Yggdra Union vs Fire Emblem

So this vs. series will be different from all the other vs blogs I have wrote up to this point because making the choice was easy. I think many of you will have no problem choosing your favorite either. Bear in mind this is a battle between Yggdra Union and Fire Emblem on the Game Boy Advance.

Story:

So the story of Fire Emblem actually has two starting points where in the first act you follow Lyn is heir to the throne of Caelin on her adventure to stop Lundgren from assuming the throne and in the second act you follow the story of Eliwood the son of the Marquess of Pherae as he searches for his father. Both storylines and characters eventually intertwine which makes it even more interesting. The antagonist of the first act is Lundgren but, the main antagonist of the whole game is Nergal leader of the Black Fang. The story gets even cooler if you realize this whole game is a prequel to the events of Fire Emblem 6.

Yggdra Union starts with the princess of Fantasia fleeing her kingdom with the family heirloom Holy Sword Gran Centurio after it is attacked by the Empire. Yggdra teams up with the Theif King Milanor soon after promising him her castle to replace his hideout that was destroyed by the Empire. Yggdra meets many different people on the her journey and learns more about the state of the world and discrimination of other species around her. Yggdra constantly struggles with the idea of justice and to what extent people must be slaughtered for peace. This is shown whenever she references that justice lies with the Holy Sword and your actions during the game determine the how the events unfold at the end. The main villain of Yggdra Union is Gulcasa ruler of the Empire and is actually the protagonist of the prequel to this game Blaze Union.

Ultimately I give the win here to Yggdra Union because the story deals with more deep issues than Fire Emblem.

Presentation:

Both these games look great. Both use awesome 2D sprites with well done battle animations. The music in each game is great especially when it comes to the battle music. The character designs from each game are lovingly inspired by anime. I do however, give the win to Fire Emblem as the battle animations are just way more stylish than Yggdra Union even though they both look great.

Game System:

Now this is a toughie. Both games use the idea of permadeath but, in Yggdra Union some characters can return after losing on the battle field while in Fire Emblem anyone is fair game except for the main characters that lead to a Game Over. Fire Emblem and Yggdra Union both give characters job classes they cannot change but, in Fire Emblem you can upgrade your job class into a stronger version. Both games have a leveling system. The main difference really comes to combat where in Fire Emblem you can sit back and watch in Yggdra Union you must tell your army what to do in real-time while they fight the opposing army.

In Fire Emblem every unit has their own movement stats but, in Yggdra Union every unit shares the amount of movement based on the card you chose to use that turn. The cards in Yggdra Union function as the tool used for movement and as special moves you can use during combat. In Fire Emblem every unit can attack once a turn but, in Yggdra Union only one unit can attack a turn unless you use the union system which is the main gimmick of the game. Depending on the position of your units during a turn they can fight together during that turn.

The win here goes to Yggdra Union because the depth of the combat. While it may seem confusing but, since the game gives you every new element in small chunks over the course of the adventure it never becomes too overwhelming.

Verdict:

The winner is Yggdra Union and the real shame here is many of you have never even heard of this game. I also want all of you to know I actually think this game is better and did not pick it as the winner just because it is more obscure. I really hope this entry of the vs. series does not only inspire debate over which is better but, also makes some of you want to try the game out!

Hmm Yggdra Union looks interesting and you are right that I have never heard of it. I would like to try it out since I only recently found out I liked turn based strategy games but alas I have access to neither of the consoles on which the game is avaliable.

Thanks for the nice write-up! What are your thoughts on other Sting games like Riviera and Blaze Union?

I demand a recount.

I played a bit of Yggdra Union back on the GBA. Really fun, interesting game, but I wouldn't call it better than Fire Emblem.

I rule that Fire Emblem is the better game, despite never having played Yggdra Union. (Also, isn't it part of a larger series, or am I thinking of something else?)

I remember getting Yggdra Union for free somehow. I think it came as a dl code with another purchase.

I actually enjoyed it for the few hours I played it. The combat scenes were always fun. The presentation style gave me an Advance Wars vibe, so that was great.

Forgot to mention the one I played was on PSP.

@jewunit: I like Riviera on the GBA. Never played Blaze Union.

Not that I know of. Yggdra Union did receive a PSP remake, though.

Having played and beaten both, Fire Emblem wins. Only one of these two games have stages with obnoxious invincible enemies that were Not Fun (TM).

@hailinel:

I actually looked it up, and it turns out yea, it sort of is part of a larger series. Not having played this or Riviera, I'm not sure if the connections mean anything.

There is a DS spin off game. Never came out in the west though iirc.

On the PSP version, getting the "True Ending" causes the final boss of Riviera to make a cameo, and implies that Yggdra Union is a prequel to the latter.

I feel better now.

re: larger series- Department Heaven series

http://www.giantbomb.com/dept-heaven/3025-678/

hunh I never realized that was a thing until you brought it up

i've liked all the dept. heaven games but sometimes they feel complicated in a way that is kind of superfluous. recently played through Gungnir which was very well done but i wound up feeling like the systems were restricting the actual gameplay and diminishing the strategic element.

Oh, god. Knights in the Nightmare. Oh god, that game is crazy.

I'm just going to assume that you're crazy, because everyone knows that anything Fire Emblem related wins by default every time. Even the crummy ones.

I can't really weigh in on this despite posting a reply here anyway. Fire Emblem and Yggdra Union both stressed me out too much to keep playing them. I did play Riviera (and Knights in the Nightmare, but only very briefly because... wha-? whuh?) but that's more of an RPG with Choose Your Own Adventure book elements.

On a semi-related note, I need to stop confusing Sting games with Vanillaware games. They're all just jumbled up in my head.

As someone who has beaten both games, Yggdra Union is AWESOME. but it is no Fire Emblem, which is (to me) one of the best GBA games. Interesting and deep combat, a great story and characters, and those wonderful combat animations, I actually think that the Fire Emblem series lost something when it went to 3D, Awakening's combat doesn't look nearly as cool as the GBA games. Though, I will certainly go grab my copy of Yggdra Union right now, and give it another look :p

fire emblem for me, Yggdra Union was fun and i give it credit for being a bit different but fire was such an awesome gba game.