Grief Syndrome

Grief Syndrome is a doujin game by Twilight Frontier (known as Tasofro) which was released at Comiket 80 on August 13. It is a side-scrolling beat-em-up featuring the characters of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. 1 to 3 players can play with local (all gamepads/keyboards connected to the same computer) multiplayer.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Online multiplayer where?

The game doesn't support online play. Earlier Tasofro games have had online multiplayer, so there may be some hope of an update if the game is successful.

• Do I need an English translation?

No, many things are already in English and the game is playable with no knowledge of Japanese.

• Error: d3dx9_43.dll not found

Open the directx folder that comes with the installer and run DXSETUP.exe or download the dll and place it into game folder next to griefsyndrome.exe

• It still won't run.

Try setting your system locale to JAP in the Region and Language Settings, then restart.

• How do you save the game?

The game saves your lap and some statistics when you defeat Walpurgis Night. You can't save in the middle of a run or keep levels unlocked between runs.

• How do you use full screen?

Alt+Enter. You can use the configuration program to enable the full screen feature.

Gameplay

Players begin a new game in Gertrud's level. They must fight through each level in sequence, defeating Gertrud, Charlotte, Elly, Elsa Maria, and Walpurgis Night. A bonus Oktavia level is unlocked if Sayaka dies. Magical girls cannot be resurrected when they run out of soul limit, except by restarting the game from the beginning and discarding unsaved progress.

Magical girls have health bars and soul limit counters. Permanent death occurs when the soul limit reaches zero. The health bar is recharged by consuming soul limit after taking damage. When the health bar becomes empty or the girl falls down a deadly pit, 2000 soul limit points are consumed to construct a new body for her. Using special abilities turns part of the health bar blue. No soul limit is lost if it recharges while still blue, but taking any damage during this period will turn the blue area into additional damage.

Defeating enemies causes the girls to level up, increasing their damage output and survivability. The soul limit is fully recharged after defeating a witch.

Defeating Walpurgis Night completes a lap. One of many ending screens is displayed depending on which girls remain alive, and your game is saved. You can start a new game from the next lap. The game's difficulty increases as the lap number increases.

The highest lap known to be unlocked so far is 6401. Lap numbers are unlocked based on the square of the lap beaten plus one, so unlocking 6401 requires beating 80:
lap 1^2+1=2:
lap 2^2+1=5:
lap 5^2+1=26:
lap 26^2+1=677:
lap 51^2+1=2602:
lap 70^2+1=4901:
lap 80^2+1=6401:

Controls

• Left, Right: Move sideways
• Up, Down: Aim or use alternate attacks in combination with the Z and X keys
• X: Strong attack
• Z: Quick/Weak attack
• A: Special Ability
• C: Jump. Hold down while jumping to drop off platforms.
• Q: Menu

Some players use a number pad mapping terminology to name moves. For example, "8Z x2 j.6X" The first number is a position on the number pad: 8=up, 6=right, 2=down, 5=neutral, corresponding to how a joystick would work. The letter after it is the default key for that ability. x followed by a number means repeat it that many times. "j." means to do it while jumping.

Characters

Madoka

Madoka is a ranged attacker who relies on charging up abilities. She can use cheap tactics to rain destruction on enemies without allowing them any opportunity to fight back, and possesses a huge soul limit, but she is vulnerable to being interrupted while charging attacks, has a limited set of abilities, and her main attacks require precise aiming.

Status Base:

• Vitality: 92
• Power: 10
• Soul limit: 28875
• SL lost in revive: 9,6%

Growth Per level

• Vitality: +4
• Power: +1
• Soul limit: +128

Abilities:

• Strong Attack: Fire a piercing arrow horizontally. Holding the key down causes Madoka to charge up for more power.
• Quick Attack: Fire a barrage of arrows. Holding the key down increases the number of arrows fired. Holding up or down while starting the attack causes Madoka to aim upwards or downwards.
• Special: Arrows rain from the sky, damaging all enemies near Madoka.
• Charging: While charging up attacks, Madoka can float in the air. She can do this indefinitely, staying out of an enemy's reach.
• Idle: Madoka looks super cute.

Madoka can store a charge of the quick attack by jumping after charging it, or by fully charging a strong attack. If a quick attack is used next, it will start charging from level 2. Therefore, alternating between strong and quick attacks maximizes damage.

Homura

Homura is a ranged attacker who uses combinations of explosives and gunfire to attack. She's deadly and versatile, but has a very low soul limit and requires tactical play to set up combos.

Status Base:

• Vitality: 88
• Power: 10
• Soul limit: 17460
• SL lost in revive: 16,5%

Growth Per level

• Vitality: +4
• Power: +1
• Soul limit: +102

Abilities:

• Quick Attack: Fire a rather weak handgun. Can be fired 7 times.
• Standing Strong Attack: Machine gun. If used midair, the gun will change to an M4 but do the same damage. Will slow your fall in mid-air.
• Left/Right Strong Attack: Bazooka. May be jump-canceled anytime after the project is fired.
• Down Strong Attack: Jump and throw a grenade. Pushes Homura back a little.
• Up Strong Attack: Mortar. May be jump-canceled any time after the mortar appears, even before it is fired.
• Up Strong Attack(mid-air): Throws a pipe bomb upwards. Moves Homura forward slightly.
• Special: Freeze time for a few seconds.
• Idle: The wind be blowing back and forward a lot.

A decent combo for her is to freeze time throw a grenade then shoot the bazooka and finish off with a standing strong attack. This should generally launch them up and use the bazooka to push them while the bullets are hitting them. ~Afroman

Mami

Mami is a hybrid melee-ranged fighter who is widely regarded as the most difficult character to play. Her muskets have a very short range, her damage is low, and her truly powerful move, Tiro Finale, turns an enormous amount of the health bar blue.

Status Base:

• Vitality: 110
• Power: 10
• Soul limit: 22278
• SL lost in revive: 14,8%

Growth Per level

• Vitality: +5
• Power: +1
• Soul limit: +84

Abilities:

• Quick Attack: Summon and fire muskets in succession with very low range, but AoE damage. Can be pressed 8 times.
• Standing Strong Attack: Multiple Muskets. The longer you hold it the more muskets will appear. This can hold you still in the air.
• Left/Right Strong Attack: Step forward and strike the enemy with muskets, followed by a very strong dual musket shot with a little movement in the direction you are pressing. Hits behind Mami as well.
• Down Strong Attack: A cloth whip that will hold enemies still. You can continue holding the button down to keep them still longer. Will not hold bosses down.
• Up Strong Attack: Mami's twin tails turn into cannons and fire upwards diagonally to either side. Does not hit directly above her, though it has good vertical range.
• Dive Hop: Down and jump on enemy for no damage.
• Special: Tiro Finale. Summons a very large musket and fires a strong laser. Considering the subtraction from the health bar, this move is extremely risky, and is best used to punish bosses when they present an opening.
• Idle: I can almost see them! ALMOST! ALMOST!

Repeatedly jump-canceling her forward-strong attack allows her to advance across the screen while attacking.

Sayaka

Sayaka is a mobile melee fighter who uses charges and aerial attacks. She is an extremely powerful solo character whose diving attack can destroy enemies easily. Her strong attacks can chain into each other, making her extremely mobile while attacking.

Status Base:

• Vitality: 138
• Power: 10
• Soul limit: 19935
• SL lost in revive: 6,2%

Growth Per level

• Vitality: +6
• Power: +1
• Soul limit: +82

Abilities:

• Quick Attack: Swing her sword back and forward. Can be pressed 8 times with the 8th being a step froward and slash.
• Standing Strong Attack: Lunge forward. Chargeable.
• Left/Right Strong Attack: Forward slash attack. Will knock back small enemies.
• Down Strong Attack: Jump backwards and then diagonally attack the way you were facing.
• Up Strong Attack: Jump forward diagonally. Can be done twice. Second time will leave you open to attack.
• Dive Hop: Down and jump on enemy for no damage.
• Special: Forward Charge. Can press Strong Attack to add an attack in which does not cost any extra on your bar.

Kyoko

Kyoko is an offensively oriented melee fighter who has high damage attacks that cover wide areas. She is an extremely powerful solo character who can destroy waves of enemies easily in the early laps, but she can't handle taking very much damage.

Status Base:

• Vitality: 95
• Power: 10
• Soul limit: 23742
• SL lost in revive: 12,5%

Growth Per level

• Vitality: +5
• Power: +1
• Soul limit: +87

Abilities:

• Quick Attack: Swing her polearm. 2 pokes 6 swings. Can be pressed 8 times.
• Standing Strong Attack: Lunge forward. Chargeable.
• Left/Right Strong Attack: Spinning double hit.
• Down Strong Attack: Jump and slash down. While in midair her attack changes to a charge downward.
• Up Strong Attack: Use her Polearm like a pole vault bending it and causing it to spring upward. Even in the air...
• Dive Hop: Down and jump on enemy for no damage.
• Special: Create a barrier to block the enemies.
• Idle: No Pocky?

Configuration

The program with a Kyubey icon allows you to configure the game. Make sure the game is not running when you use it.

One popular modification is changing the jump key to space. The configuration program also allows you to mute the sound or enable full screen.

If the controls menu does not open, and you're not in Windows 7, try activating NT compatibility mode in properties. There has been a report of a bug that only allows one key to be changed at a time.

Trophies

Gold Trophy: 500 hits

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 7, Vista, or XP
• CPU: 2GHz or higher
• RAM: 1GB
• Hard drive space: 1GB
• Graphics: DirectX9.0c compatible with 256MB VRAM
• Display: 800x600 resolution
• Input Device: Game pad recommended, keyboard supported

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Gallery

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External Links

• Twilight Frontier website
• Grief Syndrome website
• About Tasofro
• Trailer Video