History VideoGame / YggdraUnion

''Yggdra Union'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game which is part of Sting Entertainment's ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'' cycle. The Game Boy Advance and PSP UpdatedRerelease were both handled in North America by Creator/{{Atlus}}.

-->''Opening stroll of Yggdra Union''

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->''Even with the Holy Sword, I can’t make anything go right… The Holy Sword… may be a sacred relic, but the fact remains that it is a weapon. For we who are entrusted with it, it becomes our mission to see the justice of the Holy Sword to its end… and we are capable of slaughtering those who do not obey that justice… but the Holy Sword is a weapon. In the end, it is only capable of harming people.''
-->-- '''Princess Yggdra'''

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Adverted ''big time'' with [[VillainProtagonist Yggdra.]]

* AdvertisedExtra: Milanor's Flunky, who has some artworks despite only showing up for a chapter.

* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Gulcasa, Nessiah, and Kylier (both times around).]]

* ItHasBeenAnHonor: [[spoiler:Baldus]]. Also, at the very end of Chapter 8, [[spoiler:the no-longer-possessed Gulcasa, who [[GoOutWithASmile seems remarkably at peace with his defeat]], considering]].

* UselessUsefulSpell: Medusa's Eye. You get no bonus's or experience and the units just get in your way.

* DressingAsTheEnemy

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Gulcasa gives us the antiheroic version of this trope, ''in spades''. His first confrontation with Milanor is nearly CrowningMomentOfAwesome status, and ''definitely'' his CrowningMomentOfFunny.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: In the A ending, the failure of Nessiah's plan means that [[GreaterScopeVillain Hector]] is free to enact his schemes in ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare'' and ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand''.]]

* CassandraTruth: For those who made it to [[MultipleEndings Ending D]], [[spoiler:Nessiah]] would like to inform you that he told you so.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: In a subversion that can be downright heartbreaking, [[spoiler:Nessiah has been trying to do this for ''centuries.'' He never gets one--probably because his methods tend to be less than ethical]].

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Almost every Embellian Undine subscribes to this viewpoint, mainly because some jerk human stole their means of survival. They use this as their justification for attacking completely unrelated humans to try to use their blood for eternal youth potion. [[spoiler:...Which turns out to be exactly how Nessiah, who set up the theft and fed them information about said potion, [[UnwittingPawn was hoping they'd react]].]]
** Also interesting to note is that [[spoiler:for all the manipulating Nessiah did]], none of it actually ''forced'' anyone to do anything evil. The Undines were ''tempted'' to use their loss as justification to vent their FantasticRacism on humans, the FeudingFamilies in Verlaine were ''tempted'' to start a war over shiny toys, and Fantasinia and Bronquia were ''tempted'' to keep fighting, but in the end it was always the rulers' own decisions that led to bloodshed. If they had risen above the ugliness of human and undine nature, assorted probably would have been avoided. (Not to say that tempting them in the first place was a nice thing to do, [[KickTheDog as it wasn't]].)

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Gulcasa is a HeroAntagonist until [[spoiler:he goes and gets possessed]], and by that point there ''is'' no making him unsympathetic. As for [[spoiler:Nessiah]], he's just ''[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds immensely]]'' [[WellIntentionedExtremist screwed]][[AntiVillain -up]]. As ''Yggdra Union'' is intensely anti-war, this is kind of the point.

* JadeColoredGlasses: [[spoiler:Nessiah. [[WordOfGod According to Sting]], he was originally a WideEyedIdealist, but his treatment and ultimate punishment for being a pacifist in a time of war [[BreakTheCutie completely broke him]], turning him into the [[RageAgainstTheHeavens revenge-obsessed]] MagnificentBastard we see in the game.]]

* MeaningfulName: Lost Aries. [[spoiler:It was where Nessiah (then the WideEyedIdealist Aries) was sent down to end the Great Sorcery War by obliterating every living thing there. This seems to have been a major part of his punishment for not fighting in Asgard's wars, and possibly [[BreakTheCutie what broke him for good]].]] So named by the human world because [[spoiler:Aries was supposed to have died there. They were right, just not the way they thought.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: What really puts the [[BittersweetEnding "bittersweet"]] in [[MultipleEndings Ending A]]? [[spoiler:If he'd been able to take his revenge, Nessiah would have killed ''the VideoGame/DeptHeaven series villain, Hector,'' and ended a horribly corrupt heavenly system. This would have ''prevented the tragic scenarios of ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare ''and ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'' from ever happening,'' sparing entire other worlds from their suffering.]] Nice job breaking it, Yggdra.
** Even worse? [[spoiler:WordOfGod declares Nessiah's vendetta to be justified.]] Great work there, Royal Army.

* SpannerInTheWorks: The Royal Army, at the very end of the game. [[spoiler:Though they Gilliganed the wrong person's scheme making them ''Hector's'' [[UnwittingPawn Unwitting Pawns]]...]]

* UnwittingPawn: The Royal Army. [[spoiler:And Nessiah was one too, back in the day. [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds He]] [[UnstoppableRage did]] ''[[RageAgainstTheHeavens not]]'' [[JadeColoredGlasses take]] [[MagnificentBastard it]] [[SanitySlippage well]].]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Nessiah.]] ''SO MUCH.'' [[spoiler:His entire twisted story just goes to show what the MessianicArchetype is capable of [[BreakTheCutie if you break him hard enough]].]]

* HideYourLesbians: There's a fair amount of subtext between Zilva and Elena, none of which amounts to much due to [[spoiler:Zilva dying]]. In addition to this, there was definitely ''[[DidTheyOrDidntThey something]]'' going on between [[spoiler:Gulcasa and Nessiah]] according to ''VideoGame/YggdraUnison'' and ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion''.
** This is also a case of [[spoiler:BuryYourGays]].

* CrapsackWorld: The land is defined by war and bloodshed, racism and genocide is commonplace, and [[spoiler:everyone is an UnwittingPawn to

* JapanesePronouns: The only way Nessiah ever [[spoiler:speaks [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld his actual age]]]]--despite always using polite {{Honorifics}}, he has a pronoun drop with characters who aren't in positions of authority (like Yggdra).

*** All the new characters in ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion'' leave the continent after that game, which is explicitly discussed in its epilogue. Eater in particular [[GloriaUnion goes worldhopping.]]

->''Most Japanese games that are based on some kind of mythology usually end up getting it wrong, but this is one of the most hilarious I've ever seen. Nietzsche (in real life) was a German philosopher who introduced the concept of nihilism. Nietzsche (in the game) is a cutesy little girl undine (mermaid) who pokes gently with her spear.''

''Yggdra Union'' is a TurnBasedStrategy game which is part of Sting Entertainment's ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'' cycle. The Game Boy Advance and PSP UpdatedRerelease were both handled in North America by {{Atlus}}.

* DubInducedPlotHole: Gulcasa's title was changed from "Blazing Emperor" to "Emperor of Carnage" for the English version for whatever reason. This still makes some degree of sense--Fantasinia doesn't like him, so they wouldn't be calling him anything that sounds friendly--until you hear his people, [[LickedByTheDog who wholeheartedly adore him]], calling him the same thing... and ThemeNaming starts to show up when Imperial landmarks turn out to have fire-based names, which are also altered ("Gates of Carnage"[[note]]The name is even left as "Asura Gate" on the translated map[[/note]], anyone?). Then it just starts sounding rather awkward. It will probably become a much bigger problem if {{Atlus}} ever localizes ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion,'' where Gulcasa's fire motif is even more important.

* Myth/NorseMythology: The original translation of the game had several references to it, like the names of certain items and the name of Kylier's race; the updated translation added a lot more of them, since by then {{Atlus}} had realized that ''Yggdra Union'' and ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'' were part of one series. The story itself also contains a reference--the side materials explain that one of the antagonists once sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge, similar to Odin.

* CrapsackWorld: The land is defined by war and bloodshed, racism and genocide is commonplace, and [[spoiler:everyone is an UnwittingPawn to

An interview with the game director and artists can be found [[http://community.livejournal.com/disaresta/52597.html here]]; be warned that there are '''spoilers''' up through the end of the PSP version. See also ''YggdraUnison'', the AlternateUniverse cellphone/DS spinoff.

* DecoyProtagonist: You start off playing as Milanor, who is set up as the hero with Yggdra in a traditional DistressedDamsel role. Two and a half battlefields later, Yggdra becomes the player character, and Milanor is firmly established as her {{sidekick}}, losing nearly all plot significance except the ability to attract [[BigDamnHeroes Kylier]] [[DeusExMachina when the Royal Army has dug itself into a hole]] and the default commander seat when Yggdra is somewhere else. The game is explicitly about Yggdra's CharacterDevelopment and [[TheHighQueen growth as a ruler]] as she learns to balance hot-blooded idealism with compassion and an understanding of how the world works. Then the universe of episode II [[YggdraUnison started]] [[VideoGame/BlazeUnion expanding]], a certain antagonist's backstory and true motivations got lots more attention, and [[spoiler:Gulcasa]] made off with Yggdra's hero seat. On top of all this, the character in the episode II games who is the most important to [[VideoGame/DeptHeaven the 'verse]] is ''none of the above''--it's actually [[spoiler:Nessiah]], the ''antagonist,'' about which WordOfGod and [[AllThereInTheManual the side materials]] are very clear. UpToEleven, indeed.

* HideYourLesbians: There's a fair amount of subtext between Zilva and Elena, none of which amounts to much due to [[spoiler:Zilva dying]]. In addition to this, there was definitely ''[[DidTheyOrDidntThey something]]'' going on between [[spoiler:Gulcasa and Nessiah]] according to ''YggdraUnison'' and ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion''.

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Gulcasa is a HeroAntagonist until [[spoiler:he goes and gets possessed]], and by that point there ''is'' no making him unsympathetic. As for [[spoiler:Nessiah]], he's just ''[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds immensely]]'' [[WellIntentionedExtremist screwed]][[AntiVillain -up]]. As ''YggdraUnion'' is intensely anti-war, this is kind of the point.

* Myth/NorseMythology: The original translation of the game had several references to it, like the names of certain items and the name of Kylier's race; the updated translation added a lot more of them, since by then {{Atlus}} had realized that ''YggdraUnion'' and ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'' were part of one series. The story itself also contains a reference--the side materials explain that one of the antagonists once sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge, similar to Odin.

* UnholyHolySword: [[spoiler:The TropeNamer.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: In the A ending, the failure of Nessiah's plan means that [[GreaterScopeVillain Hector]] is free to enact his schemes in ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare'' and ''RivieraThePromisedLand''.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: What really puts the [[BittersweetEnding "bittersweet"]] in [[MultipleEndings Ending A]]? [[spoiler:If he'd been able to take his revenge, Nessiah would have killed ''the VideoGame/DeptHeaven series villain, Hector,'' and ended a horribly corrupt heavenly system. This would have ''prevented the tragic scenarios of ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare ''and RivieraThePromisedLand from ever happening,'' sparing entire other worlds from their suffering.]] Nice job breaking it, Yggdra.

* Myth/NorseMythology: The original translation of the game had several references to it, like the names of certain items and the name of Kylier's race; the updated translation added a lot more of them, since by then {{Atlus}} had realized that ''YggdraUnion'' and ''RivieraThePromisedLand'' were part of one series. The story itself also contains a reference--the side materials explain that one of the antagonists once sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge, similar to Odin.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: In the A ending, the failure of Nessiah's plan means that [[GreaterScopeVillain Hector]] is free to enact his schemes in ''KnightsInTheNightmare'' and ''RivieraThePromisedLand''.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: What really puts the [[BittersweetEnding "bittersweet"]] in [[MultipleEndings Ending A]]? [[spoiler:If he'd been able to take his revenge, Nessiah would have killed ''the VideoGame/DeptHeaven series villain, Hector,'' and ended a horribly corrupt heavenly system. This would have ''prevented the tragic scenarios of KnightsInTheNightmare and RivieraThePromisedLand from ever happening,'' sparing entire other worlds from their suffering.]] Nice job breaking it, Yggdra.

* [[spoiler: TheBadGuyWins: In the A ending, the failure of Nessiah's plan means that [[BiggerBad Hector]] is free to enact his schemes in ''KnightsInTheNightmare'' and ''RivieraThePromisedLand''.]]

** The Vanir [[StealthInsult are reminiscent of Native Americans,]] [[TakeThat particularly considering their relation to Fantasinia]] (and the [[NorseMythology name of their race]]). Most of them are dark-skinned ([[spoiler:Milanor]] being an exception) to make it even more obvious.

* NorseMythology: The original translation of the game had several references to it, like the names of certain items and the name of Kylier's race; the updated translation added a lot more of them, since by then {{Atlus}} had realized that ''YggdraUnion'' and ''RivieraThePromisedLand'' were part of one series. The story itself also contains a reference--the side materials explain that one of the antagonists once sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge, similar to Odin.

* [[spoiler: TheBadGuyWins: In the A ending, the failure of Nessiah's plan means that [[BiggerBad Hector]] is free to enact his schemes in ''KnightsInTheNightmare'' and ''RivierraThePromisedLand''.]]