Iris's Game (Free RPG): Introduction, Review, and Walkthrough

Preface

(Since version 2.00 was released in December 2020, the article content has been updated and revised.)

This is a combat-focused hack-and-slash RPG where you descend into procedurally generated roguelike-style dungeons.
While it may have elements of a hack-and-slash or roguelike game, those are not the essential elements of this title.
The difficulty level is quite high, and boss battles in particular require puzzle-solving skills.

This is a work that is packed with unique elements and is sure to captivate you.
My completion time was approximately 11 hours (up to the Abyss boss).
The latest version has slightly adjusted the difficulty level, and you can also choose the difficulty level.

Game Overview

story

One of its unique features is that the story is only automatically told at the beginning of the game.
When you start the game, you control the protagonist, Iris, and first you choose three characters from a group of six to add to your party.
The selected characters will speak a few words, but that's all for now.
The reason for exploring the dungeon and who Iris really is are not explained at first.

However, by using "memory fragments" obtained when your companions level up, you can learn about that character's past.
You'll gradually learn about the past connections between your companions and why they're challenging this dungeon.
However, this is not mandatory, so it is possible to proceed without looking at it at all.

When a story forces you to see the characters' pasts right from the beginning, it can become a bit tiresome.
In this film, the way it's presented—as something you *don't* have to see, but you can—actually makes you want to go see it yourself, which I thought was a clever way to present it.

As you delve into each character's past, conversations between them will also begin to occur.
There are quite a few possible combinations, so it's a good idea to check them frequently.

dungeon

The dungeon's design isn't particularly complex.
You'll descend while searching for randomly placed enemies, materials, healing spots, and stairs.
You can bring the materials you find back to your base and process them into skills or equipment, or you can convert them into experience points.
However, the enemy's level increases and they become stronger with each step you take.
If you aim to complete the entire route, you'll need to sprint through it in one go.

In the dungeon, a boss awaits every 10 floors, and a teleportation circle is provided to allow you to warp to that floor from the next floor onward.
Before challenging a boss, you can return to your base to prepare and save your game.

battle

The combat in this game differs from that of typical RPGs in several ways.
First of all, there is no MP system; actions during combat are chosen from the skills you have equipped.
Skills have CT (Charge Time) and WT (Wait Time) settings, which are very important.
CT stands for the number of turns required before an item can be reused.
If the cooldown (CT) is 1, you cannot use it again until one turn has passed.
WT is the number of turns from the start of combat until an item becomes available.
If WT is 1, you cannot use it until the second turn.
The more powerful a technique is, the more WT (Wait Time) and CT (Cooldown Time) it tends to have, creating a balance that prevents it from being used too frequently.
If you equip only skills with long cooldowns/wait times, you'll end up with many turns where you can't do anything.

Next in battle, the order of actions is crucial.
In the battle screen, a number such as "No. 2" is displayed before the character's name.
This indicates the order in which actions are taken in that turn; No. 2 means the second action.
Characters with high agility act earlier in the battle order, giving them a significant advantage.

Even in normal battles, the difficulty level is such that you can be wiped out very quickly if you let your guard down, so you need to be extremely careful.
The boss battles, in particular, are so difficult that trial and error is essential.
You'll need to carefully consider your equipment and skill combinations, and unless you go into battle with the optimal setup, victory will be difficult.
Since the game files include walkthrough information, it might be best to refer to that while playing.

Character enhancement

(The image is from an older version, so the acquired skills may differ slightly.)

In this game, leveling up takes place at your base.
Experience points (Mana) are shared by the entire party and are also consumed when crafting items from materials.
You can check which characters acquire which skills at which levels during the game.
Since the stat increases upon leveling up are relatively small, you can't expect dramatic growth.
Therefore, to defeat a boss, combat power and tactics are more important than leveling up.

Initially, you can only recruit three party members, but you can add one more at a time by defeating bosses.
Therefore, once you defeat the third boss, you can recruit all six characters as allies.
By considering the optimal combination for each situation and switching out teammates accordingly, you may discover new breakthroughs.

Incidentally, defeating bosses will reward you with items such as "Skill Books," "Craftsmanship Books," and "Mastery Books," which allow you to raise your party members' levels to a predetermined level, making it easier to immediately make newly added members valuable assets.

Review (contains spoilers)

This was a game I was really engrossed in playing for the first time in a long time.
The combat is challenging, but the balance is just right, making it seem like you can overcome it with some clever strategy.
Because of the CT and WT relationships, it's not simply a matter of having only high-powered skills; I felt it was good that the initial skills could also be useful until the end.

The boss fight was challenging and required a lot of trial and error, but the sense of accomplishment when I finally defeated it was immense.
In terms of the puzzle-like difficulty of the combat, I think it shares similarities with "Twilight Boundary," which I've also introduced on this blog, and with "Kalena Dungeon" in terms of skill management.

The dungeons, while not having a fundamentally different structure, were full of tension.
Since even the regular enemies are tough, once I had accumulated a decent amount of Mana, I desperately tried to avoid them and run around trying to bring it back without being wiped out.
When I was just a few floors away from the boss floor, I was carefully searching for the stairs, just like when I play the "Mystery Dungeon" series.
I think some people might find it difficult to reach 10 floors in one go.
However, if you keep exploring a little and then returning, you'll gradually get easier as you level up and acquire better equipment.
However, it was quite challenging because you couldn't progress unless you established a strategy for defeating the regular battles on that floor.

I liked how they showed each character's past.
The relationships between the members who became friends were diverse, and I could sense the wide range of their backgrounds.
While the story is generally dark, seeing characters who had a history of conflict fighting side-by-side gave me a lot to think about.
I got goosebumps when I realized midway through that the bosses placed every 10 floors were characters from past stories.
Commander, thank you for your hard work.

My personal favorite characters are Gram and Hein.
Gram's true identity was quite different from his typical heroic appearance, and I liked that contrast.
Despite their positive and overly enthusiastic demeanor, their inner self is chillingly ruthless, which is part of their appeal.

I liked Hein's detached attitude, his complete disregard for what others thought of him, and his close, allied relationship with Azrael.
Judging from Azrael's memories, it's quite something that he doesn't know that Elfi is actually alive.
Hein, being Hein, seems to have found Elfi after being banished, so it's unlikely he would have bothered to tell Azrael.
However, his loyalty to Azrael and his determination to take Elfi as his apprentice are also appealing qualities.

To summarize the relationships between the characters, it would look something like this.
Including Queen Ortlinde and Ash would result in too many intersecting arrows, making it difficult to read, so I've narrowed it down to mainly key characters.

In version 2.00 and later, a significant amount of conversation between party members has been added, allowing you to enjoy interacting with them.
This episode reveals previously unseen relationships between characters, making it an essential viewing experience for anyone wanting to fully enjoy the story.

Strategy Notes (Contains Spoilers)

In this game, even the regular battles are quite difficult.
While being wiped out in a normal battle doesn't result in a game over, it will reduce your Mana by half.
It's too late to look for a way back once you're in trouble while exploring a dungeon, so if you have enough Mana when you find a portal to return, consider going back.
It's quite difficult to clear all 10 levels in one go, so once you've earned a decent amount, trust that the next time it will be easier and return frequently.
If you find a healing spot, don't use it immediately; use it when the party is in danger.
Once you find the stairs leading downwards, you can decide whether to use them or destroy them (be careful, as the enemies get stronger the more steps you take).

Battle Tips

I'll share my thoughts and impressions from playing the game.
These are things you'll inevitably learn as you progress through the game, so I hope you'll find this mainly helpful for the early stages.

- Be mindful of the order of attacks.
Being mindful of the order in which actions are taken is extremely important.
If you can defeat enemies with slower turn order by concentrating your attacks on them, you should actively target them.
This reduces the overall damage taken by the party, allowing you to continue exploring for longer.

・Utilize sub-skills
Sub-skills can be assigned to anyone.
Make the most of it by filling in gaps in CT or adding skills of types not present in your main skills.
Even skills acquired early in the game can be useful until the very end.

- Healing during battle
Aside from healing spots, the only time you can heal is during combat.
When the end of a battle is in sight, if you have the resources, use them to recover and prepare for the next battle.

- Make effective use of status effects
As mentioned in the strategy guide included with the game, status effects are very powerful.
Actively utilizing this in regular combat will make things considerably easier.
Conversely, enemy status ailments can be troublesome, so if possible, use accessories to counter them.

Character usage impressions

I've written about my personal, subjective impressions of using each character.
Since many aspects can be compensated for by sub-skills, this evaluation focuses primarily on the main skills.
"Support" is a combination of skills that inflict status ailments on enemies and skills that enhance the abilities of allies.
Each character has their own quirks, but I think whether you make the most of them or not largely depends on the player's skill.

Iris: Attack ○ Healing ○ Agility ○ Support ○
While it can handle everything from attacking to healing, it gives the impression of being a versatile type with some quirks.
It's fairly agile, making it useful for both attacking and healing.
While its main focus is single-target attacks, it can also deal damage with the withered lantern plant at the expense of HP, and I think it can fulfill a role that the party is lacking at any given time.
Special support skills like Fairy Dust, Devil's Roar, and Cadenza are skills that require careful timing to use, but they can be very powerful if mastered.
I thought he was a protagonist-like character whose sub-skills allowed for various ways to develop his character.

・Elfie: Attack △, Healing ◎, Agility 〇, Support 〇
It's very useful as a healer.
I frequently use Allegro and Conbrio.
While learning Con Anima, which revives incapacitated characters, is somewhat delayed, the main skills include plenty of healing skills such as Sforzando and Cantabile.
While other characters can also provide healing through their sub-skills, having a dedicated healer like Elfi is always a valuable asset.

Gram: Attack ◎, Healing △, Agility ○, Support ○
He's a reliable attacker with high agility.
The area-of-effect attack, Gale Slash, is useful from the beginning, and Brandish is also a powerful attack that's perfect for regular battles.
Around floors 21 to 39, you can equip gear that increases your attack power and instantly kill enemies with Brandish at the start of the battle to earn money.
The single-target attacks also include those that inflict status ailments, making them quite user-friendly.
However, since you often can't perform at your best when your HP is low, you need to be careful during boss battles when your HP is frequently decreasing.

Lindrint: Attack ◎, Healing ×, Agility △, Support △
While its attack power is high, its low agility makes it difficult to use effectively.
In this game, agility is highly valued, so as the game progresses, that handicap gradually becomes a significant factor.
However, this character is appealing because they can aim for a comeback with high firepower, and they are useful when you want to overwhelm your opponents with sheer firepower in normal battles.
Since attacks are often interrupted by status ailments, you'll need some countermeasures against status effects.

Hein: Attack △, Healing △, Agility ◎, Support ◎
It has many skills that inflict status ailments on all enemies, and although its damage output is low, it is easy to use.
After acquiring the passive skill "Evening Calm," which increases agility, using "Los Niger" at the start of combat to lower the agility of all enemies will make battles much easier.
On the other hand, it has relatively few attack and healing skills, so you can do a lot more by compensating with sub-skills.

Oscar: Attack ○, Healing △, Agility △, Support ◎
Although its agility is low, abilities like Fortress and Earthwall contribute to the overall stability of the party.
By equipping defensive gear and fully committing to the role of a tank, you can make the most of your abilities.
Because they don't have many offensive skills, regular battles tend to take a little longer, at the expense of party stability.
However, in many boss battles, he is a reliable tank.

・Yue: Attack △, Healing ×, Agility ◎, Support ◎
Its strength lies in its high agility, which almost always allows it to take the first move.
Even against a bat that you had no choice but to passively accept in the early stages, you can take the initiative.
While its attacks are primarily single-target and its attack power is relatively low, it has a variety of buffs available, making it useful if you can effectively utilize its status effects.
Mastering the Dead Butterfly Wasp technique will help dispel any impression of weakness.
Because it's fast, it pairs very well with healing sub-skills, which is helpful in emergencies.
This character is capable of performing reasonably well in both regular battles and boss fights.

Hidden character: Attack ◎, Healing ×, Agility △, Support ○
This character can be recruited after defeating the boss on floor 50.
The skills are attack-focused, and many become very powerful when combined with other skills.
While its agility is as low as Lindlint's, its abilities like Ascending Dragonfly and Desperate Resolve make it difficult to defeat quickly.

Strategy for defeating the boss on floor 20

・20F The Cold-Blooded Torture Princess + Slave + Toy + Clown
Even after reading the walkthrough included with the game, I still had a lot of trouble.
I challenged the game with Iris, Elfi, Oscar, and Lindlint.
The key point is the ruthless torture princess's instant-kill attacks, both while you're asleep and when you're not.

The toy will protect all enemies, so if it's still alive, take it down.
If the enemy is in a substitute state, you should be able to defeat them easily by using an area-of-effect attack.

The slaves have high attack power, so you could defeat them, but it's best to put them to sleep so you can concentrate your attacks on the toys and the ruthless torture princess.
Since it will launch attacks that cannot be ignored, you'll want to keep it asleep using "Sleep" or Elfi's "Rhapsody".

You can generally ignore the clown.
However, be careful as they will use a full-party sleep spell on their first move on turn 4.
If you defeat her on the third turn, you won't be put to sleep, and you can ignore the "Illusionary Embrace" (instant death for all sleeping party members) that the Torture Princess uses on the fourth turn.
By deliberately taking the area-of-effect sleep attack used on turn 8, you can avoid the instant death effect of "Devil's Whisper" used by the Torture Princess on turn 9.

The goal is to defeat the Torture Princess, so you should attack her whenever you have the chance.
To achieve this, quickly defeat the toy when it becomes a decoy, and focus your attacks on the Torture Princess.
The Dream Embrace on turn 4 instantly kills allies and enemies who are asleep.
As mentioned earlier, you can survive by defeating the jester beforehand, or by having a character with sleep resistance use a full-party status effect recovery skill like Clear Breath after the jester puts the entire party to sleep.
It's also possible to employ the opposite strategy: make everyone immune to sleep to survive the fifth turn, then concentrate your attacks by the ninth turn to defeat the enemy at all costs.

(Second playthrough record in ver1.1, ADVANCE difficulty)We also confirmed victories with Iris (Lv5), Elfi (Lv3), Gram (Lv6), and Yue (Lv5).
Iris uses Clear Breath to heal status ailments and Poison to target either the toy or the torture princess (poison is effective against both of them).
Elfi uses Sleep to seal the slaves, Allegro and Combrio to prepare for recovery, and occasionally attacks with Ice Coffin.
Yue targets Toys, Jesters, and Torture Princesses with Poison Phoenix and Snow Rabbit, and also acts as a healer with Cure, utilizing her agility.
Gram attacks the Toy, the Jester, and the Torture Princess while preparing to recover with Reinforce.
The basic strategy is to first defeat the toys, then aim to defeat the jester within three turns, while using sleep or paralysis to neutralize the slaves.
In between, we'll chip away at the Torture Princess's health with poison and paralysis attacks.
Even after the angelic song, he continues to defeat toys and incapacitate slaves in the same way.
However, in the second playthrough, you don't need to defeat the jester, so you can focus your attacks more on the torture princess.

Strategy for defeating the boss on floor 30

30F The Jealous Count
Following the strategy guide, I tried to defeat the sacrifice with poison, but it didn't always work, and I didn't have much time, so I decided to go for a quick kill.
I challenged the enemy with Iris, Gram, Elfi, and Lindrint, and each of us continued to whittle down their health with high-damage attacks.
Since it will recover mana with "Mana Drain" on the fifth turn, you need to concentrate your attacks before then.
If you use Gram's "Reinforce" on turn 4 to raise everyone's agility beforehand, you'll be able to attack before "Mana Drain" is cast, giving you a few more opportunities to attack.
Since status effects from sacrifices can be troublesome, make use of "Force Shield".
I've leveled up Gram to the point where he can use "Judgment Sword" and Lindrint to the point where he can use "Infernal Hammer Agni".

(Second playthrough record in ver1.1, ADVANCE difficulty)We also confirmed victories with Iris (Lv6), Hein (Lv6), Gram (Lv8), and Yue (Lv7).
As a basic strategy, since it's difficult to time the poisoning to defeat the sacrifice, the plan is to paralyze it (and if possible, reduce its attack power) to defeat it.
The strategy involves using Hein's Gorgon Eye, Yue's Thunderfish, etc., to paralyze the enemy and then quickly defeat them.
By combining Gram's Swordbreaker and Yue's Ice Love Flower, which reduce attack power, you can detonate them without taking too much damage.
If the sacrifice's HP is low, you can use Iris's Fairy Dust to mitigate the damage from Poison and Yue's Poison Phoenix while also trying to defeat the sacrifice by poisoning it (it won't self-destruct if defeated by poison damage, so it's recommended if the timing is right).
If you can defeat both of the sacrifices using the same procedure, it will be much easier.
In the meantime, let's concentrate our attacks on the Count.
Since you'll often take area-of-effect damage from self-destruct attacks, make sure to equip area-of-effect healing skills (Fairy Dust, Heal Wind, Reinforce).

Strategy for defeating the boss on floor 40

40F The Resurrected White Dragon
As per the strategy guide, inflict a status ailment on the dragon's food, and then try to inflict a status ailment on the dragon itself.
For now, you only need one dragon to serve as bait, so I think it's fine to kill the other one that's getting in the way.
Since the dragon itself is susceptible to status effects that reduce attack and agility, maintaining those states as much as possible will significantly mitigate its attacks.
This might be because my level has increased, but I found this boss easier than the previous ones.
Iris Gram was level 12, and Elfi Hein was level 10.

(Second playthrough record in ver1.1, ADVANCE difficulty)We also confirmed victories with Iris (Lv7), Hein (Lv7), Gram (Lv9), and Yue (Lv9).
For the dragon's food, we aim to paralyze it with Gorgon Eye, and if we have time, we'll use Yue's Dark Firefly to inflict a status ailment and try to make it eat poison.
It's easier if you only feed the dragon one at a time.
The dragon's attacks are also fierce and cannot be ignored, so use Swordbreaker or Ice Lotus to suppress them.
Also, make sure to prepare Clear Breath, Force Shield, and area-of-effect healing skills to counter poison.
After the dragon awakens, unleash a barrage of attacks using Gram's Judgment Sword, Yue's Death Butterfly Bee, and the sub-skill Lightning Arrow.

Strategy for defeating the boss on floor 50

・50F Queen of Thorns
They were an extremely formidable opponent, a fitting final boss.
After much trial and error, the final members are Iris, Gram, Elfi, and Oscar.
Initially, I had Hein in my team, but I switched to Oscar because his attacks were too intense.
The winning strategies and tactics are as follows:

First, the only companion you need to defeat is Richelieu.
When it first appears, quickly defeat it with Gram's "Brandish" and prevent it from appearing again.
Since they are quick to act, let's try to defeat them as quickly as possible.
Aside from Richelieu, the other characters don't have particularly high agility, so we should generally be able to act first.
If you keep her alive until turn 7, she will use "Service" to fully heal the Queen, so that must be avoided at all costs.

I will keep Tri-Element active indefinitely.
It occasionally uses elemental attacks, but they're negligible, so don't worry about it.
If you defeat it, it will unleash an attack that simultaneously turns everyone to stone.
While petrification has its advantages, it also prevents you from acting, and since Aron can use "Zantetsuken" (which instantly kills petrified characters), it's difficult to recover from that state.
While it's possible to take countermeasures, such as curing status ailments immediately after petrification, the timing is crucial and it's not very reliable, so we'll stick to the strategy of leaving it alone.

Aron is troublesome because he continuously unleashes physical attacks.
As a countermeasure, you should use Oscar's "My Body is a Shield," "Fortress," and another member's "Hate Shield" (designating Oscar or the invincible Iris) to survive by effectively distributing them.
"Tri-Edge" and "Coma Sword" aren't that scary, but "Swallow Reversal" and "Eight-Boat Leap" are troublesome.
Let's be mindful of these two things and make sure we prevent them.
To avoid the effects of the Coma Sword, you can equip the Esperanza Shield, which grants immunity to sleep.
Aaron is susceptible to fear and darkness, so if darkness works on him, he can be neutralized for two turns.
However, if you focus too much on plunging the enemy into darkness and defeat them too quickly by depleting their HP, it could trigger the Queen of Thorns' "Glory is in my hands" (reviving everyone), potentially changing the course of the battle.

How you respond to the Thorn Queen's "Shining Rage" on the eighth turn will be a key point in the final boss battle.
Defeating the Tri-Elements would weaken them somewhat, but this time we decided not to defeat them in our strategy.
If Iris had "Crossing the Other Shore" or defended, Gram defended, Elfi defended or used "Stigma" (self-blinding with Hades' divine flames), and Oscar increased his defense with "Fortress" or "Aura Guard", he could have survived as is.
Basically, the easiest strategy is to use Fairy Dust and then have everyone defend.
While petrification can reduce damage to some extent, defeating the Tri-Element still requires multiple attempts, and healing is also a hassle.

The Queen of Thorns is susceptible to fear and paralysis.
Paralysis doesn't seem to work very well, so it might be better to inflict fear first and then try to paralyze them.
Since attack reduction is also effective, I think lowering their attack power with Swordbreaker or similar abilities is very effective.

In my attempt to defeat the enemy, I was able to fight steadily for quite a long number of turns, but at the end, I got greedy and charged in with everyone, and due to a miscalculation, we almost got wiped out.
I managed to defeat him in a really close call, when it seemed like I would lose if I didn't, so the sense of accomplishment was exceptional.

I ended up doing quite a bit of level grinding towards the end, so it feels like it took extra time.
The initial plan was to defeat Richelieu first, and then defeat the Tri-Element before using "Shining Rage."
However, as mentioned earlier, even if you use the petrification effect of the Tri-Element upon death, it still takes time to defeat Aaron and the Tri-Element, and even if you defeat them early, there's a risk of them reviving, so I felt it was just too much trouble.
Because of these factors, we decided to take a slightly more brute-force approach, aiming to raise the party's overall strength to a certain extent so that we could withstand a normal Shining Rage.
In the end, I raised Iris Gram Elfi to level 15, and Oscar to level 13.
I think skilled fighters can win smartly at a much lower level.

The following is a list of the final members' equipment, etc.
There are many areas for improvement, so I'd like to write about them, including my reflections.

Iris

I'll use "Scattered Peony" and "Lightning Arrow" whenever I get a chance to whittle down the Queen of Thorns.
"Higan-watari" can be used to avoid Shining Rage, or as an emergency escape in a pinch.
I was lucky that I didn't end up using the "reincarnation," but I included it just in case.
"Fairy Dust" was very useful when used during the Shining Rage turn, as everyone was focused on defense during that turn, so the drawback of being weakened wasn't a concern.
I honestly didn't need "Clear Breath," and I regret not using "Cure" instead (because if you use "Force Shield" or "Earth Shield" at the right time, you can prevent almost all status ailments).
The Iris Feather equipment could have been given to Oscar, who is the lifeline of the party.

Grams

"Brandish" is primarily intended for Richelieu.
"Swordbreaker" is useful for reducing the Thorn Queen's attacks, and you'll want to use it before Shining Rage if possible.
"Lightning Slash" is useful for trying to paralyze the Queen of Thorns (though it's not very effective).
"Reinforce" and "Resurrection" are emergency preparedness measures.
"Hate Shield" was useful in filling the gaps when Oscar couldn't use "Save Myself as a Shield."

While skills like "Judgment Sword" and "High Slash" are powerful, they cannot be used when HP is below 60%, so I decided against including them.
Since we anticipated a long battle, skills with debuff effects were more useful than skills that deal high burst damage.

・ Elfi

The intention behind using "Hades' Divine Flames" was not so much as a damage source, but rather to utilize the effect of "Stigma" by immediately inflicting darkness upon the target.
However, Oscar absorbs most of the damage, so I think "Allegro" was the right choice.
"Sforzando" is for overall healing, and "Con Brio" could have been replaced with "Cantabile."

"Force Shield" is necessary to counter Illness Lilith, the Queen of Thorns.
"Dark Sight" was a countermeasure against Aron that relied on darkness, but since the general policy was not to attack Aron, it wasn't really necessary.
I've been attacking the Queen of Thorns whenever I had a free moment, but I think I need to reconsider that approach.

Oscar

"Earthwall" will be used to counter Illness Lilith, the Queen of Thorns.
The phrase "My body is a shield" is primarily intended to protect against Aaron's powerful attacks.
"Fortress" is used to fill the gap when "My Body is a Shield" cannot be used, or before using Shining Rage.
"Aura Guard" is useful in various situations, such as when you need to recover HP quickly or as a countermeasure against Shining Rage.
The goal of "Terror" is to inflict damage on the Thorn Queen whenever you have a free moment, and hopefully put her into a state of fear.
When the enemy is in a fear state, the damage you inflict will increase, and if you can then paralyze them, you can significantly reduce the Thorn Queen's attack power.
"Heal Wind" is a means of overall recovery for use in emergencies.

(Second playthrough record in ver1.1, ADVANCE difficulty)
Iris (Lv11), Gram (Lv13), Elfi (Lv12), and Oscar (Lv14) confirmed the victory.

The basic strategy is the same as the first playthrough.
However, I equipped Oscar with a lead ring to make him more durable.
Also, when I changed my strategy from not trying to defeat Aaron to actively trying to defeat him, I was able to fight more consistently.
If you defeat Aaron around the fourth turn, he will use "Glory in My Hands" on the sixth turn, increasing the number of enemies.
However, if you defeat him around the sixth turn, he can't be revived until after Shining Rage, which makes things considerably easier.
Therefore, actively use Dark Sight and Shadow Sword to inflict darkness on Aron and wear him down, aiming to defeat him around the sixth turn.
During Shining Rage's turn, you won't be attacked by Aron, making it safer to wait.

(Playthrough record for the third playthrough in version 2.00)

I confirmed that Iris, Gram, Elfi, and Hein (all level 10) were able to clear the stage.
The Queen of Thorns was quite susceptible to paralysis and fear, making the fight feel much easier.
Shine Grage didn't do as much damage as I expected, so I think you'll be quite safe if you keep your HP close to full.
Furthermore, the changes to the specifications of Reincarnation and Cadenza have made it much easier to recover from party turf wars.
Since I was able to defeat it on my first attempt, I feel that if you understand the key points, you can defeat it without any difficulty.

Abyss 10F Boss Strategy

- The Mother Sea of Chaos, Chaos Satyr
I was able to defeat it with a bit of leeway using Iris (Lv14), Elfi (Lv15), Gram (Lv15), and the hidden character (Lv10).
There aren't any major tricks to the Chaos battle, but you can win if you heal properly and defeat the minions that appear as you go.
The same basic strategy applies to our next opponent, with whom we will be playing consecutively.
Since there are fewer enemies, the battle might be easier.

Actually, descending 10 floors along the way was more difficult, as we were wiped out multiple times.
A reliable strategy is to make full use of the hidden characters.
I'll have Gram use Brandish, Elfi use Sforzando for preemptive healing, and have the hidden character attack with something like Jackknife.
You'll likely face many counterattacks from the enemy, but thanks to the hidden character's passive skills, I think they won't die easily.
Then, on the next turn, using Ascending Dragonfly + Ancient Curse, etc., will deal massive damage to everyone.
By focusing on this strategy, I was able to fight fairly consistently.

Gate of Trials

This area, which appears after clearing the Abyss, features four powerful bonus bosses plus additional bosses.
Some enemies' strength varies depending on the party's total level, so having everyone at a high level doesn't necessarily give you an advantage.
Since you can freely adjust each character's level from 1 to 15, you can try out and challenge yourself at various levels.
Be aware that setting the level too low may disable some skills.

- Rebellious Berserker

I defeated them in 15 turns.
We'll use Iris's "Otherworld Crossing" + "Hate Shield" to counter "Beast King's Unrivaled Sword".
The boss's previous action, "Clear Mind," significantly increases agility, but if you use Iris's "Cadenza," you should be able to act before the Beast King's Unrivaled Sword is activated.
As for basic tactics,A highly poisonous state that causes significant damage.They are weakened by persistently using abilities such as (Poison, Hydra Eye), attack reduction to mitigate damage (Swordbreaker, Eclipse), and paralysis that reduces damage and agility (Paralyze, Gorgon Eye).
When you successfully inflict poison or paralysis, it's even more effective to extend the turn using Azure's "Pain Dagger" or Hein's "Ending World."
The rest is to have each member prepare healing methods and heal frequently during battle, and you'll be in a solid position.

- The Tyrannical Torture Princess

I defeated it in 10 turns.
I probably should have started at a lower level, but I'm going to force myself to try at level 15.
First, in order to survive the level drain, on the first turn, I'll have them use Iris's "Crossing the Other Shore," Elfi's "Hades' Divine Flame," and Hein's "Los Niger."
Then only Iris and Elfi survive, so the two of them use Con Anima and Resurrection to revive the other two one by one and rebuild their team.
It takes about two turns to recover, but if your level is 15, then attacks other than those that deal damage based on level are not a threat, so you have a fair amount of leeway.
Unleash powerful attacks and inflict as much damage as possible.
Just like in the main story's battle against the noblewoman, you'll be instantly killed if you don't intentionally get put to sleep, so remove any equipment that prevents status ailments.

The Magnificent Count

I defeated them in 12 turns.
I managed to defeat it on my first try, so it might be the easiest to fight.
Since Cerberus uses "Guard," defeat it quickly with area-of-effect attacks like "Brandish." Skull Knights also have powerful attacks, so defeat them while minimizing damage with paralysis or blindness.
However, we will primarily focus our attacks on the Count.
Since poison is a very effective source of damage, the Count will fight in a way that keeps the enemy poisoned.
Since the paralysis effect is quite effective overall, I felt that Hein's "Gorgon Eye" was quite effective.

- Chaos Dragon of the Deep Sea

I defeated them in 13 turns.
I initially thought I could just brute-force my way through, but it turned out to be more complicated than I expected; I also needed to pay some attention to healing.
The most distinctive feature of this battle is that the cooldown cost of skills is doubled.
However, since this condition is treated as a status ailment, any techniques used during the turn in which Clear Breath or Combrio is used will have their normal cooldowns (CT).
Therefore, on turns when using important skills with long cooldowns, such as Judgment Sword or area-of-effect healing skills, you should use Clear Breath and Combrio at the same time to increase their usage frequency as much as possible.
Since status effects are completely ineffective, it's important to inflict attack reduction with Swordbreaker or Silver Bullet.
When using Conbrio Clearbreath, you'll want to use Azure's Rising Dragonfly and Silver Bullet together.

"Devouring" is an instant-kill absorption attack that targets the character with the highest percentage of HP.
This attack ignores the substitute, but if Iris's HP is full, it will target Iris even if other members are also at full health, so use the Other Shore Crossing to survive.
The damage taken from "Devouring" will be the same as the damage taken from "Abyssal Breath" (which also ignores substitutes) in the next turn.
Keep in mind that if you take significant damage from its "devour" attack, you'll likely take even more damage from its subsequent breath attack.

Occasionally, they'll show a weakness by "waiting and seeing," so take advantage of that to regroup.
Don't forget to equip skills that don't have a cooldown and can be used at any time.

- Chaos God Yalda

I defeated them in 21 turns.
Basically, I fought using a somewhat brute-force strategy, continuously defeating enemies including Juggernaut.

The crawling tentacles don't have much HP and are easy to defeat, so prioritize taking them down when they appear.
There are no particular downsides to defeating him, and since Yaldah spends one turn reviving him, there are significant advantages to defeating him.

A body filled with murderous intent cannot be defeated even if its HP reaches zero.
However, if you leave it alone with high HP, it will unleash powerful attacks that depend on its remaining HP, or Yaldah will absorb HP from it to heal itself.
The body, imbued with murderous intent, can regenerate and fully recover, but it cannot be left completely unattended.
This enemy is the most aggressive in this battle, so weaken it with attack reduction or paralysis while using area-of-effect attacks to whittle down its HP.

Juggernaut has 8 HP, but it only takes 1 damage per hit.
Its attack power isn't particularly high, but if left alone, it will eventually self-destruct, dealing damage equal to its remaining HP multiplied by 100.
Therefore, if your strategy is not to defeat it, it's best to reduce its HP to 1 and keep it there.
If you defeat it, it will put all allies and enemies into a broken state as it dies.
The "Break" state is a condition where you take significantly more damage, and it is removed after taking damage once or after two turns have passed.
This presents a great opportunity to inflict significant damage on the enemy, but it also puts you at risk of being wiped out.
If you're going with a strategy of not defeating Juggernaut, you'll need some means of surviving, such as using the Otherworld Crossing + Hate Shield to survive one of the two turns.
It won't be a devastatingly large amount of damage, so I think you can withstand it with defenses and such.

The Chaos God Yaldah has techniques that revive fallen allies while attacking, as well as area-of-effect attacks that lower your resistances, but the attacks themselves aren't particularly fierce.
However, Corrosive Breath is an area-of-effect attack that instantly kills any member afflicted with a status ailment (excluding debuffs).
If you don't suffer any status ailments, the damage will be zero, so it's a good idea to equip gear that prevents status ailments.
However, this doesn't prevent freezing or burning, so you'll need to prepare recovery methods such as Combrio or Clear Breath.

The following describes each member's fighting style.
Iris's Reincarnation + Cadenza (plus someone's area-of-effect heal) was a useful trump card that allowed us to recover from a near-wipeout situation.
Combining the "Walking to the Other Shore" ability with "Hate Shield" was quite useful because it gave other members an extra turn.
Gram's Brandish was used as a powerful attack on all enemies, the Judgment Sword was used as a source of damage to Yaldah, and the Swordbreaker was used to weaken the Body of Malice.
Elfi was solely focused on healing.
The invincibility granted by Hades' divine flames has been removed because it could be fatal depending on the timing of Yaldah's corrosive breath.
Lindrint proved to be very useful as a source of damage, with his Infernal Hammer Agni for Yaldada, Flamriots for the Body of Killing Intent, and Crimson Nova for area-of-effect attacks.

One area for improvement is that if I had incorporated more status ailments like paralysis and poison, the battle might have been easier.
This time, we weren't very successful in standardizing our tactics, so it felt like we were constantly having to adapt to each situation as we went along.
Therefore, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I defeated it.