Yggdra Union

Rating Teen Genre role-playing Publisher Atlus External Links Official Website

It is a time of war as Gulcasa, the Emperor of Bronquian, has begun to systematically conquer the neighboring kingdoms in a mad attempt to bring about the resurrection of Brongaa. Yggdra, the princess of Fantasinia, is the latest victim in Bronquian’s grasp for power. Fleeing from the invading forces, Yggdra takes shelter in a seemingly abandoned building. In reality this is the home of the Silver Wolf, a band of thieves lead by Milanor. Having saved Yggdra from the Bronquian forces, Milanor and Yggdra join forces and create the Royal Army in an attempt to reclaim the kingdom and once again bring freedom and justice to its people. 

Yggdra Union is, first and foremost, one of the strangest and unique tactical games you will ever play. The first thing you will notice is that all movement and combat is based around a Trading Card System. Yes, you heard me correctly, Trading Cards.  Before each battle the player is allowed to select several cards from their collection that they will draw from for the following combats. How many cards you can have will be determined by the battle, and running out of cards will grant the player an automatic defeat. Every round the player will be allowed to choose a single card to define the parameters of his army for that round. Each card has 3 basic attributes; Power, Movement, and Ace.

The Power attribute is the strength of the card and determines how much damage will be dealt to the enemy. The Movement attribute is the amount of spaces on the battle grid all of your characters can take. This is very important to remember, as all of your characters will share the total movement of the card. For example, if you have a Movement Attribute of 4 on your card, you can move 1 character 4 spaces, 2 characters 2 spaces, 1 character 2 spaces and 2 characters 1 space, or any combination that you can think of for a total of 4. Once all of your Movement is depleted you will be unable to move any characters until you select a new card in you next round.

The Ace Attribute is identified by a different weapon for each card, signifying the weapon skill the Leader of the combat must posses in order to utilize a special skill linked to the card. These skills can range from healing allies, destroying enemies, or even stealing items in the middle of the battle. Utilizing these skills at the right time can greatly alter the outcome of any combat situation.

Speaking of combat, it is important to note that you can only initialize a battle with one character per round. While the combat is almost completely automated, the player does have some control in the form of the Aggression Bar. Holding the Right Button will set the army to Rage Mode, increasing the damage of the army at the cost of depleting the Aggression Bar. By holding the Left Button the player can set his army to passive mode, greatly reducing their offensive power but filling the Aggression Bar at an increased rate. Once the Aggression Bar is maxed out, players will be given the option to activate the skills available to them from the aforementioned Ace Skills.

The final aspect of the combat system is described in the titles name: Union. When you decide which of your characters is going to attack, the sex of the attacking character and the placement of your other characters can greatly improve your chances of winning the battle. Male characters can be aided in battle by any units located in the diagonal spaces around them. Female characters can also be aided in battle, but by the units located above, below, and to the side of them. This adds yet another complexity to the title, and a very useful tactic when battling more challenging enemies. 

Graphically, Yggdra Union is a completely 2D game with a strange blend of classic 8-bit style graphic techniques and more modernized anime style graphics. The more modernized graphics are used for the actual combat animations and the dialogue face-plates; the 8-bit style is used exclusive for the battle-grid. While this creates a strange sense of nostalgia for older players, even for a game that was originally created for the Gameboy Advance System, I expect a little better in a portable game created in 2006.

The soundtrack is huge, sporting a unique and original collection of music that is enjoyable all on its own. New to the PSP version is the inclusion of a voice cast, which helps to bring the story just a little bit more punch to the player. Not that the story needs it. Yggdra Union sports more characters and sub plots then I can even pretend to try and describe to you in a single review. Suffice it to say, there is more then enough material in this title to keep you busy for days.

My only complaint with Yggdra Union is that there is no indication during the story segments when the player needs to interact. Specifically, the story will stay paused at its current scene until the player pushes the button to move the story on to the next scene. While this isn’t a major issue, for players used to having cut scenes automated this can confuse players when the game begins as they try to figure out why the map is frozen on the screen for five minutes.   Otherwise, Yggdra Union is a highly enjoyable tactical RPG that any fans from either genre should enjoy. With it’s in depth storyline, dynamic characters, unique battle system, and diverse soundtrack, Yggrda Union promises you a lot of bang for your buck.