Finally, a RPG game that's unique from the rest.
The story is simple enough, you are Squad 7 of Gallia and you must defend your homeland from an invading army. Each side gets to attack or move in Turns with a set number of moves allowed. This set number can increase or decrease depending on how many Leaders are on the board. They can also be carried over to the next turn if you decide to end your turn early. The number of Army members you can position will change per board as well. However, the options you have of allies to sleect is vast. There are several types of characters, each with their own positives and negatives. Once you set each member of your team, you can move them around the board to either gain the upper hand position wise or to go on the attack. Here are the characters:
Welkin Gunther/Edelweiss Tank: This is the main character of the game and for 99% of the time you control his Tank which can fire several types of weapons or even smoke flares for cover.
Scouts: Alicia is also a main character and she is a scout. Scouts have great range and are easily the best characters to use in the game. They have a rifle and grenades.
Troopers: Rosei is the main leader of the troopers and since they cant move as far as Scouts they make it up in pure firepower. Their guns fire 20-35 rounds per attack and also can be adapted to use a super powerful flamethrower. Plus they also have grenades.
Lancers: Largo is the leader here and they dont move far but are heavily armored and specialize in killing Tanks and other armor enemies. They have no secondary weapon and are very slow.
Engineer: These are the second most important character because they can re-load several allies in one move, disarm landmines and repair tanks on the fly. They also have great distance and use multiple grenades.
Snipers: The name says it all and they play a big role in later stages once their gun is upgraded.
Shamrock: A second smaller tank that is not as strong as Edelweiss but can travel over longer distances and has a optional flamethrower.
Depending on the stage, you can deploy any combination of characters you want and can also summon reserves if you capture enemy bases. Like I mentioned before, some stages can be up to 8 turns and can take forever to complete. The good thing is you can play in skirmish battles to build extra EXP and the characters can only go to level 20 so you dont have to spend tons of time fighting the same battles over and over. Plus, the enemy intelligence is about that of an infant. They make crazy moves and sometimes when look like they about to destroy you, they move away or pass the turn. Makes you scratch your head sometimes and wonder if they just didn't see you or just feel bad because they could have beat you that easily. There are very few "boss" battles but they arent that hard if you play your cards right. Welkin wil learn Orders to give massive Boosts which turn the tide in your favor and at times characters will duck out of the way of attacks on their own.
The storyline is pretty straightforward as you fight battle afetr battle but soon the real enemy emerges and a goal is in sight. The final battle was nice but way too easy. I beat Maximillion in 3 turns and was kinda expecting more. But it might be because I used my Boosts right and they didn't miss as much as they could have. In many instances your characters will be 2 inches away and actually miss the target. Can be frustrating at times but you get over it and find another way to win.
Overall it's a great RPG experience and I recommend this game to any type of gamer. Be warned that battles can take forever but you can save at any time, even in the middle of a battle. The ending was worth it.