Let's Play: Ogre Battle 64!

Gregness · 12-15-2011, 11:59 PM

It's been far too long since we've had a proper Let's Play going on here if I do say so myself, so what better than an RPG that most people haven't played!

Here, have some music.

Ogre Battle 64 is a real-time strategy RPG. What that means in a nutshell is that rather than controlling the minutiae of one party of characters, we control many different groups but fighting itself is mostly AI controlled. This means that your formation is key. Here's a sample group from my own runthrough:

In the upper right you can see my group's formation, in the lower left is the enemy's. Each character has its attacks determined by its class and its position in the formation. Fighter classes have their best attacks in the front row, support classes have their best attacks in the back row, etc. You can be flanked, and attacked from the rear depending on various shenanigans the enemy might pull so even a strong formation can be caught at a disadvantage since your characters would have to use their weaker attacks. So, the key is to have your units in the right place at the right time on the area map (below).

Strategy.

I can get into the nitty gritty combat mechanics later as it becomes relevant, but that should be enough to get us started.

This will be a screenshot LP. Participation will have a few different forms. First, since we can have upwards of 50 different characters, most of whom can be renamed, I'll be taking requests for draftees to participate directly in the playthrough. I'll let you pick which classes and progressions you want to follow, and I'll cheat a bit to help if I can. That has limits though, If you want to be a paladin and your character's alignment isn't correct, I'll change it for you. If you've been a warrior your entire career and you want me to change you into an archmage, I'll probably tell you to get bent. As a corollory to this, if your character ends up in charge of a unit I'll let you decide the formation if you like. Or, I can just do it for you, whichever.

Second, if you don't want to bother getting drafted, I'll be taking votes in the thread regarding story decisions (though I may omit some of the smaller ones).

Speaking of decisions, here's the first set of 'em!

First, we need a name. The default name is Magnus, but that can change. The surname is Gallant and it's not changeable.

Next, a few personality type questions. These will determine which units we start with so they're not just superficial.

Swapped for space.

As I was preparing this post, I found out that apparantly this has recently been re-released on the wii's virtual console so you can check it out yourself if this piques your interest. Now, LET'S PLAY!

IHateMakingNames · 12-16-2011, 01:57 AM

Magnus
Passion
Order
Triumph
Embrace
Strife
Change
Water

Aldurin · 12-16-2011, 02:23 AM

Nergil
Hatred
Hope
Might
Lust
Strife
Law
Fire

**Satan's Onion** · 12-16-2011, 03:55 AM

Hey, is the default character we're deciding on here always a dude? 'Cos I remember the SNES iteration of this game let you choose the sex of your main character. (And General Romana kicked so much ass, even though Isay so myself. So. Much. Ass.) Aaaanyway!

Cosimo
passion
greed
trust
freedom
reform
rule
Wind

DarkDrgon · 12-17-2011, 12:47 AM

I was going to do the SNES one in my LP series (games I loved as a kid, but never beat, fwiw), but i'll skip that now

Magnus
Control
Triumph
freedom
reform
ideal
Wind

Gregness · 12-17-2011, 01:08 AM

Unfortunately, changing the protagonists gender isn't one of the options you're given. I would assume it has something to do with space concerns on the N64 cartridges since that would double the number of sprites you'd need for the main characters (and each character uses a lot of sprites in this game).

Anyway, keep the votes and participation coming everyone! I'll be doing this LP regardless, but it'll be more interesting for all involved I think if we get a big crew of participants. The first set of votes will be open 'till Monday night since I'll be out of town over the weekend and I've got a final exam Monday afternoon.

Here's the prologue to keep you all sated 'till then and to get some relevant backstory out of the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The music for this section.

Backstory!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So. Much. Image cropping.

**Satan's Onion** · 12-17-2011, 03:55 AM

'S okay. I figured it'd be something like that. Still sounds pretty cool. (Still hope for a character, too. This army can't be a total sausage-fest :P .)

Gregness · 12-20-2011, 12:55 AM

Okay, totally overestimated the amount of time I'd have to work on this this week between my finals. My last test is on Wednesday, so update Wednesday night! The deadline for votes will be 3:00pm PST on Wednesday, and the update will be some time that night!

EDIT: Well, I got about halfway through writing the update, but I've gotta get ready to catch a bus to go home for the holidays. Unfortunately, that means this likely won't kick off 'till after the new year.

Magus · 12-30-2011, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satan's Onion

'S okay. I figured it'd be something like that. Still sounds pretty cool. (Still hope for a character, too. This army can't be a total sausage-fest :P .)

One of Magnus' top generals is a woman. There are various other female characters, too.

Also this game has a bit of a twist on the original Ogre Battle's protagonist: both the male and female version are present as separate recruitable characters with distinct personalities, from neighboring Zenobia, if you're good enough at the game, although even if you don't get them in your party they play a decently large part in the plot regardless. Basically the plot of March of the Black Queen was retconned slightly in that both Destin and Europea played a major role in saving Zenobia, although Destin is where the plotline from the end of that game picks up, with Europea showing up later as having a more "mysterious" past of what it was she did in the rebellion. The two characters' full names form a bit of a pun--Destin Faroda's first name and Europea Rheda's last name combine to form "Destin Rheda", or, Destined Leader. This was a bit lost on people since Europea's last name was probably supposed to be spelled "Leada" but hey, still one of the best translations in the history of Japanese RPGs.

Ogre Battle 64 is one of my favorite games. Too bad they forgot to put the Chaos Frame on the screen, but hopefully we can take it into account as we all make our decisions, since it affects whether you get most of the extra characters.

Sovereign · 12-30-2011, 01:17 AM

Do you have any idea what type of Chaos Frame you'll aim for on this playthrough?

12-15-2011, 11:59 PM	#1
Gregness Never give up. Never give in. Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,034	Let's Play: Ogre Battle 64! It's been far too long since we've had a proper Let's Play going on here if I do say so myself, so what better than an RPG that most people haven't played! Here, have some music. Ogre Battle 64 is a real-time strategy RPG. What that means in a nutshell is that rather than controlling the minutiae of one party of characters, we control many different groups but fighting itself is mostly AI controlled. This means that your formation is key. Here's a sample group from my own runthrough: In the upper right you can see my group's formation, in the lower left is the enemy's. Each character has its attacks determined by its class and its position in the formation. Fighter classes have their best attacks in the front row, support classes have their best attacks in the back row, etc. You can be flanked, and attacked from the rear depending on various shenanigans the enemy might pull so even a strong formation can be caught at a disadvantage since your characters would have to use their weaker attacks. So, the key is to have your units in the right place at the right time on the area map (below). Strategy. I can get into the nitty gritty combat mechanics later as it becomes relevant, but that should be enough to get us started. This will be a screenshot LP. Participation will have a few different forms. First, since we can have upwards of 50 different characters, most of whom can be renamed, I'll be taking requests for draftees to participate directly in the playthrough. I'll let you pick which classes and progressions you want to follow, and I'll cheat a bit to help if I can. That has limits though, If you want to be a paladin and your character's alignment isn't correct, I'll change it for you. If you've been a warrior your entire career and you want me to change you into an archmage, I'll probably tell you to get bent. As a corollory to this, if your character ends up in charge of a unit I'll let you decide the formation if you like. Or, I can just do it for you, whichever. Second, if you don't want to bother getting drafted, I'll be taking votes in the thread regarding story decisions (though I may omit some of the smaller ones). Speaking of decisions, here's the first set of 'em! First, we need a name. The default name is Magnus, but that can change. The surname is Gallant and it's not changeable. Next, a few personality type questions. These will determine which units we start with so they're not just superficial. Swapped for space. As I was preparing this post, I found out that apparantly this has recently been re-released on the wii's virtual console so you can check it out yourself if this piques your interest. Now, LET'S PLAY! __________________ A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert Heinlein Last edited by Gregness; 12-31-2011 at 03:52 AM.

12-16-2011, 01:57 AM	#2
IHateMakingNames Awwwwh Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 12,119	Magnus Passion Order Triumph Embrace Strife Change Water __________________ "If I'm reincarnated, I want to be Musashi again!" - Musashi, Brave Fencer Musashi

12-16-2011, 03:55 AM	#4
Satan's Onion Swing You Sinners! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: 4th Street Posts: 2,666	Hey, is the default character we're deciding on here always a dude? 'Cos I remember the SNES iteration of this game let you choose the sex of your main character. (And General Romana kicked so much ass, even though Isay so myself. So. Much. Ass.) Aaaanyway! Cosimo passion greed trust freedom reform rule Wind __________________ Good evening, ladies. Please enter and be tained .

12-17-2011, 12:47 AM	#5
DarkDrgon Always Trick Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 978	I was going to do the SNES one in my LP series (games I loved as a kid, but never beat, fwiw), but i'll skip that now Magnus Control Triumph freedom reform ideal Wind __________________ [color=red] Kneel before the Lord Drgon, or you will be knelt.

12-17-2011, 01:08 AM	#6
Gregness Never give up. Never give in. Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,034	TLDR: The Lodis Empire're a bunch of dicks. Unfortunately, changing the protagonists gender isn't one of the options you're given. I would assume it has something to do with space concerns on the N64 cartridges since that would double the number of sprites you'd need for the main characters (and each character uses a lot of sprites in this game). Anyway, keep the votes and participation coming everyone! I'll be doing this LP regardless, but it'll be more interesting for all involved I think if we get a big crew of participants. The first set of votes will be open 'till Monday night since I'll be out of town over the weekend and I've got a final exam Monday afternoon. Here's the prologue to keep you all sated 'till then and to get some relevant backstory out of the way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The music for this section. Backstory! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So. Much. Image cropping. __________________ A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert Heinlein

12-16-2011, 02:23 AM	#3
Aldurin Lakitu Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 4,648	Nergil Hatred Hope Might Lust Strife Law Fire

12-17-2011, 03:55 AM	#7
Satan's Onion Swing You Sinners! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: 4th Street Posts: 2,666	'S okay. I figured it'd be something like that. Still sounds pretty cool. (Still hope for a character, too. This army can't be a total sausage-fest :P .) __________________ Good evening, ladies. Please enter and be tained .

12-20-2011, 12:55 AM	#8
Gregness Never give up. Never give in. Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,034	Okay, totally overestimated the amount of time I'd have to work on this this week between my finals. My last test is on Wednesday, so update Wednesday night! The deadline for votes will be 3:00pm PST on Wednesday, and the update will be some time that night! EDIT: Well, I got about halfway through writing the update, but I've gotta get ready to catch a bus to go home for the holidays. Unfortunately, that means this likely won't kick off 'till after the new year. __________________ A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert Heinlein Last edited by Gregness; 12-22-2011 at 03:37 PM.

12-30-2011, 01:17 AM	#10
Sovereign Goomba Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 5	Do you have any idea what type of Chaos Frame you'll aim for on this playthrough?