Bahamut Lagoon

The last game, that I can remember, of my dark aged experiences, Bahamut Lagoon. I'm going to call it Bahamut's Lagoon a lot, so get used to it. It's a seldom spoken of Squaresoft tactical RPG for the SNES. No one talks about it because it was only released in Japan and, to my knowledge, still hasn't received an official English translation. The only thing I remember about it is the final boss map is a technicolor vomit. Is it good? Let's find out.

The opening cutscene has various creatures that could be construed as dragons flying around, showcasing various locations until we get to the main menu. I don't know what temporary play is, and I have no old save data, so I select New Game!

Prologue: The Downfall of Kahne Castle
The King of Kahne speaks to Bahamut, who's off screen. He says that the enemy, the Granbelos Empire, is quickly approaching. But Bahamut remains silent. Two people enter the room, but the screen swaps away to a floating sky fortress. These are the party members, Kahne's Dragon Squad! We start the game with the ability to name our MC. The game suggests Byuu, so I go with it. We're on the verge of an attack, and we need to help defend the castle. Several of our dragons fly off to join the defense, but three stay behind. We meet some of our party members, Bikkebakke and Rush, and we get to name our dragons. I only renamed IceDrake because it's lame. IceDrake is now Fafnir. Salamundo and Molten are perfectly fine names, so I kept them. Rush can give us a small tutorial on commanding dragons. The gist is they work on AI, but we can provide vague directions like "Go," "Stay," and "Defend." We can also ask him about the "Stained Sky." It's a flashback that explains why the Granbelos Empire attacked. Ever since they conquered the sky, it's changed to the color of sadness. When we're done, we can talk to Salamando, our dragon, again and get to the battle.

We cut back to Kahne King talking to the two people who entered as the screen shifted. One is his daughter, Yoyo. The other isn't mentioned here, but it's a commander of Kahne, Sendek. We can name Yoyo, so she's important. She has the power of "Dragnar," whatever that means. Bahamut remains silent. We cut to the throne room, and a bunch of people are mad because Byuu hasn't shown up to defend the castle. And just like that, we storm in with an explanation. We attacked a sky fortress, apparently, but it was a decoy. But we're here now and just in time. Enemy soldiers are across the bridge outside the castle, so the first battle in the game starts.

A soldier from the castle, Matelite, destroys the bridge. This makes it impossible for enemies to cross, but we can't do anything, either, unless the river gets frozen. It doesn't mean much, but it's a fun way to introduce terrain, dragon combat, and field skills. Bahamut's Lagoon is a strategy RPG not unlike Fire Emblem. Players have a go, and then the enemy gets their round. The difference is, our characters travel in a squad of up to four people. When we begin a battle, it becomes a more traditional turn based RPG. But that only happens if we start (or defend) with a physical attack. Many units have access to field skills, which can harm enemies without starting a fight. We seem to do less damage in them, but there is no risk of a counterattack. The skills function similar to magic, so I'll probably be calling them that for the rest of the game. Dragons, meanwhile, attack of their own accord. Sometimes they'll strike with a physical attack, but they can also perform a magic move. Magic moves always hit an entire group, and normal attacks only strike one. It's a lot of fun! But this first battle can be finished just by having the three dragons do everything. You can, and should, lob a few spells across the river if you can, but they carried. As we finish the fight, we'll learn it meant nothing.

A soldier will exit from behind us and tell us another group of enemies has breached the throne room. We'll all rush in and see members of the Granbelos Empire around the room. General Sauzer will tell the King that he'll become the prophesied hero about the legend of the Holy Dragons. This shocks our King because 1.), this isn't heroic, and 2.) how could Sauser even know about the legend? Sauzer kidnaps Princess Yoyo, and another General, Palpaleos, will look at us. The King will be killed, the screen will turn grey, and the chapter ends. "One era ends, but another will begin."
 

Chapter One: The Beginning

"Several winters have passed since [Byuu] left." Time skips ahead several years, and we see several people running around, trying to survive the winter. As they do, the dragons fly overhead. The man who wrote the letter, Sendek, will remark that this means Byuu has returned with the dragons. It seems that many of our dragons ran off after the fight, but our friend, Salamando, stayed loyal. All the ones we named before appear, along with a new one. I renamed Thinderhawk to Ruhk because I like legends. I think I misspelled his name, and I'm afraid to check, though. Regardless, a few of the soldiers around are excited. This means that we can begin to retake Kahne and save the world. Mateilite is here, as is his second in command, Taicho. Taicho is from another kingdom brought to ruin by Granbelos. Along with a few mages, everyone joins our party. We just got home, but we're already sent off to another mission. We can look around the house for a few items, as well as a memory that Matelite had stored away somehow. It's a scene that he wasn't in about a blossoming love affair between Yoyo and Byuu. After you've searched the area, speak to our dragon, and we'll fly off to our next battle.

We'll fly to where we started the game and see that it's an earth covered battleship. It's currently occupied by enemies led by a guy who won his job for being the best in the javelin throw. The gameplay is pretty simple, but there's more opportunity to do some real fighting this time. The dragons can be overwhelmed, so we'll need to lead the charge. Keep the mages at the back, and led Byuu and Matelite get in the face of the boss. When the dust settles, we'll enter our home again. We'll meet a few soldiers who are on our side. I'll only name our pilot, Hornet, because there's a lot of characters in this game. We'll rejoice that the Resistance is up and running again, and Medelite will give us a rousing speech. It's about the chain command, but no one buys it. Everyone behind us knows that Byuu is the leader, even Hornet and Commander Sendek. As leader, Medelite and Taicho will have a prominent role, I promise. The Kahne flag is put up in the cockpit, and Matelite hopes to add to it soon, pointing out Taicho's home of Mahal. There's some more tutorial about formations and feeding dragons. We can buy gear for our massive army, but they're pretty bad. I'm sure they'll make good dragon food, though. But something is missing... We really need Princess Yoya!

We cut to a scene with General Sauzer and Palpaleous, bromancing out in Yoyo's cell while she sleeps. I'm not sure what was said because I found it really weird. Why are they talking about this here of all places? But our party thinks they know where she is: The Green Continent of Cambell. So we set off there. But I'll do that...

...tomorrow!

A few world building things: there are no continents in this game. Everything is a landmass in the sky called lagoons. The main thing about BL is the dragons. If we feed them items, they grow. They can even change appearance and evolve. I'm a bit worried about how micromanagey this'll be, but I'm curious how I'll do without a guide. So far, I've fed Salamando a few fire grasses because that's the reward for killing people with fire. Elemental attacks add to the chance of getting a rare item, so save a few MPs for a final push. Finally, we got a chance to name our ship. I went with Lucilia because I love you, Lucy. Also, how pervy is Sendek going to be? He's not that much a lecherous old man, gay or otherwise, right?