The Unsuitable Hero Legend (Free-to-Play, Reconciliation-Type RPG) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

This is an introduction and review article of "The Unsuitable Hero Legend," an entry for the 16th WOLF RPG Editor Contest by Star Ice*.
As the title suggests, this is a reconciliation-themed RPG, featuring a combat system that focuses on reconciliation rather than simply defeating enemies, and a heartwarming storyline.

My completion time on "Normal" difficulty was approximately 3 hours.

Game Overview

The story is set in a world (Japan) where a conflict between humans and monsters continues, orchestrated by a demon lord.
Hiroto, the protagonist, attends a training institution to become a "warrior" who will defeat the Demon King, and his graduation exam to become a warrior is fast approaching.
Hiroto's grades make it seem unlikely he'll even become a warrior, let alone the greatest warrior, the "Hero." However, to fulfill a promise he made to his brother, he sets out on a journey with his childhood friend Asuka, aiming to achieve peace through a new fighting style.

You can choose the difficulty level of the battles at the start of the game.
I chose the "normal" difficulty level, and it was just right—not particularly difficult.
If you're looking for a challenging dish, you might want to choose the "difficult" option.

The dungeon progresses in a non-field RPG format.
As you progress, you'll discover items, and events and battles involving your companions will occur.
You can save your game at any time, and you can return to town at any time.

In this game, the victory condition is not to reduce the opponent's HP to zero, but to reduce their FI to zero.
Be careful, because if you reduce the opponent's HP to 0 before reducing their FI to 0, you will lose.
The turn order is fixed, progressing as follows: Ally 1 → Ally 2 → Ally 3… followed by Enemy 1 → Enemy 2 → Enemy 3…
Since each character's actions are executed immediately, it's important to understand the turn order and plan accordingly.

When an ally's HP reaches 0, they become incapacitated, and their SP, which is used to use skills, recovers by 5 each turn.
The enemy's state can be "normal," "vigilant," or "aggressive," and the effectiveness of your techniques will vary depending on their state.
Using effective techniques will give you an advantage in battle.

Reducing the enemy's FI to 0 will result in a peace agreement, and they will stop attacking.
On the contrary, it will restore 5 HP to all of your party members each turn, giving you an advantage in battle.
It is important to identify enemies who are likely to be reconciled with and quickly neutralize them.

Even if your entire party is wiped out, you can immediately retry on the spot or purchase items to prepare again.
The game is designed to be user-friendly and less prone to getting stuck, so you can rest assured even if you haven't saved for a long time.

Since your character is fully restored at the end of each battle, inns in towns are facilities where you can buy experience points with money.
What's unique about this game is that you stay by the hour, and you gain experience points for your stay.

My thoughts (almost no spoilers)

There are two endings, and I saw both to complete the game.
The branching point is at the very end of the story, so it's easy to check if you save your game.

While it would technically be classified as a non-field RPG, the fact that you reconcile with enemies rather than defeating them was a refreshing change.
Not only the story, but also the battle system was geared towards reconciliation, creating a sense of unity between the narrative and the gameplay.

Although the setting resembles a medieval fantasy world, it is set in the future of Japan, so criticism that "it's strange for modern language to appear" is inappropriate.

Overall, there are many good-natured people (monsters), so I was able to play with a gentle heart.
However, having played previous works by the same author, I was constantly worried about whether it was okay for the story to progress so calmly.

While it may seem calm at first glance, rest assured that there are also plenty of stimulating texts.

My two favorite background music tracks in the game are the regular battle B theme "Episteme" and the ending theme "Aqua's Journey."
Since each boss battle is assigned its own unique music, I feel that this is a very elaborate and high-quality production.

This game emphasizes story as well as combat, so I won't go into too much detail here.
There are plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and you get to experience the bitter feeling of knowing that making one choice means losing something else.
However, the feeling after playing is not one of lingering dissatisfaction, but rather one that leaves you with a warm and gentle feeling.
If you're interested, please give it a try.