YGGDRA UNION: WE'LL NEVER FIGHT ALONE

"'Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone"' is a tactical role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Sting and published in North America by Atlus USA. The game has a similar flair to another Sting-developed RPG, .^[1][2]
The game is a Tactical RPG in the vein of the Fire Emblem games, with an overhead view of a 2D map, managing miniature versions of the units. However, the map view is one of the few similarities. A card system dictating unit movement and potential skills plays into both enemy and ally turns, as well as the "Union" formation system, in which massive battles can take place between several platoons. There are also some real time elements included during actual battle sequences, such as being able to control how units attack the enemy.

Contents

Gameplay

Union

Cards

Plot and Setting

Story

Characters

Riviera

Audio

Development

Localization

Censorship

Bugs and Errors

Reception

Merchandise

See also

External links

References

Gameplay

The game follows a linear progression of battles in which, when one is cleared, the next begins. Within each battle, units are displayed on a grid of spaces. These spaces, as in a Tactical RPG, decide where the characters can move. Also typical in a Tactical RPG, the player and the computer take turns and, in each turn, movements are determined and one attack can be executed against an opposing side. The player may choose to end his/her turn at any time.

Union

Unions are the eponymous game play mechanic. Unlike most games, the player is allowed one attack per turn. Attacks are performed in formations called unions. Most unions involve multiple units, but it is possible to attack with a "union" of one unit. Forming unions allows more than one unit to join the battle, allowing for battles between as many as fifty soldiers, grouped into individual battles of up to five members named ''clashes''. Depending on the gender of the unit, the formation required for a union will be different. Males have an x-shaped formation, whereas females have a +-shaped formation. Linked unions become available during the fifteenth battlefield. Linked unions allow units within the core union to apply their union pattern to extend the overall union.
;Units
Each unit appearing on the map, that can be included in a Union is comprised of a leader, the ''head'', and as much as five underlings, or ''members''. The head of a unit is that which is named; in the case of Yggdra's unit, Yggdra would be the head. Each unit comes with six stats: Morale, an indicator with a function similar to [Hit points]; GEN, generalcy; ATK, attack; TEC, technique; and LUK, luck. The final stat depends on alignment of the unit. Player units have REP, reputation, measuring victory rates, and enemy units have POW.UP, which is a reducible stat that goes towards card POW upon player victory. Each unit also has the potential for five ''effects'', which are strategy altering hooks that do many things, from the in-clash voiding of damage enhanced with a particular element, to out of clash Morale restoration. Up to four effects can be innate to the unit's class, with one effect coming from the unit's equipped item. Items are multi purpose in Yggdra Union. They can be equipped for stat ups and effects, or they can be used to recover Morale. If used for Morale recovery, the item is gone forever following the usage. Equipped items cannot be removed, and have a set amount of battlefields for which they will last.
;Aggression and Rage
When in a clash, provided the first battlefield as been cleared, the player may control how the character attacks using the Aggression modes, and the enemy's mode of attack will shift with the gradually increasing Rage meter - a holdover from Riviera. If the player presses left on the directional pad, the player will enter Passive mode, in which Aggression will start to fill, but the damage the player deals will be reduced. If right is held, provided there is Aggression in the gauge, said Aggression will deplete as the player unit enters Aggressive mode, dealing more damage, but also activating the innate element of the unit, if one exists. If Aggression reaches 100%, a card skill can be activated. The enemy's Rage works in a similar way, except that Rage continues to fill until either Max is reached, or is stopped by a skill or effect. When Rage is more than half full, yet not entirely filled, the enemy will enter Rage mode and the damage the enemy deals will increase, but the enemy's innate element, if it has one, will activate. When Rage is completely full, the enemy enters Max mode, and damage increases again, and any activated element is removed from damage. In Max mode, the enemy is also able to activate skills. Rage and Aggression will carry over between clashes in a union based on the outcome of the union. If the enemy loses, all accumulated Rage will carry over, but if the enemy wins it will start empty in the next clash. Player Aggression carries over regardless.

Cards

At the beginning of each turn, a card must be chosen. Unlike many card games, a card is not drawn randomly from a deck, but rather picked from a hand of anywhere from one to thirty cards selected before the battle begins. Each card has three attributes: POW, the card's overall power rating, ACE, the weapon type the leader of the Union must use for the skill to be available, and MOV, how much movement can be used in a turn.
MOV is the total movement for all characters, when a card with five MOV is picked, five characters can each move a single space, one character can move five spaces, or any sort of combination like that.
POW factors into just how much damage the loser of a clash takes. The higher the power, the more damage the enemy will take.
ACE is what weapon type the Union leader must use to allow the skill held by the card to be usable. If the ACE is sword, a sword user must start the Union, if it is All, then anyone can start the union.

;Skills
Each card also has a skill, the skills ranging in effect from restoring allies and killing enemies, to changing the landscape and even invincibility. For these skills to be activated, the Union leader must first match the ACE of the card. In addition, there are two types of skills: A and B. B-type skills require the B button be held to charge a bar, at which point, if released, the skill will activate and deplete the Aggression gauge. A-type skills are activated by pressing A, and holding it for as long as the skill's effects are desired, or until the Aggression gauge is completely depleted.
Skills also have certain requirements of their own, however, such as Steal - which steals any item the enemy might be holding - being usable only by Milanor, Necro Gate - which summons a Skeleton ally to the field - being usable only at Night, and only by the Necromancer class.
When 100% Aggression or Max Rage mode is reached, a skill can be activated, at which point an animation will play out, and the skill's mechanic will be applied. Assuming that it can. Each skill has a rule or equation for its mechanic, such as Steal; if the user's TEC is larger than or equal to target's GEN, it will succeed, otherwise it will fail and the opponent's item will not be stolen. These rules and equations can apply to whether a skill amounts to a bunch of pretty colours or a devastating attack, or how effective the skill is.

Plot and Setting

Story

The story of Yggdra Union starts just following Gulcasa's coup d`etat of the Bronquian empire and his subsequent invasion of all neighboring countries, in particular, the capital of Fantasinia, Paltina. Everyone in the castle is slaughtered save for the princess, managing to escape with her life and the family heirloom sword, the Gran Centurio. She's pursued in her escape, however, by a Valkyrie of the empire. The Princess, Yggdra, hides in a thief's den in Norn Valley. Her pursuers burn it down in their attempt to find her, but just as Yggdra is about to be forced out of hiding, the owners of the thief den appear. Milanor, the Thief King, is indignant about the arson, and immediately attacks the valkyrie's unit, fighting them off. Following the fight, Milanor calls out Yggdra, and she explains her situation. He doesn't really care until she offers him some enticement^[3] for his assistance.
Yggdra explains to Milanor that they need to go rescue the Third Cavalry, the unit allowing Yggdra to escape. However, when they reach the Third Cavalry, only the Knight Durant remains. Milanor and Yggdra rescue Durant, who is not too pleased that Yggdra is being assisted by a thief, but they fight off the Imperial force, and, calling themselves the Royal Army, decide to move on to the Queendom of Embellia to plead assistance in the retaking of Paltina.
Upon reaching Embellia, the group finds a startling scene: Undines attacking a Human town. They immediately defend the town against the Undine unit, led by Ishiene, and proceed to the capital, only to find another Human town under attack, this time by a group of Undines and Ortega's bandits taking advantage of the chaos. Yggdra and her group save the town, in which they find an old man that explains the situation to them, and a young Undine named Nietzsche who wishes to help them. The Undines are attacking the Humans after being told their blood contains the secret to immortality.^[4] The female-only race of Undines do not breed, but use a stone, the Transmigragem, to reincarnate themselves. However, the young Undine's sister was tricked by a man into giving him the Transmigragem. He disappeared after, and, knowing the fate she has brought her people, she kills herself. Knowing this, they set out for Elise, the capital of Embellia, to speak with the queen, however, they are stalled, as the Undine Ishiene makes her last stand to defend her queen. Following the fight, a bounty hunter named Mizer attacks the army, attempting to claim the large bounty on Yggdra's head, but the the Royal Army fights him back. When they finally reach Queen Emelone, she reveals that she will not stop the fighting, because it is what her people desire. Yggdra, Milanor, Durant and Nietzsche are forced to kill her, effectively ending the Queendom of Embellia. The group then proceeds towards the Lenessey mountains, to launch a sneak attack on the Paltina the mountains overlook.
On their way, however, they pass through Verlaine, and find the Black Rose, Roswell of the house of Branthese, under attack by the White Rose, Rosary of the house of Esmeralda. The Royal Army fights back the White Rose, the Russell-led Imperial force that comes to her assistance and the returning bounty hunter, Mizer, after Roswell unleashes the power of the Ankh, the powerful magical relic and the current cause of strife in the region. Two Ankhs were left in Verlaine, one with each house, by a wandering magician.^[5] The former friends, Rosary and Roswell, have begun to launch attacks against each other in attempt to control both Ankhs. Entering the White Rose Domain, the Royal Army speaks with Rosary about the situation, at which time Roswell attacks, with the assistance of an Imperial Force led by Leon. The Royal Army, again, steps in and stops the battle, but realizes that it's eventually going to escalate into a full war, especially with the Empire's confusing involvement. After stopping Ortega's assault on a Verlaine town, him again taking advantage of the chaos of civil war, the Royal Army decides they will have to stop the war by defeating one of the sides. At this point, the player has an effect on the story, choosing to either kill Rosary or Roswell, following which the Empire will attack, stealing both Ankhs and attempting to finish the surviving side. Once saved, the survivor joins the Royal Army to reclaim the Ankhs from the Empire. After the events in Verlaine, the Royal Army proceeds into the Lenessey mountains, where they encounter and finish Ortega's bandits, and then descend towards Paltina.
Just outside Paltina, they are greeted Eudy, the Empire's resident Witch and mad scientist, Inzaghi, a hired mercenary, and Aegina, the Valkyrie general that burned down Milanor's home. The Royal Army fights them back, except for Eudy who escapes to North Paltina, where she readies her cannon for their arrival. In North Paltina, they first encounter and fight back Emilia, one of the five Dragon Generals and then, with Kylier's help, Eudy, and, with Kylier manning the cannon, they take on Leon, another of the five Dragon Generals. The group then moves onto South Paltina where they encounter a third Dragon General, Baldus, and the Imperial Special Forces made up of Elena and Zilva attempt to take back the cannon from Kylier. Following these skirmishes, Gulcasa, the Emperor himself, enters with Aegina, and they attack the Royal Army, but are not victorious. Having forced the Empire out of Paltina, the Royal Army and the citizens celebrate, until they notice the missing Princess and discover she's chased after the retreating Gulcasa, seeking revenge for her slaughtered parents. Gulcasa retreats across Machina Bridge towards Karona, weakly fending off Yggdra's assault. Once Yggdra crosses the bridge, Aegina reappears, and the bridge is destroyed, trapping Yggdra between Aegina, her squad of Valkyries, and Gulcasa. Yggdra is soon taken captive as Milanor and company watch, unable to help due to the destroyed bridge when another Dragon General, Nessiah, shows up to their rear. Nessiah and his group attack the Royal Army until Gulcasa has escaped, at which point Nessiah obliterates his own unit. Then, after warning Milanor to Gulcasa's intentions, Nessiah commits suicide, stabbing himself with a knife.
Following the events, Milanor sets out towards Karona with the Royal Army to find Yggdra. Entering Castle Karona, they head for The Tower where prisoners are held, hoping to find Yggdra there. Instead, they find a woman named Flone currently being guarded by Aegina. Freeing her, the Royal Army learns that Russell, one of the five Dragon Generals, only serves the Empire due to her, his fiancée's captivity. Fighting in defense of Karona, Russell proved himself a great soldier, and Gulcasa took Flone hostage for his service as a general. With Flone free, Russell betrays the empire, killing the soldiers, and allowing the Royal Army entrance, as well as his services. Within, they find Aegina, Eudy manning another cannon, and Gulcasa. However, after defeating Gulcasa, they remove his helmet and find him to be a fake, a decoy left to trick the army. But they also find a clue, and proceed through Marduk Forest towards Lost Aries. In Marduk Forest, however, they encounter Mizer again, this time going for the new top enemy of the Empire, Cruz, the leader of the Karona Resistance Front. They rescue Cruz, who, having no more allies, decides to join them.
Reaching Lost Aries, the Royal Army is ambushed by Leon, Emilia, and the Special Forces, but things take a radical turn when Elena fires an arrow directly at Leon. Leon orders Zilva to take care of her, and retreats with Emilia. The Royal Army, thinking an enemy of their enemy is a friend of them, saves Elena, with Kylier again popping in to help. Elena explains the Leon is her brother, or was, as the man they know as Leon isn't the same she remembers, that the marauding Black Knight, who will kill friend or foe, is not the kind brother she once knew. She heads in the direction Leon fled, and the Royal Army follows her, saving her when she is assaulted by Emilia, and assisting her in putting down her brother. Elena says that she will catch up and help the Royal Army after she buries her brother, so they continue their search, until Milanor encounters Nessiah, at which point Nessiah tells him to hurry, since Yggdra does not have much time left. They find Yggdra, tied to a cross in the Execution Site, and quickly remove her, relieved that she is still alive, they begin to leave when Gulcasa, who was using her for the "Awakening Ceremony" attacks. The Royal Army tries to escape, not being in the state to fight, when Aegina appears, blocking their route. All seems lost, until Elena appears, sniping, shooting Aegina in the eye. Aegina's unit retreats to help their commander, and the Royal Army is granted a passage to escape the advancing Gulcasa, returning to Paltina.
Once at Paltina, Yggdra is told that she must be go to Welheim, to undergo the coronation ceremony in order to become Queen. In Nyllard desert, the group notices the presence of the Empire, as well as the missing Temple Knights, and plundering Bandits. Playing the police role themselves, they quash the bandits, and find that the Temple Knights have been called back to deal with an uprising of the Meria sect of the Church, and internal struggle in which the Pope's life is being threatened. Discovering a Temple Knight under attack by the Imperial Special Forces, the Royal Army saves him, only to find that the Pope is in a nearby church, currently being investigated by Emilia. After saving Pope Joachim from Emilia, the Pope explains that they must go to Meria Church for the coronation, a church currently controlled by the Meria sect. The Royal Army proceeds, encountering Juvelon and Mardym of the Meria Sect, the ones starting the Empire-sponsored coup of the Church. Mardym, not even a believer in gods is first to be dispatched, leaving his puppet, Juvelon, essentially for the slaughter. Yggdra and the Pope enter Meria Church just as Gulcasa and a seemingly magically well Aegina appear to stop them. The Royal Army the defends Yggdra and the Pope as they pass through to the Holy Land, at which point Gulcasa begins to feel the effects of the Awakening Ceremony, and is forced to retreat with the assistance of Emilia. Aegina, however, enters the Holy Land to pursue Yggdra and the Pope.
Within the Holy Land, Yggdra encounters the spirit of the mage she cut down back in Verlaine, but defeats it, realizing that it is not the same person. Following, Yggdra undergoes the coronation at Nacht Altar, obtaining the Miracle Tiara, at which point Aegina finally catches up and kills Pope Joachim while attempting to kill Yggdra. Cursing her lateness, Aegina attacks a bewildered Yggdra. Yggdra asks how Aegina could enter the Holy Land, since only the Pope and the Royal family are able to enter,^[6] but fights her back. Aegina leaves, claiming her unwillingness to accept Yggdra as the queen. Joachim, having yet to expire, explains the Yggdra that she must get to Bronquia, for Gulcasa is trying to reawaken Brongaa, the dragon of Purgatory. She agrees, and leaves him to rest in peace in the Holy Land.
Now the Queen, Yggdra takes the Royal Army directly to Bronquia, but a block set up by Eudy and Baldus requires Milanor and Elena to flood the region if they wish to gain entrance into Bronquia. On their way to the flood gate, the Special Forces appear, and Elena is forced to kill her mentor, Zilva. Forced to the gate of Bronquia, Eudy and Emilia ready for battle, when Baldus opens the gate and tells them to go, that he will hold the Royal Army off, and defend his homeland. The Royal Army defeats and kills Baldus, and enters Bronquia, where they are attacks by civilian militia groups too weak to be a threat, but unwilling to lay down their weapons. The Royal Army is forced to slaughter the civilians. Kylier is not supportive of this method, and, citing her homeland's past, leaves the group. They continue, finding themselves in Drominos Marsh, where Emilia attempts to stop them permanently, only to be defeated and killed in the bog. The Royal Army finally reaches the capital of Bronquia, Flarewerk, but is unable to pass through the gate, and are attacked viciously by Eudy, controlling both the Ankhs. Being ruthlessly slaughtered by the power of the Ankhs, they fear futility, until Kylier reappears, only to commit suicide by charging the Ankhs, blowing up herself, Eudy, and the gate.
The Royal Army enters Flarewerk, only to find two Aeginas. It is revealed that Aegina has a twin sister named Luciana, that the two have been alternating attacks on the Royal Army, and that is why the Aegina that appeared in Welheim seemed unaffected by any arrows from Lost Aries. The true Aegina is in bandages, missing an eye, whereas Luciana, the one to enter the Holy Land, is unharmed. Both end up dying in defense of Flarewerk, their royal lineage finally revealed . The last of the Empire standing, Gulcasa ignites, the blood of Brongaa possessing him. He makes a run for the Abyss, to awaken Brongaa and destroy the world.^[7] Yggdra and company stop him, however, ending the threat of Brongaa's return, and defeating the Empire once and for all.
But before celebrating, the Royal Army notices a continent that wasn't there only moments before and decide to investigate. They find Nessiah, and the continent, Ancardia, begins to rise further, up out of the water and into the sky. Nessiah congratulates Yggdra on her victory, but says he cannot stay because he has an island to steer. He dismisses himself, leaving a familiar face behind to occupy the Royal Army for a short: a Kylier resurrected and reassembled. Kylier attacks the Royal Army, under Nessiah's control, and they are forced to rekill their former friend. Before dying, Kylier tells Yggdra what Nessiah truly is: a fallen angel. Nessiah was cast from Asgard and is trying to start a war against the Gods that banished him. With Kylier put to rest, the Royal Army advances on Nessiah, at which point he explains that the Holy Sword, the Gran Centurio is his invention. He created it to kill the Gods, that it gets stronger with each life taken, that he has been the conductor of all recent wars in order to strengthen the sword, and, now that it is strong enough, he would like it back. Yggdra refuses, and she, with the help of her friends, kills Nessiah. The continent continues rising, entering Heaven's Gate, where the Archangel Marietta waits. She warns the Royal Army that any advance will be considered an act of war against Asgard, and, seeing the Gran Centurio, tells Yggdra to get rid of it. If Yggdra does not seal the Holy Sword, the Ragnarok could be incited, but if she does, then she will return to the human world without the item cementing the just power of the Royal line for centuries.^[8] This is the final time the player has a chance to affect the story, and can either choose to make the Royal Army initiate the Ragnarok, or to seal the Holy Sword.

Characters

Yggdra Union features a large cast of characters, the most important of which, while not the main character, is the seventeen-year-old^[9] princess, Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz^[10], whose plight is the center of the story. The main character of the story is Milanor, the seventeen-year-old⁹ thief king; The Silver Wolf, whose home was burned down by the Empire in an attempt to find Yggdra. These two start and lead the Royal Army to take back the Kingdom from the Empire. One ally they recruit is Durant, the twenty-four-year-old⁹ leader of the Third Cavalry^[11], a knight of Paltina. Nietzsche, the twelve-year-old⁹, very naive Undine from Embellia joins the Royal Army to gain revenge on the Empire for their espionage in her country, as well as to search for the Transmigragem. Twenty-one-year-old⁹ Necromancer Roswell of the Branthese house and nineteen-year-old⁹ Witch Rosary of the Esmeralda house, one of which will join the Royal Army for revenge on the Empire's involvement and betrayal in Verlaine and in order to recover the Ankhs, the other of which will die at the hands of the Royal Army. Kylier is a seventeen-year-old⁹ Griffon Rider from Lost Aries, with an affection for Milanor, who never really joins the Royal Army, but assists them when they need help most. She rides her Griffon Al into battle. The Astral Fencer, the twenty-five-year-old⁹ Russell betrays the Empire and joins the Royal Army for revenge for his fiancée, and to repay the Royal Army for his actions against them. Cruz is a twenty-two-year-old⁹ hunter and leader of the Karona Resistance against the Empire until his headquarters is tracked down and attacked by Mizer. Elena is the sixteen-year-old⁹ Assassin that joined the Empire for a chance to stop her brother, Leon, to restore honor to her family¹¹ and when her betrayal becomes clear, and the Royal Army aids her, she joins to repay her debt to them. Gordon, of the Temple Knights of Welheim is another ally to the Royal Army, albeit only for a short time. He joins when the Royal Army offers assistance in saving the Pope.
The Empire contains many characters, too, starting with the twenty-year-old⁹ Bronquian Emperor, Gulcasa. A descendent of Brongaa, and seeker of his resurrection, Gulcasa took the Empire in a violent coup d'etat, and immediately began conquering neighboring countries. Despite his violence, he has full support of the Bronquian people. His direct subordinates, the Twin Valkyries Aegina Eine Artwalts and Luciana Rune Artwaltz, apparently of Royal lineage, make constant attempts on the Royal Army, Yggdra in particular. Leon is the first introduced of the five Dragon Generals, brother to Elena, he is called the Black Knight for his excessively wanton violence and cruelty. Emilia, a Dragon General titled the Scarlet Princess, is half-sister to Gulcasa^[12] through a shared father¹¹. She abhors being labeled a child, and will do anything to defend Bronquia. Baldus, the Dragon General known as the God of War, is an older, wiser, yet extremely powerful warrior of Ishnad. The last of the Dragon Generals is Nessiah, the Imperial Army's war strategist, truthfully a Fallen Angel igniting wars in order to enrich the Gran Centurio with which to take revenge on the Gods. Eudy, the Court Magician, is another high ranking general in the Imperial army, and the cause of many cannon woes¹¹.

Riviera

Sting's previous game to reach American shores, and the one which brought Sting's name to the attention of many American gamers, Riviera: The Promised Land's name was attached to any news pertaining to Yggdra Union¹² even before Sting officially announced the game^[13][14][15], and Riviera art was even used in early designs of the game.^[16] As such, many people theorized that Yggdra Union would be canonically related to Riviera, however, the relationship seems to be merely shared lore,^[17] in the same manner as the Final Fantasy series of games.
Yggdra Union did have an effect on the following PlayStation Portable remake of Riviera. Artist Sunaho Tobe is quoted as saying that in the CG image for the Archangel, she drew inspiration from the designs of Yggdra Union.^[18] The localization of the PSP remake was also affected by Yggdra Union, with many names being retranslated to maintain consistency with Yggdra Union's translation.

Audio

Yggdra Union has an extensive soundtrack, totaling nearly sixty tracks^[19] co-composed by Shigeki Hayashi and Minako Adachi. This near-half division of effort left Shigeki Hayashi mostly with character themes and promotional music, and Minako Adachi with the story, map and menu music. The soundtrack is an entirely original composition, except for the song , which is explained to be a bell-heavy arrangement of the song .^[20] Aside from the music, the audio of Yggdra Union is fairly standard, with sound effects in battle and beeping for text of a pitch based on the character speaking. There is no voice acting, but, despite that fact, one of the many fan demands is a Drama CD.^[21]
A third of Yggdra Union's soundtrack is dominated by Shigeki Hayashi-composed character themes,¹⁹ which are important in the presentation of the battles. When a clash starts, the attacker's theme song is the background music used for the entirety of the clash, and, when a player-controlled character is the attacker, the pacing of the music is dictated by the mode; in Aggressive, the music will speed up, in Passive the music will slow down, and when Neutral the music will play normally.
The only official compilation of the Yggdra Union soundtrack is the ''Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus'', released a month after the game's Japanese release. The collection is made up of two discs, the ''original BGM'' containing songs directly from the GBA, and the ''image BGM'' containing instrumented versions of the songs. The compilation also contains six bonus songs, one being a collage of the battle themes and appearing at the end of the ''original BGM'', and the other five being arrangements of various tracks, placed at the end of the ''image BGM''.¹⁹ In the soundtrack insert is a large amount of artwork, as well as notes from Shinichi Ito, Minako Adachi and Shigeki Hayashi on the soundtrack itself, and notes on each song's instrumentation, design and implementation.²⁰

Development

Yggdra Union had a small development team, consisting of less than 25 members.^[22] Shinichi Ito, director and designer of Riviera, played the same developmental role in Yggdra Union. Also reprising their roles are composers and sound designers Minako Adachi and Shigeki Hayashi. Masanori Ishikawa, one of Riviera's programmers, returned to be one of the two Yggdra Union programmers. Riviera's character designer, Sunaho Tobe, managed the card illustrations.¹²² Sting also contracted Atlus USA to write English text for the Japanese version's script.^[23]
Not much is known about the development process of Yggdra Union. The game started development in early 2005 under the project name "YGG",^[24] with the official unveiling to the public being in October 2005 through Famitsu and Sting's official site.¹³ The game changed quite a bit throughout its development. In early designs, the GEN stat did not exist, characters instead being assigned LDS and INT stats, as well as a "FREEZE" status effect that did not make it into the final version.¹⁶ Also in these early designs, the character art was incomplete, leading the designers to resort to the recycling of Riviera resources during development.¹⁶ In the first released screenshots, it can be seen that Aggression functioned in reverse, the directional buttons coinciding more literally with the change in Aggression produced by their manipulation, rather than symbolically. The cards were initially shown to have a great deal more MOV, along with the much larger maps.¹³
There was a small bit of noted controversy in Yggdra Union's development. One such situation was a worry that they would not be able to fit all of the data onto the cartridge, but Sting okayed the release of the game on a larger cartridge, alleviating any space problems.^[25] The largest problem, however, was character design. Many different character designs were produced, but the creators of the game had difficulty settling or agreeing,^[26] likely being the cause of the palette swap applied to Yggdra's sprites between the initial screenshots¹³ and final release.

Localization

Following the surprising success of Riviera: The Promised Land,^23[27]1 Atlus USA was quick to take the opportunity to localize Yggdra Union and end "on a high" on the GBA with Yggdra Union.^23[28][29] This decision caused the release to be pushed back as Atlus USA announced more GBA games such as the and games. This also led to the game being missed by many, having only ten recorded reviews on GameRankings.^[30]
Yggdra Union was a particularly difficult game to localize due to the stylistic presentation. Characters have effects, innate abilities attached to them. These effects are formatted in such a way that in the Japanese version of the game, there was only room for 7 characters of a 10-pixel-tall font. Nich Maragos, lead editor in the localization effort, notes such difficulties as the extreme text constraints, as well as Atlus USA's busy release lineup leaving Yggdra Union short on staff.^[31]
Nintendo's "Health and Safety" warning screen was added to the boot process of Yggdra Union in localization.

Censorship

When Atlus released the English version of Yggdra Union, players of the Japanese version were shocked to find the expected bath scene to be far more explicit than the Japanese counterpart. Not only was a key piece of foliage blocking the scene removed and the lighting softened, but two dialogue faces were replaced (in the Extra Contents section, there are two slots for said faces, that must be unlocked through the scene, but no actual artwork can be seen).
Nich Maragos has gone on record explaining that he had "softened" a character's line in one of the tutorials during editing due to it being out-of-character and therefore potentially damaging to the audience's perception of said character. He explains the reasoning for this is that it is his job to "remain faithful to the spirit of the game, not the letter, and the most important thing is to make sure everyone in the game sounds natural."³¹

Bugs and Errors

A notable amount of replicable glitches have been discovered within Yggdra Union.^[32] Though few glitches have been found to be harmful, some glitches even allowing the player to perform otherwise impossible tasks, and gain copious amounts of EXP and POW, Atlus still attempted to fix the problems during localization. However, some glitches were worsened, and yet others were newly introduced in the localization process.
A minor complaint about the localization is the editing. Various typos and grammatical errors can be found in the script. Examples range from minor spelling errors to completely reversed meanings in event scenes,^[33] battle conditions^[34] and even game mechanics.^[35]
Also during localization, many event banners, which tend to describe story events, had portions of text mysteriously deleted,^[36] which has led to confusion about said events. This decision was made despite the fact that Atlus wrote the English text contained within the Japanese version.²³

Reception

For the most part, reactions to Yggdra Union were positive, with a 79% average score.³⁰ Many reviews had qualms with the game, but they all had different ones. Some complained about the unnecessary strictness in the card usage limitations that "seem like they’re in place to keep you from doing cool things rather than facilitate them"^[37] and that a certain few cards "were applicable in many situations, giving the most flexibility."^[38] Some were upset by the music; they believed the music was "the one thing which truly drags upon the game",^[39] and still others were displeased with the union system and the stylistic presentation of the game.^[40] The odd name and pronunciation of "Yggdra" is oft-noted.²⁸⁴⁰
In Japan, the game tied in fortieth place in Famitsu's Reader's Top 100 Games of 2006^[41] and received a 35/40 from Famitsu,^[42] yet only sold 33,573 copies.^[43] The game was also unable to break the top ten, debuting in thirteenth place.^[44] Despite this, when Yggdra Union was released in Japan, GBA sales saw a noticeable spike, a potential correlation noted by GamesAreFun.^[45]

Merchandise

Very little merchandise for Yggdra Union has been released, in contrast to the large quantities for Riviera. This is despite the fact that Sting has posted a survey asking what types of merchandise fans would like, as well as the varied results collected.²¹ The ''Perfect Audio Collection Plus'' was in the works before the survey was ever released, however, because Sting was certain that an official soundtrack would be a popular request.²⁰

★ 'Character Making Card': A card featuring concept art and information on Yggdra. Packaged in the limited pre-order box.^[46]

★ 'Yggdra Full Metal Strap': A metal keychain with Yggdra's likeness carved out and "We'll never fight alone" engraved. Packaged in the limited pre-order box.⁴⁶

★ 'Yggdra Union Poster': A B1-sized promotional poster. Only ten were made and they were given away in a drawing held by Sting.^[47]

★ 'Yggdra Union Official Guide Book': A guide book for the game. Released on April 21st, 2006.^[48]

★ 'Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus': A two-disc soundtrack featuring all of the music from the game. Released on April 21st, 2006.¹⁹
Aside from physical merchandise, Sting has also released a large amount of Yggdra Union download content for their mobile service , such as calendars and wallpapers featuring artwork from the game, ringtones based on soundtrack themes, and even a platformer starring Nietzsche, titled released March 1, 2007.^[49]

See also

★

External links

★ Official Japanese Website

★ Lacrima Castle, an English Yggdra Union fansite

★ Ratings and Review at Game Rankings

References

1.
2. RPGamer's Japandemonium: 11-24-2005. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
3. 'Yggdra:' "...I am Princess Yggdra of Fantasinia. If you aid me, you have my word as royalty." 'Milanor:' "Hmmm... Alright... How 'bout your castle? We need a new base, you see." 'Yggdra:' "Very well."
4. 'Undine:' "That's why we need human blood for an elixir of eternal youth..." 'Yggdra:' "Human blood...?" 'Milanor:' "What a load of bull! What kind of ass told you that one!?" 'Undine:' "A wandering magician... told us... I don't know... who he is..."
5. 'Resident:' "The Ankhs are not originally from this land. A mysterious wandering magician left them here not long ago."
6. 'Yggdra:' "How did you enter the Holy Land!? Only the Pope and those of royal blood can enter...!" 'Aegina:' "Think, princess! I must meet one of those criteria, no?"
7. 'Narration:' "With Yggdra in pursuit, Holy Sword in hand, Gulcasa, the Emperor of Carnage, used the last of his strength to drive his blade into his body and threw himself into the Abyss. Gulcasa's blazing will was released in those eternal depths, and the resulting ripple of chaos shook the dragon from its slumber. It was the second advent of Brongaa, the Dragon of Purgatory. Engulfed in hellfire, human society burned to the ground. An age of darkness governed by absolute power had begun..."
8. 'Narration:' "Since King Paltinaeas's founding of the Kingdom of Fantasinia, the Holy Sword Gran Centurio has lit a path for the kingdom in the name of justice. "
9.
10. 'Extra Contents:' "Fantasinia's Princess. Her full name is Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz."
11. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Character Character Description page. Retrieved June 3, 2007
12. 'Extra Contents:' "Gulcasa's half-sister, known as the Scarlet Princess."
13. GAF News Article announcing Yggdra Union, as well as noting the pre-announcent page attaching Riviera developers to the project. Retrieved on April 30, 2007
14. Atlus USA Forum Thread requesting Atlus USA localize Yggdra Union, at that time known merely as being by the developers of Riviera. Retrieved May 4, 2007
15. JaJa's Development Blog entry announcing a new game from the makers of Riviera. Retrieved May 8, 2007
16. JaJa's Development Blog entry showing a preview design. Retrieved June 4, 2007
17. Lacrima Castle Forum Thread documenting shared names and motifs of Yggdra Union and Riviera: The Promised Land. Retrieved on April 30, 2007
18.
19. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Special Perfect Audio Collection Plus information. Retrieved June 3, 2007
20.
21. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Special Goods Survey Results. Retrieved June 3, 2007
22. 'Extra Contents' - ''Credits''
23. N-Philes Interview with Tomm Hulett of Atlus USA. Retrieved May 4, 2007
24. JaJa's Development Blog 2005/03/28 entry. Retrieved June 24, 2007
25. JaJa's Development Blog 2005/03/08 entry. Retrieved June 24, 2007
26. JaJa's Development Blog March 2005 entries. Retrieved June 24, 2007
27. Gamasutra Interview with Jim Ireton of Atlus USA. Retrieved May 4, 2007
28. Static Multimedia Interview with Zach Meston of Atlus USA. Retrieved on May 4, 2007
29. deeko Interview with Zach Meston of Atlus USA. Retrieved on May 4, 2007
30. Yggdra Union Reviews at GameRankings. Retrieved May 12, 2007
31. 4 color rebellion Interview with Nich Maragos of Atlus USA. Retrieved May 4, 2007
32. Lacrima Castle Forum Thread chronicling the various glitches found, confirmed, and replicated within the game. Retrieved on April 30, 2007
33. BF11B Story Event screen shot. Retrieved on May 4, 2007
34. BF8 Conditions displaying Yggdra's name as "Yggdrar." Retrieved on April 30, 2007
35. Bloody Rapier Item information displaying a misprinted effect, the item actually reduces Morale with each movement. Retrieved on April 30, 2007
36. Lacrima Castle Forum Thread complaining about such errors, with screenshots. Retrieved on April 30, 2007
37. Game Informer Review. Retrieved May 12, 2007
38. GameCritics Review. Retrieved May 12, 2007
39. RPGamer Review. Retrieved May 12, 2007
40. Eurogamer Review. Retrieved May 12, 2007
41. NeoGAF Forum list of Famitsu Reader's Top 100 Games of 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2007
42. GAF News Article of Famitsu reviews for the week of Yggdra Union's release. Retrieved May 21, 2007
43. VGCharts chart of Yggdra Union sales. Retrieved May 21, 2007
44. RPGFan Top Ten Sales. Retrieved July 1, 2007
45. GAF News Article detailing Japanese hardware sales for the week of Yggdra Union's release. Retrieved May 28, 2007
46. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Special Preorder Goods information. Retrieved June 3, 2007
47. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Special Poster information. Retrieved June 3, 2007
48. ユグドラ・ユニオン：Special Guide Book information. Retrieved June 3, 2007
49. スティング☆ステーション：アプリ Sting Station Application page. Retrieved June 3, 2007