The American Civil War, which was fought between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery, was the bloodiest war on US soil, claiming over 600,000 lives over four years. North & South for NES, on the other hand, is a cartoon-ish and humorous simulation/strategy game that lasts about 10 minutes.
Game objectives
- Emulator used: FCEUX 2.1.5
- Conquers all states and territories
- Manipulates luck
- Wins a war
Personally, I find North & South to be a fun game, and it's interesting to TAS as well. As an extra challenge for myself in real-time, I try to see how many states I can take control of before my game is over. One day, I thought, "This might be a good idea for a TAS", so I made one with a certain goal in mind: to take control of all states and territories by the time the game ends, and to do so as fast as possible.
I set all of the options to be available on the menu screen, and set both players as Level 3. When that's all said and done, it's time to rewrite history.
I. Initial Troop Movement
I start by moving my Michigan battalion as quickly as possible to Iowa to conquer two of the forts and earn bags of gold each turn. As well, I move my Pennsylvania battalion to North Carolina in order to snag the periodic reinforcement it gives you (the movie is long enough to showcase this once). Also, throughout all troop movement, I manipulate the storm cloud to hover over Arkansas so the Confederate battalion on Arkansas never moves for the rest of the game.
II. The Battle of North Carolina
This battle took place on a wide-open field, one of three different terrains available in the entire country. Each side consists of six infantrymen, a cavalry of three mounted men with sabers, and a single cannoneer.
Out of my 10 soldiers I had at my disposal, however, I only used the three cavalrymen in this battle, charging at full speed and effortlessly killing anyone who dared step in my path. This comes at a cost of 4 casualties on the Union side, all of whom were blasted away by a perfectly-aimed Confederate cannon shot, and none of whom thought to evade or fire a single shot in defense.
III. Further Advancements
Seeing an opportunity to gain two more forts, I move one battalion to Kansas and the other down through South Carolina to Georgia. The fort in Kansas is gained automatically; however, in order to capture the fort in Georgia, one brave Union soldier had to find a way...
IV. The Capture of Fort Georgia
Armed with four ninja-throwing-knives and a sick sucker-punch, one Union soldier storms the fortress. Along the way, ten Confederate soldiers work their hardest to defend the fort, throwing their own knives and punching the crap out of anyone who dares step in the fort with blue clothing.
All of this is apparently no problem for the Union soldier, however, as he has cat-like reflexes and a background in acrobatics, allowing him to reach the end with ease. I wonder what that boot at the bottom is so angry about, though...
V. The Final Positions
As reinforcements are bought with gold and brought to port at North Carolina, the Union army becomes well-equipped to conquer the last Confederate battalion, and the nation. The poor battalion has only moved once in the entire war thus far, unable to move due to inclement weather. As every last bit of territory is stolen from the Confederacy, after eight months, one battle remains: The Battle of Arkansas.
VI. The Battle of Arkansas
Taking place on a grassy area with a river between them, this was quite a different battlefield from North Carolina, and different tactics would need to be employed from both sides.
Of course, being the mindless animals they are, the horses completely ignore the different battlefield and wipe out all of the soldiers in a similar fashion to the last battle. This comes at a cost of 3 casualties on the Union side, one of the Union cannoneer, and the other two of two cavalrymen who were dumb enough to stand point blank next to a cannon. Nevertheless, the surviving cavalryman delivered the finishing blow to the head of the Confederate cannoneer, and secured a Union victory within 8 months.
If I understood exactly how the luck manipulation with the storm cloud worked, I'd use it this effectively all the time. Regardless, I don't, so all of the storm cloud movement took intense trial and error on my part. As for improvements, perhaps a shorter or more effective way could be found to control it and effectively immobilize the other side. As well, I have not tested a movie with the South side yet, so maybe that would end up being faster.
Well, I suppose this is the end of the submission text. insert funny joke here
Noxxa: Viewer feedback was reasonably positive for this one, but the run is still dragged down by the slow overall pace of the strategy section, the simplistic appearances of the battle sections, and the primitive platforming environment of the fort sequence. Accepting for the Vault (the category qualifies as'full completion' for Vault purposes).
