Time-Traveling Jewel Spirits (Roguelike SRPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This is an article introducing "Time-Traveling Jewel Spirits," an indie roguelike SRPG by Iroha-sama.
This game offers a fresh gameplay experience, combining the appeal of SRPGs and the Slay the Spire (StS) genre.

It took me about three hours to complete the main story.
As for the end-game content, which can be considered the real challenge, it will likely take a considerable amount of time to clear it on the highest difficulty level.

Game Overview

First, you choose the game difficulty level at the start of the game.
Those unfamiliar with SRPGs should choose "The First Journey," while those who are more experienced should choose "The Awakening Journey."
These two are like tutorials, so there's no need to be too tense.
This is a good way to get a feel for what the gameplay is like.

After clearing these stages, "A Journey Through Time" will appear, which is essentially the main story.
Clearing this will unlock the end-game content called "The Challenger's Journey."
Here you can optionally select settings such as the challenger level and starting character.
Each time you clear a level, you can increase your challenger level, and the difficulty level will steadily increase.

When you start the game, you select your initial members and then choose your bonuses.
The choice between raising one character's status or earning money is a difficult one from the start.
As you progress through the game, new starting bonuses will be unlocked, which will make your decision-making even more challenging.
Rather than overthinking things, I think it's best to just play the game and find your own optimal solution.

After selecting your initial bonus, a map similar to an arrow diagram will be displayed.
You can move forward, but you cannot go back or take detours.
The route to take will need to be decided based on the circumstances at the time.

If you avoid combat because you dislike it, you may not gain EXP and may be unable to defeat bosses.
However, since HP/MP lost in battle do not recover naturally, there are risks in fighting aggressively.
The goal is to engage in combat appropriately, minimize risks, and effectively strengthen the party.

The battles are turn-based, with 2 to 4 units deployed in alternating turns.
Once all our actions are complete, it will be the enemy's turn.
The maps aren't very large, and a typical battle can be completed in about five minutes.
It has a more compact design than typical SRPGs, so you get the feeling that you can progress through it quickly.

In this game, elemental affinities have a significant impact on damage output.
It's important to fight opponents with attributes that give you an advantage, and avoid fighting enemies with unfavorable attributes.

There is a limit to the number of characters that can participate in battle simultaneously, but you can swap them out with reserve members using commands when selecting actions.
Members who are on the reserve team cannot be redeployed until their cooldown period is over, but once that's finished, you can swap them out as many times as you like.
Since members who come out from the reserves can act immediately, if used effectively, you can quickly move closer to or further away from the enemy.
Some units have abilities that allow them to switch to another unit after attacking, offering a wide range of uses.
Therefore, substitutions are an important element in strategizing and winning.

After a battle ends, you will receive EXP (experience points) and money.
Everyone doesn't grow at the same rate; instead, you allocate resources to the characters you want to develop.
Whether you develop all characters evenly or focus on developing just a few is up to the player.

When you level up, new skills you can learn will be displayed.
The skills presented here are random each time, and their appearance frequency varies depending on the rarity level set for each skill.
Rare skills are often powerful, but they also consume a lot of MP, so caution is advised.
In this game, the means of recovering HP and MP are limited, so you need to save some low-cost skills that you can use regularly.
Since you can only have up to five skills, after that you'll have to discard the ones you don't need and keep the ones you do.

From here, I'll give a brief overview of the events on the map.

By selecting a gem icon on the map, you can add a new spirit to your party.
Three spirits will be randomly selected as potential recruits, so choose your favorite.
現メンバーの属性のバランスや役割を考えて加入させることが大事です。

You can purchase items and orbs at the shop.
Orbs can be equipped up to two per unit, and they have effects such as enabling additional skills or boosting stats.
Items are things that all members can benefit from when they are possessed.
These items can all be obtained by defeating powerful enemies or opening treasure chests, but the only place where you can choose from a certain selection is the shop.
Since the selection of items is random, it's hard to decide whether to save money for when you find something you want, or to spend it all.
This internal conflict is another dilemma unique to roguelike works.

If you land on a heart-shaped space, you can take a break.
You can choose to slightly restore everyone's HP and MP, significantly restore the HP and MP of several members, or enhance their abilities without restoring them.
If you're not severely weakened, choosing to strengthen your character is a good option, but if you're about to face a boss, you'll probably want to heal.
The decision in this area is up to the player, which makes it both a source of uncertainty and an interesting aspect of the game.

thoughts

It was a roguelike SRPG that was very fun to play repeatedly.
I will write frankly about my impressions of playing this game.

The first thing that catches the eye is the gorgeous character graphics and UI.
The design is so refined that it's hard to believe it was made with SRPG Studio, and it leaves a lasting impression at first glance.
Even just looking at the background graphics, you can tell that the atmosphere of the game's world has been meticulously crafted.

In the battle maps, the "gems" motif of the work can be felt in the details of the map tiles, resulting in a beautiful and cohesive visual design.
The attack effects were spectacular, effectively conveying the exhilarating feeling of defeating enemies.

In works that prioritize world-building and atmosphere, graphics and background music become crucial elements in enhancing immersion.
These may not be the very essence of the game, but having them solid undoubtedly makes the gameplay experience richer and more memorable.
When I think back on playing this game, the vibrant colors and adorable characters naturally come to mind.
I felt this impression stemmed from the fact that the world of the work was meticulously crafted and exuded a strong presence.

The gameplay itself was easy to play because the difficulty gradually increased.
The main story, "A Journey Through Time," might not have been too difficult for those familiar with SRPGs.
The subsequent end-game content, "The Challenger's Journey," allows you to continuously increase your challenger level (difficulty), so I think it's designed to satisfy veteran players and those who want to go all-in.

However, as you raise your challenger level, the difficulty naturally increases, and the sense of survival becomes stronger than the sense of exhilaration.
If you're a player who enjoys deep gameplay, you'll probably get really into it.
However, for someone like me who is satisfied just by clearing the game, the peak of satisfaction might be when I complete "Journey Through Time," and then it gradually diminishes after that.
For those who consider the main part of the game to be completing the main story, the length might feel a little short.

I think the appeal of this game lies in exploring the synergies of different gem spirit combinations and building winning strategies while dealing with the randomness inherent in roguelikes.
People who enjoy experimenting with how to effectively use characters they don't normally use will likely find this game quite addictive.
Characters whose strengths are easy to understand are likely to be relied upon by many players, but there are also many characters that require some ingenuity or insight to make the most of their strengths.
I don't really understand that kind of thing, so I feel like I learn a lot by watching how other people manage their investments.

I've written about various things, but to summarize, this game is worth playing for players who enjoy in-depth gameplay, and I think you'll get more than your money's worth.
On the other hand, casual players who don't play the game extensively might find the content somewhat lacking.
However, I think it's rare to find a game that is so full of dazzling graphics and UI, and possesses such a unique appeal as a roguelite + SRPG.
I would definitely recommend this new gameplay experience to anyone who is used to playing traditional SRPGs.

Strategy Notes (Memories of Gem Spirits I Felt Weak) Up to Challenger Level 3

·Achievements

Black Diamond

It was incredibly useful because it allowed me to unleash overwhelming firepower in a straightforward way.
By significantly increasing your HP and using special moves to inflict self-inflicted damage, you can unleash an incredible amount of offensive power.
After taking self-inflicted damage and becoming critically injured, there is a risk of being defeated, so you need to protect them with shielding and healing to prevent them from becoming incapacitated in battle.
I believe we can achieve stable results if we properly address those issues.
However, since it lacks area-of-effect attacks, you'll want to compensate for that with orbs or other party members.

Diopside + Charoite

By accumulating the injured status with diopsite and doubling the number of turns with yourself and charoite, you can inflict extremely large amounts of injured damage every turn.
It takes a bit more effort to unleash its full firepower, but it has the advantage of dealing damage regardless of elemental compatibility.

The advantage of this strategy might be that once you accumulate enough remaining turns of injury to reach a lethal level, you can simply leave the enemy alone and move on to the next battle.

Iolite

This unit is capable of single-handedly eliminating enemies that don't use status-altering tactics or other deceptive methods.
The defensive effect of Mirror Veil is already helpful, but the reflected damage is even greater.
By gradually increasing reflected damage with Glitter Mist, you become increasingly powerful towards the end of the game.
Furthermore, by inflicting confusion and using the regenerative light, the healing mist's effects can be greatly enhanced, making it virtually impossible to defeat.
Finally, if you can obtain the "Reflector" item, the reflected damage will be doubled, making it even more powerful.
Overall, the MP cost is kept relatively low, so if you're in a situation where a prolonged battle is not a problem, you should be able to single-handedly dominate against multiple enemies.