Part 32: BF28 – Galleon Prison

Not quite on the next page. Oh well, I'm impatient.

– Galleon Prison





After defeating the Black Knight Leon, the Royal Army passed through the Gates of Atonement and arrived at Galleon Prison, where Princess Yggdra was supposedly held captive.

They found Yggdra tied to a cross in the execution grounds in front of Galleon Prison, with Imperial guards patrolling the area.

The battle to reclaim the Princess had begun.







Their security is lax... Had the Princess been moved again?

Hey, is that...? Look at that cross...!



That's... th-the Princess! No... Are we too late!?

Don't panic! I'm sure she's still alive! Let's hurry!



Here we are, Battlefield 29 – the end of chapter 4. This one can easily rank as one of the most difficult, depending on how things go throughout the level.



Milanor's going to take these for this mission. I may be using Milanor very offensively, making Block Counter awesome. Maxing out two more stats never hurts, either.



We'll also pop his morale up to 6500. This key was used in the beginning of the chapter to get some items, and serves no other purpose now.



Mistel will take this, just in case. Everyone should be over 4000 morale, just to be safe. I was debating equipping Mistel with an item, but she fills her role well enough without one.

Durant still has his Spear equipped, and is at 4050 morale. He's good to go.



Russell will come along this time, and hang with the cool kids. The Witches may run into issues against Bow users, Nietzsche overlaps with Durant too much, and fuck Cruz. Russell still has the Yashamaru equipped, and has decent stats. He's in.

Roll right over 'em! We've gotta get to the Princess!



The best way I've done this mission is to have Milanor solo most of it himself, which requires great stats, a good card selection, and an item to help out in battle.

He'll run ahead and take care of this Bandit on the first turn.



Is there any reason to keep this...?



Our next turn involves Milanor picking up that Music Box, and rushing into the cluster of guards around the Princess. Witches will advance forward whenever their Golems fall. If that Knight in front falls, he takes the whole group with him.



Milanor steamrolls him, with 144% damage done. Because of the quick kill, we'll waste some Exp and Card Power, but this quick clear has very tight margins this stage so we'll go with it.

Milanor takes out the two Golems that are part of the union as well.







Milanor only needs 1 Mov to rescue Yggdra. Before that, move the group one tile north.

There are two strategies I'd recommend here. 1 – Pick a weak card (1500 or so pow) that will help you survive some brutal fights, or 2 – Pick a card capable of dealing 3200 damage that will help you survive some brutal fights. I'm going with the latter – Dragon Killer will wreck the place.







Don't worry, everyone! Yggdra's safe! We gotta get her out of here, though! Someone come help!







The Royal Army has entered the area! General Leon is dead, and they took Princess Yggdra back!

Indeed? So, they've come this far... She still has a vital role to play. We cannot lose her now. Send the main force to pursue them! I'll go with them.

Yes, Your Majesty!



Take note – If any of your units die...

Bad news...! They're after us!

Those troops... It's the Imperial Army's main force!

Crap! Gulcasa's with them!



We don't stand a chance like this!

We must withdraw! Quickly!





Immediately, we're attacked by two of Gulcasa's elite Imperial Knights.





They're pretty badass, but can't break Milanor's Wasteland or his 6,6,6 stat line on their charge.







So let's try out Dragon Killer. As you can see, it lets us ignore all of our weapon or terrain disadvantages, and gives us Red Star effectiveness against Dragons. It's mostly a formality at this point, with Milanor's lead.



And if it's active at the end of battle, we get this ridiculous +50% Dragon-Slay damage bonus. This Imperial Knight survives, though, by standing on the Fort.



The second one doesn't. Even so, he puts up a hell of a fight and brings Milanor down to one unit.



Next to Milanor, Gulcasa's stats don't look too impressive. Combine them with his Scythe, Wasteland , Genocide and his High Status, he'd fuck up anyone else that even got close to him. Milanor at least can put up a fight.



Gulcasa's Imperial Knights aren't too shabby themselves. 3,3,3 gives them a good strength in combat, especially with their Sycthe and Wasteland . Their 1 Luk means critical hits are unlikely, thankfully, and they can't use Genocide. Like Gulcasa they deal Fire damage during Rage. Unlike Gulcasa, they're weak against Ice. Blizzard is the best 7 Mov damage card, largely because of these assholes.



That last situation change refreshed our card stock. With Dragon Killer again, Milanor will back up a little bit.



The weakened Imperial Knight recruits another and charges forth, but they both fall to Milanor. He's basically winning by pure stat advantage alone. His Wasteland is nullified by the fact all of his opponents have the same benefit. Stats and Dragon Killer aside, these guys are still bringing Milanor down to 1 or 2 units.

By using weaker cards so that you don't actually kill any Knights, you can retreat fully and Gulcasa has to split his movement up over that many more units. Since Milanor is strong enough this time to fight well, we can slowly retreat and kill any followers.



On our turn, we don't move.

S-Sir! Imperial forces have been sighted ahead!

What!? Not now...!



It's the Valkyrie Aegina's unit!

Gulcasa's right on our heels... We're trapped!







You have doen well to make it here, Royal Army... But this is as far as you come! We have you now!

We've gotta get rid of Aegina before Gulcasa catches up...



Aegina gets the turn as soon as she arrives, but she won't move towards us. This is why we moved north earlier. We're out of her attack range, and are free to proceed how we see fit.



Aegina is her usual annoying self – high Atk and Tec. Revolution is still threatening too. Her other troops are the usual 2/3's, but a few units have Tec as high as 4.



I just plain don't want to deal with these jokers, so we'll take the wrecking ball that is Shield Barrier, and throw it against Aegina and her Revolution.

There's an alternate strategy, though, depending on your party make-up. If combat isn't comfortable, you can wait Aegina out. Stay one tile away from her, and focus on surviving Gulcasa and his troops. Aegina won't move, and you can stare at her from a safe distance.











Shield Barrier deals with them nicely.





We dealt with most of them, but now we have to prepare for a counter attack.



But first, Gulcasa is getting in on the action.

His Imperial Knight falls without a fight, and Milanor's predicted to be slightly stronger than Gulcasa.



Even so, after the charge both sides are at about equal strength.



But by the time Gulcasa can use Genocide, Shield Barrier has put us way ahead.



Gulcasa still takes out two of Milanor's goons, though.



Aegina follows up, as well, but it pretty much a non-issue at this point.



Of course...



We're in a tight spot... Dammit, isn't there any way out?

Master Milanor! Someone's coming this way!

More of them? Hey, wait! That's... Elena!



Better late than never, Elena! Good to see you safe! Everyone! Elena's here! Elena, help us take out Aegina's unit!

Understood!





I'll snipe her from the cliff. Just hold out until then!

Can do!



Elena is completely cut-off from the rest of the forces, but can be brought into unions at certain positions. Ultimately, she just needs to move 8 tiles and get to that flag.

But first, Milanor's going to try to steal that weapon off Gulcasa.

You're on my list, but it'll have to wait until next time!

Return the princess immediately!





We start off with a brutal opening attack, and Gulcasa can't do a thing about it. Let's hope we don't kill him before we can steal.



By the time we're at 100%, Gulcasa is almost at 50% Rage. If we get hit by a Flash Attack, we'll be in trouble.





We get the charge to full, and pull off Steal, and Gulcasa is almost ready to use Genocide.



He goes down before he has the chance, though. That was close.











We get the familiar sound of an arrowing being drawn, and then fired.



Oh my God! The Commander's been shot in the eye!

Commander Aegina!? Look out, there's a sniper!

Commander! Hang in there!



This time she doesn't miss.



Nice shot, Elena! Aegina's unit is panicking!

Now's your chance, Master Milanor!

You heard the lady! Let's hurry up and get outta here!



We get full refreshes on our cards again. We'll use Steal to get the hell out of there. Not all of Milanor's battles with Gulcasa won't go that easy, and with no other troops on the field he can run his full 10 every turn.



He gets close this time, but not all the way.





Durant and Russell, being the most vulnerable to Gulcasa, are first to flee. Milanor will hold him off as long as possible, but Mistel can take his place if need be. Remember, if any unit falls in battle, it's game over.







Doesn't look too good this time.





We hit him with a Gravity Chaos, and it kills one of his troops. High Status prevents Curse, though, but we'll take what we can get.





Doesn't stop him from using Genocide, though. Milanor shrugs a good deal off because of his Wasteland Geo, and absurd Gen. No other character would fare as well.







Mistel and Russell both get out, and Milanor keeps running. Make sure you don't accidentally get Elena into the union. She's safe, otherwise.



Gulcasa keeps on trucking.



Oh fuck you.



Really? Eat a dick.



Well, I restored 3000 morale to him for a reason.



Milanor finally gets out. Elena's going to head to her exit as well, taking a quick stop on the way.



There's a mysterious power coming from this thing...



Alright! We made it!



We're rid of them...! That was a nerve-wracking experience.

You said it... I'm sure it gave me a few gray hairs. We owe Elena our lives. You'd better thank her, Durant.

...You are right. Forgive me, Milady, for not trusting you.

No, I just...

Why don't we leave it at that? Mission accomplished! Right now, we need to focus on getting Yggdra back home. Won't she be surprised to see the new faces? Let's hurry back. Come on, Elena.

Okay...!



Thank you. I'm doing much better now.

You were out cold for a whole week. We were really worried.

I'm sorry... This is all because I acted rashly...

Yeah... You're the boss here, you know. Let this just be a lesson not to run off half-cocked.

...Yes...

Excuse me, Princess. Mother Paltina wishes to see you...

...Mother Paltina? Here to see me?

...Huh? Who's Mother Paltina?

A seer who's lived here as long as I can remember.

Huh...

It must be urgent... Let her through at once.



I'm glad to see you are well, too. I heard that you wanted to speak with me...?

Yes. A red comet appeared in the norther sky 7 days ago... It is a disastrous star with ominous powers... That star is the harbinger of a terrible catastrophe.

Lavos!

A catastrophe? What's going to happen?

Something dreadful is about to awaken. Something terrible... The evil star has disrupted the flow of the heavens.

How is this connected to me?

It is our sovereign's duty to fend off misfortune. For this, the Holy Sword's true powers are necessary.

The true power of the Holy Sword?

...To unleash this power, one must ascend the throne. Princess, you have not been properly coronated yet...

Me... Ascend the throne...?

The coronation traditionally takes place in Welheim. Hurry to the Holy Land and perform the ceremony. That is the only way to stand against the catastrophe.

...I understand... I will prepare to depart immediately. Durant, please gather our forces to escort us.

Of course, Princess.



May the Gran Centurio protect you...



No surprises there. He almost gained two full levels...

Loot


Inferno: Atk and Tec up, and you drain morale when you win? Worth the Gen and Luk down. 1 map.


Lost Material: A trade item that can get you the best weapon in the game, but it won't.


Old Music Box: This unlocks the soundtrack mode after you've beaten the game. Also worth decent morale recovery.

Missed item: Rope. -1 all stats, weak against all units. This rope was used to tie up Yggdra before you rescue her. All usual, Rosary gets her morale bonus from this item. It can also be traded for another item later on, but in general it's awkward to get it and still get the quick clear bonus, since the enemy piles up on the tile you find this.


Elena – I'd say she's the best optional-use character on the GBA version, only losing to arguably Mistel in the PSP. She ends up at 3,4,6,4, relying on a strong tec with decent attack and luck stats. With that 3 Gen, she's also a bit of a glass cannon, which is how she should be used. Her Tec and Luk will supply wicked charages, with a good shot at critical hits. Her 4 Atk isn't exciting, but by that point it will do. And if you manage to give her one of the plentyful Atk UP food items right at 3 stars, or level 12, she'll max out her Atk given time. Bloody Claw is an excellent card, and can really triviallize any encounter she's in. It's a little more restrictive than say, Kiss of Death, but it also entirely knocks out enemy card skills – by killing the head.
A little about her item usage – She's the only one who gets access to Zilva's masks, but otherwise she doesn't get any really good unique equipment. As for morale, every item dropped by an Imperial unit will restore some morale, and she's a vegetarian. Add this to her victory saying when she uses Bloody Claw (The moon... it's beautiful), as Pureauthor pointed out, and I think it brings up some interesting character information. Elena is also pretty much the only playable character outside of the main 3 that gets any character development after she joins.


O protector of the endless sea of sand... Judge those who disturb order and stability – Lhasa, Guardian of the Desert
At first glance this looks like a terrible card. You're right. It's been improved since the GBA version, by adding +1 damage, and allowing it to be used in Wasteland. Even so, it still has bad move, low damage, and a restrictive tileset. We are going to the desert this chapter, so, yeah... Whatever. Not using it.

Notes

In general, you want to send only one or two units to rescue Yggdra, and one of them should always be Milanor. Depending on how strong your Milanor is, I'd even retreat the other unit back to the group before Milanor rescues the Princess. Why Milanor? He's probably the only one strong enough to deal with the dragons stat wise, and he'll even the Wasteland odds. And why only Milanor? If you don't have to split up your movement among two characters, you'll get back faster.


Ultimately, this level is based on how you deal with Gulcasa. Once you've rescued the Princess, you'll pretty much always have to deal with the two Imperial Knights. Gravity Chaos, Shield Barrier and Dragon Killer are all good in general for dealing with their first wave. If Milanor has an average or 5 or higher in all stats, you can probably do my method and stay and fight. Otherwise, he should haul ass back to the group. In that case, Gulcasa will either send one unit at a time, probably to their death, or split his movement among the lot of them.

If a lone straggler does reach you, you'll have to just kill it. Milanor is usually the key, here. His stats are generally awesome, and he plays on even ground against their Wasteland . He also brings Gravity Chaos to the table, and a large selection or superb weapons. Mistel might seem like an obvious choice, thanks to nullifying their Scythe advantage, but she might be behind in stats, and the enemies all have Wasteland .

If Durant's Tec is 4 or higher he can use Mind Change, and he and Nietzsche can use Blizzard. Rosary's Void Fire helps, and if you manage to kill one with Flame you can get a Dragon Steak – similar to the Grilled Griffon. Banshee's Cry is decent if you're using Russell, but that's pushing it unless his stats are unreal. Summon a Golem or Skeleton if you feel up to it, and have them make a choke point.

Don't use Cruz. There's nothing he can do in a night / evening locked event, when he's on the defensive.

When it comes down to the end, and Elena has dealt with Aegina, run your vulnerable characters away first. Keep retreating in such a way that only one person can be engaged in combat, unless you're in the unlikely position such that you will be attacked by a large union. Likely, you'll be retreating with a male guarding the rear, since he can't make unions in the straight areas. Neither can the enemy.

As long as you stand one tile away from Aegina when she shows up, she'll ineffectively just stare at you. Don't worry about her if you're worried about fighting. If you plan on killing her, time it so that you attack her with a card you can defend against Gulcasa with.