch a surprise attack with thermonuclear weapons, plunging the area into a catastrophic situation.
The remaining survivors gather in an underwater city and launch a "destruction operation" to destroy the world with their own hands.
As a result, the fourth region was covered in a high concentration of magical energy, making it difficult for the "enemy" to intervene.