Part 3: A Merry Band of Personality Issues
Update 3: A Merry Band of Personality IssuesMusic: Autumn in Lanseal
Cripes, these money rewards are awesome. So last time, we were-
…Wait, wrong file.
Music: Winter in Lanseal
Yeah, that looks more like it.
Anyways, last time we went through a lot of
to meet a nice girl who wants to be a doctor and a jerk named Zeri who called us a bunch of clowns (also some other stuff). We passed our entry exam and Avan was determined to have the power of free choice.Now we get to go meet the principal and endure even more
before we get to do tactical things again. This whole update shall be , but there’s going to be a good bit of mechanical stuff towards the end.But first, anime.
--
Hey, look, the game did the sound effects for me this time.
That haircut is an odd one. I’ll forgive it because you have good facial hair.
We aced it with as perfect a score as you can get, by the way.
: I am the headmaster here, Laurence Kluivert. It’s nice to meet you, Avan.: Hmm. It seems your exam results place you in Class G. He sounds rather disappointed in a way. We’ll probably see why later.
: I hope you’ll make the best of your time here at Lanseal, my boy.
Right, we were here to interrogate him after all. Better get to that part.
: Is there something else, son?
This place is pretty irresponsible in all honesty. We’ll see, later.
: Your brother was a student of great promise, and a true patriot.: He stood out amongst his peers in intelligence, strength, and leadership. This line sounds very rehearsed. Makes you wonder how often Laurence here has been in this situation before.
So...the government is paranoid, but I suppose it makes logistical sense.
: But just before his death, he was appointed to a special mission.
: A special mission?
Wait, you already knew he was on a special mission? This seems dumb, but I’m having trouble pointing out exactly where.
…Was that it? Really?
Anyways, this doesn’t tell us much since we don’t know how long it was between these two events. Figuring out anything about Leon right now aside from “he was the bestest” doesn’t seem likely.
Just the one? I mean, Gallia’s like the size of the Netherlands, but I’d figure you’d at least have two since you’ve got so much ragnite.
: The students here study and train tirelessly to keep their nation safe.: That was Leon’s aim in accepting the mission that cost him his life as well.Well, it’s been confirmed that Leon died on the “special mission”, but we easily could’ve figured that. I figured Avan would’ve, but his surprise reaction suggests otherwise.
I want info!
Maudlin? So either it means sentimental or drunk. I’m going with drunk, just because.
: …: Gallia’s people are living in fear and anguish in the face of rebel atrocities.: I pray you will grow to become a powerful force for justice, Avan.I mean, he’s already got twice the HP of a standard unit plus the power of free choice.
Avan’s not particularly excited about this. I wouldn’t be either.
Outside the dorms…
…Now we’re inside the dorms. I don’t know why he’s already got trophies sitting up, but whatever.
For my first crack at dorm living, it’s not so bad!It’s still quite messy. Also, why the heck do you have a soccer ball with you?
I could also nitpick the anachronism of it having the black and white style, but it’s anime, so I’m not going to bother at this point.
Yeah, I would be too- wait, that was all during the same day? Sheesh, that’s rough.
Better get a good night’s sleep in before classes start up tomorrow!--
Well, there’s not much to say here right now. After a mission from now on, we’ll usually end up here. We get access to some more options later, but for right now we just sleep to progress the story.
--
Better be careful not to screw it up on day one. Leon if you please…
I told you we’d be seeing these a lot.
That…uh, “king”? Hm. This one sounds really self-important.
: I came here to find out, but so far it’s all still a big blank.Well, it’s not nothing. We were pretty definitively told that he got taken out in the “secret mission”, but then again, that was pretty easy to figure out on our own.
Hey, now this actually sounds like a reasonable approach! I like it!
: Maybe he’ll tell me more about that mission once I’ve earned a rep.
: Now that that’s settled, I’m stoked to get started! Next stop, Classroom G!Soundbite: “I’ll do it!”
One vertical fade later…
: Who shows up late to class on the first day?!
Dude, didn’t you say that you weren’t “going to screw it up on day one?”
Hey, look, a random guy! I’ll have to remember to make him a portrait at some point.
Easy enough.
: Got it. Thanks man!Thanks, stranger dude!
*Avan is trying to catch his breath-*
This distortion is part of the ROM, not my recording. I’ll have to go check if it was this way on the physical version.
He nearly runs into these dudes, managing to keep balance as he swerves out of the way.
He hardly stops when saying this. It’s hard to get a non-faded frame.
: Wooo hoo!
Oh, hey, it’s some girl now? She’s out of breath too, by the way.
Well, at least its not an attempt at a skirt-shot like it usually does.
Avan_bwuh: Woaah, ugh!
Avan barely manages to catch onto the door to stop from running past it.
Well, he’s out of AP for the round.
*The tower bells are ringing.*
*Someone comes up behind him, also out of breath.*
(Ignoring a skirt shot that came before this
)On that note, hey, Cosette!
…Because anime.
Sounds smart.
: But then I was so full, I kind of nodded off. I got here just under the wire.That’s why I don’t eat that much for breakfast- I get full really easily. I’d also complain that the bell had rung before she made it here, but she’s nice and I’m not going to be mean. My teachers were strict enough to shut the door in your face if you were right on the bell.
Speaking of nice, here’s someone who isn’t.
: Oh hey, it’s Zeri. What do you mean what are we doing here? We got put in Class G.
: What?! Ungh, of course I HAD to be placed with you.I’m sure some of the readers sympathize with this statement.
Well, we should’ve seen this coming considering both of you had cutscenes and your both on the box alongside Avan.
Huh?
*There’s a bit of mumbling amongst the people in the room.*
Oh, no, not you.
Imagine the one of the most haugty, rich girl voices you can think of.
I’ll be up front, I like Avan more than this lady.
: Me? I’m Avan Hardins. I’m in Class G, starting today.At least he tries to make a good impression.
This encounter partially makes no sense, and we’ll see why a lot later on. Also that “hmph” is as filled with contempt as you get. I can’t deny her voice acting at least.
Before you ask, yes this did start with another scroll-up and skirt shot.
Hey, we aced that entrance exam!
: It’s the unalloyed truth. You haven’t even produced a class chair.: Your sustaned presence at this academy shames me. You stain Lanseal’s name!
Same here.
Shy girl’s voice: Um…
Shy guy’s voice: Hm…
: Hmph. Not a one. You see? Just as I said, Class G is a—
Music: Are We a Spoiled Class?
: I just got so angry listening to her talk, my hand just shot up!
I repeat,
She’s actually quite wrong in this regard- Avan does manage to be a good enough leader. Though I do wish Cosette was our leader.
: What? What’s your problem, talking down to everybody like you own the place?
: Please. You’re barely fit to follow, let alone lead. That takes an elite.What is this, Fire Emblem?
: There are few things more pathetic than the pedigree of a self-styled elite.Hey, Zeri stepped in for us! See, I knew you weren’t that bad.
: Y-You impertinent beast! A Darcsen, presuming to mock ME! I’ll have your—*Footsteps show up from behind.*
Oh, hey, it’s Brixy again.
The way he says this is almost like its out of a MGS game.
: Juliana. Is there a reason you’ve chosen to visit us today?
*She walks off.*
Finally.
*The tower bells ring again.*
: All right, let’s begin today’s lesson, shall we?Yeah, he’s our teacher. Just wait.
Music: Theme of Class G
I think that counts as a burn. Let me look that up.
Oh, it just means “to enroll”? Huh.
Brixy, why would you be surprised? Avan is an obvious anime protagonist- of course he would’ve enrolled. Whatever, I’ve actually learned something today.
Here, Brixham introduces all three of them in their full view, letting you see the height differences. I skipped his one-at-a-time introduction because you already know who they are, hopefully.
Ah, yes, the true nature of Avan.
: I’m glad to be here, and I’m sure we’ll all get on great.That’s some odd phrasing.
…And again begins the Leon fan-wagon.
Soundbite: “Hmm…” An incredibly androgynous one at that.
Soundbite: “Hmm.”
These are both characters we’ll meet soon. I like both of them.
: What, you all knew him?
We’ll never hear the end of it, will we?
: Let’s return to your introductions. Cosette?
Hey, I do that too! Huh, I explicitly remember not liking Cosette that much, but I’m having trouble remembering why. (Well, aside from one thing I won’t tell you yet.)
At least he’s to the point about it.
I have no fucking clue why this little bit is here because it makes very little goddamn sense to me, if any. You’ll see why in a bit.
: Avan will serve as class chair.
You signed up for it, dude. Honestly, this sounds more like Cosette’s line than it does Avan’s- it feels off.
Damn, Brixy. This line is quite rude, but I can’t help but laugh at how up front he is. The semi-patronizing smile is what really makes it, though.
He's really wrong in saying this, though. Most of the class members are actually good at what they do.
: An ambivalent newcomer is a vast improvement.I don’t know if ambivalent describes Avan well.
: Isn’t that kind of harsh? How does a teacher say that about his own class?!
: It’s the truth. Lanseal has no need for those cadets unwilling to try.I’d honestly say most of the kids here are trying their best, but it’s their personality issues that becomes the problem.
: Organizing and outfitting the squad for training exercises will be your job.: You’ll have to learn the ropes between classes. You get no special allowances.…So what you’re saying is that Avan is royally screwed. Yeah, this sucks, but I guess a hero type like him would put up with it.
This is one of Avan’s positive qualities. The guy, though gullible, oblivious, and rash as he may be, the guy will stand up for others. How well he handles this, is up in the air though.
: You can start right now.: The class needs a squad name.
: Here a Lanseal, each class is also considered to be a single squad.
Me neither, dude. Well, I get it, but it’s not really used for much. I think it’s for online information or something, but who actually plays this online?
Well, that’s immersion breaking. Either way, we can name our whole squad, with a six letter cap. This time, I opted to go with a creative name, “Squad”, but in the end, I leave the choice up to you, thread readers. Six letters, no profanity or anything really obnoxious. Silly names are still fine though- I’d name it Awful (which is appropriate), or Squat, Squid, or even something in Cyrillic, I don’t care. (I’ve got the Cyrillic option because it’s a EU copy of the game.)
We can also add titles to our name as well, one before and one after, though I never bothered before. We get a few starting ones, so wait to see those in a minute if you want to try and make a joke name.
My first playthrough, I went with "Sevens" after the team from VC1, because I’d just come off of playing it when I picked this up.
Luckily, we don’t have to do any of this. There’s no class simulation or anything, just missions and events.
Yeah, they really want you to use him, so I can’t really pass this deal up. He has to be on the battlefield for this, so we’re never going to stop seeing Avan.
Music: Winter in Lanseal
Gah, finally. Sometimes this game thinks it’s a visual novel. Normally I don’t mind, but that results in a lot of work on my end.
: These are today’s items of note.Soundbite: To begin, here is today’s news.
Hello, Homeroom. We’ll see this screen every single day we wake up from bed, so get used to seeing it. For most updates from now on, this will be what we open with.
System: You earned the title “Promising”
- “Dream”
- “Light”
- “Holy”
- “Fairplay” …?
- “Elite”
…Take that, Juliana? I guess? The hell did I do for that? I don’t even have that on my main file...?– “Sprinters”
I don’t even know what all of those were for. Seriously. I was never able to figure out how to access them until yesterday, and I made it 45 hours into this game.
Ah, well, I’ll put up a list at the end of the update. If anyone wants to know what they’re for, ask and I’ll look.
Tutorial: Game Progress-
You do missions. Once you do enough Key Missions, you’ll move onto the next month.
Extra missions don’t progress the story. There’s also some events on the maps too- only the ones with double exclamation marks are required to progress.
Alright! We’ve got a lot going on it seems.
Here’s the Briefing Room. We take our missions from here. We’re missing three other locations right now because we’re still kinda in tutorial mode, but we’ll get them soon.
For now, we’ve got some events to see, designated by the exclamation marks, and some tutorials to view, designated by the books at the training grounds.
I’ll quickly get the tutorials out of the way, mostly word for word:
Tutorial: The Hospital-
Units that have fallen in battle and been hospitalized (captured or left too long) cannot be deployed for the next 3 missions.
Be sure to aid fallen units to avoid losing key squad members for a crucial upcoming mission.
Twybil’s Note: This has only ever happened to me once outside of savescumming.
Tutorial: Potentials-
Sometimes special abilities known as “potentials” are awakened in units during battle. These reflect their personality and provide bonuses or negatives based on certain conditions.
Twybil’s Note: These are really more important than base stats, so you’ve got to watch out. By completing a character’s storyline, you’ll usually improve their potentials in some way or another.
I’ll list all of these in a separate post so that this update doesn’t end up being so long on its own.
Tutorial: Orders-
As class chair, Avan can spend CP to give commands known as “orders”.
These have effects upon the battlefield, often providing beneficial buffs to your units.
Twybil’s Note: From experience, most are useless. It rescues a downed unit for 2 CP. I don’t think it even has one of these flashy animations.
Yeah. I’ll show you what I mean later.
Alright, time to meet the rest of our crew so you thread readin’ folks can decide which of these folks we bring along.
To the Mess Hall we go!
Music: Everyday Life of the Class
--
It’s unfortunate what time will do to a word.
: I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet, dude.
: Wherever there’s news, there’s Netzel!Lotte runs her own newspaper, says “dude”, a lot, and has hilarious voice lines based on newsline headings. She's got a snaggletooth and her storyline is fun. She also makes a good sniper from my experience.
: Um… My sister is a shocktrooper here, too. Nice to meet you.Nichol is a good kid and a good scout, even if he’s a bit shy. He reminds me of myself in high school before I became a hard-hearted jerk. I’ve used him a lot in the past, and I’m not adverse to having him on the team again. He's a cool guy.
: The thought of serving under your command is… Bah.Was part of my reserve team, mostly because his potentials are hard to work with. He’s from the Empire, actually, and he’s seemed an interesting character. Wouldn’t mind giving him more of a chance since he hits hard, for a scout.
: Hee hee… Your back’s wide open, Hardins. You could get shot…Oh, and her portrait is always off screen like that. Get used to it, I guess?
*Edit: I have been informed that Melissa is not, in fact, a Darcsen. Apparently I had it wrong all these years. Still, most of the other characters don't have issues with Darcsens, so I still don't get that scene. Thanks goes to resident forum poster theshim.*
: Don’t let her get to you, dude. That’s just her way of saying hi.*See above edit.
: Us scouts are super mobile and we’re good at sighting enemies, too.: I’ll remember that. It’s good to know that I’ve got you guys with me!--
One down, four more to go. Yeah, this’ll be a long one.
: You’re Hardins, yes? A moment, please.
: Huh? You look familiar… Are you in--?
: But I though I still ought to introduce the class shocktroopers.
Yep. Anisette is related to Edy Nelson from VC1, and follows suit in being bubbly, upbeat, and a shocktrooper. Her voice lines are actually pretty funny and her potentials make her possibly the best shocktrooper available. No complaints with her, really.
: I trust we’ll get along famously.Marion’s a noble. I can’t really say too much about her without going into her storyline, but she’s a useful shocktrooper with some potential. She was mostly a base-defender in my playthrough, given her tendencies. She talks very fancy and uses sophisticated words.
: Hmph.*He walks off.*
: And there he goes. That was typical Erik. Erik Kampmann.
: He can’t even spell the word teamwork, and he’s always getting in fights.Huh.
: We shocktroopers’ stamina and firepower make us the nemeses of foot soldiers.: Try to remember that if you have any intention of commanding this squad.Right, for some reason, Franca doesn’t even introduce herself fully. She’s Nichol’s sister and a pretty useful shocktrooper if my records tell the truth. Her schtick is her strictness and her voice lines are somewhat fun as well.
: Heh, leave it to me, and I’ll leave the firefights to you!--
Moving onto the Grounds.
--
: Getting there! You guys are all in my class, right?
: These guys are Class G’s lancers.Uh, you do realize the others are girls, right? “Guys” is relatively neutral at this point, but still.
Tristan is basically your Largo from VC1, except he’s not a special unit. He only has one negative potential from what I’ve seen, but I just didn’t use him all that much...?
: I want this war to end so we can all get back to playing ball already.Rene’s a tomboy, and also a cool person. All the lancers are cool, really. Her voice lines are sports based, specifically soccer. She was my backup lancer, but I remember her accuracy never being the best. She picked up a lot of armorslaying potentials, though.
: I look forward to serving with you!Noel’s into the idea of being a soldier, and she holds her own as a good lancer. I found her voice lines to be pretty fun and upbeat while her story's nice too. Her model even comes with the beret. Again, all the lancers are cool.
: If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always around.Coleen, like all the lancers, is good people. She somehow ended up becoming a mortarer, which meant I never got to see all of her story because I tend to ignore mortar weaponry over old fashioned bullets. Her soundbite here is “Got a second?”, but I don’t know why. She’s nice in general.
Actually, they aren’t. Well, they are, but not for long. Lancers are unfortunately not as useful as you’d figure in this game, given that they’re people carrying giant, spear shaped rocket launchers. Still, when you’re low on other options and you need a tank or gatling bunker down, they’re the ones for the job.
: We also wear heavier armor to shield us from explosions.Yeah, but it also has less defense in the back, if I'm remembering right. Either way, lancers are pretty beefy in health and defense, but there’s another class better than them at that.
: Good to know. And good to know I’ve got you guys in my corner!--
To the hospital we go! If you noticed from the screenshot at the grounds, the hospital has the engineer symbol on the roof- that’s who we’ll find here.
--
: Mm? Hey, it’s the new kid. Over here, Avan!: Yo! You guys are, er…
: We’re Class G’s squad of engineers.
: I look forward to great things from you, Avan!Randy’s an interesting engineer. Stat-wise, most of the engineers aren’t much to talk about, but I used him as a reserve engineer and somehow managed to see his whole story though I don’t use engineers too often. He’s interesting- that’s all I can really say for now.
: I-I’ll try my best not to get in the way!Raymond’s the gentle giant type. He’s big, he could hurt people, but he chooses to help instead. He’s a cool guy though, and I never saw his whole story. Not much else to say, considering most engineers are rarely different.
: And I have to say, I’m not impressed. Hayseeds like you aren’t my type.I’m sure quite a few people don’t like Sofia for reasons we might see, but I suppose the case is similar for a lot of the characters. She’s got
: Ha ha! Poor Magari is terribly shy, but she’ll warm up to you soon.: I hope so, because that was more than a little awkward.Magari was my main engineer until her promotions put her in a different role- Sofia took over from there. Magari’s neat, but one of her potentials is a bit straining on her usability and her max health is really low. Still, I tended to like using the Darcsens when available, and she also reminds me of my younger self in a way.
: We can use ragnaid to heal people from afar.With promotions, they can heal from stupidly long distances. They’re always in a support role, though.
: I’ll bank on that! Thanks in advance for keeping us all alive!--
One more, and we can put a lid on this update filled with
.
We go to the courtyard! Ignore the fact that I did these out of order and tried to fix that without you noticing my editing!
--
: Yo, Avan! What’s up, man?: Hey, you guys are from my class. You’re… Who are you again?
: I’m Joachim Osen, man! These guys here are all Class G’s armored techs.
: It’d be great if you remembered me. Or at least just the name.I feel real bad for Morris because I’m the kind of person who gets forgotten easily, and I uh… never used him. Like, ever. Damn, that makes me feel like a jackass.
Not much to say about him, aside from that his initial potentials are awful. Sorry, dude.
: I look forward to seeing you prove yourself worthy of command.Alexis is an incredibly androgynous guy, be not fooled. His voice acting is actually pretty good in this respect. Alexis is mostly a serious person, and I didn’t really give him much of a shot until halfway through the game where he turned awesome with potentials. I owe a few map victories to him, and his story is nice as well.
: Pay no mind to me. …I’m a Darcsen.Mischlitt was my primary armor tech, primarily because I like using the Darcsen characters. Her potentials are actually great, her story is good enough, and, well… her useful potential procs often. She does her job well, and when push comes to shove, that’s really what I need. She’s also the only girl on the AT team that we’ll have for a long time, if you were wanting to run an all female squad.
He means this in the literal sense. They have shields and wield warpicks in a game with rocket launchers. Yep. Their shields block most of anything for 100% protection, and they get mind-bogglingly tough throughout their promotion trees.
Hell, just wait to see what weapons they get later, because it's ridiculous.
: We’re also trained to safely disarm land-mines.Yeah, the techs stole that and sandbag repair from engineers for whatever reason. It makes the techs marginally more adaptable, but also hurts the usage of engineers. Regardless, I’ll need at least one, if not two AT’s for later in the game because, ye gods, do they make sure that you need them.
Oh, right, Joachim. I, uh, never used him, really. What I saw of his story wasn’t enough to convince me to use him, but judging the characters at first glance is usually bad so we’ll see where he fitts in later. His potentials aren’t bad, but I never liked him enough to use over my other units.
: Hah, I think I got it. Thanks for the intros. It’s good to meet you!--
Ah, we’re finally done with today’s update, almost. This update ends here for now, since I’ll need to give my viewers a chance to pick out their favorite units to use first. Those who get used first, get their stories seen the earliest, so keep that in mind. I’ve already weighed in with my progressively biased opinions on the matter, so I’ll leave it to the thread.
Participation:
Cast up to 6 votes total, positive or negative, towards any of the characters in our class.
Keep in mind that Avan, Cosette, and Zeri’s stories are tied to the main story, so they don’t matter. Also, Avan will always be part of the group unless I’m met with incredibly overwhelming opposition because he’s too good mechanically not to use. I will also always have at least one of each unit class, so also that’s an override if necessary.
For example vote: Nichol, Anisette, Marion + 2, Randy -1, Joachim -1.
Group Name + up to 2 titles chosen from.
Six character limit, nothing explicit. See the below test post for list of all currently owned titles and character info.
But wait, there’s more!
Potentials have been mentioned a lot, and there’s also that list of available titles I promised. I have a list of both that I’ll put up in this separate update because this one has gone on too long, but be sure to check it if you’re voting for characters. Our next two missions are only training missions, but one is based on mobility, the other on clearing all enemies. The next update will be both of them, back to back, and perhaps more. Updates this long will be rare from here on out, just saying.
--> Character Info and Titles <--