Battle basics
Updated 16 Oct 2026
Battles in Memory Defrag are side-scrolling action fights. You control one unit at a time and switch between up to three.
Controls
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Attack | Tap |
| Move | Drag in any direction |
| Quick-step (dodge) | Flick left or right (also down, or diagonally up) |
| Jump | Flick up |
| Head Splitter | Flick down while jumping |
| Guard | Press and hold (close-range weapons, and rods) |
| Focus Attack | Press and hold, then release (Sniper Rifles, Bows, Rods) |
| Sword skill | Tap a skill button at the bottom of the screen |
| Switch | Tap another unit's icon at the bottom of the screen |
Parrying has its own controls for each weapon; see Sword skills, switching and parrying.
There is a parry practice quest in the original game (Menu > Other). On MD:Rebirth it may not be open yet.
Targeting
Your unit aims at the nearest enemy, marked with a red circle. Tapping makes your unit move to it and attack. Tap a different enemy to switch targets; it gets a green circle.
Stats
| Stat | What it does |
|---|---|
| HP | When it reaches zero the unit is defeated |
| MP | Spent on sword skills; you refill it with normal attacks |
| ATK | More damage dealt |
| DEF | Less damage taken |
| CRIT | Higher chance of a critical hit |
Combos
Every hit you land without being hit adds to your combo counter. Keep hitting within a short time to keep it going. Damage rises by 5% for every 10 hits in the combo, so long combos hit much harder. Players have reached 1,000 hits.
Getting hit, or waiting too long between hits, resets the combo.
Guarding and guard breaks
Holding the screen raises your guard and cuts the damage you take. Every blocked hit drains a guard gauge. When it empties you suffer a guard break and are stunned for about three seconds, so do not turtle forever: dodge or parry instead.
Reading the enemy
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Red area on the ground | A boss attack is coming there. Move out or guard |
| Enemy glowing red | It cannot be staggered or knocked down. It still takes damage, but it can hit back mid-combo |
| Enemy eyes flash red | A parryable attack is coming: your chance to parry |
| Enemy flinches | It is staggered and cannot counterattack. Stronger enemies stagger less, and some never do |
Damage numbers
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Critical | A lucky hit for extra damage. Higher CRIT makes it more common |
| Weakness | You hit a weak point or the enemy's weak element. Extra damage |
| Resist | The enemy resists this attack. Less damage |
| Great | Sniper Rifle Focus Attack released as the circle shrinks: a big critical hit |
| Miss | Sniper Rifle Focus Attack released as the circle grows: no damage |
After the battle
- Clear rank. The faster you clear, the better the rank (S, A, B or C). Rank S gives more user rank EXP, more event points and counts for bonus missions.
- Bonus missions. Each quest lists three, such as "Achieve rank S", "No deaths" and "Defeat all enemies". Each pays once.
- Treasure chests. Pick one of three chests. You can see what each quest can drop on its page in Quests.
- Re-challenge and Next. From the chest screen you can replay the same quest or move straight to the next one.
Restarting from the in-battle menu throws away everything you picked up in that run.
Entry requirements and continues
Some quests have entry requirements, shown on the party screen. Duel quests, for example, allow only one unit, so bring a party of one.
If your whole party falls you can continue and revive on the spot. Some quests, mostly special events, do not allow continues.