Disc 2 is ~Let’s Sugoroku~. “Sugoroku” is a type of Japanese board game, similar to Snakes and Ladders or Mario Party.
You can choose to play with either one or two players, and as either the Empire or Alliance. In the one player version, you aren’t playing against any other opponents, rather you try to get as many points as possible before reaching the goal.
I’ll play as the Empire first.
Next, naming our character. I’ll be きし (Kishi).
Your character is a new recruit in either the Empire or Alliance military. The goal is to get the highest rank possible by doing well on the two minigames found throughout the board.
Empire
Reinhard: “Welcome to my forces! I look forward to your future efforts. Serve me well!”
Each turn you roll the dice to determine how many spaces you’ll travel. You can move freely between each space as long as they are connected, even backwards if you choose.
“Kishi”-san, please roll the dice.
Spaces with stars contain either a quiz game, a memory game, or a penalty, though most of the time you’ll get the quiz. When you land on a quiz, one of many, many characters pops up with a quick quip before the minigame begins.
Mittermeyer: “This answer won’t be easy.”
Reuenthal: “Answer this question so we can hurry up and have some good wine.”
Spaces with hearts are guaranteed to be quiz questions but with extra bonuses to help you out.
Karin: “I made it so the next question only has two choices, so you have to get it right.”
Frederica: “How fortunate. The time limit is doubled.”
Hilda: “I’ll help you out. The next question has three choices.”
Annerose: “Lucky you. I’ll make the next question have two choices.”
The questions themselves vary widely. Some are trivia based on the show, while others are random general knowledge. Here’s a sample of some (the correct answers are highlighted in yellow):
What does the imperial fortress Geiersburg’s [ガイエスブルク] name mean in Japanese?
- 禿鷹の城
- 禿鷺の城
- 禿頭の城
- 禿鷲の城
(Translation Note: 禿鷹の城 [hagetaka no shiro] means Vulture’s Castle.)
What is Yang actually doing when he seems spaced out?
- Thinking about history
- Spacing out
Which of the following planets is closest to the sun?
- Saturn
- Mercury
- Mars
- Venus
What color is the Legend of the Galactic Heroes LD [LaserDisc] box?
- Navy Blue
- Red
- Black
- Green
Which of the following characters has not been played by Makio Inoue, the voice actor for Ansbach?
- Char Aznable
- Goemon Ishikawa
- Chikara Jinguji
- Mitsuru Hanagata
The other minigame is “Whose Ya is it!”
Minigame!
Test your memory!
This is a memory game like Simon Says, where you have to memorize the order in which the characters say “Ya”. This ranges from 4 to 12 times. Here’s a short video of it in action.
The final space you can randomly get is a penalty, where the dice is rolled and you have to move back that number of spaces.
Oberstein: “It’s too soon for you to be here! Go back.”
You aren’t timed in this game, nor do you always have to keep moving to the right and towards the goal, so these penalties are more just a nuisance than anything. If you want the top rank, you’ll be playing for a while anyway. Speaking of ranks…
Reinhard: “Kishi, I appoint you as admiral.”
As you play and score points (shown as hearts in your bar at the top left), you’ll occasionally be promoted. Your rank when you reach the end determines what ending cutscene you’ll get. The five ranges are as follows.
- 尉官 (Junior Officers)
- 佐官中佐 (Field Officers)
- 大将以外の将官 (General ranks aside from Admiral)
- 大将 (Admiral)
- 元帥 (Fleet Admiral)
Whenever you’re ready to finish, pray the dice are in your favor and land on the goal with an exact roll.
Goal!
You reached the goal as a fleet admiral.
What does your future hold…?
From here, one of the endings will play. But before we get to those, let’s briefly look at the Alliance side too.
Alliance
Playing as the Alliance is essentially the same, the main difference being the design of your player character and speaking with Yang instead of Reinhard.
Yang: “Welcome! I wish you the best in your efforts from now on. I know there will be many challenges, but do your best!”
“Kishi”-san, please roll the dice.
Julian Mintz: “I don’t think you can guess your way through this question.”
Kircheis: “Answering this question might be a little difficult.”
The endings you can receive are based on your rank, just as before.
Yang: “Kishi, I appoint you to the position of admiral.”
Here are the 10 possible endings (5 for each faction), including the opening movie since it sets up the story. Make sure closed captions are turned on to see the English subtitles. Enjoy!