Part 33: Summary

Chapter 4 Summary

Finally, it's over. One of the longest chapters in the game, and the majority of the battles weren't noteworthy. Half of the missions were focused on moving or exploring, and generally avoiding combat. The other half rarely featured any interesting combat, instead fighting the usual crew in the usual situations. I've said it before, but aside from a few really dumb upcoming levels, the middle of this chapter is definitely this game's low point. Even the beginning of the game with 3 characters and no card skills seems to play better than this. A big issue, in my opinion, is that most of the battles we do are just too damn easy, without deliberately gimping ourselves. The average enemy we face has an average stat of 2.5. This puts them below even characters we haven't used in ages, like Nietzsche and Rosary. On the other end, though, because of the odd speed that stats grow, Milanor has gained almost 2 stars per stat, going from just under a 4 average, to a 6. Mistel and Durant are joining him in the accelerated stat growth, now that a single MVP or level can grant half a full stat.

Plotwise, though, this was as an important chapter as it was large. The Royal Army has nearly doubled in size, and along the way to rescue the Princess we've dealt huge blows to the Empire. One of Gulcasa's top generals, Leon, is dead. Another general, Russell, has defected and joined with the Royal Army. A key member of the Empire's Special Forces, Elena, is also on our side. Aegina, the Emperor's go-to woman when he needs someone annoying, is seriously injured and won't be bothering us for quite some time. Finally, with the rescue of Yggdra, we've not only brought her back into our combat group, but prevented Gulcasa from finishing whatever ritual he was in the middle of.

Not all's well, though. In the heat of battle, the mercenary slacker Inazghi has been killed. While this may be good news for the Royal Army, the world seems a darker place without our punching bag. In addition, Gulcasa is no longer depending on just his regular troops, and is now deploying his elite Imperial Knights against the Kingdom's forces.

Characters


Wow, Yggdra's terrible. This next chapter focuses around her, but the few levels she missed out on really put her below our average. Nevertheless, she'll be quite useful, and it's not like we can sit her out if we wanted to.


Milanor, on the other hand, jesus... I really, really want him to sit back and watch for a few missions, but the way this chapter's set up that might not always be possible.


Durant hasn't gotten a lot of action in Chapter 4, not that he missed a lot. Besides his luck, though, he's strong enough to be a key member of the group. He and the Princess both share atrocious Luk growth, though, so they'll both be fighting over the appropriate food items.


Nietzsche's been sitting out since chapter 3, but despite that she'd still be useful if we wanted her to be. Despite the next chapter involving lots of desert, there's a fair amount of water she can use for key engagements, and there are some items she's required for to get, which is annoying. Regardless, we don't need two spear users at any given time, so she's probably sitting.


Besides that ugly Atk stat, Rosary's not looking in too poor of shape. Now that the fire-attacking Imperial Knights have been unleashed, Rosary's Void Fire shines a little more. Despite her lowish stats, her Fire immunity and Sycthe neutrality gives her a decent chance against them. She still has the Warp Shoes on, which ideally I'd like to save for another level.


And with that, Russell's niche is over. Yggdra's back, and even if she's weaker it's hard to justify two sword users. Even so, with a good weapon we could push Russell to the 4s and 5s stat area, and he could participate in larger battles.


Heh.


This is how you make a bow-user. Her stats aren't much better than Cruz's, except for a much higher luk, and her elemental immunity doesn't protect against a whole lot. Despite that, she's tailored to her strengths. Elena's naturally maxing Tec will ensure a high amount of damage on her charges, so much that her weapon disadvantage will barely matter. Her high luck will keep the critical hits flowing when the Meteor expires, and her low Gen doesn't matter if she's never on the defensive. And her unique card, Bloody Claw is amazingly useful. Her dark-dealing aggressive mode is also perfect against a few annoying units, like Valkryies.


Ever since she ate the Gold Dozeu, Mistel has been a tank of a character. Her Town doesn't count for much, but since her stats match her weapon, there's not a lot that can put up a fight. It's takes so little time to go from 4 to 6, she'll quickly catch up to Milanor.


She'll probably be my go-to if I need a Witch, just to save the Warp Shoes. Plus, she's a little stronger than Rosary, but has arguably less-useful attributes.


Now that Yggdra's back, she and Milanor are both always required. Most fights require 2 additional characters, but some need 3. I think Mistel and Durant earned their spots on the short-list, so we'll need one more. I'd lean towards the obvious and say Elena, but I'm not picky. And if you have any objections to Mistel and Durant, go ahead and say so.