Junk Garden -The World Seen by Corpses- (Free SRPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played "Junk Garden - The World Seen by Corpses," a game created with SRPG Studio.
(The character "尸" is pronounced "shikabane".)
The game consists of 10+ stages, each a self-contained story, and the characters' backgrounds are revealed as you progress through the chapters, making it enjoyable like watching a serialized manga or anime.
I'm looking forward to more stories being added in the future.

It took me about 4 hours to complete up to episode 10 on normal difficulty.

Game Overview

The protagonist, Adele, is a dark mage who has been the only one to decipher "Abyss," a dark magic said to be able to resurrect the dead.
Having disappeared along with the dark magic of the Abyss, Adel eventually becomes feared as a forbidden sorcerer.
This film focuses on Adele and the people connected to her.

In this game, you can choose from three difficulty levels.
If you're someone who regularly plays SRPGs, choosing Normal difficulty should be fine.
Even the highest difficulty level, "Thrilling," isn't ridiculously difficult, so if you're looking for a challenge, you might want to choose "Thrilling."

This game is an SRPG, but it does not have any character progression elements.
Once you select a stage, you'll begin the strategy phase, where you'll need to skillfully control the units provided for that stage to aim for completion.
Since you don't need to think about who to give experience points to, you can purely focus on strategizing.

After clearing a stage in the main story, you will receive money and bonus points, and you will be taken to the base screen.
Bonus points will be added if you clear the game while meeting certain conditions.
Additionally, a stage rating is displayed upon completion, so it would be fun to try and achieve an S rank on every stage.

On the base screen, you can add new companions and purchase items, but these can only be used to complete bonus stages and not to complete the main story.
The bonus points you earn in the main game can be used to strengthen the units you use to clear the bonus stages.
It's a good idea to earn points while aiming for an S rank in the main story.

As for money, you can use it to purchase items at shops on the map in the main game.
However, please note that even if you keep them, you cannot carry them over to another map.

In the main story, you will fight by making full use of the unique characteristics of various units.
Simply clearing the game isn't too difficult, but if you're aiming for an S rank or bonus points, you'll need to think carefully about your strategy.
Bonus conditions and hints can be found in the "Information" section during gameplay.
Since you can change the difficulty level at any time from the base screen, I think this game can be enjoyed by everyone from beginners to advanced players.

My thoughts (with minimal spoilers)

I was able to clear all stages with an S rank on Normal difficulty.
If you're familiar with SRPGs, you should be able to achieve this without any problems.

I believe that unit development is a significant element of what makes SRPGs enjoyable.
While this game eliminated that particular aspect, the other aspects were so appealing that I thoroughly enjoyed playing it.

The story had a good pace because each episode was self-contained.
The story is driven by the question of why Adele, the protagonist who is by no means evil, stole a magic spell called "Abyss," which is typically used by villains, and then disappeared, drawing the player into the narrative.

Furthermore, even the antagonists were full of human qualities and unique personalities, making every character appealing.
My favorite character is Sazuka; she's quite strong, but her petty, insignificant nature is what makes her so appealing.
However, all the other characters are also great, and it seems like a spin-off could be made no matter who the protagonist is.
Regarding the text, the comedic and serious scenes aren't clearly separated; they coexist at the same level of intensity throughout, creating a natural, smirking humor that I really enjoyed.

I usually set the battle mode to map-only, but in this game I played with "realistic battles only for bosses."
In battles between units with character portraits, a lot of special dialogue occurs, so having "realistic portraits only for bosses" made the battles more exciting and enjoyable.

As mentioned in the game overview above, the difficulty level is not high if you're just aiming to complete the game.
However, since a rating is displayed after clearing a stage, players naturally want to aim for an S rank, and I thought it was great that you can control how you enjoy the game in that regard.
There's currently only one bonus dungeon map, but to clear it, you'll need to accumulate a decent amount of bonus points in the main game and strengthen your forces.
It's fun that you can use various characters that appeared in the main story through gacha.

The unit training element is only for units used in the bonus maps, but overall it was very fun.
If more content is released in the future, I would definitely like to play it.

Strategy Notes (Normal Mode)

EP1 The Forbidden Magician

If you attack Sadzuka with Adele's Black Hades and then finish her off with Grins's twin swords, you should be able to clear the stage without any problems.
You can generously send in all the skeletons except Dread and Grins as expendable pawns; there's no problem with that.

EP2 The One Who Pursues Darkness

If you can create a wall with physical units as shown in the image and evenly distribute support effects with Adel in the center, you shouldn't have much trouble.
While attacking with bows from behind allies' cover, actively attack the skeletons wielding axes, as they have an advantage in combat.
The sword-wielding skeletons are at a disadvantage against spears, so attacking them will only result in unnecessary damage. It's best to simply act as a shield and avoid doing anything unnecessary.
For enemies like Dread and the axe-wielding skeletons, which you have an advantage against, have Adele actively heal them.

EP3 Forest of the Magical Beasts

Let's have Adele, Dread, and Grins head to the upper right to rescue Estica.
(You might be fine with just one of them, either dreadlocks or greens.)
The enemies you encounter along the way will try to head towards the wood, so be sure to eliminate them.
After eliminating the other skeletons that are approaching Wood, head towards the reinforcement spawn point in the upper left.
Since we'll be separated from Adel, who's our healer, it's important to fight as high up in the forest as possible to minimize damage.

EP4 The Demon Lord's Vessel

Because there are so many enemies, how you allocate your forces will be key to success.
First, the cavalry in the lower left can be held off by Estica alone, so let's send her in by herself.
Since we can't wipe out all the enemies due to weapon durability, let's return to the main force after defeating a certain number of them.

To deal with the enemy in the upper left, head towards the narrow point surrounded by mountains and send Edia and 2-3 skeletons there.

Adele, Sazuka, and the other skeletons are expected to take on the group in the upper right, but instead of actively going towards them, position yourself in the forest to the right of your starting position and intercept them.
Sadzuka has an advantage against Leicia, so if you send Sadzuka against lightning-type enemies, you should be able to fight them easily.
There are enemies that drop Volcano when defeated, so when one of these enemies approaches, have Edia turn back and give her the Volcano.

When Estica's weapons are running low, have her pull the remaining enemies towards Adel Sazuka and her group in the upper right corner and have them fight them.
After you've used up all your weapons, you can receive a ranged healing staff from Adel and have her focus on healing, allowing Adel to concentrate on attacking.

The key to success is to fight in a way that staggers the timing of your attacks, because it's incredibly difficult when enemies are coming from multiple directions at the same time.

I think Vancle is a good guy.
We'll be grilling them at Volcano later.

EP5 memory

It's not a particularly difficult map.
It's easier to fight by utilizing Helena's combat command skills and pushing your armor to the front.
Let's leave the slimes to Helena and Adele's magic.
While it's possible to rescue them using armor and force our way south, I'd much rather deal with the slimes using magic.
Let's intercept some of the enemy forces before heading south.
If you dawdle, enemies will appear from the north, but you can ignore them and head south and you'll be fine.

EP6 Lightless Sky

This is a dark map with limited visibility.
It's important to pay attention to weapon compatibility when engaging in combat.
The boss is located in the lower left, but you will take more damage if you are not using Adele.
It is important to allocate forces appropriately.

EP7 Resurrection

The Silver Knight hurries to the far right of the map, while the remaining six head to defeat Neft.
Let's move forward by making the most of each other's support.
You don't have time to take down the heavy knight and the two assassins, so position your units carefully to get as many as possible to Neft.
If you start the attack with members whose HP is full, they won't be defeated after the battle, and their support effects will remain active.

EP8 Overlooking the world and fortune-telling

The objective is to defend the four forts, but simply defending the forts is often not enough to secure a victory.
Since Enos and Ereyu are strong, let's intercept the enemy from the north while we launch an offensive.
Let's leave the enemies from the east to the Gark, and have the Phagee only provide support.
Dico and Jonan in the southwest will have Dico stationed at the fort to defend it.
Jonan isn't very strong, so it's best to head north and give the potion to Enos, who doesn't have one.
Once the enemy is dealt with, move on to supporting other areas and eliminate them efficiently.

EP9 The Six-Colored "Full Moon"”

If you have Adele and the Silver Knight weaken the enemy while the other members deliver the finishing blow, you should be able to defeat them while minimizing casualties.
Since there are enemies with ranged heals, don't deal partial damage; try to defeat them all at once.

EP10 The Six-Colored "New Moon"”

Since all the enemies are charge-type units, let's move towards the bottom left to avoid being surrounded on all sides.
Since Gautze has automatic regeneration, he can defeat up to two Lepus with counterattacks even if they enter his attack range.
Use Estika, who has high attack power, to intercept the Grizzly.
As long as you're careful not to get surrounded by enemies all at once, getting an S rank shouldn't be too difficult.