Introduction, impressions, and strategy notes for the free animal character RPG "Arc-en-ciel's Magical Beasts"

This game, "The Magical Beasts of Arc-en-ciel," is an RPG where all the characters are animals.
The character graphics and game screen design are meticulously crafted, and that's what initially attracted me to start playing.
An RPG I recently played that features many cute characters."Mimamoroll!"I wasn't necessarily inspired by it, but I was able to easily immerse myself in the world of this work.
The graphics have a heartwarming feel, but the real highlight is the classic, exciting storyline.
The completion time was approximately 10 hours.

Game Overview

This game is a traditional, orthodox RPG.
The story begins when Radia the lion finds Oboro, a wolf suffering from amnesia.
The game progresses through dungeons and involves defeating bosses, with party members joining and leaving as the story unfolds.
I'd like to introduce some of the distinctive systems in this game.

About combat

The battles are command-based, where the number of turns a character gets depends on their agility.
The turn order for both allies and enemies is displayed on the screen, allowing for tactics such as defeating enemies that are likely to act first.

You have four battle members, and you cannot substitute them with reserve members during battle.
Therefore, if you don't choose a combination of characters that is somewhat balanced for boss battles, you will be in for a tough time.

Reserve members cannot participate in combat, but they can support the combat members through their "Party Abilities."

Sometimes, it's better to keep members with excellent party abilities in reserve.

Enchantment

Each character has their own unique skills that can be used during combat.
You can temporarily enhance your skills by consuming something called EP (Enchantment Points).

For example, there is a skill called "Recover" which has the effect of "curing poison, sleep, and paralysis in one ally."
By spending EP to enchant it, the effect is enhanced to "recover all status effects of one ally."

Enchanting increases MP consumption, but it also significantly enhances the effect.
It's a good idea to enchant skills that you'll likely use frequently.

Some changes, such as expanding the area of effect to cover the entire area, can significantly alter the usability of the effect.
Since EP returns when you remove an enchantment, it's important to set enchantments flexibly as needed.

You can change the enchantment settings even during combat.
However, this will consume one turn, so caution is advised.

Event Skip

In this game, if you lose a boss battle, you will return to the title screen and restart from the last save point.
In that case, there is a function to skip events such as those before boss battles.

In this game, where there are quite a few instances where a boss battle follows a relatively long event, this feature can be considered a helpful addition.
Games that include an event skip function tend to be more challenging because they are designed with the possibility of replaying in mind.
However, I don't think the boss battles in this game are particularly difficult.

Review (no spoilers)

I had a lot of fun playing it all the way to the end.
If you ask me what makes this work interesting, it's difficult to explain in a single sentence.
This is because, rather than having any particularly outstanding features, I feel it's a work that is of high overall quality and well-balanced.

The story begins with Radia meeting Oboro, who has lost his memory, and their journey then commences.
It's a fairly common way to start a story, but it certainly has the power to drive the narrative forward.
The plot unfolded naturally and made sense in many ways, and I felt that the way the plot points were resolved and the flashbacks were handled was done very carefully.
While it follows a classic formula, it also features many unexpected twists and turns.
It was sometimes passionate, sometimes sad, and each member had their moment to shine; the characters came alive in a very impressive way.

Regarding the characters, there is a clear concept: "They are all animals."
While the story doesn't necessarily require the characters to be animals, that's precisely why I felt such a strong love for animal creatures.
The dialogue text also shows meticulous attention to detail, such as using "both animals" instead of the more natural "both," and using the kanji "仔" (baby animal) instead of "子" (child).
There's a saying, "God is in the details," and I think it's this kind of meticulous attention to detail that makes it so interesting.

I'd say the combat difficulty is somewhere between "normal" and "slightly difficult."
In the early stages, both regular battles and boss battles aren't too difficult.
However, from the middle of the game onward, regular battles start to feel a bit more difficult, and you'll need to make full use of your skills and fight properly.
Towards the end of the game, I sometimes found the regular battles to be more challenging than the boss fights.
The slightly higher encounter rate might also be contributing to this feeling.
However, I didn't encounter any situations where I got stuck on a particular boss and was forced to grind levels.
In most cases, you can manage by changing your equipment, adjusting enchantments, and stocking up on healing items.

In summary, this work has many good points overall, and I felt that it is a very well-crafted and well-balanced piece.
It had been a while since I played a traditional-style RPG, so I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Strategy Notes (Contains Spoilers)

In this game, except for the early stages, you can't win regular battles simply by selecting physical attacks.
In regular battles, it's important to use skills and enchantments to fight effectively.
I think the key points are to be mindful of elemental weaknesses and to enchant area-of-effect attack skills.

I feel that healing items are important during boss battles.
Of course, there are leaf-type items that restore HP,Nuts that restore MP are very useful.
From the mid-game onward, actively using Radia's destructive fighting spirit will make things much easier, so you'll want to make good use of items.
Since there are few skills that can revive fallen characters, it's important to prepare Life Seeds.

Below, I will write about my impressions of using the characters.

Radia
It has a high critical hit rate, making it useful as an attacker.
Learning "Consecutive Attacks" is recommended because it doubles your chances of landing a critical hit.
"Roar" can also be surprisingly useful in normal combat.
The "Insight" ability, which reveals the enemy's remaining HP, is useful in both regular battles and boss fights.
In the second half, I mainly used Destructive Aura, which helped shorten the boss battle.

Oboro
She could attack, but she mainly played the role of "Cure All."
Since it can also use Recover, it's a convenient character that can handle all aspects of healing on its own.
While she does have offensive skills, my impression is that she was more often used as a healer than an attacker.

Agni
I'm a physical attacker.
You can inflict a considerable amount of damage with just physical attacks after "charging up".
While not as good as Radia's, her critical hit rate is decent, and a critical hit after using her charge ability is incredibly powerful.
With a highly enchanted "Cover," you can also act as a tank, taking on all the damage.
While they lack the means to attack multiple enemies at once, they are reliable members when facing a small number of powerful foe.

・Inaho
While it has many support skills such as item-wide effect, it can also be used as a fast attacker if you learn "Lightning Edge".
Depending on the items you have, you can inflict various status ailments on enemies, so it seems like it could be used in some interesting ways depending on how you utilize it.

Beryl
She excelled as an offensive magic attacker.
A highly enchanted Water Splash can deal massive damage even to enemies that aren't its weak point.
Furthermore, since it can use area-of-effect and instant-death magic, it can also be effective in regular battles.
However, using high-enchantment will worsen your MP consumption, so you need to be careful about your MP level.

・Nem
My impression is that this is a powerful character in the role of a sage, capable of both attacking and healing.
Thanks to the "Magic Expert" ability, MP depletion is quite slow, giving you excellent sustained combat ability.
She is skilled in various offensive spells, including the extremely useful "Cure All."
I think this is a character you can always have in your party without any downsides.

・Wüste
This character is characterized by a tricky lineup of skills.
Since you can use the area-of-effect magic "Earthshake," you won't have any trouble with attack options.
The highly enchanted "Defense Up" is very useful and significantly increases the party's stability.
I think it's best to use him as a support character who can provide buffs.
The fact that Revive is available is also a small but reassuring detail.

Labyrinth of Water Flows

I will be writing strategy notes for boss battles that I started to find challenging.

Beryl
The instant death from Deadly Song is a real threat.
Nem's Saint Arrow is very effective, so rely on Oboro and Nem's Cure All for healing during the battle.

Invidia
This will be a back-to-back match after Beryl.
Barrier Comparison and Power Comparison will inflict massive damage on members with higher defense and attack power, respectively.
To avoid taking damage, remove your weapons and armor, and focus your main attacks on magic; this will reduce the amount of damage you have to worry about.
Include Beryl and Nem in your party and enhance their single-target magic attacks with enchantments.

As its HP decreases, it will use Life Comparison to deal massive damage to party members whose HP percentage is higher than its own (meaning almost everyone in the party will take massive damage).
Furthermore, their agility increases, and their attacks become more intense.
Since there will be fewer openings for attacks, make sure to keep healing while fighting.

Pyramid of the Sun

・Wüste
Since it will use Temptation to inflict the charmed status, enchant Beryl and Oboro with Recover so that you can recover quickly.
Since area-of-effect attacks like Earthshake are quite powerful, it's a good idea to include Oboro and Nem enchanted with Cure All.

Gries, Stein, Fersen
Stein can sometimes be intimidated by Radia's "Roar."
If you enchant it and then use Roar, you can prevent it from acting with a reasonable probability.

Greez can use Cure All to heal everyone, but not very often.
It's a good idea to focus your attacks on Fersen, who is easier to defeat.
Since healing will mainly depend on Oboro's Cure All, be sure to keep an eye on your MP.

The sage's hermitage

Book Guardian
Since being silenced by Silent Seal is unpleasant, equip Oboro with an accessory that prevents silence, which can be found underground.
The rest of the party consists of Oboro as a healer, and when there's an opportunity, we'll have her attack.
Radia will use up all of her MP with her destructive fighting spirit, and then she'll fight using normal attacks.
I feel that normal attacks are more efficient than jumping because they have a higher chance of landing a critical hit.

Lost Forest

- How to proceed after the animal's hut
You can proceed by going in the order of red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, and purple.

Something cute
I'll use Oboro as the healer and have Radia focus entirely on offense.
If healing isn't fast enough, it's also important for Radia to use items to heal.

Mountains in a sea of clouds

・Antislime x 4
Physical attacks are completely ineffective,
Let's attack with Radia's Lion's Fury and Oboro's Ice Fang Thrust.
We should be able to defeat them in a short, decisive battle.

・Gries
Since it uses curses, it's a good idea to equip Curse Check beforehand.
Without this equipped, the curse damage is extremely severe.
Furthermore, if you also have Dark Guard equipped, equipping it will reduce the damage from dark-element attacks, making things considerably easier.

Let's fight by enchanting healing spells and using high enchantments on howling spells.
When the gray mist is used, all status buffs are removed, but it's not used very often, so just reapply them when they're removed.
As long as the boosting effect continues, you can fight quite stably.

Rainbow Temple

・Weiss
I managed to defeat it at level 30, but it was quite a long battle.
First, you need to use Radia's Lion's Fury to deal damage, so use Lion's Fury to break through the barrier.
After that, use the highly enchanted Destructive Aura and the combo attacks of your abilities to aim for critical hits.
Since it heals itself every turn with Regenerate, try not to let up on your attacks as much as possible.

Enchant Oboro with Healing and Cure All, and let him focus on healing.
When you have a free moment, attack or recover your MP.
It might be a good idea to use MP recovery potions on Radia and aim for a quick victory with her destructive fighting spirit.

・Kokuyo
Using "Believe in Yourself" will restore HP and MP at no cost.
Let's attack cautiously while keeping our HP high.
Attacking with highly enchanted destructive energy is fine.

The center of the world

・The Beast of the Apocalypse, Oboro
Since it will use silence, make sure to protect Nem, who has area-of-effect healing, with Silent Check or similar abilities.
Since it has a large HP of 66666, let's use high-powered techniques like Radia's Destructive Aura and Beryl's Water Splash as much as possible.
Since it uses many high-powered attacks, be sure to stock up on Life Seeds and MP recovery nuts.

Noir
I defeated it at level 34.
HP70000 is a very large number.
Since it uses silence, you should prepare either Oboro or Nem as a healer to counter it.
It uses a variety of troublesome attacks, but its firepower itself isn't that great.
Let's heal properly with Oboro and Nemu's Cure All.
For offense, let's attack relentlessly with Nem's holy-attribute Saint Arrow and Radia's destructive fighting spirit.
Just like in the previous battle, if you use MP recovery potions liberally, you can achieve a quick victory.

The Treasure Lord's Den

Lord Gordon
Since you'll be fighting with only two people, stocking up on healing items beforehand is essential.
They don't use any special attacks, but you'll need to heal them regularly.
If you use healing items at the right time and steadily whittle down its health, you should be able to defeat it.
If you don't significantly reduce Radia's health with her destructive fighting spirit to a certain extent, you might run out of healing items.
Make sure to stock up on MP recovery items so you can use them often.

Exorcism Labyrinth

On this floor, stepping on the blue tiles will trigger a battle with a fixed enemy.
The floor to the right is a mirror image, so move while looking to the right and avoiding the blue floor.

・Weiss
Be prepared for a long battle.
In the case of a six-layered barrier, we break it with Nem's Elemental Burst, and in the case of a white barrier, we break it with Radia's Lion's Fury.
There are few nasty attacks; most of the moves simply inflict damage.
However, "Byakutei: Extreme" deals a massive amount of damage, nearly 3000, to a single target.
You'll likely be incapacitated often, so stock up on Life Seeds and include Vuste, who can use Revive.

The center of the world

The mid-bosses along the way fully heal your party when defeated, so you don't need to worry about conserving MP.

Noir
The defeat level is 40.
I challenged them with Radia, Oboro, Beryl, and Nem.

Radia's role is to attack relentlessly with highly enchanted destructive fighting spirit.
Oboro's main role is to restore MP using Cure All and Nuts.
Beryl can heal status ailments with a highly enchanted Water Splash and a highly enchanted Recover.
Nem, like Oboro, has Cure All and MP recovery.

Noir uses many powerful area-of-effect attacks, but you can manage by frequently using Cure All to heal each time.
Due to their agility, it's a good idea to prepare in advance with defensive measures to counter situations where they might act twice in a row.
If you suffer a status debuff or are afflicted with a curse, quickly recover using a highly enchanted Recover spell.
I think you can fight more stably if you replace Oboro or Nem with Vuste and continuously use the high-enchanted Defense Up.
If you have plenty of Life Seeds and Nuts, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Review (contains spoilers)

At first, I felt a little strange because everyone was a furry character.
However, I was drawn in by the cute graphics and Radia's innocence, and I gradually grew to love it.

Looking back on the story's progression, I think it was quite a brutal turn of events.
The plot point where Oboro dies after saving the world reminded me of Yuna from "Final Fantasy X".
Choosing between the world and your best friend is an extremely difficult decision.
The characters' cuteness made the sadness of Radia and Oboro, who are at the mercy of an unjust fate, all the more striking.

The scene where this single image is displayed in the provisional ending almost brought me to tears.
The part where they decide to work together with their friends to rescue Oboro felt like a new chapter in the story, and I was really excited.

Even so, each character has their moment to shine, and I think it's a wonderful work.
When I think about pairs like Radia and Oboro, Inaho and Agni, and Nem and Beryl, I feel like Vuste is the only one who doesn't have a partner (though it's probably fine since she has a younger brother).
She seems a little different from Inaho...

After Oboro's disappearance, I found myself strangely convinced by Vuste's role in coming to comfort the dejected Radia.
Given her big-sister type personality, she's well-suited to the role of giving a kick in the pants.

I don't usually use the word "precious," but this series of images made me feel a sense of reverence.
I feel that the relationship between Radia and Oboro is a precious bond that goes beyond mere friendship.

Part of the title of this work, "Arc-en-ciel," is a French word meaning "rainbow."
It's clear that the "rainbow" represents the seven party members.
Each individual color is merely a single color, but when seven specific colors come together, they become a "rainbow," taking on a special meaning.
In this game, bonds are formed as you overcome difficulties together with your companions, and ultimately, those bonds save the world.
As I watched the single image displayed at the end, I deeply felt the meaning of the Arc-en-ciel (= rainbow), a symbol of bonds, and was able to immerse myself in a pleasant feeling of playing the game.