A quick, lightweight SRPG with interesting mechanics, humorous writing, and a pleasant and synergetic aesthetic.
It's clear that the developer has a great love for the tactical rpg genre. The design of Juno 06 attempts to address many aspects and quirks that have become mainstays in games such as Fire Emblem. These include things such as:
1. Maps are often turn limited or have enemies that scale in power every phase to discourages hyper-safe, turtling strategies.
2. Besides a select number of equipment, most chance operations are eliminated with enemies guaranteed to attack the closest ally, allowing enemy phase to be completely planned for. This focuses the game more on the planning, puzzle-like nature of the genre.
3. Permadeath does not exist, so players don't have to reset entire maps or save scum stages, though losing units still punishes the player in various other difficult ways.
4. Levels for characters restart at every stage, which eliminates most unit grinding.
All in all, the gameplay offers many refreshing takes on the SRPG genre, though there are some issues. Firstly, because the game has a non-linear stage order, difficulty scaling is a little odd, and in my experience drops off towards the late game, even on harder difficulties, as you accrue more powerful equipment. During my playthrough, I felt like the game was quite challenging (and rewarding) at the start when you only had a few units, but once you expanded your roster, later game fights that felt like they should've been very climactic, tense battles were cleared with relative ease, which was a tad disappointing sometimes. Also, going a little against my 4th point, it's possible to clear 90% of the maps with a single particular unit, though this does offer some other different challenges which might not make this the most appealing option for many players. Finally, I think the game could've benefited from a greater diversity in map design and win conditions. Most stages are relatively open areas with a couple of walls or islands, and I think stages with more unique environment or shape could've put more focus on positioning and made gameplay more interesting. Win conditions are either route the enemy, defeat the boss, or route the enemy under a certain number of turns, and it could've been cool to have different conditions such as defend, escape, or escort to once again encourage different gameplay styles or strategy.
The writing for the game is enjoyable. While neither the plot nor the characters experience any crazy development or change over the story, the game itself doesn't take itself very seriously, so most of the joy is from seeing the characters interact. Towards the later parts of the story, I felt like a couple of points were resolved or wrapped up a little quickly, some plot points were rushed, and things brushed aside or dropped without adequate or satisfying explanation. To me, the story aspects sort of serve as a motivator and bonus for playing the maps, and you'll like characters for their designs and personalities, but don't expected to be super emotionally compelled by any personal struggles or character arcs. One concrete thing that would've been nice I think would have been more epilogues for other minor characters after the main story ended.
I'd say the art and music direction are the strongest parts of the game. The developer has a very unique style and the environments and characters all have a lot of charm, while the music provides a very specific MIDI Pokémon Diamond and Pearl DS era soundfont aesthetic, which I think fits the game well. I do think maybe some CGs, renders, or animations of important scenes could have made the game even more visually attractive, but overall the presentation is very enjoyable. The music is pretty groovy for the stages, and I'd say that there could've been more tracks that tie in with story points, but again the story didn't fluctuate too much emotionally to require any more dedicated tracks.
Finally, some things regarding quality of life probably could be improved. The controls on the map are mostly mouse based, and while once you get used to them it streamlines gameplay and allows you to play very quickly, at the start it can be easy to accidentally misclick or do actions don't intend. A way to restart stages besides just loading an old save would also be nice, but because load times are so quick with the game it's hardly a problem. The game at times has some minor bugs or graphical glitches, but the it's constantly being patched by the dev and most of these are hardly noticeable.
Overall, I'd say it's a game for fans of SRPGs who also want the bonus of some cute characters and catchy music. The story doesn't pack too much of a punch, but the levity and actual concrete writing bring enough humor to offset that so you still enjoy reading the dialogue. There are issues, but as a game by a small indie developer, it clear that a lot of love was put into making this. Juno 06 through its art, music, and gameplay capture a very specific aesthetic very well; I'd say that there was a very clear artistic vision of the specific vibes the game was supposed to give off, and it certainly succeeds in doing this.
My recommendation is: if you like SRPGS, or you just like the aesthetic, pick up the game if it's on sale.
