Let's Play Zoids Legacy: Introduction
About
Zoids Saga II is a Game Boy Advance game released in Japan during 2003 and the second of the Zoids Saga series (obviously). It's a RPG with turn-based combat that has your character and party members fighting in mechanical animals called Zoids. Each Zoid is customizable and you gain new ones either through the storyline or collecting Zoid cores and their data so you can build them. The plot was based off of a device from the first game, but it's explained well enough without you having to have played the original. Almost all of the party members are from different entries in the franchise except for main character Zell, supporting female Yuno, and the Organoid Pulse. This means that there are a lot of party members to choose from by the end of the series with their own strengths and weaknesses.
In 2004, near the end of Zoids in America, Zoids Saga II was released as Zoids Legacy. Western fans rejoiced...until they found out about the horrible translation job and the fact that the main character Zoids in the anime weren't as powerful in the game. Character and Zoid names were either directly translated from Japanese (making them different from their "official" English names) or didn't seem to make any sense. This, of course, is the version I'll be going through since I can't read Japanese and because there are points where the translations are downright hilarious.
Main Characters
Zeru Jupit: [Boy on the left] Our (fourteen year old) hero! As per anime rules, Zeru's parents and the rest of village were destroyed during an attack, making him homeless and an orphan. He's traveling around in his Gustav (a transport Zoid) and doing absolutely nothing when the plot starting earthquake hits. Zeru happens to wear a pendant of his mother's that his father gave him before the whole death of everybody he knows thing. The pendant will come up often in the storyline. It is Important.
Because of how the game is, the player can change Zeru's first name to whatever they like. Also, you are allowed to give him a customizable battle message that he shouts when he attacks.
Juno Hera: [Girl on the right] A mysterious girl that Zeru runs into after he gets swarmed by a large number of Zoids and she happens to save his dumbass self. She has no memory of her past before a year ago and travels to search for anything that can help her get her memories back. For the most part, Juno doesn't do much beyond give you a ridiculously useful command and get kidnapped as much as Mokuba. She also tends to be in pain a lot because of headaches or whatever.
Pulse: [The awesome looking cat robot] Pulse is an Organoid and for those of you who don't know, they're small living Zoids (Organoid= organic Zoid) that can fuse with a Zoid and give them enhanced power. Unlike most Organoids, Pulse has ZOS or Zoidcore Overload System, which allows him to give Zeru up to two extra turns in battle. Another nifty feature Pulse has is the ability to change colors depending on Zeru's emotions. The color change occur through specific dialogue choices. This isn't just for cosmetic reasons. For each color, two stats will be strengthened. You are able to get each color up to 99, but whatever your first choice is (when it hits 99) will be the color Pulse is for the rest of the game.
Emotion colors: White (HP and Defense), Blue (Speed and Sensor Accuracy), Black (Attack and Speed), Red (Defense and Attack)
Current Choices
Renaming Zeru
and new battle message