Gorgon (Free RPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This article introduces "Gorgan," a game submitted to the 13th WoodyCon held in July-August 2021.
While many short works prioritize gameplay, I was intrigued by the description that this work emphasized world-building, so I played it.
I thought that short stories might not be able to rely on their world-building as much as they do in terms of length, but this was a very engaging story, and I found myself completely absorbed in playing it.

My first playthrough took just under two hours.

Game Overview

Synopsis

"Gorgan" is a short RPG, and the story begins as follows:

The herb-selling siblings, Aia and Alloy, are unjustly accused one day and taken to the castle.
At the castle, Archbishop Klaus was fusing the people he had brought in with monsters.
Aia and Alloy are also fused together, and for some reason they don't transform into monsters, but one of their consciousnesses disappears (at this point you choose either Aia or Alloy as the protagonist).

Imprisoned in a dungeon, Aia (Aloi) is asked by Seara, the archbishop's daughter, whom he meets there, to summon Bishop Amalie, the archbishop's sister, from a neighboring country to kill him as he begins to transform into a monster.
In order to kill Seara, Aia (Aloi) returns to the city of Gorgon with Amalie and her bodyguards.

map

In "Gorgon," there is no concept of a field; the game progresses by selecting exploration points on the map.
At each exploration point, several events and battles will occur, and winning them will allow you to proceed to the next point.

At the "CHECK!" points on the map, you can swap out party members.
Additionally, you can strengthen your party by spending experience points from the menu screen.
Instead of strengthening individual members, the party's overall stats increase, making it easier to swap in different members.

battle

The battles are turn-based, command-style battles.
Since each character has different stats and command abilities, you'll need to create a well-balanced team to fight effectively.
Using special commands other than physical attacks usually consumes SP.
SP recovers by 1 each turn, but some characters have commands that allow them to recover SP at will.

Additionally, allies who become incapacitated in battle will automatically revive after 4 turns, and can also be revived using normal healing techniques.
However, if someone becomes incapacitated, the attacks will concentrate on the remaining two, making things difficult, so it's best to heal them as soon as possible.

choice

In this game, you will be presented with choices several times.
These choices might involve only being able to save one of your companions, or increasing your intimacy with someone.
Your choices will change the course of the story and even alter the ending with the protagonist.
Since this game doesn't take much time to complete multiple playthroughs, it's a good idea to try out various choices.

Review (no spoilers)

It was a work with a unique atmosphere, depicting a rather harsh worldview.
While the game's difficulty as an RPG isn't particularly high, it offered a decent challenge and was quite enjoyable.
If it's too difficult, you can earn money by repeatedly fighting battles, so you can clear it even by brute force.

The unique and charming characters make you want to watch all of their events.
Each person's story isn't told in detail; rather, you only get glimpses of their background from the event.
The game leaves some things to the player's imagination, and the way it's presented isn't pushy, which I really liked.

The battle screen is designed to look like a side-view battle.
By making the event progression screen and the battle screen similar, the transition to battle appears seamless, ensuring that the flow of the story is not interrupted.

Although it is a short story, the world of the work is well-developed, and the story is structured in a way that draws you in.
If the game's atmosphere even slightly interests you, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Strategy Notes (Contains Spoilers)

While this game features a variety of party members, my party was mostly fixed from the middle of the game onward.
The key to success in battle is to create a tank character.
If you keep the tank character healed properly, one person can focus on attacking, and you should usually be able to break through to the end.

In my case, the main character, Blanc, and Billian were my go-to choices.
The protagonist recovers SP through exhilaration, while Blanc takes on the role of attacker and Billian focuses solely on counterattacks.
When Billian's HP gets low, the protagonist should use Sanctuary to fully heal him, and Blanc should choose to concentrate and then unleash a barrage of light attacks.
The stun effect from the light-based attacks is also effective against the final boss, so if the enemy becomes immobile, you will have a greater advantage.

By combining the skills of multiple people, a synergistic effect is created, resulting in a powerful outcome.
I think you'll make new discoveries if you try battling with different combinations.