Marie and the Sage's Forest (Free SRPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played and completed "Marie and the Sage's Forest," a short SRPG featuring a mercenary system.
There are only four stages, and the completion time is short at two and a half hours, but the unique atmosphere and graphics made it very enjoyable.

Game Overview

The story follows Marie, an apprentice magician, as she visits a wise man living in the forest in order to discover what she is lacking.
Since the story takes place in a forest, the stage is entirely made up of forests.
However, the fantastical atmosphere of the forest was captured very well, and the feeling of being deep in the woods was wonderful.

In this game, you can hire mercenaries at the start of each stage.
There are three ranks: elite, regular, and smug, and the hiring price is the same for all of them.
You can choose to buy items with money or hire mercenaries, depending on your play style.

Elite units are the strongest, but in the regular rank you can recruit three units at once, and in the regular rank you can recruit five.
Once you hire a unit, they're treated the same as any other teammate and will grow stronger.
However, if you are defeated by the enemy, you will lose your character.
Losing elite characters is tough, but if they're of average or low rank, it's not a bad idea to use them as disposable units.

Many of the mercenary characters and the units placed on the map have unique and distinctive names, some of which are quite amusing.
Mercenary units don't usually get involved in the main storyline, but that's precisely why you grow attached to them if they're characters with faces.

The game's difficulty can be selected from normal and easy.
The easier difficulty level seems to offer more experience points and features weaker enemy abilities.
Unless you're someone who dislikes SRPGs, I think the average difficulty level should be fine.

There are no stages with turn limits, and there are units that can heal indefinitely.
Don't worry, anyone can clear it if they take their time and carefully work through it.

thoughts

Although there are only four stages, I thoroughly enjoyed this game.
While the style is generally lighthearted, chapters 3 and 4 are surprisingly challenging, and you might get defeated if you're not careful.
Even though it's a short game, it's packed with various elements that make you want to play more.

I feel like there aren't many games that use a mercenary system like this one (except maybe High Absurd).
However, since you can decide who to hire at your own discretion, it's a good system because it allows you to easily reflect your play style.
In my case, I don't like controlling too many units, so I mostly hired elite troops, and even when I hired regular troops, I never deployed them all.
However, some parts of the final map were quite difficult without using sacrificial characters, so it wasn't easy.
My favorite character is Laevatein, or Laeva-chan.

Since it's a short game, I hadn't played it until now, but I wish I had played it sooner.

Strategy Notes

I don't think you'll get stuck in many places, but I'll write down some strategy notes and my impressions of using the units.

Strategy Notes
Chapter 3: Tantalus

Defeating the fleeing Cait Sith will reward you with the weapon "Nekotamaru," which allows you to attack twice.
When equipped by Laevatein or Chryseis, it provides high destructive power, making it very useful in Chapter 4.

• Useful mercenaries

: Laevateinn
As a swordsman character, this unit excels in both strength and speed.
Furthermore, she's a character that's incredibly convenient to support and also cute—the ultimate character!
It was helpful from start to finish.

: Chairman of the Stream Friends Association
As a valuable healer, she will be useful from beginning to end.
They advise you not to descend into a stream if you get lost in the mountains.
If you get lost, aim for the summit.
As you go down, you'll get stuck in a ravine and be unable to move.

: Mjolnir
This is a tough unit with excellent HP and strength.
Its attacks are powerful, and it even has the ability to regenerate itself.
We can push forward aggressively from the front.

Angel-chan
Since there are many units with healing abilities, this one might be overshadowed.
However, long-range healing is quite useful, so it's worth hiring them.

: Muscle Chairman
Like Mjolnir, it has high HP and is tough.
Equipping a whip increases its range to 1-2, making it more useful.

: Mystilteinn
This is a powerful unit that can charge in to a certain extent even on its own.
Since the bloodsucking effect doesn't always activate, you need to be careful not to rush in too much.

: Elven Knights
This is probably the most useful team in the general rankings.
Everyone can use long swords and short bows, and some members also possess healing abilities.
If you send them out on a mission, you won't have any problems.

: Tonperanyor
This unit is only available in Chapter 4, but it's a helpful character with a strong presence.
Since you can equip any weapon, it's convenient to have a javelin equipped.