Langrisser 2 (ラングリッサー 2) is the sequel to Warsong that, unfortunately, was never localized in English. The series itself (5 installments, total) was created by Masaya, who is also known for the tactical RPG franchise, Growlanser.
The game itself initially places you into the role of Elwin (descendant of Garret/Redin from Warsong), a wandering Swordsman who stops at a small village to rest from his journey. He soon finds himself, however, involved in a sudden conflict between an elite detachment of the Rayguard Empire and a peculiar young woman (Riana) whom they are attempting to abduct. In desperation, her childhood friend Hein urgently pleads Elwin to help fight off and thwart the Empire's plans.
Who is this young woman? Why is a major military power intent on capturing her? And what's this have to do with a legendary holy sword?
Game objectives
- Emulator used: BizHawk 1.7.1
- Heavy luck manipulation
- Genre: Strategy
- Genre: RPG
- Contains subtitles
- Contains speed/entertainment tradeoffs
Comments
Off and on, I've been working on this one for the past year. Even while working on other TASes, I always had this one in the back of mind and hoped to eventually finish it! It is my pleasure to submit this run to tasvideos, as I've -- by far -- put the most time and effort into making it.
Tricks Used
While I didn't discover any glitches, I did take advantage of a couple of exploits in this game.
edit: I did actually use a small bug, which I'll list here at the top:
PRE-PROMOTION EQUIPMENT CARRYOVER
As in most RPGs, different equipment is restricted to different classes. Heavy Plate Armor, for example, is limited to Fighter and Knight classes, while certain accessories (e.g. Cross) are exclusive to Healers.
You can work around this to an extent due to how Langrisser 2 handles its class changes (Commanders promote up at level 10). Basically, any equipment you had on a Commander before promotion will remain on him/her until it is manually swapped off. A great example you'll see in the game early on is the use of the Speed Boots accessory (+2 Movement Range). Knight classes cannot legitimately equip this item, due to already having a sizable movement range advantage. So you can imagine the fun to be had using Speed Boots on a Horseman!
TROOP SUPPORT SPELL EXPLOIT
Stat buff spells work by targeting either a Commander or one of his/her hirelings. Once cast, every troop under a Commander's control receives the effects of the spell--provided each troop is within the Commander's area-of-effect radius. The exploit here is, even if you're on the other side of the battle map, you can buff a single out-of-range soldier and still benefit the rest of a Commander's troops while away on the front line.
I take advantage of this quite often throughout the run.
PASSIVE AI MANIPULATION
Compared to the prequel Warsong, enemy A.I. is a bit more timid this time around. Meaning, if you and your troop's stats are around equal to or greater than an approaching enemy, that enemy will simply surround your units and end their turn! This is advantageous in situations where, say, an enemy flier is heading towards a group of A.I. civilians. Here, you would simply move a stronger Commander in front of them to effectively stop that enemy from attacking that round.
OPTIMAL INITIAL TROOP PLACEMENT
Depending on how many mercenaries are hired (up to 6, max), a Commander's troop formation changes slightly on the battlefield. For instance, 3 hirelings creates the following formation:
X1X
2C3
...while enlisting the max amount creates this one:
X16
2C3
54X
What's desirable about a 6 hireling formation is you can take advantage of the map placement the #5 and #6 spots give you. It essential gives you a +1 movement advantage where you normally wouldn't with just 1-4 troops. In terms of rounds, this can be the difference between saving an entire turn on a stage, or even beating it early!
About the Branch Name
The branch name "all stages" refers to completing all of the accessible 'Secret Scenarios' in a normal playthrough (?1, ?2, & ?3). These stages are triggered by the main Commander, Elwin, landing on specific tiles during stages 12, 19, and 22. I chose this branch in order to showcase more of the game. Also, the extra EXP and rare equipment offered in these stages' shops makes the run quite faster, as well.
So much, I believe, that an any% run might not be much faster than this one (probably no more than 3-5 minutes)...
Here's the technicality: there also exists a 4th Secret Stage within the game's code called "Death Tower". This stage is similar to a boss rush, where your party faces supped-up versions of the game's main villains in handicapped conditions (only 2 of your Commanders are initially controllable; you must "free" the rest of your allies). Unfortunately, there appears to be no known way to legitimately access this stage without using a stage select code. This is most comparable to the SNES game Ogre Battle, where the special stage 'Dragon's Haven' is only accessible via code (naming your main character FIRESEAL).
In the future, I may run this 'easter egg' stage as a bonus video to include in the published game description (it is beatable in a TAS with this run's save data).
Speed/Entertainment Tradeoffs
In order to vastly save time in this TAS, the animated battles were immediately turned OFF once control is handed over to me in stage 1. There are two cases, however, where I decided to turn the battle animations ON for the sake of entertainment. These occur during stages 22 and 27. I felt they were plot significant enough, and contained a right amount of intriguing foreshadowing, to include.
Estimated, both these speed/entertainment tradeoffs cost about 17 seconds of time. This is more than reasonable, in my view, for a near 2 hour TAS.
Stage by stage comments
Scenario 1: Knights of the Rayguard Empire
Tired of travel, Elwin rested for awhile in the small village of Sulras. Elwin got on well with the local people, especially a young magician called Hain - they soon became great friends. One quiet day, Hain burst into the inn where Elwin was staying, and in a fearful tone told him that the Knights of the Rayguard Empire were attacking the village. Hain's childhood friend Riana lived close to where the enemy.
Grasping his sword, Elwin went to try and help her.
Victory Conditions: Death of Baldo
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: Purchase 1 Dagger (+1 ATK).
Elwin: 1 Soldier. Equip a Dagger.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Forced deployment).
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Move Elwin straight north towards the 1st enemy Fighter. Hein moves further in, as well. This introductory stage is A.I. heavy, so the action will mostly consist of manipulating the A.I. while quickly working towards defeating Baldo.
Turn 2
Elwin's Soldier clears the way for Elwin, as Hein launches a Magic Arrow spell. Now at 9 HP, the enemy Fighter can be successfully one-shot manipulated with Elwin.
During Enemy Phase, Leon and Laird's troops are manipulated in certain ways to keep them from causing too much damage to the town defenders (which would cost time). Leon's Royal Horseman is taken down to 9 HP, while Laird's Heavy Horsemen are severely damaged to keep them out of action for a while. Finally, the town guard's Pikeman is kept at 7 HP so the Priest won't use his time-consuming Heal 2 spell at the beginning of the next round.
Turn 3
Elwin and his Soldier inch closer to Baldo, who will shortly move in directly upon them.
Leon's R. Horseman is damaged down to 7 HP, which will prevent him from attacking any further in this stage. Laird has one remaining troop, who is currently too injured to continue his assault.
Turn 4
Elwin waits out one more turn. The town guards tighten their formations and move toward the top of the map (saving much time, otherwise, from making feeble attacks).
Baldo moves in and attacks Elwin's Soldier, who counter-strikes him down to a manageable 7 HP for Elwin. Leon and Laird do nothing significant, save for a surprising attack from Laird's 7 HP H. Horseman.
Turn 5
Now softened up, Elwin has little trouble manipulating a quick kill. Looks like Leon and Laird bit off a bit more than they could chew this time around...
Scenario 2: Besieged Manor
Elwin safely led Riana to Lord Rolan's manor in Sulras. There, it was decided they would seek refuge for Riana in the Temple of Light in Estol. But forces for the Imperial Empire were about to lead an assault against Rolan's manor. Commander Zolm, General Vargas' right hand man, was to abduct Riana.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies OR Riana reaches top of map.
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: Purchase 2 Great Swords (+4 ATK).
Elwin: Equip a Great Sword.
Hein: Equip a Dagger.
Scott: Equip a Great Sword.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Forced deployment).
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Elwin and Hein head up towards the back of the Manor while Scott sticks around to help on the front line.
This is another A.I. heavy battle, where one the goals will be to eliminate troops as quickly as possible to cut down on enemy actions. MUCH time was spent optimizing this stage!
Turn 2
Elwin and Hein continue their move outside the Manor, as Scott moves in closer. Loren's Archers soften up an enemy Soldier, as other troops are manipulated to be quickly killed off. The enemy Knight was especially useful in taking out some useless Soldiers.
Turn 3
Crossing the bridge with Hein activates an early ambush of enemy reinforcements. Scott one-shots a Soldier, while Loren's Archers continue to soften up other troops.
The enemy Knight continues to do a stellar job of clearing out troops. Normally, a sizable "log jam" occurs in the Manor entrance due to the glut of troops trying to push their way through. The reinforcement squads makes their way down toward Hein and Elwin (to their impending doom, of course).
Turn 4
Hein ain't quite cut out for close-range fighting, so Elwin takes position at the choke point below the two rocks. Scott lands on a hidden tile and uncovers a very early pair of Speed Boots (+2 Movement Range), which is ESSENTIAL in the early going of this TAS.
With most of the enemy hirelings taken out, Loren's A.I. now takes advantage of his massive 32A/30D stats and crushes the enemy Knight. Relying on brawny Loren to wipe out the Commanders is another massive time-saving strategy in this stage. Back at the choke point, Elwin takes a page out of Warsong's book and patiently waits while dozens of enemy troops rush in to meet a laughably quick demise. This is where most similarities to Warsong end, however, as very little grinding is required, beyond this point.
Turn 5
Now defenseless, the Commander reinforcements are quickly dispatched by Elwin and Hein. Scott is still a bit too green to effectively manipulate kills with, so Loren (High Lord) is again relied on to save the day.
Turn 6
He may be green, but Scott is still useful for other things as he moves in and opens up Zolum's defenses. A.I. Loren takes the cue and smashes Zolum, routing him for the time being.
Turn 7
Scott removes the remaining troop guarding the last enemy Fighter. Loren laughs, flexes, and dominates. End stage!
Scenario 3: Mountain Ambush
Elwin and his friends escaped from Zolm's siege and tried to reach the light shrine in Estol. But the leader of the army Zolm was from, General Vargas, had caught them and sent Zolm to kill them. Elwin and his party had to face huge numbers of enemies and fight with a big handicap.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 2 Soldiers. Great Sword, and Speed Boots.
Scott: 2 Soldiers. Great Sword.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Auto-deploy). Elwin at the top, Hein to the SW, and Scott to the SE.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
(Order Riana to stay close to Hein)
Move Elwin and his Soldiers to where they're just within range of Zolum and his troops, for the next round. Hein positions himself within the three rock formation (this creates an attack opening toward the soon approaching Fighter), while Scott and his Soldier move east. That Soldier will serve to soften up the other enemy Fighter, once he's in range.
Turn 2
(Order Riana to remain with Hein)
With the Speed Boots, Elwin is capable of routing Zolum early, which triggers enemy reinforcements to appear far earlier, otherwise. Hein and Scott take care of matters on their own respective ends, while Riana is now programmed to head for the southern bridge.
Turn 3
Elwin recovers, while Scott softens up the 3rd Fighter. Being on a hillside land tile (+25%), I was unable to manipulate a one-shot kill; so I settled with this approach, instead. Luckily, his troops perform no actions during the Enemy Phase period.
Turn 4
Elwin moves onto a forest tile (+20%) and lets the action come to him. Scott's other Soldier moves slightly inward, which causes Fighter #4 to leave an attack opening once he moves in. Scott finishes the deed this time, and dispatches Fighter #3.
Turn 5
Can't ask for better bad guys! Fighter #5 moves right in place, while Scott stays the course and finishes Fighter #4.
Turn 6
Line 'em up! Elwin takes out Fighter #6. Unluckily for us, a much stronger reinforcement shows...
Turn 7
No worries, though. The stage concludes once we end our turn!
Scenario 4: The Light Shrine
With the mysterious knight's help, Elwin and the people defeated General Vargas and tried to reach the light shrine in Estol. If they could reach the shrine, the priest in the shrine could help protect Riana. The Shrine was famous for having lots of strong priests, because it was the main light shrine out of all of them. However, the thing that Elwin and his party saw when they reached the shrine was the Black Dragon Sorcerers from the Rayguard Empire trying to fight their way into the shrine.
Victory Conditions: Rout Morgan.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 5 Soldiers.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Auto-deploy). Elwin at the top, Hein to the SW, and Scott to the SE again.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
The goal is to get Morgan to move down toward us, as soon as possible. I start making use out of the 'Buff Spell Exploit' I mentioned, above, by casting ATTACK on Elwin's troops. They proceed to systematically take out both opposing Shaman, and their Barbarian guards.
This is yet another stage where A.I. units need to be manipulated to make the most time efficient actions, possible. Priest #1's Guardsman is manipulated to survive both the Assassin and his Soldier's attacks (no small feat!). Priest #2, on the other hand, is damaged down to 7 HP. Since they're both Healers, one of them is going to use magic no matter what. Having one of them manually recover (i.e. use the 'TREAT' command), instead, saves the most time.
Turn 2
Hein buffs again, while Elwin targets the 3rd Warlock. Two Soldiers are needed to take him out, due to his speedy attack speed.
Unlike S2 at the Manor, I intentionally manipulate a "log jam" this time to stalemate the Assassins and their troops. With all other allies demolished, Morgan heads down to engage with Elwin.
Turn 3
Hein buffs one last time as Elwin and his Soldier send Morgan packing.
The 'mystery ally' reveals herself (Cherie) and joins the team, whom I instantly promote up to Hawk Knight. Fliers are going to be an essential part of this speed run (obviously). Elwin earns a class-up, as well; promoting up to Knight (+12 Move Range with Speed Boots!).
Scenario 5: A Werewolf Howls
The damage to the Light Shrine was far worse than people thought and if the Imperial Forces were to attack one more time, Elwin would not be able to protect Riana from them. Also, Mage Morgan was about to escape to the village near the shrine and would probably kill all the villagers for revenge. Elwin and his party pursued Morgan with Sherry, and Riana, who'd also decided to join their fight as a healer.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies OR Elwin reaches top of map (22 Turns).
PREPARATION
Elwin: 5 Horsemen.
Cherie: 1 Griffon. Equip a Great Sword.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Elwin is positioned near the bridge, with Hein directly south of him. Cherie is placed immediately to Elwin's right, with Riana directly south of her. Scott is placed over the SW.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
This is going to be fun! Elwin moves in first to establish his area-of-effect range. In turn, each of his Horsemen cross the bridge and overtake the first two divisions of Werewolves. Riana moves by the bridge (to heal Elwin's troops), and Cherie shoots straight northward to end the round.
Morgan (being the pest that he is) will steadily send reinforcements down as he hightails it toward the northern bridge to escape.
Turn 2
Elwin's Horsemen continue to overwhelm. Taking out the Assassin trigger the first wave of Werewolf reinforcements. The Warlock gets defeated also, while Cherie continues to head north.
Turn 3
Morgan's chances of getting away look dimmer and dimmer... Elwin and Cherie take out the set of Werewolves, as Morgan calls in another wave of reinforcements.
Turn 4
Gotcha! Morgan is humiliated once more, as Elwin and Cherie prepare to handle the two remaining Werewolves.
Turn 5
Cherie attacks from a hillside land tile in order to one-shot the wolves. The remaining Werewolves are then permanently removed from the map, ending the stage!
Scenario 6: The Lone Warrior
Elwin and his party managed to defeat the werewolves, and Morgan was left with but a handful of soldiers. But the village was already in front of them and Morgan had already gone in. It seemed that there was something very important to him in the village. People were coming running and screaming from the village, except for one old, brave soldier with sharp eyes.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 3 Horsemen.
Cherie: 5 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Elwin is placed to the far-right, with Cherie beside him to his left. All other are auto-deployed.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
You gotta love stages where the enemy is bunched up together in close quarters! Elwin starts things off by taking out the right flank's Knight and Shaman. Cherie, with her Griffons, then proceeds to gracefully take out both the left flank and middle Fighter Commanders.
Aaron, normally relied upon to hold down the fort, remains put in relative safety (likely with his jaw hitting the floor).
Turn 2
Riana brings the troops back to top form as the assault continues on Morgan's dwindling forces. Morgan is defeated, for good, this time as out-of-range Griffons fly in and kamikaze the spellcasting Commanders (I tactic I ended up using quite often). After removing the guarding Pikeman, Elwin's Horseman moves in and completes the stage!
Afterwards, Hein promotes up to Sorcerer (now we get to play with ranged troops!).
Scenario 7: Revival of the Old Spirits
With the joining of Sherry's sword teacher Aaron, night fell around the party. In this peaceful dimly-lit environment, an intense battle seemed unlikely to occur any time soon. However, in the graveyard outside the village, several men were participating in what appeared to be some kind of ceremony. There, the souls of the dead were summoned from their slumber into an evil existence.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Necromancer Ginam.
PREPARATION
Hein: 4 Archers. Equip the Speed Boots.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Elwin takes near the outskirts by the sea, as Hein as placed toward the graveyard. All others auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
With his Archers, Hein now gets to take advantage of the Speed Boots as they move in to take out the guarding Great Slimes by the cemetery gates. Elwin moves a little closer to shore as the villagers flee toward shelter.
During the Enemy Phase, the leading Hawk Knight unit is prevented from targeting the villagers and surrounds Elwin, instead. As I mentioned above, the enemy A.I. will often choose not to engage with a full-power unit that has equal or greater stats.
Turn 2
After some ally conversation (Langrisser 2 has tons of dialogue), Hein moves in and snuffs out Necromancer Ginam with his Archers. Keith shows up late to the party as the villagers give Elwin a token of their appreciation (Rune Stone). End stage!
Scenario 8: The Great Bridge
After receiving word from Keith that the entirety of the Blue Dragon Knights' Army was advancing towards Kalxath castle, Sherry tried to hurry back to the castle. Keith also joined them to guide Sherry and the party back to Kalxath Castle.
In the vicinity of Kalxath Castle, there was a wide crevice. Elwin's party decided to cross a certain bridge that would cut many days off of their journey, but they found a branch of the Blue Dragon Knights, led by Kramer, attempting to lower the bridge. If Kramer was successful in lowering the bridge, it would add a few days to their journey, and Kalxath Castle would almost certainly fall.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Kramer (23 Turns).
PREPARATION
Elwin: 3 Horsemen.
Hein: 1 Archer.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Elwin at the foot of the great bridge, with Hein to his immediate left. Scott takes position at the mountain base, as all others auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
(This stage feels familiar...) Show Elwin and Hein across the bridge with their hirelings. We're gonna waste no time!
Turn 2
Teamwork is emphasized as Hein's Archer shoots down the Hawk Knight, followed with Elwin's Horseman making the Magic Knight disappear (thank you...thank you). Elwin then shoots further toward Mr. Kramer.
Turn 3
Same gameplan as before. Archers and Horsemen make a pretty good combo.
Turn 4
General Vargas and Zolum show up as Elwin tears into Kramer's defenses. No matter though, as we finish the stage just as soon as they appear!
Aaron promotes up to Lord. I actually didn't know for sure which class I wanted him to be at, but I'm very glad I chose this one (see S17)!
Scenario 9: The Siege of Kalxath Castle
Thanks to a brilliant charge by Elwin and his party, they were able to defeat Kramer and cross the bridge to Kalxath Castle. The moment they step out of the forest, Elwin sees the castle defending against a fierce attack by the Blue Dragon Knights. The defenders of the castle were putting up a brave struggle, but due to the superiority of the soldiers led by Leon and Laird, the castle's fall was inevitable if Elwin and his party did not do something soon. The intense battle for Kalxath Castle unfolded.
Victory Conditions: Rout Laird.
PREPARATION
Cherie: 6 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Cherie is placed, left-flank, just below the center mountain. Elwin and Hein are positioned next to her as all other auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Move the top-center Griffon above and over one tile. This is one of those cases where I take advantage of the troop formation for optimal placement. I only need three Griffons, but the formation itself saved time (over moving them, etc.).
Turn 2
Hein powers up the troops as Cherie moves in and establishes her AoE range. One after another, her Griffons systematically take out Laird's guarding Heavy Horseman; and then Laird, himself. Maybe Leon should've picked someone else to lead the charge...
A looooooooong dialogue exchange ensues, where Raina and Scott leave the party for plot purposes. A suit of Dragon Scale armor is awarded due to keeping Kalxaths's defenders alive. Let's keep going!
Scenario 10: The Defender of Raul River
After learning the true horrors of the sword Alhazard from the Priest of Estol, and being told that for the Empire to restore completely, the magical Dark Rod would be required, Elwin decided to seek out the Dark Rod in hopes that if he obtained it first, the Empire would not be able to revive Alhazard without it. Elwin and his party rushed to the Raul River to meet a Wizard who was said to know the location of the Dark Rod. But when they got there, they were stopped by Lester, the defender of the Raul River.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Lester*.
(That is, if you can defeat Lester fast enough, enemy reinforcements won't show up -- ending the stage early!)
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: Purchase a Wand (+1 spell range).
Cherie: 2 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Cherie, right-side, along the left bank. Elwin and Hein surround again (faster cursor movement), as the rest auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Move Cherie, and 1 Griffon, up towards Lester (the other one stays behind to buff).
As stated, normally in this stage monster reinforcements (9 of 'em) show up and place Lester and his buddies into peril. This occurs after you end the round on Turn 3. However...
Turn 2
...that's just too slow. Heins buffs from afar, as Cherie "persuades" Lester to let the party through. He obliges, and even joins the party! Elwin received a Necklace accessory (+2 AoE range) for keeping Lester's pirate buddies alive.
Scenario 11: Inside the Flame
Lester guided Elwin's party to meet the wizard who was rumoured to know the location of the Dark Rod, the Great Wizard Jessica who was said to have lived hundreds of years. However, the Rayguard Empire had plans of their own, and the Black Dragon Dark Priest Eggbert was secretly devising one of his own.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies (Egbert is an optional target).
PREPARATION
Elwin: 3 Horsemen.
Hein: 4 Archers. Equip the Wand.
Cherie: 3 Griffons. Equip the Dragon Scale, and the Necklace.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Hein on the road, furthest away from the house. Cherie will go to his direct NW, with Elwin to his NE. All others auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Immediately send 2 of Hein's Archers west to take out The Hawk Knight. Hein follows up with a Fireball spell southward, weakening the Assassin, Mage and Swordsman Commanders. Cherie and Elwin then shoot down to finish them off. Hein's last 2 Archers head SE toward the mountains.
The last Griffon is specifically placed in order to force the Magic Knight to move in a certain way. This causes the 2nd Mage to head north and rest directly next to the Magic Knight's Horseman. Once defeated, the Mage will then be opened for attack in the next round.
Turn 2
Elwin takes care of Magic Knight #2, as Hein ATTACK buffs Cherie's troops. Another Hawk Knight reinforcement appears as the last enemy Commander is defeated (minus Egbert). Laying in wait, Hein's Archers quickly move in for the kill, ending the stage.
As a side note, despite not being required, Egbert is defeatable with a strategy of moving Elwin in with buffed troops, while Hein rains down Fireball spells. However, it's far slower to pull off -- and not quite amazing enough to justify a speed/entertainment tradeoff.
Scenario 12: The Holy Land Reital
The Holy Land of Reital. Surrounded by rocky mountains and so skillfully hidden beyond the eyes of men, no man had ever set a foot inside, and there was no trace of Eggbert. And inside the cave, the ancient guardians and protectors of the Dark Rod awaited the intruders.
Victory Conditions: Obtain the Dark Rod.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 2 Horsemen.
Hein: 2 Guardsmen, 2 Archers, and 2 Guardsmen (in that order).
Cherie: 6 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Hein at the helm, with Elwin at the far-left flank. Cherie goes directly below Hein, with Jessica to the flank on the far-right. Auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Elwin starts by climbing the left-side steps. He will be used to access the tile which unlocks Stage S?1 (he's also the only Commander capable of doing so). Lester ATTACK buffs Cherie's troops as she moves forward below the Ghost. The Ghost is an annoyingly tough Commander which requires both a Fireball spell and a sacrificed Griffon to soften up. Hein sends out 2 of his Guardsmen, on each side, to confront the approaching Great Slimes. Jessica, finally, moves up the right-side staircase, to act as support.
Turn 2
Even out-of-range, Guardsmen are lethal against slimes. The first line of Great Slimes are eliminated to allow others to advance up their respective sides. Cherie sends an injured Griffon out ahead for two purposes: 1) To cause Egbert to show; and 2) To draw in the Master Dino.
Speaking of, Egbert will immediately teleport during the Enemy Phase and snatch the Dark Rod. (What is it with bad guys and their ability to teleport, anyways?)
Turn 3
The last 2 Great Slimes are removed, as Elwin moves further toward the secret tile. On the other end, Jessica ATTACK buffs Cherie as she moves just out of the Lich's spell range. This causes the Lich to move closer inward, instead.
Turn 4
Elwin's 2 Horsemen take out the Hell Hound, while Hein's buffed Archers shoot down the Lich. Cherie moves in further with her Griffons to draw in the 2 Living Armors.
Turn 5
Hein's Fireball and Cherie's Tornado spells wipes out almost all of the Gargoyle hirelings. This causes Cherie to promote up to Dragon Knight -- just in time to give her Griffons enough of an attack boost to take out the 1st Living Armor.
Turns 6-7
These rounds serve to buy Elwin enough time for him to reach S?1's secret tile. Living Armor #2 is steadily weakened enough during this period, as at this point in the game he is a very tough opponent.
Turn 8
Event activated! Cherie dispatches the remaining undead. Time for the Muscle Temple!
Scenario ?1: The Temple of Muscle
Eggbert took the rod for himself, and Elwin's party discovered a secret tunnel and decided to investigate it.
Victory Conditions: Defeat the Aniki!
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: Purchase 3 Devil Axes (+8At/-3DF) and 2 Plate Armors (+4 DF).
Hein: 5 Archers.
Cherie: 6 Griffons. Equip a Devil Axe.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Hein and Cherie take the front two spots overlooking the hallway, with Jessica on the far-right. Lester deploys below Hein (for support) as all else auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Air and ranged troops are the keys to quickly beating this one. Hein moves in first and dispatches the first two muscle heads stationed within the halls, which promotes him up to Magic Knight (Spells + Range = nice!). Cherie, afterward, is moved far ahead to get the attention of Adon and Samson. They will now move off their posing pedestals in pursuit during the Enemy Phase.
Turn 2
Aniki destruction round! Hein is boosted again, as his Archers finish the rest of the lower-ranked Aniki. Adon, Baron and Samson, however, are too strong to take down with arrows. This is the Griffons come into play, as 2 each are needed to weaken; and then finish, the three off.
Cherie then flies over and picks off a lingering Aniki Commander eastward off toward the back. I didn't have enough firepower to finish off the last one, however...
Turn 3
Had to let the last Aniki move in towards Hein, where a quick manipulation finished this faux bodybuilding showcase for good! Post-battle, Elwin promotes up to Highlander (+1 Movement, and stronger troops).
Scenario 13: Battle with the Fire Dragon Corps
Elwin and his party managed to defeat the ancient guardians, but before they could obtain the Dark Rod, Eggbert suddenly appeared and with his magic managed to get the Dark Rod and get away.
Moreover, Eggbert then teleported to Kalxath Castle to kidnap Riana. The party, worried about Riana, tried to hurry back to Kalxath Castle to see what they could do, but General Vargas the Valiant was waiting for them to hinder their progress.
Victory Conditions: Defeat General Vargas.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 4 Heavy Horsemen. Equip a Devil Axe, Plate Armor, and Necklace.
Hein: 2 Heavy Horsemen.
Cherie: 3 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Elwin to the far SE, with Hein stationed at the NW. Place Cherie to the NE of Elwin, and auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
General Vargas is hiding in this urban stage, necessitating us to move down as quick as possible to draw him out! Elwin's new Heavy Horsemen make easy work out of the Swordsman Commander, as Cherie's troops both take out the roof dwelling Bishop #1 and the guarding Pikeman of Bishop #2 (which Elwin handles).
On the other end, Hein also enjoys the benefit of stronger troops as Swordsman #2 is also snuffed out with little effort.
Turn 2
Elwin and troops move further in toward Zolum. Hein's H. Horsemen make the Class 3 Magic Knights look weak in comparison (easy manipulations). Cherie moves further downward, both to draw in an enemy Dragon Knight and to bring Vargas out of hiding.
Turn 3
Cherie dispatches the Dragon Knight, as Elwin puts an end to Zolum. His other H. Horseman in moved in slightly to be in range for the next round.
During his phase, Vargas moves in two of his own H. Horsemen in against Elwin. Elwin's is manipulated to survive the first assault in order to draw fire away from him. 9 times out of 10, Elwin would die against a strong knight unit (as that's exactly what I've been doing against the enemy).
Turn 4
Vargas is tough -- and also has a Devil Axe of his own equipped. In cases like these, I send in a troop to sacrifice in order to soften them up, first. Elwin's remaining H. Horseman brings Vargas down to 7 HP, which just enough to manipulate a quick kill with Elwin.
Vargas' last words are deep. Translated, he basically asks Leon to go to his wife and tell her (pregnant with his soon to be born son) that he's not returning home. This even causes Elwin to lament about the cruel realities of war. Remarkable stuff from a video game of the early 90s.
Lester promotes up to Serpent Knight, post-battle.
Scenario 14: The Race for Langrisser
Hundreds of years ago, it is said that the Descendants of Light once ruled the Kingdom of Baltia. The legendary ancient castle now rested quietly at the bottom of a lake. With Jessica's help, Elwin and his party were able to find Baltia castle, and within it, the holy sword, Langrisser. Elwin and his party weren't the only people seeking Langrisser, however, as the Blue Dragon Knights were also at Baltia Castle with the same purpose in mind. Now, after hundreds of years, the stage was set once again for the struggle of the holy sword Langrisser.
Victory Conditions: Obtain Langrisser.
PREPARATION
Lol. What preparation?
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Cherie closest to the downed bridge of Castle Baltia.
STRATEGY
Turns 1-3
Not much "strategy" here. Cherie's natural movement range ensures she will reach Langrisser, before any other enemy troops, on Turn 3. Seriously, what were the developers thinking??
Scenario 15: The Battle at Roleck River
Elwin's party had at last retrieved Langrisser and decided to go to Rayguard to rescue Riana. With little time left, however, the quickest route to Rayguard was to trudge across the Roleck River. However, on the opposite shore, the Amazon Imelda has been awaiting them. While at a disadvantage, Elwin and his party decided there wasn't enough time to find another route. Though worried about Riana, Elwin drew his sword and prepared to fight Imelda.
Victory Conditions: Rout General Imelda OR Elwin reaches bottom of map.
PREPARATION
Cherie: 2 Griffons.
Keith: 4 Griffons. Equip a Devil Axe, Mirage Robe, and Necklace.
Jessica: Equip a Wand.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
From the right bank of the river: Place Cherie, Keith, and Jessica along the bank. Auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Normally this one is a hassle due to the enemy troops involved (monster reinforcements show up, as well), in addition to the safer route of trudging Elwin across the river. Cherie and 1 Griffon head straight downward toward Imelda. I hired 2 Griffons in order to take advantage of the troop placement on the map. Keith heads there as well, but with a more defensive oriented formation (to escape Ballistae counterattack from the shore).
Similar to the last stage, Cherie's Griffon is manipulated to endure two Archer attacks before dying off. This allows Cherie to fly in for the finishing strike in the next round.
Turn 2
Jessica ATTACK buffs Keith's troops (from the one left behind). Keith moves inward (which triggers Lana's appearance) while his Griffons take out the guarding H. Horseman. One more weakens Imelda enough for Cherie to fly in and successfully rout. Down goes the ice queen!
Afterward, Scott returns to the party after a period of intense training. He level up 12 times, which I use toward promoting him up to Knight, and then to Priest. The attack bonuses from his Knight class will be an advantage toward his ability to hire Phalanxes (which will be immediately used next stage).
Scenario 16: The Blue Dragon Knights Again
Riana was apparently being controlled by someone, and Elwin and his party were in shock over her complete and total change.
At last, Emperor Bernhart would reveal himself. His castle was designed to be hard to attack, and easy to defend. Bernhart had, in just one generation, formed a nation, and had taken over half a continent. But now he was planning to use Alhazard, the legendary sword of evil, to unify the entire continent. To prevent this, Elwin's party had to penetrate into Bernhart's castle and stop him before Alhazard's seal was broken.
But as Elwin and his party approached the castle gates, they saw Elwin's old rival, Leon, waiting for them. The final battle with the Blue Dragon Knights had begun.
Victory Conditions: Rout Leon OR Elwin reaches the Castle Front Gate.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 3 Heavy Horsemen. Equip a Great Sword, Plate Armor, Necklace.
Cherie: Equip a Wand, Dragon Scale, Necklace.
Scott: 2 Phalanxes. Equip a War Hammer, and Speed Boots.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Front row, from left to right): Cherie, Lester, Elwin, Scott, and Jessica. Place Hein just below Jessica, and auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Even with all the stat/troop/equip upgrades, taking on Leon directly is still a losing battle (i.e. not impossible, but too time consuming). Therefore, the goal here is to slip Elwin past him and reach the front gates ASAP. Fliers can't breach the two guard towers, and I don't yet have access to Ballistae or the Meteor spell. The first objective is to take out those enemy Ballistae! Lester begins on the left side by moving into the moat. In addition to support fire, he will also draw ranged attacks away from Cherie. As for Cherie, she moves directly under the left tower to absorb the upcoming spells from the Arch Mage. Elwin Scott, and Hein move and position troops in preparation to breach the bridge, as Jessica softens up the right tower with a Fireball.
Laird can perform one of two actions during his phase. He'll either move out of the guard tower, or remain and ATTACK buff the Arch Mage's troops (which is bad). This A.I. pattern is frame dependent, and isn't too terribly hard to manipulate (other Commanders often have this pattern, as well).
Turn 2
Time to initiate phase 2! Lester softens up the left tower with a Fireball of his own, as Cherie then blows them away with a Tornado. Arch Mage #1 is also weakened down to 7 HP, which means he'll waste a turn healing. Elwin takes the bridge by eliminating the guarding Saint. Hein and Jessica go to work on the right tower, burning up its Ballistae with combined Fireballs. Scott clears the narrow bridge also, bringing his needed Phalanxes in behind Elwin's troops.
Turn 3
Time to take the courtyard. Scott moves in and orders a Phalanx to take out the enemy Knight Master. Teamwork is needed to take out Laird, as both a H. Horseman and Phalanx contribute in sending him packing. Elwin and his other hireling then move in and critically damage Leon's remaining Ballistae. They are kept alive in order to limit the movements of his Royal Horsemen (elite troops).
In order to draw away one of the Arch Mage's spells, Hein casts a rare ILLUSION spell which will temporarily draw enemy fire toward him.
Elwin barely survives a R. Horseman attack during Leon's turn. The Arch Mage's also send out one last wave of Meteor spells.
Turn 4
Scott's remaining, injured Phalanx takes out the left-side Ballistae, allowing Elwin to slip past Leon and take the front gate. Leon stirs as we complete the stage!
Scenario 17: Emperor Bernhardt
Elwin's party defeated the Blue Dragon Knights and broke into the castle to find a hard-bodied man with piercing eyes sitting on a throne. He looked more like a soldier than an Emperor, but he seemed to carry an air of dignity that separated him from normal soldiers.
Near him was a man with an evil smile standing back, looking extremely interested in the party that had fought their way through so many of the Empire's best soldiers.
Elwin and his party had very little time to prepare their soldiers, while Bernhart calmly awaited the decisive battle.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Emperor Bernhardt.
PREPARATIONS
Shop Menu: Purchase 1 Wand, 2 Speed Boots, 1 Plate Armor, and 1 Necklace.
Elwin: 1 Berserker.
Hein: 2 Heavy Horsemen. Wand, Plate Armor, and Speed Boots.
Cherie: 6 Griffons. Langrisser, Dr. Scale, and Necklace.
Aaron: Wand, Plate Armor, and Speed Boots.
Lester: 2 Archers. Wand, and Necklace.
Jessica: Wand, Mirage Robe, and Speed Boots.
Scott: War Hammer, Chain Mail, and Speed Boots.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Aaron at the very bottom. Place Keith along the SE corner, with Scott just SW of him. Remarkably, all else auto-deploy exactly where they're needed!
STRATEGY
Turn 1
This was my favorite stage to TAS! Figuring out the strategy took me an entire weekend to achieve. Very satisfied how everything turned out. Anyway, Elwin begins this decisive battle by heading towards the Saint stationed along the western staircase (with his Berserker placed safely out of range). One of Cherie's Griffons will be used as a "buffer", and is placed down by Lester. Jessica and Lester launch Fireballs down toward the Arch Mage on the left tower. Removing him will allow the rest of the support Commanders a 'safe zone'. Scott ATTACK buffs Lester's Archers, who remove said Arch Mage with heavily manipulated shots (4's were tough to generate!). Aaron moves closer inward, as Keith veers over toward the eastern staircase.
From here, Cherie and troops dispatch the eastern Saint as Hein and his hirelings move upward toward the grand staircase.
Turn 2
Elwin's Berserker takes out a Ballistae, allowing him to remove the Saint along the western wall. Scott moves out of spell range toward Lester and Cherie's support Griffon. Lester heals himself to recover MP, as they will both contribute to casting ATTACK buffs in the upcoming rounds. Aaron and Jessica move in toward Hein, as Hein uses a SLEEP spell neutralize the Saint on the grand staircase. This allows Hein's troops to take the Commander out, as her attack speed is too much to allow a kill in one attack.
Keith and Cherie race up the eastern catwalk toward Bozer. Keith is needed in order to obtain an important hidden item, which is crucial for the last part of the run.
Turn 3
Scott recovers as Lester begins the first round of stat buffs on Cherie. Aaron, Jessica, and Hein move into place as Cherie's troops remove the Wizard guarding access to Bernhardt's inner chamber.
Turn 4
Scott buffs this time, while Jessica and Hein lauch Fireballs from afar, bursting Bernhardt's Ballistae into flames. This also weakens his and Bozer's troops enough to take out with Cherie's Griffons. Unlike in Warsong, Bozer is a bit of a pushover this time around. After the rest of Bernhardt's guards are destroyed, Aaron contributes with a crucial Heal 1 spell on Cherie and her troops. Remember how I stated it was fortunate that I chose the Lord class for Aaron? He was the only capable Commander with heal magic here, and he only had enough MP for one spell! How about that?
Turn 5
Here we go! Like an ancient battle with Emperor Pythion (Warsong TAS reference), Fireball spells were needed to soften Bernhardt up. Keith heads over to pick up the Masayan Sword (2x EXP; various stat penalties). In succession, Cherie and her Griffons surround and attack the resilient Bernardt. Yes, even with the kitchen sink, this took heavy RNG manipulation to pull off! Dude is tough.
Afterward, Jessica promotes up to Magic Knight. What a battle!
Scenario 18: Dark Princess
Hot on Bosel's heels to Velzeria, Elwin and his party came across a village being attacked by demons. Laughing amidst the carnage was a young girl. Elwin couldn't believe it when he saw that the young girl was Riana.
Despite being at a total loss as to what had happened to Riana to make her evil and allow her to be able to control monsters, Elwin and his party rushed to stop Riana.
Victory Conditions: Defeat the Great Dragon.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 4 Heavy Horsemen and 1 Horseman. Equip the Masayan Sword.
Cherie: 5 Griffons.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Hein and Cherie along the top, near the shore. Elwin deploys to the SW, as the rest auto-deploy.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
This is what you would call a "breather stage". Now that we have the Masayan Sword, a longer-term goal is to get Elwin, Hein, and a future ally up to their next classes. Equipping the Masayan Sword lowers your troop bonus stats a little, making it tougher to manipulate kills. The 1st Minotaur is taken out with a combination of Heavy and generic Horseman. The generic one was needed due to its lower DEF (couldn't manipulate a death, otherwise). Near the bank, Cherie shoots toward sea and the Great Dragon, leaving a Griffon back beside Hein for support.
Turn 2
Minotaur #2 gets finished, as Cherie situates herself closer to the Dragon. Lester and Scott are slightly moved southward to escape the neighboring Lich's spell range.
Turn 3
With Hein ATTACK buffing, Cherie and Co. make quick work of the Dragon, causing Lana to flee. To show their appreciation, the villagers award Elwin with a rare accessory, the Crown (+2 AoE range; +3A/+2D troop bonus!). Cherie also promotes up to her 4th tier, Dragon Lord.
Scenario 19: Battle at Mireil
After Elwin and his party managed to save the little village under attack from the Dark Princess and her Dragon, the grateful villagers informed Elwin of preparations going on at the Imperial port of Mireil.
Elwin and his party decided that they would capture a boat from the port and thus would be able to get to Velzeria much quicker via the Dires channel.
Victory Conditions: Defeat General Imelda (23 Turns).
PREPARATIONS
Hein: 2 Heavy Horsemen, 1 Archer.
Cherie: 6 Angels. Langrisser, Dragon Scale, Crown.
Keith: 2 Griffons. Devil Axe, Necklace.
Jessica: 1 Heavy Horseman.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Hein at the top to the NW. Elwin and Cherie deploy east toward the docked ship, while Keith and Jessica are positioned on the southern end of the port. Auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Elwin will be racing towards the extreme NE tile in order the unlock the stage S?2. Up at the top, Hein and his troops strategically position themselves in wait for some upcoming reinforcements. Cherie heads SE toward the Saint stationed along the dock, as Keith and Jessica advance from the south.
Turn 2
Cherie flies in as her Angels dispatch the Saint and position themselves for a direct assault on the ship during the next round. Keith and Jessica move in further; Keith will be invading the ship from the south, while Jessica will take out the approaching Serpent Lord.
Turn 3
Laird and some lame reinforcements show up once Cherie kills off a unit on board the ship. 'Hi, Laird! -> (gets beat up) -> Bye, Laird!' is the extent of his cameo in this stage. After all that, Cherie's Angels wreck the Wizard, Arch Mage and Dragon Knight units, as well as one of Imelda's Ballistae. The idea here is to remove all of Imelda's troops in order for Elwin to trudge across the ocean uninterrupted.
Turn 4
Between Keith's Griffons and Cherie's Angels, all remaining foes save for Imelda are killed off. Cherie is placed 3 squares away from Imelda due to her having a nasty Blast spell (up to 8 HP in damage!). Otherwise, she will not act as long as there are no units directly surrounding her.
Turns 5-11
I don't like the fact that only Elwin can unlock secret tiles, since it takes so long for him to reach them. He doesn't even have the option of promoting to a flying unit. Anyhow, these rounds are spent simply getting Elwin over the that NE tile. The TAS makes it go by fairly quickly.
Turn 12
Imelda is finished off once Elwin accesses the tile. Time to do some shopping!
Scenario ?2: Fierce Battle of the Dires
With the preparations of the large ship incomplete, Elwin's party decided to leave on small boats, one for each Commander.
However, in the horizon, Elwin saw an imperial boat that was pursuing them.
Could it perhaps be General Imelda's troops who meant to avenge her defeat? Elwin and his group got ready to face what they expected to be a quick battle.
However, the Rayguard troops aboard the ship were prepared to fight fiercely for their fallen general.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: (sell off all unneeded equipment). Buy 1 Flame Lance (+6 ATK) and 4 Crowns.
Hein: 4 Archers. Equip a Crown.
Keith: 2 Griffons. Equip a Wand and a Crown.
Lester: 4 Mermen. Equip a Wand, Chain Mail, and Crown.
Jessica: 6 Archers.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Lester on the NW raft; Hein on the far east raft; Jessica to the SW raft. Keith is placed to the west of Hein, as all else are auto-deployed.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Aside from the great equipment, this stage also offers a chance to obtain more XP for Hein, whom I'll need to shortly promote up to Arch Mage. Keith and Lester move toward their respective section of foes, while Jessica moves a few Archers closer into attacking range for the next round.
Turn 2
Hein's troops shot down a Griffon for an extra XP boost. A Tornado spell softens up the Serpent Knights enough to take out on Keith's end, while Lester follows suit with a Blizzard spell up above. Finally, Jessica's Archers take out the remaining fliers in groups of 2.
Scenario 20: The Red Sea
After defeating Imelda, and successfully taking the boat, Elwin left for Velzeria to rescue Riana.
Inside the calm heavens, the trip seemed to be going smoothly, but a big ship from Velzeria drew near. On that ship were monsters controlled by Bosel for an ambush, and they had come to stop and challenge Elwin's invasion. Two boats joined via gangplanks, and the fight began between the two boats.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 4 Heavy Horseman. Masayan Sword, Plate Armor, and Crown.
Hein: 2 Archers.
Cherie: 6 Angels.
Keith: 2 Griffon.
Jessica: 1 Archer.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(From top to bottom, along the right side): Hein, Elwin, Keith, Cherie, and Jessica. Auto-deploy the rest.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
There's a little grinding in this stage, as Elwin needs to class-up soon, as well. A few of Elwin's H. Horsemen are moved into position, while Cherie moves SE along the ship. This keeps here out of the opposing side's spell range, while also being able to attack during the next turn.
Turn 2
Elwin's troops eliminate a few crustaceans (for EXP) on route to defeating to top Minotaur. After Hein's troops take out the Scylla, Elwin heads down to take care of Minotaur #2. From here, Lester ATTACK buffs Keith as he heads across toward the top Lich. Once cleared, Jessica's sole Archer assists in bringing down Scylla #2. Cherie then invades the enemy carrier, killing the Lich and establishing her AoE range for her troops. The remaining Angels then surround and destroy the Demon Lord, Fayas.
Like the Ghost Commander in S12, Demon Lord's have an odd battle RNG where (even after 100's of attempts) I couldn't generate an outcome where the 1st troop would die, allowing the 2nd troop to take its place to continue. The 1st one would always survive with just 1 HP. Therefore, I needed 3 Angels to get the job done here.
Afterward, about half the force promotes up to their next tier: Hein to Arch Mage; Aaron to Highlander, and Keith to Dragon Knight. We've finally get access to Ballistae!
Scenario 21: Marionette
The forbidden land Velzeria.... It had been around for hundreds of years.
The Descendants of Light had defeated Bosel here before. The mountain ranged had surrounded the area. It was also said that the God of Chaos was in this accursed land. When Elwin found the bay and tried to land, the Dark Princess, being controlled by Bosel once again, stood in his way.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies (Lana is an optional target).
PREPARATION
Elwin: 2 Heavy Horsemen.
Hein: 2 Ballistae. Equip Speed Boots.
Cherie: 4 Angels.
Keith: 4 Griffon. Equip the Flame Lance, Chain Mail, and a Crown.
Lester: 2 Mermen.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(From the left-hand side of the ship, top to bottom): Cherie, Elwin, Lester, Hein, and Keith. Auto-deploy all else.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
This is another stage where the main villain (Lana) is not required to be defeated in order to win. You just have to defeat all other units and reinforcements. Like in S19, a few Commanders are going to be moved in advance to immediately overtake appearing reinforcements. Elwin and Lester disembark from the ship's left side, while Hein heads starboard with his Ballistae. Cherie and Keith will fly to shore to take on the foes there.
One of Cherie's Angels breaks away from the pack to join Keith's squad on the south end.
Turn 2
After further positioning near the ship, Cherie breaks to shore and takes out the norther Succubus. She attacks from the west to avoid the Lich's spell range. Keith, with Griffons and Angel, heads closer to the southern shore.
Turn 3
Cherie and troops clear the northern shore (Living Armor and Lich), while Keith advances and eliminates the southern Succubus.
Turn 4
Here's why leaving the other Angel with Keith was necessary. Keith is nowhere near as strong as Cherie at this point, and is unable to take out any of the remaining enemy Commanders. I found a way to work around this, though, by having that Angel trail Keith. All Cherie had to do was shoot straight down to the south -- which brought the Angel right back into her effect radius! From here, it was easy to eliminate the southern Living Armor, as Keith's Griffons took out the remaining Lich.
3 Kraken reinforcements show up, who are immediately handled by Elwin, Hein and Lester's troops. Almost everyone has the Attack spell at this point, which is a big plus. Having Ballistae now rock, too.
Elwin promotes up to his final necessary class of Sword Master. This was also necessary for the next stage, as Knight classes suffer a movement penalty while moving in enclosed terrain. Plus, I can now equip Speed Boots on him again!
Scenario 22: Alhazard's Revival
To prevent the dark sword Alhazard's release Elwin's party finally made it to the Temple of Darkness, where an astonishing sight awaited them.
Victory Conditions: Stop the revival ceremony!
PREPARATION
Jessica: 2 Archers.
Elwin: 2 Armored Soldiers. Equip a Devil Axe, Plate Armor, and Speed Boots.
Hein: 2 Ballistae. Equip the Masayan Sword.
Cherie: 5 Angels.
Scott: Equip a Wand
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(left-side): Hein, Cherie, and Scott. (middle): Lester. (right-side): Elwin and Jessica. Auto-deploy the rest.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
This stage was another very tricky one to optimize. On top of accessing S?3 (which requires activating 2 separate tiles), you also have to figure out how to eliminate all other foes except Bernardt. If Bernhardt gets routed the stage ends, so he has to be kept around long enough to activate the stage.
Anyhow, Lester begins by moving slightly over, in preparation for the next turn. Jessica moves upward, as well as Elwin and an Armored Soldier. This one has to be moved manually in order to be in range for an attack, later on.
On the other side, Scott heads up as Cherie flies northward with one Angel. This Angel is going to draw in the western Lich close enough to target with a Ballistae, next round. Hein advances also, with his troop A.I. set to 'Defend' (I've done this throughout the run, as it's faster than manual movement).
Turn 2
The eastern Lich is dispatched with Jessica's boosted Archers. Elwin and Armored Soldier #1 advance further up the pathway towards the eastern Iron Golem. On the western end, Scott boosts Hein's Ballistae to take out the remaining Lich. Hein then boosts Cherie's troops, as she flies forward. Upon destroying the guarding Golem, the Alhazard revival ceremony is activated. Afterward, the western Iron Golem is finished with 2 Angels.
During the Enemy Phase, Egbert pulls a plot twist, bringing Emperor Bernhardt back from the dead. This is where I have my 1st speed/entertainment tradeoff, as I temporarily turned the battle animations on to showcase the one-sided domination by Bernhardt. I thought this was a cool scene to include, as it also serves to foreshadow the final battle at the end of the game.
Turn 3
The primary goals are now to activate the secret tiles with Elwin, while moving Jessica close enough to Bernhardt in order to beat the stage when Elwin is done. The eastern Iron Golem is crushed with Elwin's Armored Soldiers. Hein moves further upward, as Cherie flies over and picks off the Saint stationed in the center. 1 Angel is move close toward the altar in order to draw out some enemy Ballistae, which also serves to open up some of the spell casters for attack in the next round.
Turn 4
Elwin and Jessica advance, as Hein does similar on the other end. 1 Angel is deliberately placed behind as Cherie shoots toward the altar. This following manipulation with the Arch Mage was very "Warsong-esque" as it took quite a couple hundred frames to pull off. Remarkably, I've had very few cases in this game where I had to burn a ton of frames to find the desired battle result. This was one of those rare cases. The remaining troops guarding Bernhardt are then eliminated before the round ends.
Bernhardt's Dark Guard troops have the highest stat bonuses in the game. They made my Angels look like amateurs, lol.
Turn 5
Hein moves closer toward Egbert as Cherie retreats toward him. No need to take on Bernhardt, at the moment.
I had Hein's Ballistae follow him in order to draw fire away from Cherie. Cherie is a primary spell target for Egbert -- but with a nearby Ballistae, Hein becomes a priority, instead. Angels are immune to all spell attacks.
Turn 6
Elwin and Jessica have been continuing their advance, as Hein launches a counter Meteor spell of his own toward Egbert. His Ballistae takes enough damage to be taken out by the out-of-range Angel, which clears the way for Cherie to rout Mr. Wizard.
Turn 7
Elwin reaches tile #1, which is a switch that activates the 2nd tile to the far-left of the altar (how in the world would someone figure this out on their own??).
Turn 8
A clean kill is manipulated on a Dark Guard blocking Elwin's Path. Jessica new reaches the base of the altar.
Elwin takes a bit of a beating, bringing down another Dark Guard's HP to 1. This was necessary in order to prevent the rest of them from pouring down toward him.
Turn 9
Being at 1 HP, a Magic Arrow spell is faster to cast than Fireball. Elwin advances and gets an assist from Hein, who takes out the obstructing pillar with a Meteor spell (again, how would anyone know this?).
Turns 10-11
Elwin moves closer toward the 2nd activation switch.
Turn 12
Success! After Elwin finally reaches the tile, Jessica rushes toward Bernhardt and attempts to seal him off into another dimension. As the blinded light fades, Hein bares the bad news that the power of Alhazard prevented the spell from succeeding (meaning: Jessica was abducted, instead).
Riana returns back to the party from a long absence, leveling up enough to earn a promotion. I chose Magic Knight as this made her level-up the least. I'm also done using her on the battlefield, at this point. Her joining sister Lana, though, I'll be needing! She ranks-up 3 times, from Healer to Priest to High Priest. I'll eventually need her to be at her final class of Agent -- which comes with the coveted Teleport spell (i.e. what the bad guys have been enjoying this whole time!).
Scenario ?3: Magic Dragon's Lair
In the temple, Elwin's party continued to progress deeper into a dragon's lair, and passed through a dangerous passageway. They opened the passage and entered the cave to find that it was actually a Great Dragon's Lair. Inside was one person, a young female witch who lived there....
Who was she? For what purpose did she live there? Everything was unusual about this strange young girl.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Majuu.
PREPARATION
Shop Menu: Purchase 2 Dragon Slayers (+7 ATK), 1 Dragon Scale, and 1 Aurora accessory (+2 ATK).
Hein: 3 Ballistae. Equip a Wand.
Cherie: 2 Angels
Lana: Equip the Masayan Sword and a Crown.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(From top to bottom): Cherie, Hein, Elwin, and Scott. Auto-deploy the rest.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
All others guides I've read say that you have to defeat all enemies (yikes!), but you really only have to defeat Majuu, the strange female Mage. After the Great Dragon infestation appears, power-up Hein's Ballistae with Scott and take out the closest, center Dragon. This allows Cherie to move in and damage one of Majuu's Bone Dinos, which causes her to... transform into a Saint Commander with surrounding Elementals. No matter! From here, Elwin casts a rarely-used PROTECTION buff spell on Cherie's Angels, who then move in to dispatch the shape-shifting weird girl. Maybe next time, Hein...
Scenario 23: The Holy Rod
Finally Alhazard's seal was broken. But Bernhart, who everyone thought dead, had appeared, and had taken Alhazard from Bosel.
Moreover, to accomplish his mission of continental unification, Bernhart planned to awaken the dark power of Alhazard which would cover the world in darkness and give Bernhart immense powers.
Due to Jessica's sacrifice, they flew to Velzeria. Both Riana and Larna had their spells broken, and Larna told Elwin that Langrisser's power was not yet complete. Now, to release Langrisser's full power, Elwin's party had gone to Elrad where the Holy Rod was said to exist, which had the ability to awaken the full power of Langrisser.
Victory Conditions: Obtain the Holy Rod.
PREPARATION
Elwin: 2 Armored Soldiers, 1 Phalanx. Equip Langrisser.
Hein: 2 Ballistae.
Cherie: 4 Angels. Equip a Dragon Slayer.
Keith: 2 Griffons. Equip a Dragon Slayer, Dragon Scale, and Crown.
Lana: 1 Phalanx.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(left-side): Cherie. (middle): Lana, Elwin and Hein. (right-side): Keith.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Normally, this unique stage acts like a game of capture the flag. The Holy Rod is randomly placed inside one of four rooms, and whomever gets it first must also exit the Temple with it. Meaning, even if you fail to get it in time, you can still take out the unit who has it and return it to your possession.
However, since this is a TAS, we're just going to beat everyone else up, THEN take the Holy Rod!
The idea here is to also grind Lana up high enough to the rank of Agent, as well as reach Level 4 to learn Teleport; hence why she has a single Phalanx. Her and the Phalanx move up the center stairway, as Elwin follows with his own troops (the manually moved ones will protect Lana's Phalanx from being attacked). Afterward, Hein moves in from behind as Cherie and Keith begin to fly over both Temple ends. They will take out the 2 Paladins who are searching the first two rooms.
Lana is also positioned in such a way as to draw in the 2 Dragon Lords, with their Elementals.
Turn 2
Hein softens up the 2 Dragon Lords with his Ballistae, as Lana unleashes a Turn Undead spell on the Elementals. Elementals are worth considerable XP, which gets multiplied with the Masayan Sword. Elwin and an Armored Soldier remove the Dragon Lords, as Cherie and Keith move in further to eliminate the enemy Paladins. 2 Angels are also manually moved to be within attacking range for the next round. Keith doesn't quite have the Movement Range of a Dragon Lord, so he'll have to wait a round before reaching the Paladin assigned to him.
Turn 3
Hein moves in with a Ballistae to soften up the Saint hugging the eastern wall. Elwin moves into range for his Phalanx to remove Laird's R. Horseman. Lana's Phalanx routs Laird (for the 12th time...) for the XP. An injured Armored Soldier is moved close to the Phalanx in order to guard it from attack during the Enemy Phase. From here, Cherie moves into the choke point and takes out the western Saint. Her Angels then also eliminate the 3rd Paladin -- which promotes her up to her final class of Dragon Master. Elwin then sends an Armored Soldier to finish off the remaining Saint, as Keith finishes matters with Paladin #2.
Turn 4
Paladin #4 is softened up with a Ballistae, as Lana heals surrounding troops up with Heal 2 (which also earns her XP). Her Phalanx finishes the Paladin, as Cherie and an Angel dispatch the Wizards hiding out, above. No need to hunt for the Holy Rod, as the story's plot does all that work for us! Support troops retrieve the Rod as the stage ends.
Scenario 24: Light and Dark
After a long and intense battle with Laird, finally Elwin's party obtained the Holy Rod.
The maiden of light, Riana, and Larna at last began the ceremony to release Langrisser's seal.
Now, the legendary sword's power had been released.
However, Bernhart had been waiting for this moment, and waged an attack.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATIONS
Shop Menu: Gotta sell off more junk. Having to discard items on the battlefield slowly adds up time, and enemies start dropping equipment like hotcakes once we reach S25!
Hein: 4 Ballistae.
Cherie: 4 Angels.
Keith: 1 Griffon.
Lana: 2 Monks. Equip Speed Boots.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
Place Cherie and Keith along the top and bottom ends by the river. Put Keith closest to the bridge along the road, with Lana just below him. Auto-deploy all other Commanders.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
After Bernhardt finishes running his mouth and flees, ATTACK buff Lana's troops with Elwin. She moves in and takes out a guarding Arch Demon with a Monk, as Elwin moves his Ballistae closer along the river. He also softens up the Vampire enough for Lana to finish with another Monk (who promotes up to Agent!). Cherie moves closer in along the north end, as Keith advances toward the bridge (staying out of the Lich's spell range).
Turn 2
This is where the Ballistae's deadliness is displayed. After buffing, 2 Hell Hounds, a Lich, and a Demon Lord are shot down from afar in a display of raw firepower (it felt good watching it!). Up above, Cherie and her Angels confront and remove another Lich and 2 additional Demon Lords. I don't have to worry about battle RNG this time, as I can simply fly a 2nd Angel around the other side to finish the job.
From here, Lana moves into range in order for her Monk to dispatch the remaining Lich. Keith flies around to take out the last Hell Hound. Lester promotes up to Serpent Lord, which also comes with Ballistae (which is cool, but not necessary at this point). End stage.
Scenario 25: The Continent's Strongest Knights
The source of all evil, the cursed Velzeria castle... Within the castle's deepest halls, Emperor Bernhart, who wielded Alhazard, awaited. But first before him, the Blue Dragon Knight Leon and Eggbert stood before Elwin. Moreover, Eggbert was holding Jessica captive.
Neither side could surrender, and an intense battle began.
Victory Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
PREPARATION
War time!
Elwin: Langrisser (+8 ATK, now fully-powered), Plate Armor, and Aurora.
Hein: 4 Ballistae. Holy Rod (+2 spell range/damage), and Speed Boots.
Cherie: 4 Angels.
Aaron: 4 Heavy Horsemen.
Keith: 6 Griffon.
Lana: 5 Angels. Masayan Sword, and a Crown.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(Front row, from left to right): Keith, Hein, Cherie, Aaron, and Lana. (back row): Scott, and the rest auto-deployed.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Time for an epic showdown with Leon's Blue Dragon Knights. After Egbert releases Jessica (upon demands of Leon, who won't resort to hostage tactics), begin by boosting Hein with Elwin. Hein's Ballistae will shoot down the Wizard, Paladin, and Laird on his end. This is Laird's last dance, as Leon becomes enraged upon his passing. Afterward, Scott boosts Lana as she and her Angels move forward to take out the eastern Wizard and Paladin deployed along the hills. From here, Aaron (with Speed Boots) races upward and plays kamikaze with his H. Horsemen, dispatching the Knight Master and Paladin #3.
Back by Keith, 6 Griffons were hired to take advantage of the initial troop placement. Just 3 are needed to fly northward and take care of remaining Paladin #4. Finally, Lester boosts Cherie as she moves in to take out Leon's guarding R. Horseman. 2 of her Angels then proceed to rout him one last time. The Dragon Lord is then weakened down to 8 HP in order to keep him from moving in and killing Aaron (costing time).
What an embarrassment for the Blue Dragon Knights.
Turn 2
Cherie finishes off the remaining Dragon Lord. Afterwards, Lana gains enough post-battle EXP to level-up and learn Teleport. We've now pretty much won the game at this point.
Scenario 26: The Black Dragon Sorcerer's Trap
Elwin defeated his destined rival Leon, and invaded Velzeria Castle, and while rushing towards the underground temple fell into a secret passageway. There lay the leader of the Black Dragon Sorcerers, Eggbert, who waited to encircle the party.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Elwin's party began taking massive magical attacks from the Black Dragon Sorcerers.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Egbert.
PREPARATIONS
Elwin: 1 Armored Soldier.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(from the right-side): Elwin and Lana at the top. Auto-deploy all others.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
You know how frustrating it gets when the bad guys are just able to teleport in and out to get their way? Well consider the tables to be turned! Lana teleports Elwin right next to old-man Egbert. The Armored Soldier takes care of the guarding Elemental, as Elwin moves in and snuffs out Egbert. Short and sweet; we're done here!
Scenario 27: End of the Legend
Elwin and the party finally made it to their final battle with Bernhart.
In the deepest halls of Velzeria Castle, Bernhart had awaited them. The Temple of Darkness eerily silent. At the altar stood Bernhart, with Alhazard. With the destructive power within Alhazard, Bernhart's eyes were filled with confidence and fighting spirit.
Final Objective: Defeat Emperor Bernhardt.
PREPARATIONS
Elwin: 3 Heavy Horsemen.
MAP DEPLOYMENT
(from the top): Hein, Elwin, and Lana. Auto-deploy the rest of 'em.
STRATEGY
Turn 1
Now here's where my 2nd speed/entertainment tradeoff takes place. Since I have access to the Teleport spell, I can easily just teleport in Cherie, instead of Elwin, to finish off Bernhardt with by flying in behind his throne.
However, if you ask me, that would be the MOST anti-climatic way the end the game's final battle that I can think of. Plus, it wouldn't jive with the plot as Elwin has been brought up as the 'chosen one' to take on and take out Bernhardt & Alhazard with Langrisser. In my humble opinion, the way I choose to input the final battle is much more entertaining and much more satisfying than the ho-hum alternative.
Here's my version: After Hein softens up Bernhardt with a Meteor Spell, Lana teleports Elwin and his troops next to Bernhardt. From here, his H. Horsemen remove the Dark Guards and soften Bernhardt down to 8 HP (which is the minimum that he can be beaten on his throne, with Elwin). Once that's finished, I turn the battle animations on again and move Elwin in for the finishing strike. I was FORTUNATE to get this manipulation as I have not been able to recreate it, under different conditions (even after over 500 attempts).
Estimated, this speed/entertainment tradeoff took about 600 extra frames (10 seconds) to pull off. I think that's a reasonable tradeoff for an event as significant as the final battle.
Suggested Screenshot
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Suggested Description
Langrisser 2 (ラングリッサー2) is the acclaimed sequel to Warsong, never finding its way to an official release in English.
You are placed into the role of Elwin (descendent of Garrett/Redin), a wandering Swordsman who stops to rest from his journey at a small, obscure village. He soon finds himself, however, in a sudden conflict between an elite detachment of the Rayguard Empire and a peculiar young woman whom they are attempting to abduct. In desperation, her childhood friend Hein rushes toward Elwin and urgently pleads him to help fight off and thwart the Empire's plans. So much for rest...
Who is this young woman? Why is a major military power intent on capturing her? And what's this have to do with a legendary holy blade?
In ars4326's run, cunning strategy combines with heavy luck manipulation to produce a speedrun that completes all of the game's accessible stages (27 normal and 3 'hidden') in just under 2 hours. Virtually no level-grinding is found in this action-packed playthrough as Elwin & Co. seek to stop an Emperor's plans of uniting the continent with the power of an ancient demon sword!
feos: Accepting to Moons.
Spikestuff: Yay! Now to do this and get the other one too (FFVI).