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Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone Review; Rating: 8.3/10
Topic Started: Dec 10 2009, 08:46 AM (1,139 Views)
Fate
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Title: Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone
Developer: Sting
Publisher: Sting, Atlus
Platforms: Game Boy Advance, Playstation Portable
Genre: Tactical Role-Playing
Modes: Single Player

Release Dates:
Game Boy Advance
Japan: March 23, 2006
North America: November 21, 2006
Playstation Portable
Japan: January 24, 2008
North America: September 16, 2008

Official Websites: | Japan | English (Playstation Portable) |


Developed by Sting Entertainment as part of the Dept. Heaven saga, Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone--more commonly referred to simply as "Yggdra Union"--is a tactical role-playing game that was released in Japan. However, after the success of Riviera: The Promised Land, another of the Dept. Heaven saga, Atlus USA localized and published Yggdra Union for North America. Sadly, though, Europe and Australia never got a release date for the game.

Originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006, Sting later remade the game in 2008 for the Playstation Portable. With this, they added new features, such as more characters and items. Unfortunately, a European and an Australian version is still lacking.

Story: In the heart of the continental world lies the kingdom of Fantasinia. For generations, it has prospered and maintained stability under the reigns of wise kings and the Holy Sword. However, when King Ordene, the 31st monarch of Fantasinia, assumed the throne, catastrophe struck. At this time, Gulcasa claimed the throne of Bronquia by force, and invaded Paltina, the capital of Fantasinia. Karona fell to the Bronquian Empire's might, and amidst the chaos that followed, the young Emperor Gulcasa slew King Ordene. From Castle Paltina, Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz, the young daughter of the late King Ordene, managed to flee and head south. Finding old and new allies, Yggdra takes the Gran Centurio, the Holy Sword that had been passed down for generations in her royal bloodline, and battles to reclaim her kingdom.

Gameplay: As stated above, Yggdra Union is a tactical role-playing game, and so, it requires more planning rather than just sheer force and power. Unlike most tactical role-playing games, however, Yggdra Union limits the amount of turns that the player can take before the map ends in a loss. This is determined by the number of cards that is held for that map, which is pre-determined. The cards themselves can be picked manually, though. Along with that, Yggdra Union has a special way of defeating enemies as well.

The game is divided into a series of maps that occur one after the other. This means that once the player completes a map, he or she cannot go back to that map anymore. Thankfully, they are plentiful, with a steady increase in difficulty. When assembling the party for the map, the actual characters must first be selected. There will be times later in the game where the party consists of more units than the map allows, so choosing wisely is crucial. Following that, the cards used during that map must be selected; they are limited as well. When all is set, the conditions will be displayed, showing what must be done in order to advance to the next map. This can be anything from defeating a certain enemy unit or moving all of the party's unit to a certain space. Beneath that is what it takes for the map to be lost. Letting crucial characters die or using up every last card are common conditions for loss. Sometimes, though, alternative routes can be taken, leading to bonus maps with hidden features; however, the story will progress as normal come one or two maps after.

All units on the map have a Morale, which is the equivalent of typical hit points in most role-playing games. This number, when decreased to zero, will result in that unit losing and disappearing from the map. Generic enemy units will be erased permanently, but important characters will mostly just retreat and come to appear at another given time. When a unit from the party loses all of his or her Morale, he or she will experience what is known as "Zero Reset," where all experience earned so far will be lost. Usually, those units will just retreat, but when a unit specified in the conditions die, the map is considered over, and retrying is necessary. To actually deal Morale damage to the enemy, the battle must be won. When that happens, the power of the card selected that turn will determine the amount of Morale lost. Likewise, if the enemy wins, their card power will determine how much the party unit's Morale decreases by.

Experience in this game is gained whenever a unit engages in battle, whether he or she ends up winning or losing. There are a total of twenty levels only, and the unit will level up when the gauge fills up. However, as mentioned above, a Zero Reset will drain away all experience from the unit, but the level of the unit will remain the same. An increase in level results in a boost of certain ability stats, as well as Morale. At times, guest characters will help out, and they cannot gain any experience unless they join.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the game, cards determine numerous things that the player can do. Each card possesses a Movement number, which determines how many squares the party can move on that turn. It also has a Power count, which is what is used to determine how much Morale damage a unit takes after a loss. This increases as battles are won and Morale damage is dealt. The Ace Type is also on there, represented with either a weapon type or the word "All;" this is used for deciding whether or not the party can use that card's skill in battle, depending on the Union Leader's Ace Type. Most cards are obtained as the story progresses, but others must be found or gotten in an alternative way. Winning a battle may even result in the acquisition of a new card. Said before, when all cards are used up, the map is done, and the party loses.

To actually initiate battle, a unit must first be selected. Depending on the selected card's Movement number, that unit can only move so much, only one square at a time, each square consuming one Movement point. But not each individual unit gets as many squares to move as the card states; the entire party shares that Movement. When standing adjacent to an enemy, a battle can be declared, and after it ends, that unit, also called the Union Leader, can no longer move. However, the units that were not Union Leaders can still move, but they can not attack any enemies.

Forming unions is also a primary part of the game. After a certain point in the game, Union Leaders will be able to include other units in the fight, up to four more, depending on their gender. Males have an X pattern that extends to two squares from the center, which is the unit himself. Any other unit caught in that pattern will be able to join in the battle. Females are the same, except they have a + pattern instead. Linking is also included. When a unit aside from the Union Leader is included in a union, he or she will also have a pattern, but it will only extend one square, not two.

In battle, the two opposing sides will fight until one side loses all of its units. Along with the Union Leader, sub-units will fight as well. In the original version, small units have five more joining them, while large units have two; in the remake, small units have seven more, and large ones have three more. The player can also decided whether to fight normally, passively, or aggressively, depending on whether the left or right button is held down. Passive fighting will charge the gauge on the top, but the party will be weaker. Aggressive fighting will drain that gauge, but the party will be stronger. When the gauge runs out, aggressiveness can no longer be done. When the gauge is full, however, skills can be used if the requirements are met.

Each card has a different skill, as mentioned before. These skills, however, can be exclusive to some units only. To even begin to use skills in battle, the card's Ace Type and the Union Leader's Ace Type must correspond. That means that since Yggdra uses a sword, she must have a card with a Sword Ace Type to be able to use it in battle. Some have "All" in place of the Ace Type; when this is the case, any unit can match its Ace Type. When the Ace Type is met, all units in the union can use the card if it is not limited to certain characters. Skills can be used only when the gauge is full, which is done by fighting passively. There are two ways to use a card, and it is pre-set. An X skill type will require charging an additional gauge until it fills, then letting to activate the card. An O skill type will activate immediately, and it requires that the button be held down for the whole duration of the card's effect, while an additional gauge steadily decreases. Some cards might even affect the map, such as causing water tiles to freeze to ice.

There are a number of weapons in the game, most of which have their advantages. Each unit will have only one weapon type, and in almost all cases, this cannot be changed. They include the following: sword, axe, spear, bow, rod, scythe, lump, and book. Some are exclusive to only enemies, unfortunately. Besides lumps, all other weapons have another weapon that they are strong against, and this determines the damage dealt in battle. In the opposite manner, all weapons, excluding scythes, have a weapon that they are weak against, which decreases the chances of winning. Utilizing this is one of the main key-points to winning battles.

Most of the time, remakes of original games are superior in some ways. This is no exception. The Playstation Portable version features additional maps, a harder difficulty, more exclusive cards, and two extra playable characters. One is named Pamela, and she is a witch, the same one who lives in the Marduk Woods in the original version. The other is completely new. Her name is Mistel, and she wields a scythe, which is arguably the most useful weapon type in the game. The choice is obvious, but still, even if it is the original, do not hesitate to get it. They are almost identical in most ways.

Ratings: This part is done based solely on personal opinion, and not by anything else. Please feel free to disagree with any given category and rating, but these are what I felt was necessary.

Story: To be perfectly honest, Yggdra Union has a truly amazing story. In most role-playing games, the main party will always be the side that is doing the right thing, and is fighting for justice. However, in Yggdra Union, that justice will be questioned, and one cannot help but wonder whether the Royal Army is really in the right for fighting against Bronquia. Even the so-called "villains" of the game establish a bond with one another, and to see that makes one feel that what they are doing is not wrong, either. This game has an exciting plot, but it also holds perspective within that plot. Rating: 9.5/10

Gameplay: For a tactical role-playing game, it is very detailed in its battle system. Not many of them let the player control additional features while the battle is ensuing. Like the Fire Emblem series, the aspect of having certain weapons be effective against some and ineffective against others challenge the player to decide which units are needed to battle which enemy units. Limited time also helps to add more challenge to the game. The one thing that does cause a minor flaw is the fact that there are so many cards and they are the main source of damage. This means that if one or a few cards are continuously used to win maps, they will be the only powerful ones. This is bad if those cards run out and the only ones left are the weak ones. Nevertheless, it certainly is unique. Rating: 8.5/10

Graphics: This is not a game that focuses on realistic human designs, but just because that isn't included, it doesn't make it seem distasteful by any means. In fact, most of the drawings are absolutely lovely, and even though a map has limited tiles, its surrounding is detailed. The game has its own style of graphics, and one simply can't deny its greatness. Also, in battles, from personal experience, the screen does not lag while loading actions, not even while there are fancy skills in effect. Rating: 8/10

Music and Soundtrack: Yggdra Union possesses many wonderful soundtracks. Commonly, while the story place, the tune will change to alter the mood of the story. Some of the themes are very great, such as Battle on the Requiem. Also, in the Playstation Portable version, there is voice acting. This lets players who have only played the original Game Boy Advance version experience familiar characters who can talk. The script, however, does not change. Rating: 8/10

Replay Value: The difference in versions might affect this. In the original, replaying might enable the player to choose different characters and level up different cards, but it is quite minor. However, in the Playstation Portable remake, an additional Hard Mode is added, so replaying is actually advised. A certain special character is also only obtainable on Hard Mode. Also, Hard Mode has an aspect that the original game had, too: Morale does not recover when a unit levels. Replaying is also suggested for anyone seeking a greater challenge. Rating: 7.5/10

Overall Rating: 8.3/10

This is an amazing game, and it is even better on the Playstation Portable. The fact that the game never got released outside Japan and North America is really a shame. But if anyone can get their hands on a copy of the game in those regions, then please do not hesitate. Regrets will almost surely not happen. In any case, thank you for taking the time and reading this review. Please feel free to post any comments or criticism on the review itself, or just general comments on the game.
Edited by Fate, Dec 10 2009, 09:46 AM.
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