Silver Dragon Secret Techniques (Free SRPG) Introduction and Review

Preface

This article introduces "Ginryuu Ougiden," a game submitted to the 13th WoodyCon held in July-August 2021.
I was drawn to the game because it's an SRPG (Strategic Role-Playing Game) and has cute artwork, so I decided to give it a try.
The completion time was approximately one and a half hours.
(The difficulty level starts as "NORMAL" and changes to "EASY" after clearing the Rank B battle.)

Game Overview

This is the story of Meimei, a girl with great fighting skills, who challenges the super arena of "Silver Dragon Valley" in search of a secret book (in order to lose weight).
All the characters are adorable animal-like creatures, and the story unfolds in a gentle and heartwarming atmosphere.


My goal in the arena is to start from rank D and eventually conquer rank S.
In the arena, you need to win three consecutive matches.
Even if you lose along the way, you can still gain experience points and money, which you can use to strengthen Meimei.

At the dojo, you can use experience points to improve your stats and learn new techniques.
It's a tough decision whether to raise my stats or learn a new skill.
It's a good idea to upgrade your character to suit your combat style.

At the item shop, you can spend money to buy healing items and equipment.
You can bring up to three healing items into matches in the arena, so bringing them will give you a significant advantage.
Additionally, weapons, armor, and accessories play an important role in strengthening Meimei.
If you're having trouble winning matches, consider using equipment to compensate for your weaknesses, in addition to improving your abilities.

Battles take place on a map composed of hexagons.
Like in an SRPG, both allies and enemies take turns acting.
Rather than being an SRPG like "Fire Emblem," it gave me the impression of being more like the checker battle system in "Live A Live."
Normal attacks can only be performed on adjacent opponents, but special moves have a variety of ranges.
Each enemy behaves in a variety of patterns, so understanding their patterns will give you a clue to defeating them.
On difficulties above Normal, simply approaching and attacking blindly will likely not be enough to win.

After completing the game, a score is calculated based on the difficulty level and your performance, and you can register your score on the online rankings.
I think this game offers plenty of replay value, even for dedicated players.

My thoughts (with some spoilers)

I was able to complete the game while being soothed by the adorable animal characters.
I started on normal difficulty, but I found it surprisingly difficult.

Initially, I focused on increasing attack power, but I didn't notice much of an increase in actual damage compared to the increased stats.
From a certain point onward, I started focusing on developing my mental strength and other aspects in order to make better use of my techniques, but I found myself needing to grind more and more as my rank increased.
I kept trying and steadily strengthening my character, but I gave up around the rank A battles and emergency quests, and from then on I played on easy difficulty.

When I switched to easy mode, the difficulty dropped dramatically, and I was able to clear it easily.
If I had been able to utilize my techniques more effectively and maneuver better, I might have been able to fight more successfully.
When I finally cleared the game, the top spots on the online rankings were filled with incredibly high scores, so I think there must be a lot of tricks involved.

The story, like the combat, progressed at a good pace and was enjoyable.
While there are some tear-jerking scenes in the second half, it's basically a heartwarming and enjoyable game that anyone can easily play.

<The following contains some minor spoilers.>

You can use the "Analyze" ability during battle to check the enemy's stats, and I found the comments accompanying each enemy to be unique and amusing.
This explanation about Rin made sense to me, as it explained why she was so strangely involved with Meimei in the ending.