Yggdra Union: Difference between revisions

''Yggdra Union'' is a [[Turn-Based Strategy]] game which is part of Sting Entertainment's ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' cycle. The Game Boy Advance and PSP [[Updated Rerelease]] were both handled in North America by [[Atlus]].

Chronologically the first of the ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' games, ''Yggdra Union'' takes place during a war between the Kingdom of Fantasinia and the New Bronquian Empire. Gulcasa, the Emperor, has just defeated most of the Royal Army and slain the king, but Princess Yggdra (the only surviving member of the Royal Family) escapes her captured city with her family's [[Ancestral Weapon]] and goes about gathering allies to take her country back--andback—and get revenge. It doesn't hurt that said [[Ancestral Weapon]], the Gran Centurio, is a national symbol of justice. Whatever Yggdra and her army do, it's obviously the right thing.

''Yggdra Union'', in short, is a [[Deconstruction|deconstructionistdeconstruction]]ist game about war, ideals, and the true nature of "justice".

* [[Active Royalty]]: Played straight for both sides with Yggdra and Gulcasa.

* [[Ahoge]]: Averted--: Yggdra and Nessiah each have one, though neither is a particularly silly character.

* [[Ancestral Weapon]]: Yggdra's [[BFSBig Freaking Sword]], Gran Centurio.

* [[Arc Words]]: "Justice lies with the Holy Sword", chaptersChapters 1-3. "A ruler's duty to his/her people" and "There is no single absolute justice", chaptersChapters 7-8.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Gulcasa's is {{spoiler|losing his allies [[Dead Little Sister|and loved ones]]. After having said button hit enough times, he tries to [[Heroic Sacrifice|use his own life]] to summon Brongaa and wipe the Royal Army out. Depending on the ending, he either comes dangerously close to succeeding or [[Nonstandard Game Over|does, with tragic consequences for the entire world]].}}.

** And if you don't believe us, have his (furiously shouted) response to Yggdra's request for a cease-fire {{spoiler|directly after he learns of Emilia's death}}:

{{quote| '''Gulcasa:''' Is that all you came here to say? What an arduous journey, for such a ridiculous request. Even were I to believe you, we would never accept your terms... We razed your Kingdom, {{spoiler|and you have responded in kind}}. How are we to extinguish our flames of hatred now? This fighting cannot end until one of us can fight no more!}}

** Kylier's is Yggdra. Or, well... [[Oblivious to Love|Milanor acting friendly with Yggdra, to be precise]]. {{spoiler|And Milanor never figures out why it makes Kylier go mental.}}.

*** Her attitude is justified later on, since it turns out that {{spoiler|Yggdra's ancestors were responsible for forcing Kylier's race to eke out a miserable living in Lost Aries.}}.

* [[Betty and Veronica]]: Yggdra and Kylier, in regards to Milanor. Reversed in that Kylier, despite being the character with darker coloring, is the Betty (she's Milanor's childhood friend), and Yggdra, despite being the fair-haired character (and the heroine!), is the Veronica. Also subverted in that {{spoiler|it's all in Kylier's head--: Milanor doesn't have feelings for Yggdra.}}.

* [[Big Damn Heroes|Big Damn Heroine]]: Kylier.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|Ending A, the canon one.}}.

* [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]]: Wielded by {{spoiler|Marietta.}}.

* [[Bowdlerise|Bowdlerization]]: Yggdra's "Crusade" attack was originally called "Jihad.".

* [[Breakable Weapons|Breakable Items]]

* [[Celestial Bureaucracy]]: {{spoiler|Battlefield 49 shows Asgard to have this situation.}}.

* [[Chained by Fashion]]: Nessiah.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Of the extremely depressing variety, upon {{spoiler|commencing the invasion of Bronquia}}.

* [[Cute Bruiser]]: Emilia.

{{quote| '''Mistel:''' Oh dear! I don't think your body can handle so much rage...}}

* [[Decoy Protagonist]]: Taken to [[Beyond the Impossible]] levels. You start off playing as Milanor, who is set up as the hero with Yggdra in a traditional [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]] role. Two and a half battlefields later, Yggdra becomes the player character, and Milanor is firmly established as her [[Sidekick]], losing nearly all plot significance except the ability to attract [[Big Damn Heroes|Kylier]] [[Deus Ex Machina|when the Royal Army has dug itself into a hole]] and the default commander seat when Yggdra is somewhere else. The game is explicitly about Yggdra's [[Character Development]] and [[The High Queen|growth as a ruler]] as she learns to balance hot-blooded idealism with compassion and an understanding of how the world works. Then the universe of episode II [[Yggdra Unison|started]] [[Blaze Union|expanding]], a certain antagonist's backstory and true motivations got lots more attention, and {{spoiler|Gulcasa}} made off with Yggdra's hero seat. On top of all this, the character in the episode II games who is the most important to [[Dept. Heaven|the 'verse]] is ''none of the above''--: it's actually {{spoiler|Nessiah}}, the ''antagonist,'', about which [[Word of God]] and [[All There in the Manual|the side materials]] are very clear. [[Up to Eleven]], indeed.

* [[Deconstruction]]: Of [[The Empire]], [[Tsundere]], [[Omniscient Morality License]], and [[La Résistance]].

** In {{spoiler|Marietta's case}}, this is a matter of {{spoiler|letting your units endure one turn of vicious beating after another, until Marietta ''exhausts herself'', and she can be finished off with one hit from Crusade.}}.

** For {{spoiler|#367, this is similar, but more dangerous--: her Morale decreases with every turn, but she actively attacks you.}}. Then again, you can use (overpowered) Fanelia in this fight...

* [[Dub -Induced Plot Hole]]: Gulcasa's title was changed from "Blazing Emperor" to "Emperor of Carnage" for the English version for whatever reason. This still makes some degree of sense--: Fantasinia doesn't like him, so they wouldn't be calling him anything that sounds friendly--, until you hear his people, [[Licked by the Dog|who wholeheartedly adore him]], calling him the same thing... and [[Theme Naming]] starts to show up when Imperial landmarks turn out to have fire-based names, which are also altered ("Gates of Carnage",<ref>The name is even left as "Asura Gate" on the translated map.</ref>, anyone?). Then it just starts sounding rather awkward. It will probably become a much bigger problem if [[Atlus]] ever localizes ''[[Blaze Union]],'', where Gulcasa's fire motif is even more important.

* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: In a subversion that can be downright heartbreaking, {{spoiler|Nessiah has been trying to do this for ''centuries.''. He never gets one--probably because his methods tend to be less than ethical}}.

* [[The Empire]]: Subverted ''so hard'' with Bronquia, {{spoiler|which originally seems to fit this description to the letter. And then you find out that ''this is exactly what Fantasinia did''. Bly specifically says at the end of Battlefield 14-II that Bronquia was the only independent country left--and he once advised Yggdra's father and grandfather to go ahead and conquer it while the people would still be grateful for having their dictator gotten rid of. Too bad Gulcasa beat Fantasinia to the punch. Not.}}.

* [[Extreme Doormat]]: #367. {{spoiler|Until she gets her [[Deadly Upgrade]], at least}}...}}

* [[Eye Scream]]: {{spoiler|Elena makes Aegina do this in Map 28}}.

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: There are a few countries like Embellia and Nyllard that don't have a distinct one, but most of the others do--:

* [[Go Out with a Smile]]: {{spoiler|Gulcasa, Nessiah, and Kylier (both times around).}}.

* [[Heroic Resolve]]: Every deployed unit gets this in Battlefield 42 {{spoiler|after Kylier [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices herself to save them]].}}. Milanor is probably the best example of it, though.

** He does it again {{spoiler|after she [[Shoot the Dog|dies the second time]], swearing vengeance on Nessiah. Ironically, this is ''after she talks about how sorry she feels for him'' and how despite what he did to her, she can't hate him for it. Even though, you know, she still wants them to stop him anyway.}}.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Kylier, because she's [[Too Cool to Live|Too Tactically Useful To Live]]}}.

** {{spoiler|And, late in the game, almost EVERYONE in the Imperial Army--... starting with Baldus.}}.

*** {{spoiler|Gulcasa might also be considered to have one, as his actions from Battlefield 18 are geared towards ensuring that he'll be able to call down Brongaa on the Royal Army's heads (BY KILLING HIMSELF) if the situation gets desperate enough. And ''boy does he try to.''}}.

** The fact that Nessiah is the ''only'' character on good terms with Gulcasa who ''doesn't'' use some kind of suffix with him caused quite a few raised eyebrows, since [[First-Name Basis]] is a way of showing that two characters are very close. [[Ho Yay|Certain fans likely had a field day with it.]] {{spoiler|And according to ''[[Blaze Union]]'', they were right.}}.

*** Gulcasa continues calling her ''-oujou'' to be rude. {{spoiler|Well, she ''did'' just murder his fourteen-year-old little sister.}}.

* [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters]]: Almost every Embellian Undine subscribes to this viewpoint, mainly because some jerk human stole their means of survival. They use this as their justification for attacking completely unrelated humans to try to use their blood for eternal youth potion. {{spoiler|...Which turns out to be exactly how Nessiah, who set up the theft and fed them information about said potion, [[Unwitting Pawn|was hoping they'd react]]}}. Also interesting to note is that {{spoiler|for all the manipulating Nessiah did}}, none of it actually ''forced'' anyone to do anything evil. The Undines were ''tempted'' to use their loss as justification to vent their [[Fantastic Racism]] on humans, the [[Feuding Families]] in Verlaine were ''tempted'' to start a war over shiny toys, and Fantasinia and Bronquia were ''tempted'' to keep fighting, but in the end, it was always the rulers' own decisions that caused bloodshed, and if they had risen above the ugliness of human nature, everyone probably would have been fine (not to say that tempting them in the first place was a nice thing to do, [[Kick the Dog|as it wasn't]]).

* [[Immortality Seeker]]: {{spoiler|Pamela.}}. Ironically, her quest for [[Immortality]] seems to have been inspired by {{spoiler|her people's memories of Nessiah, the poster boy for [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]}}.

* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]: Gulcasa is a [[Hero Antagonist]] until {{spoiler|he goes and gets possessed}}, and by that point, there ''is'' no making him unsympathetic. As for {{spoiler|Nessiah}}, he's just ''[[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|immensely]]'' [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|screwed]][[Anti-Villain|-up]]. As ''[['''Yggdra Union]]''''' is intensely anti-war, this is kind of the point.

* [[Jade-Colored Glasses]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah. [[Word of God|According to Sting]], he was originally a [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]], but his treatment and ultimate punishment for being a pacifist in a time of war [[Break the Cutie|completely broke him]], turning him into the [[Rage Against the Heavens|revenge-obsessed]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] we see in the game.}}.

* [[Japanese Pronouns]]: The only way Nessiah ever {{spoiler|speaks [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|his actual age]]}}--; despite always using polite [[Honorifics]], he has a pronoun drop with characters who aren't in positions of authority (like Yggdra).

* [[Kick the Dog]]: {{spoiler|ItsIt's Heavilyheavily implied Nessiah was the one who seduced Nietzsche's sister, stole the Transmigragem and drove her to suicide. ItsIt's also implied he gave the ankhs to Roswell and Rosary starting their war.}}.

* [[Last of His Kind|Last Of Her Kind]]: Princess Yggdra.

** Also {{spoiler|Emperor Gulcasa; it's revealed in Battlefield 45 that he is the dragon Brongaa's last surviving descendant.}}.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Every character in the Royal Army has his or her own battle theme, as do Gulcasa, Nessiah, Aegina {{spoiler|and Luciana}}, and Nana-chan. Other enemies just have generic music according to their rank. As of ''[[Blaze Union]]'', pretty much everyone in the ''Imperial'' Army has their own battle theme as well, leaving Inzaghi as pretty much the only recurring character without his own theme.

* [[Long-Lost Relative]]: {{spoiler|Aegina and Luciana to Yggdra.}}.

* [[Loveable Rogue]]: Milanor.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Lost Aries. {{spoiler|It was where Nessiah (then the [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]] Aries) was sent down to end the Great Sorcery War by obliterating every living thing there. This seems to have been a major part of his punishment for not fighting in Asgard's wars, and possibly [[Break the Cutie|what broke him for good]].}}. So named by the human world because {{spoiler|Aries was supposed to have died there. They were right, just not the way they thought.}}.

* [[The Messiah]]: Yggdra gradually becomes one over the course of the story. {{spoiler|Nessiah also seems to have started out as one, although [[Break the Cutie|the idealism was tortured out of him a long time ago]].}}.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: What really puts the [[Bittersweet Ending|"bittersweet"]] in [[Multiple Endings|Ending A]]? {{spoiler|If he'd been able to take his revenge, Nessiah would have killed ''the [[Dept. Heaven]] series villain, Hector,'', and ended a horribly corrupt heavenly system. This would have ''prevented the tragic scenarios of ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'' and ''[[Riviera: The Promised Land]]'' from ever happening,'', sparing entire other worlds from their suffering.}}. Nice job breaking it, Yggdra.

** Even worse? {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] declares Nessiah's vendetta to be justified.}}. Great work there, Royal Army.

* [[Norse Mythology]]: The original translation of the game had several references to it, like the names of certain items and the name of Kylier's race; the updated translation added a lot more of them, since by then [[Atlus]] had realized that ''[['''Yggdra Union]]''''' and ''[[Riviera: The Promised Land]]'' were part of one series. The story itself also contains a reference--: the side materials explain that one of the antagonists once sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge, similar to Odin.

* [[Not So Different]]: {{spoiler|Yggdra and Gulcasa.}}. Or {{spoiler|Yggdra and Nessiah, for endings C and D}}. This becomes clearer when {{spoiler|the heroes end up slaughtering an untrained civilian militia or [[Rage Against the Heavens|raging against the heavens]]}}.

** Also, {{spoiler|Nessiah and the Magi from Asgard. In his attempt to gain vengeance, Nessiah becomes a lot like the Magi, manipulating countless people's lives for his own perception of justice.}}.

** Lampshaded in Battlefield 49. A ''lot,'', with irony, by multiple people.

{{quote| '''Milanor:''' Lowly humans!? I don't think I like your attitude. What makes you so different from us?}}

* [[Omnicidal Maniac]]: Gulcasa, {{spoiler|who tries to awaken the dragon Brongaa and burn everything to ashes}}.

** {{spoiler|Could also be just Brongaa, as he was possessing Gulcasa at the time.}}.

* [[People Puppets]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah's}} favorite way to mind-screw the Royal Army. The fact that it only works {{spoiler|with people who have already died-- (i.e., Roswell or Rosary (whoever you killed) and Kylier--)}} makes it all the more traumatic.

* [[Plug N Play Friends]]: Two, {{spoiler|Elena}} and {{spoiler|Russell}}. The latter has an excuse, though.

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: This is what you get when you have a pair of ultimately kind and idealistic, but ''very stubborn'' people leading opposing armies. Everything would have been settled ''much'' more quickly and with a lot less death if Gulcasa and Yggdra had just been willing to sit down and negotiate, but they're both too busy assuming that the other side is evil. {{spoiler|In the end, this is just one of many ways that the whole world plays right into Nessiah's hands.}}.

{{quote| '''Milanor:''' So you're the big man around here, huh? Get ready!<br />

'''Gulcasa:''' We haven't been introduced, so I'll think of you as "Prey". }}

{{quote| '''Gulcasa:''' ARE YOU READY?!}}

* [[Rage Against the Heavens]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah.}}.

** {{spoiler|Or Yggdra, in [[Multiple Endings|endings C and D]].}}.

* [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah, who despite looking nineteen has been around for several centuries.}}.

* [[The Reveal]]: Battlefield 47, which is where {{spoiler|Nessiah explains that everything the Royal Army has done has been part of his [[Xanatos Speed Chess|elaborate]] revenge plot, right down to the Gran Centurio.}}.

* [[Sadly Mythtaken]] : Nietzsche. To quote [http://hg101.kontek.net/ Hardcore Gaming 101] :

{{quote| ''Most Japanese games that are based on some kind of mythology usually end up getting it wrong, but this is one of the most hilarious I've ever seen. Nietzsche (in real life) was a German philosopher who introduced the concept of nihilism. Nietzsche (in the game) is a cutesy little girl undine (mermaid) who pokes gently with her spear.'' }}

* [[Save the Princess]]: {{spoiler|The plotline of Chapter 4.}}.

* [[Ship Tease]]: The game has two pairs of characters who are actually shown to be in love with each other. ''Two.''. It gets away with this by liberally dropping mild-to-moderate hints as to who the others may or may not have affections for.

* [[Shoot the Dog]]: {{spoiler|Battlefield 46.}}.

* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: ''Yggdra Union'' is one of those rare examples that starts out looking idealistic and then takes a turn for the cynical, plausibly.

* [[Spanner in the Works]]: The Royal Army, at the very end of the game. {{spoiler|Though they Gilliganed the wrong person's scheme making them ''Hector's'' [[Unwitting Pawn|Unwitting Pawns]]s}}...}}

** Subverted, though, in that there is an event portrayed inaccurately (in the OP, Marietta crowns Yggdra; {{spoiler|Joachim does this in-game}}) and that the new characters in the [[Updated Rerelease|PSP Version]] do not appear.

* [[Staying Alive]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah's particular brand of [[Immortality]]. Although he would really rather not.}}.

* [[The Stinger]]: Only in the [[Updated Rerelease|PSP version]]'s Battlefield 49. The game can end at Battlefield 48 with the Royal Army certain that {{spoiler|Nessiah was the villain}}, and the world is saved, but if the Royal Army progresses, it's shown that {{spoiler|Asgard [[Cassandra Truth|is indeed up to no good]], and is [[You Are Number Six|exploiting nameless test subjects]] to boot. Basically, [[Light Is Not Good]].}}.

** Then there are the extra books Sting released on the game after the [[Updated Rerelease]], which explain that {{spoiler|half the reason Nessiah was thrown out of Asgard in the first place was for being a pacifist, of all things.}}.

* [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors]]: A rather complex one. There's the ''[[Fire Emblem]]''-standard sword-axe-lance triangle, and those weapons beat bows, which beat magic, which beat the sword-axe-lance triangle again.

**** Not entirely. If you pick up the Stray Dragon item (which WAS in the GBA version), you can equip it to Durant, which changes him to Scythe user. Only lasts 3 maps, though. Too bad.

*** Gulcasa wearing you down? Rosary is essentially a huge cockblock -... Gulcasa can't do much against her. Of course, she can't do much back.

* [[Thematic Theme Tune]]: ''Hahen'' and ''patria'', which are technically the game's themes though they're only actually used for the radio show. Both are commonly considered to be Nessiah's [[Image Song|Image Songs]]s due to their content, and ''Hahen'' was also used to advertise ''[[Baroque (video game)|Baroque]]''.

* [[Tsundere]]: Kylier, especially when Yggdra's around. {{spoiler|Eventually [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructed]].}}.

* [[Unholy Holy Sword]]: {{spoiler|The [[Trope Namer]].}}.

* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Kylier initially appears to be this (perhaps because Milanor is the [[Idiot Hero]] and doesn't seem to know the first thing about women). Ironically-- (and tragically--), Milanor realizes that he has feelings for her {{spoiler|after she [[Heroic Sacrifice|dies to save him]]. She'd have been the [[Victorious Childhood Friend]] if she'd only lived}}...}}

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Yggdra displays this while chasing after and trying to kill the (already-injured!) Gulcasa in Battlefield 18. {{spoiler|Of course, the Imperial Army uses the fact that she's not thinking to trap her and subdue her by force, so it can be considered subverted}}...}}

* [[Unusual Ears]]: {{spoiler|Gulcasa has ''jigokumimi'', revealed in Battlefield 44 when he loses his helmet. Not surprisingly, we learn shortly after that [[Last of His Kind|he's the last living descendant of the dragon Brongaa]].}}. Made infinitely creepier because {{spoiler|Brongaa is possessing him at the time}}.

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: The Royal Army. {{spoiler|And Nessiah was one too, back in the day. [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|He]] [[Unstoppable Rage|did]] ''[[Rage Against the Heavens|not]]'' [[Jade-Colored Glasses|take]] [[Magnificent Bastard|it]] [[Sanity Slippage|well]].}}.

* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Medusa's Eye. You get no bonus'sbonuses or experience, and the units just get in your way.

* [[Waif Fu]]: As compared to stronger-''looking'' magicians with accurately low attack value, tiny, apparently frail, Nessiah has a disproportionately high set of statistics and a overpowered weapon type and Skill, making him a rare male example. {{spoiler|Of course, his excuse is that he's a fallen ''Grim Angel''}}...}}

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: {{spoiler|The Transmigragem is never brought up again except in Nietzsche's battle dialogue unless you find it.}}.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]?: The heroes call themselves out on this when {{spoiler|during the counter-invasion of Bronquia, the Royal Army massacres an untrained civilian militia, wiping out most of a town's population.}}.

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah. Even if he dies, he is painfully resurrected shortly after, depending on the power level of the Gran Centurio at the time--: he actually introduces himself to the Royal Army by ''running himself through'' to remove himself from the war, only to show up eight battlefields later to tell them to get a move on. The Chains of Conviction do not ''allow'' him to die permanently, and we all know how much he wants them off.}}.

** As quoted {{spoiler|in his special Skill, Reincarnation: ''Unable to live, unable to die... thy punishment is to repeat life eternally.''}}. Ouch.

* [[Why Won't You Die?]]: The Royal Army's reaction to the way {{spoiler|Gulcasa}} simply ''refuses'' to fall even after taking two to three severe beatings in rapid succession. Milanor in particular frustratedly demands to know how he's even still standing after so much blood loss and so many [[Rasputinian Death|mortal wounds]]. The answer? ''[[Determinator|Sheer willpower,]]'', though {{spoiler|Gulcasa's [[Heroic RROD|abusing his demon blood]]}} can't have hurt.

* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: {{spoiler|#367 and her camera-shy fellow test subjects. At least according to the High Servant.}}.

* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah.}}. ''SO MUCH.''. {{spoiler|His entire twisted story just goes to show what [[The Messiah]] is capable of [[Break the Cutie|if you break him hard enough]].}}.

* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah gets one in Battlefield 47. Yggdra, [[Heroic Resolve|who's in no mood to listen to him]], actually counters with a simpler one of her own.}}.

* [[Yandere|Yangire]]: {{spoiler|#367}}, so ''very very much.''.

** The scary part? {{spoiler|The High Servant mentions that ''this is the sanest any test subject '''has ever been''' after having their synchronization rate forced above 100%.''}}.

* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: {{spoiler|Nessiah}} seems fond of this. {{spoiler|When he's introduced in Battlefield 18, right before he kills himself to end his own Catch-22, he thanks his division for their service up until then, tells them apologetically that he doesn't need their help anymore, says "goodbye", and proceeds to ''[[Critical Existence Failure|wipe them from existence]].''}}. He also says the exact quote in battle against several characters, {{spoiler|among their ranks the mages of Verlaine and Yggdra.}}.

[[Category:Play Station Portable{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:Dept. Heaven]]