Helios Order - The Philosopher's Stone and the Blazing King - (Free RPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This is an entry for the 14th WOLF RPG Editor Contest.
This is a traditionally designed RPG with eye-catching, stylized character graphics.
Previous workLegend of Lemuria -Second Human Demon War-This is a work that I previously wrote an article about on my blog.
Like its predecessor, this film also pays attention to even the smallest details, making it a film that can be enjoyed with peace of mind.

The completion time was approximately 8 hours.

Game Overview

The young protagonist wakes up in the forest and realizes he has lost his memory.
The young man was heading towards the exit of the forest when he was attacked by a large monster along the way.

While struggling, the young man is rescued by Brenda, a member of the Helios Knights who were there to hunt monsters, and with nowhere else to go, he decides to go with her for the time being.
The mystery of why the protagonist was found collapsed deep in the forest with amnesia drives the narrative.

While a party typically consists of four members, depending on the story's progression, there are instances where up to six people participate in battles.

Each character can learn new skills by performing "meditation," which can be accessed from the menu screen.
You can learn new skills by consuming "Power Orbs," "Magic Orbs," and other items obtained by defeating enemies.
The skills you can acquire will gradually increase as your level rises.

The battles are conducted using a count-time battle system.
The order in which actions are performed is determined by the sequence displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.
Agility is a very important parameter because the higher your agility, the more turns you'll get.

The SP needed to use special moves is charged over time.

In this game, leveling up only increases your HP by a uniform 20.
Each stat increases in real time as you gain experience points by taking actions during battle.
The actions you take will clearly indicate which parameters will gain experience points, so be mindful of the parameters you want to improve as you battle.

After a battle, all characters will be fully healed.
Even if a character is incapacitated at the end of a battle, they will still receive experience points, allowing you to focus on defeating enemies.
The enemies are quite strong, so you'll likely find yourself in a tight spot quite often.
In that case, run away and regroup.
The parameters that increased during battle remain elevated, so there's no need to worry if you run away.

The dungeon entrance is equipped with save points and shops, making it easy and comfortable to play.
The beautiful graphics and the fantastic background music that enhances the gameplay make it incredibly engaging and make you want to keep playing.

Review (no spoilers)

I finished the game in about 8 hours, including the ending.
This was a story that kept me hooked and made me want to keep playing.

At first glance, it seems like a fairly orthodox and solidly made game, but when you actually play it, you'll find that it's very comfortable to play in many ways.
In event scenes, care has been taken to ensure that conversations do not become too long, by pausing them at a certain point.
The conversations between the characters were logical and concise, making it easy to understand the situation and resulting in a very satisfying story development.
While there are many works where you want to question the motivations of the characters, I feel that this scenario is very carefully crafted.

The combat balance felt skewed, with the enemies generally being too strong.
However, since the system fully restores your health after each battle, it wasn't bad in the sense that it created a sense of tension.
I like the idea that the side with at least one person standing at the end wins; it's like Dead or Alive (it has a Seraphic feel to it).
As for the strength of the boss waiting deep within the dungeon, I felt it was just the right level of difficulty—so challenging that with a little ingenuity, you wouldn't even need to grind for levels.
The story revolved around the four main members, but guest characters would occasionally join in, creating a good balance that kept things fresh and exciting.

I think the method of acquiring skills through meditation is good because you can learn whatever you feel is useful.
However, I was a little concerned that there were so many abilities that required Magic Orbs, and I was constantly running out of them.

Overall, the story unfolded in a way that kept me wanting to know what would happen next, and the battles were balanced to be just the right level of challenging, making it very enjoyable.
Rather than having one outstanding feature, the overall impression is that it's very well done.
The game incorporates thoughtful details that you might not notice unless you're paying close attention, making it a work that you'll want to keep playing.

Strategy Notes (Spoiler Warning)

This game features fairly challenging regular enemies and bosses.
In this section, I will write about my thoughts, mainly focusing on character development strategies and my impressions of using them.
In the latter half of the game, I've included individual strategy notes for the bosses I struggled with, so I hope they'll be helpful.

Training policy

It's possible to grow them in any way you like, depending on how you care for them.
However, I will write about my own experience raising them.

・Erfel
The dual-wielding swords allow for powerful double attacks, making this character an excellent attacker.
Since magic like fire is useless due to low magical power, it's best to focus on learning physical magic.
Heat Edge is a fire-element physical attack, making it very effective against enemies weak to fire.
Additionally, using Boost and Full Boost to support your allies will stabilize the battle.
If you acquire passive skills that provide resistance, you'll have more equipment slots available.
Learning the Survivor skill is definitely worthwhile.

Brenda
Focusing on developing magical power will solve the problem.
The initial Dark spell is very useful, and regular magic attacks are sufficient against opponents with dark resistance.
Absorption is powerful, so once you learn it, I think it's fine to swap it with Dark.
Since healing items are powerful in this game, you don't necessarily need to learn the Cure spell, but if you want to heal easily, you should learn it.
Additionally, learning rapid singing would be beneficial for improving agility.
Ultimately, acquiring the Doppelganger ability and using it in each battle makes things easier, and it's also useful because it improves various stats.

Dean
To be honest, I wasn't very good as an attacker, so I focused on a support role.
The ice attack magic is frankly useless, and there are hardly any decent attack skills.
However, since he has very high durability and is difficult to defeat, it's best to continuously buff other teammates with Ice Shield or Ice Barrier.
By process of elimination, I think things will run smoothly if the character also takes on the role of providing healing through items.

Eva
This character can function as both a physical and magical attacker.
In my case, I ultimately settled on a physical attacker build, but magic attacks are also useful, so that's a good option as well.
The passive skills Counter Thrust and Reverse Magic automatically counterattack in response to enemy attacks, so learning both will significantly increase your attack opportunities and be very useful.
The fact that Feather Rest and Feather Guard can also buff themselves is quite convenient.
This character could switch between being a physical and magical attacker and a healer using items, depending on the situation.

Notes on how to defeat a boss that gave me trouble.

I'll only write about the bosses I struggled with.

Chapter 4

・Raquel (Villar Fortress)
I defeated it at level 25.
Since poison is troublesome, teach Airfel the ability to resist poison, and equip the other three with Poison Guard (Eva can heal with Fairy Rest, so it's not necessary for her).
Since Airfel, the main attacker, becomes troublesome when he's under darkness, let's make sure Blind Guard also has resistance to darkness.

Airfel focuses solely on attacking, Brenda acts as either an attacker or healer, Dean casts Ice Shield on everyone, and Eva heals herself with Feather Guard and items.

Rachel is incredibly fast and attacks frequently, and her "Crescent Moon" attack is particularly powerful.
To avoid being defeated in one hit by the Moonfall, make sure to keep Airfel, who would be problematic if defeated, constantly using Ice Shield.
Also, its area-of-effect attack, the Whirlwind Kick, is troublesome.
Prepare plenty of Return Bottles and Cure Bottles so you can quickly revive any defeated characters.
Also, if you have a Cure Spray, use it without hesitation.

Chapter 6

・Raquel (observation tower)
I defeated it at level 35.
First, Jeanne should create Recovery Vision and Attack Vision to disperse Raquel's attacks.
It simply makes things easier because it increases our healing and attack opportunities.
Airfel should focus on attacks and healing with items, Dean on support with Ice Barrier and healing with items, and Clarice should focus on healing mainly with Cure Rain.
You can leave the offensive role to Attack Vision and Jeanne.
As before, Rachel's attacks are numerous and powerful, so be sure to bring plenty of healers to help you through the fight.

Chapter 7

・Revival Friese (Ester Palace)
The queen's attacks are quite fierce, and most of them target multiple enemies, making her a formidable opponent.
To prevent confusion and freezing, it's safest to equip everyone with Confuse Guard and Freeze Guard.
Airfel should use boosts to increase Clarice and Brenda's agility, while also using items to heal.
Brenda casts Rapid Cast on herself while simultaneously attacking with Absorption, which targets the enemy's weak element, and healing herself.
Clarice should use Cure Rain to heal everyone, and when there's an opportunity, attack with Luminous, which is the enemy's weak point.
If we exploit their weaknesses, the battle shouldn't drag on for too long.

This scene shows respect for FFT (if Jeanne were to say it, it would be directly directed at Agrias).

Chapter 8

- Nicola, one of the Three Sages (Golwenfia Institute)
Since it frequently uses moves that seal you in place, it will be much easier if you take countermeasures such as using Seal Guard or Seal Bottle.
Since it's weak to dark-element attacks, let's use Brenda's Absorption as our main attack method.
Airfel should use Full Boost (Boost), Dean should provide support with Ice Barrier, and use items to heal.
Eva will focus on either attacking or healing with items.

Chapter 9

・Raquel (Northwest Forest)
This might be the toughest opponent we've faced so far.
They attack relentlessly with swift movements and powerful attacks.
Equipping Blind Guard as a countermeasure against darkness and buying plenty of Cure Spray (a full-party healing item) will make things much easier.
Airfel should use Full Boost to increase his agility while performing normal attacks, Brenda should use Doppelganger followed by Absorption, Dean should protect Airfel and Brenda with Ice Shield, and Eva should strengthen her own defense with Feather Guard while attacking with Sonic Lance and other attacks.
It's also important to ensure everyone has items available to heal at any time.