Saga and Final Fantasy Legend

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

NOTE:  Some details about the game mechanics in the early posts are incorrect.  I wrote this while playing through the game, and Romancing Saga 2 doesn't explain much to its players.  Sword should really read Sword/Greatsword, for example, since both weapon types use the same stats but have different active abilities.  Defensive Traits are modified by armor. 


Potential heir stats are listed in the game as what they'd be BEFORE the "inheritance magic" kicks in.  So you can have a Saigo Clansman candidate that has a misleading 0 MP stat until you pick him, and then he receives the spells and MP from the previous ruler.  Once I realized this oversight from the developers, I made the later ruler posts reflect the post-inheritance stats.



Emperor Leon, Year 1000

 

Emperor Leon had already reigned long enough to have two sons old enough to fight, but the story begins in the Sealed Cave in 1000.  This was an optional dungeon that I could have ignored by walking out the entrance, but fighting a few battles was worth it for the Kris Knife and 100,000 crowns treasure chests.
 

Combat in Romancing Saga 2 is typical for a turn based Japanese RPG.  Parties have up to 5 members, and can enter battle in different formations.  The one you start with is Imperial Cross, which has 1 character in front, 1 in the middle, 1 in the back, and 1 for each “flank” on the top and bottom.  This is meant to allow sturdier characters to take hits instead of your mages and archers, but enemies often seem to ignore the front unit and hit the flanks. 
 

The starting party was Bear the Heavy Infantry in front, Leon in the middle,  James the Light Infantry and Therese the Ranger on the flanks, and Gerard the Second Prince in the back.  Gerard had minimal combat capabilities, which was justified by the plot.  Many citizens of Avalon said he was more suited to administration than battle.
 

If you dash into an enemy or are ambushed from behind, you’ll enter battle in the Free For All formation, which is a simple vertical line that doesn’t protect any particular unit.  There are times when you’ll want to be in Free For All to avoid attacks that hit rows or columns.
 

Like in Final Fantasy 2, character levels don’t exist.  Instead you’ll be increasing skills and HP after fighting battles and using the correct actions in combat.  For the early portions of the game, I had Leon and Gerard cast spells to boost both their skill levels and “global levels” for future characters.  In Sealed Cave and other areas, Leon used Light Ball, an all-target Divine Magic spell that deals damage and inflicts Blind.
 

In Avalon, Gerard learned Fireball after talking to Emerald the Court Mage.  He had to talk to other NPCs in town while Leon was talking to a seer.  The next dungeon was Watchman Nest, another simple tutorial cave.
 

Enemies in Romancing Saga 2 have weaknesses and resistances like in many other RPGs.  Don’t expect to win by auto-attacking, as the encounters are based around the fact that you recover HP after every fight and can save anywhere.  Sidhe, for example, seems to be immune to Light Ball, but Fireball works well.  Light Ball eliminates Gels who resist physical attacks.
 

The somewhat random turn order and targeting mechanics meant Therese was taking more damage than a flank character should have.  She lost several Life Points (LP) in Watchman Nest when she died to Hellcrows and a Bone Head.  Life Points can also be deducted when a character is attacked after being KOd.  Leon’s Double Cut sword technique was the best method of taking out Hellcrows, and his ATK increased further after finding a Bastard Sword in a treasure chest. 
 

Equipment also works differently in Romancing Saga 2 from other RPGs.  Instead of equipping one weapon, you can have up to 4 in the slots.  If you want to use a Bastard Sword on the 1st turn and a Longbow on the 2nd, you can do that.  The catch is that healing items also take up weapon slots.
 

The 1st boss fight in the game was against 3 Beastmen and 2 Watchmen.  They were all cartoon rabbits, and the Watchmen had a clock in their chest.  The initial round took out 1 Beastman with a salvo of Light Ball, Fireball, and 3 Attacks.  Light Ball blinded all opponents.  The same moves were chosen for the 2nd round, though Hypnosis put Bear, James, and Gerard to sleep.  Sleep works like in Final Fantasy since attacks awaken the victim.  Bear woke up on the 3rd turn, and a Double Cut killed one Watchman.  The last Leon Double Cut hunted the final Watchman.  All enemies disappeared in the dungeon as the party walked out to the tune of the victory music.
 

The celebration was short-lived.  Gerard’s older brother Victor battled Kzinssie of the evil Seven Heroes until Soulsteal drained all his Life Points.  Leon and Gerard’s next task was to avenge Victor by invading the town of Somon.  Vultures and Hellcrows in Somon hated Therese and killed her more than once.  Adepts were irritating when they used Wrack to Stun party members.  Stun is like flinching in Pokemon, where the victim loses their current turn.  A Shade’s Moonfall Slash cut down Gerard, so he was the obvious choice for the Budo Gi armor.  Sidhes were dangerous if they bothered to cast Blades of Wind.
 

RPG designers are obsessed with the concept of fake treasure chests.  Romancing Saga 2 was no exception since there were 4 Doppelgangers in Somon!  Fortunately Leon and friends could Flee by walking backwards out of the arena.  Some of the chests were worth opening:  Somon Ring, Lion Helm, and a total of 370,000 crowns.
 

Kzinssie’s battle only lasted 3 rounds.  The party struck him with Leon’s Double Cut, Gerard’s Fireball, James’s Sunder, and Therese’s Id Break.  Bear was there to take hits, not to deal much damage.  Sunder was a cheap 1 SP sword attack, and Id Break was a bow skill with a Confuse chance.  Kzinssie started with an ineffectual Double Cut and got serious with a Cyclone that hit the middle row and nearly killed Therese.  Kzinssie cast Soulsteal on the 3rd round to annihilate Leon and end the battle.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Gerard, Year 1000-1004
 

But this wasn’t a Game Over.  The seer from before had taught Leon “inheritance magic” to pass his skills down to his son.  Gerard effectively became another Leon, except he knew how to cast Fireball.  More important was gaining immunity to Soulsteal.  Don’t ask how he inherited the ability to dodge an attack that killed his father.  It doesn’t make sense to me either.
 

Gerard had to work with a 4 person party in Free For All while fending off a goblin invasion of Avalon since Hector had snubbed him.  The goblins were easy to kill, and Gerard took revenge on Hector for doubting him by recruiting Emerald instead.  He needed a rear guard unit anyway, and she was good for raising global levels.  Her Fireball and Blades of Wind spells would prove useful throughout Gerard’s reign.  Emerald was stuck with the Enlightened Robe, but she could wear the Budo Gi and Kris Knife armor.
 

Before returning to Somon, Gerard set out for Goblin Hideaway.  Therese randomly learned Haphazard Arrow as if she were a Romancing Saga Minstrel Song character.  Haphazard Arrow an invaluable all-target attack for the early game.  Bone Biters were tough enough to put Bear into critical HP.  Double Cut and Sunder dealt with them.  Mandrakes made characters slumber with Hypnosis, and Twine from Vipers could put them out of commission for multiple rounds.  Watchmen were being recycled as regular enemies here.  Romancing Saga 2 has strange monster placement since they don’t seem to conform to dungeon themes.
 
 
Goblin Hideaway’s boss fight was against 3 Goblins and King.  Gerard cast Light Ball and Fireball, Emerald cut them with Blades of Wind, Bear used his regular Attack, James slashed with Sunder, and Therese shot Id Break or Haphazard Arrow.  All but 1 Goblin became Blind after a Light Ball, and Haphazard Arrow killed them outright.  King destroyed James with a 277 damage Counter but whiffed a Double Cut aimed for Gerard.  Id Break confused King and made him skip the 3rd round.  It was also the move that finished the fight on the 4th round.
 

Gerard funded the creation of a new Light Armor in the blacksmith building for 400,000 crowns.  The reason money is routinely in 6 figures is because it’s meant to represent a national budget.  Gerard didn’t get the armor immediately, as it would take years to make.
 

Kzinssie Round 2 was fought with the usual tactics of Light Ball, Blades of Wind, Sunder, Id Break, and Attack.  The alleged Hero was pathetic.  Kzinssie failed to drain HP from Gerard with Suction, and Gerard blocked Soulsteal on the 3rd and 4th rounds as Leon had hoped.  Cyclone on the 2nd round only hit Bear and was partially blocked.  Knee Split Stunned Gerard on the 5th and final round just before Blades of Wind from Emerald ripped Kzinnsie apart.
 

Gerard had a choice between retaking Victor Canal from the monsters in South Varennes or clear out a mine in Ludon.  He opted for the mine first.  All events until this point had taken place in North Varennes, a peninsula in the northwestern corner of the world.  Somon was now a peaceful village and home to Hiraga III the self-proclaimed “genius inventor”.  Kzinssie’s mansion was locked.
 

Gerard had fought 105 battles as of Kzinnsie 2, indicating a high encounter rate for a game without random battles.  At least Romancing Saga 2 battles are quick.  When Gerard sat on his throne, he was asked to build a magical laboratory for 1,000,000 crowns.  He approved the request so he could teach spells and fusion magic to later characters.  Funding the Light Armor blacksmith yielded a Rigid Leather prototype which Therese received.  Later characters would come equipped with Rigid Leather after mass production began.
 

Everyone in the South Varennes town of Nibel talked about the brawlers of Dragon Lair who protected them.  Their leader Sir Karl was worried about a slime monster in Fiend’s Cloister who was “immune to physical attacks”.  Gerard was warned against using tight formations because the slime monster “releases electricity”.
 
 
Fiend’s Cloister had many monsters from earlier dungeons, like Vipers and Mandrakes.  Woodnauts were plants that cast Hypnosis.  A Werefrog murdered Emerald once with a basic attack in an ambush.  Gel Matter was the slime boss that the Dragon Lair brawlers were concerned about.  It cast Lightning twice to jolt James to death, though more would have collapsed if Gerard hadn’t set the formation to Free For All.  Dragon Lair’s residents were wrong about Gel Matter being immune to physical attacks. It took noticeably more damage from Fireball and Blades of Wind than from Id Break and Sunder, but the physical units still negated the 88 HP per round regeneration.
 
 
Fiend’s Cloister had a treasure room with monsters that was only accessible after Gel Matter died.  The victory music was still playing when the team walked around and picked up 90,000 crowns and a Ring of Nibel.
 

Nibel became a more lively town after Gel Matter’s defeat.  Some residents said they wanted to go to Avalon to become soldiers, and an old man told Gerard that Tefal was to the south.  This unlocked the Ludon region.  Tefal’s citizens said that Gemstone Mine had traps and was infested with monsters.  Both statements were true.  Two of the gems inside dropped Gerard to the 2nd floor. Two gems were real and gave Gerard a total of 160,000 crowns.  There were Pythons who knew Twine, and Burning Spirits who cast Fireball.  Vipers showed up because encounter tables make no sense in this game.
 

Gerard put on Crocodile Armor before the boss because it had the same defense value as Steel Armor, and was probably lighter.  A Lizardman and 2 Frog Princes prevented the Tefal miners from working.  Lizardman’s 1st attack dropped Therese to critical HP.  Light Ball was weak but inflicted Blind on everyone.  Fireball killed one Frog Prince on the 2nd round, and fortunately Moonfall Slash from Lizardman missed.  Sunder from James sliced Lizardman in half, and a Knee Split from Bear broke the final Frog Prince’s bones.  The only stat gain from this boss battle was HP for Emerald for some reason.
 

Ludon was added to the empire, but Avalon still had to add South Varennes to avoid being split in the middle.  The magical laboratory was now open in the northwest area of Avalon, so Gerard gave himself Blades of Wind and Bear and Therese some Light magic.  This was intended to raise global levels during minor battles.  A new event in the imperial city was a series of thefts.  Gerard solved the mystery by sleeping in his bed to switch the time to night, then hopping across roofs to find the thief and a 100,000 crowns treasure chest.  
 

Monsters surrounded the thief on a rooftop, and Gerard had the choice between “I need to help.” and “Hah!  Serves her right!”  He saved her by killing the monsters automatically without a battle.  She told Gerard to ask an old man in the pub about “The Cat” if he needed her assistance.
 

Tefal’s NPCs made fun of the limited sprites in Romancing Saga 2:  “The younguns these days all look the same.  I can’t even tell ‘em apart”.  Talking to a grandmother unlocked Ludon Highlands, but Gerard never traveled there.  Most of Tefal’s miners bragged about how rich they were going to be.
 

Canal Fortress’s pub had a thief who offered to let Gerard sneak inside by boat for the price of 20,000 crowns.  Although you find treasure well in excess of that, you can only carry 10,000 crowns on your person.  So Gerard had to make a trip back to Avalon to withdraw the remaining amount from the treasury.  Many old enemies returned in Canal Fortress, like Python, Watchman, Shade, Mandrake, and Hobgoblin.  It was worth it to methodically check the doors to find a total of 380,000 crowns, an Exorciser sword, and a Starstone to boost Emerald’s magic power. 
 

Final Fantasy 2’s level designer must have programmed Canal Fortress.  Why else would there have been so many rooms with nothing in them but monsters?  At least Square was kind enough not to start Gerard in the middle of the room.  But the monsters OUTSIDE the empty rooms respawned.  I reset a couple of times to avoid unnecessary encounters.  It was ridiculous when the boss fight was behind Door #5 of a 6 door hallway!
 

Vicar was accompanied by a Pyrorex and a Lizard.  Before the battle, he informed Gerard that Kzinnsie was the weakest of the Seven Heroes and that his commander Lord Bokhohn was superior.    Therese had learned Rain of Arrows in the Gemstone Mine boss battle, but missed with it.  Now she had the chance to aim properly and hit everyone at once with the upgraded version of Haphazard Arrow.  Light Ball from Gerard blinded Vicar and killed Lizard.  Attack from Bear, Sunder from James, and Blades of Wind from Emerald were targeted at Pyrorex.  Pyrorex was so strong a BLOCKED regular attack from it sent Bear down to 82 HP.  Bear learned Twinstrike as an Axe/Club skill, but wasn’t accurate with it.  Rain of Arrows pierced the Vicar’s heart and Sunder chopped up Pyrorex on the 2nd round.
 

Now that South Varennes was part of the Avalon empire, Gerard had secured such a long peace that the next Empress player character came in Year 1168!  Romancing Saga introduced a “choose one heir from multiple candidates with different stats” system long before Rogue Legacy.  The prompt occurs after either an emperor finishes enough quests, or you get a Game Over.
 

Lily, Mage for Hire
 
HP:  196
LP:  8
MP:  35
SP:  6
 
STR:  10
DEF:  3
DEX:  18
MAG:  20 + 2
SPD:  16
STA:  12
 
Defensive Traits (guessing by icons)
 
Sword
Fire
Ice
Lightning
Darkness
 
Sword Lv 7
Spear  Lv 2
Axe/Club Lv 2
Fire Magic Lv 9
Wind Magic Lv 5
Divine Magic Lv 10

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Lily, Year 1168-1171
 

Empress Lily began her reign by recruiting Walrus the Heavy Infantry, Side and Orion the Mercenaries, and Onix the Court Mage.  That wasn’t a typo:  it really was like spelled Onix the Pokemon.  The Orchard that was built in Gerard’s reign now had a sapling worth 2000 crowns of revenue.  Palace intelligence told Lily that King Harold of Cumberland on the other side of the Oreon Sea wanted to meet her.  Another pressing matter was the Armed Merchant pirate band that was plundering ships around Victor Canal.
 

Canal Fortress had been dismantled since Gerard’s time, and was now the village of Miramar.  Lily took a boat across and learned that the Armed Merchants could be found in the town of Mobelm to the east.  They were correct:  the Armed Merchants bragged about how no ships could sail without their permission.  Lily purchased Gothic Axes for Walrus, Side, and Orion since that weapon class had useful techniques.
 

Pirates in one of the Mobelm buildings seemed to recognize Lily and ran away in fear.  To sneak to their base in Nuono, Lily needed to perform tasks for the crew of one of the ships.  Monsters had attacked Messina Mine, the local source of iron.  The dungeon had many recurring enemies like Watchman, Creeper, Hippopotamus, Viper, Python, and Burning Soul.  Lizard, Gel Matter, and Frog Prince had been downgraded to normal foes.  I told you the encounters in Romancing Saga 2 make no sense!
 

Orion learned the single target attack Axe Bomber while Side, Walrus, and Orion learned the ranged technique Tomahawk.  Some monsters were tough enough to take out Walrus the front row unit, especially if Evil Snakes inflicted poison.  Opions were the “KILL IT IMMEDIATELY!” enemy because of their high HP and penchant for using Twine and Hypnosis.  Some encounters in Romancing Saga 2 are opportunities to level weaker skills, while others force you to use your strongest abilities.  There’s no distinction between revival and HP restoration spells, as the consequence for death is losing LP.
 

Treasure chests had a Lob Omen sword and 100,000 crowns.  A fight with 2 Amnesias and 2 Water Faeries served as the boss of Messina Mine.  The Water Faeries were immune to Fireball instead of being weak to it, so Blades of Wind was the best spell against them.  Light Ball blinded the Amnesias and Rain of Arrows from Side was a way to hit everyone.  Cyclone Twist made Walrus pass out from dizziness.  Sunder was the final blow against the final Water Faerie.  Amnesias and Water Faeries liked to cast Gilded Strength and Water Dance on themselves, or whiff when trying to Entangle the party.  It was still an easy battle since it lasted 3 rounds.
 

Lily made a stop in Avalon to fund small shield development for 400,000 crowns, then returned to Moblem.  The pirate congratulated Lily with a demeaning task for an Empress:  “Good job, Empress!  Next, let’s have you clean the bottom of the ship”.  Lily ran over the dust until the event flag activated to make the ship sail to Nuono.  The pirate captain asked for Lily to pay the toll every year to guarantee safe passage for imperial ships.  Her options:
 

“I’ve got no choice.  I’ll pay”.
“No.  I won’t pay!”
 

Lily wasn’t going to surrender to the Armed Merchants.  She realized they were bluffing and that they didn’t want to risk war with Avalon.  The captain offered more generous terms and proposed an alliance as long as they could use imperial ports and raid ships from other nations:
 

“That sounds like a deal”.
“Ally with pirates!?  Never!”
 

Lily took the deal and so the North Longit region was added to Avalon’s empire.  The game skipped to Year 1169.  Moblem’s vessels were now permitted to go to Toba or Atlanticus across the Longit Sea.  Toba looked like a typical fishing village.  The only location of interest was to the east of a “Danger!  Do not enter!”  sign.  Lily battled the monsters there until she grabbed a Sea Swallow Nest at the top of the cliff.  I had no idea what to do with it.  None of the Toba villagers wanted it even though they often talked about sea swallows.
 
 
Atlanticus wasn’t much more exciting.  No mermaids lived there, although rumors from elsewhere suggested that they did.  A dancer performed at the pub to the delight of the old men and then left never to be seen again.
 

Witch’s Sanctum near Atlanticus was a small monster-infested cave.  A witch selling MP or LP restoring potions lived at the north end, though Lily didn’t buy any.  Maze of Memory must be content added to the remake.  According to what I’ve read, it’s a safer way to grind if you fight too many monsters elsewhere and they’ve scaled beyond their characters.  Lily never visited Maze of Memory.
 

Lily’s next stop on her world tour was the Steppe.  Miles was the port town there with ships sailing to Somon or Douglass.  Cumberland was to the north of the Steppe, but the Great Wall prevented Lily from walking there.  She walked east to the Savannah and discovered that termites had destroyed the village of Gregale.  Savannah monsters were ferocious:  Lily was the only survivor in a battle with multiple Hellhounds.  Salamat jungle was to the east of Savannah, but Lily turned back to investigate the termite attacks.  Ostro was their next target as a hole leading to the Termite Den appeared when Lily rested at the inn.
 

Termite Den was beyond Lily’s capabilities, but she managed to fight her way to the boss.  Termite Soldiers were the worst enemy on the map since they could one-shot characters with Moonfall Slash or Windmill.  The best way to deal with them was to try to blind them with Lily’s Light Ball, confuse them with Side's Id Break, or stun them with a lucky Vertical Strike sword attack from Orion.  The termites had a total of 190,000 crowns in treasure chests.  Not what you’d expect from underground insects in the Savannah.
 

Queen was the boss of Termite Den, and the 1st attempt took around 13-14 rounds before everyone died.  Light Ball was ineffective and Id Break couldn’t confuse her.  Vertical Slash could stun Queen, but Orion didn’t always go before the boss, and the side effect didn’t have a 100% chance.  Ultrasonic Wave and Poison Mist struck all characters, so Walrus was useless as a “tank”.  Lily had to retreat and fight her way past the high encounter rate to return to the surface.
 

There were still more settlements for Lily to explore in the Savannah.  Ponente was a village similar to Ostro but without the termite attacks.  Bihara’s residents told Lily of the Melu Desert that would reduce everyone’s max HP by half.  She was already having enough trouble with this area without having to deal with regional stat penalties!
 

Nomad Village was located in a tent icon in the Steppe.  The locals told Lily that drug dealers were commanding a ship-like fort and turning their crops into narcotics.  Their leader gave Lily these options:
 

“A surprise attack will work!”
“Decline”.
“It’s futile without a plan!”
 

None of the tactics were effective as the leader would charge at the fort no matter what.  No plan could work without an imperial strategist, and attacking the fort by surprise made the drug dealers notice and move it away.  I reloaded a save to reserve this quest for later.
 

Lily sailed from Miles to Douglass, which fortunately turned out to be Cumberland’s capital.  There were rumors of a succession dispute between the king’s children:  Thomas the youngest son in Douglass, Sophia the ruler of Hofah, and Georg the master of Castle Nerak.  King Harold asked Lily to meet with all 3 and return to him.  (Good thing for him there’s no Duke of Normandy in this game!)
 

None of the siblings were hostile to each other, and they introduced themselves politely to Lily.  She told King Harold that Sophia should be the successor, and he agreed.  Harold perished while Lily was asleep, and Thomas was named the heir instead.  Lily had to find Thomas in the woods near a farmer’s field and console him.  Cyfreet had arranged for Thomas’s succession to create a puppet king and eventually give Cumberland to the Seven Heroes.  Lily now knew too much and the traitors sent a Galient Blue and 2 Shades to kill her.  These were killed quickly with the vertical line target Waterfowl Blade and Light Ball.
 

Lily and Thomas had to flee south to Castle Nerak in hopes of finding Georg.  Vicar from Canal Fortress was now a common enemy.  Two of them accompanied a Galiant Blue and blocked the exit, but they were not much more difficult than the previous Galient Blue battle.
 
 
In Castle Nerak, Lily learned that Cyfreet forged an order to execute Georg, and that monsters had burrowed under the Great Wall.  Lizardman and Frog Prince were regular enemies in the Great Wall tunnel.  Square was honest about the inspiration for their next boss and named the enemy Duneworm.  Duneworm and Tarantula took only 2 rounds to kill with the usual Divine, Fire, and Wind spells combined with Axe, Bow, and Greatsword moves.  It might have been better to confront them in Free For All formation since Fissure Strike from Duneworm hit the middle row of the Imperial Cross.
 

The enemy tunnel caved in as soon as Duneworm died, and the royal family was safe in Douglass.  The only thing left to do was invade Fort Cyfreet and take out the treacherous advisor.  He defended his base with Aztec birds with high HP and the ability to use Ultrasonic Wave.  Sonica birds cast Terror Voice to confuse the whole party, and Minotaurs gored Side and Orion to death with basic attacks.
 

Fort Cyfreet had 320,000 crowns, Rubber Soles, Worm Slayer, and a Sweatsuit in treasure chests.  The Sweatsuit was replacement armor for Walrus.  The Vicars on the bottom floor seemed to be tougher than earlier versions when they used Fissure Strike to attack and Life Water to heal.  Onix increased her Martial skill. . .by punching Walrus when “double confused”.
 

Cyfreet and 2 Elders served as the boss fight.  They took about 6 turns to kill with Divine/Wind/Fire magic, Waterfowl Blade, Vertical Strike, and Bow techniques.  Prism Light from Cyfreet missed against everyone but Lily, and confused her.  A Poisonous Blow’s residual damage took out Onix once.  Cyclone Twist was another attack to worry about.  Lily cast Moonlight to revive Onix and Walrus during the fight, since there was no guarantee the boss would ignore dead party members.
 

When it was all over, Thomas was still king.  But Cumberland in the north center peninsula joined the Avalon empire, and Georg and Sophia offered to make their Crusaders imperial soldiers.
 

Year 1171 began with a request to build a University for 2,000,000 crowns, which Lily accepted.  Bucklers were now available, and Lily spent most of the remaining budget on researching a new Axe.  No new information from imperial intelligence seemed to be available, so Lily wandered around the world looking for a new quest.
 

She found one by crossing the Ludon Highlands on foot and reaching Saigo Village.  The locals were starving because of the monsters in East Oubliette.  It was a simple dungeon apart from a Nosferatu encounter that seemed like a miniboss.  Lily had learned the Sunlight spell in her magical laboratory in Avalon, and tested her “Divine magic is super-effective against undead” hypothesis on the vampire. 
 

The real boss of East Oubliette was 2 Fusers and 2 Opions.  It didn’t seem like a boss at first since the regular battle music was playing.  The only way to tell was that the enemy sprite was stationary.  Waterfowl Blade murdered the front row on the 1st round.  Lily had learned to dodge Hypnosis, similar to how Gerard avoided Soulsteal.  Blades of Wind from Onix and Sunlight from Lily slaughtered the remaining serpents.
 

Saigo Village had recovered enough to sell Lily a Seabreeze Shell for 1000 crowns, which supposedly could summon the Narwhal.  Mu Tundra was the sister settlement of Saigo Village, and its residents feared their livestock wouldn’t be able to migrate to the south before the ice melted.  The monsters in South Oubliette were to blame.  Lily found 260,000 crowns and a Splasher sword in treasure chests.  Splasher went to Orion because it had much better ATK than his earlier weapons, but the drawback was not being able to use Greatsword techniques like Vertical Strike and Waterfowl Blade.
 

Dullahan was the “miniboss” of South Oubliette and was as vulnerable to Sunlight as Nosferatu.  Sunlight was useless against Hellhounds since apparently they were immune to Divine magic, not just Fire.  Romancing Saga 2 has the most nonsensical ecology of any RPG I’ve played.  Why else would you find a Hippopotamus in a tundra cave?  I say this because I remember fighting Hellhounds for the 1st time in the Savannah.  Kawazu has no regard for differences in climate or terrain.
 

South Oubliette had the laziest boss fight in the game so far:  2 Lizardladies with standard battle music.  If my memory hasn’t failed me, Lizardladies had been normal enemies since Ludon Highlands.  Never mind the Vicars and Frog Princes being downgraded:  Lizardladies never had a chance to be special in the first place.  They collapsed on the 1st round of combat.
 

Lily’s final act as Empress was to add the southwestern Saigo region to Avalon’s empire.  The plot jumped ahead 140 years to the new heir.  Playing Romancing Saga 2 makes you feel like a Pevensie in the Narnia series:  you skip all the peaceful years and only show up when there’s conflict.
 

The options for Lily’s heir were Iris the Mage for Hire, Agatha the Crusader, Shirley the Light Infantry, and Charles the Ranger.  Agatha was the obvious pick:  she had more MP than the dedicated magic user and superior weapon skills.  Unlocking better character classes was the benefit of saving Cumberland during Lily’s reign.  Wonder what happens if the player doesn’t stop Cyfreet in the generation that you first learn about Cumberland?
 

Agatha’s stats:
 
HP:  325
LP:  11
MP:  71
SP:  48
STR:  13
DEF:  28
DEX:  12
MAG:  22
SPD:  12
STA:  12
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 7
Spear Lv 2
Axe/Club Lv 13
Fire Magic Lv 12
Wind Magic Lv 9
Divine Magic Lv 15


Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Spear
Bow
 
I had never trained Axe/Club with any previous ruler, only her retainers Orion, Side, and Walrus.  Not sure whether Agatha’s skill is due to global levels or being a Crusader.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Agatha, Year 1311-1313
 

Agatha’s intelligence briefing informed her that the Gemstone Mine was no longer active because miners kept fainting.  Hiraga the [insert number] wanted to meet her in Somon to discuss an invention, and the University was complete.  Did it really take 140 years to construct?  And Gemstone Mine must have been lucrative if it hadn’t depleted in 3 centuries.
 

I thought more character classes would be available if Agatha traveled to other provinces, so she sailed to Cumberland.  I was right:  Peter the Crusader ruler of Castle Nerak offered to join the party.  Hippolyta the Mercenary, and Libra and Garnet the Court Mages filled all remaining slots.  Hippolyta and Peter were both sword specialists.  Libra and Garnet seemed to be best with Wind magic, though I taught them Fire and Divine schools too.  Divine’s global level must have been 6, as characters who never cast so much as a Light Ball started with that score.  They learned the Divine Wall formation of 3 in the front row and 2 in the back, so they didn’t need a Bear or Walrus unit to defend them.
 

Agatha passed the quiz in Avalon Imperial University to attract more students.  The questions were about either obscure facts like the number of Emperor Leon’s order to close Sealed Cave, details about the Seven Heroes, or magic.
 

Thomas IV was the ruler of Cumberland in this time, and he had exactly the same sprite as Thomas I.  Is it now a tradition for all kings of Cumberland to ascend to the throne while underage?  Hiraga in Somon showed off his “wind maker” machine, which will probably become an airship or something later in the game.
 

Gemstone Mine was the first dungeon for Agatha.  The sections that Emperor Gerard conquered were already clear of monsters, but there was still one area behind several money crystals.  Gemstone Mine yielded around 990,000 crowns from the jewels alone, let alone battles.  A Nosferatu was the “boss” that was forced to accept random battle music.  Agatha and friends showed no mercy with Sunlight spells or Vertical Strikes, and Nosferatu went back to its coffin in 2 rounds.  Agatha smashed the stone in the next room that was cursing the miner and took a Magic Stone Fragment.
 

Funds from Gemstone Mine were spent on expanding the Orchard for 500,000 crowns, and commissioning a Helmet for 400,000.  Agatha had no new intelligence in the palace, so she set out to avenge Lily’s retreat from Termite Den.  Ostro was exactly the same 140 years after Lily’s reign, complete with the kid who said that a friend from Gregale never played in Ostro anymore.  Did they awaken to the screams of “Termites!” every night and still refuse to relocate?
 

Termite Soldiers were much easier in Agatha’s time, even though the enemies should have scaled to the party.  Was my team really better than Lily’s?  Agatha found a Beetle Robe in a chest and equipped it to have the same DEF as Steel Armor with a magic power bonus. 
 

Queen was now possible to defeat, but still difficult since it took 11 rounds to kill.  Sunlight and Vertical Strike were the main offensive skills.  Moonlight healed the team from multi-target Poison Mist and Ultrasonic Wave.  A Bonecrusher to Agatha was a relief when no pressure was applied to other party members.  Vertical Strike only made Queen flinch a couple of times, though it was Sunlight that destroyed the termites forever.  The mole people near Queen’s lair thanked Agatha and promised to help when they repopulated the caves.  Agatha added Savannah to the empire after talking to Ostro’s chief.
 

In Year 1313, the Orchard now generated 4000 crowns of revenue.  An Open Helm prototype was made, and Agatha spent 400,000 on a new Cap at the blacksmith R&D.  No intelligence pointed the way to the next quest, so Agatha trekked east of Savannah to reach the Salamat jungle.  Moulie had no inn, only charlatan “healers” who made ineffective potions or cast useless spells.  Rumors told of a female only town in Salamat, and a boat in Moulie offered to take Agatha to an island.
 

Since I was playing as an Empress, Agatha was allowed into Amazon Village after saving their leader Jeanne’s life in a cutscene.  The locals warned of the men in Eirunep who were in thrall to “that woman’s every whim”.  This foe turned out to be Rocbouquet of the Seven Heroes, and Jeanne instructed Agatha to go to Eirunep Tower to fight her.
 

Eirunep Tower was in Eirunep itself, not a separate location on the map.  Agatha cleared out the dungeon and fought Ruffle Tree in front of a woman’s sprite.  Ruffle Tree took 6 rounds to cut down.  Agatha spent most of her turns casting Sunlight since it was superior to all other forms of offense.  Ruffle Tree earned its boss music by taking multiple actions per round.  Gaze was annoying when it paralyzed someone for several turns, usually Hippolyta.  Poisonous Blow and Ill Storm caused damage over time, and sometimes Ultrasonic Wave shattered the party’s eardrums.
 

I suspected that the woman behind Ruffle Tree was Rocbouquet in disguise, but the only way to advance the plot seemed to be to accept her request to destroy the Guardian of the shrine.  Agatha should have taken the boat in Moulie instead of trying to save Salamat:  Guardian obliterated the team in 3 turns with Poison Mist and regular attacks.  You can go to locations in Romancing Saga 2 long before you should.  The imperial succession system is a merciful feature in this context.  Taurus the Court Mage and Shirley the Light Infantry were no-names in Avalon’s palace, but interestingly Monica the Crusader and Jeanne of Amazon Village were candidates.  Monica the possible descendant of Sophia was chosen because Jeanne had no magical capabilities.



NOTE:  I forgot to include Monica's stats in the original Word file, so that's why they're absent here.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Monica, Years 1313-1314
 

Monica recruited a party similar to Empress Agatha’s.  Paul the Crusader of Nerak Castle and Deidamia the Mercenary filled out the front row, while Taurus and Opal the Court Mages stood in the back.  Instead of avenging Agatha in Eirunep Tower, they walked to Moulie and sailed to the town of Tsukijima on Comroon Island in the northeast corner of the world. 


I guess all of Romancing Saga 2’s habitable land must be in the southern hemisphere if the Salamat jungle is in the far north and the tundra is in the south.  The party trained their Fire and Wind levels with Fireball and Blades of Wind when possible while in the Steppe and Savannah.
 

Tsukijima’s residents were worried about Comroon Volcano’s imminent eruption, and the mayor said a sorcerer was researching how to prevent it.  The sorcerer in Seer’s Citadel was friendly and gave the Ice Seed to Monica without any trouble.  The salamander town of Zemio was flooded with lava, preventing Monica from entering any of the buildings.  One salamander at the entrance said “The merchant uses a stone boat”, but none was available even at the “docks”. 


Monica and friends fought their way through Mt. Comroon and back, and encountered no boss at all, not even a token “2 regular enemies with random encounter music”.  It was a good opportunity to train Wind magic, though obviously Fire was useless.  Anyone still trying to justify the enemy placement in Romancing Saga 2 will give up once they realize Hippopotamus lives on Mt. Comroon too.
 

The Ice Seed froze the lava and enabled Monica to visit Zemio.  The salamanders didn’t trust the sorcerer of Seer’s Citadel at all, and believed he stole stone tablets from their library.  The mayor of Tsukijima was grateful to Monica and let her annex Comroon Island for the empire.
 

By this point of the playthrough, the enemy scaling was starting to catch up to Avalon’s troops.  Monica died in areas as diverse as the frozen Nazelle Strait, Ludon Highlands, Salamat’s jungles, Melu Desert, Teretuva’s towers, and Loess Ruins when enemies like Pyrohydras and Tube Worms started showing up as random encounters.  Pyrohydras in particular got multiple actions per turn and lived in a variety of habitats.
 

Teretuva was a city in Melu Desert that had several towers similar to those in Eirunep.  This wasn’t a coincidence since Noel, one of the Seven Heroes, supposedly had monsters working for him there.  In one area of Melu Desert, Monica stumbled on Wandering Lake.  It seemed like an oasis, but the others who drank water there were reduced to 1 LP and were stuck there permanently. 
 

The town of Yuyan to the south of Salamat, reachable by a Teretuva boat, was a Japan stand-in that sold Katanas in their weapon shop.  These count as Greatswords by Romancing Saga 2 logic, and aren’t a separate weapon category like in Baldur’s Gate.  The residents had no quests for Monica and considered Avalon to be a “Podunk” town.  Yuyan’s people were astounded by Melu Desert and Salamat.
 

Monica’s last hope was the Maze of Memory, which contained some lower tier enemies.  She examined an orb and teleported to the Blue Labyrinth, where she found a few MP restoration items and hundreds of thousands of crowns in treasure chests.  A merchant on one floor sold the Potency Ring for 10,000 crowns, which increased the amount of “experience” gained after battle.  It probably referred to Tech Points.  Monica’s LP dwindled until she finally met her end when a Tube Worm strangled her.  Since only the leader had died, the potential heirs were the other members of the party.  Paul was chosen for his Crusader class.
 


There is another option if this playthrough fails:  New Game Plus.  Unlike most RPGs, you can reset the story at any time.
 
 
Paul Stats
 
HP:  470
LP:  11/15
MP:  88
SP:  73
STR:  22
DEF:  35
DEX:  12
MAG:  15 + 1
SPD:  12
STA:  19
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Spear
Bow
Fire
Water?
Dark?
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 19
Spear Lv 2
Axe/Club Lv 14
Fire Magic Lv 12
Wind Magic Lv 17
Divine Magic Lv 18

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Paul, Years 1314
 

I was only allowed to send one Castle Nerak prince to the killing fields at a time, so he recruited Gertrude of Hofah (Sophia’s descendant?) instead.  The magical laboratory still didn’t have fusion spells, but HP Absorb and Flame Whip were available to the Wind and Fire schools respectively.
 

Paul’s first expedition was to the frozen Nazelle Strait.  Tube Worms were much more manageable now that Flame Whip could paralyze them.  Gelid Ruins seemed to be a bonus dungeon in the remake because it had a red “X” icon in the map.  Paul and friends didn’t go far inside due to the strength of the enemies, but it was possible to beat some of them.
   

Paul’s reign was the briefest of any Avalon emperor so far:  he fought the Guardian in Eirunep Tower’s shrine too soon, just like Agatha.  Flame Whip would not paralyze the boss, and Vertical Strike never stunned it.  Guardian didn’t have advanced tactics, but the damage from Poison Mist and regular attacks was enough to overwhelm the party.
 

Out of the heirs, I chose Harfrage the Saigo Clansman, but restarted the time loop after saving. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Leon II and Gerard II, Year 1000-1004
 

Leon began with low base stats for a New Game Plus and Light Ball was his only spell.  But his skill and spell levels were improved:
 

Sword Lv 22
Spear Lv 5
Divine Magic Lv 18
 

Bear, James, and Therese had their primary weapon skills at Lv 13-20, but no magic.
 

To train different skills while enemies were still weak, Leon used the Ranseur spear while Gerard equipped the Lob Omen short sword.  James started with the Broad Axe, then switched to a Cudgel once I realized how terrible Ax e accuracy was.  Aries joined as the Court Mage instead of Emerald after the Goblin sack of Avalon because he had Water spells.  The starter Water spells Life Water and Physic Water restored HP and cured ailments respectively, and turn order was unreliable, so they were only cast to qualify for Tech Points.
 

By the end of Goblin Hideaway, Therese had learned Trip to Stun a vertical line of enemies, and Aim to deal more damage to a single target at the cost of acting at the end of the round.  Aries had ascended to Lv 5 in Water Magic.  Although some weapon may share the same stat, they don’t get the same techniques.  James could never get a move like Cut Timber out of his Cudgel.  He got some benefit out of his Club skill, as he learned Fissure Strike during the boss battle in Gemstone Mine 1.  A move that hits a line and causes Stun?  That’s better than most techniques I learned in the first loop.
 

One major decision was different in the 2nd loop than in the 1st.  Gerard I had killed all the monsters after Gel Matter in Fiends’ Cloister.  I learned this was a mistake when I read the journal:  Gerard thought he was helpful, but had really dishonored the brawlers of Dragon Lair.  Gerard II left Fiends’ Cloister as soon as Gel Matter died, and came back after talking to Sir Karl to find the later sections of the cave empty.  The brawlers said their honor was preserved, and offered to join the party in the future.
 

Gerard had to rebuild the magical laboratory for 1,000,000 crowns as his first loop incarnation did, though presumably global levels and new spells learned will remain.  Gerard himself only had Lv 1 Fire Magic because he was one of the few characters relevant to the plot.  Gerard had enough crowns saved from the first loop that he could build the lab, the Orchard, and commission a pair of Greaves.
 

The first heirs that I could pick from after South Varennes and Ludon became imperial provinces were Louis and Agnes the Rangers, Richard the Light Infantry, and Libra the Court Mage.  Perhaps this game is sexist, since Agnes had only 6 LP compared to Libra’s 8 even though she was fit compared to someone who spent all day in a laboratory.  Women get the bonuses of being immune to Rocbouquet’s charm ability and gaining access to Amazon Village, however.  My party wasn’t going to take on Salamat yet, so Libra was the 3rd emperor of the 2nd loop.
 

Libra Stats:
 
HP:  199
LP:  8
MP:  87
SP:  77
STR:  11
DEF:  3
DEX:  16
MAG:  23
SPD:  12
STA:  11
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword

Fire
Ice?
Lightning?
Dark
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 22
Short Sword/Spear Lv 11
Fire Magic Lv 1
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 18

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Libra, Years 1124-1127
 

Emperor Gerard’s ineptitude for Fire magic had been passed down through the generations.  For a game focused on an empire, there’s surprisingly little genealogy.  I don’t even know if Libra is of the same dynasty as Leon and Gerard.
 

Notice that the starting year for Emperor Libra is 1124, compared to 1168 for Empress Lily.  If I’m not mistaken, the timeline (and enemy strength) is linked to the amount of battles you fight.  I had to learn from a GameFAQs forum topic that construction is based on battles, not imperial succession.  Emperor Gerard II commissioned the magical laboratory and the Orchard, but they didn’t appear until Libra had cleared Messina Mine in the Armed Merchants quest line.  Knowledge of the construction mechanics let Libra order the blacksmiths to make a new Short Sword and Spear without having to wait for a new generation.
 

Libra recruited Amethyst the Court Mage, Walrus the Heavy Infantry, and Agnes and Louis the Rangers.  These were chosen because the empire was stuck with the Imperial Cross formation.  Libra’s team spent much time leveling Water and Earth spells, which were neglected in the 1st loop.  Water in particular had a spell I wanted, though it would take a long time to get there.
 
 
King Harold of Cumberland had different dialogue for Libra than for Emperor Lily.  If my memory is correct, Lily was told about how Cumberland might not accept a female ruler.  Libra heard about how Sophia was still single and needed a partner.  How much dialogue in Romancing Saga 2 changes based on the ruler’s gender?  Libra also had to face 3 Seniors, a different encounter than what Lily had to fight after learning about Cyfreet’s conspiracy.
 

Cyfreet and his Vicars were tough given the New Game Plus conditions, and even managed to take out Agnes by LP death.  Sunlight was cast to avenge the fallen party member, and Libra sat on Cumberland’s throne for relief after the fight.  (That seemed to be a glitch).  Libra funded Avalon Imperial University and a new Bow with the treasure gained from the Cumberland campaign.  Princess Sophia herself joined the party to replace Agnes.
 

East Oubliette proved in the 2nd loop that its boss really was a random encounter.  It wasn’t just the music:  Libra fought 3 Quetzalcoatls and 1 Opion in a failed attempt where I held back to level up skills, and 3 Opions and 1 Quetzalcoatl for the victorious battle.
 

The chief of Mu Tundra said the party was “maybe enough to defeat that dragon”, but South Oubliette’s boss fight was 3 Frog Princes.  They were knowledgeable about mu biology, but ignorant of amphibians.  The next heir candidates were Gemini and Topaz the Court Mages, William the Ranger, and Shirley the Light Infantry.  Turns out it wasn’t sexism that made the previous Light Infantry candidate weaker, but an inherent weakness of the class.  No matter the gender, Court Mages had more LP.
 

Topaz Stats
 

HP:  241
LP:  10
MP:  96
SP:  77
STR:  11
DEF:  3
DEX:  16
MAG:  20
SPD:  15
STA:  10
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Fire
Ice?
Lightning?
Dark
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 22
Short Sword/Spear Lv 11
Water Magic Lv 9
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 19

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Topaz, Year 1200-1201
 

Topaz began her reign by recruiting Peter and Monica the Crusaders, Gorilla the Heavy Infantry, and Gemini the Court Mage.  It seems you can only have 2 of a particular class on your team?  I was only able to recruit one Crusader ruler from Cumberland in the 1st loop because my rulers were Crusaders.  She had considered recruiting Dynamite of Dragon’s Lair, but since his best skill was Martial at Lv 6, he wasn’t up to her standards.
 

It was hinted in the journal that the Sea Swallow Nest was needed for a potion to breathe underwater later in the game, so Topaz and crew gained some skill experience by fighting foes in the eastern cliff section of Toba.
 

Topaz planted the Ice Seed in Comroon Volcano to turn the lava into solid rock.  She made sure her team gained global levels for Water and Earth spells against weaker encounters, since neither school had a basic offensive spell like Divine, Fire, and Wind.  Participating in so many battles completed the commission for Epee (Short Sword).  She paid 800,000 crowns to develop a new Bow and sailed to Miles in preparation for the Termite Den.
 

Termite Den itself was easier than expected.  It may have been New Game Plus, but I still remembered Queen being a difficult boss.  One odd feature about Romancing Saga 2 is that random encounters grow in power over time, but not bosses apart from the Seven Heroes.  Topaz and Monica dared bring Sunlight to her lair, and Peter sometimes Stunned the Queen with Vertical Strike.  Gorilla cast Entangle to boost Earth global levels, but I found out that the boss can be Stunned with it.  Queen put up enough of a fight to require Life Water revival on several occasions, but it was nothing compared to the 1st loop.
 

Topaz activated the next generation prompt early.  How much is based on completed quests and how much on number of battles fought?  The potential heirs were Opal the Court Mage, Barbara the Crusader, Audrey the Light Infantry, and Palna the Saigo Clansman.  I’ve never tried the Mu Tundra class in combat before, so Palna was chosen for novelty.
 

Palna Stats:
 
HP:  359
LP:  14
MP:  98
SP:  99
STR:  18
DEF:  3
DEX:  13
MAG:  11
SPD:  14
STA:  21
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 22
Spear Lv 11
Martial Lv 6
Axe/Club Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 10
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 20

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Palna, Year 1254-1255
 

The heir screen can be misleading.  Candidates may appear to have no magical capabilities, but their stats don’t account for the “inheritance magic” boost.  Offensive spells like Sunlight may not have been in Palna’s future with an 11 in MAG, but he had 98 MP for healing, buffs, and ailments.
 

Palna recruited Barbara and Jacob the  Crusader rulers of Cumberland, Kuwaa the Hunter from Ostro in the Savannah, and Siero the Mole of Unknown gender in Termite Den.  Hunters seem to be upgraded Rangers, and Kuwaa came with a Steel Bow.  Moles are Earth magic specialists, and are immune to that element according to the dialogue in the underground village.
 

Being a Saigo Clansman came with a perk.  Palna unlocked the Mu Palisade formation by talking to the soldiers in the castle.  Party members suffered heavy Speed penalties, but automatically Defended before their action.  This party was. . .overprepared for Gemstone Mine redux.
 

Mu Palisade cost the team a couple of Life Points in Melu Desert because of the area’s 50% max HP decrease.  This penalty did not apply to Teretuva Tower 1, though the party tended to use its strongest Greatsword, Bow, and Divine magic to get through the encounters.  Palna felt silly talking to what seemed to be a dog on the top floor.  This boss tried to scare Palna away by saying that Noel was the fiercest of the Seven Heroes.  When that failed, the enemy tried to tempt Palna into serving Noel with the promise eternal life.  Palna wasn’t going to fall for that:  “I thought Wagnas leads the Seven!?  You’re not even Noel; just another pretender”.
 

The dog sprite became a horse called Horned One when the battle began.  Palna had all the skills necessary to be a talented Emperor except for decent eyesight.  Siero cast Gilden Strength on physical attackers, Kuwaa tried Id Break, Barbara cast Sunlight, and Jacob and Palna tried to learn new moves by clicking Attack.  Horn on the 1st turn only hit Siero in the 40s range, and Sunlight sent Horned One to the glue factory before the turn could end.  And thus the Desert was added to the empire.  How anticlimactic!
 

Palna rose from his throne and said “I want to create a unit from the greatest warriors we have.  What would be the cost?”  The answer was a cheap 300,000 crowns.  He picked up the Harmonia Sword prototype from the blacksmith and forgot his Greatsword skills in case new basic Sword skills manifested with a lightbulb above his head in battle.
 

In the 1st loop, I couldn’t access most of the Yuyan region, but now that Palna had freed the Desert from monsters, he could talk to the citizens and learn of Castle Chonto and Liangshan.
 

Castle Chonto followed Japanese architecture, and was suspiciously empty until the top floor.  Its ruler wasn’t pleased at Avalon’s actions:  “What did you come here for, Emperor!?  You seem to be going around ‘helping’ people and taking in countries left and right”.  When Palna left to figure out a plan, the ruler said “Oh, that felt good.  That Emperor left completely dejected!”  I immediately suspected he was either one of the Seven Heroes, or at least working for one.  They were already involved in a conflict against Wagnas of the Seven Heroes in Castle Hakuro, but planned on tricking Wagnas into fighting Avalon.
 

Allying with the Seven Heroes is never a good strategy.  Wagnas’s monsters overran Castle Chonto, and Palna’s party fought through the usual enemies.  The boss had a demon sprite in the dungeon, but became 3 Cultist starfish in combat.  Palna tried out a new Airwave attack with his Sword skill, Barbara prepared to shine Sunlight, Jacob readied Waterfowl Blade since all enemies were in a vertical line, Siero charged Flame Whip, and Kuwaa aimed at the sky with Rain of Arrows.  Cyclone Twist Stunned Siero, while regular attack hurt other party members.  Airwave and Sunlight struck down the first Cultist, Waterfowl Blade missed one and killed the other.  The last Cultist may have dodged Waterfowl Blade, but couldn’t avoid Rain of Arrows poking it in the eyes. 
 

Sir Sekishusai challenged Palna to a solo battle when Castle Chonto’s defenses were down to just him and King Ato.  Palna missed with Airwave, and Sekishusai retaliated with a “fatal” Disarm.  This was a cutscene battle in disguise.  King Ato fled, and Sekishuai somehow died even though Palna had failed to injure him.
 

Sekishusai had desired an imperial alliance all along, as he instructed Jubei to serve Palna in his will.  Palna couldn’t recruit anyone else for now, but perhaps future “Jubeis” could join the party in future generations.
 

Castle Hakuro did not look Japanese at all.  Palna had to walk around the ramparts and fight many random encounters to get around a locked door on the first floor, then confronted a team of 2 Killing Machines and 2 Elders.  Palna prepared Airwave, Barbara chanted Light Ball, Jacob wound up Waterfowl Blade, Siero was ready to lash with Flame Whip, and Kuwaa pointed his Bow into the air for Rain of Arrows.  Killing Machines used a Moonfall Slash sneak attack, while an Elder wasted a Life Water at full HP on the first turn.  Elders were vulnerable to Blind from Light Ball.  Waterfowl Slash murdered one Killing Machine and injured an Elder, while Rain of Arrows took out the other Killing Machine and finished off the wounded Elder.  The remaining Elder Stunned Jacob with Wracking on the 2nd round, only to be destroyed with Sunlight as if he were a vampire.
 

Wagnas taunted Palna and lifted most of Castle Hakuro into the sky, leaving a pit where it once stood.  The Windmaker from Hiraga was the only way to reach the leader of the Seven Heroes now.
 
 
Wagnas looked like a sort of glowing harpy and had special music when he challenged Palna to a battle.  Palna readied Airwave, Barbara concentrated on Sunlight, Jacob raised his blade for Vertical Strike, Siero lit a Flame Whip, and Kuwaa aimed an Id Break on the 1st turn.  Unfortunately, Wagnas seemed to be the Light element of the Seven Heroes, and cast Light Ball while being immune to Barbara’s best spell.  Flame Whip was also useless.  At least Vertical Strike hit for over 1000 thanks to the Vorpal Blade found in a treasure chest in Floating Castle.  Light Ball had Blinded Siero, Palna, and Kuwaa, so Barbara relegated herself to Physic Water duty to cure them.  Siero tried to buff Jacob with Gilden Strength.
 

Wagnas’s Heat Wind seared the team for 190s well into the 200s, and Fireball was a multi-target version instead of the focused spell Avalon troops could use.  Psycho Shot annihilated the party outright.  For the next attempt, I tried removing everyone’s armor so they could go faster, but Psycho Shot now blasted them for 670s.  Barbara’s Broad Axe swung for 0 damage.  I know the Seven Heroes are the main antagonists of the game, but it’s still bad design for the scaled encounters to make you think you have a chance against the boss when you don’t.
 

Once Palna had fallen in battle, the heir screen appeared.  Arinbjorn the Saigo Clansman, Terry the Brawler, Julianna the Ranger, and Rego the Mole were the candidates.  Who doesn’t want a Mole person for their ruler?
 

Rego Stats:
 
HP:  430
LP:  13
MP:  99
SP:  103
STR:  12
DEF:  18
DEX:  22
MAG:  19
SPD:  10
STA:  20
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Dark
 
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 12
Martial Lv 6
Axe/Club Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 11
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 20