#10: Yggdra Union (2008)

#10: Yggdra Union
Platform: GBA, PSP
Release Date: 2006 (GBA), 2008 (PSP)
Genre: Strategic Role Playing Game (SRPG)

I’m personally surprised that such a recent game made it into my Top 10 most influential games list. I was actually debating whether or not to start with this title, as it’s a fairly obscure game and highly unlikely to be in anyone’s Top 10 list. So why Yggdra Union?

Before that, let me first clarify that I did not play the GBA version of this game. I didn’t even know this game existed until I got my PSP. Hence I will be talking about the PSP enhanced remake rather than the original.

As a whole, I’d say Yggdra Union is a fairly average game – it’s not OMGAWSM, but it’s not terribad either. The engine is decent (strict 2D), the artwork average, the music so-so, and the story pretty predictable. What sets it out from other SRPGs like Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics then?

One simple reason: Yggdra Union was the reason I got hooked to SRPGs in the first place.

Prior to Yggdra, the only SRPG I ever played was Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced, way back in 2004, on a GBA Emulator. I don’t know why but somehow I never enjoyed that game, and it kinda bored me to be honest. I strayed away from SRPGs starting from then, refusing to even give them a try, until Yggdra Union came along. I was captivated by the beautiful artwork, and the simple, 2D graphics appealed to me. Since it was the middle of Semester Break, I decided to give it a go.

A few minutes into the game and I was hooked. Yggdra Union tells the story of a cute loli Princess struggling to retake her nation, which was conquered by the neighboring Empire. It’s somewhat linear and predictable, but the game won’t hesitate to remind you that you’re in the middle of a war, as I’ll explain below.

The battle system was pretty basic at first, but it soon grew to become more complicated, when things like Card Aces, Time of Day, Unions, Spells etc came into play. The Union system in particular made unit positioning extremely crucial – one small mistake was all it took to cripple a character. Also, any decisions made, like moving a unit X steps or choosing card Y, were irreversible – adding further strategic elements into the game. Morale, the game’s term for HP, was also ridiculously hard to replenish – there were no inns, no healing springs, no Pokemon Centers; if you wanted to recover Morale, you had to consume provisions (dubbed medallions in the game). And what if you ran out of medallions? You could either consume different pieces of equipment and remove them permanently from the game, enter a battlefield and wait till you leveled up (only applicable in Normal mode) or cast a healing spell in the middle of battle – the latter two being risky but rewarding choices.

Also, there is no grinding involved. You only get to play a scenario once, and if you’re not careful, some of your characters might end up underlevelled. Once a character begins to lag behind, it becomes almost impossible to catch up – he or she is probably as good as useless, unless you really chose to pump him or her up with Stat food and imba weaponry. Bonuses are awarded if you complete a stage early, but in order to do that you sacrifice exploring the map, which might yield extra rewards like equipment and stat food. All these mechanics served to further reinforce the fact that you’re in the middle of war. Each decision you make has far-reaching effects not noticeable in the short term, but can be soon felt in the long term.

I could go on and on about the unique battle system, but that’s not the main reason it’s included in my Top 10 list. Granted, it’s an excellent game and the best SRPG out there in my opinion, but I’m mainly grateful towards Yggdra Union for introducing me to the wonderful world of SRPGs.

Graphics: 8/10 (Simple, yet remains a certain charm)
Gameplay: 10/10 (Best mechanics I’ve seen in an SRPG)
Story: 7/10 (Predictable and linear, though still fairly enjoyable)
Music: 9/10 (Decent music, though I might be biased coz Nakahara Mai voices the main character lol)
Overall: 8.5/10

Next up: A Blizzard game!