This is an introduction and review article for the indie game "STRANGER SAGA -The Ambition of Batch the Wanderer and Izquierdo-" made with SRPG Studio.
This game focuses particularly on unit development and tactical map-based combat, even within the SRPG elements.
Its most distinctive feature is its clean, minimalist design, with other elements stripped away as much as possible.
The completion time was approximately 10 hours.
(47 stages, normal difficulty)
Game Overview
The story centers around Batch, a wanderer, and depicts his confrontation with Izquierdo, who has rebelled against the kingdom.
The basic storyline is simple and conventional, and the opening events for each stage are kept concise.
During the stage, there are no villages to visit and no enemy reinforcements will appear.
Since all the enemies you see at the start are all there are, you can focus purely on eliminating them.
Each stage progresses at a good pace.
There is no character loss, and even if your entire party is wiped out, you can carry over your money and experience points and replay the same stage, just like in Super Robot Wars, so you are practically never stuck.
You can immerse yourself solely in defeating the enemy in front of you and clearing the stage.
A distinctive feature of the game is the high degree of freedom in unit development.
Units that start as Civilians can change to various professions once they reach level 5.
Each unit has its own unique growth rate, so broadly speaking, there is a suitable class for each unit.
However, the decision of whether to focus on developing strengths or compensating for weaknesses is left to the player's discretion.
You need to consider the overall composition of your army while also being mindful of each individual's role in their development.
There are six classes to choose from in the Civilian category.
The characteristics of each are explained below.
It's a good idea to use high-strength units as soldiers or barbarians, or even high-strength scouts, which is another interesting option.
Additionally, it's possible to assign units with high defensive capabilities to the Mage class instead of the Physical class, creating units that eliminate enemy armor with magical attacks on the front lines.
One of the game's greatest strengths is the ability to create various types of units by combining their unique growth rates with different classes.
By the way, your level resets to 1 when you change classes.
Each class has 1 to 3 advanced classes, and you can change classes when you reach level 15.
(※Exceptions apply)
A unit's weapons are class-dependent and are automatically provided upon class change.
Weapons cannot be destroyed or changed.
However, there are accessories and weapons that can increase your stats, and you can enhance your character by possessing at least one of each.
You can purchase accessories and weapons to enhance your character at the shop between stages.
You'll get a small amount of money each time you defeat an enemy, so save it up and buy something.
Your team members may change significantly as the game progresses.
In that case, all your belongings will be sent to storage, so you'll need to sort them again.
Review (no spoilers)
My initial impression was that I had cleared the game before I even realized it.
The game took me about 10 hours to complete, but most of that time was spent "playing with intense concentration."
Because the scenario part of this game is kept to a minimum, I felt that it was a more intense 10 hours than a typical game.
My impression of the Normal difficulty level was that it was slightly easy to average.
This is likely largely due to the fact that unit development went relatively smoothly.
Even if you get a game over, your money and experience points remain, allowing you to restart the stage. This might have allowed players to make bold class changes without fear of failure.
What I enjoyed most about this game was the fundamental appeal of SRPGs: annihilating enemies with units you've trained.
Any elements that could potentially cause stress have been thoroughly eliminated, and I feel that they struck a perfect balance between making the gameplay too easy and not too easy.
There are basically no enemy reinforcements, so the situation hardly changes from the start.
(There is a pattern where defeated enemies revive.)
There are no events like visiting villages or persuading enemies; you can simply focus on combat.
The map size and enemy placement are well-designed, and you won't have to march long distances to advance.
The game features a very fast-paced cycle of eliminating enemies one after another and moving on to the next stage.
Considering all this, I think this game specializes in unit development and combat, which are the core elements of what makes SRPGs fun.
Those who look for storytelling and character development as the main appeal of SRPGs might find this game lacking.
This job might not be suitable for people who are aware of that kind of thing.
Conversely, players who find pleasure in efficiently eliminating enemies may find this game quite suitable.
You can freely train your civilians and turn them all into armor knights or long-range shooters.
If you're looking to try out unconventional team compositions that aren't easily found in other games, then this game might be perfect for you.
Post-completion impressions and other thoughts
Post-completion reflection
The clear turn rank was rated as SSS, but players who cleared it in under 300 turns were seen on social media. (Their rank was displayed as 'EX∞')
If you choose a strategy that involves a battle of attrition, the game will take a considerable number of turns, so it's a good idea to consider this as one of the elements that encourages players to delve deeper into the game.
Our team's MVP is Haino-kun, who has supported us from the very beginning.
After changing classes from Knight to Paladin, he became a reliable attacker who charges in with high attack power.
Anastia and Lydia were the only two who were unable to change to an advanced class.
Clearing the game on Normal difficulty unlocks two more difficulty levels.
There's an Expert mode where the game ends if even one character is defeated, and a Hardcore mode where the enemies are significantly stronger.
If you want to increase the difficulty while maintaining the normal gameplay feel, you should play in hardcore mode.
How to deal with each type of enemy unit (strategy notes)
There are many different strategies for this game, but I think the key is how to defend against enemy units depending on their type.
I'll just write down some basic strategies I kept in mind when I was playing the game.
Looking at it this way, I think you can clearly see the importance of armored knights in your army.
I suspect the reason only Armor Knights can class change early at level 7 is because there are many situations where a tank role is unavoidable from a tactical standpoint.
I think simply clearing the game without using any Armor Knights would make for a respectable challenge run.
While the above approaches are generally common, if you have an ace with outstanding combat power, you can overwhelm the enemy single-handedly.
It would also be interesting to raise unconventional units that are different from others (for example, armored units with high magic defense or mages with high defensive stats) to increase your adaptability.
Unit usage experience
In this game, the way you develop your units and the way you use them will vary greatly depending on the player.
I hope this serves as a helpful record for one player.
·batch
I think everyone relied on him as a key player.
With high attack power, decent defense, and acceptable magic defense, I was able to fight any opponent on equal footing or even better.
In the later stages, engaging in combat with a group of assassins who are slower than you becomes dangerous, but your high HP provides a sense of stability.
If the enemy primarily uses physical attacks, the Heal Ring is the best choice because it allows you to single-handedly take on the entire enemy force.
・Haino
I raised it to be a Knight-type.
He was a highly mobile attacker and played a significant role for many years.
Ultimately, it grew to have attack power that surpassed even Batch's, becoming a reliable asset when it mattered most.
However, since its magic defense isn't as high as Batch's, caution was needed when fighting mages.
It was convenient that I could inflict a decent amount of damage even on enemy armor with high defense.
・Ina
CC for scouting.
Although she has high skill and speed, her attack power is somewhat lacking, so she was often matched up against mages, archers, or other scout-type characters.
By giving it a power ring, it became able to handle almost anything except armor-type weapons, but due to its low defensive capabilities, it was always positioned a little behind the front lines.
If you ask me if I was useful, I'd say there were many stages where I was practically invisible.
I was worried because there was a comment that sounded like a death flag right before the final map, but I wish you and Batch happiness.
Seria
I changed it to a merge system.
Despite its frail appearance, this monster unit boasts incredibly strong defense and high performance in all areas except attack.
I chose the Rune Lancer, which can attack targets at range 1, to make it effective on the front lines, but I think any of them can be effective.
This was a one-man army super unit that could skewer enemy armor like tofu.
・Alibel
They were an essential unit, indispensable as a valuable healer.
The healer in this game has a healing range of 3, and the fact that they can act after healing is a subtly nice feature.
After class change, she could use her high magic power to perform magical attacks, making her a highly capable unit that could heal allies and attack enemies with magic in the same turn.
Felix
As a highly powerful archer, he played an active role from beginning to end.
Because of its high defense, it was unlikely to be defeated in battles against other archers, and it was a unit with few weaknesses against most enemy types, including mages.
Its only weakness is its low magic defense, but since it can attack from outside the range of enemy mages, it's not a problem.
Reyes
The armor slot is a challenging one to deal with if it's not properly developed within the scenario.
Because it maintained a speed level higher than the enemy's armor, it often allowed us to pursue them, making it a reliable tank.
Thankfully, I also have decent magic defense, so it was helpful that I could withstand attacks even when there were enemy mages mixed in.
Anastia
This unit allowed allies to act again indefinitely.
And since there were no problems with that, I didn't bother to raise her or make her CC'd.
Would using CC dramatically change the user experience?
Roberto
I tried making him a Paladin, but his growth paled in comparison to Heino's, so he ended up being relegated to a reserve role towards the end of the game.
In that case, perhaps making him a Bow Knight would have been a better option, but I don't think he would have ultimately secured a deployment slot.
・ Elissa
This flying unit has parameters that make it a woman who absolutely kills enemy mages.
Towards the end of the game, there were fewer enemy units that were concentrated solely on Merge, so I deployed them less and less.
Because of its low defense, it often suffers serious injuries against physical attackers, making it difficult to use in combat.
Sheryl
I made the bow shooter CC'd.
I feel that a class that has high attack power and low HP, making it unlikely to take damage, was a perfect fit for this role.
The fact that it could maintain a certain level of speed meant that it could pursue and attack many enemies, which was extremely powerful.
One of the appealing aspects of having Lydia provide support is that it allows you to pursue almost any enemy.
Because she possessed attack power equivalent to Heino, who had the greatest firepower in her army, Anastia became Sheryl's constant supporter and attendant towards the end of the battle.
Sylvie
This is the second valuable recovery slot.
While her healing ability isn't as high as Aribel's, her mobility and range are somewhat appealing.
However, its firepower is only enough to finish off enemies that weren't killed off earlier, so it doesn't dramatically increase the fighting force.
However, there are quite a few situations where having one can be useful.
The elf who speaks broken Japanese is cute.
Grem
This is the second armor slot for our army.
Although its parameters are inferior to Reyes', it was able to adequately fulfill its role as a tank.
Because it also had some magic defense, it was a reliable character in many situations.
・Marcella
Since the parameters were mediocre, I decided to go for a bow shooter build.
Although it was a choice made by process of elimination, I think it was a role that suited him perfectly.
While she lacks the firepower and speed of Sheryl, her long range is a powerful asset, and she performed quite well.
Using Lydia to boost speed allows you to pursue multiple enemies, making it useful for eliminating enemy mages and archers.
Cecil
It was very difficult to raise at first, but eventually it grew into a mage killer with high attack power and magic defense.
I could have chosen a Paladin with high magic defense, but I was worried about their defensive capabilities, so I went with a Bow Knight with a longer range.
He excelled as a mobile and reliable archer.
Lugentz
Since we have Felix, who has high attack power, and Cecil, who has high mobility, I also changed him to a Bow Shooter, just like Marcella.
His performance strongly demonstrated that long range is indeed a virtue.
Leticia
I had a sniper use CC, but I'm wondering if a bow shooter would have been better.
I regret not becoming a bow shooter, a class known for its high speed and almost guaranteed solo pursuit capabilities.
I deployed them less and less towards the end of the game, but I would have deployed them if they were Bow Shooters.
David
Since I didn't have any other units that I had class-changed to Mage Knight, I decided to try making this one a Mage Knight.
The ability to almost always follow up with a magic attack is good, but unfortunately, my magic power wasn't high enough, resulting in insufficient firepower.
In the second half, Alibel took the Magic Ring from me, and I was demoted to the second team.
Claudio
I changed Ina's class to an Assassin, so I decided to change her to a Fencer, just because that was the general idea.
I think the parameters aren't bad, but I feel like scouting is a bit of a disadvantage in this game.
With accessories and weapons, you can probably become reasonably strong.
Taylor
I thought he had a barbarian personality, so I gave him a CC (Changing Class) treatment.
It was quite strong in the early to mid-game, but there weren't as many opportunities to utilize its advantage of having a range of 1-2 as I had hoped.
If you're going to attack from outside their range, you might as well use archers or mages, and even if you're looking for a tank that can counterattack, I felt their toughness was a bit lacking.
Vera
While her physical weakness rivals that of Sheryl, her magical power is top-notch, making her a formidable opponent killer.
However, due to a moment of carelessness, I was sometimes taken down by enemy archers, and I have the impression that I was defeated quite a lot.
If it had a little more speed, I think it could have become an even more powerful magic attacker.
Rosanna
He gives the impression of being a capable attacker who can fight effectively on the front lines.
In the early stages, I assigned them the task of getting over the wall and defeating the enemies in the back first.
However, in the latter half of the game, as bow shooters began to emerge in our army, the advantages of deliberately venturing deep into enemy territory diminished, and by the end of the game, we no longer had a full army of flying units.
In the final map, I regretted not having flying units to eliminate the enemy witches on both sides.
Lydia
While it's not much of a combat asset, its ability to boost the speed of units on all sides through support was quite useful.
The synergy of being able to continuously support from the center of the bow shooter and enable pursuit was significant.
By the way, buying the Silver Cutlass thinking it could be equipped by swordsman-type characters was a mistake.
Blood
Like Taylor, there weren't many scenes where he could really shine, so he was rarely deployed.
Having low skill levels can be a significant disadvantage in this game.
He's kind of like Zapan from Tactics Ogre, and I like him as a character.
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