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Viewing Single Post From: Video Game Review Club
Masaki	Aug 7 2008, 01:09 AM
Posts: 71 Group: FEFFer Member #1,986 Joined: July 10, 2008	Yggdra Union: We will never fight alone! One Player Genre: Turn Based Stratergy Platform: Gameboy Advance/PSP Yggdra Union is a more recent game to join the GBAs collection. The game is made by the same company that brought us Riviera: The Promised Land, one of the better RPGs to grace the GBA. It is a Turn based stratergy game like the Fire Emblem or SRW series however, it takes a huge step away from the TBS mold in gameplay which will be discussed in a bit. Yggdra Union is a very unique game in sense of gameplay. YU actually resembles Advanced Wars a little bit more than FE in the sense that each Character controls thier own Army. There are a total of 9 characters that can be used, 8 per playthrough. Before each battle, a summary of the last battle's events plus a preview of events to come will be summarized. Then some coversation between the characters present in the battle before the preperation screen. In the prep screen, you will choose who is to be sent into batttle (Usually the two main chars plus 1-3 other chars) You can also choose to equip Weapons and items to equip. The weapon/item system is very unique in YU. Each Weapon/Item has a certain amount of levels it can last after being equipped before breaking. Also, only 1 weapon OR item may be equipped at one time so you must keep a full inventory at all times. Each weapon/item has a different effect between chars. Weapons/Items may also be used for a one time effect for restoring Morale. Morale serves as the HP in this game, the less Morale your Army has, the weaker the Army. After you select your Items and Characters, you will then procced to chose your command cards... WTF Cards!? In a stratergy game!? This is one of YUs many unique characteristics. Cards serve as "Orders" for your Army and each card dictates movement, strength, special effects and special attacks. Each card also has a Weapon Symbol. The symbol shows what weapon must be equiped for the weapon to be used. So, you have your cards, and then the battle begins. The system plays out in typical SRPG, player turn, enemy turn, fashion. Once either conditions are met, the battle ends. If you lose, the enemies are toned down for the next time you play. Battles are where the real fun begins. This game features the unique union system. Team members who are beside the person attacking participate in a union. This means that after the first team finishes a battle, the second team goes and so on. For a male character, the allies must be in an X formation, whereas female characters can have their allies in a + formation. The unions allow for some really strategic thinking, and considering how you can only have one battle per turn, you have to use unions to take out your enemies effectively. When the battle starts, the person leading the battle attacks, and then the opposing side counterattacks. Finally, both teams duke it out until all of the team members on one side have fallen. It's important to note that the weapon types in this game have a rock-paper-scissors quality. Swords are strong against axes, which are strong against spears, which are strong against swords. Furthermore, there are staffs for necromancers, brooms for witches, bow and arrows for hunters, crossbows for assassins, and scythes for dragon riders. Knights are mounted on horses, and there is also a class that rides griffins. To add even more strategic fun, some classes perform better at night than at day, and the terrain can help or hinder a weapon type. When a clash finally ends, the losing team suffers a drop of Morale. When morale reaches zero, that team is off the battle-field for good. When you level up, complete a mission, or anything else along those lines, your morale does not change. When it comes to battle the game is very linear and it basically makes it so that if you don't attempt to fulfill the victory conditions, you're probably going to lose. Also, when there is a critical attack, it usually means that the receiving team is going to lose the clash. Some battles can take very long, and if you run out of cards, it's game over. What sucks is that most of the time, the enemy sits around and waits for you to expend all of your recourses while you march forward for an attack. Even worse, if you don't plan properly with the right cards and union leaders, you won't be able to use skills. Unto the story, the game starts with Yggdra, the princess of Fantansinia, who is fleeing Gulcasa, an evil emperor who has conquered most of the continent. Yggdra meets up with a gang of thieves led by Milinor. With the help of Milinor, Yggdra defeats a search party sent by Gulcasa. The two then go on a journey to build a Liberation Army in order to free the continent. On the way, Yggdra will recruit old allies, former enemies and everything in between. The story is surprsingly dark featuring MANY instances of death, some more unpleasent than others. There are a total of 3 possible endings and many twists in the plots. A returning feature from Riviera is the "Bathing" scene, however, YU only has 1 scene with only 1 character (Yggdra). The story focus on Yggdra and Milanor puts some characters on the backburner but the characters that are fleshed out are done very well. The endings includes 1 doom ending, 1 canon yet disturbing ending and 1 good ending. My final thoughts. Although YU may seem complicated and difficult at first, it will keep you hooked after the first battle. With 3 different endings, 52 levels over 9 chapters and many Items/Weapons/Cards to collect, you will spend alot of time to get 100%. The art is very interesting and the Music very well done, you will not get bored of it, an overall excellent game for Hard-Core gamers, however I wouldn't recommend to the casual gamer due to sheer difficulty. Gameplay: A- Story: A Graphics: B Music: A+ Replayabilty: A Final Score: A References: Battle Info - Karshell Triumph, Gamefaqs


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