Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu

This is the first in Bothtec’s series of games based on the anime adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka’s science fiction novel cycle Legend of the Galactic Heroes. The games are set in the fictional future as depicted in the novels: humanity has spread all over the Milky Way, and split into two powerful states which are having a permanent war with each other: the Galactic Empire, and the Free Planets Alliance. Two genius strategists are leading the forces of their respective states: Reinhard von Müsel for the Empire, and Yang Wenli for the Alliance.

The game is dedicated entirely to large-scale strategic battles and is not particularly story-driven. There are five different scenarios to choose from, which put the player in control of either Imperial or Alliance forces and revolve around “historical” battles based on the novels’ lore, with exact dates and victory conditions.

The combat takes place between space ships, and is set entirely in outer space. The player usually takes control of a “home planet”, which is able to deploy a limited number of units. The player then navigates the units in turn-based fashion on the top-down map. Enemies typically appear after a few turns; depending on the goal, the player must prevent them from invading planets, destroy them, have his own ships invade a planet, etc.

The space ships come in different flavors: high-speed battle ships, cruisers, supply ships, etc. Each ship has different mobility, attack range, weapons, defense parameters, etc. Actual combat is displayed on a separate screen and is automatic. The player usually has a choice to use different weapons (cannons, missiles, etc.) against the enemy ships.