Changes: Battle Realms

Revision as of 02:00, 4 February 2020

BRCover — Original cover of the game's licensed physical copy.

Overview

Battle Realms is a real-time strategy game released by Ubisoft and Crave Entertainment in 2001, developed by Liquid Entertainment.

With a strong Japanese theme, the game's "Clans" are composed of the Serpent, Lotus, and Wolf clans, with rumors of an ancient Dragon clan.

There are two distinct storylines that take place in over 36 scenarios. Each sides core campaign has 14 scenarios, but gameplay choices will affect the path of the game.

During your campaign you can have up to six different Zen Masters to help you. Provided you keep them alive, they will carry over from mission to mission. Once the Keep becomes available to you, you will no longer have to worry about keeping them alive.

The Campaign Plot

The campaign starts off as Kenji returns home and must decide whether to revive the great legacy of the noble Dragon Clan, or to simply follow in the footsteps as his corrupt predecessors by leading the insidious Serpent Clan. Regardless, Kenji will find himself up in arms against the Wolf Clan, the Lotus Clan, and perhaps even the horde his ancestors thought they escaped.

You can learn more about the History of Battle Realms' here.

Setting

Battle Realms Map — "Battle Realms Island"

The entire story of Battle Realms takes place in a fictional universe rather than real earth, taking to an unknown continent, which is quite often referred to by many players as "Battle Realms Island". There are quite a few locations that can be accessed through the campaign of "Kenji's Journey", or by playing "Battle Realms: Winter of The Wolf" and playing through "Grayback's Journey".

"Precursor To War"

Long ago, back when Battle Realms was still in development, a special edition of the game was available to the interested customers. Such sites as IGN used to promote it.

According to IGN, this edition came with extras such as:

Exclusive multiplayer maps
Music from the "Battle Realms" soundtrack
Detailed clan descriptions
A Comprehensive "History of the Realm"
Full set of concept Art
The "Battle Realms" promotional trailer

The Collector's Edition Medal

BRMedal — Clear photo of the medal taken by GriffinPrime (Jan 2020)

At some point, there was also a number of custom-made medals shipped along with the collector's edition.

The medal shows the early Battle Realms logo which is meant to represent Yin & Yang symbol in its own unique style. It was around during the release of the game and could be seen all over the official sites and forums (the CD back cover also has it).

Ed Del Castillo's reply concerning the medal:

Medals - I don’t remember much, if at all about the medals. They were made as a marketing promotion and I think it was either a press exclusive or you got it if you preordered the game through the Ubisoft site. It was so exclusive that no one at Liquid, not even me, got one. :(.

The logo on the medal was the official logo for BR, as I recall, the spikey Ying yang shield that was used later happened because the artists couldn’t give me the original logo to my quality standards and so had to create something new that they could execute.

On January 20, 2020, user GriffinPrime posted a clear picture of their medal on BR reddit, inquiring about its origins.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:KomiFiles BR RELEASE HEAD-0.jpg|thumb|700x700px]]
-[[File:Battle_realms_Logo.jpg|thumb|270px|The cover art for Battle Realms]]Battle realms is a real-time strategy game released by Ubisoft and Crave Entertainment in 2001, developed by Liquid Entertainment.
+[[File:BRCover.jpg|thumb|360x360px|Original cover of the game's licensed physical copy.]]
+== Overview ==
+''Battle Realms'' is a real-time strategy game released by [[Ubisoft]] and [[Crave Entertainment]] in 2001, developed by [[Liquid Entertainment]].
-With a strong Japanese theme, the game's "Clans" are composed of the Serpent, Lotus, and Wolf clans, with rumors of an ancient Dragon clan.
+With a strong Japanese theme, the game's "Clans" are composed of the [[Serpent]], [[Lotus]], and [[Wolf]] clans, with rumors of an ancient [[Dragon]] clan.
-There are two distinct storylines that take place in over 36 scenarios. Each sides core campaign has 14 scenarios, but gameplay choices will effect the path of the game.
+There are two distinct storylines that take place in over 36 scenarios. Each sides core campaign has 14 scenarios, but gameplay choices will affect the path of the game.
 During your campaign you can have up to six different Zen Masters to help you. Provided you keep them alive, they will carry over from mission to mission. Once the Keep becomes available to you, you will no longer have to worry about keeping them alive.
+== The Campaign Plot ==
 The campaign starts off as Kenji returns home and must decide whether to revive the great legacy of the noble Dragon Clan, or to simply follow in the footsteps as his corrupt predecessors by leading the insidious Serpent Clan. Regardless, Kenji will find himself up in arms against the Wolf Clan, the Lotus Clan, and perhaps even the horde his ancestors thought they escaped.
+You can learn more about the History of Battle Realms' [[History|here]].
+==Setting==
+[[File:Battle_Realms_Map.png|thumb|274px|"Battle Realms Island"]]
+The entire story of Battle Realms takes place in a fictional universe rather than real earth, taking to an unknown continent, which is quite often referred to by many players as "Battle Realms Island". There are quite a few locations that can be accessed through the campaign of "[[Kenji]]'s Journey", or by playing "[[Battle Realms: Winter of The Wolf]]" and playing through "[[Grayback]]'s Journey".
+== "Precursor To War" ==
+Long ago, back when Battle Realms was still in development, a special edition of the game was available to the interested customers. Such sites as IGN used to promote it.
+According to IGN, this edition came with extras such as:
-==Prelude==
+* ''Exclusive multiplayer maps''
+* ''Music from the "Battle Realms" soundtrack''
+* ''Detailed clan descriptions''
+* ''A Comprehensive "History of the Realm"''
+* ''Full set of concept Art''
+* ''The "Battle Realms" promotional trailer''
+== The Collector's Edition Medal ==
-Once, long before the time of our fathers and grandfathers, the land was whole.
+[[File:BRMedal.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Clear photo of the medal taken by GriffinPrime (Jan 2020)]]
+At some point, there was also a number of custom-made medals shipped along with the collector's edition.
+The medal shows the early Battle Realms logo which is meant to represent Yin & Yang symbol in its own unique style. It was around during the release of the game and could be seen all over the official sites and forums (the CD back cover also has it).
-It was as rich and abundant land, a land of rolling hills and pristine forests and its people were many and exotic. Some arrived on ships from distant lands and chose to stay. Some were descended from the hill-folk, and could recite the names of their ancestors beyond the most ancient histories. War was not unknown, but peace was the rule: a peace born of strength and abundance.
+[[Ed Del Castillo]]'s reply concerning the medal:
-Nowhere was the glory of that age greater than in Serpentholm, the keep of the Dragon Clan. Forgotten sculptors fashioned its walls with such cunning that the peasantry believed them alive; a forgotten shogun forged its laws both strict and fair; forgotten masters trained its warriors in fighting techniques subtle and fierce. Even its wisest scholars wrote proudly on sheaves of gilded parchment that the strength and honor of the Dragon would endure forever…
+''Medals - I don’t remember much, if at all about the medals.  They were  made as a marketing promotion and I think it was either a press  exclusive or you got it if you preordered the game through the Ubisoft  site.  It was so exclusive that no one at Liquid, not even me, got one.  :(.''
-…and then, in the span of one year - one sowing, one harvest, one terrible winter - it was all lost.
+''The logo on the medal was the official logo for BR, as I recall, the  spikey Ying yang shield that was used later happened because the  artists couldn’t give me the original logo to my quality standards and  so had to create something new that they could execute.''
-Nobody knows now what they were, demons or spirits or monsters; nobody knew then, either. They were simply the Horde, black and inhuman, and they rose in the thousands and tens of thousands from beyond the northern borders, somewhere in the trackless mountains. Where they passed, nothing lived. Even the trees withered and died. There were no bodies, or survivors to bury them.
+On January  20, 2020, user [[User:GriffinPrime|GriffinPrime]] posted a clear picture of their medal [https://www.reddit.com/r/BattleRealms/comments/ercvre/found_a_thing_can_anyone_tell_me_when_this_came/ on BR reddit], inquiring about its origins.
-Tarrant the Elder ruled Serpentholm in those days, and he was no coward. When he learned of the Horde threat, the most valiant of his samurai rode forth to meet them at first light, hundreds of heroes beneath hundreds of fluttering Dragon banners. It was two weeks before the first and only warrior returned, slumped and over his saddle, his dark blood caked over dozens of vicious, ragged wounds. He was quite dead. Somehow, his horse had fled far and fast enough to escape its rider's fate. Tarrant knew in that instant that the Dragon Clan's only hope of survival lay in a similar flight.
+== Awards ==
-A week later, the walls of Serpentholm - walls that had never fallen to a siege - were abandoned, and the Clan of the Dragon began its long march south. As the months of ceaseless travel passed, the great column of horses, wagons and men swelled with refugees, those who knew the proud Dragon would never flee an opponent who might be beaten. Those who chose to stay and defend their lands were honored. Nobody ever heard from them again. Always, the scouts sent north failed to return, and always, the Dragon marched south.
+[[File:BR Awards.png|none|thumb|368x368px]]
+== Original Physical Copy Covers ==
-At the end of the sixth month, they crossed the final ridge and saw the ocean. The Dragon had nowhere left to run.
+<gallery>
+BRCover.jpg|The original front cover
-Tarrant the Elder had, of course, foreseen this. He set his scholars to devise an escape for his people, and there had been plenty of time for argument and debate during the long march. But there was no time to build ships and nowhere to hide. The greater part of the Dragon's army had already fallen in the first disastrous ride against the Horde. Tarrant's only hope rested in a locked, silver-bound chest within his private wagon: the Serpent Orb, most ancient of the Dragon Clan's treasures and the symbol of his leadership. Some tales claimed that the Orb could summon the spirit of the Dragon itself, if the need were great enough. Few believed these tales, but the need was indeed great. As his weary people prepared for a final stand against the Horde, Tarrant passed leadership of the clan to his son, Tarrant the younger. Then he stood alone-to attempt the impossible, and to die.
+BR Original Disk.jpg|The disk
+BRCover Inside1.jpg|The inside cover #1
-To his last moments, there were no witnesses. We know only that he succeeded. The gathered refugees heard the crash of the Dragon's fury as a terrible wall of air smashed men, horses, and wagons to the ground. Everywhere, the land seemed to writhe in agony. Many of those who survived the long and grueling march were crushed beneath cascades of stone, or disappeared into chasms that appeared beneath their feet. The rest huddled together and prayed for deliverance.
+BRCover Inside2.jpg|The inside cover #2 (actually showing the very old alpha-era unit models)
+BRCover Back.jpg|The back cover
-When the quake subsided, the survivors of the Dragon's wrath could barely move for fear. It took all of the younger Tarrant's courage to begin directing the construction of shelters from the remnants of the train. If the Horde had come upon them, they would have met with no resistance. But the Horde never came.
+Main_image.gif|Part of the early logo
+</gallery>
-It was then - surveying the broken remains of his people - that Tarrant the Younger realized they were Dragon no more. It was something in the eyes of every child who had seen his home abandoned to evil; something in the stance of every warrior who knew his bravest comrades had fought, and died, rather than run away. They belonged now to the earth, not to the heavens. Yet they would still be fierce, and they would toil in their new lands with pride. Out of this humility and grim determination, the Serpent Clan - our clan - was born.
+[[Category:Games]]
+[[Category:Battle Realms]]
-Today, if you travel north beyond the mountains, you will reach a ragged cliff overlooking a swirling, vicious channel, full of rocks and debris. On a clear day, you may glimpse the outline of the opposite shore, but more likely it will be cloaked in the mists. The Dragon's fury broke the land as well as our people, and our ancestral home lie across the impassable waters of the channel. Whether the Horde still waits on those foreign shores, none can say.
-We think about it less every day. This is our home now.
-==Setting==
-[[File:Battle_Realms_Map.png|thumb|274px|"Battle realms Island"]]The entire story of Battle Realms takes place on an unknown continent, which is quite often referred to by many players as "Battle Realms Island". There are quite a few locations that can be accessed through the campaign of "Kenji's Journey", or by playing "Battle Realms: Winter of The Wolf" and playing through "Grayback's Journey".
-===Locations===
-Coming soon!