Rebelstar: Tactical Command - Second Play (Chapter 14: Breach)

I thought I was a victim of a wonky save system. Remember in the last Play Rating I wondered why you might need the “copy save game” feature? Well, I found one good reason why - the game overwrites your current save game when a new chapter starts, without warning and no chance to back out. So if you haven’t copied the save game to a new slot (which can only be done when you first fire up the game), your chance to replay history is gone.

But this can be a real problem if, in your previous chapter, you lose some key characters, like I did in Chapter 12, Base Defense. This is the first chapter where you get to equip your squad from the store room and have some minor control over start character placement. There’s a nice full list of weapons to choose from, like rockets (yeah!), flame throwers, machine guns and the like. After deploying my squad of five, adding to the two already on the map, the attackers moved in. First it is the grenade wielding Fraylars, then a couple of big ol’ dinosaurs. I did pretty well, but lost both my heavy weapons guy (Zak) and the main character, Jorel, so I figured it was time to retry it.

But I forgot about the overwrite and, lo and behold, I started the next chapter (Fraylar Outpost) with only 5 characters and no backup save game! I did have one from a few chapters back, so I was facing the depressing prospect of replaying several chapters just to get back to Chapter 12. Sigh.

So I began the slog. I eventually buttonmash back to the start of Chapter 12 again, but before I erase my Chapter 13 save, I decide to give it a quick play through to see what I’m up against. All I have for a party is the medic, who is terrible even with a pistol and has no healing packages, the second string medic, who’s even worse, Glen, the “scientist” who brings shooting prowess to new lows, Carlos, the mysterious blue hooded one who likes to get his hands dirty, and Gordo, the pretty boy. Well, somehow I do manage to clean out the map, with Gordo, alternating between panic and shooting wildly, the last man standing after going mano i mano with the final Fraylar, .

And then in Chapter 14, mirabile ductu, all of my characters return, none the worse for wear! Jorel comes back for a big cut scene, as he plans out an attack on the Fraylar HQ. Very disconcerting but nonetheless a relief.

So now I plan out my strategy for the next play rating. I’m not sure exactly how much I’ve lost from the previous chapters. In the past, my efforts at looting the bodies hasn’t been effective, as you start the chapters with preloaded characters and equipment. But I’m wondering if that has changed and if I will feel any ill effects from losing so much in Chapter 12? It’s going to make for some tough save game decisions, as there are only three slots. At what point am I going to be able to decide to wipe out my retry? I think I might finally have a save game process ready anyway:

1. Begin chapter - watch cut scenes
2. Power off the GBA, because once you are “In Battle”, you’re not allowed to copy the save
3. Power back on and copy the save to another slot
4. Start the game, do the equipping and deployment and save game

A little clunky, wouldn’t you say? But besides the creaky save system, the game has been playing pretty well. I like having a wider variety of weapons to chose from, and I’m hoping to try out the flame thrower soon. The story is moving along, and tactical choices are getting more varied. The next few chapters should answer my questions about how losses affect you, but right now, it seems as long as you make it to the end of the chapter, the impact of losing characters is minimal.