Well it's kinda a gotcha game I guess, but you can get everything in game and don't need to buy anything. There are a bunch of characters you can get, but it seems like only a few are really good from what I read.
I think you auto get barbara from what I was reading but not sure how yet (probably a later quest).
You get 4 chars right at the start, and you start with 12 wishes, and there is a newbie roll thing that lets you get 10 pulls for 8 wishes (normally costs 10). When you do 10 pulls you auto get a 4star character, but with the beginner thing it's automatically noelle initially.
That does give you a geo character so i'm pretty sure I'm gonna do it just so I have another element (also from reading it sounds like she heals/regens the rest of the party).
From watching vids, it seems like you can play without spending money for a good 60+ hours easily without really missing much, but end game is faster/easier if you spend money (again just from watching vids not personal experience).
Still just starting myself, but it is fun, even without great chars right now.
Tacobot 3000 "Saving the world from not having tacos."
Friends don't make their friends die Hanz. Psychopathic friends do.