Rance Series

[Maxie]

Rick Addison is the dumbest motherfucker this side of Rio Grande, bless his soul
also looks like a pervert

 

[Maxie]

I am suffering, especially on this crop protection mission. How the hell I'm supposed to protect the plants from ants when the ants will ignore all my dudes, frequently even when taunted, I have no idea.

Just finished this mission, it's a major pain in the butt. The first thing you need to decide is if you're going to try and get the monkey orb and the item on the same run or not, since that'll decide your team composition. I just managed to get both on one run so here's what I did.

Firstly, the Treasure Dango will leave on (I think) turn 3 so you'll definitely want Tilde, since her skill is perfect for boss/dango killing. Have her Store Power on turn 2 then unleash on turn 3. You may need to get a little lucky since the Dango can repeatedly proc Tenacity, but if Tilde has some damage boosts she may just keep attacking anyway, so you'll probably be okay. Her killing the dango is the easiest part (and frustrating when it doesn't happen, though fortunately you'll know by turn 3, and Tourin may be able to reach it after it teleports and take it out anyway, since it'll be at 1 HP).

Secondly, Tourin is very helpful here. He's not a strong unit but his boost to movement is very helpful here and his ability to max your gauge is almost necessary - with 4 units deployed there's no guarantee it'll be maxed by turn 3 for Tilde, but he takes care of that. He can cover fire too if there's no one he can kill, may come in handy.

Thirdly, for the last 2 spots I found 2 tanks to be necessary. A NOTE ON TAUNT: The way taunt works, if a unit can attack the unit that taunted it, it will. However, if it can't reach the unit to attack it, then the AI seems to function as if it isn't taunted. The Antons only have 3 move (and can block each other's access to a tank by taking up an open side) so if they can't reach an open side to attack the taunter, they won't even move toward the them, they'll just attack whoever is closest (probably an Aloe). I used Senhime and Pitten as my tanks, though you could use Patton too instead of Sen. I think Pitten is better than Hubert here since his Taunt is a 3x3 square and Hubert's is just a plus symbol - that extra range will likely matter. Be very careful when using your taunts, since Sen/Patton have a huge un-targetable AOE range: if an Anton is next to Pitten and then gets taunted by another tank that it can't reach, it is effectively not taunted (and will likely go for an Aloe). Unfortunately, Sen/Patton's huge AOE is kinda necessary to reach the sprawled out Antons in the back.

And a final note, make sure your units (or at least tanks/Tilde) has a speed of at least 7; you can give them bugs to raise their speed if necessary. Antons have a speed of 6 and acting first to taunt them before they hit an Aloe can save your run. There's some variability to speed, but having 7 will at least put the odds in your favor and if you've got bugs to spare then higher is better. Always try to make sure the Antons will have a path to an open side of your tanks (check their turn order). Also, make sure you've got some good survivable gear on your tanks, especially good HP boosts (they'll be taking a lot of damage). This was why I used Sen over Patton, her extra Tenacity means she's very hard to take down (this ended up mattering for me).

I put Tourin and Tilde at the top, then Sen below them. Pitten was at about the third space up from the bottom. Pitten charged out and taunted the front 2 Antons (when they go for him they become closer to the front Aloes, who will have more HP since they're spared the early rush). As he's able he draws more Antons from the back row while inching forward (probably only 1 or 2 though). Tilde rushes out, hits an Anton (and won't kill unless she crits or gets to Act Again), then stores power and kills the Dango on turn 3. After that she's clearing out whatever Anton is untaunted or is closest to the lowest HP Aloe - whoever seems the biggest threat. Tourin tings people from a distance, uses his special on turn 2, and then Cover Fires or chips Antons as he can. Sen charges forward and taunts Antons, slowly drawing them back towards the front Aloes if she can move and stay in range (the back Aloes are likely raggedy at this point). It is better to have Sen's speed higher than Pitten's (likely 8 to his 7, though more is fine) so she doesn't fuck up his taunt with her own. Hopefully a counter is two is happening so Tilde/Tilde+Tourin can kill them with their own attacks.

And that's it. Charge forward, take out the dango, taunt the Antons, draw them back, whittle them down while they're focusing on your tanks. You may need to get lucky with Aloe Tenacity or a critical/act again but I can testify that this method will work. Took forever to figure out this lineup and this map... just sucks, but it is doable. Good luck.

(Doing this in 2 separate runs for the item and orb will likely be easier, since you can bring Rance/Rick/Someone with an AOE attack instead of Tilde - though that means you have to experience that hell twice. Just have them focus on Antons around the top tank with their AOE, make sure your tanks have open sides, and clean up as necessary. 7+ Speed and 2 tanks I think is the key)

I've just managed to beat Crop Protection, Monkey Orb+Dango, with no taunt, fielding Kanami, Rance, Tilde, and Freya, all of them at Speed 8 at least (Freya at Speed 12 I believe)
my strat? having a disgusting lot of luck the top right Aloe procced Tenacity twice (!), tanking three Antons at once for two turns straight
also, the Dango didn't escape at all, I killed it by turn 5 lol

 

[Maxie]

 

[Tyrr]

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

 

[Maxie]

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

Kanami is the only girl to star in every single game except 5D (she's in the series more often than Sill is lol)
she's quite literally a running joke

 

[Jaedar]

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

Kanami has a rough go of it in general. IX is probably her personal high mark.

I've just managed to beat Crop Protection

I have decided it is optional and not worth bothering with, same as Gunagan. A bit upset about missing the Gunagan CG, but so it goes.

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

Kanami is the only girl to star in every single game except 5D (she's in the series more often than Sill is lol)

That's not really true. She's not even named until 3 and doesn't speak at all in 2 iirc. Meanwhile Sill has a speaking role in every game except IX, although a very small one in Quest. I'm actually impressed by alicesoft for not even throwing in a Sill cameo in a flashback or shapeshifting potion or something. Praise Alice for getting one entirely Sill-free game!

she's quite literally a running joke

Narratively yes, but in terms of gameplay I'd say no. She's never really strong enough to be very helpful in the final boss battles, but she tends to be one of the better characters in the early/mid game.
-------------------
I'm getting close to finishing the game, only Shizuka final chapter left. Will post something longer after finishing and thinking a bit, but for now here's my guide to which heroine routes (events + final chapter) matter canonically:
Minor spoilers for IX and X, but I've tried to keep it vague and to a minimum.

Spoiler

Russian: She is pretty important in X, so seeing her events is good. The final chapter deviates very little from true though.
Kanami: Everything that happens during the final chapter is essentially non-canon, but all the effects it has on Kanami (and her relationship to Rance) are canon. Important for Kanami's character in X, but she's not super important.
Sen: Might as well have happened during true route. Important for Sen's character in X, although her role is minor.
Miracle: The final chapter is totally non-canon, as are most of the effects (would say all but I didn't do all miracle content in X so I'm not a 100% sure). The events are maybe a bit helpful to understanding Miracle, and she's a pretty major side character in X.
Shizuka: Her and Nagi don't make sense in X if you don't play this, and apparantly only if you are slow in the final chapter? WTF Alicesoft. I 100% assumed this stuff happened during true route, it not happening was the biggest twist of the game for me.
Pigu: Pigu is best girl, but this route is not important at all. One of the early uncredited bad ends of X riffs on it, but that's it.
Tilde: Leazas 3 (a major but optional quest) in X is basically a continuation of the events in this route, although the final chapter is non-canon. Garmlore has a 100% accurate opinion of Rance, which is fun.

tl;dr:
If you're only gonna do one playthrough go for Russian, Shizuka, (sigh) Tilde and one of Sen and Kanami. Should easily be enough monkey orbs for 4 characters.

 

[Maxie]

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

Kanami is the only girl to star in every single game except 5D (she's in the series more often than Sill is lol)

That's not really true. She's not even named until 3 and doesn't speak at all in 2 iirc. Meanwhile Sill has a speaking role in every game except IX, although a very small one in Quest. I'm actually impressed by alicesoft for not even throwing in a Sill cameo in a flashback or shapeshifting potion or something. Praise Alice for getting one entirely Sill-free game!

I haven't played the original I and II, just 01 and 02, and I'm quite sure Kanami's named in 01
as for 02, perhaps my mind's playing tricks on me, in which case she's tied with Sill appearance-wise imo

 

[Tyrr]

Poor Kanami. You have to feel sorry for her during Rance Quest.

Kanami is the only girl to star in every single game except 5D (she's in the series more often than Sill is lol)

That's not really true. She's not even named until 3 and doesn't speak at all in 2 iirc. Meanwhile Sill has a speaking role in every game except IX, although a very small one in Quest. I'm actually impressed by alicesoft for not even throwing in a Sill cameo in a flashback or shapeshifting potion or something. Praise Alice for getting one entirely Sill-free game!

I haven't played the original I and II, just 01 and 02, and I'm quite sure Kanami's named in 01
as for 02, perhaps my mind's playing tricks on me, in which case she's tied with Sill appearance-wise imo

I replayed the official translated titles in the last month to be ready for 9. In 1 she is just 'the ninja'.

 

[Jaedar]

I'm actually impressed by alicesoft for not even throwing in a Sill cameo in a flashback or shapeshifting potion or something. Praise Alice for getting one entirely Sill-free game!

*sigh* nevermind.

I haven't played the original I and II, just 01 and 02, and I'm quite sure Kanami's named in 01
as for 02, perhaps my mind's playing tricks on me, in which case she's tied with Sill appearance-wise imo

I replayed the official translated titles in the last month to be ready for 9. In 1 she is just 'the ninja'.

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure in 02 she's just a background character in a CG, lia/maris do all the talking.
If we count "appears in a CG" as being in the game then well, see my sigh above. Sill appears in every rance game, unlike Kanami. Although Kanami is in the party for longer in 6, 8 and 9, arguably also in 7 (which still leaves at least 6 games in which the opposite is true).

Apparently I'm missing some variations of Pamela, Athena and Ruberan faces in the cg menu? No idea how that happened.

 

[Tyrr]

R1 is also the only time I remember Kanami's 'Fire Bowl Jutsu' not being a joke.

 

[Maxie]

the joke is that kanami is a dummy and misread the technique scroll, it's supposed to be fire burst jutsu

 

[Jason Liang]

Kanami may be the worst Ninja, but she's still a ninja. She was invaluable to me in Rance 6 for stunning bosses and hannies (or as a backup in case Caloria went down). She's also easily the most useful Leazas character in the main part of Rance X.

And, she actually isn't the worst Ninja! Clearly Hattori Hanzou and the Goninjas ware worse Ninjas :p

 

[Jaedar]

(or as a backup in case Caloria went down)

Says a lot that even when one tries to praise Kanami, she's just the backup to someone better.

She's also easily the most useful Leazas character in the main part of Rance X.

Not just most useful, but EASILY most useful?
Imagine picking kanami above Rick, all the Provances and Cordoba.
Are you a gambling addict for that 30% interrupt, or do you just have a crippling weakness for purple hair?


I almost never used her though. Relying on interrupts for defence is kind of a desperation move imo. Sometimes it's all you have, but it's never a good place to be.

And, she actually isn't the worst Ninja! Clearly Hattori Hanzou and the Goninjas ware worse Ninjas :p

That's army leading ability though. But you do speak some truth, she has good stat growth in X compared to all the other ninjas.

 

[Tyrr]

From all the western releases I played, she was the most useful in Rance Quest. But not ninja/ranger, but as frontline short sword specialist.

 

[Maxie]

kanami pros:
- sleeps in the attic, no beds wasted
- her daughter kinda looks like suzume
kanami cons:
- it's kanami

 

[Jaedar]

From all the western releases I played, she was the most useful in Rance Quest. But not ninja/ranger, but as frontline short sword specialist.

It really is cool how everyone seems to end up with different parties in Rance Quest. Most underrated game in the series?

- her daughter kinda looks like suzume

Uzume best girl.

 

[Jason Liang]

It really is cool how everyone seems to end up with different parties in Rance Quest. Most underrated game in the series?

I agree with the first part (very cool seeing how different everyone's endgame usage stats are), one of the best parts of Rance Quest is everyone seems to figure it out their own way.

But, most underrated game? You *know* which one that is :D

 

[Maxie]

It really is cool how everyone seems to end up with different parties in Rance Quest. Most underrated game in the series?

I agree with the first part (very cool seeing how different everyone's endgame usage stats are), one of the best parts of Rance Quest is everyone seems to figure it out their own way.

But, most underrated game? You *know* which one that is :D

5D rekindled TADA's interest in the Rance series and almost extinguished mine
truly impressive

 

[distant]

Did anyone bother finishing the optional bosses? What do you get? I was done after finishing the 4 extra routes. I gave a few a try while playing and got eaten up by the AOE and health pools.

 

[Jason Liang]

I'm displeased to share that earlier this evening I learned that some of the heroine routes are more difficult than others :/

 

[Jaedar]

So my thoughts on IX, spoilered because it's recent:

Spoiler

In terms of gameplay I found it interesting to compare with IV, which I just played. Both are fairly similar in the basic mechanics, and neither is particularly good. If anything IV has more depth since it has more skills and friendlies don't ignore collision. But where playing IV is like pulling teeth, IX is smooth as butter so it's entire painless, but you're still not going to think about it for 5s when you're not playing it.

I really don't like how easy it is for formations to collapse when there's no zone of control. It is kind of fun to wipe out a dozen enemies with a single super attack, but having each battle be against 50+ enemies, and most of those battles having only 4 unit types (slow and tanky knights, fast spearmen, crossbowmen and wizards) does not make for very engaging gameplay either.

The hoverfort is an interesting idea, but in practice it doesn't really work out. Few battles let you use it, they're not hard enough, nor the abilities powerful enough, to warrant engaging with the system. And you'll be swimming in the consumable resource anyway. Having gear upgrades have a 70% chance of not doing anything is also a pretty baffling decision. The system for upgrading your characters is also fine but bland.

Add to this that the game is 100% linear with the exception of the infinitely repeatable optional fights (hope you like grinding if you want to do the hard ones) and it's really bland overall.

In terms of story and writing Helman feels completely one dimensional, being composed entirely of barren land, farmed by poor yet stoic peasants and their buff and stoicer military. It's frequently mentioned that Helman has gone to the gutters due to poor leadership, but it's never mentioned how and in the epilogue the good guys fix the whole country in a month, while also transitioning to a democracy. Nor is it explained why the soldiers loyal to the old regime just give up instantly when the chancellor dies. The country was bad because bad guys were in charge, and now the good guys are in charge so all the 'problems' fixed themselves.

But this is kind of to be expected, because actual Helmanians outside the armies and ruling council basically don't exist in the story. This can be compared to VI or sengoku where you do have some interactions with religious institutions, civilians, etc (especially in VI). So I was pretty disappointed, as helman should be very cool on paper, being the oldest existing country, having an actual border to the monsters and it's relations to holy magic sect. The capital even has a huge imposing ruin in the background, that glows ominously at night, but nope, not explored. It all fell kind of flat for me.

I'm glad they didn't just go for the "monsters invade at the end, everyone must unite" twist, but instead it feels like it turned into a very simple and straightforward affair where you show up, curbstomp all opposition and proclaim victory.

The writing is pretty good overall though, with some funny banter, somber moments and generally moving forward at a decent pace. I still don't like Tilde, and I wish some of the minor returning characters (alkaneze, tourin, maria, crook) had been helmanians (replace crook with a local priest(ess), alkaneze with bonk, tourin with cream, etc) instead, or that characters like Freya were promoted to main cast. Out of the 7 heroines only 3 are helmanians and both pigu and miracle have dubious connections to the actual country as such.

I think the decision to make all the alternate routes pseudo-canonical is also a weird one.

I was never really annoyed with the game, even on NG+ for the last few endings. And there is definitely something to be said for being thoroughly inoffensive. In terms of the Rance series, I think it's enough to place it above IV, 5D and 02, although that's still bottom tier.

It might be time for me to actually do the helman content in X.

 

[Jaedar]

Did anyone bother finishing the optional bosses? What do you get? I was done after finishing the 4 extra routes. I gave a few a try while playing and got eaten up by the AOE and health pools.

Nah. Gunagan seems like a pure dps check due to the counterattacks, Hanny king like a stat check, and the NG+ ones were just ridiculous.
I feel a bit bad about Gunagan, but I am for sure not going to grind to get there.

I'm displeased to share that earlier this evening I learned that some of the heroine routes are more difficult than others :/

I freely admit I used cheat engine on Sheilas route, because when I ran out of special move uses I could not fit enough attackers around the boss to outrace the healing, so the fight stalled out at like 30% boss hp. I might have been able to do it if I had played really well and redone all my item equips, but I really didn't feel like it.

I had 0 issues with all the rest though.

 

[Tyrr]

The Hoverfort felt the most powerful during that one battle where

Spoiler

you have to fight like 20-30 monsters in front of a tamer. I just grabbed the tamer, put him next to Rance and Rick and killed him. Next turn the monsters rampaged and the battle was good as won.

 

[Maxie]

Miracle is from Zeth I think, she visited Helman because ???

 

[Tyrr]

Miracle is from Zeth I think, she visited Helman because ???

I think they mentioned she met Patton in Zeth. So he must have invited her.