Alnista's Memories (Free RPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This article introduces "Memories of Alnista," a classic hack-and-slash RPG where you can freely create your character and explore dungeons.
The main story apparently takes about 10 hours to complete, so it doesn't seem to be that long. I thought I'd give it a try without too much pressure.
The actual time it took to complete the main story was 11 hours.
I really enjoyed this dungeon RPG made with RPG Maker VX.Misty EggThere's a work called (external link) and this was reminiscent of it in terms of its appeal.

Game Overview

It's a hack-and-slash dungeon RPG, similar to Wizardry.
Players first create their own characters, form a party with members of various professions, and progress through the game by repeatedly venturing into dungeons and returning to town.

First, you decide on a name for your character, and then you choose from a wide variety of character portraits.
Personally, I prefer to choose the face first and then decide on the name, so I would have liked to choose the face first (though it's a minor detail).

After choosing your face, the next step is to choose your occupation.
While you can have four members participating in battle, you can bring two reserve members, so it's a good idea to create six members to start with.
Since there are six initial job classes, if you're unsure which to choose, you might as well create one of each.

Each profession can branch out into secondary and tertiary professions, allowing you to develop them freely.
Even within the warrior class, you can change their job to various types, such as those that are more tank-oriented or those that specialize in offense.
It can be confusing to know which is the strongest or which one to choose, but as long as the party as a whole isn't too unbalanced, you can just pick based on your preference.
The enjoyment of being able to choose from a variety of professions is one of the things that makes this game so fun.

Skill acquisition is done by allocating points received upon leveling up.
It's frustrating that the points don't increase very quickly, but the joy of finally accumulating them is exceptional.
However, you won't earn enough points to acquire all the skills, so it's important to use them strategically.

The dungeon exploration is designed in a roguelike style.
Monster symbols roam randomly generated dungeons, and contact with them will initiate combat.
Occasionally, powerful mid-boss level enemies may be roaming around, so caution is advised.
You can escape by using escape magic circles placed randomly, or by using escape items and escape skills to return to the village.
However, there are regular checkpoints with save points and escape points in the relay areas, so you rarely get stuck and unable to get out.

There are many treasure chests scattered throughout the area, from which you can obtain weapons, armor, and other items.

Unlike equipment you can buy in stores, equipment found in dungeons has various prefixes and special effects.
Therefore, since equipment is often more powerful than what can be bought in stores, you will generally aim to acquire equipment within dungeons.
If you're lucky, you might unexpectedly obtain some powerful equipment.
This makes battles much easier, and the dramatic increase in combat power is one of the game's appealing aspects.

In addition to monsters, various NPCs also roam the dungeon.
If you talk to them, they might grant you small events or beneficial effects.
There's no harm in proactively striking up a conversation.

The battles are a standard command-based system.
Those with high agility tend to take action first.
You can freely swap in reserve members even during battle, so use your allies as needed.

Review (no spoilers)

The battles were somewhat challenging, but I enjoyed them.
There's a wide variety of professions, which is fun, but at first, it's hard to tell which class is the strongest.
Therefore, I felt it was necessary to nurture the party while considering the balance and how I wanted it to develop.
However, even with an unbalanced party, the game is balanced in such a way that you can defeat the enemies if you level up enough, so I don't think you'll get stuck.

Exploring the dungeon was not too difficult and was quite enjoyable.
Enemy symbols are easy to avoid, and treasure chests can be obtained quickly.
However, the enemies in regular battles are fairly strong, so if you let your guard down, you'll be defeated quickly.
I felt that in boss battles, in addition to attackers and healers, you'll have a very hard time unless you've also properly leveled up your buff and debuff characters.

While equipment is readily available, it's difficult to manage because you quickly accumulate so many different types.
The equipment screen doesn't display all weapon stats on a single page, making it difficult to compare equipment choices, which was a bit frustrating.
I should have made use of the equipment crafting feature, but I didn't really understand how to use the synthesis effectively, so I ended up not using it much.

Since it's not a story-driven work, the length of the scenario was just right.
It's not a particularly long game, so it might be easy to recommend even to people who are new to dungeon RPGs.
This game fully delivers the essence of dungeon RPGs, allowing you to create your own characters, form a party, and explore at your own pace.

Strategy Notes

Basic Strategy

The basic procedure is as follows:I progress to the boss while collecting items, and if I can't defeat it, I grind in regular battles.That's the general flow.
Having a strategy for easily winning regular battles makes earning money much easier, so it's a good idea to prepare some characters for regular combat.

In my case, I first taught my magician a non-elemental area-of-effect attack skill that doesn't discriminate against any opponent, and then maximized that character's magic power and agility.
Furthermore, I was earning money by using a full-party magic attack as the first move at the start of battle to wipe out the enemy in one go.
If you can obtain a staff with the "Forbidden Spell" attribute early in the game, it will be useful because it will greatly increase your magical power at the cost of increased MP consumption.

Mist Potions, which heal the entire party, and Cure Potions, which cure status ailments, are convenient items that anyone can use, so be sure to keep a certain amount on hand when challenging a boss.
In addition,Items that inflict status ailments on enemies are also useful if there are no characters in your party who can use them.So let's make good use of it.

Class usage experience

These are just my impressions of the classes I used, but I'll write them down briefly.
Looking back, I realized it would have been much easier if we had someone to act as a tank.

Fighter ⇒ Warrior ⇒ Berserk
I tried to train attack experts, and it went reasonably well.
In the early stages, it's difficult to teach powerful techniques, but once you teach it moves like Assault Edge and Assault Rush, it becomes a major source of damage.
Physical boosts, which allow you to strengthen yourself, are also useful buffs.
The counter-attack and counter-attack boost damage are also not to be underestimated.
He played a key role in the avant-garde.

Strider ⇒ Explorer ⇒ Ranger
In the early stages, he was positioned as a second-string attacker and wasn't very useful.
However, the poison in Invenum is powerful, and having access to warp portals and other abilities is quite useful from the early stages of the game.
After becoming a Ranger, I specialized in exploration roles such as Relaxall, Treasure of El Dorado, and Rescue, which proved to be very useful for earning money.
With intuition and medical aid skills, you can also become a recovery agent in emergencies.

Acolyte ⇒ Priest ⇒ Bishop
From start to finish, this healer was a reliable and helpful member of the party.
In addition to the full party heal and Heal Plus, it's useful in boss battles with abilities like Resurrection, Aromatherapy, and Cure All.
However, since some of the issues can be compensated for with items, it might have been easier if there were a few other things that could be done.

Magician ⇒ Adept ⇒ Magus
It was essential for regular combat.
In the early stages, I used Explode and Energy Burst to wipe out enemies and instantly defeat weaker groups.
Once you become a Magus, you can use Fusion in regular battles and Flare in boss battles, allowing for various strategic uses.
Since MP consumption is high, in addition to meditation, equipping gear that allows for natural MP recovery will increase your ability to sustain combat.
I think this person was the MVP who contributed the most to leveling up.

Scholar ⇒ Enchanter ⇒ Chronomancer
He was practically invisible at the beginning,Breath-type attacks that apply buffs to the entire party proved surprisingly useful in boss battles.
If you get stuck during a boss fight, teaching your character the corresponding barrier will make things much easier.
In addition, medical defenses can grant resistance regardless of the opponent's attribute, and slow effects are also useful.
グラビガは通常戦闘で一番最初に使えれば、メイガスとの全体魔法で非常に強力です。

・NEET ⇒ Minstrel ⇒ Crown
It's completely useless at first.
However, after becoming a Minstrel, I became useful in things like Idunn's Apple and Sunset Assassin Cross.
Warrior's Song and Sage's Song are also very helpful when equipped to attackers.
The Ring of the Nibelung can be used to restore MP while farming, and Bragi's Poem is also helpful in long battles.
In Crown, the "Hell Mode Staff" is incredibly powerful, allowing you to quickly weaken enemies and proving invaluable in defeating bosses.
If used effectively, this class had many abilities that could make combat much more enjoyable.

Bosses by Floor

- Labyrinth of the Abyss B10F Cernunnos
This is the first major hurdle.
They have many powerful physical attacks, such as smash combos, and you can easily be wiped out if you don't make good use of buffs and debuffs.
I felt like I could easily defeat it if I could inflict some kind of status ailment, but I decided to fight it using conventional methods for now.
The enemy was defeated at level 11, and all characters had already changed to their second class.

- Labyrinth of the Abyss B10F Belenus
They are quite formidable opponents.
By using items like "smoke bombs" to create darkness, you can almost completely neutralize powerful physical attacks.
Now, let's continue to inflict damage little by little while applying poison.
Having support magic that grants magic defense or fire resistance will make the battle a little easier.
The defeat level was 18.

- Abyss Labyrinth B20F: Doyle, Kelly, Lilina
Use "Smoke Bombs" to neutralize Kelly's physical attacks while dealing with Doyle's magic attacks.
Whether it's magic or an item, you need to have a way to heal the entire party.
In my case, I focused my attacks on Lilina first, then Kelly, and finally Doyle.
The defeat level was 21.

- Abyss Labyrinth B25F Lugos
This boss primarily uses magic attacks.
They will lower your magic defense while increasing their own agility or casting support spells that nullify magic attacks.
As long as you can maintain your party's magic defense, they're not that tough of an enemy.
However, there are many area-of-effect attacks, so be sure to have some means of healing available.
The poison works very well.
The defeat level was 23.

- Abyss Labyrinth B30F Balor
Since its attacks are mainly dark-elemental magic attacks, you can fight it relatively easily if you take countermeasures.
They use single-target attacks that can instantly kill you, so be sure to have a way to revive fallen enemies.
The required level to defeat them was 30, so I had plenty of room to spare.

- Abyss Labyrinth B35F Avalon
It is weak against lightning and primarily attacks with single-target physical attacks.
Let's make sure we are well-prepared to counter physical attacks.
Aside from lightning, it doesn't have any particular weaknesses, so it purely comes down to a battle of stats.

- Abyss Labyrinth B40F Taranis
Unlike the previous layer, they primarily use lightning magic.
Having items like Thunder Barrier will make the battle easier, but be careful of the paralysis effect it can inflict.
Silence is also troublesome, so let's prepare some means of recovery.
They do use flares, but not very frequently.
Since it often becomes immune to physical attacks, focus your attacks on earth-element magic, which is its weakness.
The defeat level was 36.

After defeating it, you will obtain a "Mysterious Gem" on the same floor.
The story unfolds slightly differently depending on whether you show it to Nevan or Rhiannon after bringing it back to the village.

- Abyss Labyrinth B45F Crow Cruach
It is resistant to fire and earth, and will launch fierce attacks.
When it takes a deep breath and uses "Hell Breath" on the next turn, it's best for everyone to simply defend.
Having barrier-type abilities that increase elemental resistances makes battles much easier.
If your HP recovery is disabled, it's dangerous, so recover quickly.

After defeating the enemy, if you give the orb to Rhiannon, she will disappear, and you will receive the Master's Scroll from Nevan.
I haven't tried it, but I think if you give it to Nevan, he'll disappear.

- Abyss Labyrinth B50F Alnista Mest
This is the final boss of the main story.
I struggled quite a bit, partly because I hadn't trained any tank characters.
Therefore, I defeated it by brute force, raising my level to 52.
Since status effects like silence and doubling are dangerous, be sure to have means of recovery from them.
Having a skill that can negate the opponent's stat boosts would make things much easier.

Defeating the enemy will trigger the ending, and you will be able to challenge floors beyond 50F.