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Let's Play Vantage Master
The people have spoken, and I have chosen! It is time to begin my journey.
Batman the thief enters the world, hunting for a huge bounty on the head of a great tyrant named Gid Karn.
Stats, left to right, first top row then bottom row: Attack, magic power, speed, defense, magic defense, movement. Note the speed. The ludicrously high speed.
"Now I know enough about you.
You have high speed and moving range.
Although magic powers are not that high,
you have enough makings for a master."
"Now I will give the 4 basic types of Natials to you."
Fa-Rancell is the weakest earth Natial in the game. It has its uses, mainly due to being cheap as dirt and able to swim, but it won't see a HUGE amount of usage.
Reque is the weakest water Natial in the game. In the early game, it is slightly useful for its fairly high attack power and good underwater movement speed, but otherwise it won't see a lot of use at all.
Hepitus is the weakest fire Natial in the game. It sucks, and will be phased out the instant I have at least one decent fire unit.
Guene-Foss is the second-weakest heavens Natial in the game. It can fly, moves fast, and has a ranged magic attack. It's basically awesome, and I'll keep using it for the entire game.
This gives me a starting set of one Natial for each of the game's four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Heavens, which I will hereafter call Air, because that's what it is.
This is Merlet the Witch, by the way. She'll show up a number of times in indecipherable cutscenes, and seems to be something of a guide/guardian character for Batman.
With no further ado, let's crash into the game!
This is why I'll be mostly taking reduced-size screenshots - the game has a huge display, with multiple different windows, all full of different informations. Let's take it from the top, then go counter-clockwise!
The top left view is the world map. The yinyang-ish symbols represent battles I can partake in against enemy Masters. There are only four right now, but as I clear maps, more will be unlocked.
On the bottom is Merlet, who always has something vaguely relevant to say. It's context sensitive, giving tips and explanations for whatever I'm doing at any given time.
To the right of Merlet is the Master Information Window, which gives both my status and intel on my next enemy. The symbls in the middle indicate what Natials and magic they have access to. In this case, the enemy is a Duke, with the same levels and Natials as me. Since I'm on Easy, I'll generally be able to maintain a level advantage over my enemies, but trust me when I say I'm going to need it.
Finally, the Map Information Window. It show sthe starting time (although this map, as indicated by "Always Dark", is permanently in nighttime, regardless of time), a small map, the time limit for the stage (always infinity on Scenario mode), and the reward for defeating this Master. This one is Marme, a useful water Natial.
Let's fight!
Thus, we enter our first battle! The rules of engagement are simple: Both Masters summon Natials to fight each other. The loser is the first side to have their Master defeated, regardless of remaining units.
And let's look at the huge amount of information presented in this window!
The top shows the name of the map, and the current time. It's only 1PM, but because this is an Always Dark map, it's nighttime. Some Natials have properties that make them more powerful during the night or during the day, so this is pretty important.
Right under that is Batman's MP! The blue bar is total MP (60 out of 60), the yellow bar beneath that is the rate of MP recovered per hour, and below that there is usually a red bar indicating MP spent maintaining summoned Natials. Since neither of us have summoned anything yet, this bar is empty. Under this display is an identical one for my opponent, Valdarts.
Below that is info on the selected terrain space. This one is prairie, which halves movement of land-bound Natials, but provides 20% defense to people standing in it. To the right of that is a quick reference for something I'll explain later.
Finally, it's the stats of the selected unit. Under the name is the health bar, which ranges from 0 to 10. That's right - even the most powerful units in the game have 10 HP, just like the weakest. Beneath that on the left is said units stats, which I went over briefly before. More important are the numbers on the right. The hourglass represents the number of ticks of time (minutes, I think) before that character's turn comes around. Beneath that is the unit's place on the current turn order. Since these are 0 and 1, it's my turn. Below that is movement type, which I won't worry about too hard yet.
Finally, below that is experience, I think for Natials only. Max Natial level is 3, and it doesn't carry over between maps.
Okay that was plenty of exposition. Let's rumble!
Movement is handled much like any other SRPG. Batman is very speedy, with his max movement range of 6. However, rather than move all the way forward, I'm gonna stop on this Magic Stone.
Thusly do we introduce our first tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Capture as many Magic Stones as you can. This is accomplished by stepping on them with any unit. The more Stones you have, the higher your MP recover rate is, and the faster you can deploy powerful Natials. The reason this map is easy is that I start with four Stones, and Valdarts has none.
What's this? Valdarts has summoned a Natial! A Guene-Foss, the only air Natial either of us have.
Time to up the ante!
I'll have to respond by summoning a Natial of my own, now, won't I? This is the Summon List, which contains a lot of information I don;t necessarily need to worry about - the most important two values are Attrib and MP Need.
So I respond to Valdarts's first summon with a Hepitus. Fire is superior to Air, so if these two fight, the Hepitus will to greatly increased damage, while the Guene-Foss will do greatly decreased damage.
This is a useful feature the game has - I can highlight the total area any unit can effect by moving and attacking or casting a spell. Since this Guene-Foss can target me as far back as the previous Stone, I'm going to hold my ground.
Valdarts has summoned a Fa-Rancell - an earth Natial. I respond by staying still and summoning a Guene-Foss of my own, because Air is superior to Earth. Fa-Rancell will be torn apart by her magic!
First blood! This is an attack from Batman directly, throwing a knife at the enemy Guene-Foss for 4 damage. For the most part, summoning Natials is superior to usinig physical attacks, but it does have its uses, especially in the early game, where Natials aren't that powerful.
This is Guene-Foss's magic attack. It can strike something up to four spaces away, and here I use it to strike at the enemy Fa-Rancell. He has element disadvantage, but impressive defensive stats, and ends up taking 4 damage from the spell.
Hmm. This Guene-Foss might prove to be a real pain in the ass. I'm not so concerned about the 2 damage to my Master, but now that she's behind my lines, there's nothing stopping her from jumping back and claiming some of my Magic Stones. I'll have to think of a quick strategy to get rid of her.
The enemy has wisely placed his Guene-Foss just outside of my Hepitus's movement range. Rather than waste time running back to pursue, though, I'm going to make a break for the enemy Master.
Still playing smart, I see. Valdarts summons a Reque, positioning it between himself and the charging Hepitus. This stops the charge dead, because Water is superior to Fire, equating a frontal assault to suicide.
Rather than trying to attack it directly or bring back my current Hepitus, I'll deal with the Guene-Foss threat by summoning a second Hepitus right next to it. Also, I'll stay here, because every turn you start on a Magic Stone, you recover one health.
Hepitus retreats to attack Fa-Rancell, because it sure as hell beats dealing with a Reque. Surprisingly, though, Hepitus's good attack power and Fa-Rancell's facing away from him adds up pretty strong, and he hits it for 5 damage.
Guene-Foss plays keep-away some more, still harassing Batman with magic attacks, but this time stealing one of my Stones, as well. This drops my MP recovery rate a touch, and also raises his. This brings us to our second tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Never underestimate the danger presented by a single enemy. One well-placed action can turn the tables on an entire match.
A quick hit from my Guene-Foss finishes off the remaining health on the enemy Fa-Rancell, leading to the first kill of the match!
Between another knife from the Thief and a swift flaming hammer attack from Hepitus, Guene-Foss is summarily destroyed.
Next course of action is dealing with the enemy Reque. I'll do that by reclaiming this stone and summoning a Fa-Rancell of my own, becasue Earth is superior to Water.
This is Vantage Master's Circle of Life. Earth beats Water beats Fire beats Air beats Earth. Third tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Learn the Element Circle. It is the most important facet of all strategy. Battles are won and lost by this cycle.
In addition to attacking the enemy Fa-Rancell, my Guene-Foss parks itself right next to Valdarts. Make him think fast, panic, and make mistakes.
Valdarts dispatches my Guene-Foss with a flourish of his rapier, but I've still got the upper hand in this engagement. He has two Natials left, whereas I still have four.
When a problem comes along, you must WHIP IT
I mentioned the flight capabilities of Guene-Foss, right? This is why it's so awesome.
And this is our fourth tenet of strategy: Enemy Natials don't matter if you can kill the Master. As soon as he draws his last breath, it doesn't matter if he has twenty units left, the match is over.
A bit of harassment from all sides later, it's time for the final blow.
Sorry, Valdarts. You never had a chance of victory to begin with.
BATMAN
HASII
WONED
God, I love this translation.
After every battle, it shows you some various specs, which I don't really care about. The only important part...
Is my level up! I get a sliver more MP, and my defense and magic defense both increase by one. Also, I gain access to Marme, the first healing Natial!
Stay tuned next time, for more swift crushing of early-game Masters!
Batman the thief enters the world, hunting for a huge bounty on the head of a great tyrant named Gid Karn.
Stats, left to right, first top row then bottom row: Attack, magic power, speed, defense, magic defense, movement. Note the speed. The ludicrously high speed.
"Now I know enough about you.
You have high speed and moving range.
Although magic powers are not that high,
you have enough makings for a master."
"Now I will give the 4 basic types of Natials to you."
Fa-Rancell is the weakest earth Natial in the game. It has its uses, mainly due to being cheap as dirt and able to swim, but it won't see a HUGE amount of usage.
Reque is the weakest water Natial in the game. In the early game, it is slightly useful for its fairly high attack power and good underwater movement speed, but otherwise it won't see a lot of use at all.
Hepitus is the weakest fire Natial in the game. It sucks, and will be phased out the instant I have at least one decent fire unit.
Guene-Foss is the second-weakest heavens Natial in the game. It can fly, moves fast, and has a ranged magic attack. It's basically awesome, and I'll keep using it for the entire game.
This gives me a starting set of one Natial for each of the game's four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Heavens, which I will hereafter call Air, because that's what it is.
This is Merlet the Witch, by the way. She'll show up a number of times in indecipherable cutscenes, and seems to be something of a guide/guardian character for Batman.
With no further ado, let's crash into the game!
This is why I'll be mostly taking reduced-size screenshots - the game has a huge display, with multiple different windows, all full of different informations. Let's take it from the top, then go counter-clockwise!
The top left view is the world map. The yinyang-ish symbols represent battles I can partake in against enemy Masters. There are only four right now, but as I clear maps, more will be unlocked.
On the bottom is Merlet, who always has something vaguely relevant to say. It's context sensitive, giving tips and explanations for whatever I'm doing at any given time.
To the right of Merlet is the Master Information Window, which gives both my status and intel on my next enemy. The symbls in the middle indicate what Natials and magic they have access to. In this case, the enemy is a Duke, with the same levels and Natials as me. Since I'm on Easy, I'll generally be able to maintain a level advantage over my enemies, but trust me when I say I'm going to need it.
Finally, the Map Information Window. It show sthe starting time (although this map, as indicated by "Always Dark", is permanently in nighttime, regardless of time), a small map, the time limit for the stage (always infinity on Scenario mode), and the reward for defeating this Master. This one is Marme, a useful water Natial.
Let's fight!
Thus, we enter our first battle! The rules of engagement are simple: Both Masters summon Natials to fight each other. The loser is the first side to have their Master defeated, regardless of remaining units.
And let's look at the huge amount of information presented in this window!
The top shows the name of the map, and the current time. It's only 1PM, but because this is an Always Dark map, it's nighttime. Some Natials have properties that make them more powerful during the night or during the day, so this is pretty important.
Right under that is Batman's MP! The blue bar is total MP (60 out of 60), the yellow bar beneath that is the rate of MP recovered per hour, and below that there is usually a red bar indicating MP spent maintaining summoned Natials. Since neither of us have summoned anything yet, this bar is empty. Under this display is an identical one for my opponent, Valdarts.
Below that is info on the selected terrain space. This one is prairie, which halves movement of land-bound Natials, but provides 20% defense to people standing in it. To the right of that is a quick reference for something I'll explain later.
Finally, it's the stats of the selected unit. Under the name is the health bar, which ranges from 0 to 10. That's right - even the most powerful units in the game have 10 HP, just like the weakest. Beneath that on the left is said units stats, which I went over briefly before. More important are the numbers on the right. The hourglass represents the number of ticks of time (minutes, I think) before that character's turn comes around. Beneath that is the unit's place on the current turn order. Since these are 0 and 1, it's my turn. Below that is movement type, which I won't worry about too hard yet.
Finally, below that is experience, I think for Natials only. Max Natial level is 3, and it doesn't carry over between maps.
Okay that was plenty of exposition. Let's rumble!
Movement is handled much like any other SRPG. Batman is very speedy, with his max movement range of 6. However, rather than move all the way forward, I'm gonna stop on this Magic Stone.
Thusly do we introduce our first tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Capture as many Magic Stones as you can. This is accomplished by stepping on them with any unit. The more Stones you have, the higher your MP recover rate is, and the faster you can deploy powerful Natials. The reason this map is easy is that I start with four Stones, and Valdarts has none.
What's this? Valdarts has summoned a Natial! A Guene-Foss, the only air Natial either of us have.
Time to up the ante!
I'll have to respond by summoning a Natial of my own, now, won't I? This is the Summon List, which contains a lot of information I don;t necessarily need to worry about - the most important two values are Attrib and MP Need.
So I respond to Valdarts's first summon with a Hepitus. Fire is superior to Air, so if these two fight, the Hepitus will to greatly increased damage, while the Guene-Foss will do greatly decreased damage.
This is a useful feature the game has - I can highlight the total area any unit can effect by moving and attacking or casting a spell. Since this Guene-Foss can target me as far back as the previous Stone, I'm going to hold my ground.
Valdarts has summoned a Fa-Rancell - an earth Natial. I respond by staying still and summoning a Guene-Foss of my own, because Air is superior to Earth. Fa-Rancell will be torn apart by her magic!
First blood! This is an attack from Batman directly, throwing a knife at the enemy Guene-Foss for 4 damage. For the most part, summoning Natials is superior to usinig physical attacks, but it does have its uses, especially in the early game, where Natials aren't that powerful.
This is Guene-Foss's magic attack. It can strike something up to four spaces away, and here I use it to strike at the enemy Fa-Rancell. He has element disadvantage, but impressive defensive stats, and ends up taking 4 damage from the spell.
Hmm. This Guene-Foss might prove to be a real pain in the ass. I'm not so concerned about the 2 damage to my Master, but now that she's behind my lines, there's nothing stopping her from jumping back and claiming some of my Magic Stones. I'll have to think of a quick strategy to get rid of her.
The enemy has wisely placed his Guene-Foss just outside of my Hepitus's movement range. Rather than waste time running back to pursue, though, I'm going to make a break for the enemy Master.
Still playing smart, I see. Valdarts summons a Reque, positioning it between himself and the charging Hepitus. This stops the charge dead, because Water is superior to Fire, equating a frontal assault to suicide.
Rather than trying to attack it directly or bring back my current Hepitus, I'll deal with the Guene-Foss threat by summoning a second Hepitus right next to it. Also, I'll stay here, because every turn you start on a Magic Stone, you recover one health.
Hepitus retreats to attack Fa-Rancell, because it sure as hell beats dealing with a Reque. Surprisingly, though, Hepitus's good attack power and Fa-Rancell's facing away from him adds up pretty strong, and he hits it for 5 damage.
Guene-Foss plays keep-away some more, still harassing Batman with magic attacks, but this time stealing one of my Stones, as well. This drops my MP recovery rate a touch, and also raises his. This brings us to our second tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Never underestimate the danger presented by a single enemy. One well-placed action can turn the tables on an entire match.
A quick hit from my Guene-Foss finishes off the remaining health on the enemy Fa-Rancell, leading to the first kill of the match!
Between another knife from the Thief and a swift flaming hammer attack from Hepitus, Guene-Foss is summarily destroyed.
Next course of action is dealing with the enemy Reque. I'll do that by reclaiming this stone and summoning a Fa-Rancell of my own, becasue Earth is superior to Water.
This is Vantage Master's Circle of Life. Earth beats Water beats Fire beats Air beats Earth. Third tenet of Vantage Master strategy: Learn the Element Circle. It is the most important facet of all strategy. Battles are won and lost by this cycle.
In addition to attacking the enemy Fa-Rancell, my Guene-Foss parks itself right next to Valdarts. Make him think fast, panic, and make mistakes.
Valdarts dispatches my Guene-Foss with a flourish of his rapier, but I've still got the upper hand in this engagement. He has two Natials left, whereas I still have four.
When a problem comes along, you must WHIP IT
I mentioned the flight capabilities of Guene-Foss, right? This is why it's so awesome.
And this is our fourth tenet of strategy: Enemy Natials don't matter if you can kill the Master. As soon as he draws his last breath, it doesn't matter if he has twenty units left, the match is over.
A bit of harassment from all sides later, it's time for the final blow.
Sorry, Valdarts. You never had a chance of victory to begin with.
BATMAN
HASII
WONED
God, I love this translation.
After every battle, it shows you some various specs, which I don't really care about. The only important part...
Is my level up! I get a sliver more MP, and my defense and magic defense both increase by one. Also, I gain access to Marme, the first healing Natial!
Stay tuned next time, for more swift crushing of early-game Masters!
no subject
Because this game needed an added level of challenge.
no subject
That is, because only a lunatic would go out of their way to make this game harder.
no subject
I love Engrish so much.
no subject