NSStrategy (Free SRPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

I played a slightly different kind of free SRPG called "NSStrategy" (pronounced "N-S Strategy"?).
Unlike SRPGs where you recruit unique characters to follow the story, this game has a strong simulation game feel.
This game offered a different gameplay experience compared to story-driven titles, so I'd like to share my thoughts and impressions.

Game Overview

The protagonist is dispatched to a certain region as a commander.
The assigned task was to "send potential soldier candidates to headquarters."

You can improve the units you scout locally by having them grow through "quests" and then sending them back to headquarters to increase their evaluation.
If your rating is high, you can earn money, bonus points, and other rewards.
However, if you send too many powerful units to headquarters, you'll end up with insufficient forces to complete quests.
The sense of balance and resourcefulness in that regard is what makes this work so interesting.
There are various endings depending on the evaluation points from headquarters and other factors.

As an aside, this reminds me of a simulation game called "Armored Trooper Armodyne" for the Sony PS2.
In that work, the members graduate from the unit once they reach the highest level, so it was a work that offered the enjoyment of seeing generations come together.
It's a film that generally receives mixed reviews, but I quite liked it.

Commands and Information

In this game, taking any action on the base screen will advance the "phase."
The phase limit is 100, so you need to be careful not to take any unnecessary actions.
However, since you probably won't know how things work on your first playthrough, I think it's perfectly fine to play somewhat freely.

Commands can perform a variety of actions.
You can select this option to recruit units, and you can also select this option to send the units you've trained back to headquarters.
Additionally, when a new region is unlocked, you can discover new quests by "gathering information" about that region.

Partner Selection

At the start of the game, you choose a character to be your partner.
While their role is to provide navigation like a secretary, they're quite important because they're involved in the advantageous effects you gain while completing quests.
Following the instructions should prevent any mistakes, but you can also choose based on your preference.
All the characters are so cute, I had a really hard time deciding.

quest

Select the map you want to explore.
Generally, quests disappear after you've completed them, but some quests can be selected multiple times.
Quests display their difficulty level and the amount of gold you can earn, so it's a good idea to start with the easier ones.
Ideally, you'd want to deploy the maximum number of units available.

facility

Upgrading your facilities offers various benefits.
For example, raising the level of the "Technical Department" will raise the level of the shop, which will increase the overall strength of your team.

Additionally, the "Tax Department" can generate income as the phases progress, and the "Barracks" can be configured to restore units' HP as the phases progress.
You might be thinking, "HP recovery?"In this game, damage taken during a quest does not automatically recover to full health after clearing the map.
During quests, you can have your units wait at a fort or load them onto a unit called a "carrier" to restore their HP.
You might think, "Then why not just let everyone slowly heal during the quest before clearing it?" However, the number of phases that pass increases depending on the number of turns the quest takes, so there isn't much time to slowly heal everyone.

In addition, facilities such as the "Headquarters" and "Intelligence Department," which lead to the appearance of new quests, are all important.
No matter how much money you have, it's never enough, so it's important to think carefully about how you spend it.

thoughts

This game had a different feel from typical SRPGs, which I found refreshing.
If anything, it felt more like a strategy simulation game such as "Gihren's Ambition."
I felt that way all the more because the "Carrier" class was treated like a battleship in games like Super Robot Wars.

By completing quests quickly while minimizing casualties among your allies, you can slow down the progression of the phases.
If the phase doesn't progress, you can take various actions, which will lead to a better evaluation.
Therefore, even on maps that seemed easy to clear if you took your time, there was a sense of tension because you had to come up with clever ways to clear them quickly.

There is no dialogue between the generic units, but the units are not randomly generated.
Therefore, when I encountered a character with the same name and class again in a different playthrough, I felt a sense of nostalgia.
I like how, precisely because there are no lines of dialogue, the characters' personalities emerge through the weapons they wield and how they are used, allowing them to become uniquely your own.
For those who prioritize story and characters, the units are treated almost like pawns, which might leave them feeling unsatisfied.
However, the gameplay itself is solid, so I feel like there's plenty to do and replay in it.
I think the more you play through the game, the better you'll understand its mechanics, so it might not be suitable for people who want to experience everything in a single playthrough.

Once you've raised a character and changed their class, you start to feel attached to them, which makes it difficult to send them back to headquarters, so that was a bit of a dilemma.
As the game progresses, the characters recruited will also be higher level and become advanced classes, so perhaps it would have been fine to just send them to headquarters without worrying about it.

Strategy Notes

This isn't really a strategy guide, but I'll write down my thoughts while clearing the game.

For magic-users, it's useful to have both spells that can be used before moving and spells that can be used after moving.
Generally, having a Wind unit is sufficient.
Although Thunder can only be used before moving, its range of 5 and high power make it quite effective.

Additionally, the dual-purpose weapons that become available for purchase as the shop level increases were very useful.
Since the enemy's counterattacks are painful in this game, I think the standard strategy is to use indirect attacks first, and then finish them off with a direct attack.