No Need for Tragedy (Free SRPG) - Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played "No Need for Tragedy," a game made with SRPG Studio.
Although it's a short game consisting of only one map, it's packed with various mechanisms and drama, making it a very interesting experience.
It's perhaps closer to an adventure game or puzzle game than a strategy RPG.

The clear time was approximately 20 minutes.
(All four endings achieved)

Game Overview

The game begins with mysterious soldiers attacking a quiet lakeside village.
In a typical SRPG, a village would likely be burned down early on, but in this game, the villagers work together to defeat the soldiers.

The main characters in the story are a master baker and his apprentice.
The master craftsman sets off to rescue the shopkeeper and his wife whose baby has been taken away, while his apprentice sets off to meet up with the village chief.

There are multiple victory conditions to clear the game.
Depending on the conditions you meet, you may proceed directly to the ending, or the victory conditions may be updated, allowing you to continue the gameplay.

In this game, you normally take 3 damage when attacked by an enemy, but your attacks only deal 1 damage.
The difference in combat power between ordinary villagers and trained soldiers is clearly depicted.
The villagers possess an item called "hard bread," which nullifies enemy attacks for each loaf they have. However, if they run out of bread, most characters will be defeated in almost a single hit.
It's crucial to coordinate effectively to avoid direct confrontation.

By talking to the villagers you encounter along the way, the number of villagers you can control will increase, and the situation will change.
As you gain more controllable units, it becomes possible to gang up on and take down enemy soldiers.
Let's actively engage in conversations, expand our network of allies, and move forward.

Review (no spoilers)

I was able to see all the endings without any problems.
I was sometimes confused about what the flags were, but through trial and error, I naturally started to understand how it worked.

Since it lacks the typical progression elements of a standard SRPG, it felt more like playing a puzzle or adventure game.
The game's excellent balance—where you can defeat soldiers who are difficult to fight one-on-one if you gang up on them—was incredibly fun.
If you make even a slight mistake in how you proceed, the NPCs will be defeated very quickly, so there was a constant sense of tension.

While there isn't really a specific storyline, the dramatic interactions focusing on individual villagers were really engaging.
If you manage to keep certain villagers alive and complete the game, more character pages will become available in the Extras section.
The descriptions there are written in a poetic style, which sparks the imagination and makes you want to collect them all.

Although it's a short game with only one map, I think it made good use of the SRPG genre, which allows for various situations to be represented on the map.

Strategy Notes

If you refer to the included text file, "About Ending Branches," you should be able to view each ending without any problems.

However, since ending D involves many steps and is time-consuming, I'll make a note of it.

Early game
First, have your lodger apprentice talk to the village's best woodcutter and recruit him as an ally.
This allows you to control it yourself, and you can then protect it by giving it hard bread.
After that, have the woodcutter head to the right to get the axe.
You can obtain it by standing next to the axe handle (attack power 3).

After that, let's send the lodger apprentice to talk to the old village chief.
The option to choose is "Yes, I would love to help!"
Then, in the next turn, the apprentice and the woodcutter will be repositioned in different locations, so head towards the southern plaza.

The miller's side should move forward to engage in conversation with the taciturn shepherd.
You have to quickly talk to the taciturn shepherd while chasing after the baby's mother to make sure she doesn't get knocked over.
If the boss enters the enemy's attack range, he will be targeted first, so chase after him to protect your mother.
Let's take care of the surrounding enemies by cooperating with the NPCs, including the stone-throwing expert, the shepherd, and the villager.
After the old pharmacist and the shopkeeper have a conversation, the shopkeeper and the mother will become playable characters after the event.
I will focus on eliminating the surrounding enemies until the events related to the flower-picking girl progress.

Midfield
The apprentice, the woodcutter, and the flower-picking girl are sent down to the square below.
The girl quickly finishes her conversation with the old woman, and after the conversation, she moves to talk to the soldier in the upper right.
If you have the girl and the soldier talk and choose "I will not forgive," the scene will change to the final stage.
If you hesitate, there's a risk that the village chief, surrounded by enemies, will be defeated, so be careful.

The masters, sticking together with their comrades, eliminate their enemies.
Keeping the husband and mother adjacent to each other increases their defensive capabilities, so try to use them as close together as possible.
Additionally, you can use the shepherd's weapon to knock enemies down and incapacitate them, so prioritize knocking down any enemies you can't defeat completely.
Since we have ample staffing here, you probably don't need to worry too much about it.

- Endgame
Our goal is to defeat the mysterious man together.
Using the Knight of Truth's Longsword (attack power 3) or the Lumberjack's Hand Axe on the mysterious man will speed things up.
The girl's encouragement allows you to give allies within a 4-square radius another turn, so make the most of it to inflict damage.
Many enemy reinforcements will appear from the left side, but have members other than the one fighting the boss take on these enemies.
At this point, even if some of our allies are defeated, we should still be able to push through.