Let's Battle Ogres! (Ogre Battle 64)

Episode 1: The Beginning



Seriously Atlus, you need to come up with better product descriptions than this. “It’s got maps, a tutorial, and it lets you save!!!” Wow. That’s incredible, Atlus.

But hey, we’re going to play it anyway. It really is a phenomenal game; trust me. If strategy RPGs are your kind of thing, then OB64 is the game for you. I haven’t played the game in, oh, eight years or so. Eight years isn’t the longest time, but it’s certainly long enough to forget the details of an obscure strategy RPG for the Nintendo 64. I remember the basics of gameplay, but time has dulled my overall knowledge of the game. I just don’t remember all of the hardcore stuff I used to know.

So I’ll be turning to you, the TT readers, for directions. This is still my LP so I’m going to be making some of the decisions for us…but I’ll be leaving all of the major decisions to you guys. I’ll also be reviewing our units each update so if any of you have any changes you want to make to the current set up of our army, let me know. Any non-hero unit can be renamed too, so if you have any renaming requests, throw them out there.

So now that that’s out of the way, Let’s Battle Ogres!

Note: I know the images are a bit large, but if I make them smaller they become a pixelated mess. So I'm just going to leave them this size and limit the overall number of images I use. And the images are a bit pixelated...that's an issue with my emulator. I can clear up the pixelation in the character portraits, but if I do that then the text becomes unreadable. So we're just going to have to make do like this. Sorry everyone, but I don't have mad photoshop skillz.


Boy 2: ...Yeah.
Boy 1: Why can't you stay here? Why the military academy, why?
Boy 2: God knows where my mother is...and I can't stand being around my father.
Yumil: ...
Boy 2: I'm leaving...Yumil, I promise I'll make you proud. I have to learn to stand on my own...so I can protect both of us.

This beginning scene is very melodramatic. It's also very sepia-toned. It's important to the story too so try to remember it. Back when I was 14, I thought that this game's writing was outstanding, but looking at now it's pretty atrocious. But hey, there's a good story buried in there somewhere and we're going to find it. Also, I know you can't tell but the music is pretty moving for an Nintendo 64 game too.


Archbishop Odiron: He who has learned the way of the sword and god's teachings,



The Progenitor!?

Archbishop Odiron: I shalt now complete thy training with an oath to our Mother Berthe. What is thy name?



Don’t worry, this will make sense in a second (keep in mind that the game doesn't let you change your last name).



If it still doesn’t make sense, then you obviously never had to wait in a doctor and/or dentist’s office during your childhood.

Next you’re asked when your birthday is. This only affects one minor thing in the game, so I just put my birthday in because I'm a narcissistic bastard.

At this point, Odiron asks a series of questions that determines what units you start with. It's not super important what we start with since I'm going to be dumping a big chunk of our initial line up anyway, so I just went ahead and picked the answers for you. I know, I know. I'm just a really nice guy, what can I say?



Passion, because Goofus loves the ladies.



Anarchy, because Gallant believes that rules are meant to be followed.



Might, because Goofus beats up nerds and takes their lunch money.



Glory, because Gallant feels that the Gods should be honored.



Wealth, because Goofus’ trendy coke habit is costing him an arm and a leg.

Chaos, because that’s the kind of boring shit Gallant would say.



Wind, because I wanted to. No good reason.

Odiron then gives you some gifts which also depend on how you answered your questions. The only noteworthy item we got was a whip. Beastmasters use whips, and I hate beastmasters...and the fact that we got a whip means we'll probably be starting with at least one beastmaster. So this is kind of a drag. But whatever, we’re going to reconstruct a few units after the first battle anyway so none of this really matters right now.




That’s right, apparently this is the sixth game in this series. Even though the only other entry in this series is Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen for the SNES, and the rest of the games are either sidestories or remakes. But apparently there’s six of ‘em! And they’ll probably never get made ever, because God (and Atlus apparently) hate me.



What the hell is a person of lordly caliber anyway? Well, I guess we’ll find out, right? Cue opening movie!



Slapstick!



Camaraderie!



ADVENTURE!!!




Godeslas goes on for a while about Alba is a rugged region and you can’t slack off…blah, blah. There’s only three things you really need to take out of this scene:

- there’s a training exercise you need to go on but first you must meet with an advisor
- Godeslas is your superior.
- Godeslas has a friggin’ AWESOME mustache. He looks like a 70s pornstar. Seriously, look at it.



Look at it (and my mad MSPaint skillz). Drink it in. You wish you had a mustache like that.

Yes you do. You’re in denial. It's that bad ass. But let’s move on.

Grey-Haired Old Man: ...Come in.



And yes, I will be posting screenshots of each time G&G is referred to by his full name, because I think it's hilarious.

Grey-Haired Old Man: Alright, let me see..



G&G: ...?
Hugo the Tactician: My name is Hugo Miller. I'm your adviser. Graduated from the Ischka Military Academy, eh? ...what, are you nervous? Don't worry, I'm here to guide you. You'll get used to it in time. Alright, you're dismissed. ...Head to Tenne Plains and get ready for training. We will begin as soon as everyone arrives.
G&G: Excuse me sir, but...is that it?
Hugo: When you get old, you can tell a lot just by looking at people's faces. While we lack strength, our knowledge and experience more than make up for it. And...to tell you the truth, I've known about you for a long time. Come on, get outta here. Looks like the next guy's waiting. Go get ready for training. Understood?





Uh oh! Looks like Dio’s gotten himself into some hot water! *sitcom laugh track goes here* Dio’s the stock “hothead” character, and he’s simultaneously the stock “main character’s rival who becomes his best friend” character. In addition to that, he’s got a chip on his shoulder and something to prove (which will be revealed shortly). That’s a lot of generic character rolled into one! But he’s not that bad in battle and you get him super early, so he’s a good character to keep around. Plus, he’s named after Dio. Gotta love that.



We’re now taken to the map for the first time. Right now we don’t really have anywhere to go but forward, but we can take a break and review what troops we have so far.



It’s hard to tell from this picture, but so far we have three units. The top unit is G&G’s unit. G&G’s unit always starts with two female archers and two male fighters. Always. The next unit has a beastmaster, two fighters, and two soldiers. Soldiers are essentially cannon fodder. They attack at half damage and basically exist just to keep your legit unit members from dying. They’re good if you need a spot filled and don’t have anything else, but we’ll be phasing them out very quickly. The last unit has an upgraded archer, a regular archer, and two groups of soldiers. We’ll also be getting a few more units when Dio joins up with us before the next battle, and then we’ll be making some major changes. But for now this will have to do. I made some changes in formation, but none of this matters too much right now.

Dio: Diomedes Rangue reporting as requested, sir!
Hugo: Oh, I didn't expect you two to arrive at the same time...nice and prompt. I hope you came prepared, Diomedes.



Dio: And call me Dio, alright? You too! You'd better not call me Diomedes, or else...

There’s that temper again! UH OH!!!

Sitcom audience: Oooooohh…..

Hugo: Okay, okay. Will you calm down? I want you to head for the Theodricus Mine, to the west. There's been quite a number of incidents recently, where the workers were attacked by wild beasts. In addition, there are bandits in the area. The locals are very concerned about the situation. ...Now, go take care of it. Take a look at this map.



There’s a briefing before each mission begins. Hugo will typically explain the mission's objectives and you'll get to look at a map of the area. This mission is super easy, so I’ll summarize what we're supposed to be doing. See that red square? That’s what we need to capture. We start at the blue square, and we already control the blue circles. The enemy controls the red circles. The green one is neutral. Got it? Don’t worry if you don’t, you’ll understand eventually.

Hugo: Goofus, you command the troops.
Hugo: Let's start the training. I'll be waiting outside.
Dio: Hey, wait a minute! What's this all about?!



Hugo: I tested each of you, in my own way. Besides, it's only temporary. Don't make such a fuss about it. ...you hear me? *Hugo leaves*
Dio: Why do you get to be the commander?! ...Come on, let's take it outside.





There are a few points in the game that radically alter the story depending on your decision, and we’ve now run into one. We haven’t even gotten to the first level yet, and we’re already faced with an important decision! Atlus certainly doesn’t screw around. This is admittedly the least important one, but it’s important all the same.

So what do you say guys? Do we fight him or pass?

Spoiler about the choice: [if you fight him, he’ll eventually leave the party. So I recommend we pass.]

Oh, and remember to submit any names for party members if you think of any.



We’re keeping this guy, though. Badguy the Fighter friggin' STAYS.

No way we're gonna sink to his level. I say we pass and stay on the higher ground where it's nice and sunny.

Also, I request that a unit be named Beef Jerky.

I've been looking forward to this game. I played it earlier this year and only got about halfway through because I was too much of a goody-two-shoes and my Alignment was too high. I couldn't even get generic classes like Dianas and Dragon Masters, much less low-alignment classes like Warlocks... everyone was either a Paladin, a Freya, or a Priest.

Spare Dio, obviously.

Too true. But then again everyone just wanted to do the "find the objects" picture.
And wasnt Diomedes someone in the Illiad or Odyssey? But Im glad he changes his name to Dio. Dio rocks.

As for the important decision, Id say fight him because Dio is a dick, but if he is a real good party member later in the game I guess leave him alone.

Dio's a jerk. Beat him up for me.

I also would like a unit named Rumpus.

1) Can you.. sort of explain what the initial character choices do? The fact that you rushed through 'em rather than asking means either they're not important, or you have a specific idea in mind, and that'd be good to share. -.-

2) Is this game as soul-crushingly hard as SNES Ogre Battle? I literally broke a controller over that game. It drove me into some kind of primal rage, and I've never even looked at it since.

The answers to the questions give you "points" in certain categories, the results of which detemines the classes and equipment of your initial units. Like he said, though, he can shift these characters around to be basically whatever he wants after a few level ups, so it's not a huge deal in the long run.

The element he selected is his initial "Elem Pedra", a special attack which can be activated in battles.

Oh I just thought of something. Since we already have Dio we need some more rockers like Lemmy, Ozzy, Hetfield, Gillian (Ian Gillian of Deep Purple) etc.

The first update's already over, but I figured that since we never even got to the tutorial level before getting hit with an important choice, I figured that I’d take this time to explain the basics of the game to you all. Next update you’ll see all of this in action, so get ready for awesomeness. I recommend that everyone read this first section where I describe how gameplay works., despite it's inherent boringness. Next update, I’ll explain how the alignment system and the Chaos Frame system work. That’s optional reading, but I strongly suggest everyone take a look at it.

OB64 is a real time strategy RPG. Each mission takes place in a particular area with certain headquarters and strongholds. These places each have a certain level of morale which is defined by a numerical value. This will be important when I explain how the Chaos Frame works later, so please remember this. On each map, you can deploy any available units at your headquarters. Each unit can only have up to five characters in it, depending on each character’s size. For example, a dragon takes up more room in a unit and limits the number of party members. Typically a beast or dragon takes up enough room to accommodate two party members. Each unit is composed of a 3 X 3 grid. Individual members can be placed anywhere on the grid. This determines what attacks they will use, as well as how often they will use them and what enemy attacks will be able to hurt them. Obviously, units in the front row are more likely to be physically attacked while units in the back row are less likely to be physically attacked. Units that are bunched together are susceptible to AOE magic attacks, but they are also capable of being healed easier with healing AOE spells (both of which become more common later in the game). Units posted at strongholds that you control will regenerate health. The same is true for opposing units. Some strongholds have shops you can use, too.

Each unit is represented on the map by the unit’s leader. Only certain characters can lead units (See the medal in the upper left in the picture below? That means you can lead a unit). When one of your units meets an enemy on the world map, a battle ensues. All battles occur automatically. Like I mentioned before, the attacks your characters use are determined by where they are positioned. For example, Fighters will attack twice in the front row and only once in the middle or back rows. The opposite is true for Wizards and Clerics. Proper positioning in a given unit is incredibly important.



Here’s our main character, G&G. Notice the three different Slash attacks? That's what I was talking about. G&G is unique in that he gets two attacks in the front and back rows, while only getting one in the middle. It’s important to position all of your characters properly and take advantage of your unit members’ abilities. You can also see the 3x3 grid I was talking about in the bottom part of the screen.

After a set number of turns (determined by the characters’ abilities and class), a winner and a loser are determined. If a unit is wiped out, obviously the other unit is the winner. If there is no clear winner, then the unit who dealt more damage is determined the winner. After the battle, you are returned to the map. The winning unit’s leader stays put while the losing unit is “pushed back” a short distance. This “push” enables the losing unit to either turn and flee, or continue forward and attack again. It can also spell certain disaster if you are trying to defend a particular stronghold.

In addition, special spells called pedras can be used at certain points in the battle. Think of them as summoning magic. They play a very minor role early in the game, but can be quite powerful later in the game. There are four basic elemental ones, as well as one for “virtue” and “bane” (light/dark, holy/evil, you get the idea). It is possible to have all of the pedras at once. You are issued one at the beginning of the game. We choose wind, because screw you guys I like wind magic. Don’t worry about it too much though. I didn’t even know how to use them until my second playthrough so obviously it’s not too important.

Proper positioning is a key to success in this game. If an enemy unit runs into one of yours with your unit facing the opposite direction, your units’ grid positions will be reversed which will typically limit your combat abilities and spell certain doom for your unit. The same is true if your unit is attacked from the side. Your unit’s grid position will rotate, and will again potentially limit your effectiveness.

There’s also Fatigue and a whole bunch of other stuff, but as long as this stuff makes sense to you, then you’ll be able to follow along.

Oh, and Rumpus and Beef Jerky will be making an appearance after our first battle, guys.

Shhh... Atlus has eyes everywhere.

Let's not fight him, because I really don't want to sit through another "Asshole Bestfriend" in a SRPG.

1) It's not that important. Each choice has a numerical value tied to a second level class. So...say, picking Passion for the first choice will give you two points towards Knight, five points towards Archer, and ten points towards Beastmaster and so on for all of the second classes. At the end of all of the choices, the points are added up and your starting units will be lead by the classes that have the most points. We have units headed up by an Archer and a Beastmaster so I guess the ones I picked have more points towards them than the others. We get two more units (in addition to Dio's) at the beginning of this first battle, so we'll see what else we get.

It's ultimately not important because we're going to be changing the hell out of our roster anyway, and before the game is done we'll probably have 70+ characters that not only are we not using, but have never used. So don't sweat it.

2) No, but it's not exactly a cakewalk either.

Notice: I'm going to go eat lunch and then play some Rock Band for a bit, but then I'll play the first mission and have an update up sometime later today.

I remember wanting to get this when it came out, but I was a poor grade schooler with no access to money. Now you're making me envious.

Seriously - why is this NOT on the Virtual Console? The first Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre came out for the SNES too, so it's possible we'll see them again someday.

Right?

Less major than the questions at the start of Ogre Battle, then? I remember the starting lord builds ranging from impossibly bad to frickin awesome.

I say spare him your wrath because that's what heroes are always supposed to do!!

Wasn't so much about "sweating it" as, "Hey, it's a Let's Play, explain what you're doin'" =p 'sall good now I guess.

If JoJo's Bizarre Adventure taught me anything, it's that anyone named Dio should be dealt with swiftly so they don't become immortal vampires with the power to stop time.

On the other hand, if he develops the power to stop time, it would prove incredibly useful to our cause....

No, forget it, we should fight him now and get it over with.

Spare him but use him as the meatshield unit EVERY TIME in return for his jerkiness.

I nominate WhiteMage as the name of some barbarian/berserker sort. Because these things should be as non-intuitive as possible.

I rented this game in high school and was always sad I couldn't finish it in one week.

Magnus got a starring role in my eleventh grade English term paper as a student of a magical academy who sneaks out, gets drunk at a carnival, passes out, and starts dreaming about fantasy-ized versions of the books we'd read that year. The title page featured the drinking sprite of the Harvest Moon farmer staggering around the border.

Man, I wish I still had a copy of that paper...

This game is the only N64 game I regret selling off. VC please!

Sorry guys, but more people voted to not fight. Plus, it's the "right" choice so...yeah, we're not gonna do it.

G&G: No, I won't. What's the big deal about who's better than who anyway? I don't mind if you are the commander.

Wait, what the fuck? I mind if he's the commander! Don't be such a bitch, Gallant!





Chip on shoulder/something to prove confirmed!

G&G: I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way.
Voice: Get ahold of yourself, Dio!



Hugo: Don't be so rash. The rest of your life isn't set in stone, right?
Dio: But...!
Hugo: Enough! You'll eventually understand your shortcomings.
Dio: ...
Hugo: For now, follow my orders. I'll assess your skills according to your performance. Go take care of those beasts if you want to make a name for yourself.
Dio: (Damn it, we're not janitors...We're soldiers...)






Remember, if Goofus ever dies it’s an instant game over. But this shouldn’t be much of an issue because Goofus is one of the best characters in the game and never dies ever.



I started by deploying all six of my units. I previously mentioned that when Dio joins up, you get three more units. Dio’s unit has three fighters and an amazon (the base male and female classes). It’s almost identical to G&G’s units except there’s a third fighter instead of a second amazon. The second unit’s only noteworthy member is a Valkyrie. OB64 is a very sexist game. Females make really shitty physical fighters. Valkyries are okay, at best. So we’ll probably need to change her class to something else later…maybe a Dragon Tamer if we can get ahold of a dragon? Just a thought. The third unit is actually really good; a beast tamer with a hellhound. We’re now presented with a problem: we have two beast tamers. This is not good. Beast tamers are crappy on their own, but they boost the stats of any beasts that are in their unit. This does not stack, however so we only need one. During the battle we’ll be acquiring all the gear we need to make a ninja so I’m planning on making one of them into a ninja at some point. Ninjas suck, but their third class variant (ninja master) is pretty good, so this might work out. For now our army is pretty shitty, but this is all salvageable.

Anyway, G&G, Mary (the archer unit), and Leon (one of the beast tamers) head for the town on the left, Mulsuk. Dio and his units (Seeta the Valkyrie and Gail the oddly-named-male-Beast Tamer) head for Bordeux, the red town in the south.



Sometimes, when you’re wandering around the map, you’ll find items. G&G found a pair of Old Clothing, which is essentially useless. Gail, the oddly named male Beast Tamer, found a Baldr Sword almost immediately after in a different part of the map, and that’s good news.

G&G arrives in Mulsuk and runs into trouble, with a capital T! Our first battle! There’s even a bit of story since it’s our first battle!



Wizard: The Southern Division?! They're here already?
Warrior: Calm down! It's not that big of a problem. Our plan has already been initiated. We must stop them! Or else it will come to naught. Nothing will change. Everything will remain the same. This is for our future! I'll leave this place to you. Buy as much time as possible!
*G&G shows up*
Wizard: A, alright, come on! You dogs! G,get...get out of our way!

Unfortunately, my emulator tweaked out and there wasn’t any background during this fight so I decided against taking pictures. We were able to win and we even killed the unit’s leader in the progress! That’s not bad at all for our first battle. Remember that “push” I mentioned in the addendum? Well since we won, the wizard was pushed away leaving Mulsuk completely open and…



Hurray! This is actually really, really good news. Read this episode’s addendum for more information on why this is a good thing.

I’m such a tease, I know.

Shortly after, Dio and the gang liberated the entirely unprotected Bordeux. There’s a neutral city to the south of Bordeux, which we won’t be capturing (seriously, I know the addendum is boring…that’s why I didn’t put it in the main post, but it will answer all of your burning questions). A few more units arrive from the nearby town of Buchanan. Magnus and the gang are able to push them back. Now we’re presented with this situation:



Notice the building floating above the Knight and Witch? That means that they’re hurt, and they will try and flee to a stronghold to regenerate health. Fortunately, if you can catch up with them, you can make them “panic” (picture anime sweatdrops) and they will focus on running away rather than on heading to a stronghold. The skull above the wizard means that we killed the unit’s leader and it is permanently in a panicked state. He will try to run away and will fight back if you fight him, but he won’t do much else. He’ll keep doing that either until you kill him or his unit is forced to camp.

Remember that “fatigue” thing I mentioned earlier? There’s a gauge (which I haven’t shown yet) that shows your unit’s fatigue. Fatigue can be regenerated at a stronghold, or by camping. Camping can be done anywhere, but it leaves you unit completely open. If you let a unit’s fatigue get to the max, your unit will stop and camp wherever it is.

This is typically really, really bad.

From this screenshot, I split up my forces. G&G went after the fleeing Knight and eventually caught up to him and killed him. We got an Iron Claw (starting ninja weapon) for our trouble. I sent Dio after the Wizard unit. Dio caught up to him and knocked him back to the area up north. Leon took care of the Beserker unit at Buchanan and killed the unit’s leader. This lead to…



Hurray! Leon also pushed the Witch unit into the forest up north before he took Buchanan.



See? Leon eventually tracked her down and killed her. Witch’s robes are apparently not that different from Ninja’s Garb (starting ninja armor), because that’s what we got for killing her. G&G finally caught up to the wizard and finished them off (they didn’t even get hurt). We got a Hachigane (starting ninja headgear) this time. We now have all of the ninja’s required equipment, so we can one as soon as someone’s stats get high enough. Gail caught up with the fleeing Berserker and killed him too.

This all took, like, eight years to do because units walk really slowly in this game. So now we’re left with this:



Dio and the so-far-basically-useless-Mary head to the Mine to take care of the boss. Uh oh, story event!

Stabilo: You've come this far...but you won't get any further! I will defeat you, at all costs!!
Dio: You were controlling the beasts?



Stabilo: It won't do either of us good if I tell you. What are you going to do? You haven't the slightest idea of what we must endure. ...you want to know why we do this? Freedom...yes, for freedom. That's it...nothing else! Now, prepare!

Prepare? For what?



Oh, right.

Dio was not able to kill the boss in one exchange, but was able to whittle his HP down to the point where Mary came in and killed him with one arrow.



Yay! Fireworks!

And a berserker axe! And reserve soldiers! Wow…uh, we don’t really need ANY of that. Hurray...?

G&G: What are you planning?
Stabilo: ...
Dio: We gotta head back, Goofus!





Seriously, I don’t get it!

Stabilo: Do I have to explain everything?

Apparently Dio and G&G are retarded, so yes. You do.

Stabilo: We were a decoy! Our true goal is...revolution! We will destroy the royal family and the nobles, and bring changes to this kingdom! We were ordered to get your attention. I didn't expect they'd dispatch rookies like you, but...it's too late!! We'll raise the flag of revolution on Prince Yumil's grave! Hehehe...HAHAHAHA!!

Oh snaps! DANGER!

Next there’s a long scene which I took the time to transcribe, but then realized that I really shouldn’t have since it could be summarized in a few bullet points without really losing anything:

- G&G decides to go rescue the prince
- Dio objects. Like, a lot. It goes on for years.
- Hugo essentially tells Dio to stop being a bitch and backs G&G up
- There’s an extremely heavy implication that G&G knows Yumil somehow

We’re then sent to the map with a new destination.



But first, time to clean up. I started by disbanding the archer unit, the beast tamer unit that didn’t have a beast in it, and the valkyrie unit. Dio’s unit is okay for now, but we’re eventually going to need to make a spot for Dio on the front row. I experimented a bit, and I ended up with this:



The valkyrie is really killing me. Beast tamers do the same damage up front as they do in the middle (but they have bad defense), but valkyries do less in the middle and do a weak lightning attack in the back row. So to be useful at all, they have to be up front…the only problem is that even though valkyries are a second level class, they’re weaker than my fighters. God she’s useless. I renamed the beast tamer in the unit with the hellhound Beef Jerky, and the hellhound I renamed Rumpus. BJ and Rump’s unit is pretty good, but now that I’m looking at it, I’ll probably drop the Amazon, move BJ to the middle row and put a fighter from Dio’s unit up front in exchange for the Amazon. That way Dio will be able to go up front (which is important later in the game when he gets three attacks in the front row) and have ranged support, while BJ will get some protection by having a fighter in front of him without losing any attack power.

The last unit still kind of sucks, though. Once I make that Beast Tamer and Valkryie something else, things should improve. But there’s a pretty good chance that once I start getting better characters, I’m going to abandon the entire unit.

So…yeah, so far so good. Things are shaping up, but we’ve still got an obscenely long way to go! Onward, to save the Prince!

By the way, my fourth unit's leader is "Leon" right now. That won't do. What name should we use for him? I don't know what class he'll end up as, so it's got to be something that will be funny regardless (I'll name someone WhiteMage though, don't worry). Also, one of the fighters in Dio's unit is named Feldman. We've also got Chipp, Coco, Chick, and Indy in our forces.

I love this game's auto-naming.

Edit: I might be able to squeeze in another update tonight, but I don't know. There will be one tomorrow for sure though. 100% certain of that.

In case you're wondering what the purpose of the addendum is, this is primarily where I'll be breaking down the game's systems and classes and answering questions from you guys. Most episodes won't have these.

If you care about the subsystems of this game, then the next few bits of information will be extremely important to you. If you don’t, then skip all of it and check back next update.

Be warned: lots of numbers and boring subsystems are about to be deconstructed. It’ll be pretty damn boring, unless if you’re into math. In which case, you’re a nerd and Goofus is going to beat you up and take your milk money.

Each character has an alignment. Alignment is taken (almost) straight from Dungeons & Dragons: characters can either be Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. An almost improbable number of things affect alignment. Alignment is an incredibly important part of the “Chaos Frame” system, so this makes the game getting the “best” ending a huge pain in the ass.

- First, the characters you have in your unit affect an individual’s alignment. If you take a Chaotic character and place him/her/it in a unit with four Lawful characters, over time the Chaotic character will become more Lawful. The same would be true if a Lawful character was put in a unit with Chaotic characters.

- Second, if a character kills an enemy that is more Chaotic than he/she/it is, he/she/it will be come more Lawful. If they kill a character that is more Lawful, then they become more Chaotic. At any time in the game you can stop and check an enemy unit’s alignment, so you need to carefully and meticulously plan each encounter if you want to manipulate your character’s alignment.

- Third, while battles occur automatically, you do have some control over your units. You can pick from a set of predetermined commands. Telling them to “Attack Weakest” influences them in the Chaotic direction while telling them to “Attack Strongest” influences them in the Lawful direction.

- Fourth, fighting enemies that are a lower level than the character makes them more Chaotic, while fighting stronger enemies makes them more Lawful.



See the little scale in the top left? That's your character's alignment.

There are certain expendable items that can be used to affect alignment as well. As if there wasn’t enough already, right? So what does all of this alignment crap get us?

The best ending, that’s what! Alignment affects your “Chaos Frame”, which in turn determines what ending you get.

Your “Chaos Frame” is a number between 0 and 100 that determines how you’ve been playing through the game. At the end of the game, the number of CF you have determines which of the six endings you get. The “best” ending is when you have a CF between 67-100 while the “worst” is that of a 0-33 CF playthough. I put best and worst in quotes because, while they’re generally considered to be that way, I disagree. They’re not better or worse than one another so much as they are different. Playing through the game with a high or low CF will give you access to different characters and abilities and will change the story in radical ways. The high CF path nets you some returning characters from the original Ogre Battle and is a bit more difficult, while the low CF path nets you some more complex characters (if you play your cards right) but there’s less of them. I personally prefer the high or mid CF path since I like those special characters better, but whatever.



Each area has a morale value between 0 and 100. During gameplay, you can stop and examine each territory and see what each area’s morale is. When a unit enters an enemy-controlled or neutral town, then it is either “liberated” or “captured”. In order to liberate a town, you must enter it with a unit whose average alignment is close to the town’s morale. Liberating a town gives you +0.5 CF, while capturing it will give you -2 CF.

If you don’t care about a high CF score/getting the best ending, then none of this crap matters.

If you do, then towns with high morale (67-100) should be taken by Lawful units, and towns with low morale (0-33) should be taken by Chaotic units. Towns with neutral morale (34-66) can be liberated by Neutral units. This is why I had to explain how alignment works first. Alignment on its own doesn’t do god damn anything, but it does determine whether an area is liberated or captured, and that affects our ending.

Neutral towns are towns that are not controlled by either group. They are not to be confused with enemy controlled towns with neutral morale. Neutral towns cannot be liberated in any way. They can only be captured (by you and the enemy) so they must be kept from being taken by anyone at all costs if you wish to stay on the highest CF path. This is why we didn't take the neutral town in Episode 2.

So, in other words, in order to get the “best” ending, you must take into account each individual character’s level, alignment, unit strategy, grid position, and unit make-up as well as the unit make-up, level, grid position, and alignment of each enemy character within in each enemy unit. …in addition to ensuring that you meet each maps’ objectives, only liberate territories, and keep enemies from capturing neutral areas.

So…yeah, it’s a huge pain in the ass.

What I recommend we do is stay focused on liberating and don’t worry about anything else. Doing that will get us one of the middle endings, if not the best one. This is probably the best idea because it’s not too much of a pain, and we can still get a "good" ending.

Or if you guys want, then the hell with it. We’ll get the worst one. [It’s actually kind of cool, a baby totally kills this one guy. It’s awesome.]

I'm willing to leave it up to you guys. A harder path with more special characters, or an easier one with less special characters and a darker story? Unfortunately, this is something we need to decide early on, so are we going to be “good” guys and go for the high CF path or be “bad” and go for the low CF path?

See, aren't you guys glad you read the extra section? I know it was boring, but now you get to decide what ending we get! See? You get a special prize for reading!

Also, here's a bonus Ogre Battle Fun Fact:
The Ogre Battle series is named after the song Ogre Battle by the English rock band (and best band of all time) Queen. The song is on their second album, Queen II. The original Ogre Battle game for the SNES was subtitled March of the Black Queen, which is also the title of another song off of the album Queen II. OB64, however, has the original (and very Engrishy) subtitle Person of Lordly Caliber. Tactics Ogre is subtitled Let Us Cling Together, which is part of the full title of Teo Torriatte off of the album A Day at the Races (Teo Torriatte is Japanese for "let us cling together").

So yeah, I guess Yasumi Matsuno really loves Queen.

I say we go for the bad ending. Because I'm pretty sure I ran through and got the good ending once. Or maybe I never did. Regardless, the bad ending sounds completely awesome in every way.

And if G&G beats up nerds for their money, isn't that pretty evil? Or are nerds inherently evil?

Also, we should name a throw away character PANTS, just to get that out of the way.

The darker path appeals to me but if Deneb is in this game, I say recruit her whatever the cost! I like her. ^_^

Oh, Wow. I played the March of the Black Queen to hell and back in High School... And the fact that there's only one other game in the series that follows suit has always made me sad.

It took me forever to get my hands on a copy of this, in fact a friend in collage saw it in a clearing bin when N64 games were being phased out in EB once and knew I was looking for it. And I've never had the time to sit down and get past the 3rd battle.

... I don't know if I should follow this thread or not ...

I maintain that a better title for Ogre Battle 64 would have been "The Princes of the Universe"