Catalvra (Free RPG): Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

It seems easy to get the title wrong, but it's not Kartavura or Kartagra, it's "Katarvura".
Like "Jill All," this is an RPG where you travel across the Catalan Peninsula in any order you like, gathering companions and defeating an entity called "Rimed."
There aren't many intense battles or grinding elements; instead, the game emphasizes the feeling of traveling and delves deeply into the individual characters of each companion.

The completion time was approximately 20 hours.

Game Overview

The protagonist is someone who has come to the Catalan Peninsula with a man named Zariot in order to defeat an entity called "Rimed."
The game starts in the town where you begin, with many details, such as the detailed world setting and Zariot's background, remaining a mystery.
Since you start with very little information, you can enter the game with the understanding that the protagonist is the player.

At the start of the game, you can choose whether the protagonist is male or female.
In the main story, the character is completely silent, and their personality is defined by the choices that appear.

The general flow of the game involves preparing for your journey and gathering companions in towns while completing events, then exploring fields that lead to the next town, and repeating this process.
When an event starts in a town or other area, you won't be able to proceed to the next town until you've completed it.
Since you can't return to a town once you've completed an event there, it doesn't really feel like a tedious fetch quest.
In the town, various incidents and mutations occur, much like in "Dragon Quest VII," and the process of resolving them involves defeating and recovering the "stones," which are the source of the mystery.
The drama that unfolds there is captivating and deeply moving.

The combat team consists of five members, and there are apparently 23 allies in total.
Sub-members are on standby at the base, and you can swap members at any time.

Everyone has different timings for joining a group.
Since each member has different skills and stats, it's a good idea to form a team with your favorite members.

Staying at an inn in a new town allows you to talk to your companions.
During this process, the detailed backgrounds and personalities of your companions are explored in great care, fostering a sense of attachment.
Furthermore, after the conversation, you may gain access to a new skill tree or acquire special skills.
Opportunities for conversation are limited, so think carefully before making your choice.

A distinctive feature is that each character has a maximum level of 5, and they do not level up through combat.
The only things you can obtain in battle are items that can be sold for money.
You can increase your level by using items obtained by defeating bosses or completing events.
Therefore, since you can't strengthen your members through simple brute force like leveling up, it's important to plan their growth carefully.

Additionally, you can spend Mystic (similar to skill points) to acquire abilities through the skill tree.
Each character has a different skill tree they can learn, but you can develop them with a certain degree of freedom.

The battles are in the orthodox command-based battle style.
Everyone's actions are decided and then executed in order of speed.
The enemies' strength increases as the story progresses.
As mentioned earlier, the items obtained from combat are items that can be sold for money, so if you can earn money through other means, you can avoid combat altogether.
You could say there's a high degree of freedom in this area.

My thoughts (with some spoilers)

This RPG allowed me to fully enjoy the experience of traveling with my favorite companions.
At key points in the story, political dramas unfolding in Catalula are interspersed, but there are so many technical terms that it was difficult to understand.
In the second half, the main characters are drawn into the center of this larger narrative, playing a role in shaping history.

In short, the world-building is incredible; even countries and historical events that aren't directly related to the story are meticulously crafted.
You can read about such settings in libraries and other places, but the amount of text is quite large.
The game becomes even more interesting if you learn more about the races, countries of origin, history, and relationships between the countries of the characters who become your companions.

The early to mid-game was very enjoyable because I could freely explore various locations.
There are many unique characters among your allies, and you don't need to use specific characters to clear the game, so the high degree of freedom in team composition is one of its attractions.
Playing it repeatedly and having conversations with different characters sounds like fun.
The episodes from various villages were thought-provoking, and it felt like experiencing a series of self-contained dramas.

The battles were challenging enough, but the difficulty level felt about average.
Since status ailments, buffs, and debuffs are effective against most enemies, support characters are important.
However, since all the boss battles tend to be long, the strategies become repetitive, for better or for worse, which can feel a bit monotonous.
Since you can't level up through combat, the game's balance relies heavily on strategy and tactics, such as equipment, party composition, and ability acquisition.
It seems to maintain a balance that prevents it from becoming completely stuck, no matter the situation.
However, the final boss was an extremely tough opponent, and it was the only boss that wiped out my entire party and required me to restart.

Strategy Notes (Contains Spoilers)

General Exploration

You can obtain quite a lot of items on the exploration map.
It's important to thoroughly explore every corner of the map, defeat as many enemies as possible, and earn money.
To achieve this, it's important to have members who can use healing abilities and to be well-prepared with healing items.
In particular, be sure to prepare multiple axes and sickles for harvesting.
However, there are quite a few items lying around, so it seems like you could easily clear the game even if you completely avoid combat.

There are a fair number of characters that can be added to your party.
Once you have a fairly solid group of members, you don't need to force yourself to search for more, but some members have powerful unique skills, so try to find your favorite character.

Party Formation and Enhancement

First, let's quickly form a party of five.
The feel of this game is similar to that of the SaGa series and Zill O'll.
Once you've gathered five characters, it's a good idea to swap them out with characters that are easier to use or that you like.

It's important to assign roles in a balanced way, such as attackers, tanks, supporters, healers, and magic users.
Especially in the early stages of the game, characters who can use the healing ability "Heal" are extremely useful.
Having a "healer" in your party during exploration increases their ability to sustain combat, so it's a good idea to include around two of them.
Also, the strongest single-target magic of each element, which can be learned at level 5, is very effective for exploiting boss weaknesses, so you should definitely try to learn it.

Ways to strengthen your party include improving your equipment, using stones to learn or level up abilities, and staying at inns.
If you explore thoroughly, you won't have any trouble getting your equipment and stocking up on consumables.
When it comes to leveling up, prioritize leveling up the characters you want to develop.
While you can't have a level difference of more than 3 among your members, if you're unsure whose level to raise, start by strengthening the main character.
As the story progresses, everyone's level will be raised to near the protagonist's level, so there's no need to raise everyone's level evenly.
Strengthening the regular members of your party should be enough.
Ultimately, everyone will be automatically leveled up to level 5.

However, opportunities for conversation at inns are quite limited, so it might be better to focus on the characters you've decided to use until the end.
The unique skills you acquire through conversation are all powerful.

Playthrough notes (contains spoilers)

I didn't need to write everything in too much detail as there weren't many points where I got stuck, but I'll record it for reference.
The order in which players visit places will vary, so this may not be very helpful as a reference.

・ Catalio
I recruited Sif and Feron in the first town and set off on my journey.
In the grasslands, we tested out the combat mechanics while adding Allure, the sheep-man (?), to our party.
The bears are tough opponents, but you can get valuable items from them, so I felt it was a good idea to hunt as many as you can before passing through.

Indot
We'll proceed through the events in a different village for the first time.
"The Iron Juvetira that clings to you" doesn't have particularly powerful attacks, but it does use area-of-effect attacks, and in the later stages it gradually regenerates and creates barriers, making a long battle unavoidable.
Once the enemy starts regenerating, try to limit the number of healers to one person and have the remaining members focus on attacking.
I managed to win with a party of four, but I don't think we could have won with just three.

- Surum's Closed Forest
"Dreaming Iron Kura" is weak against electricity, so if you have two characters who can use electricity, you can deal damage consistently.
Because it uses area-of-effect attacks and regenerates HP, this will inevitably turn into a long battle.

Scarecrow cradle
"Wendra of the Staring Iron" is no different from other iron enemies in that it uses area-of-effect attacks and regeneration.
However, since its recovery rate is considerably higher than other iron-type enemies, it's quite difficult to defeat unless you continuously attack it with powerful techniques that exploit its weaknesses.
If you don't prepare plenty of healing items, bandages, etc., there's a high chance you won't be able to defeat it.

・Water Village Wintem
"Rising Iron Free Cheer" primarily uses lightning attacks.
Paralysis and electrocution are troublesome, but the basic strategy for defeating them is the same as for other iron enemies.

Alf, the village of sunshine
"The Narrowed Iron Vettall" is not that scary because it mainly uses single-target attacks.
It's easier to fight if you strengthen your defenses with abilities like "Mystic Barrier," which increases the defensive power of your entire team.

- Ancestor's Cave (Tenaru Plateau)
Defeating the boss at the back will reward you with the "Withered Iron Dagmitte".

Piglione Fortress
At the very back you'll find "The Boiling Iron Kubari".

• Morania, a village at the foot of the mountain
"The Turning Iron Soglo" runs away midway through the first battle.
Corkscrew and other attacks are powerful, but if a tank character draws the attacks and strengthens the defense, it won't be too difficult.
By using its weakness, lightning-based attack magic like Extreme Vortex, I was able to inflict over 300 damage and defeat it in a short number of turns.
The truth about the village that is revealed at the end was quite frightening.

- The Village of Smiles, Shielen
The strange behavior of the villagers when I visited was simply terrifying.
"Poenda of the Freezing Iron" primarily uses physical attacks and is quite fierce, so it's easier if you strengthen your defenses with Weapon Break or Mystic Barrier.
Its weakness is ice.

Lake Atera
"Nilfria of the Bathing Iron" has intense ice-based attacks.
However, it is weak to lightning, so you can inflict massive damage on it with attacks like the Electric Vortex.

・Samaro fishing village
"The Iron Fan that Charges In" is somewhat troublesome because of the HP absorption it absorbs with its splash attack.
Since it's weak to electricity, you can easily defeat it by having a tank character draw its attacks and then overwhelming it with electricity.

・The expanding town of Greene
Unusually, you can obtain the "Disruptive Iron Orobo" without any battle.
The event was quite long, and it was an episode where we could glean detailed information about Tetsu's background from books and other sources.

Tarsier Cultural Street
When I took Allure to the inn in the morning, Gadrinna joined us.
This is a tough, front-line character who can use healing, spears, and large shields.

・Hidden Village Edmir
The story in this area follows a straightforward path.

・Vulina
Limed is strong, but you can defeat him if you continue to increase your attack and defense, and prepare for a long battle with a focus on defense.
Since reducing the opponent's attack power and mystical power is also effective against them, try to fight in a way that mitigates their attacks.
Make sure you have plenty of MP recovery items.

Tarsier Cultural Street
Talk to Ilgan and he'll join your party.
Although his HP is low, he is an excellent user of mysticism.
However, since they cannot acquire abilities, there is no need to force them into your party.

・Hidden Village Edmir
Hanatorie primarily uses physical attacks, so any party that managed to defeat Rimed should be able to defeat him without any problems.
The next enemy you'll face, the "White Iron Nakongoi," should be attacked primarily using its weakness, lightning.

- The bottom of a dream
Many powerful pieces of equipment can be found within the dungeon.
Ideally, we'd like to recover everything.

"The Iron Gilead" will fight you several times, but will run away after the first turn.
Ultimately, we will fight until a winner is determined.
Its fierce normal attacks are powerful, so use barriers on your front line to withstand them.
It's dangerous not to have plenty of means to revive incapacitated characters.

"The Torn Iron Voltaria" is weak against ice, so focus your attacks on ice-based attacks.

- Canopy trace
"The Inherited Iron Zariot" will pull back-row members to the front, so quickly move them back.

The final boss, "Estaria of the Iron," unleashes powerful attacks every turn, and attacks about three times in total.
Unless you put up a barrier every turn and make full use of buffs and debuffs, you'll be constantly on the defensive and won't have time to attack.
For recovery, medical treatments that provide a speed bonus to actions can sometimes be more reassuring.
If you save up to this point, it will be difficult to experiment with changing the members, so it looks like you'll just have to grit your teeth and do your best.

Final members

In my case, this was the team I went with.

Feruon is the longest-serving member.
His unique skill, Braveheart, is powerful, and when combined with HP regeneration equipment, he becomes an attacker capable of unleashing powerful techniques repeatedly.
You can also act as a shield in Vanguard.

Yorta lacked durability, but was useful because he could handle anything from physical attacks and magical attacks to healing and support.
The barrier created by "Mysterious Soap Bubble" was particularly useful during the final boss battle.

Allure is a member I've kept in my party since the early stages, and she's in the sage role, handling both magic attacks and healing.
Wool Coat, which creates barriers for multiple targets, is also very powerful and is used to its fullest extent during boss battles.

- Carvia's main strengths are magic attacks, healing, and debuffs.
The slowing putty lowered the boss's agility, which was helpful for getting the first move and healing.
Dirt, which lowers attack and defense power, can also be surprisingly useful.
Her unique skill, Cocoon, is useful because it strengthens the defenses of the entire party.