Hints and Tips for
Spectral Force 2 for the Sony Playstation
by Zhou Tai An (kain@pacific.net.sg)

Version 1.4 (Big update : I hope someone's actually reading this. ^_^)

Notice of use : Please notify me if you're using the document for any sites
etc, and please not for non-profit uses.

Disclaimer : The last note's gone down the drain more or less - I'm finding
myself continuing this guide even though I'm sure NO one reads it. ^_^ (see
the above?) Testament to how great it is, I guess. 

******

First off, battle tips :

1. The very basics. Block beats Split, Split beats Wedge, Wedge beats Block.
What are all these? Why, the formations of course. These are the very 
foundations of attack and defense in Spectral Force. Choosing Break Through
for formations allows your attack to do more damage but lowers your defense;
Defense formations do the opposite. (Pick Break Through if you're totally
confident that your formation is the correct one to do lots of damage, Defense
if you want to conserve losses.)

Actually, Defense is generally a better choice, but you won't get as much
morale and as many skill points if you use it - less damage though. 

For the totally Japanese illiterate, Break Through is the first option and
Defense the second on the battle screen. Special Attack is third and Retreat
fourth.

2. Lots of other factors influence combat, though - weather (certain troops
fight better in different kinds of weather - check the troop status screen
for more info), morale (higher morale is always good (the pink bar at the
top of the screen) and be careful; you will retreat automatically if your 
morale falls below zero) and the Attack Rating of the commanding general.

3. More on weather - certain kinds prevent magic from being used. So, be
very careful in sending out magic-using generals to fight in windy or rainy
terrain, for example. Sword attacks seem to be unaffected by this, so take
that into consideration - a good strategy is actually to summon wind or rain
(using magic) to prevent the other side from blasting you to smithereens.

Some pointers :

1) Swords attacks work everywhere except the desert.

2) Ki-based attacks work EVERYWHERE.

3) Light magic needs sunny weather (or at least no windy, hot weather) and
dark magic needs, well, dark weather. 

4) MaHouKuuKan (Magical Dimension) makes ALL magic work.

5) Wind knocks out most spells, elemental magic power is greatly affected
by weather conditions - i.e, rain will cause water-based magic to become
really powerful while hampering fire, reverse for desert or hot winds, etc.

4. Dragons now. Always, always, ALWAYS use Defensive Wedge to attack them 
as it will sometimes stop them from regaining magical energy and give you
a bonus to boot. However, use Split to avoid their nasty magical attacks.

If you want to kill each and every Dragon, here are some hints to remember
when fighting them :

a) Use Sun Summon. Their magic will KILL YOU. Since they often start in 
dark terrain, this is the overall best choice.

b) Try to get Special Attacks which will hit them straight on. Most magic
tends to swerve to the side or something, so choose your attacks with care.

c). Dragons tend to appear in 1-2 year cycles, and not always during the
Attack phase, either, so if you're aiming for one, always keep fresh generals
in reserve, ready to fight, at all times. They will also only appear once 
you're winning the game - i.e, when you control at least half the countries.

d) Byouma no Juumon (Summon Sickness) also works very well on Dragons, as
the spell hits the middle field and sticks there long enough to cause 
damage. However, Jadou's MaKaiKyoKetsuSho (Demon Freezing Forest) and Hiro's
RetsuKaShiGyoZan (Burning Death Field Slash) are the BEST attacks.

e) All troops take and inflict the same amount of damage on Dragons, so
when fighting them try to use generals that can heal lost troops.

f). Oh yes - Split is the best formation to avoid magical attacks in general
as well. Doesn't work that well but is better than nothing.

More info on dragons from Wilfred :

Oh, and in my experience, I've only gotten attacked by dragons at the end of 
battle months, and always after I've successfully taken over a province. It 
seems that they show up after you've taken over a certain number of the 
provinces -- the Green Dragon (the fifth one that uses Tenmashireikai) 
usually shows up when there are only about 3 or 4 provinces on the map that 
aren't yours, for example.

Fire Dragon Flare Rudias -- 1500HP
   L2 -- Tenmarekka'ei
      Very heavy damage to three wide lines down enemy formation.           
This spell can easily reduce 1000 to 200-300, with high chiryoku
Water Dragon Balaham -- 2000HP
   L2 -- Tenmameisui
      Very heavy damage to two zig-zagging lines. (broad)
Black Dragon Abyssfear -- 2500HP
   L2 -- Tenmagenmujin
      Very heavy damage to large square in middle of enemy formation.
      No control or formation possible for 2 rounds.
White Dragon Silpheed -- 3000HP
   L2 -- Tenmashippuu
      Very heavy damage to incredibly broad column down middle.
      Can reduce 1000 to 100. Windy weather will back this worse.
Green Dragon Grelyuuf -- 3500HP
   L2 -- Tenmashireikai
      Very heavy damage to large square in middle of enemy formation.
      Reduces morale by roughly 20-30 points.
Gold Dragon Enpire -- 4000 HP (appears when only one country isn't yours)
   L2 -- Bakurai no Juumon
      Very heavy damage to center\front of formation.

All dragons will drop a treasure, and any Ougihon they drop will usually 
contain very powerful and useful hissatsuwaza, such as Tenmarekka'ei, 
Tenmasouju??, or even character-uniques like Megamikourin.

6. Now to move on to castles. Each wall you take down means a percentage 
loss of men on your side, so be careful - you CAN avoid this by having your
troops retreat at the exact moment a wall falls, but that's a rare 
occurence. (Walls represent thirds of the castle's forces, so you WILL get 
at least three walls per battle.) As for the actual strength of the walls...
Fortification Strength (accessible from the main info screen) X 600 will 
give you the number. 

When defending, be sure that your morale doesn't fall too low (or you'll 
surrender immediately) and defend a lot. Not much else to say - mostly,
things depend on how strong your castle defenses are.

Okay, now about convincing\surrending. If your enemy is requesting you yield,
check your morale - if it can withstand another convincing, block, if not,
recover. As for the offensive side, you only need to convince once - you'll
then be able to see how much you've taken off your enemy's morale bar and
their corresponding recovery. If two more can't change his\her mind, you're
better off attacking instead. Generals with high Intelligence and Charisma
work the best.

7. Be wary. If your country isn't too strong, wait things out and only attack
when 1. A country has been attacked already and is weak or 2. a country
attacks you (or another one and gets repulsed) and is weak. Reason? Simple -
when defending, you get to SEE THE ENEMY FORMATION. It's MUCH harder to attack
than it is to defend (remember, you also need to punch through the castle
walls) so keep this in mind, especially in the early game.

Good idea not to give up hope when someone attacks with more troops, 
however. I've often had enemies with 137 troops retreat after 5 or 6 rounds 
even though I only had 3 troops left.

8. Try to keep an even balance of soldiers among your generals. Avoid giving
any one, even a really strong one (like your ruler) too many troops, because
one wrong move in battle could spell doom for your attack\defense. Spread
them out. The only exception to this is when you're SURE your next attack
will down a country and you need that extra power to take down their 
defenses - and even then, be damn careful and save.

9. Because you can only give new troops and shuffle existing ones around 
during your Main phase, think about who gets how many very carefully indeed.
Also, keep a bunch of reserve generals around and shift them to the front 
line if you've lost a whole bunch of men recently. You can only move three or
so (until your next Personnel phase) but it should be enough.

10. Know your magics (and your enemy's). Spells like Hakken Meteor and 
MaShoKai - Goen can turn the tide of battle more effectively than a dozen
good formations, so know what you and your opponent can dish out.

11. Occasionally, due to low morale, soldiers will go into Haphazard 
formation which will lose against ANY normal formation. Sometimes (usually
with high Intelligence generals) forces will array themselves in Flowing 
Water, Three Sides Undefeatable, or Wave formations, special formations which
 - you guessed it, make mincemeat out of normal formations. You can't do 
anything about the occurence of these two things, so I'm just letting you 
know.

12. The "magic formation" (you know, the formation soldiers go into when
magic is being cast) works the same against all normal formations, so it's
actually better to go ahead and use some lousy spell to get into this
formation when you don't know what formation your enemy's going to use - it
assures you an even chance of success, after all.

13. Although I've said above that you need to exercise a good deal of caution
in this game, sometimes it's best to throw that to the winds and attack 
like crazy, especially in the early game - the reason being that each kingdom
you fell nets you a choice of generals and a special item. Now, if you DON'T
expand ferociously, what will happen is that several powerful kingdoms (the
Demon Empire and Old Kingdom in particular) will being taking virtually 
every country to next to them, which will cause SERIOUS problems in the end
and middle game.

(This is extremely important to remember if you're playing non-main kingdoms
like the Cat, Magical Alliance, Sacred Fist etc...you will KILLED, and I mean
absolutely, totally devastated by Hiro and her forces later on - if someone
else doesn't do you in first.)

So, the trick is to give all your troops to your most powerful general and
start attacking - you'll need quite a number to breach the castle walls.
Alternatively, when you have enough soldiers, designate one of your generals
the "castle-breacher" and have the rest fight. Save often when you do this,
though; you run the risk of another country cottoning on to your strategy 
and pummeling you when your forces are low. However, trust me - this makes a
great difference later on, and a few resets don't hurt anybody.

14. When attacking, always use the Split formation. The computer almost never
uses the Block and often uses the Wedge, so it's the most logical choice. 
You will win the battle 90% of the time with this info. ^_^

15. About skill points: The bar maximum is 90, L1 requires 30, L2 requires 
60, L3 requires the full 90. Any charge attack has a maximum potential of 
60, any defensive formation a maximum potential of 25 skill points. As a 
general rule, you'll get the full 60 only if you completely wipe out your 
opponent's forces, or are wiped out by them. (Not that you'll really be able 
to do anything *with* those points in the latter case.) Any of the three 
special formations will generate roughly 45 points for whoever formed it but 
the opponent will only gain points as if they had a defensive formation. You
will also gain more morale and skill points for killing enemy troops with
YOUR troops (no magic) - the more you kill the more you gain.

16. Troop stats :

Neko: 5/4 (Cat)
used by Starina, Pinky, all cat generals 
Kaeru: 4/5 (Frog)
used by Silky, all frog generals 
Murabito (Villagers): 5/5
used by Chik, Medina, lots of crap generals
Light Infantry: 5/7 (I think... I kind of forgot)
used by (I forgot... I fired her...)
Kenhoutsukai (Pugilists): 6/8
used by Lucky, a whole bunch of others...
Ninja: 7/5
used by (can't be bothered to check his 4-kanji name), Torimaru
Mahouikimono: (Summoned Beasts) 8/6 
used by Prominent, Glaus
Soldiers: 7/7
used by Myura, and a whole friggin' bunch of others
Knights: 8/8 (but their lousy speed and lousy terrain effects make them 
suck...)
used by Elysion, etc...
Elves: 6/6
used by Azalea, Iceburg (dumb name), Regal Lily, Blue Moon, etc...
Wing Knights : 6/6
used by Jedah, etc...
Skeletons: 7/7
used by Hiro, Jadou and most undead\demon generals
Goblins: 6/8 (I think)
used by Gerah
Pirates : 8/5
used by most sea bandits
Hiyoko Insects : 5/5
used by Ra
Dragon Knights : 10/10
see miscellaneous

And now, thank William Budianto for a not complete but almost there troop
terrain\elements list.

LEGEND :

   T--->triangle = Good 
   X--->cross = Bad
   O--->circle = Okay
   C--->large circle with small circle inside = Absorb (the magic will do no
damage)

Elements List -

For the really exact, capitals are the on-readings of the words and lower-case
the kun; not that this means anything to you unless you know Japanese. ^_^

              KEN     hi    koori  ikazuchi   KUU  yokoshima   SEI      MU       KI    mizu    kaze  tsuchi
            (sword) (fire)  (ice)  (thunder) (air) (darkness) (holy) (nothing) (mind) (water) (wind) (earth)
erefu          T       T      T        T       T       X        C       T        T       T      T       O
(elf)
RYUsenshi      O       O      O        O       O       O        O       O        O       O      O       O
(dragonknight)
naito          O       T      T        X       T       T        O       T        X       T      T       T
(knight)
ninja          T       T      T        T       T       O        T       T        T       T      O       T
(ninja)
               O       O      T        X       T       X        O       T        T       T      T       T
(robot)
senshi         O       T      T        X       T       T        T       T        X       T      T       T
(soldiers)
murabito       T       X      T        T       T       X        O       T        T       T      T       O
(villagers)
mahooikimono   T       T      T        C       T       O        X       T        X       T      T       T
(summoned beast)
kenhootsukai   X       T      T        T       T       T        T       T        O       T      T       T
(pugilists)
goburin        T       T      T        T       T       O        X       T        T       T      T       O
(goblin)
yajuu          T       X      T        T       T       T        T       T        T       T      T       C
(wild beasts)
tobusenshi     C       T      T        T       X       T        C       T        T       T      X       T
(wingknight)
neko           T       T      X        C       T       T        T       T        T       T      T       T  
(cat)
suteruton      O       T      T        T       T       O        X       T        X       T      T       T 
(skeleton)
ashigaru       O       T      X        T       T       T        T       T        O       T      T       T
(foot soldiers)
kaeru
(frog)

(pirate)


Terrains(chikei)

             HEI       isago      kusa        SHITSU       mori     yama
         (flat plain) (desert) (gassland) (watery areas) (forest) (mountain)
erefu         T          T         O            X            O        T
(elf)         
RYUsenshi     T          T         T            T            T        T
(dragonknight)
naito         O          T         T            X            X        X
(knight)
ninja         T          X         T            T            O        X
(ninja)
              T          T         T            T            T        T
(robot)
senshi        O          T         T            X            T        X
(soldiers)
murabito      T          X         T            X            T        X
(villagers)
mahooikimono  T          T         T            T            T        T
(summoned beast)
kenhootsukai  T          T         T            T            T        T
(puligists)
goburin       T          T         O            X            O        T
(goblin)
yajuu         T          T         O            T            O        O
(wild beasts)
tobusenshi    T          T         T            T            T        T          
(wingknight)
neco          T          T         T            X            O        T
(cat)
suteruton     T          T         T            T            T        T
(skeleton)
ashigaru      T          T         T            T            T        T
(foot slodiers)
kaeru
(frog)

(pirate)


Weather(tenkoo)

             ame    kaze    kiri    atsui   samui  akarui   yami
           (rainy) (windy) (misty)  (hot)   (cold) (sunny) (dark)
erefu         T       T       T       X        X      T       O
(elf)
RYUsenshi     T       T       T       T        T      T       T
(dragonknight)
naito         T       T       X       X        T      T       T
(knight)
ninja         T       T       O       T        O      T       O
(ninja)
              T       T       T       X        T      T       T
(robot)
senshi        T       T       X       X        T      T       T
(soldiers)
murabito      T       T       X       x        X      T       T
(villagers)
mahooikimono  T       T       T       T        T      X       O
(summonedbeast)
kenhootsukai  T       T       T       T        T      T       T
(puligists)
goburin       T       T       T       T        T      X       O
(goblin)
yajuu         T       T       O       X        T      T       T
(wild beasts)
tobusenshi    X       T       T       T        T      T       T
(wingknight)
neko          X       T       T       X        X      T       O
(cat)
suteruton     T       T       T       T        T      X       O
(skeleton)
ashigaru      T       T       T       T        T      T       T
(foot soldiers)
kaeru
(frog)

(pirate)

A list of the game's good generals :

(All the following have movies for all three of their special attacks -
therefore, they're major characters and very powerful.)

1. Hiro. 'Nuff said. Her Level 2 does 500+ damage to dragons and MaShoKai :
Goen can destroy an entire enemy force.
2. Jadou. Level 1 typically takes out half the enemy, Level 3 leaves you
without anything to fight.
3. Aira. The mother of the above two. ^_^ Damn good specials.
4. Orochimaru. Has argubly the most damaging and overall best Level 3 in
the game - it's a conbination of Jadou's L3 and Chris's in terms of placement
and damage. And his other attacks aren't exactly pushovers either.
5. Azalea. Green Noa makes her well nigh undefeatable, Moon Saber's good
all-above - both these specials offset the lousy (but still effective) Tripheed
Whip.
6. Snow. Her L2 is a Green Noa and Ra Delifas can take out 3/4 of the enemy 
force. Plus, she's cute. ^_^

(Now for the people with 2 movies - most of them are also major characters,
and all pack quite a punch.)

1. Chiffon. The legendary hero - L1's pretty good, RyuSeiKen is deadly if
used properly, and Sonic Brave needs no explanation.
2. Ladui. Another strong one. His Divine Calibur sucks (he has a L1 Kenmarenzan
to make up for it, though) but Force Whirlwind destroys the ENTIRE back row.
3. Grizer. Holy Sword Langrout is strong enough, but he has a L2 Prayer of
Healing as well AND Ra Delifas.
4. Gaizan. Not too strong a fighter, but Summon Golem and his L2 make him
a powerful contender. Actually has 3 movies but his last one isn't unique.

(Other assorted good generals - some have movies, some don't. Not all are
major.)

1. Crescent. No-name magic user, but 5 words - Level 1 Prayer of Healing.
2. Grey. Accompanied Chiffon to defeat Janes; what more could you want? Level
2 Prayer of Healing.
3. Vaib. Ruler of the Spectral Tower. TenmaSaiShuu is devastating.
4. Zero. Good all-rounder, Split-Second Killing Flash (his L3) is useful. 
5. Sato. Also a good all-rounder, TsukigumiNinpo : KouEnKyaku is nothing to
laugh at either.
6. Chris. Average as generals go but Jagd Dagger is a VERY wide-hitting L3.
7. Gerah. Above-average L1, high Intelligence AND Ryuugoe Corbelias. Be 
careful of his low Loyalty, though.
8. Sugata. Good stats, commands Skeletons and can summon a Demon God.

******

Government, alliances and basically anything that not's fighting section :

1. Know everything. Basically, do what Sun Tzu said to - before fighting or
even committing to any sort of action, try to find out as much as you can.
General strength, troop capabilities, number of enemy forces; there are menus
which can give you info on each and every one of them. The Triangle button
brings up the main info screen on countries (press it again or Square for
more info) and cancelling while at the decision menus brings up another range
of options. Use both to your advantage.

2. Use basic economics. Buy low, sell high. When shopping, wait for when the
price of a given commodity is really low (0.4, for instance) then buy a LOT.
Sell when the price goes up to something like 2.5 or 2.7. You'll make a 
killing. The only exception to this is when you really need the cash to make
last-minute defense against attacks.

Be careful; do not send generals with low stats (esp. Intelligence) to 
buy/sell. Otherwise you might find yourself on the receiving end of Merchant 
Yuuse's "recently the economy hasn't been so good" speech and find yourself 
paying more or receiving less than you should. However, some generals will 
actually pressure Yuuse into charging less or paying more; Azalea and Pinky 
will go for the pleading approach, whereas Orochimaru will essentially shake 
a very solid fist. Those three are the only three I've found so far that 
will do this, however.

3. Scout around for new talent, and don't be afraid to ditch lousy generals.
During the Personnel phase, use your most Charismatic general to search for
new ones, and just before you destroy a country, make sure you have 3-4 open
spaces to accept new recruits. Also, don't kill generals if you want them to
join you later - you have a random chance to get them back through searching.

4. Make alliances with 1. powerful kingdoms and 2. surrounding kingdoms. 
Both have good chances of kicking your ass. You can always break them later.
Of course, they might not agree in the first place, but it's worth a try.

5. When thinking of how\what to conquer, keep two things in mind. One, you
will get items for every kingdom (that's KINGDOM, not country) you take over,
so be aggressive. (Without being careless...safety first in this game.) Two,
avoid expanding in a way that leaves you open to attack on both sides - 
don't do things like, for instance, occupy a nation which is the only way 
two damn BIG kingdoms can get from one side of the continent to another. A
big no-no.

However, if you purposely want to destroy a kingdom for certain reasons 
(e.g. generals, items, plot events), and they look in iminent danger of 
getting killed by someone else, the best tactic is to surround them, do 
whatever you can to break the enemy's path to them, before you turn your 
attention to them. It works.

6. Always use generals with high Foreign Affairs ratings to fortify walls,
raise morale etc. They do a lot better than normal ones. If you can, make
them Internal Minister or something so they do even better.

7. After destroying a country, it's sometimes better to release fallen
generals rather than kill them, because searching can get them to join you
later. However, by doing so you run the risk that another country might get
them first, and by killing them you quite obviously eliminate this 
possibility. It's your call.

******

Now for the thing that really makes this game shine - the STORY. I swear, 
this one has the best plot and characters I've seen in a LONG time. 
Hopefully, with this you can understand some of the inner workings of this 
game and why certain characters talk to each other before combat. ^_^


The story begins with the death of the Demon King, Janes, killed by a young
hero named Chiffon (yes, I know, stupid name. He's powerful, though, and can
be gotten by quite a few kingdoms in the game, though he starts with Ladui)
who leaves behind his human wife, Maria and their two children, the 
half-demon siblings Hiro and Jadou. Maria, though, is later killed by one
of the kingdom rulers (forgot who...more info later)

(I'm not sure, but I think this epic battle at the Spectral Tower is what 
happened in Spectral Force 1.)

Hiro, swearing to avenge her father's death, ressurects the once-fallen 
Demon Empire - this, not surprisingly, plunges the continent into chaos. The 
Gods of Light, led by Koria, act to do something about it (namely, by setting
into action all the kingdoms under their control) as war envelops Never Land.

Jadou, meanwhile, has been busy with plans of his own. (BTW, the word "Jadou"
means "evil force" in Japanese...) He summons a spirit from another world
(Earth...Tokyo, to be exact) as the power from whoever comes across the
barrier will help him to rule this one. His choice happens to be Ritol Snow,
once a typical Japanese schoolgirl, but 9 months later, the ruler of the 
Luneige Kingdom and possessing the power to read souls.

Chiffon and his lord and mentor, Ladui, have not been idle either. They, too
mobilize their forces to do battle with the offspring of their old foe...

And that sets the stage for the war that is...SPECTRAl FORCE 2!

(fanfare and applause)

Naaaaaaah. ^_^

Well, that was actually the background. I've decided that it's going to be
a lot easier to write semi-biographies of all the main characters in the
game, so that's what I'm going to do. If someone isn't included it either
means he\she isn't a major player or that he\she is mentioned somewhere else.

A note before I go onto that, though - most of the kingdoms in SF 2 aren't
out for any grand quest or whatever (only the major characters - Hiro, 
Chiffon, Ladui etc are) and are fighting solely because war will get them
if they don't...like the Cat and Frog kingdoms, most of the Bandit ones.
Again, just a mention to clear things up. 

1. Hiro. Daughter of the Demon King Janes but extremely powerful in her own
regard. Leads the Demon Empire Neugard against...well, the rest of the 
world. Though strong-willed, she is still inexperienced and naive in some
ways, especially as concerning her mother and any close ties she has.

2. Jadou. Son of Janes. Even more powerful than Hiro (I think...after all,
he brought someone here from another WORLD) and I don't think she knows of
her older brother's existence. Cold to the point of being downright freezing.
Unlike Hiro, has definite plans as to what he wants to do with his power...

3. Chiffon. The young hero of the first war. Quite strong, determined but
unfortunately still young and therefore naive. Fights with his mentor Ladui
to defeat the Demon Empire once again. 

4. Ladui. A man who has dedicated his life to ending all war, for eternal
peace...and has had to sacrifice a lot for that goal, including his wife,
Roy and many old comrades-in-arms. Fixated on this, he will tolerate no
opposition though truly gentle at heart, as evinced by his loyalty to his
young daughter, Sofaran, and student, Chiffon.

(Pick Ladui just once to see his intro movie - FANTASTIC.)

5. Grizer. The "White Lion" of the Gods of Light. Had two other comrades, 
Rigain, who choose the path of freedom, and Zakiphon, who defected to the
former Demon Empire because of a girl, Sharon (also a country ruler) - Grizer
accused him of serving her more than the gods. A rigid thinker, especially
with regards to religion, but a good, upright man.

6. Wave. Guardian of the Spectral Tower. Powerful demon who, strangely enough,
has no plans of his own. Included here because many characters have dialogue
with him. 

7. Aira. Actually Hiro's mother, Maria, reincarnated as an angel in the service
of the Gods of Light. A compassionate though forceful woman, she wonders why
war must even exist...doesn't seem to remember much of her previous life 
though.

(Get her to battle Hiro for a scene that's not to be missed.)

8. Grey. A knight who accompanied Chiffon and Ladui to the Spectral Tower
for the final duel. Saddened by the wars, he fights in full faith that one
day it will all come to a peaceful end. Wields the Heavenly Sword which he
lent to Chiffon to slay Janes...also knows much more than he lets on.

Now, a listing of some of the generals in this game compiled by my friend
Wilfred How...he spent a lot of time on this, so thank him. ^_^

And somemore miscellaneous info below which is very worth taking a look at.

(v.low = 1-3, low = 4/5, high = 6/7, v.high = 8-10)

Azalea
War Ability: low
Knowledge: v.high
Charm: v.high
Political A.: high

Troops: Elves

L1 -- Souju no Juumon (I think...)
   low damage to entire formation
L2 -- Green Noa (Movie)
   heals 700 (extremely cheap...)
L3 -- Tripheed Whip (Movie)
   med. damage to entire formation

Ruler of Priesta and the forest elves, prime force on the island shared with 
the dark elves and the Old Kingdom. Goes to war in order to preserve nature. 
Rather fixed in her viewpoint; accuses Hiro and Jadou when she meets either 
one. (special CG for Azalea vs Hiro) If she wins, is empowered by those 
idiotic gods up there who keep chatting. Some kind of background with 
Prominent.

Iceburg
W: high
K: v.high
C: high
P: v.high

Troops: Elves

L1 -- Souju no Juumon
   low damage to entire formation
L2 -- Fuujinhan'i
   magic reflection (med. chance)
L3 -- Tenmajingouken
   morale boost (high)

Azalea's brother, and a cool customer. Seems to have been involved with 
Prominent's deceased sister, Lily. Will usually join whichever country 
spares his life.

Prominent
W: low
K: high
C: high
P: low

Troops: Mahouikimono

L1 -- (forgot)

L2 -- (forgot)

L3 -- Kokuenshohei
   v. high damage to whole formation

Goes to war to preserve his race, the dark elves. Seems to blame Azalea and 
Iceburg for his sister's death. On (reasonably) friendly terms with Starina, 
though, which won't stop him from crushing her troops. Used to serve Janes; 
Hiro will ask him to remember his allegiance, but he will say something 
about needing to preserve his own race, and that he will fight for that 
cause and that cause alone.

Gerah
W: low
K: v.high
C: v.low
P: high

Troops: Goblins

L1 -- ??en no Juumon
   med. damage to three lines down formation
L2 -- Bakufuu no Juumon
   med. damage to two zig-zag lines down formation
L3 -- Ryuugoe Corbelias
   ???

A mazoku, recognized as such when met on the battlefield by Azalea or Hiro. 
Has his own agenda. Always has low Loyalty, so although Prominent starts 
with him, don't count on keeping him. Then again, you could always convince 
him back, it's sinfully easy...

Elysion
W: v.high
K: low
C: high
P: low

Troops: Knights

L1 -- Ryuugazan
   straight line damage down enemy formation (narrow)
L2 -- Kenmarenzan
   Y-shape damage lines down enemy formation (narrow)
L3 -- Uraougi Fuujinsen
   Three-fork damage lines down enemy formation (narrow)

Doesn't seem to have any background, uses generic fighter sprite... useful 
enough, though...

Medina
W: v.low
K: v.high
C: v.high
P: low/high

Troops: Murabito

L1 -- Han'ikekkai (I think)
   Magic reflection (low chance)
L2 -- Kaifuku no Inori
   Heals 600 (normally, it's a L3)
L3 -- Tenmahyokijin
   4/5 spots of intense ice damage

Don't know if she has a background, I picked her up halfway... surprisingly 
useful, with her L2 and L3...

Jedah
W: high
K: low
C: low
P: low

Troops: Flying men

L1 -- Byouma no Juumon
   Med. damage to small spot near front of enemy formation
L2 -- Shibyou no Juumon
   Med. damage to five small spots near front of enemy formation
L3 -- Tenmashippu
   High damage right down middle of enemy formation (very very broad)

Again, don't know his background, actually quite useful, esp. against 
dragons with his Byouma no Juumon.

Glaus
W: high
K: v.high
C: high
P: low

Troops: Mahouikimono

L1 -- Satsuki no Noroi
   med. morale damage
L2 -- Shibyou no Juumon
   Med. damage to five small spots near front of enemy formation
L3 -- Tenmagenmujin
   High damage to wide square in back centre of enemy formation,
   2 rounds with enemy unable to create formation or even run away

Think he's a vampire... starts with Chenbar, in any case. Another past 
servant of Janes, he'll receive the same request from Hiro that she makes to 
Prominent, which he'll refuse apologetically, saying something about how 
this isn't what Hiro should be doing.. (think he's another one of those who 
regret the way Hiro's turned out..)

Meimi
W: v.low
K: low/high
C: v.high
P: high

Troops: Soldiers

L1 -- (forgot)

L2 -- (forgot)

L3 -- (forgot.. I never actually used her to *fight*...)

Is she a vampire as well?... Knows Hiro from the past, when she was ye 
typicale young happie noblewoman and Hiro was her shiny-eyed friend (the CG 
you get for putting the two against each other on the battlefield is 
...worthy)... not terribly useful on the battlefield, but high Charm enables 
her to talk castles down fairly well... nowhere near as well as Azalea or 
Pinky, though...

Queen Myura
W: v.low
K: v.high
C: v.high
P: high

Troops: Soldiers

L1 -- (forgot.. think it's Naoshi no Inori)

L2 -- (forgot... think it's Sei??bouhei)

L3 -- Megami Kourin (Movie, I think..)
   think it heals the full 1000...

Her sprite looks constipated... oh well. Actually very useful. Ruler of 
Silvesta. Don't know her story yet, since the only way I used her is when I 
got her to join me using Prominent...

Pinky
W: v.low
K: v.high
C: v.high
P: low

Troops: Neko

L1 -- Ryuusei no Juumon
   med. damage to back of formation
L2 -- Fuujinhan'i (I think)
   magic reflection (med. success)
L3 -- Stardust Serenade (Movie)
   High damage in three broad lines to back of formation

Magical girl. (shudder) Ruler of Marianrouge and leader of the Mahouheitai 
Milky. Goes to war to get rid of the "bad guys". Not really that good on the 
battlefield, though.

Silky
W: v.low
K: high
C: v.high
P: low

Troops: Kaeru

L1 -- Naoshi no Inori
   Heals 150
L2 -- whatever the L2 Souju no Juumon is called
   self-explanatory
L3 -- Tenmasouju?????
   basically similar to Tripheed Whip...

Her sprite demonstrates her character. Very much less than useful on the 
battlefield. One of Pinky's starting generals..

Lucky
W: high/v.high
K: high
C: low/high
P: low/high

Troops: Kenhoutsukai

L1 -- Kikoudan
   med. damage straight down enemy formation (narrow)
L2 -- Fuujinhan'i (I think)
   magic reflection (med. success)
L3 -- the L3 version of Kikoudan
   med. damage straight down three lines (narrow)

Pinky's last starting general, and the only one that starts decent. Will be 
key to Marianrouge's survivability near the start of the game.

Crescent (generic female admin sprite)
W: v.low
K: high/v.high
C: v.high
P: low

Troops: Murabito

L1 -- Kaifuku no Inori (!!!)
  heals 600 troops
L2 -- Seiboushohei no Juumon
  ups def. and holy resistance (I think... it's useless anyway)
L3 -- Tenmajiaiki
  heals 900? 1000? troops.

Char. profile:
None? Starts with whoever rules Paulus Nui, I think...

Battlefield comments:
Yes, she's non-unique, she uses Murabito, but she's cheap as all hell 
anyway. Her *L1* heals 600. Literally "eien ni yomigaeru no murabito", able 
to put up a good fight with Azalea's "chouju no elf" and Ranje's "bushishin 
senshi".

Tarel (generic winged knight sprite)
W: high
K: high
C: low/high
P: low/high

Troops: Yokukishi (winged knights)

L1 -- Fuushou
   Changes weather to "strong wind"
L2 -- Fuu no Juumon
   Low damage to very top of enemy formation (useless!!!)
L3 -- Bakufuu no Juumon
   High damage to middle of enemy formation

Char. profile:
A trusted adjutant of Bulmark, fairly calm and competent. Unfortunately this 
"competence" doesn't show through on the battlefield.

Battlefield comments:
His statistics are high enough, but Fuu no Juumon is useless even as a L1, 
and Bakufuu no Juumon is strong, but not that strong. (Gerah has it as a 
L2.)

Mayura (unique sprite)
W: high/v.high
K: low/high
C: high
P: v.low
N.B. loyalty starts v.low

Troops: Mahouikimono (I think... I need to check.)

L1 -- Hien no Juumon
   Med. damage to thin line mid-formation
L2 -- Endan no Juumon
   Med. damage to three wide lines done enemy formation
L3 -- Tenmaryuumonjin (I think)
   High damage to entire middle section of enemy formation

Char. profile:
A mazoku who wants to become human. She knows Hiro from somewhere, but it 
isn't made clear where. Starts as wandering general.

Battlefield comments:
Competent enough; high buryoku, good troops, and fairly useful hissatsuwaza 
make her a useful, if not particularly outstanding, general. Be warned; all 
three of her starting hissatsuwaza are fire-based and therefore cannot be 
used in certain weather conditions.

Dolphan (unique sprite)
W: high
K: low/high
C: v.high (10)
P: high

Troops: Knights (I think)

L1 -- Ryuugazan
   med. damage to thin line down mid-enemy formation
L2 -- Bouhei no Juumon (I think)
   def. up
L3 -- Kenmarenzan (...)
   med. damage to Y-fork down enemy formation

Char. profile:
Narcissist, but not overly so. Ruler of Totasburg and leader of the Rosa 
Knights. Remains calm when Luzeiter brings him news of Hiro's preparation 
for war, stating that "in history, it is usually the beautiful who win." No 
wonder he's usually Hiro's first victim...

Battlefield comments:
Useless. Competent buryoku, competent troops, blatantly *in*competent 
hissatsuwaza, especially considering he's a ruler. Add in the fact that he 
starts with only himself and Luzeiter, with 140 troops each, and factor in 
Newgard next door. Meat. Only use Totasburg and the Rosa Knights if you're 
looking for one of the hardest challenges in the game; staying alive using 
them.

Etsumaru (generic male fighter sprite)
W: high
K: low/high
C: low/high
P: low/high

Troops: (I forgot; either Senshi or Murabito)

L1 -- Oboeteimasen
   None
L2 -- Oboeteimasen
   None
L3 -- Oboeteimasen
   None

Char. profile:
Who is this idiot?.... on second thought, I don't want to know. I think he's 
some sort of merchant-turned-general...

Battlefield comments:
Need you ask? No hissatsuwaza. Fairly good buryoku, but if his troops are 
Murabito you're dead. Looks like another joke character.

Teena (unique sprite)
W: v.low/low
K: low/high
C: v.high (9 or 10, always; usually 10)
P: low/high

Troops: Knights (I think; either that or Senshi)

L1 -- Naoshi no Inori
   heals 150 troops
L2 -- Kenmarenzan (huh?)
   med. damage to Y-fork down enemy formation
L3 -- Kaifuku no Inori
   heals 600 troops

Char. profile:
Unknown right now. Need to find someone she'll talk to. Starts as wandering 
general.

Battlefield comments:
Mmph. Actually not that useful, but she has good troops and Naoshi/Kaifuku 
no Inori can turn the tide of battle. Don't use her against good generals 
like Hiro, Satoh, Orochimaru or Prominent, though. In comparison, even 
Crescent does better; with one exception, that being that Teena's troops 
will only rarely disobey orders, for some reason...

Armaline (generic female admin sprite)
W: v.low
K: v.high
C: v.high
P: v.low

Troops: Kaeru

L1 -- Kouu
  changes weather to rain
L2 -- Kaifuku no Inori
  heals 600 troops
L3 -- Tenmameisui
  massive water damage down entire enemy formation (the water lines   
zig-zag in such a way that it becomes so.)

Char. profile:
A female sea folk who shows up and requests to join Shion in his fight. More 
info. required.

Battlefield comments:
Despite having a deadly L3 and Kaifuku no Inori for an L2, the combination 
of a very low buryoku and Kaeru troops seriously impair her battle ability; 
even Murabito can usually totally destroy her troops. The only reason to use 
her is to try and survive long enough to pull off a Kouu to prevent some 
hissatsuwaza and enable others. When compared to Aira, the general who joins 
the Milria Winged Knights at the same time Armaline joins the Haneisha 
Pirates, she's far, far less useful.

Ruria Bul (Pul?) (unique sprite)
W: high
K: high
C: high
P: low/high

Troops: Elves

L1 -- Youkou
   changes weather to sunny
L2 -- Bakufuu no Juumon
   heavy damage to two/three zig-zagging lines down enemy formation
L3 -- Tenmashippuu
   heavy damage down entire middle chunk of enemy formation

Char. profile:
???

Battlefield comments:
Definitely a useful character; give her an adequate healing spell and she's 
your perfect dragonslayer. Youkou will disable almost all dragon breaths 
while enabling healing spells, and Bakufuu no Juumon and Tenmashippuu are 
useful enough against normal enemies. Not exceptional, but not to be taken 
lightly either, especially considering the difficulty of finding Youkou when 
you want it.


Countries that usually end up controlling much land area:

Shinmaougun, led by Hiro
Muromachi, led by Orochimaru
Cilinigue Knights, led by Grizer 
Beast Kingdom, led by Hazama
Flauster Armed Forces, led by Zaflack

Countries that usually die in the first year or so:

Rosa Knight Troop, led by Dolphan
Mahouheitai Milky, led by Pinky
Forest Elves, led by Azalea
Dark Elves, led by Prominent
Goblin Kingdom, led by what's-his-name
Cat Kingdom
Frog Kingdom
Volhara Wing Knights Bulmark 
whoever the guy is who controls Paulus Nui

Characters with unique sprites (incomplete):
All leaders
All important characters
Iceburg
Starina
Farbage
Silky
Lucky
Eltina
Jedah
Chik
Torimaru
Meimi
Laira Bul
Grey
Bebe
Mint
Rabbister 
Zokk
Inuou
Ranje
Chris
Rigain


Battle conversations (incomplete):
Azalea vs Seafoam
Azalea vs Prominent
Azalea vs Gerah
Azalea vs Bluemoon
Azalea vs Hiro (unique CG)
Azalea vs Jadou
Azalea vs Shion, sea bandit ruler
Azalea vs Snow (unique CG, bu can be gotten elsewhere)
Azalea vs all of the original Dark Elf generals
Azelea vs Koria
Prominent vs Iceburg
Prominent vs Starina
Prominent vs Hiro
Prominent vs Old Kingdom's ruler
Gerah vs Hiro (Gerah CG, can be gotten other places as well)
Glaus vs Hiro
Meimi vs Hiro (unique CG)
Pinky vs Hiro
Pinky vs the machine kingdom's ruler
Number 13 vs Chik (CG: Number 13)
Orochimaru vs Hiro (unique CG; the conversation's a laugh as well)
Orochimaru vs Sakurazui
Orochimaru vs Zaflack
Orochimaru vs any dragon
Orochimaru vs Sato
The female ninja that starts with Orochimaru vs Sato
Radui vs Solfran (*that's* Radui's daughter?!..)
Radui vs Ganmaha (about Ganmaha's past.. Radui seems rather pitiful, doesn't 
he? All his closest friends/relations seem to abandon him..)
Radui vs Grey
Radui vs Roy
Roy vs Sofaran
Hiro vs Aira (Movie, must see for the story)
Hiro vs Chiffon
Jadou vs Aira (he hides emotion well..)
Chiffon vs Orochimaru
Chris vs Orochimaru
Radui vs Orochimaru
Ranje vs Orochimaru
Rigain vs Zakiphon
Orochimaru vs Zokk
Hiro vs Zokk (CG, can be gotten from Zokk several ways)
Grizer vs Hiro (unique CG)
Little Snow vs Aira (no unique CG, but you need to see this conversation, if 
you haven't already...)
All of Hiro's generals vs Aira
Zakiphon vs Bagbat
Zakiphon vs Grizer (unique CG)
Radui vs Aira
Snow vs Orochimaru
Radui vs Vaib (excellent conversation)
Chiffon vs Vaib
Chiffon vs Manbi
Orochimaru vs Haoma
Sofaran vs Bebe (This is so, so stupid...)
Grey vs Hiro
Grey vs Radui
Grey vs Chiffon (so that's where Chiffon got the Tenmaken from..)
Grey vs Manbie
Grey vs Gyab (Gyab's kind of funny in this one..)
Grey vs Little Snow
Grey vs Jadou
Chiffon vs Gyab
Chiffon vs Grizar
Chiffon vs Azalea
Orochimaru vs Chiffon
Orochimaru vs Ranje (this is simply hilarious.... must see)
Chik vs Gaizan (reminiscent of Shinji and Gendou, this...)
Chik vs Zero (a.k.a. Cameron)
Chik vs Ichigou
Chik vs Nigou
Grey vs Zab Roy
Roy vs Sofaran (same CG for Ladui vs Roy too)

More coming...

****** 

Miscellaneous :

Did you know that there's a Dan in this game? Yes, Dan from the other SF. ^_^
His name's Inuou and he SUCKS despite his self-proclaimed title of "Ultimate
Warrior." Commands VILLAGERS, has lousy stats and ONE Special Attack at Level
3 which does NOTHING. (Though it's hilarious. ^_^)

On a side note, you can also press L1 and R1 during battle to scroll left
and right faster for a better view of the action.

Beat the last dragon (the gold one, Enpire) for the chance to get an item
that will give one of your generals the ability to command Dragon Knights -
10/10 rating! You won't get this ALL the time, though - you have to beat all
the preceding dragons.

And now the ultimate...beating the game three times lets you pick all the
kingdoms except one (no prizes for guessing which) - but, if you do it four
times, as a reward for your hard work, you can choose the wickedly powerful
Demon Empire!

******

Requests of my own :

1. I need some responses. ^_^ I love this game and I hope others do so.

2. Scene info. The pre-battle dialogue is really interesting and I need
lists of who fights who etc...

3. Ending info. With 27 endings, I can't assemble this alone. PLEASE help me
out here.

It's okay if you don't know Japanese - just e-mail me with basic descriptions
and I'll do the best I can.

*****

Credits : 

1. Wilfred How for general lists and useful info. Thanks, man! You'll have
to excuse the amount of untranslated Japanese he uses. ^_^

2. William Budianto for Dragon Knight information and the very helpful 
complete troop elements\weather list.