“Mystery Dungeon”-Like Roguelike “Monster Girls & Mysterious Adventure: Orb of Power & Tower of Return” Remaster [Game*Spark #57]

The “Roguelike/Roguelite” genre features a variety of intertwined elements—such as procedurally generated content and permadeath (where you lose everything upon death)—making it a game you can enjoy no matter how many times you play. In this 57th installment of “GemuSpa Roguelike/Roguelite Club," we’ll be introducing the traditional roguelike *Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure: The Orb of Power and the Tower of Return – Remastered Edition*, developed and published by NEKOTOKAGE GAMES (with the Nintendo Switch 2 version published by Wakuwaku Games).

Use cards to position yourself, dodge enemy attacks, and land your own hits! The semi-real-time deck-building roguelike *Golden Swirl* [Game*Spark Roguelike/Roguelite Club, Episode 56] | Game*Spark - Domestic and International Game Information Site

A special feature introducing the finest roguelikes and roguelites. In this 56th installment, we’ll be introducing the semi-real-time deck-building roguelike *Golden Swirl*.

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/04/173147.htmlRead more »

About *Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure: The Orb of Power and the Tower of Return—Remastered Edition*

This title is a remastered version of “Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure: The Orb of Power and the Tower of Return,” originally released in 2020, featuring completely revamped graphics and systems. To put it simply, it’s a traditional roguelike modeled after the “Mystery Dungeon” series.Elements such as the control scheme optimized for gamepads, dungeons from which there is no turning back, and resource management—where you must choose which items to keep and which to discard using a limited inventory—make it essentially a clone of the “Mystery Dungeon” series.

However, this title is not merely a simple clone. Its most distinctive feature is that all characters—except for the protagonist—are monster girls. When the protagonist, who had been transported to another world, arrived, he found that everyone—from NPCs to enemies—was a monster girl.

Even the NPC slime and the merchant Tanukichi are monster girls. The way the merchant’s outfit clings to her body is just incredible.

…That aside, the protagonist’s goal is to head for the “Tower of Return” to get back to his original world and defeat the Demon King who awaits there, armed with the “Orb of Power.”The game itself involves clearing procedurally generated grid-based maps while defeating enemies and collecting items; if you’ve played the *Mystery Dungeon* series, you should have no trouble playing this title.

One of the defining features of this game’s system is that “you can recruit every monster girl that appears as an ally (a ‘Companion’).” Enemy monster girls have an affinity rating; if that rating reaches 3 or higher and you meet specific conditions (such as enduring several turns of attacks without striking back if the opponent is a slime), that monster girl will become the protagonist’s “Companion.”

Monster girls who become allies will accompany the protagonist, attack enemies just like the protagonist, and level up as they gain experience points.Many monster girls possess unique special abilities; for example, fairies can move at double speed, while werewolves can charge up and perform knockback attacks. Utilizing the power of these monster girls in this way forms the basis of the game’s strategy.

Furthermore, you can increase your bond with an ally monster girl by giving her items from your inventory or items found on the ground.If you raise their affinity to 3, you can send them back to your base when parting ways; registering them there makes them permanent allies. Raising it to 4 allows you to change their behavior patterns, and raising it to 6 lets you toggle whether they use certain skills.In this game, many monster girls have a “level cap,” and monster girls recruited early on often become too weak to keep up in the mid-game and beyond; therefore, whether or not you can send them back to base when parting ways is crucial. Note that you can generally have only two monster girls as allies at a time.

The original *Mystery Dungeon* series, *Torneko’s Great Adventure 3*, also featured the “Popolo Chapter,” where you progressed with monsters as allies; however, while Popolo’s own actions and equipment were significantly restricted, the protagonist in this game—like Torneko—can perform any action and equip any item.In exchange, the number of monster allies is limited to two, but I feel this makes them easier to control and results in better balance. Also, in *Torneko 3*, whether a monster would join you depended on its level, equipment, and luck, but in this game, you can reliably recruit almost all monster girls as allies by meeting certain conditions, so I found it to be much less frustrating.

Defeat the “Alpha Monsters” to obtain rare equipment

Another system that defines this game is the “Alpha Monsters” and the rare equipment they drop. Occasionally, dungeons feature a floor with a “sinister vibe,” and powerful “Alpha Monsters” inhabit those floors.

“Alpha Monsters” possess attack power and durability that are on a completely different level from the surrounding monsters, but if you defeat them using items like wands, they will guaranteed drop weapons or armor with special prefixes.

These items are imbued with special effects corresponding to their prefixes, as well as various bonus effects. Since these effects are distinct from the “marks” that are inherited through the synthesis system, such equipment will likely be your top choice as a base for upgrading. Additionally, some items contain skill marks that can be activated every certain number of turns.

However, as is often the case with randomly dropped gear, some items may be cursed, so be aware that they aren’t necessarily stronger than your current equipment.Just in case, it’s best to carry Weapon/Armor Enhancement Scrolls or Curse Removal Scrolls, or keep a “Healing Staff” (not to be confused with the HP-restoring “Restoration Staff”) in your inventory to remove the curse. It’s always better to have these curse-removal options on hand.(The author suffered one defeat because they couldn’t remove the curse and their equipment was too weak).

Also, please note that if you defeat an Alpha Monster while standing on a waterway, your equipment will fall into the water. Unless you have a means of walking on water or the “Attraction Staff,” it will unfortunately be unrecoverable (the author did this while facing an Alpha Monster for the first time).

While this game doesn’t feature monsters equivalent to “Mazeln” or “Bablin,” you can synthesize items in “residences” that are very rarely placed on floors.You can also synthesize weapons and armor (including cross-type synthesis) using the “Synthesis Pouch.” You can make full use of these systems to apply seals to rare equipment as a base, or you can embed many seals into versatile equipment with plenty of empty seal slots to create your own unique gear.

From the mid-game onward, you’ll encounter Monster Girls with conditions that are quite difficult to meet, such as “requiring a specific item” or “neutralizing a certain number of status ailments they inflict.” While the recruitment conditions for these Monster Girls are challenging, they become powerful allies once recruited.

Depending on the monster, they may challenge you to a “Strength Contest” (a minigame where you must input commands within a set time limit; the difficulty varies based on the difference in strength between the protagonist and the enemy). No, this is just a strength contest. There’s nothing shady about it at all.

Since you can freely organize the monster girls you’ve collected at your base, this game also has a “creature collector” aspect to it. Gotta catch ’em all!

The game also features a “Casual” difficulty setting for those who just want to relax and enjoy the game. In Casual Mode, you can restart after being defeated, all items are automatically identified, and you can bring powerful weapons and allies into dungeons—making for a truly casual experience.Of course, there’s also a “Roguelike Mode” without these safety nets, and you can even opt for a “free-diving” playstyle where you deliberately avoid bringing any equipment or allies into dungeons. The range of playstyles is incredibly broad.

This title features end-game content with adventures spanning up to 1,000 floors. With its affordable price, it’s definitely worth a try for anyone looking for a Japanese-made roguelike.

"Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure: The Orb of Power and the Tower of Return—Remastered Edition" is now available for PC (Steam/DLsite) and Nintendo Switch 2.