Characters

Who Matters in Gadola

Gadola is a city of layered secrets, and every face you meet carries weight. Hills arrives as an outsider with limited time each day; Micoco returns from a prior adventure with knowledge the city would rather bury. Between them sits a cast of companions who unlock combat roles, story branches, and protection events that keep bad endings at bay. Understanding who each person is — and when they become available — is as important as mastering turn-based combat or tracking key items.

Character pages on this wiki are organized by role: protagonist profiles, party members, narrative-critical NPCs, and mechanical ability references. If you are following a walkthrough, cross-reference companion recruitment with How to Get and daily scheduling with Action Points so you never miss a one-time event.

Core Cast at a Glance

• Hills — Protagonist, time manager, and your primary lens on Gadola's conspiracy. Stat growth and relationship flags on Hills determine which endings remain open.
• Micoco — Returning adventurer and narrative anchor to the series' earlier title. Micoco's scenes often gate map access, clue discovery, and late-game combat support.
• All Companions — Recruitable party members with distinct combat lanes, passive bonuses, and personal quest chains tied to districts across Gadola.
• NPC Guide — Merchants, nobles, informants, and threats who never join the party but influence exposure, economy, and story outcomes.
• Companion Abilities — Active skills, passives, and synergy rules that define how your roster performs in turn-based tactics fights.

Most players recruit three to five companions across a standard playthrough, but 100% completion and certain True Ending requirements expect broader relationship investment. Plan early; several companions become unavailable if you advance the main plot past district-specific deadlines.

Relationships, Flags, and Time Pressure

Unlike a linear RPG, HILLS measures progress in days. Each morning you receive a pool of action points to spend on exploration, work, training, or character scenes. Relationship flags increment when you choose the correct dialogue options, attend scheduled events, or bring the right items to a meeting. Missing a window does not always soft-lock the game — but it frequently removes optional companions, weakens combat options, or raises exposure risk documented in How to Protect.

Some NPCs react to Hills' public reputation. High exposure in the Slums may close noble-quarter invitations; conversely, favor with the Market District guild can open black-market gear that makes boss strategies easier. Treat every character interaction as a resource decision: the same action point spent on Micoco might not be available for a companion recruitment scene the same evening.

Combat Roles and Story Roles

Companions are not interchangeable. Each maps to a tactical role — frontline bruiser, ranged pressure, support healer, debuff specialist, or AP-efficient finisher — detailed on the Companion Abilities page. Story roles are equally distinct: some companions unlock hidden map nodes, others provide testimony during crisis events, and a few grant passive income or shop discounts that compound over the mid-game.

When building a party for a known boss, read both the ability page and the relevant Action Point Builds entry. A companion who shines in chapter three may fall off in the finale unless you invest training actions or equip specific gear. Hills remains in every fight, so protagonist build direction should complement — not duplicate — your active companions.

Recommended Reading Order

1. New players: Hills → Micoco → Day 1–5 Tutorial
2. Recruitment planning: All Companions + How to Get
3. Combat setup: Companion Abilities + Combat Basics
4. Route safety: NPC Guide + How to Protect
5. Endgame checks: Requirements Checklist

Return to this hub whenever you unlock a new district — Unlock Order lists when fresh characters appear on the map.

Affinity vs Loyalty vs Trust

Three hidden relationship metrics confuse new players. Affinity (hearts) unlocks personal scenes and combo upgrades — visible on the Relations screen. Loyalty (shield icon) gates whether companions testify or obey crisis orders; it moves on alignment choices during heart events. Trust applies chiefly to Micoco and select NPCs; it measures honesty and follow-through on shared investigations.

Raising affinity alone is insufficient for the True Ending. You need loyalty thresholds on multiple companions and Micoco Trust for assist availability. The NPC Guide documents parallel trust tracks for merchants and officials who never join combat but still appear on ending scorecards.

Voice Cast and Localization Notes

English voice acting covers all heart events and major boss scenes; optional Japanese voices ship via Settings download. Hills is voiced in first-person internal monologue text only — no voiced protagonist lines — while Micoco and companions are fully voiced in scenes. Wiki character pages use English names matching Steam store text; Release Hub lists alternate spellings for Asian locales if you import saves across regions.

Name consistency matters for search: "HILLS" in marketing caps refers to the game title acronym, while Hills the character uses standard capitalization in dialogue subtitles.