Imperial Capital Conquest Romance (Free-to-play, regional conquest SLG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played a free game called "Teito Kokuto Roman" that I saw on Twitter and thought looked interesting.
In terms of genre, it appears to be a regional conquest-type simulation game.
If you've ever played AliceSoft's "Daiakushi," "Daibanchou," or "Sengoku Rance," these games will make it easier to understand.
This is a game that's so addictive you won't want to stop playing; you'll just want to keep going and on.

Game Overview

As the steward of the grandson of the Emperor of the Great Japanese Empire, my goal is to unify the entire country.
You strengthen your forces by completing events within your own territory, and then attack other countries.

The game's main screen looks something like this.

The number of actions you can take in one turn is fixed, but completing certain events will increase the number of actions you can take.
A variety of events await you in the regions you bring under your control.
While completing events is important, you also need to be careful about quickly invading other countries, as the enemy will become stronger if you don't.

After the main screen, the next screen you'll likely spend a lot of time looking at is this "Troop Strength" screen.
You can view a list of your current army's generals.
Each warlord has attributes such as attack power, defense power, and political power; some warlords excel in combat, while others are skilled in domestic affairs.
Having only combatants would be difficult, so a certain number of personnel for internal affairs are also necessary.

The basis of military strength is, of course, the number of troops.
The number of soldiers can be increased by investing funds.
By completing events and other tasks, you can increase the maximum number of troops you can command, but this will also come at a cost.
Some warlords possess special abilities or skills, making them more useful than their stats suggest.

Countries that declare war on each other will either attack or be attacked by each other.
When combat occurs, you will be taken to a screen like the one shown above.

Each battle consists of 10 turns, and the order of actions is determined by speed.
Select a command and then select the target to execute it.
On the screen, the left side represents our forces, which are divided into the front and back lines.
Swordsmen and shieldmen, when positioned in the allied front line, can only attack enemy front lines.
Spearmen can attack both the enemy's front and back lines if positioned in your front line, and can only attack the enemy's front line if positioned in your back line.
It's important to advance with the right combination of units, taking into account their range and compatibility.

The order and speed at which you engage in combat with different countries can affect the progression and outcome of events.
Because there are branching routes and other features, you can enjoy the game again and again even after clearing it.

thoughts

Despite being a free game, it uses original graphics and background music, making it high-quality and enjoyable.
The warlords that appear in the game are boldly based on characters that have some kind of real-world origin, which I thought was impressive for a free game.

Regarding the gameplay, if you've played AliceSoft's "Daiakushi" or "Daibanchou," there are definitely aspects that fall short.
However, this is a free game, so it's not fair to directly compare it to paid games.
The addictive nature of this game, which makes you want to keep playing, is equally high, and I would definitely recommend other works by AliceSoft to anyone who enjoyed this game.

There were a few things that bothered me.
Sending reports of earned income and other information at the start of each turn was a bit cumbersome.
Especially from the middle of the game onwards, the amount of text increased as the income grew, making it difficult to progress by clicking.
You could just hold down the Enter key, but that would also skip the messages that appear when an event occurs.

Since battles last for 10 turns, I got the impression that they tend to be a bit long.
However, despite its simple combat system, it's surprisingly deep, and I felt a sense of challenge as it gradually became more difficult to win.
Therefore, commands such as setting up fortifications and sabotaging before battle become important, and the game is difficult enough that you can't simply clear it by brute force.
The ideal strategy would be to accumulate money, strengthen our forces, and launch an attack, but the longer we wait, the more difficult it becomes for other countries.
However, once the difference in military strength becomes overwhelming, you can overwhelm them with a single, brute-force approach.

Depending on the difficulty level, even experienced SLG players will find this a challenging and rewarding game.
After clearing the game, the illustrations of each character that played along with the background music during the ending were very moving and brought back memories of playing the game.

Strategy Notes

Basic policy

In the early stages, prioritize development and try to increase your income each turn.
We want to prioritize development until production reaches 2000 units.

Also, it's easier if you use the gacha system as much as possible to gather enough personnel.
Since you can develop a character to the final stage by collecting four characters with a political rating of 9, cherish them.
Gathering four people is quite difficult, though...

Invasion and Defense

Characters used for invasion cannot be used for defense in the same turn.
Therefore, if you cannot completely conquer the enemy country in that turn, you should consider the members you will need to use for defense before invading.
When fighting with a reduced force of troops, it becomes easier to utilize tactics such as battle preparations and sabotage.

In defense, if your territory is under attack, it will not become enemy territory until all areas within your territory are captured.
Therefore, if you can capture an enemy country in the next few turns, it can be a valid strategy to surrender it rather than defend it.
Even if part of your territory is seized by the enemy, you can regain control by conquering their country.

battle

When attacking, shield soldiers are not really necessary for guarding.
Choose members who can easily defeat enemies and have high destructive power.
Spearmen and musketeers can counterattack from a wide range of angles, so they can be quite effective even when placed on the front lines.

When attacking, it's best to target enemies that won't retaliate, have high attack power, and a large number of troops.
It's more efficient to attack in a way that reduces the enemy's total troop numbers rather than attacking an enemy with only a small number of troops.

When defending, if you have surplus forces, it's fine to adopt a formation that prioritizes the annihilation of the enemy, just as you would during an invasion.
However, if you don't have a team with high offensive capabilities, you can try deploying multiple shield soldiers and aiming to defend for 10 turns.
It may take a little time, but if you're aiming for a quick victory, this kind of strategy will often be necessary.

Prioritized events

Completing events that increase the number of actions you can take early on will make things considerably easier.
In Tokiwa, after clearing the IWATE event in the Hida Mountains of Shinshu, where there is a rural area, "Technological Innovation" increases the number of actions you can take, so I think it's a good idea to prioritize advancing your army there.

Members who were useful in the early stages

In the early stages, it's difficult to assemble a team of useful members.
We need to manage things carefully in various ways.
Since getting good characters from the gacha is purely a matter of luck, I recommend rerolling multiple times.
If you can draw strong units, it will be much easier.

・Butler Okuma
Among the initial members, his offensive power and other abilities are head and shoulders above the rest, allowing him to remain the ace until the very end.
Its special attacks are also very powerful, and its performance is excellent.

- Shintaro Ishihara
With an attack rating of 7 and a defense rating of 8, this spearman is quite excellent.
If you manage to pull this character, you can use them until the very end.

・Ugumaru
I will join after conquering Edogawa Ward.
As an attacker in the early stages of the game, his abilities are quite high.
Since it has the "slow starter" trait, it might feel a little underwhelming right at the beginning of a turn.
Skills honed over time are also useful in defensive battles.
In the later stages of the event, it is strengthened and becomes Rainbow Dodomaru, with its attack and defense stats reaching 9, making it extremely powerful.

・Fertilizer SUGIHARA
You may be able to obtain it in the gacha after clearing the GUNMA area.
With an offensive and defensive rating of 8, it has powerful abilities in the early stages of the game.
Although slow, he can be effective as a shield soldier until the very end.

The above is just one example; there are many more normal gacha units available.
I felt that whether or not you can draw good members around this point significantly impacts how the early stages of the game progress.