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Let's Play Tactic's Ogre LUCT: War Of The Chicken Man


epilepsyduck
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  1. 1. Lawful Route or Chaotic Route? (Chapter 2 route split)

  2. 2. Chaotic Route or Neutral Route? (Chapter 3 route split)

    • Chaotic Route
    • Neutral Route


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Yo.

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We doing this.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is an SRPG in the Ogre Battle Saga, a series originally developed by Quest before its eventual purchase by Square. It was originally released for the Super Famicom in 1995, received a port and translation for the PSX in 1998, before eventually being completely remade for the PSP in 2010. Rather than mimicking the unique RTS-like gameplay of Ogre Battle, it has a TBS system that should feel quite familiar to folks who've played any of the Final Fantasy Tactics games; in fact, the first two FFT games were made by many of the same people who created the first Tactics Ogre, after they'd left Quest for Square. All things considered, though, Tactics Ogre is (in my opinion) better than its Final Fantasy-themed offshoot, and the remake's attempts to hew closer to its own spiritual successor arguably made it a bit less enjoyable.

For that reason, we're gonna be going with the SNES version, patched with the translated script from the PSX release. This might seem a bit odd, but the PSX release has some minor issues with framerates and loading that the SNES version doesn't, so the translation patch makes this a slightly superior way to experience what it ultimately the same game.

One thing that was irrefutably better in the PSP version was the script, however; while the story is the same, it's told considerably better in the remake than the original release. I'll still be giving you the original script, but I'll also be discussing and comparing the new one to it, especially in areas where the older version fails to clarify something adequately or is just kinda inconsistent or poorly written in general. I may also touch upon the differences between the two gameplay-wise, as despite being a remake the PSP release plays very differently in a lot of ways.

With all that out of the way, let's get started. Sorry in advance for some awkward formatting, TO is more text heavy than I'm used to doing for these LPs.

Chapter 1 Intro: The Amorikan Way

Spoiler

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Upon starting a new save, you're asked if you wanna do the tutorial or just start the game. The tutorial is a bit shit, unfortunately, so even if it's your first time you may as well skip it.

 

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We're greeted by mysterious voices.

 

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Then we get to input a name. Despite the menu labeling it as a "cancel" button, hitting B is how you're actually supposed to exit this menu once you've selected your name.

 

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Hitting it before entering anything causes the game to go with the main character's default name, Denim. Let's stick with that.

 

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Then we input our birthdate, which corresponds to a day in the setting's slightly unusual calendar. There are 15 months, and each is only 24 or 25 days long. Here's me entering a random date.

 

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Then a woman in a fursuit asks us what our "Prayer" is, and forces us to give a nonsense single-word answer. Did we show up at a convention somewhere?

Jokes aside, this is actually this game's character customization system, so to speak. Each game in the series asks the player a series of questions at the start that affect some aspect of the start of the game. TO's version of this is... a bit odd, compared to some of the others, where these four goddesses show up and ask three identical questions, to which you can only give a single word in response, and can't use an answer you've already given for a different question. Your answer then adjust your stats ever-so-slightly, though this only really affects the very early parts of the game. Overall, not quite as interesting or sensible as the way the other games handled the same thing, and I'm glad the remake changed this at the very least.

Let's pick "Glory" for now.

 

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The same goddess will then ask you what your "Offering" and "Vow" is. Let's pick "Sacrifice" and "Hope".

 

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Suddenly, a new goddess shows up to ask the same three questions.

 

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I give the answers shown above.

 

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I'm sure you can imagine how it went for the other two.

 

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Then we're asked to pick a goddess to give us "protection". What this actually does is decide Denim's elemental alignment, which is actually somewhat important compared to the piddly stat adjustments the previous questions give. We'll pick Water for reasons we'll get to eventually.

 

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Enough inane questions from on high, though. We've got a game to play.

 

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This might seem odd for what was only the second game in a series of 5 games, but LUCT is technically the 7th entry in the saga. They were meant to be 8 "books" that told a series of related stories, but unfortunately the series is a bit dead now so we'll probably never see it completed.

 

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But no time for mourning, there's stuff to talk about!

 

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This opening bit is mostly credits, but there are some little scenes mixed in. Notably, it's mostly all flashback aside from the opening bit with the blue-shirted dude.

 

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Huh, you certainly look familiar. I'm sure it's nothing though...

 

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The last bit of the flashback shows the evil knight dudes carrying a man off, while someone tries to chase after them.

 

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Back to the present day, he leaves both his horse and the very concept of horses behind forever.

 

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Folks who've played FFT, Vagrant Story or FFXII might recognize this dude. Such humble beginnings.

 

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And so it begins.

 

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Vice: Denim! Damn it! Lans is here! Just as we had heard.

Meet Vice. He's the main character's buddy, and in this version of the story is kind of an asshole. In both versions he's also kind of an oddly written fellow for reasons will get to later down the line.

 

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Kachua: We can't possibly win!

Here's our main boy Denim and his sister Kachua. Unlike, say, Ramza, Denim's personality and actions are a bit more player-dependent, though he's generally good-natured, especially this early in the game. Kachua, meanwhile, is a bit of a downer at this point.

 

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Vice: Isn't this what we've been waiting for!?

Kachua: But... three of us... against the Dark Knights...

Denim: Don't worry, Kachua. They're not expecting us.

 

 

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Denam: Let's go.

Like I said, Vice is a bit of a dick right now. Now it's time to head outside.

 

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Kachua: We won't succeed. Besides, what good is it to kill these guys?

Vice: Lans is the leader of the Dark Knights. They're the source of Bacrum's power. By killing Lans, we can weaken the Bacrum forces here for a while. Then the Gargastan forces will make their move and invade Bacrum. Then we can launch our counterattack!

Kachua: ...We're still recovering from the last war. Are you trying to start another one?

Vice: What do you mean we're still recovering, Kachua!? The Walstanians are being treated like shit!! Gargastan is trying to wipe us out!

Kachua: But... to start a war over reasons such as these... We'll just end up losing...

 

So, the original SNES release actually lacks the infodump that other versions have during their openings for Chapter 1, meaning that you've got to glean what's going on based on all this dialogue. It's not terrible necessarily, but it does have a bit of Proper Noun Syndrome that can make it a bit difficult to follow. I've got a dump of the script that includes this intro, but I'll put it under this post in its own spoiler in case you don't feel like reading it.

 

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We'll get on with explaining all that backstory stuff in a bit, though. We've got exciting action coming.

 

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Vice: Denim, you attack from the rear!

Denim: Alright...

 

I can't see any flaws with Vice's excellent plan to attack the leader of a foreign country's entire military with just three underequipped teenagers, so let's just do as we're told.

 

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Everyone shuffles into position. These folks don't look like the guys from the intro, though...

 

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Expect to see these screens every battle. "Kill all enemies" isn't always the objective, but it's a common one.

 

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A very long tutorial message pops up. Here's the only two relevant bits.

 

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To demonstrate this in action, the dudes we're gonna attack all go first, as they're way higher level and thus have considerably better agility. None of them actually do anything on their turn, though.

 

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Denam is the fastest of the three little rebels we've got, so he gets his turn before his pals.

 

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I immediately hit the wrong button and bring up a dizzying array of numbers and symbols. I'll explain all this shit later, don't worry.

 

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This is the menu we actually needed. The "Move" command is pretty self-explanatory.

 

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It then shows us the terrain we're about to walk onto, as well as some more numbers that we'll get to later.

 

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Denim moves behind the house and faces towards our foes.

 

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The "Action" command is divided into a few sub-commands. For now, we have "Direct", "Indirect", and "Item".

 

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"Indirect" is normally used for bows and crossbows and the like, but since we have neither it just gives us the ability to throw a rock. It's a pretty weak attack, but it can be fun to use for chip damage

 

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One fun thing about Tactics Ogre is that you can actually target things outside your "maximum" range with indirect attacks, albeit at a lowered chance to hit. You need to be on higher ground to reliably pull this off.

 

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We pelt an old man with a rock to little effect. The 0's shown are always displayed in ranged combat if you attack outside of range instead of their normal hit and damage numbers, which makes such attacks a little unpredictable.

 

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As a reward for bullying an old man, Denim gets some experience.

 

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Vice then automatically walks up to the closest guy and tries to hit him. This attack is effectively rigged to miss iirc, though maybe it's just the fact that he has an insanely low hit chance that makes it seem that way.

 

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Vice: We are warriors of the Walsta Liberation Army! We will avenge our people's suffering!

Knight: Avenge?

 

 

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Winged Man: people... Look at them, they're just kids!

 

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Knight: to the right person?

Vice: If your name is Lans, then you're our enemy!

Knight: Indeed, my name is Lans. How did you know?

Vice: You and the Dark Knights burned down this town a year ago!

Knight: Dark Knights? But we are from the eastern kingdom of Zenobia.

 

 

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Kachua: Lans has only one eye.

Vice was so jazzed to run headlong to his death that he couldn't even be fucked to make sure they're attacking the right dude. Buddy, different folks can have the same first name.

 

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Knight: My name is Lans... Lans Hamilton. A knight from the kingdom of Zenobia.

Winged Man: I'm Canopus. People call me the "Wind Rider." And the old fart... his name is...

 

 

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Thankfully, Warren didn't develop a concussion from us smacking him in the head with a rock.

 

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Knight:  from Zenobia. So stop looking at us like that.

 

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Vice: not the Dark Knights...

Kachua: Please forgive us, but I must ask for your help.

Lans Hamilton: We're new to this island. Tell us what is going on.

Vice: My name... is Vice... Damn it, we're wasting time! We must find the real Lans!

Kachua: I am Kachua, a priestess. And this is my brother, Denim.

 

 

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Here comes our first little dialogue choice. This particular one only effects how this specific scene plays out, but later ones will be a bit more meaningful.

Since I'm working off a script dump, I can actually show you how this particular conversation branches. If you pick option one, for example:
 

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Denim: I'm Denim. Forgive us.

Lans Hamilton: ...We sure were surprised. But never mind that... It's very hot here. Why don't you take us somewhere cool and tell us your story?

Kachua: Let's go to our hideout. We can't offer you much, but at least it's cool.

 

Everything is chill, and the conversation ends shortly. Option two, however:
 

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Denim: They're lying. They might be one of our enemies.

Canopus: You sure are one hard-headed lad. Let's just forget about them, Lans.

Lans Hamilton: We're not here to harm you, boy. Trust me.

Kachua: Denim! Don't talk to them like that! Now, apologize to these knights!

Lans Hamilton: I swear as a knight of Zenobia that I shall never be your enemy.

 

This then branches further into two more choices. Option one:

Quote

Denim: I believe you. Forgive me, Lans.

Lans Hamilton: Don't mention it. I understand. Thank you for trusting me. ...It's hot here. Can we go to a cool place so you can tell us your story?

Kachua: Let's go to our hideout. We can't offer you much, but at least it's cool.

Option two:

Denim: ......

Quote

 

Kachua: Forgive us. My brother is not himself today. Please put down your sword.

Lans Hamilton: Never mind. I understand your apprehensiveness. ...It's very hot. Why don't you take us to a cool place and tell us your story?

Kachua: Let's go to our hideout. We can't offer you much, but at least it's cool.

 

While this particular set of choices isn't important in itself, it does a decent job of setting up the concept for later. Moving on:

 

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We're back inside the dingy little house, ready for more exposition.

 

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Kachua: manpower to fight against the country of Gargastan. That's why Bacrum asked for support from the Kingdom of Lodis. Their problem was similar to ours.

Canopus: I see... That's why the Kingdom of Lodis sent the Dark Knights to Bacrum.

 

 

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Warren: ...The "Roslolian Knights" are the knights that work directly under King Saldian. King Saldian commands 16 divisions. Their duties consist mainly of espionage... Collecting information from the other countries, carrying out conspiracies... That is why they're the Dark Knights.

Guildus: But why are the Ros... something supporting Bacrum?

 

Even some of the characters have trouble pronouncing all these made-up names.

 

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Vice: Why did you come to our island? I bet you guys just came here to take over Valeria, starting with us, isn't that right!? The Kingdoms of Zenobia and Lodis are going to trigger the war from this island!!

Kachua: Stop it, Vice. I've had enough of your conspiracy theories...

 

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Lans Hamilton: Let me answer your question. It is true that we are Zenobians. But we no longer work for the king. We were banished from the kingdom.

Guildus: In other words, we're fugitives. We can never go back.

Canopus: Therefore, we're looking for employment. With decent pay, of course.

 

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Vice: This is our war!

Kachua: I said that's enough, Vice. You have to excuse him, he's a bit...

Lans Hamilton: Don't worry about it, there's no need to apologize. What are you planning to do now?

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Denim: He's imprisoned in Amorika Castle...

Lans Hamilton: Who's Duke Ronway? Is that your leader?

Vice: Yeah. He's the leader of the Walstanian... He was caught by the Gargastans. We heard that he's going to be executed soon. We have to do something...

Canopus: Hmm... I hear the sound of money... Hey Lans, why don't we help them out?

Vice: I'm sorry that I doubted you guys. Kachua is right. We don't have the manpower. We need your help.

Guildus: If it's a deal, then let's not waste time. Off to Amorika Castle!

Sounds like a more realistic plan that whatever the fuck we were trying to do before.

 

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Kachua: ...W-wait a minute. There are a lot of soldiers at Amorika Castle... We can't... I mean, even with knights, we can't win. We'll all die. I don't want to be a part of this.

Lans Hamilton: Denim, it's your call.

Kachua's protests made a lot of sense with Vice's earlier suicide plan, but here come across as a bit defeatist.

 

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Another little dialogue choice. How lucky we are!

Once again, I can show you both branches of this. Option one:

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Denim: We can't fight this alone. Please help us.

Lans Hamilton: You have yourself a deal. Let's get going.

Option two:

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Denim: This is our war. Please don't interfere.

Lans Hamilton: I see... We are going to Amorika anyway... Not to help you, but to fight for truth, justice, and the Amer... Umm, we're just going in the same direction. Our ideals may be different but we share a common goal. So why don't we form an alliance?

Vice: Give them a break, Denim. They're going to come with us whether we like it or not.

Lans Hamilton: Deal. Let's go!

Again, not a lot of comes of this, it's just trying to get you used to these kinds of options. And yes, that little "truth, justice, and the American way" aside was in the original translation, not just this patch. Translators seemed to love slipping shit like that into text back in the day.

 

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Kachua: ...I know what you're thinking. But I just don't want to lose you. You're the only family I have left. It's just that... you're my only brother. I don't want you to die... I-I'm sorry. I know that I can't stop you. But promise me one thing, don't leave me...

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Vice: What are you guys doing? Everybody's waiting for you. (Denim leaves) You are so over-protective, Kachua. He's a big boy now. He can take care of himself...

Kachua: Don't you ever shut up!? My brother is not blood-thirsty like you.

Vice: Look, I'm not fighting because I want to. I just don't want to go down without a fight.

Kachua: Oh, don't talk like such a tough guy. You were counting on those knights!

Vice: You were the one who invited them! Don't tell me...

Kachua: I'm being nice to them so that we can take advantage of them. Maybe if you had half a brain, you would have figured that out already. You should be thankful.

Vice: A priestess taking advantage of people.

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That Vice sure is a charming guy.

 

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After that little outburst, Kachua sulks.

 

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We've made it to the map screen, and for now we have to pause. Check in later to see if Denim and co. can rescue Duke Ronway in a lengthy forced tutorial that seemingly every Ogre series game likes to force upon the player!

Backstory Dump

Spoiler

There was an island called Valeria on the Obello Ocean... Valeria had flourished as a trade port. But there was a constant struggle between the various ethnic groups. Each of them was trying to rule the entire island. Then there was one man who put the everlasting war to an end. His name was Dolgare, and he later became King of the island. King Dolgare united the island. He encouraged mixed marriages and set up an official religion. He tried to avoid hatred or arguments between the different ethnic groups. For half a century, Valeria flourished under Dolgare's reign. But the seeds of war were not completely destroyed... After his death, Bishop Branta, the leader of the Bacrumese, dominated the aristocrat class. With his help, they declared the independence of the capital city of Heigm. Branta also signed a secret treaty with Lodis, a major country to the north, and received military support. Thus, he established Bacrum-Valeria. Branta wanted to rule the entire island, but the Dark Knight Lans Tartare vetoed Branta's idea. Lans did not want to waste the manpower by having a useless war. Lans was the leader of the Dark Knight Order of Roslolian. The order was sent by Lodis to watch over Branta. Branta had to accept this and gave up the invasion. Southern Valeria, the only remaining territory, was split by two groups. One was called Gargastan, a major ethnic group which covers 70% of the population in Southern Valeria. There was a major nationalist movement led by Cardinal Barbatos. They declared war against the Walstanians, the other ethnic group that lived in Southern Valeria. The Gargastans then massacred the Walstanians. Duke Ronway became the leader of Walsta and fought against the Gargastans. But half a year later, Walsta lost the war. Cardinal Barbatos established the Gargastan Kingdom and declared the termination of the internal dispute between Walsta. However, the oppression of Walstanians never ceased. The remaining Walstanians resisted the Gargastan Kingdom's oppression. But even that movement subsided when Duke Ronway was captured and imprisoned. Most people were desperate and moved into a Walsta self-governing district that the Gargastans provided. Thus the national dispute in Valeria had settled down. Little did the people know that that was only a temporary peace.
 

 

Edited by epilepsyduck
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I'll still love how the protagonist and his foil are literally named after jeans, and the middle-class prosperity they symbolised in that era. Yes, both; Denim is obvious. The Vice/Levi's parallel, I had to be told about.

If we're hiring generics - can they be named in the original release? I forget - we should absolutely keep the jean naming scheme going.

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On 3/11/2019 at 1:08 AM, Parrhesia said:

I'll still love how the protagonist and his foil are literally named after jeans, and the middle-class prosperity they symbolised in that era. Yes, both; Denim is obvious. The Vice/Levi's parallel, I had to be told about.

If we're hiring generics - can they be named in the original release? I forget - we should absolutely keep the jean naming scheme going.

Given this theme naming I somehow never noticed, it almost feels like a shame that the remake gave them slightly less silly names (or less silly spellings of the same names anyway).

You can name generics in this version, though you can't rename them, so the free generics you get after the tutorial are stuck with whatever random names they come with. I guess I can pick up some new blood at the shop once this bit is over, though.

 

With our newfound overpowered friends in tow, we march to save the Duke so we can actually do something useful instead of sitting in a shack in the middle of nowhere.

Chapter 1 Amorika Castle: Count Falsedirection

Spoiler

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After we cleared up our silly little misunderstanding and got a bunch of mad powerful allies to help us out, it's time to go save Duke Ronway!

 

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This particular upcoming battle is a multi-stage one, meaning we must go through multiple battles with no chance to train or shop in between. Thanks to Lans and co. tagging along, though, the main challenge is nabbing any experience from this yourself.

 

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As is customary for this franchise, there's a bit of voice acting mainly reserved for a bored-sounding guy saying a muffled "Fight It Out". Though to be fair, voice acting of any kind was impressive back in the SNES days.

 

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Bapalu: Griate. Are you trying to rescue Ronway? Okay guys. These kids have a price on their heads! These guys are worth 2,000 Goth. They fell into our trap. Kill 'em all!

Apparently, kidnapping Duke Ronway was part of a "trap" that involves... just standing outside and attacking us head-on? To earn what is, really, not a significant amount of money in this game? Sure, buddy, whatever you say.

 

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Even more than "kill all enemies", this is the most common objective in most battles. Depending on how your playthrough turns out, it might even be beneficial to kill the leader and spare as many of their troops as you can.

 

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In these kinds of battles, the leader is highlighted right at the start. Again, we'll get to all these numbers and symbols another time.

 

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Let's begin.

 

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Guildus: you can jump over it. Watch! But the other side has to be at the same height or lower.

Guildus immediately gives us a tutorial message about a game mechanic that seems... a little odd to highlight so specifically, given that it's not a super-major thing. Kind of weirdly fourth-wall breaking too, since he mentions how cubical things are.

 

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Maybe he was just excited to show how high he can jump. Look at him go!

 

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Canopus: anywhere. The type of terrain and height of the land does not hinder our movement. But you cannot let me attack alone. It is critical to work as a team.

This one's a little more important, though the latter half of the message is a complete lie as we'll see soon.

 

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Way to make Guildus feel inadequate about his tiny little hop, Canopus.

 

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Mildain: will move next. If you want to move quickly, don't carry heavy weapons and unnecessary items.

 

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Lans Hamilton: enemy you are about to face. If you fight with an opposite element, like Wind vs. Earth or Fire vs. Water, you may give them good damage. But the possibility of the damage you get from them will be greater. In other words, you are taking a risk. To avoid this situation, you should check the type of terrain you're fighting on.

 

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Warren: beginning of the stage, magic is unavailable. MP will accumulate as WT counts down. The more powerful the magic, the more MP will be consumed.

Just more tutorials teaching a variety of mechanics. It's kinda weird for actual characters in the game to being saying them, especially since every other tutorial message in the game isn't part of any actual dialogue.

 

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Lans and his pals are all sorts of overpowered this early on; the enemies here are lucky if they can even land a hit on them. Even when they do, it's usually for piddly damage anyway.

 

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Bapalu: Duke's execution... Stupid fools! Didn't you realize that it was bait to lure you here!?

I guess that kinda makes sense as a trap, but since you're just standing around outside instead of trying to ambush us or something, it feels a bit half-implemented. Just some tactical advice from me to you.

 

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The boss advances, to what will undoubtedly be his death in just a couple turns.

 

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Denam is the only person on the field we can actually move around right now, and his contributions to both this battle and the one that follows will be virtually nil. He does, however, have the opportunity to introduce yet another gameplay mechanic.

 

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Hidden items! Like in FFT, moving around the map can occasionally lead to you finding random treasures on the ground. Unlike FFT, this doesn't require a special skill to be equipped or anything; anybody can do it. The treasures aren't always amazing, but they're usually reasonably valuable; we can't even buy these Cure+ leaves yet, for example.

 

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I try to throw a stone at one of the enemies so Denim can at least do something, but it doesn't pan out.

 

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Despite not being part of the OP Posse, we don't get to control Vice or Kachua either. This is both a good and a bad thing for reasons we'll see later.

 

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Guildus gets the first kill, causing the unlucky enemy to turn into a card. Cards provide tiny stat boosts if you pick them up, and are usually less desirable than having the enemy drop their equipment. Still, they're worth collecting if you can do so without going out of your way.

 

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Canopus uses his spear to stab a dude from a bit of a distance.

 

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Really, these guys are complete overkill for this battle. The enemies here are more level appropriate for Denim and his pals than a bunch of super-powerful knights.

 

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Warren gives us our first glimpse of magic, using Incubus, one of the game's better status spells due to also doing damage as well as putting targets to sleep.

 

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Quote

Bapalu: Are you from Lodis!?

Bapalu is starting to realize that he's a bit screwed.

 

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With that said, he is the only person to score a hit on the Zenobian dudes so far, and even blocks the counterattack, so good for him.

 

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I'm trying to reach a far-off space that has another hidden item in it here, since it's not like Denim's got much to do in this battle.

 

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Kachua uses her healing spell to give Mildain an inconsequential amount of HP back.

 

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Mildain uses this blessing to render my item-hunting endeavors utterly fruitless.

 

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Maybe your brilliant "trap" could've done with some tweaks.

 

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His death causes his remaining allies to wink out of existence.

 

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It congratulates me on standing around and accomplishing nothing.

 

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Every battle chucks you some gold at the end.

 

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If any enemies dropped items that you haven't picked up yet, the game will automatically loot them for you at the end, so don't fret.

 

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Quote

Lans Hamilton: through. Be cautious.

Canopus: Denim, don't push yourself too hard. Just stay behind us!

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I already explained that, game. Don't waste my time.

 

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So yeah, here's the mid-battle prep screen, I guess. There's basically nothing we can do here yet, but it'll matter later.

 

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Into the castle itself. Pay no attention to the glitchy boy behind the map.

 

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Yes, this happens every time we have a fight, even multi-part ones like this one.

 

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Quote

Agres: on vacation... Okay guys, these scum bags killed Bapalu! Don't underestimate them. We cannot allow them to take over Amorika Castle. Let's show them what we've got!!!

The leader of these guys is apparently off at Disneyworld or something while we're here, murdering his troops and rescuing hostages he's taken. Terrible leadership in this military, I'll tell ya!

 

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It begins. There's no hidden stuff in this fight, so Denim will have even less to do here.

 

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Canopus is just showing off at this point, I swear.

 

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Bizarrely, some folks actually manage to land hits on Mildain.

 

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I try to let Denim contribute, like, at all to this fight. He flubs it.

 

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Quote

Agres: Why are you involving yourselves in the war? This is a war between the Gargastans and Walstanians. It has been fought for centuries. Or are you also trying to get Valeria? Do you have the same ambition as Lodis? Answer me!!

More mid-battle dialogue. Bosses in TO can be real chatty sometimes.

 

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Quote

Lans Hamilton: our country. We are fighting with these youths for the cause of justice.

Canopus: We're looking for a job. Are you hiring?

Agres: We don't need the help of foreigners. We have our own army...

Canopus: If that's the case then... let's get

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The game really does have a gag about "Ronway" sounding like "wrong way". Sometimes it feels like the translators for this game were very bored with their jobs, though at least they weren't totally asleep at the wheel like FFT's.

 

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Agres is about as competent as a tutorial boss can hope to be.

 

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Unfortunately for him, that just isn't good enough.

 

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I find Agres referring to Canopus as a "chicken man" unreasonably delightful, so I chose to immortalize it as the subtitle of this LP.

 

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Like before, the remaining troops cease to exist once the boss goes down.

 

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We now have more money than Bapalu was gunning for us over.

 

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We also get some other stuff. It'll have to wait for later, though.

 

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Quote

Ronway: I'm finally out of that cursed prison. Especially Denim. I am extremely encouraged to know that I was saved by righteous Walstanian youths. You were definitely sent by the Gods to help us in our darkest hour.

Denim: Our comrades are gathering at the castle upon hearing the news of your rescue.

Ronway: There will be little time before the Gargastans decide to attack us. We have to reestablish our army first... By the way, I heard that you were exiled. Is that correct?

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Quote

Lans Hamilton: We have been exiled from our own country.

Ronway: I wonder... How about you, wise man? Two years ago, when the Kingdom of Zenobia was established, there was always a wizard under the king. And you, Lans. How can a king abandon such an intelligent warrior like you?

Warren: I did hear about the wizard. But it was not me.

Ronway: Are you knights anything like the Roslolian Knights, a dark envoy of Lodis? Didn't the Kingdom of Zenobia want to rule over Valeria? If so...

Kachua: Duke Ronway. These knights put their lives on the line to rescue you.

Lans Hamilton: A knight will become a knight when he has a master worth pledging his allegiance to. We don't have one.

Ronway: I see... Your word is taken as a token of your honesty. I may give you a reward. I trust you will train my troops and guard my castle.

Lans Hamilton: As you wish...

This cutscene is largely dry, slightly nonsensical exposition, so it's a bit of a bitch to say anything interesting about it. The PSP version handles this a little better, especially in Ronway's suspicions of the Zenobian dudes being based in more than just "you're a wizard, and there's another wizard out there I'm worried about" and "you're knights, and there are other knights who are bad," and said suspicion not being almost immediately dismissed because Lans promised extra-hard that he's a good dude.

 

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Tired of me needling the game's dialogue, they leave so Duke Ronway can talk to Denim privately.

 

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Quote

Ronway: pastor of Griate, was he not? I remember meeting him once. He was a very bright man.

Kachua: Duke Ronway, please avenge my father... and all the people who were killed in Griate.

Ronway: I understand. But our first and closest enemy is Gargastan. I shall not only accept you as part of the Liberation Army, but I will welcome you as official knights of Amorika.

Denim: A knight...

Ronway: The people of Walsta will be encouraged and our unity will be strengthened by having you as knights. And you shall work directly under me. Are you willing to accept this?

Vice: Of course, as you say, sir. Don't you think so, Denim?

Ronway: Good. Then let's make a name for your battalion.

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After that, we're given a chance to name the army we're gonna be building up. Given the revelations I've had today...

 

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There was an obvious choice.

 

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Quote

Ronway: nice name. I expect much from you. Now, I want you to go to a town called Krizar. My trusted knight, Leonard, is after Nybbas. But it seems that he is stronger than we thought. I want you to go to Krizar and help Leonard. Now, before you leave this castle, you'd better recruit more soldiers and buy good equipment. For that, I shall give you 20,000 Goth. As soon as you are ready, go to Krizar. I will have my other knights accompany you.

Vice: You can count on us. We will finish what we have started for Walsta's future.

Ronway: I pray for your success and Walsta's future.

 

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After that the game dumps a bunch of new troops in our lap. Four Soldiers, the game's basic class...

 

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And four Amazons, the game's other basic class. This was back before the folks making these games realized that not all classes needed to be gender-segregated, so even though the two are statistically identical they're treated as distinct classes unto themselves. The only real difference is that Amazons can swim.

 

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Quote

Lans Hamilton: Thanks to you, we found a lord to serve. Thank you.

Denim: We should be the ones to thank you.

Lans Hamilton: ...I heard that you're going to support Ronway's army. We can't go with you, but let me give you one piece of advice before you go off into battle. If you do not want to die, train before you go into battle. To have the entire unit on the same strength level will make a difference. Don't overdo it, though. Just concentrate on your training. Never forget that.

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Lans Hamilton: That's right. Good luck.

This is the game's way of telling you to not just immediately march off to the next battle, because the folks we just got are weak as shit right now. OG Tactics Ogre is kind of a grindy game, and the PSP version's attempts to cut down on that grind caused it's own issues.

 

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We're kicked back to the map screen and immediately given and incredibly long tutorial message that does a bad job of explaining what it's talking about. I clipped this bit down to just the part where it says we can sell "L Sized Peoples", which sounds a lot worse than it actually is. I'll cover everything it touched on next time.

 

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Next update probably won't be terribly exciting, but I'll finally get to all that explaining I've been promising this whole time, as well as covering the best way to cut down on the tedium of grinding.

 

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It really is kind of staggering how original TO's levelling is incredibly bad, and then the remake's is pretty much just as bad for different reasons.

Speaking of things that might have just been a PSP thing, is any of the Warren Report stuff where you could get sick backstory about random level bosses here?

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20 hours ago, Parrhesia said:

It really is kind of staggering how original TO's levelling is incredibly bad, and then the remake's is pretty much just as bad for different reasons.

Speaking of things that might have just been a PSP thing, is any of the Warren Report stuff where you could get sick backstory about random level bosses here?

The Warren Report is here too, right down to featuring cutscenes unique to itself, opening up sidequests, and updating constantly when nearly anything happens. It's pretty neat for such an old game imo.

19 hours ago, Laura said:

amazon and soldier: the actual true gender binary

Transitioning in Valeria is as simple as taking off your little blue helmet and putting a headband on instead. If only it was that easy in real life.

 

We're gonna spend this update going over some mechanical shit, so sorry if it's a bit dry and boring. I promise we'll get to some actual battles soon!

Chapter 1 Part 3: Valeria Fight Club

Spoiler

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Instead of marching into battle and being decimated, we're gonna spend some time going over the game mechanics and training ourselves up a bit. Let's start with the shopping menu.

 

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The vast majority of shops in the game are like this one, with options to buy and sell gear, recruit new meat for our team, and even sell certain types of units for various rewards.

 

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Both the "Buy" and "Sell" menu are further divided into sub-menus for items and spells. Spells in Tactics Ogre are effectively a form of gear rather than being learned via leveling r class changing or anything like that, and only a handful of classes have non-spell special abilities that are learned that way.

 

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The "Item" menu is then divided again into categories, here showing stuff for your head, stuff for your hands, stuff for your body, and various other items respectively.

 

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The magic menu is also divided, this time by element. We've got a very basic set of spells here.

 

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Over in the recruit option, we can pick up more amazons and soldiers, and a third non-human class that changes depending on both the location and the in-game date. Since moving around the map and getting into battles takes one in-game day, you can influence this via walking around or starting training sessions.

 

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You can name new recruits, too, like so.

 

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You can then choose their element. This can make a big difference to some classes while not mattering a whole lot to others.

 

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Since we've just hired this big boy, we may as well talk about Golems. To be frank, they suck. The idea is supposed to be that they have massive physical defense and strength in exchange for being kinda slow and not very accurate. In practice, their HP is so bad that their higher defense doesn't really help, their lack of defense against magic means they tend to die almost instantly to magical attacks, and they're so slow and inaccurate that they can barely contribute to most battles. Worse still, since they're a "monster" class, they can't equip armor or weapons (though they can equip accessories), and they're the only monster class that has no special abilities. There is literally nothing they can do that someone else can't do better.

Why are we buying one, then? Because there's a use for these idiot clay boys later in the game, and it requires them to be at a certain level, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to have one of the appropriate level ready when the time comes. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Funnily enough, the class description for these fellas notes that they were created by "an oppressed people", which might be the only time I've ever seen golems in a fantasy setting even vaguely acknowledge their origin as a part of Jewish folklore. It's kind of a neat detail.

 

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The final menu allows you to sell the likes of the useless Golem we just got, which isn't usually very profitable if it's one you bought yourself but can be a nice chunk of cash for one you picked up for free elsewhere. Better yet, certain shops offer rare items for the right kinds of monsters, though most of those shops are in later parts of the game.

 

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I try to sell this Gryphon I picked up beforehand, but the shopkeeper doesn't want him. Monsters have to be above a certain level to be sold, and their level influences what you get for them.

 

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Now that our shopping spree is over, let's do some training like Lans unsubtlely hinted for us to do.

 

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This is the deployment screen, which appear both in training and in real battles. You can field up to ten units in your team, and arrange them on this grid according to how you want them to be arranged at the start of the battle.

 

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For this training session, Denim takes the four soldiers/amazons carrying shields, while the bow-wielding ones go into battle with the two big boys. Note that a party can only have two such units in it; you can't have all Golems, if that's a thing you were really hoping for.

 

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Quote

Vice: Look at my muscles!!

Note that for "guest" characters, like Vice and Kachua, you can't bring them into training battles. This means they can potentially fall behind if you train a lot, but there's another way to get them experience that we'll see another time.

 

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You can also set who controls the two teams you've created for training. Unless you have a specific training strategy in mind, letting the computer handle it is much less of a hassle most of the time.

 

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Here is Denim being murdered by one of his own soldiers and a flying monstrosity. Fortunately, training battles are very low stakes and no actual dying can occur.

 

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Now we get to the really important stuff, the "Edit" screen.

 

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Here you can select your troops to change equipment, check their statuses, and even dismiss them if you want.

 

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There's a lot of info on the status screen, and not all of it is very well presented to the player, so it can be a little overwhelming, but I'm gonna detail everything in a way that I hope makes it all a bit more clear. Open the spoilers if you're curious what something on this screen means/does, or skip it if you don't give a shit:

Red

Spoiler

Little blue symbol: This represents the character's element, in this case water. Spells and items that are the same element as you tend to be more effective than normal, and you both take and deal more damage to opponents using the "opposite" element (Fire-Water or Wind-Earth).

N next to the above: The character's alignment, represented by L for Lawful, N for Neutral, and C for Chaotic. Unlike some other games, Lawful and Chaotic aren't being used as stand-ins for Good and Evil; they're closer to what they represent in D&D than anything. Every character's got one of these alignments, and it's more or less set in stone most of the time. It affects a few different things, namely what classes are available to a character.

Denim: The character's name. It's pretty self-explanatory, but it has a not-so-obvious feature that we'll get to later.

Soldier: The character's class. This early on there's not much else it can be, but soon you can change classes.

Blue

Spoiler

HP: Hit Points. Again, pretty self explanatory.

MP: Magic Points? Mana Points? I forget what TO calls it specifically, but again, you should be pretty familiar with the concept.

WT: Wait Turn, which is an awkward way of saying that it describes how long a character has to wait for their turn to come up in battle. This is affected by how fast the unit is, how much their equipment is weighing them down, and what they did on their last turn; faster characters will usually get their turns before slower ones, wearing heavy gear will slow you down and make you take your turn later than normal, and not moving or attacking on your turn makes it come slightly sooner.

Top row of symbols and numbers: These represent the damage the character's melee, ranged and magic attacks can do, respectively. These are derived from your stats and equipment.

Bottom row of symbols and numbers: These represent the character's resistance to physical damage, resistance to magical damage, and how much experience they've gained from combat. In the case of the first two, these are also derived from stats and equipment. The latter I shouldn't really need to explain, outside of noting that each level takes 100 EXP to reach, like in FE.

Green

Spoiler

Blue, Leather, Short: The equipment Denim is wearing. There are four slots for characters to put equipment and items into; these slots aren't strictly restricted to different kinds of items, they'll just adapt to whatever you put in them. There are still restrictions on how much of one kind of item you can have on you, but we'll touch upon that once we actually have some more varied equipment.

Small Boy: Just a little icon showing the character's sprite. There's even a cute little animation for it when you change classes.

Orange

Spoiler

Portait: Just a little aesthetic detail. Generic characters use the portraits their class gives them, but unique characters like Denim keep their normal portrait no matter what class they are.

Fast: Denotes the character's movement type. This doesn't necessarily affect how far they move, but "how" they move, so to speak. There's a few different types, like Slow or Flying or Swimming, but Fast is the most common.

STR: Strength. Affects the physical damage the unit does; the whole stat is used for melee attacks, while half of it is used for ranged attacks.

VIT: Vitality. Affects the unit's defense against physical attacks.

INT: Intelligence. Affects the damage done with magic attacks, as well as having other effects on certain spells.

MEN: Mentality. Affects the unit's defense against magic attacks.

AGI: Agility. Affects turn order and the unit's chance to dodge attacks.

DEX: Dexterity. Affects both hit rate and the physical damage the unit does; the whole stat is used for ranged attacks, while half of it is used for melee attacks. Also used for the hit rate on certain spells.

LUK: Luck. Affects critical hit chance, and also changes what treasure can be found in hidden item spaces. Doesn't really level the way other stats do; we'll touch on how to change it some other time.

MOVE: Denotes how far the unit can move on their turn.

Yellow

Spoiler

Walsta Lib. Army: Denotes the unit's faction. This is mostly an aesthetic thing.

Walstanian: Denotes the unit's ethnicity (the game calls it race but it really denotes ethnicity). This has some gameplay effects that we'll touch on another time.

 

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With all that tl;dr shit out of the way, let's get to more submenu stuff. In order, they are "Item", "Magic", "Class Change", "Banish", "Organize", and "L Status/S Status".

 

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The Item and Magic menus let you look at and equip different items and spells, respectively.

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Class Change, obviously, let's you change a character's class. The character needs to be at a certain level and have certain stats and attributes to qualify for a class. Above is the "Soldier" class line, available to male humans, though obviously incomplete.

 

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The "Amazon" class line is available to female humans, even more incomplete since there's only Amazon available for now.

 

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Non-human classes, such as Gryphon, cannot change class at all; their species is fundamentally their class.

 

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Characters that don't start as a "generic" class, like Kachua here, are also unable to change class freely.

 

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Banish allows you to fire units. I'm not gonna do that right now, but we might have to later down the line.

 

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Organize allows you to organize your units by various things.

 

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The last choice changes how the list is displayed entirely. This is kind of awful, though, so I'm sticking with the default.

 

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Leaving the Edit menu behind, let's check out the Warren Report.

 

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This menu is basically a massive catalogue of characters and events in the story. It starts out a little sparse at first, but fills up with every new battle and new character. Let's check out some of these menus.

 

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People allows you to view various scenes, mostly cutscenes you've already seen before but also occasionally including unique cutscenes that Denim wasn't there to see.

 

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Selecting a scene will give you a brief rundown of what the scene is about, while hitting Y will play the scene.

 

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People is basically a huge catalogue of most of the games characters, including some minor bosses and even including folks who we haven't met yet.

 

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Hitting one of these things will give you a profile on the character. Notably, some of these profiles update throughout the game, including Denim's.

 

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Even this early in the game, it's got some folks we haven't seen yet, like Nybbas or Barbatos.

 

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Wow, what a swell guy! LUCT's storyline is more than a little based on Matsuno's perspective of the then-ongoing Yugoslav wars, and shit like this is a pretty clear lean into that.

 

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Misc. has various rumors and other bits of trivia that are less important than the stuff in the other menus. Note, though, that this menu can occasionally spawn sidequest stuff that can be very desirable.

 

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For now, though, it's just worldbuilding flair.

 

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Hint is just tutorial messages. Moving on.

 

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Data is just the Save/Load option.

 

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And Option is pretty self-explanatory.

 

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This early in the game, the best tricks for training aren't quite available to us yet. The best way to train at this point is to de-equip everyone's gear, set the AI to control both teams, and just have them punch the everloving shit out of each other. They'll earn far more experience this way, and it makes sure everyone can get at least a little action, whereas with weapons someone is likely to get gunched before they can even land a hit. Doing this with an emulator means we can fast-forward through it, too.

 

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This lead to me overlevelling a little and unlocking all the basic classes in both trees, as well as one advanced class for each. Since we're here, let's give a basic rundown of how each of them work.

 

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Wizard's are a pretty basic "mage" class; their spell selection is mostly limited to raw "damage" spells, plus a Sleep and instant-death spell for good measure. Their stat growths are about what you'd expect; high Intelligence and Mentality, decent MP, low everything else. They're fairly useful units, but other folks can do the same shit they do while having other advantages, so they tend to get a little overshadowed. They're also one of the classes with alignment restrictions; in their case, only Neutral and Chaotic characters can be Wizards.

 

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Knights are basically just a slightly upgraded Soldier. Unlike, say, Knight of Lodis or the PSP version, the Knight class is very unexceptional, with oddly mediocre Vitality growth for a class that's supposed to be a frontline fighter and no special abilities or magic access to make up for it. They even have an unusually decent Intelligence growth for a melee class, but no way to really make use of it. Many classes also has a "preferred" weapon type that they get a damage boost for, and the Knight's preference is for swords; this is good for now since swords are what we have access to, but we won't get really good swords for a while so it'll taper off, and by the time the good swords to show up we probably won't be using Knights at all anymore. They're mostly just a stopgap for Lawful warriors who want to eventually become something better; Neutral characters should be something else, and Chaotic ones can't even choose Knight.

 

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Here's one of those "something else" classes, in fact! Berserkers are literally just better versions of the Knight; contrary to what you might expect, they actually have higher HP, Vitality and Mentality growths, while still growing similarly in other key areas. They do have a slightly lower Dexterity growth, so their damage is slightly lower, but the difference there isn't quite as significant as the difference in their defensive abilities. They also prefer axes for weapons, which is beneficial since the basic axe is better than the basic sword, and good axes are a tiny bit more available earlier on. Berserkers will eventually get overshadowed by other warriors, but for now they're very impressive. Only Neutrals and Chaotics can become these guys.

 

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Now we come to Ninjas. Of the "basic" male classes, Ninjas are arguably the strongest, with a ton of special abilities and useful growth potential. They have an extra point of movement compared to most classes, they can walk on water instead of having to swim in it or go around it, they can equip a single spell and have the exact same spell list as the Wizard, they can throw a reasonably powerful Shuriken if they don't have a ranged weapon equipped, and they excellent growths in Dexterity and Agility while being simply average in most other areas; their only truly bad growth is their MP. Their best ability, however, is their ability to dual-wield one-handed weapons, allowing them to hit the enemy twice in a single attack. They prefer claws as their weapons, which isn't phenomenal but isn't bad either, and can make do with any melee weapons regardless. Best of all, they have no alignment restrictions, so any male character can be one.

 

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Beast Tamers are a bit of an odd class. Their main special ability is to boost the strength of nearby "beast" units, an oddly selective category of monsters that includes the Gryphon we have but not the Golem, for example. Most monsters classes are a kinda mediocre, though, so that's not terribly useful. What makes these guys useful is their growths: they have the highest Vitality growth of the "basic" classes, while also boasting good Strength and decent stats in most other areas that a melee class would care about. They prefer to use whips, which sucks a little this early since we won't get access to whips for a while, but can be really nice once we do get them. Like the Ninja, they also have no alignment restrictions, which makes them a nice class for anyone who wants better defenses, and just further humiliates the poor Knight.

 

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Finally for the gentlemen, we come to our first "advanced" class, though it's not a particularly hard class to qualify for. Exorcists are divine casters, so instead of the elemental spells everyone else gets, they're restricted to a fairly small list of mostly support spells. Of the generic divine casters, they're the most offense oriented, with only a basic healing spell supplemented with Light Bow, a kinda crappy magic attack, and Exorcism, the actual main purpose of the class. Exorcism is used to permanently defeat undead foes, who constantly revive themselves unless dealt with in this fashion. This makes them invaluable early on when facing such enemies, but they taper off swiftly once other methods of exorcising undead come into play, since they're just not all that impressive otherwise. Their growths are very Wizard-y, so they can be a useful stopgap, and they do have access to a lategame spell that's quite powerful, but they're still not something you wanna keep around too often. Only Lawful characters can be Exorcists.

 

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Now we move on to the female class tree, starting with the Cleric. Like the Exorcist, they're frail casters with a restrictive support-based spell list. Unlike Exorcists, though, they focus primarily on healing, and this makes them far more universally beneficial to keep around. While they don't get all the best spells, they do have near-exclusive access to a multi-target heal spell that makes them useful to keep around even if you get a stronger healer. They're predictably pretty Intelligence and Mentality focused, with middling to bad growths in most other respects, so they're definitely not meant for combat, meaning it's better to go light on their equipment so they can get their turns a bit sooner. Lawful and Neutral characters only; I guess Chaotic folks don't take well to the cloistered life.

 

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Archers are to Amazons what Ninjas are to Soldiers; they're the best class from that tree early on, and remain useful throughout. Unlike Ninjas, they're pretty mechanically simple; they just get a boost to damage while using bows and have the stats to use them very effectively. They have great Dexterity and good Agility, but kind of middling to bad growths elsewhere. Their bad stats don't really matter, though, since their Dexterity ensures they'll both hit their targets and do good damage before sad target can close the distance and hurt them. Since they can attack without having to move, they can also get more turns than normal, and if they're on higher ground than their enemies they can potentially target them from well outside their displayed attack range. Technically speaking, it's more bows and archery in general that are broken than Archers themselves, but since they're available so early and have a bonus to bow use, they're some of the best units to make use of it. They can only be Neutral or Chaotic, for whatever reason.

 

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The last basic class for female characters is the Witch. Witches aren't just female Wizards, but rather a seperate kind of caster entirely that focuses on support magic. This actually gives them a wide array of abilities, from status effects to stat buffs to MP restoration to healing spells to even an FE dancer-like spell. Most of these things are useful straight out of the box, but their status effects are unfortunately a bit iffy by default due to their middling Dexterity growth, the stat that governs hit rates for those spells. Funnily enough, they're also the only magic-using class with the "fast" movement type instead of the "slow" one, meaning they can jump around and climb up things the way most warrior classes can. Unfortunately, at this point in the game we don't have any spells that she can equip, though that will change soon enough.

 

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For our final human class and first advanced female class, we have the Valkyrie. Valkyrie's are yet another melee class who seems to exist mainly to embarrass the Knight class, as their growths are very similar aside from the Valkyrie's higher Intelligence and Mentality; the only growth Knights have that is better is Dexterity, and not by as much of a difference. In addition to that, Valkyrie's prefer spears, which are excellent melee weapons that can hit two squares at a time, and can equip two spells to use those boosted magic stats, though their spell list is bizarrely restrictive for some reason. They do have kinda low MP, though, so they're mostly warriors that have the benefit of spells as a useful backup. Only Lawful and Neutral characters can be Valkyries.

 

Note that changing classes doesn't automatically change a unit's stats; instead, it changes how their stats will grow when they level up. This is important, since it means certain classes can actually be made more useful by first training in another class in order to boost stats that it has low growth in. This is especially relevant for status-effect users and mage-warrior hybrids; a Witch that was trained as an Archer will be better at using status spells due to their increased DEX, and a Ninja that was trained as a Wizard will be better at using attack spells due to their increased INT. They'll likely have lower stats in other important areas (STR for Ninjas and INT for Witches), but eventually the difference will be made up by leveling in their new class. It's not strictly necessary to do this, but it can sometimes make a huge difference.

 

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I guess we should also talk about this Gryphon I've been parading around. Monster classes ("L Sized Peoples" as the game likes to call them) are generally a little subpar, but Gryphons can be surprisingly alright. They don't do very good damage at first, but eventually they get a spell-like ability called Wind Shot, allowing them to do acceptable damage from a distance. They can fly around and have huge movement, so they can go basically wherever they want. They are a bit on the fragile side, though, so you out to be careful about leaving them alone. Since they can't wear equipment, they can be used to carry items to use on other units instead, since you need to have items in your equipment slots to use them. They're not phenomenal, but this early on we're a bit starved for choice and we could do a lot worse.

Before we finish here, there is one more little feature I forgot to mention, involving the oft-forgotten, much-unloved Select button.

 

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Namely, hitting it will bring up a window telling you useful information. In menus, it usually tells you what each option means.

 

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On the world map, it will just bring up some flavor text telling you where you are currently.

 

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On the status screen, it will bring up a little cursor that can be moved around to select things and tell you what each of them means.

 

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But most importantly of all, highlighting a character's name on the status screen will give a little blurb telling you how that character is feeling. What this is really doing is telling you the character's "Loyalty" to you, a mechanic that is very important that the game does a bad job of explaining properly. Characters in our army have semi-hidden value called Loyalty that denotes how they feel about you and your army. Having it high doesn't have any real effect, but if it gets too low, the character will likely leave your army if you do anything they disagree with. A character's alignment (the little letter in the top-left next to their element) is a key factor in deciding if their loyalty will go up or down during certain events. Right no, for example, our Chaotic Witch here is at relatively low Loyalty due to us joining an organized military faction, while our Lawful Valkyrie is at fairly high loyalty for the same reason. This isn't super important yet, but it'll become a potentially big deal later.

 

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I'm very sorry about this dull, boring update, especially if it ended up being confusing or too wordy. Soon we'll have actual gameplay to deal with, with hopefully 80% mechanical fluff getting in the way.

 

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13 hours ago, epilepsyduck said:

Wow, what a swell guy! LUCT's storyline is more than a little based on Matsuno's perspective of the then-ongoing Yugoslav wars, and shit like this is a pretty clear lean into that.

this... explains so much

Also fun to see archers in their full glory, before KoL decided they had to be annihilated to barely a shadow of their former selves.

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On 3/14/2019 at 2:22 AM, Parrhesia said:

this... explains so much

Also fun to see archers in their full glory, before KoL decided they had to be annihilated to barely a shadow of their former selves.

You know a game's class balance is a little wonky when the class literally named Archer is arguably one of the worst classes to give a bow to, especially next to Hawkmen and even next to Fairies of all things. At least the female ones have a cute sprite.

 

With all that game mechanics nonsense over and done with, we can march into our first real battle, which I massively overprepared for, and witness return of a certain friend that will make things even easier.

Chapter 1 Tanmas Hill: Luck Of The Draw

Spoiler

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We've spent enough time bothering Duke Ronway for useless monsters and making everyone's sprites look different so battles aren't a total clusterfuck. Let's move on to the first true battle of the game, with approximately 80% less overpowered guest characters.

 

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We arrange our team like so. In truth, we don't need the Gryphon, but he's at least strictly better than an empty slot.

 

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This battlefield is a bit flat for a hill, really. It's more like Tanmas Valley.

 

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Quote

Oruba: Walstanian Rebels in this area. I bet you guys came here to help the fools that preceded you. Well, it's not going to happen.

If you (like me the first time I played LUCT) just march straight into this battle without training, it's gonna chew up all your new free recruits and spit them straight back out. Fortunately, we've trained so much here that we're doing obscene damage and barely taking any in return. For as grindy as it can be, gaining just a few levels can sometimes make a big difference between a slog of a battle and a cakewalk.

 

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And for the folks who didn't train beforehand, the game mercifully throws you a bone.

 

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Quote

Canopus: guys. I will stay with you. Whoever wants to end up as a dead carcass can challenge me!!

Whichever Quest employee decided to give us this fabulous chicken for free at the start of the game is a real hero. He can effectively complete this by himself, though you still wanna support him to make sure they don't gang up on him.

 

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Undoubtedly a daunting task for many first-time TO players.

 

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Thankfully, when we're pulling these kinds of numbers, it's the exact opposite of a problem now.

 

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Our magic damage is... less spectacular. We don't even have the INT to do AoE effects yet.

 

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It looks damn impressive compared to what the boss can do to us, though.

 

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One hilarious effect of this is how enemies that land hits on my units gain tons of EXP for doing so, while my own units get minimal EXP from combat here. Enemies can indeed level up from this, though it's not usually a big deal if they do.

 

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Canopus is still a guest for the time being, but he's fairly safe.

 

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There's not really a lot to say about the combat here, so I'll trim it down to some relevant bits. First, I grab all the hidden items around the map.

 

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Each of them was tucked away in little pits on this particular map, making them stand out a bit. Some are in less obvious places later on, but there's never anything irreplaceable in them anyway.

 

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We also get a glimpse of how magic can affect fights in slightly unusual ways; here, the fire spell has burnt away the grass, which changes its terrain type and allows you to actually pick up hidden items if there are any there. There's admittedly not a whole lot of utility for this outside of finding stuff, but it's a nice graphical touch at least.

 

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We also actually pick up the stat cards enemies drop this time. These provide decent little boosts.

 

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The Luck cards are a little special, though. In addition to potentially raising a stat, they can also make it drop a few points. Luck being something of a secondary stat, this isn't that big a deal, but it's something to watch out for if you're running around hoovering up stat cards. A low Luck can potentially help get you some items from hidden item spots you'd miss with high Luck, at least.

 

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This also seems like a good time to introduce a fun thing that shield-wearing characters can do. While attacking, select your shield instead of your weapon.

 

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You'll bash the enemy with your shield, doing very low damage but pushing them away from you. This can potentially shove them off cliffs and cause significant damage, get them away from your squishies, or push them into range of a stronger ally that can finish them off. You can also use it to shove your own dudes a space, if you want, though they still take damage from it.

 

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We've also gained the ability to chat it up with enemies now. Unlike Knight of Lodis, only Denim can do this.

 

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Just select whoever you want to recruit. While you can technically try to persuade anyone on the map from any range, in practice it's impossible to succeed if you're not in melee range, at least as far as I've ever seen.

 

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A little animation will play, then the game will tell you if you succeeded or not. In this case, Denim can't convince this Amazon not to get utterly crushed by our superior troops, but that's okay since I was just doing it to demonstrate how it works. Your chances of convincing someone can be increased by chatting to them from the side or from behind them and by injuring them until they're close to death, just like real conversations.

 

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Canopus kills our would-be friend before I can try again.

 

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Here we can see that Ninja Shuriken attack. It's pretty weak, but it's at least strictly better than throwing a rock.

 

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After cornering this poor man so I could grab everything any not have Vice or Canopus murder him, we end it with one of the very stones I just derided.

 

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Unfortunately, he can, but nobody tell him.

 

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The usual money-and-stuff ceremony. A shame I already bought more copies of FireBurn than I really need at the moment.

 

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Afterwards, we're asked if we want to recruit Canopus, to which there is absolutely no reason not to say yes. If I hadn't overleveled, he'd be really strong compared to my generics, and even despite that he's incredibly useful in general. Since he can fly, he can grab a bow and reach high places to rain death onto the battlefield, and he later starts learning useful special abilities that make him even more versatile. My Valkyrie is also gonna appreciate that Spear of his.

 

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We're basically done, but I've got just one more thing to show you.

 

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Let's just head back to the castle, then try going to Tanmas Hill again. Ignore the date, it definitely didn't take me multiple attempts to do this.

 

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Suddenly, we're assaulted once again. Has Oruba risen from his grave to fight us again?

 

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Fortunately, no. Instead, we are faced with a random battle. Random battles can potentially happen whenever you move onto or past a space on the map other than a castle or town. Here we've got an Amazon leading three members of a new class.

 

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Meet Lizardmen. In addition to monsters like we've seen before, LUCT has a selection of humanoid races to choose from that sort of straddle the line between the human warriors and the beasties; they can wear equipment like the former, but can't change classes and usually have special abilities like the latter. Outside of Canopus, they're by and large not that good, but some of them have their uses. Lizardmen are basically a Soldier/Amazon with slightly better Strength that can go in water, and thus fall under the "not that good" category. They also specialize in Hammers, a weapon class we won't be seeing for a bit, further lessening their utility. 

 

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I also realize I forgot to mention a fun little thing you can do. If you open the status menu during battle and hit X...

 

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You can set the unit you selected to be controlled by the AI. This is by an large kind of useless, since the AI isn't very smart, but might be okay if you're exceptionally lazy and don't care about the casualties you will undoubtedly suffer as a result of this.

 

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Note that Denam can't be set this way, so you must always have at least one person under your control.

 

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Quote

Canopus: Take care of Yulia...

Random battles scale to the party's average level, so they can be quite tough even if you grind.

 

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Thankfully, we have saves.

 

We'll get to hopefully more challenging fair next time, with the introduction of a dangerous new type of foe, right as we meet the very kind of person equipped to deal with it.

 

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On 3/16/2019 at 10:29 PM, Laura said:

uh i just noticed this another game with GOTH as their currencies damn

I think it makes sense that Goth is the name of the money in this setting; it's a pretty depressing place when you really look at it.

 

We've got the first of Tactic's Ogre's many escort missions to deal with today, but thankfully the greatest challenge will be keeping enemies alive long enough to get their stuff.

Chapter 1 Krizar City: The Talking Dead

Spoiler

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Instead of being murdered by reptiles, let's try going where the plot actually asked us to go.

 

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Here's our formation.

 

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I don't know how I feel about this reboot of The Exorcist.

 

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Quote

Presance: Look at the numbers of undead... How dare they treat a dead soul like this... I will send these dead souls to the eternal darkness... Souls of the undead, I command you to fall!

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He vaporizes one of the undead. Sure wish Exorcism was that reliable in actual gameplay.

 

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Quote

Presance: Hang in there, Leonard! Hang in there until our reinforcements arrive.

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Quote

Presance:  the Liberation Army is here. Praise the Gods.

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Quote

Mordoba: in the house. It is the sleep of death. When they wake up, they will turn into the undead. We will fight until our Lord Nybbas returns. Do not allow them to go any further!

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Predictably, we've got to deal with the boss to finish this chapter, but we're actually gonna ignore her for now and focus on other things.

 

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First off, we've got undead units to look at. Skeleton's are the "fighter" type of undead, and they're honestly kinda bad. Their stats are worse than those of Soldiers and Amazons, nevermind more useful melee units, and they don't really have anything else to say for themselves to make up for it. The only real advantage they have is one they share with other undead; they don't die permanently at 0 HP, and will eventually get back up again unless hit with the Exorcism spell. There'll kinda be a use for these fellas later, but it's unorthodox and we're not even remotely near the point we can do it yet.

 

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The "mage" counterpart to the above is the Ghost unit. These guys are actually pretty decent, really; they've got nice stats in the areas a magic class would care about, can teleport around, revive at 0 HP the way Skeletons do, and despite a bad Vitality growth are unusually resilient against physical attacks. They can equip two spells from the same list as the Wizard, and this one in particular comes with a spell we can't buy yet. The only real downside to these guys is the lack of class changing, at least via normal means. I find Tactics Ogre's Ghosts kind of cute, in a Black Mage sort of way, so I'll probably make at least some use of them.

 

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We start moving out. Here's a Ninja walking directly on the water.

 

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Much like FFT, spellcasters will sometimes say some weird hammy dialogue when they cast a spell.

 

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In this mission, we have to protect this Exorcist, Presance. It's not game over if he dies, but we won't get to recruit him unless he survives. Later missions involving protecting some guest unit will usually be a bit more consequential.

 

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They're also usually quite a bit more difficult. Presance isn't really in any danger from these guys unless you ignore him completely.

 

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We're overleveled, to be fair, but even if we weren't it's not a tough battle.

 

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When undead "die" they drop to the floor and remain there until they get back up or you Exorcise them.

 

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The boss is equipped with a Stun spell, and she has a hilariously low chance of actually hitting anyone with it. Girl should've spent some time as an Archer before all this.

 

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It figures that the most consistently useful "status" spell is one that's exclusive to Wizards and other magical damage dealers.

 

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Sleeping units can't dodge or block attacks, which puts Presance in a precarious position.

 

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Not to worry, though, we've got a Heal spell that I stole from Kachua.

 

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I promise we won't be rolling everything so severely forever. I think it makes things less fun to read about.

 

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One of these boys has a Spear on him. We won't be able to buy any for a while yet, and there's no guarantee he'll drop it if we kill him.

 

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The next best thing is to get him on our side. Nobody tell him I only want his stuff.

 

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Since I has to greatly lower his health to persuade him, I have one of my units use her healing items on him so the Ghost doesn't kill him.

 

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I also wanna pick up this ghost, and I might even actually make use of him.

 

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Persuaded units act the same way guest units do until the end of the fight, and our new buddy nearly kills the boss before I could grab the ghost.

 

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Quote

Mordoba: Is he not back yet!?

Man, this Nybbas dude is a terrible boss. That's two allies of his we're gonna kill while he's chilling on the beach somewhere.

 

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Normally, I wouldn't be happy to see the boss heal herself, but it'll give us some valuable time for my purposes.

 

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It took a couple turns, but we get the little guy eventually.

 

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Our new ghost buddy turns his magic on his former boss.

 

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We're done here.

 

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I really hope this guy's having fun on that vacation of his. It's got a real bodycount so far.

 

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She drops her Stun spell, which isn't great so early in the game but can be quite handy once you get a spellcaster with good Dexterity.

 

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We pick up our new kids. You can't just take people's equipment without recruiting them, so make sure to have space if you want something somebody has.

 

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We meet some new faces, at least one of which has an actual, unique face.

 

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Quote

Leonard: Thank you for coming to our rescue, Denim. Sorry to make you worry, Presance. I was attacked by surprise. I have lost the valiant warriors Duke Ronway gave me to command. I cannot face him...

Presance: It is still fortunate that we did not lose you, Leonard.

Leonard: Nybbas does not fear the Gods... Curse him!

Presance: Ah, I heard Nybbas is hiding in an abandoned fort close by. He abandoned Amorika and never went back to Coritani. I don't know what he's up to...

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Quote

Leonard: kill him. Or else I can never face Duke Ronway again...

Presance: Can't go directly to the fort with your army? I think we should go back to the castle at once.

Leonard: I would if we were the only troops left. But now we have new friends.

Presance: But there is no guarantee that Amorika will be safe.

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Quote

Leonard: So this is your call...

Presance: That's a good idea, to the fort or back to the castle? Denim, tell us what you think.

Leonard: Voltel, Sara, do you agree?

Presance: We will obey your command. We will risk our lives for you.

 

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Leonard's two friends join up with us. They don't have dialogue or unique portraits, and are effectively generic units that start in a class other than Soldier/Amazon.

 

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We also get Presance, who does have a unique portrait, and is the main reason it's not super-useful to raise your own Exorcists.

 

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We'll be marching to have a word with this Nybbas fellow and his terrible leadership skills soon.

 

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46 minutes ago, epilepsyduck said:

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I find it cute the ghost is named Andy of all things.

Why Andy?

49 minutes ago, epilepsyduck said:

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We pick up our new kids. You can't just take people's equipment without recruiting them, so make sure to have space if you want something somebody has.

So wait, he's not not undead?

How did that happen?

50 minutes ago, epilepsyduck said:

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We also get Presance, who does have a unique portrait, and is the main reason it's not super-useful to raise your own Exorcists.

So you can say his Presance makes generic Exorcists irrelevant.

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On 3/19/2019 at 6:02 PM, Laura said:

Nybbas sounds like what white kids use instead of saying the nword

I'm gonna have to censor his name every time I use it now. I hope you're happy.

Not actually gonna censor it bc it'd be a pain in the ass lol.

On 3/19/2019 at 6:08 PM, Dayni said:

I find it cute the ghost is named Andy of all things.

Why Andy?

The game just has a pool of random names it uses for generic units, and it doesn't really care who that unit happens to be. It's a bit silly sometimes, even ignoring how goofy some of the names themselves are.

On 3/19/2019 at 6:08 PM, Dayni said:

So you can say his Presance makes generic Exorcists irrelevant.

You could say that, if you have no shame.

 

Today we meet with this Nybbas fella everyone's so concerned about, who's an upstanding citizen that we'll get along great with.

Chapter 1 Fort Kadoriga: Everybody Hates Andy

Spoiler

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Before we head into battle, let's make a quick stop in the Edit menu.

 

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Mr. Wineberg must leave us soon, but first he generously offers us his gear.

 

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He then willingly and happily leaves us forever without any fuss whatsoever.

 

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See, he's glad to help us out this way!

 

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Denim's gonna get some good use out of his generous donations. We don't have any whips for him yet, but a spear is the next best thing.

 

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Alright, on to the next plot point!

 

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We're gonna bring the new kids today, plus a few other odds and ends. They're a little more level appropriate than the other folks we've got.

 

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Quote

Nybbas: that you made it this far. So, Mordoba is dead. Too bad. She was very helpful in my research and other things too... But why don't you forgive me? If you want me to apologize, I will do so. I am of Gargastan blood. But I don't care who rules this island. I don't even care who wins. So, why don't you let me go? You don't have to waste your time.

He seems like a goodhearted and helpful fellow. I'm sure this will go fine.

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Despite Nybbas being a kind-hearted soul who'd never hurt a fly, Denim has the option of rudely yelling at the poor old man.

If Denim is chill:

Quote

Denim: Relax, I have no will to kill a weakling like you. But I will not set a criminal free, either. If you want to repay your dishonorable actions, then I will bring you to Amorika Castle.

Nybbas: Good boy! I like you. You lead your people well... but I don't trust you. I know others are dying to kill me. Stupid fool... I shall call demons from the very depths of Hell to destroy you! Now show me! Show me your deep attachment to life! Ha ha ha...

Whereas if he decides to be a jerk:

Quote

Denim: Shut up! You evil magician... You disturb the souls of the dead...!

Nybbas: You're a disappointment. You cannot even begin to comprehend the truth. But then again, you are young. How can a lad who hasn't even lived a quarter century understand me? Too bad... I shall call demons from the depths of Hell! Now show me what you can do. Your confidence has no foundation!

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I pick option two, because I like Denim being a bit of a jerk.

 

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Nybbas summons some undead and attacks you regardless of what you say to him. I guess he wasn't so friendly after all.

 

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Nybbas actually has a unique class, like Kachua. Unlike Kachua, it's an enemy-exclusive one, though the PSP version actually does let you get your own Necromancers and demotes it to a generic class.

 

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Our fastest kids start moving towards the fort.

 

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Ghosts are apparently very lazy and feel the need to warp every time they move, even if they're just going a few spaces. I guess if I could warp I'd do the same, to be fair.

 

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Attacks spells aren't very impressive this early in the game. That will change before long, though.

 

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My witch tries to use her new spell on a very, uh, creatively named soldier. Naturally, it doesn't pan out.

 

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Incubus is way more reliable than most "real" status spells thanks to its perfect hit rate, even if the Sleep effect isn't guaranteed to go off.

 

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Nybbas, presumably offended at Andy's betrayal, decides to target him first.

 

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Note that undead characters, for all their other advantages, cannot be targeted by healing spells, or at least not by "Virtue" healing spells. They can use items and there are other abilities that can heal them, but it's something to keep in mind if you want to use them.

 

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My bird husband Canopus flies up to deal with the enemies blocking our way up.

 

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I'm probably not gonna show all of the spell dialogues, but I'll show this one because they amuse me.

 

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That's one boy down.

 

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Since some of these boys are undead, let's try to exorcise them before they become a problem. I don't really know what the math is for Exorcism's hit rate is.

 

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I'm not having fantastic luck with hit rates so far.

 

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This sure is a change from dealing 60+ to every enemy on the field, huh?

 

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Waking up from a status eats a unit's turn, so even if it only lasts one turn it still helps.

 

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Especially if you can put a new one on the bastard before he gets to move.

 

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For whatever reason, the AI takes a great deal of interest in Andy and Vice more than any other targets. Andy being undead means he's safe from any real consequences of this, while Vice is safe for other reasons, so this mostly takes the pressure off my more vulnerable dudes.

 

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Leonard has been tailing along as a guest the whole time, and makes himself quite useful.

 

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Andy's taken a massive beating this whole time, and Nybbas finally brings his HP to 0.

 

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His response is to turn into a pile of rags.

 

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Fortunately, he'll be fine, unlike Nybbas's own ghosts. Boy should've brought an Exorcist of his own.

 

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The Ghosts must've been a fairly high level compared to Presance, because he gets an insane amount of experience for Exorcising it.

 

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Canopus finds a tactical position to maim an evil old man.

 

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Our other archer is doing a less impressive job with her side of the fight.

 

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Because of her failure, Vice takes what would normally be fatal damage.

 

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Fortunately, he remembered to wear his plot armor today, and escapes the battlefield.

 

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Just in case you were wondering what that little "Escape" gem in his inventory was for.

 

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Our little ghost pal finally gets up, ready to contribute to the rest of the fight.

 

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Oh.

 

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One annoying thing about exorcising undead how you can't do it if they're "unconscious," you've gotta do it while they're still running around fucking your shit up. This isn't a super big deal, but it would''ve been nice if maybe you could exorcise them with a 100% while they're out or something.

 

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I figured we could use another ghost boy. Unlike Andy, I mostly just want him for the spell he's carrying.

 

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Voltel ends the necromancer menace once and for-

 

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Quote

Nybbas: weak mind. You have made great progress. But I cannot allow myself to die here. My research is more important than this. Denim, is it not? I shall remember your name. If you live, we shall meet again. I will show you the progress of my research then. Farewell...

all? I guess we aren't quite as done with him as we'd hope.

 

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Then he just... poofs into a bird and flies away. A cute little touch is that all your units turn to face him while he does it, like even they think it's weird.

 

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We get money and more money.

 

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We also get a new friend, but he won't be a permanent addition.

 

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No new places open up after the battle. The game actually wants you to head back to Amorika, but it does a poor job of telling you this. You can even do this without encountering Nybbas and skip his fight entirely, if you wanted, but there's no reason not to beat up on an evil old man when you get the chance. We'll get to chatting with our boss later.

 

Edited by epilepsyduck
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39 minutes ago, epilepsyduck said:

tck0aIM.png?2

My bird husband Canopus flies up to deal with the enemies blocking our way up.

Causing Benedict here to react like he slipped on a banana peel.

Except it's an arrow. I bet Green Arrow has a banana arrow.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry about the schedule slip. We've got some story stuff to deal with today, plus a few more new faces to play with and a very generic battle with some very generic villains.

 

Chapter 1 Gruborza Plains: Natural Sword Enhancement

Spoiler

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With that Necromancer chased off and Leonard and pals in tow, Denim heads back to Amorika Castle to deal with some important plot stuff.

 

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But before we go, we got a new pal to check out.

 

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Dragons are a special kind of beast unit. Unlike the others, they come in multiple "classes" and can switch between them similarly to how humans do, though the requirements for this are fairly steep. The four "elemental" varieties are basically identical aside from their special "breath" weapon, which changes depending on the dragon's element. They all have sky-high HP and Strength and good Mentality in exchange for mediocre to bad stats elsewhere (especially Agility), but later dragon classes are usually better in those areas so it'll eventually even out. Of the four elements, I'd argue Thunder and Water have the best breath weapons, causing Stun and Sleep respectively while still doing damage; Fire's ability to weaken enemy gear is respectable but situational, and Earth's ability to poison foes is terrible because the poison does crap damage. It's important to note also that they don't receive the combat boost from Beast Tamers the way other beast classes do; this makes them arguably a little worse this early on, but they eventually come into their own if you're willing to train them.

 

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Before we can get to Amorika, I am waylaid by more random battles. Here's my Valkyrie stabbing up some scalies.

 

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Alright, let's get on with some plot shit.

 

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Back in the meeting hall with Ronway and Lans. I hope Lans is proud of how much training I've done.

 

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Quote

Ronway: Leonard. I am very pleased with your work. Now, your next duty is to go to Fiduc Castle in Bacrum. I want you to go there with Leonard.

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Quote

Denim: castle where the Roslolian Knights are stationed... Why there!?

Ronway: I want to sign a non-intervention treaty with them before we begin fighting with the Gargastans. Not with Bacrum, but with the Dark Knights. I can't afford having Bacrum attacking us from behind.

Kachua: But Duke Ronway, Bacrum is the cause of this disaster. They started this whole mess. And a Roslolian Knight killed our parents. Had they not supported Bacrum, we wouldn't be in this situation.

Ronway: Kachua. Believe me, I feel the same way as you do. But think about it. Do you think we can win with our troops? The Roslolians are an unbeatable enemy. That is why it is critical for us to sign a treaty with the Kingdom of Lodis, so that we will not be their enemy.

Vice: Are you suggesting that we surrender to Lodis?

You gotta give it to Denim and his buds, they have a very "let's fight EVERYONE" kind of energy that would fit right in with kids on Twitter nowadays.

 

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Really, everyone is significantly testier in this version of the story, which I enjoy, rough translation or no.

Quote

Ronway: I have no intention of selling out to the Kingdom of Lodis. By keeping the Dark Knights out of the way, the Gargastans will not dare pursue the war. After we kill Barbatos, we will hit Bacrum.

kwgrJUS.png?1

Quote

Ronway: I hope the Zenobian King is not wanting Valeria. If so, I am sure your king will sign a non-intervention treaty with us.

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Duke Ronway has a senior moment or something and forgets that the knights working for him aren't on some dual-enrollment program or something and only work for him now. Lans isn't amused.

Quote

Ronway: Now, go to Fiduc with Leonard. Oh, and I shall give you 10,000 Goth for this duty. Do not forget to buy better equipment.

 

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With yet more cash that we have very little use for, we set out, with three new locations on the map.

 

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Despite asking us to buy "better" equipment, the options on sale are the same as they've ever been.

 

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We do, however, get the opportunity to recruit a semi-new class.

 

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Meet Hawk Men. You might be thinking we've already got one, but Canopus is actually an Eagle Man, and is literally just a better version of the Hawk Man. This is probably a holdover from the class system in the first Ogre Battle, where Hawk Men promoted to Eagle Men, but they don't here, so the game just has a generic class that's a worse version of something you get for free in your very first real battle. To be fair, "worse" is a relative term; Hawk Men are perfectly good units, preferably used as archers thanks to both their flight and their iffy Vitality, but having good enough Dexterity to make it work quite nicely. They don't get any unique abilities, though, and ultimately their inability to class change kinda hurts when they're basically regular boys with wings. At least the PSP version eventually let demihumans like these guys switch classes.

 

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Enough chatter, it's time for battle.

 

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Here's our gang all lined up.

 

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Due to the guests we've got, we seriously outnumber the folks here.

 

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Quote

Brenzen: Army is here.

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Quote

Soldier: manpower! Let's retreat and not look back!

Brenzen: Shut up you wimp! Don't you have any pride!?

Soldier: But look at them. They've got bigger swords than us... It's obvious that we can't win.

I never knew the outcome of a battle was decided by who had the "biggest swords". How spicy!

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Well, I guess that's a rational way to deal with your troops panicking as the enemy approaches. Love the Amazon and Cleric's reactions to it, too.

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Quote

Brenzen: You're just scared because they took over Amorika Castle. Why don't you just run home to your mama!! Follow me! I will show you the strength of Gargastan!

You... you killed him, though? Why are you sassing him after he died?

 

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Honestly, this Brenzen dude's a real prick, so I'll be happy to do that.

 

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There's not really a whole lot to this battle, so I'll just highlight these two in terms of gear you'll want to grab; the Soldier's Chain armor won't be available for a bit, and the Cleric's Heal spell isn't buyable until Chapter 2. Neither of these are super important, but they're nice to have, so it's worth trying to persuade them if you can.

 

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Everyone starts moving towards the center of the field.

 

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There is very little in this battle that bears any real threat to Leonard. Tactics Ogre sure is fond of giving you powerful guests in the earlygame, Kachua and Vice aside. That will change soon.

 

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We're still doing big numbers with each hit, but enemies are starting to get a bit better at taking those hits.

 

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Doesn't matter so much when they can't move, though.

 

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The poor man is eventually stoned to death. What an undignified way to go.

 

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Realizing Leonard was gonna kill this guy before Denam could talk to him, I killed him myself and hoped he'd drop his armor.

 

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He didn't. A shame, but not a huge loss.

 

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The boss charges Denim and gets badly beaten up. I still want to grab that Cleric, though, and if he dies I can't.

 

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Fortunately, my healing spells work just as well on him as they do on my own troops. It's unorthodox, but it'll hopefully buy me a couple more turns.

 

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Predictably, healing the enemy doesn't give the best gains back.

 

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Let's get this girl's HP down so we can chat with her, since that's apparently how it works in Valeria.

 

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I try to stun Brenzen to stop him from doing something colossally stupid again, but it doesn't take. Someday we'll have status spells that hit consistently, I swear...

 

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I kinda ignored this side of things once the Chain guy died, but the Wizard over here isn't long for this world either.

 

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I decide my own units deserve the EXP more than some rando who I can't control.

 

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Vice and Kachua are massively underleveled, so even with the same insane aggression that Leonard is displaying right now, they're far less likely to mess up my plans. Vice even levels up from fighting Brenzen!

 

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Vice does come very close to fucking up my persuasion plans, thankfully she's still hanging in there. For now.

 

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She is wholly unconcerned with her own survival, and instead patches up the boss some more.

 

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He does the same for himself with his own healing items.

 

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Alright, finally backed her into a corner and now she's ready to joi-

 

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Oh.

 

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Leonard, dickhead that he is, swiftly ensures I won't get a second shot at it.

 

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We're finally starting to see enemies that can do the same kind of damage that we've been pulling this whole time. Dark tidings indeed.

 

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Not that it helps him all that much.

 

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Maybe you shouldn't have killed one of your own dudes. Things might've gone better for you.

 

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Cash get.

 

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We also grab the Phlanka, the basic axe weapon of the game. It's a little stronger than the Short swords everyone has, but it's also a bit heavier. My own Berserker is gonna love this.

 

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Next time, we'll march to Rime and encounter some new faces that might indicate a more ~c o m p l i c a t e d~ tale is just on the horizon.

 

Edited by epilepsyduck
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Yeah, Knights of Lodis is the prequel. It's...

Spoiler

the one-eyed black guy with purple hair's origin story. Lans Tartarus or whatever he's called.

This game was made first, then remade after for the PSP.

Also... christ, berserker boss. "Why don't you run home to your mama?" Old mate literally tried to do that!!

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Yeah, KoL and this game are a prequel/sequel pair like Parr said, as well as sharing the series with the three Ogre Battle games, which share the same world and some of the same characters but take place in other countries and are a totally different genre of game. I've got very loose plans to maybe get to all of that stuff one day, but LUCT is a long game and we're not even a quarter of the way through yet.

 

We're about to hit the point where the plot truly starts getting ~p o l i t i c a l~, but first we have to deal with one of Tactics Ogre's favorite challenges, a suicidal Guest NPC we have to save.

Chapter 1 Rime: Equality For One

Spoiler

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Instead of the dilly-dallying around I usually do, let's just head straight to the next fight.

 

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The team. The Gryphon may seem an odd choice, but he'll have some utility that I can't really get with anyone else.

 

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We open on a gaggle of generic soldiers and their pet dragon surrounding someone the game deemed important enough for a unique sprite.

 

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Quote

Ryumos: Or do you want to die here?

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It seems like our new pal is an idealistic sort. Judging from her portrait she could really use a comb.

 

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On the fairly long list of Things That Aren't Great About This Translation, the frequency in which dudes refer to women as "bitch" is definitely up there. You could probably make it a drinking game if it wasn't for how long the game is.

 

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The dragon tries to munch on her, but she dodges and ends up jumping across the water.

 

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Unfortunately for Ryumos, he's now got a much bigger problem on his hands.

 

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Quote

Leonard: Army. Does she belong to another organization?

s0xNKVD.png?1

Here we come to our first real dialogue choice that actually means something, though not in a very immediate sense. As far as the battle itself goes, it really just changes the dialogue a bit.

Option One:

Quote

Denim: Either way, we cannot abandon her. Let's help her!

Option Two:

Quote

Denim: I'd like to help her, but we have to minimize our losses first.

Kachua: Are you serious!? Look, she is fighting against the Gargastan forces alone!

Leonard: We are going to fight the Gargastan Army anyway. We'll help her if we can.

I pick option one, for reasons that won't be apparent for a while yet.

 

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Predictably, we gotta smush the leader boy to win.

 

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Before we get on with that, let's look at our pal Sisteena here. She's a relatively competent combatant, and if we had control of her she probably wouldn't be in much danger at all. However, the AI controls her, and it's not very smart about how she should behave; she's liable to stand near-exactly where she starts and get whittled down if you don't move swiftly to intervene, and in the first couple of turns the enemy is primarily gonna focus on her to make sure that she dies. Saving her isn't required, mind you, and depending on later events it might not even matter, but for completion's sake I'm gonna do it here anyway.

 

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As far as equipment goes, most of the enemies here have Chain armor, which provides a nice defense boost over the Leather armor we have now, but is also nearly twice as heavy. It can be worth it regardless for characters with good Agility, so it's worth picking up. The Witch also has a Stun spell you can persuade her for if you really, really want two copies of it during Chapter 1, or sold your first copy like a total idiot.

 

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Canopus tries to shoot one of the Amazons, but her higher elevation makes it difficult to pull the shot off. Curse TO and it's semi-realistic archery mechanics!

 

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As if we weren't gonna have enough trouble saving Sisteena, basically every status effect someone directs her way this fight hits home. What joy!

 

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I'm not nearly so fortunate with mine, though at least Incubus deals damage on top of putting things to sleep.

 

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No individual enemy does huge damage to Sisteena, but with so many of them focusing on her she's probably gonna get dangerously low on HP before long.

 

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Leonard's got a gauntlet for blocking attacks with instead of a shield. The related animation looks... weird.

 

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Poison is not normally that big a deal, but with everyone out for Sisteena's blood it's gonna make it even tougher to keep her alive. Now would maybe be a good time to start moving, girl.

 

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To make it worse, she's just barely out of reach of my healing spells.

 

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We can at least get rid of one annoyance.

 

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She drops her armor, which I immediately have someone pick up to stop enemies from potentially stealing it back.

 

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The boss charges me soon after, more to his detriment than mine. It would probably be easier and more efficient to just kill him now, but I'd like to get a few more enemy drops if I can first so he gets to live for now.

 

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Though with things going how they're going over there, this probably wasn't the smartest move.

 

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Girl, really? Why can't my Stun spells be this accurate?

 

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This Amazon decides the best way to do archery is to run right up to your target before you shoot them. Unfortunately, this means she's now blocking our way up the hill.

 

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Characters who are stunned or asleep cannot dodge or block attacks, so everyone's even more free to beat the shit out of Sisteena.

 

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I try to patch her up a bit, but healing spells this early in the game are kinda crap.

 

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I try to shield-push the boss out of the way, but he blocks that with his own shield. That would probably look ridiculous if two people did it in real life.

 

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We can at least reduce the bullying going on over there by putting these boys in time out.

 

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I also have my Gryphon fly over to act as an makeshift medic. We shouldn't have to worry too much about her health anymore.

 

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With me no longer having to fuss over a dump NPC, I'm free to knock everyone out.

 

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The boss makes a flaccid attempt to kill Andy, but succeeds only in making him more powerful.

 

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I hope we've taught him a valuable lesson about respecting women today.

 

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Stuff acquired. Sadly, the Chain armor from the first Amazon is the only one that dropped; the other items were a less-useful hat and a healing item.

 

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Quote

Sisteena: Thank you for saving my life.

You probably wouldn't have needed us so bad if you did something other than stand in place, but you're welcome regardless.

 

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Well, I don't see a problem with that, maybe we can hel-

 

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Oh, I guess not.

 

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Quote

Kachua: the same position as us?

Leonard: She is a member of Bacrum's extreme right-wing group who worships the late King Dolgare.

Kachua: I've heard about that. They're the people who are fighting against the Bacrum government.

Leonard: That's the polite term..."Terrorist" is more like it. They engage in subversive activities, involving innocent citizens...

Setting aside how weirdly anachronistic the terms "right-wing" and "terrorist" are for a setting like Valeria, it's nice to hear Leonard is such a noble figure who'd never hurt innocent people for his cause. Glad we have such a trustworthy guy tagging along.

 

cM6SxcY.png?1

Quote

Sisteena: propaganda that Branta's government has perpetuated! We, the Valeria Liberation Front, want to go back to the time of King Dolgare. When everyone was equal...

Vice: Equal!? Ha, did she say equality!? When did we ever have equality?

vv0OKYU.png?1

Vice reveals he doesn't know what the word "equal" means.

Quote

Vice: alright. But for us Walstanians, we were treated like shit!

Sisteena: I never...then what are you fighting for?

VLQ4lNx.png?1

I believe this particular dialogue option actually does have an effect on scenes we'll have later with Sisteena, though I can't claim for certain that's true. If you said you didn't want to save her at the start of the battle, you don't even get to make a choice at all.

Option One:

Quote

Denim: For Walsta's future. We need to establish our own country.

Sisteena: ...So you are just like Branta. For our country, for our nation. Your failure to compromise will be your undoing. How selfish...

Vice: You hypocritical terrorist bitch, look who's talking... Aren't you trying to achieve the same thing!?

Option Two:

Quote

Denim: For true peace. We are fighting to create a world without war.

Sisteena: Then let us fight together. We are after the same thing.

Vice: Don't be ridiculous. We can't unite with the Bacrum people. They're the enemy. You see, what he meant by "true peace" was a world where the Walstanians can live without fear. We do not wish to live in a world where we need to co-exist with you terrorists! We don't need you!

Honestly, this conversation really highlights how much more unlikable SNES Vice is compared to PSP Vice, who himself is still kind of a dick. Boy doesn't have a single line of dialogue in Chapter 1 that isn't him flipping out at someone, insulting someone, or saying something racist.

 

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Anyway, "true peace" is the correct choice for this scene. I don't actually know for sure if this affects anything if/when we meet her later, but it's more consistent with how I plan on dealing with her later anyway.

 

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Leonard: That's enough, Vice. This is pointless. Sisteena, that's your name, isn't it? I will set you free. Leave this place. This is our war. I will not allow the Bacrum people to selfishly invade our land.

Sisteena: I see. But I will not give up. We will establish a peaceful world, no matter what. Someday you will realize that if you are truly seeking peace, then you will have to give up your selfish desires.

Leonard: Leave now, and don't ever come back.

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Sisteena walks out the door, but looks back right as the scene ends. I kinda love little animation touches like this, and LUCT's got quite a few, though not as many as FFT would later.

 

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We're just about to get to Fiduc Castle as we set out to do, but we'll have to handle that plot stuff another time.

 

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Today we get to meet these Dark Knights everyone's so worked up about, then head home for a new objective and some very subtle foreshadowing of things to come.

Chapter 1 Fiduc Castle: Goose Château

Spoiler

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We've watched the enemy murder their own and saved someone just for Vice to chase them off with his racism, but now we're ready to chat with the Knights of Many Titles.

 

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We arrive on the scene and are greeted by a nifty new sprite. We won't be seeing these boys again for quite a while.

 

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I'm sorry to hear that.

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Leonard: A knight of the Amorika Knight Battalion. I have come here as an envoy of Duke Ronway, the great leader of Walsta.

Dark Knight: Wait here.

 

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He leaves, giving Mr. Alliteration here time to prep us for the upcoming negotiations.

 

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Leonard: This is Fiduc Castle, where the Roslolian Knights are stationed

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God this translation, I swear.

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Leonard: It looks elegant, but is as impregnable as any fortress.

The PSP version explains that the castle's nickname of "The Swan" is because of it's white coloration, but this version just makes it sound like it's called that because swans are undefeatable.

I guess it's an apt name either way, then.

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Enough of me poking fun, though, we've got Plot Stuff to handle.

 

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Balzepho: We have been waiting for you, Leonard. Give me the letter from your Duke.

Leonard: Here it is.

Balzepho: You have come a long way. Come in and rest.

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Everyone heads inside.

 

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We're greeted by a meeting hall of sorts. A lot fancier than the place we've been holing up in, I've gotta say.

 

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Balzepho: The Duke's request is interesting.

Leonard: May I ask what your response would be?

Balzepho: You should hear it directly from our lord.

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Suddenly, a familiar face walks into the room.

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Leonard: My god... Sir Lans himself is here!?

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Lans Tartare: I am Lans Tartare.

Leonard: I am Leonard of the Amorika Knight Battalion. I would like to know what your answer is to our lord.

Lans Tartare: Ha, ha, ha. You are impatient. Very well, tell this to your Duke. The leader of Bacrum, Branta, is not interested in the Gargastan and Walsta War. We, the Dark Knights, share the same feeling. We will maintain neutrality.

Leonard: Thank you for your generous words. My lord will be happy to hear that.

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Balzepho: win the war without our support?

Leonard: To be honest, we may not. But victory is not our goal. Our ultimate wish is to establish a world where everyone can co-exist peacefully. Besides, if we were to receive support from another country, we would lose the trust from the people.

This ends up sounding kinda contradictory and garbled here. What he's actually trying to say is they want to establish peace with Gargastan, and feels allying with Lodis would jeopardize that. Here it just sounds like he wants to fight Gargastan, doesn't care about potentially losing said fight, and doesn't want to ally with Lodis to avoid alienating other Walstanians. Really, the whole conversation ends up sounding a bit jumbled.

 

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Please excuse this wall of text, I didn't take enough screenshots.

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Lans Tartare: I see... Then I assume that you do not want to follow in the footsteps of Bacrum, who owes its success to us. ...And lose the trust of the people. This is interesting... ha, ha, ha.

Leonard: Well, I did not say...

Lans Tartare: Very well. We, the people of Lodis, are very proud... I understand why you do not want to be like the Bacrum people.

Leonard: ......

Lans Tartare: Actually, the reason why I asked you such a question is because your troops are quite young. It gave me the impression that Walsta's situation was so bad that you had no choice but to use children...

Leonard: Forgive me for interrupting, my lord, but they are anointed Knights. Do not underestimate them.

Lans Tartare: I see...

Leonard: They rescued Duke Ronway from Amorika Castle, which was defended by some of Gargastan's best soldiers... Moreover, they saved my life when I was in danger at Krizar.

Lans Tartare: So, you are the heroes of Griate that the people are talking about.

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Kachua: snow fell in several years. In the town of Griate, you were the Knights...

Shit's about to get real.

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Leonard: why you are here!

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Here we can choose to support our sister's understandable anger, or just tell her to zip it so we don't jeopardize this whole treaty deal.

Option One:

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Denim: Don't start... This is not our war anymore.

Option Two:

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Denim: We can't compromise with the enemy. You are our enemy...

Balzepho: You are in the presence of Sir Lans! Do not bring up your stupid grudge!

Leonard: Stop it! I apologize for their rudeness.

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I tell her to pipe down, just to be a jerk.

 

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Lans Tartare: attack on Griate. That was...

Balzepho: We attacked Griate based on information that there were rebels hiding in Griate.

Lans Tartare: Which, unfortunately, turned out to be false information. Your hatred for us is not unjustified. Although it was a mistake, it does not justify what we did. I offer you my most solemn apology...

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God, Leonard is such a bootlicker. Not that it doesn't make sense, but still.

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Leonard: We have to get back to our castle.

Lans Tartare: That's too bad... I would love to talk with you more...

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Leonard: rudeness. We must be going now.

Their rudeness? I took your side, dickhead!

 

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We get up and depart out the door, but not before Kachua mopes. Given how gun-ho Vice was about killing Lans earlier, I'm surprised he had nothing to say here.

 

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Balzepho: sir.

Balzepho doesn't appreciate his boss putting us on the spot, it seems.

 

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Lans then totally changes the subject so they can talk about Important Things that won't matter for quite a while yet.

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Lans Tartare: ...Do you remember Haborym?

Balzepho: Yes sir. He wasn't all there, but he was very close to me...

Lans Tartare: That brother and sister. They're so close, just like Haborym and you once were.

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Loon Citadel has disappeared from the world map, so now it's time to head back home.

 

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Oh for fuck's sake

 

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Every time I just wanna go home you asswipes have to interrupt, huh?

 

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In brighter news, our Wizard finally has enough INT to use AoE spells! A lot of spells increase the area they deal damage to based on the unit's INT stat, though for Filo the terrain stat bonuses/penalties affect him enough to change whether or not he can do it.

 

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Finally, at least one of our mages isn't just strictly worse than using an Archer! Expect magic getting stronger/less shitty to become a pattern as we head further in.

 

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With that annoying waste of time out of the way, we can head home to talk with our favorite Duke.

 

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Ronway: vendetta and accomplished your duty. Thank you. This may sound abrupt, but I need you to go to the town of Baramus.

Kachua: That is the town where the Gargastans made a Walsta self-governing district.

Ronway: But in actuality, it is a Walstanian concentration camp. It used to be a coal mining town. But they forced the people in the town to become slaves. The total population is only 5,000. Though everyday more of our people are dying from overwork...

Kachua: We must save them... It is our duty.

Again with somewhat anachronistic phrases like "concentration camp". I know this is loosely based on shit that was actually happening out in the real world, but they could've dressed it up a little better for their pseudo-Medieval Europe setting.

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Ronway: impossible for us to save 5,000 people. My plan is to motivate them to revolt.

Vice: A revolt with that many people, we can't possibly lose.

Ronway: Your optimism is encouraging. However, the odds are not in our favor. We are still too weak. We have to be fully prepared before Gargastan attacks us. Fortunately, antagonism between Barbatos and the anti-government supporters is increasing. If Barbatos is going to move, he will first destroy the anti-government forces. This is our only chance!!

 

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Leonard: people in Baramus. I'm sure that some will be unwilling to fight and others may just want to stay where they are.

Ronway: But that does not mean they like the Gargastans. They are simply tired of fighting. I want you to revive their courage and hope.

Leonard: I will not fail you, my lord...

Ronway: Our fate depends on your young soldiers. I wish you the best.

Sounds like we've got a noble goal to reach for. That always works out nicely in the games Matsuno makes!

 

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Our brave young heroes march out, but the cutscene ain't over yet.

 

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Ronway: Do not fail me.

Leonard: Everything is moving according to your plan. Do not worry...

Well, that's certainly ominous.

 

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We cut to Good Lans standing around in Griate.

 

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Denim: Sir Guildus told me I would find you here.

Lans Hamilton: I see... Come here.

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Lans Hamilton: Is it about the revolt in Baramus?

Denim: Sir Leonard told me it was going to be dangerous...

Lans Hamilton: Are you scared? This is not like you.

Denim: Well, I...

Lans Hamilton: Don't feel embarrassed. Everyone gets scared.

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Honestly, I kind of like how some of Denim's dialogue in this scene sounds almost a bit childish. It kinda highlights how young he is for all this war and leadership stuff.

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Lans Hamilton: Of course. Every time I go into battle my body shakes with fear. But then I think, "I can't die here. I have to live". Somehow the thought eases my fears.

Denim: Can't die here... but I always thought that I would die for a revolution... and yet I realize I fear death...

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Lans Hamilton: two completely different things. If you are really concerned about people, then you should not die. You have to see where this battle will take you. ...Besides, you have a sister. You have to live for her.

Denim: How about you, Sir Lans? Is there someone that you live for? That is...?

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He suddenly yanks out a square thing that is supposed to be a music box. It even changes the background sound to a sad, dinky little tune.

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Lans Hamilton: I live to carry on the memory of my late wife...

Denim: Late wife...

Lans Hamilton: ...Four or five years ago. Before the war against the Empire, we were chased by the Empire's men and during our journey, my wife got sick and died... I can't remember how many times I considered killing myself, especially before the battle. Then I listen to this music box that my wife left me. It reminds me of how precious life is... It tells me that I have to live. I have to carry on...

Denim: ...To live.

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Lans Hamilton: a young lad like yourself does not have to fight...

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That's it for all these words and stuff. We've got some relatively short battles to handle on our way to Baramus, then it'll be time for the end of Chapter 1 where Big Plot Stuff finally happens!

 

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We've got a few short battles to handle, and then the true core of the plot comes calling for us. Pay no attention to that poll up there, it definitely doesn't mean anything.

Chapter 1 Baramus: Flawed Flag Operation

Spoiler

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Some juicy plot stuff is right around the corner, and the upcoming battles aren't anything too exciting. Hopefully no one's gonna mind me trimming them down a bit.

 

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Team #1

 

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This battle and the next one both take place in a swamp. Since a lot of characters can't go in water, swamp levels and the like tend to be a pain in the ass.

 

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Quote

Lexent: Walstanians here! They have amassed quite a few troops... This could be bad... Lord Barbatos doesn't understand. I keep telling him that it's crucial to protect the front line in this area.

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Quote

Lexent: Get back here now or face the consequences! Troops, do not allow them to cross over Lake Bordo! Charge!

I guess murdering your dudes for retreating is just the Gargastan way.

 

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As usual.

 

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Like I said, I'm gonna cut this one a bit short so we can get to the big exciting plot developments, but I'll still go over some important stuff.

 

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This Amazon here starts with a Matou claw weapon. This weapon is far more powerful than any other one-handed weapon we're gonna get until at least Chapter 3, and while it's quite heavy it's perfect for our Ninja thanks to his damage bonus with it. She won't drop it, though, so we need to persuade her to get it.

 

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I had to bring her to literally 1 HP, but I managed.

 

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Then I dealt with the many threats that could easily fuck up my whole plan.

 

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There's still a couple folks alive, but I don't want to risk losing that claw so we're just gonna kill the boss.

 

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Quote

Lexent: Lord Barbatos, curse you!!

The Gargastan people seem to have really shitty leadership.

 

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Stuff get, none of which is as exciting as our actual new toy.

 

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Gimme that.

 

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Units have little quotes whenever you try to fire them. Apparently this girl "fought with us" in the five minutes we've known each other.

 

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It's a bit much for him to lift, but he'll manage.

 

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Time for more marshes.

 

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Team #2

 

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Seems we've got one of those beast tamer dudes to deal with now.

 

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Ganb: Just plain luck, I suppose... This is as good a time as any to test my babies. I have invested a lot of time in these beasts... Belda! Obda! Come! Come here! It's your time to fight!

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Quote

Ganb: Belda! Obda! Show them your power!!

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In addition to his flying pets, he also brings out some lizard boys. While this would normally be bad news, there's a trick to this fight that makes it so we never have to worry about it.

 

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While beating Ganb will indeed end the fight, it's actually a little deceptive to say that's the Victory Condition.

 

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In truth, bringing either of his Gryphons to 0 HP will cause all the enemies to retreat. Since none of them have anything especially irreplaceable, it's best to do this instead of fighting all of them at once.

 

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I decide to pick on Belda, because she came closer first.

 

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A few turns of animal cruelty later...

 

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Quote

Ganb: This is bad. Retreat! You're so evil!!! How dare you harm my babies! I will never forgive you!

Honestly, Ganb is the most relatable character so far.

 

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His pets fly off, while he uses an Escape Gem. I guess this isn't the last we'll see of these three.

 

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We didn't get anything for that last fight, so now it's time to head to our main objective, Baramus.

 

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Team #3. In hindsight, not the best team I could've made.

 

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It's raining, so you know there's gonna be some drama in this place.

 

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Soldier: the Liberation Army!? The Liberation Army is here!

This guy doesn't even get a name, apparently.

 

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The objective of this battle is to kill all enemies, and every enemy is a Soldier with an identical Short sword/Short bow/Leather armor loadout. Forgive my for not getting a lot of screenshots of this intense action.

 

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Just like, imagine this x20 or so.

 

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Denim: reinforcements get here. Let's assemble the group leaders. We will tell the captives our plan and they can decide whether to join us or not.

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Alright, let's get this plot ball rolling!

 

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We cut to Vice being his usual belligerent self.

Quote

Vice: I didn't come all the way here just to do that! You might as well tell them that they should just stay slaves! This Liberation Army is pointless!

Kachua: Don't get so excited, Vice. I can't even hear myself think with you ranting and raving like that!!

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Old Man: What is the use of fighting? Fighting only creates hatred. We would rather have things the way they are. At least we will have food and we don't have to be involved in war.

Vice: You pathetic excuse for a man! As long as you stay here, you're nothing but livestock for Gargastan! Don't you want freedom? Don't you want to live like a man? Where is your pride!?

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Old Woman: If you don't do anything, our peace will be maintained. I don't care about the Liberation Army. It is all the same. We will always be the outcasts. My son used to say the same things you do now. But he died in the war half a year ago. Can you bring him back!?

Old Man: Please leave us alone. Nobody wants to fight. Besides, how can you be so sure that you will win? I don't care who you are. We don't want any part of it!

Well, it seems our hopes of a revolt here have been dashed.

 

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I guess our reinforcements are here, at least.

Quote

Leonard: I apologize for being late... Can I talk with you for a moment?

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Leonard: I heard what happened. It seems that you had a difficult time persuading them.

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Wow, way to crush the kid's spirit.

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Leonard: It's not your fault. I knew that this was going to happen... Listen carefully... You are going to massacre the entire town.

 

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Yeah, same here, buddy.

 

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Leonard: expected. It is Duke Ronway's order.

Denim: Why? We can't kill our own people! Damn it! Give me a reason!!

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Flashback time!

 

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Ronway: If the people in Baramus revolt, then there will be no problem. But I know these people. They will not sacrifice their lives even with the Liberation Army's support. If they do not join the Liberation Army, you will disguise yourselves as soldiers of Gargastan and kill everyone.

Leonard: What did you say!? Are you ordering me to murder our own people!?

Ronway: Calm down, Leonard. Think. You are intelligent enough to understand the plan. Look. To defeat Gargastan, the people of Walsta must become more unified than they have ever been. When the news of Gargastan destroying Baramus spreads, people in other districts will join us.

Moral quandaries aside (and boy are their a lot of those), this plan seems awfully risky for only potentially useful reward. Then again, I suppose that's true of any false flag operation.

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Ronway: And of course, the anti-government forces will see this as a means to rally and support us against Gargastan. Barbatos will be forced to divide his army to fight against the anti-government forces and Walsta! Thus we will increase our chances of winning and kill Barbatos.

Leonard: But I don't think that Denim will go for this...

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It seems like Duke Ronway wasn't quite the savior of Walsta we'd hoped for.

 

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Leonard: Otherwise the future of Walsta is doomed!

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And here we are, the first truly big decision the game's forcing us to make. What we choose here completely changes the course of the game, sending us down one of two routes that potentially branch even further later on. Option 1 leads to what's known as the "Lawful" route, while Option 2 gives us the "Chaotic" one.

I'm gonna let y'all vote on what we should do here. Now, I will confess to slightly preferring the Chaotic route in this version of the game, due to having certain unique characters, items and sidequests that I prefer to their Lawful counterparts. However, if y'all want to be a bloodthirsty bunch, I'll be more than happy to go with it. I'll give the poll a few days and then we'll see what sort of "hero" our boy Denim's gonna be.

 

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45 minutes ago, epilepsyduck said:

Wow, way to crush the kid's spirit.

Quote

Leonard: It's not your fault. I knew that this was going to happen... Listen carefully... You are going to massacre the entire town.

 

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eAXh62U.thumb.png.bbfca4202d0b8125d265304bd311ada8.png.8bdfe82c51ed2f202727e0ae40990da3.png!

(Man this avatar works perfectly here as a response)

Okay, onto the big question.

The Chaotic option seems like it'd fit Denim more based on everything up to now. That's what it'll come down to for me here.

No Way all the way.

(Somehow I feel being bloodthirsty will still happen on the Chaotic route.)

Edited by Dayni
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3 hours ago, epilepsyduck said:

Just gonna vote the Chaotic route in your honor and definitely not bc it's my preferred way to go

At the time I commented the poll wasn't up.

No need for you to be on there at this point.

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