RPG of Classical Music -Piano Hikitaro's Memory- (Free RPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

Since I was young, my family home has had many classical music albums, so I've had many opportunities to listen to classical music.
While listening to fast-paced, intense classical music, I remember thinking as a child, "This song could be used as battle music."

And now that I'm an adult, when I saw this game, "RPG of Classical Music -Piano Hikitaro's Memory-," which makes extensive use of classical music, I thought, "I have to play this," and so I did.
This is a short to medium-length RPG with a completion time of approximately 5 hours.

Game Overview

The story begins with the protagonist, Touko Tekimina, visiting the home of her childhood friend, Hikitaro Piano.
Dantaro enjoys playing the piano as a hobby, but he's been troubled by a phenomenon where he can no longer play songs he used to be able to play, because he can no longer recognize them as songs.
The goal of the game is to enter Dantaro's mind and find out why he can no longer play the piano.

Contrary to its fairytale-like story,The protagonist, Touko, is a violent character who tries to solve everything by force.
One of the appealing aspects of this work is Touko's outrageous behavior and actions.
You shouldn't think about the details, like why you can enter other people's minds.

This game mainly consists of preparation in town and dungeon exploration.
In town, you can get hints on how to conquer the next dungeon and shop at stores.
Talking to NPCs can reward you with items, experience points, and other things, making it fun to engage in conversations with them.

Combat is generally one-on-one (with some exceptions).
This is a standard command battle system where the character with the higher speed goes first.

During battles with enemies, classical music plays as background music, and its title and composer are displayed at the top of the screen.
While there are some well-known songs, there are also many that aren't generally well-known, which makes it quite interesting.

One of its distinctive features is the unique attribute system.
It's explained thoroughly at the beginning of the game, and it's not that complicated.
To defeat enemies, it's crucial to use elemental attacks that deal effective damage and gain an advantage in battle.

Therefore, this game features a very large number of items used during combat.
This includes "bullets" used to perform attacks of each element, items that inflict status ailments on enemies, and items that strengthen yourself.
Most items can be purchased in stores, and you'll be using them frequently in battle.

Each enemy has its own unique characteristics, so it's important to purchase items and prepare in advance to deal with a variety of enemies.
While your character will gradually get stronger as its level increases, effectively utilizing items will have a stronger impact on the outcome of the game.

Many of the songs you've listened to will be registered in "Dantaro's Memories," where you can play the music and read the explanation.
This feature is particularly helpful for people who don't usually listen to classical music.

Review (no spoilers)

I initially thought this was a work centered around classical music, but the battles themselves were quite interesting, and I found myself completely engrossed in it.
At first, I was hesitant to use items so freely, but once I got the hang of combat, I was able to earn money as well, so it felt like a game where you manage a resource like money.

I found the sharp comedic dialogue between Touko and the NPCs, and the violent solutions to be more entertaining than the main storyline.
The text is interesting, and you can gain experience points and items by talking to NPCs, so I wanted to explore every nook and cranny.

The encounter rate is rather high, but there are items that allow you to escape or items that prevent enemies from appearing, so the stress in that regard was minimal.
There are many tough enemies, but there's also an auto-save function, so you won't have to go back a long way and start over.
The combat system offered a variety of strategies, from brute force to cunning tactics, making it quite engaging and thought-provoking.

However, there are some hidden passages with few hints, so I almost got stuck several times.
I almost gave up on clearing the game, but my desire to see what would happen next was too strong, so I patiently investigated suspicious areas and somehow managed to move forward.
While there are some slightly difficult parts reminiscent of the Famicom era, overall I think it was a highly engaging game (though my love for classical music might be a factor).

Strategy Notes (Spoiler Warning)

About combat

The basic principle of combat is to have a good selection of bullets of the four elemental types and use them frequently.
Dealing significant damage to enemies reduces the damage you take, which in turn saves you healing items and money.
At the beginning of exploring a dungeon, enemies that require a lot of items to defeat can be defeated even with mainly physical attacks once your level increases.

The "Sorrowful Poison Bullet" proved to be quite useful in battles against bosses and tough enemies.
Regardless of the elemental attribute, the ability to inflict poison on enemies and deal continuous damage is extremely valuable.
The poison will wear off in a few turns, but you can still inflict damage without attacking, so you can do various things in the meantime.
If you use the "Meditation" ability of the "Calm Magatama" to recover HP, you can also save on recovery items.

Poison is also effective when you can't keep up with the damage you inflict on regenerating enemies.
Furthermore, the "Easy Drain Shot," which allows you to attack and heal simultaneously, is also useful, although it deals less damage.

Stuck

Aside from combat, there were two points where I almost gave up because I didn't know how to proceed:
Both could be found with a thorough investigation.

A town with scholars

I wanted to go to the scholar's place to get some herbicide, but the bridge was blocked, and there was no way to get around it, so I was at a loss as to what to do.
However, we discovered that we could proceed by breaking a pot in the northwest of the town, and the situation was resolved without incident.

- After descending the moving stairs

I went down the stairs, but there didn't seem to be a clear path forward, so I ended up re-examining many other areas as well.
Ultimately, we discovered that the wall in the image could be destroyed, allowing us to move forward.

We were able to destroy the area above that as well and proceed further.
I thought it was a lever operation, so I went back and forth several times.

About the music used

This section is where I'll freely share my personal thoughts on songs used in the work that I have a particular attachment to.
Please note that this is not particularly related to the game content.

Arabesque No. 1

When it comes to arabesques, some people might think of Burgmüller, while others might think of Debussy; the two groups are probably divided.
Burgmüller's Arabesque is a clear and easy-to-understand piece in A minor, often played at the beginner level.

The arabesque used in this piece is this one composed by Debussy.
Debussy can be considered a pioneer of modern and contemporary music, and his music is characterized by its ethereal, lighthearted, and ambiguous style that deviates from classical rules, leaving listeners wondering whether it's bright or dark.
The choppy, angular feel created by the cross-rhythm of triplets in the right hand and eighth notes in the left hand after the intro is said to represent intertwined arabesque patterns.
Whenever I listen to this song, I always imagine ripples spreading across a calm lake surface.

Water play

Ravel lived a little later than Debussy.
The most well-known pieces by him are probably "Jeux d'eau" (Water Games) and "Pavane for a Dead Princess."
As the title suggests, this song beautifully and smoothly expresses the image of water splashing and sparkling as it flows, using high notes to capture every detail.
The memorable, Oriental-sounding phrases that are repeated throughout the middle of the song evoke a sense of nostalgia in us Japanese people.

Invention No. 13 from "Two-Part Inventions"

In the world of classical music, Bach lived during the Baroque era, which predates the Classical period.
Rather than the right hand playing the melody and the left hand the accompaniment, the right hand plays the melody and the left hand plays a secondary melody, resulting in a distinctive, flowing melody.

This piece is one of the pieces from Bach's collection of two-part inventions.
This collection of songs is often used by intermediate players as they work towards becoming more advanced, and I used to practice with it myself.
The difficulty with Bach's Inventions lies in the fact that the left hand, which has previously been used mostly for accompaniment, must now play the melody at the same level as the right hand.
Indeed, many advanced-level pieces require both the right and left hands to move equally well, so it's probably necessary to train with this collection of pieces.
This piece, among the Inventions, has a gentle key signature and is in A minor, which I like, so it left a strong impression on me.

Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight," 3rd movement

Many people have probably heard of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
I remember Jill playing the first movement of the song in the original "Resident Evil" game.
However, I think many people don't really know what kind of song it is.
Indeed, the representative first movement consists entirely of quiet chord arpeggios, and may not leave a lasting impression.

However, the third movement takes a complete turn, becoming a fierce and frenzied piece.
I think this song has enough tension to be used as a battle theme in an extreme situation in an RPG.
More recently, it has been partially quoted in the song "Mugen Climax" by "℃-ute," and it's used in a cool way.

Csikos Post

It's the song that everyone has heard at least once, the one that's played at school sports days.
Because it's a fast-paced song, it feels more difficult than its content suggests.
It seems that the composer, Necke, wasn't a one-hit wonder with this song, but it's sad that he's hardly known for anything else.
The scene of the mail coach hurrying along is very well depicted.

As a side note, the same melody as in Csikos Post appears in Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2".
Since Necke's work was composed later, he may have quoted from the highly popular Hungarian Rhapsodies.
Since the melody itself is said to be a quote from a Hungarian Gypsy folk song, there's probably no need to worry too much about whether it's plagiarism or not.

At the Mountain King's Palace

The composer Grieg lived around the same time as Debussy.
It feels like they are exploring new types of music, moving beyond the mature Romantic era.
This piece is one of the suites composed for Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt," and it expresses how the eerie atmosphere gradually accelerates towards the end, becoming uncontrollable.

The unsettling phrase, which is often quoted in various songs, is quite striking.
It's also used extensively in the chorus of "Jigoku no Kisetsu" (Season of Hell), a song by "ALI PROJECT," who often produce anime songs.

Eight Humoresques, No. 7

This is a piece by Dvořák, the composer famous for works such as "From the New World."
It's a beautiful and gentle song that many people have probably heard before.
However, I think few people have heard the passionate and intense middle section, so I would really like you to experience the passion hidden within the elegance.
The original piece is for piano, but the concerto for violin and piano is also wonderful, and I highly recommend that anyone interested listen to it in a video or elsewhere.

From "Transcendental Etudes," No. 5, "Will-o'-the-wisp"

This is a piano piece by Franz Liszt, a composer who produced many pieces requiring a level of technical skill known as virtuosity.
While Liszt is most famous for "La Campanella," his other notable works include the virtuoso etude "Will-o'-the-wisp" and "Mazeppa."
I remember thinking as a child, "Will-o'-the-wisps exist in other countries too?"
The flickering, wavering motion of will-o'-the-wisps is expressed through the intricate melody.
This is a song whose extreme difficulty is evident just by looking at the sheet music.

Gymnopédie No. 1

This is one of the famous pieces by Erik Satie, who was known for many eccentric stories.
Many people have probably heard this song in various places.
The relaxed, melancholic melody can also be used as healing music while taking a nap.
The tempo is slow and it's not too difficult to play, so it's recommended for beginners who just want to appear somewhat skilled.