First off, this isn't exactly a comprehensive guide. It won't teach you Japanese. It will explain what the menus are for those who can't read Japanese. As far as playing Brig GE without knowing Japanese, I'm afraid I don't have the time to write that thorough of a document. *sorry*One note about Multi-player mode: Since the purpose of this option is to match wits and strategies against other actual people, there are no final boss battles.
Another note: Several of the choices you are about to make can be adjusted in the option menu during gameplay.
When you start マルチプレイモード (Multi player mode) you will be given three choices (seen left.) Scenario one begins in the 3rd month of year 215; meant for 6 players; includes All 6 counties. Scenario two begins in the 10th month of year 216; meant for 4 players; includes Esgares, Norgard, Iscalio and Caerleon. Scenario three begins in month 6 of year 218; meant for 3 players; includes Iscalio, Norgard and Caerleon.
NOTE: It is possible to play the multiplayer options with less than the minimum players. You can let the game AI (which seasoned Brigandine players already know as 'COM') control whichever countries you don't have a human player for.
Next you chose which player will control which country. Use the D-pad to move between countries and O to choose. When you do press O, a box will pop asking you to confirm. As always, to the left is はい (yes) and to the right is いいえ (No). Also you can just press O to confirm or X to cancel.
Once you have chosen which players will control which countries, do you have any countries left over? You can let the COM control the others. Just press X. The game will ask you to confirm: Left is yes and right is no.
NOTE: You must choose at least one country. If you press X without choosing at least one country, the game will return you to the scenario selection screen. Also, you can add and remove human players in the option menu during gameplay.
Next, it's time to decide the method of victory (see image, right.)
In the first choice, victory is based upon the number of castles you own at the time-limit's expiration.
For the second choice, the player with the highest score at the end of the time limit is the winner. The score is basically transparent throughout the game. Thus you do not know who won until the game time limit runs out. The explanation text reads, "score is added or subtracted due to battle." It doesn't explain in detail if performance during battle is evaluated somehow or if you just gain points for wining a battle and lose points for losing a battle. However, if one person defeats all the others before the time runs out, that person's obviously going to have the most points.
With the third choice, whichever country occupies Logres on the last turn wins the game.
Choose one and hit O. There is no confirmation, but on the next screen you can immediately hit X to return to this one. This is not something you can change in gameplay, so make sure of your choice.
Once you chose a method of victory, the the game parameters window appears. These settings can be made in any order, and changed in any order, but I address them sequentially top to bottom. Once you choose "Finished" (at the bottom) most of these parameters can also be adjusted in the option menu during gameplay.
The first parameters option chooses the length of the game. See that kanji next to the number? That's the kanji for year. Thus 5年 means 5 years. D-pad L-R changes the number of years.
The time limit offered depends on which scenario you are playing:
Scenario 1: 1-6 years, or unlimited
Scenario 2: 1-5 years, or unlimited
Scenario 3: 1-3 years, or unlimited
NOTE: The final selection 無制限 means 'unlimited'.I suppose with unlimited time frame the only way to win is to completely eliminate the other countries. Furthermore, you can add or subtract years in the option menu during gameplay.
The second parameters option is only visible if you choose one of the countries to be played by the AI. This selection changes the difficulty level (D-pad R-L changes setting):
上級: Hard
中級: Normal
初級: Easy
Choose wisely - you cannot change this parameter during gameplay.
The third parameters option decides how you want battles to happen between players (D-pad R-L changes setting):
通常: Normal; You and your opponent go at like Player vs. COM battle in Story Mode.
自動: Automatic; The COM fights for both players, without showing the battle. This is like the COM vs COM battles in Story Mode (unless you have COM vs COM turned on...) Note: Wouldn't doing this completely remove the point of multi-player mode??Anyway...If you change your mind, you can switch between modes in the option menu during gameplay.
The fourth parameters option is only visible if you chose one of the countries to be played by the AI. This setting does the same thing as the player vs player setting above, except with Player vs COM battles. Again, this can be changed in the option menu during gameplay.
The fifth parameters option decides turn order. Press O and you will be given two choices. The one on top (オーだ) means you manually choose the order of gameplay.
Press O if you want to select the order. You will see the list of countries. How many and which countries displayed depends on which scenario you are playing. To the right you'll see the English names next to their Japanese counterparts.Use D-pad U-D to choose whichever country you wish to go first and press O. The number 1 will appear to the left of the name. Use the D-pad again to choose which country you want to go second and press O. The number 2 will appear next to the name. See the pattern? Continue until you've decided the order for all countries. If there is only one country left, the AI will automatically assign that country last in order. Then the confirmation window will pop up. Choose the left selection, はい (yes) to move on, or the right selection, いいえ (No) to change the order. Once you confirm, you will be taken back to the parameters page.
The bottom choice (ランダム) lets the AI decide turn order randomly, EACH TURN. However, strategy and attack phases happen in the same order per turn. For example, in Scenario three, the first turn, strategy phase - Norgard might go first, then Iscalio, then Esgares. In Attack phase it would go the same, Norgard deicdes which castle(s) to attack, then Iscalio, then Esgares. On the next turn, it could be Iscalio, Norgard, Esgares. The next turn Norgard, Esgares, Iscalio. And so on.
If you select ランダム and press O a message will appear telling you the AI will decide the order randomly. Press O to continue. You will return to the parameters page.
If you're getting bored with a static turn order, or if random turn order is driving you nuts, you can switch between modes in the option menu during gameplay.
The sixth and final parameters option lets you chose alliances. This can be handy in the 3-player mode, because Norgard has more castles than Iscalio and Caerleon put together. Imagine that, Iscalio and Caerleon allies!! And before you ask, yes, the alliance can be broken (just like the Caerleon-New Almekia Alliance in Story Mode.) Or, if both human players agree to removing the alliance, you can do so in the Option menu during gameplay.
The last option finishes setting parameters and takes you into the game. The next section (WIP) will cover gameplay, including new items in the Option menu not found in Story Mode. I'll also be giving brief synopses of each scenario's opening information. Finally, I will give a quick run-down of what happens at the end of a multi-player game.