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
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Threads discussing Grief Syndrome
Gallery
- Grief Syndrome 02.jpg
