Part 19: Battle: Old And Senile

Update 13 (Battle): Old And Senile

Welcome back. Last time, Marth and pals ventured to Macedon to save Minerva and defeat the villainous General Rucke and his rebel army. Then my laptop fucked up again and it was a pain in the ass. Anyway, here's the actual battle.

But first, How's Everyone is fully reloaded due to the break. Let's see what we get.





This might come in handy later.





This is nice, but pretty worthless for Malicia. So I'll give it to someone else. The elixir restores all of a unit's health, like a superpowered Vulnerary.





Want this. Want this a lot.



We all wonder about Steve.



Despite the...creepy subtext, this just means that we're closer to getting our first Base Conversation with Warren.



Ryan isn't the only character who can use Ryan's Bow, but I want to put it on him.



And I'm giving Draug the elixir, since he's usually tanking hits. Honestly this would probably be better on somebody with more HP and less Defense, but eh.

As soon as the map starts, we see this scene.



: We're going to join their ranks to help save Princess Minerva. Please take Lena and escape to safety, quickly!

As you might have guessed, this is Catria's sister, Palla.



And here's Julian, in the flesh. He doesn't seem to keep his...odd speech pattern.

: What? Lena as well... Princess Maria is missing too, why is it only clerics?

Wrys seemed fine last time we saw him. Score one for CURATES.

: Anyway, I'm staying in the village to see if I can't find any information. Sorry, Palla. Give my best to Prince Marth.



And the aforementioned village is right over here. Hint hint.



As soon as the map starts I am marking this guy's position. This is a Ballistician. Fuck these guys. That arrowspate has pretty low accuracy and damage, but makes up for it by counting as a bow weapon, giving it autocrits against fliers, and being impossible to reach right now due to the giant river in the middle of the map.



Problem number 2 is these bastards. Behold, 6 Dracoknights, just waiting. These highly manuverable, flying, promoted enemies get a sadistic sense of joy out of flying into your units to head directly for Malicia or Steve or someone else made of tissue paper. Luckily we won't have to contend with them for a while. Also luckily, we have a bow wielding vunderkind named Ryan.



This map also gives us Palla, who is on the northeast part of the map near the village Julian entered in the intro. Lots of enemies spawn up here. Luckily, Palla kicks ass. She is considered by a lot of people to be the best unit in the game, combining ridiculous mobility, speed, and natural B rank in lances without horribly awful growths like Arran. She, in fact, almost outclasses him immediately. I'll have her deal with some of the enemies up here. She will not have much trouble.



Pictured: Potential destroyer of Julian's village. Actual food for Palla's bloodrage.



Meanwhile, our main forces are stuck in the bottom right corner of the map. Reason #3 this map is horrible is that we'll need to go all the way around in a spiral to reach the boss. Of course, there's another option...but it's not a good idea, and I'll go over why later.



I'm going to be slowly advancing everybody around the spiral of eternal boredom. Marth is sitting in Arrowspate range because I'm honestly not super worried about him.





It misses



I switched Palla to the Iron Lance to conserve uses on the Silver one. She still has no trouble.

To ease some of the dullness of this map, I had Arran chat up the houses he ran by.





This is interesting advice, because the armory is...



There. Right next to all the rebel forces. And this dork. We'll get to that.



Enemies will start spawning from these forts. Just cavaliers, nothing too serious, so Palla will be fine with proper fort and vulnerary use.



If she can...move in the right direction.



Here's the first village of the map, and a potential solution to some of our problems...



Random Woman: Normally it's separated by the river, but if you use this key here, you can cross the bridge. Just, once you cross the drawbridge, the enemies on the other side will come and attack you at once. If you want to advance safely, you might be better off taking the long detour that goes right around the mountain. Here, take the key. No matter which path you take, do take care of yourself, m'kay?



So, here's the deal with this map. We can use this key to open that drawbridge and run straight for the boss and castle, but that would cause all those Dracoknights to descend upon us. Plus, that skips 2 villages with recruitable characters in them, and makes it much more difficult to recruit Matthis, since we don't even have the character who can do it yet. So while this might be the best choice in a speedrun of the game or something like that, I'm going to ignore it existing entirely.



I move Palla to the fort and pop a Vulnerary to keep her alive against the continually spawning Cavalier horde.



At the end of Turn 3, another Dracoknight shows up. But he's heading straight for...the boss?





He lives!





There aren't many alternate portraits in this game, but Michalis' smug look here is one of them.

oh and blah blah merely a setback meme joke there I did it

: Hand Minerva over to me, Rucke. I no longer have plans for this country. Do with it as you please. However, I won't rest until I've disposed of "him" with my own hands.



: Do you want me to shove this spear down your throat? I said bring her to me.



Jesus, Rucke. You're kind of a shitty rebel leader.

: It's been a while, Minerva. That ungainly appearance doesn't suit you. Losing Maria; your subordinates abandoning you... Is this the ideal country you dreamed of?



Here's another rare altered portrait. Minerva's beaten up look here only shows for this scene, so it's a pretty nice touch. Well, detail wise. The implications are pretty horrifying.



Michalis and his sister fly off, and we go back to...this. I'll be honest, I'm not showing much of what the main team is doing, because it is, quite literally, slowly moving clockwise. No enemies. Just walking. But hey, there are some houses for Arran to visit!







Huh. That's...interesting. I'm sure that will never matter.



I have nothing else to say about this, really.



Yep...they're...still coming.



Yup



Ooh, I switched to the Silver Lance! Vote the thread 5!



Pretty awful level by Palla standards, but those are both good stats.



HOLY SHIT A CRIT, GOLDMINE



There's something interesting here at least. (for a given value of interesting)





Bord! He already has more lines than in the entirety of the previous game.

: We Talysian mercenaries wanted to join you's army, so we came all the way here. Princess Caeda's our lady, and the guy who's gonna be her man is important to us too. Prince Marth, I'll protect you with my life.



Bord is pretty unremarkable. Not bad, but not great. That starting level isn't doing him any favors, and a speed growth of 30% means he'll be eating lots of doubles. His 100% HP growth, however, means he'll be able to take them. Not a bad unit, but not great. I'll use him if people have Bord Fever...for whatever reason.



BACK TO THIS



So here I have Luke ready to pull the dracoknights. Finally, action!



...they didn't take it.



How about...



Nope.



ATTACK ME



Fuck. Well, apparently, these enemies don't try to rush you. I'd have to send a flier up after them. Most people reclass Arran for this chapter to do this, but I...forgot. Welp!

Back to the clockwise walking. And a house. Take it away, Arran.







More hints to a future character, and a bunch of clockwise walking I didn't bother posting. So here's-



OH FUCK HERE THEY COME





Thankfully, Luke does not give a damn.



Meh.



LET 'ER RIP



Slightly less metal a level up, but not awful.







Cleaning up the Dracoknights is a pretty simple affair once they're all pulled to a good location...away from our poor squishy healer/mage.



Not too bad. Luck growth from Warren? Nice.



The last village of the chapter has a predictable recruit.



: Julian? I'd heard that you'd gone to Macedon with Lena, but to think we'd cross paths here... How is Lena? Of course, she's with you, right?

I hope so, she's a damn good cleric.

: Well, er, how should I say this... Lena suddenly up and vanished... I... I don't know what to do.

: Wait, Julian, tell me what happened, in detail.

: Lena's been missing since last night. The villagers speak of some sort of strange priest prowling around lately. It seems that somehow, Lena was taken by this man.

...wrys i swear to god if you're trying to build a cleric army or some shit.

: A priest...? Julian, as it turns out, Princess Maria has gone missing as well. I have a terrible feeling about this. Anyway, staying here won't solve anything. Come with us. I'm worried for Lena too. We'll all help to look for her.

: Prince Marth... Thank you. Nothing would please me more.



Julian is a pretty unique character. He has low strength, and isn't very durable, but his speed and evasion helps him quite a bit. He's not really meant for combat, though. Julian has the ability to open locked doors and chests. He's a good utility character. He cannot be promoted, though, and only goes up to level 30. There's one other thief in the game, but he's not much different.



Healing up Warren a bit.



The pulling begins.









That cleans up the Dracoknights I can pull from here, now for something more...obnoxious.



Here's Matthis. We need to recruit him. Because I am OCD about recruiting everyone. He is sitting in the midst of 3 other cavaliers, a ballista, and some Dracoknights off to the east. And I have to recruit him with Julian. Joy of joys.





Oh, and the cavaliers don't come for us when we come in range. There's a certain threshold you need to pass to pull them. It is both arbitrary and obnoxious. I'm healing up Arran to help pull people.



Damn, Malicia! That's almost a perfect level! And Strength is never going to be relevant for you so...damn, that's a perfect level.



And we're starting...now.



Dodge.



Dodged again.







And here comes the cavalry. Literally.



Draug again takes just about zero damage.



MATTHIS shows up with a Javelin to toss at Julian.



For....four damage. Holy shit, Matthis. Really?

Time for the counter attack.



Oh, hey Steve. Glad to see you doing something again.



Draug pops out of the way to let Marth through, and I pop Julian out of the way as well.



It did not take long for the Rapier to deal with that guy.



Malicia tops off Julian so he doesn't get shredded by the Ballista. I also had Arran finish off one of the cavaliers. I missed the screencap.



Luke deals with the last noname cavalier, leaving only...





MATTHIS



And that's the best level one could expect from...Matthis exp.



Steve makes room, and I can get the recruitment over with.





: No way, I won't hand my cute lil' sister to a thieving rat like you.

Not only does Matthis suck, he's quite possibly...uh...incestuous.

: You can relax... Lena and I would never work out. But even if it's just a little, I wanted to help her in any way I could.

: Ooh, you finally realized where you stand. Attaboy, Julian!

Hey, guess how this works out.

: Er, that's not the kind of thing I want to be hearing from you... Well, whatever. If you're worried about Lena, then come with me.

: Oh, alright, thanks. You see, they forced me to join the rebel army, but you know I hate fighting. Alright, lil' brother. Let's join forces and look for our cute lil' Lena!

Oh...good.



Matthis is bad. Horrible base stats aside from defense, pretty decent growths, but in a sea of great mounted units, Matthis is the Caspian. A sea nobody talks or cares about.





Finally, I can be done with that damn catapult making me paranoid as hell.



I will take that level any day.



Oh, I accidentally put Marth in Javelin range.



Not a huge deal.



Steve hasn't seen a good fight in quite a while. Let's fix that.





Sweet dodges!



Firey murder!















Holy shit Malicia, AGAIN? Missing Def this time but...damn.



And so ends Rucke.



With shitty last words and a...disturbingly veiny head.



All I see is no Mag. R.I.P. Steve's hopes and dreams.



Rucke had this on him. I will be explaining this later, but suffice to say it is important.







: What could have happened? She was supposed to be held inside the castle...



And everyone's favorite douche shows up for the ending of the chapter. I have been looking forward to this. This whole shitty chapter. It was worth it for what is coming up.

: We'll take care of Macedon from here. Now, let us discuss your next mission.

: General Lang, what in the world do you want this time?

: Well, you see... My castle was attacked and the Grustian prince and princess were kidnapped. The perpetrator fled to Macedon, it seems. Prince Marth, you are to capture him and return the children to me!

Oh, hey. That actually wasn't us. Also, perpetrator? It was one guy?

: You're asking me to send those children to their doom!

: You're in no position to defy me. Now, off to work you go, my prince.

Lang, ladies and gentlemen.





Steve reminisces on her corpse counting days as she prepares for murder.

: What did you say?! Know your place, Altean soldier! Marth, it seems that your countrymen are devoid of manners!



: But it is as Steve says! I will follow your orders no longer.

(Music changes to this track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpK...1ABB1F&index=31)

: Sire...!

: What! Do you mean to defy my orders?! I see... I see. As I suspected, it was YOUR doing. The person who kidnapped Grust's prince and princess was the mercenary, Ogma. On your orders, no less!

Oh, Ogma. That makes the one person theory much more valid.

: I didn't know of this. But if I had the choice, I would have done exactly as you suggested. Back at Grust, even though they were meant to be our enemies, I should have helped those children.

: You! You clearly speak words of treason! Perhaps I should report this to the Emperor!

: Do as you will. But you're not the only person who intends to visit the palace. I will speak to Emperor Hardin and Princess Nyna and inform them of your crimes. Forgive me, Jagen. But I cannot stand for this any longer.

It is time.

: I understand. You have endured well until now. Lang, my liege might forgive your frequent rudeness to him, but I will not.

Jagen time.



STEP UP TO THE PLATE, MOTHERFUCKER



: Once the Emperor gets wind of this, I'll crush your puny little Altea!



Lang runs for the hills.





Jagen smiled!

: Bwahaha... I'm not about to let youngsters like Steve hog all the glory just yet. Still, I'll admit it was somewhat foolish to contest with Lang, even if he did push my lord at every turn.

You could take him.

: Sire, Sir Jagen. What is our next plan of action?

: According to Lang, Ogma is on his way to Macedon. He probably intends to visit the village where Lord Wendell resides.

Pope time.

: Lord Wendell?

: Lord Wendell is a pontifex of Khadein; he fought as our ally in the last war. I hear he's living in Macedon now. It also happens that the children that Ogma saved were raised by Lord Wendell. So I'm sure it would be the perfect time to pay him a visit.

: Yes, understood!

: But, I worry about Lang...I pray that nothing bad shall happen...

Normally, this is where the screen fades out and Chapter 4 begins. However, if you're playing the remake, and you either completed Chapter 3 in 28 turns (on hard mode) or had 1 or less allies die in the prologue...



: Ah! I assume, since you're mentioning it, that you've found a new lead?

: We're not certain, but we've received information that might lead us to them. A few days ago, I heard of a suspicious group heading towards Macedon's northern mountains.

: The northern mountains? What could they be after up there?

: Rumors say they are pursuing our former allies in the War of Shadows... And I don't believe they're after a friendly chat with them either.

: I see. Then we cannot ignore this lead, especially if lives are at stake. Jagen, Steve, we shall pursue the enemy.

: Agreed, let us prepare to march, with haste!

You unlock a special side chapter! These are totally optional, but help continue the plot threads started in the prologue with Katarina and her assassins.

So, next time, an old friend, an old enemy, and mountains in..

Update 14: The Bald And The Beautiful: Wrysvengeance