It's been a long time, but we're back in full blast with another chapter in the exciting tales of Tactics Ogre.
Quick SummaryAfter learning that Kachua is at Banisha Castle, Denim vows to get her back and save Valeria or something. Denim defeats all of the Roslolians defending the castle, even Barbas has to retreat before we can get him up to speed on stabbings. Inside we face a bunch of teleporting douchenuggets and Lans Tartare, whom Denim beats. Our hero finds Kachua in a small room, where he pleads with her to join him. After some convincing, she relents and joins us. This could have gone a couple of ways. If the player selects the incorrect dialogue choice, Kachua will freak the fuck out and kill herself. The "correct" dialogue choice depends on some decisions made earlier, but it all happens the same way. I was very tempted to let Kachua die, but we lose out on the optimal ending of the game because of something something uniting valeria under the queen, blah blah blah. Is it just me or does Valeria sound like some sort of venereal disease or boner pill? Must be because it's two letters off from Malaria.
The ArmyThe lord is the special class in Tactics Ogre that only the hero can become. It has some of the best attribute growth in the game and allows Denim to equip nearly any virtue spell short of revivify. He also gets attack+, but we're not using that in favor of a bow. Technically, the player can only make Denim a Lord if they are progressed past this chapter's battles and allow Kachua to die, but I was bored of him being a berserker and wanted another healer, since things are going to get pretty rough in Hellgate - once we get to that -a and made him one prematurely. Denim also inherits some attributes from the class he was before becoming a lord. Most players like to make him a warlock for their high defense and resistance bonuses. If the class has an aura like Dragoon or Terror Knight, they'll also get that too. I don't think it works that way if the class is gamesharked on, but he was a Berserker anyway so it doesn't really matter. Sagar - Berserker - Fire
Kills: 16
Achievements: Cock Block, Last Stand
You are one of the only people left without special armor and I gave you the Faerie armor that dropped, because you're a huge faerie. Actually, you have been hitting really hard and accumulating some more kills. You're on a competitive level now, which is saying something. Otherwise, your armor gives you some dark resistance, I'm sure that'll come in handy somewhere.
Jon - Berserker - Water
Kills: 16
Even with an ordinary Balder axe, you still dish out pain and can take a hit. I continue to send you to certain death as an assassin, but it always seems to work out. Count your blessings.
Jay - Tiamat - Wind
Kills: 41
Achievements: Charming, Quite Charming, Late Bloomer
Now that you're getting married, you seem to be losing your dragon player charm... I wish your breath attack would charm someone. I guess it's okay since, you do still manage to hurt enemies and deliver heals on time. Josh - Dragoon - Earth
Kills: 19
Achievements: Early Riser, One Hit Wonder, Full Set
You're so slow I have to have Logan paradigm you in order to get you up to the fight faster. I'll probably end up giving you a 2handed weapon and drop the shield, as it seriously weighs you down for little benefit.
Jeff
Kills: 30
Achievements: Bitchin, Gnome Sayin Notice you're a level ahead of everyone: that's because you're got MVP in a battle, because I kept having you Gnome people. It's seriously that good, it hits for 10 times now and for about 50 damage on average. Although if the enemy has high AGI it'll miss sometimes. That charge you + gnome combo is OP.
Logan - Warlock - FireKills: 4
Achievements: Here Comes The Stun
You're an MP battery, get used to it. Still, the battles have gone on long enough that I have time, not only to charge everyone else, but also to charge you and paradigm a couple of times. It's saved many lives and destroyed many others.
Gage - Knight - Fire
Kills: 21
Achievements: Close Call, Damsel In Distress, Stone of Shame, Face Blocker
Damn it, Gage. You either faceblock too much or I forget about that stupid Black Shield and try to give you a heal or paradigm. That's a serious strategic cock up and has costed me some battle attempts. At any rate, you still hit pretty hard with that weapon you got so long ago.
Brian - Lizard Man - Water Kills: 28
Achievements: Murder Hobo, Stone of Shame
Honestly I haven't had too much of a chance to club some baddies with you, but you'll see better action soon. I promise! Rob - Golem - Wind
Kills: 4
Look at that awful AGI and DEX score. LOOK AT IT! I'm surprised you've even managed to hit anyone with your crappy fist attack. Even so, you managed to score another kill in a battle. Your tankiness is well received and heals are much appreciated.
Peter - Earth - Terror Knight
Kills: 46
Achievements: Boss Blocks
Creepy warping knight creepily places axe in back of heads. I've had to bail you out of trouble a few times, but you're at least a nice distraction for the enemy. I'm finally getting to William City next chapter, so next chapter you'll have a new weapon. Then we'll see how much death you deal.
Velika - Witch - Earth Kills: 8
Achievements: Dragon Charmer, Stone Cold, Close Call The two battles you were in you stone cold petrified most of the enemies. Good job! You obtained a couple of kill credits too, one was even a petrified golem!
Dylan - Terror Knight - Wind
Kills: 38
Achievements: Stone of Shame, Survivor
Just a creep flying around with a big black sword and some WING.
BattlesNot a very exciting battle: Velika managed to petrify most every enemy, so it was mostly us beating on rocks until I decided to kill the leader. We've gotten to the point where we're fighting mostly Temple Knights now. They're a huge pain, because they are good units that can do anything. We're talking large amounts of AOE magic, bows, heavy melee damage, and utility healing. It's a slog sometimes, but they're not invincible.
This one showed a systematic downfall of the enemy. The first stage was charming some to get some extra damage and decrease nuisances. The second stage was forcing the healer to focus on the wrong targets. Notice the black tiles? Those are tar tiles and they give a significant penalty to attack rolls. I tried avoiding them as much as possible. If I choose to enter melee in a group, I try to surround my dude with tar tiles. Even boss units don't hit that hard while on tar. At some point I had forgotten about the petrified golem in a far off corner, so it took longer. Here we face king doofus and his trusty band of dumbass knights. He would have had more, but he shot one in a cutscene with a gun by accident. Interestingly enough, the knight who was handed the gun actually has that in their inventory: the rimfire pistol is the first gun we can obtain in the game. Only a gunner can shoot it, but it has infinite range and packs a mean punch. We're probably not going to use a gunner, unless someone wants to be one when we get the chance. The big challenge was getting that rimfire pistol while managing the other enemies. Barbas was a huge threat, he hits very hard and has an ability that hits harder and has a stun or something. He also has a large movement range and tends to charge headfirst into melee. His weapon is the Earth hammer, a very good hammer we can get in hellgate. Without petrify, it was a little more difficult to manage everything, I had to do a lot of item and magic healing to keep people alive. There were also two Tiamats, who can charm, just like Jay. That got people killed in unsuccessful attempts before this one. In the end, Barbas was forced on the run.
Battle 4 - Inside Banishahttps://youtu.be/A5u0Rsj-YL8Oh look at that: a bunch of narrow corridors and only one entry way into our area, this will be a cinch! Nope. If I was a historian in this world I would have called this battle "The Battle of Teleporting Assholes and Also Lans Tartare." In the battle, Lans is accompanied by like 8 or 10 other Temple Knights who are all wearing Warp Shoes. Jebus. The only guy not able to teleport is the boss, but I think the reason for that and the weird, twisty corridors is to keep Lans from entering the fight too soon. With the walls, they can't hit you with anything, but we also can't target them. Not only that, but they have a tendency to teleport into our area and then back out on their next turn. Lans is a Death Templar, the best class bar-none in the game. He can wield any spell and has the best attribute growth. He also is equipped with the Angel blade (later renamed to Ambition in the psp remake.) It's a virtue weapon that has the highest attack value short of the Ogre Blade in the game. The description is also strange, a blade that was given to a man by an Angel. Hmmmm. (you find out how he gets this weapon in Knight of Lodis.) This was a matter of trial and error on my part for a couple of days. Mostly I had to pick off the enemies one by one and keep everyone topped off. Jeff did most of the heavy lifting, followed by that girl I'm dating, and Denim. Lans hits the hardest of any boss, so we had to defeat him before he could run around too much. All in all it was a tough fight and the kicker was that all of the enemies dropped bags, but none of the bags had Warp Shoes. What the fuck!?
The Story So farWith Morbeus or whatever his name is safe and all Denim's ducks in a row, our hero sets course for Banisha castle. There lies the Dark Knights Roslolian and Kachua. On our way, the army fights on Lanbees hill, killing some dude. Denim arrives at Banisha to be greeted by the Dark Knight Lans, who taunts him and calls folly on his mission. Our heroes fight through the Temple Knights and make their way to the courtyard, where Barbas insists on showing everyone what true power is. Denim redirects that power to Barbas' face and he runs away like a little girly man. We finally reach our quarry inside the castle. Kachua wants to fight, but Lans rebukes and sends her into a safe room. Denim still thinks that he needs to rescue Kachua, when Lans informs him that Kachua joined them of her own free will. They have a short conversation about ruling people with power, Lans telling Denim he's just like some "other knight" he knew. Lans is defeated and runs, of course. Denim finds Kachua in a room. Kachua is scared of Denim, but he insists that he's there to save her. She keeps going on with that baloney about him abandoning her, but Denim is a smooth player and says all the right things, he tells her about their father and what happened. Eventually they hug and everything is good again. Whatever. I should have just told her to go fuck a knife, but NooOoOO; She's IMPORTANT. Outside, Lans and the remainder of the Temple Knights are preparing to leave. Lans is pissed at Barbas, because he still lives after his battle. He calls ...Dumbas useless. And Barbas is not happy, but this is not foreshadowing or anything. Lans is a hypocrite anyway, he insults Barbas for fleeing a battle, but Lans did the same thing. What gives, dude? Did you forget all of that shit you went through with the mermaids and demon-angels on that stupid island? Oh wait, we haven't played that game yet.
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