Gustave XIII

Gustave XIII (ギュスターヴ) is one of the 2 main protagonists in SaGa Frontier 2. He is the son of Gustave XII, King of Finney, and his wife Sophie. Gustave's journey and legacy makes up one half of the two scenarios the player can choose.

Story
While the battle between Gustave XII and the Marquis of Otto rages a messenger brings news to the King of his son being born. Returning to a triumphant welcome in Thermes the King rushes to his wife's side and names his new son successor to the throne, Gustave XIII of Finney.

At the age of 7 Gustave fails the Firebrand Ceremony as he is unable to wield Anima and is hence unable to cast spells. His father banishes him from the kingdom of Finney, and while his mother abandons her life to accompany Gustave he carries an inferiority complex for most of his life. Gustave's former mentor Master Cielmer helps them flee the country and they head for asylum in Gruegel. It will be 20 years before Gustave once again sets foot in Finney.

Sophie and Gustave are moved into a mansion King Sui of Na graciously allocates them in Gruegel. However, Gustave is rebellious and discontent at his inability to use Anima. His background and attitude cause others to avoid him, except his one friend Flynn. Like Gustave, Flynn is also incapable of using Anima and sticks close to him despite his angry outbursts.

At the age of 13 Gustave and Sophie move to a mansion in Jade. It is here that Gustave meets a blacksmith who takes him on as apprentice and helps him to forge his first steel weapon. At 19 Gustave has learnt to wield steel weapons, but Sophie lies gravely ill. Sophie gives her son a few last pieces of advice and has him make a promise before she draws her final breath and Anima leave her forever.

After many previous visits to the Marquis of Wide, Gustave has insinuated himself into the kings favor and moves to Wide. Gustave, however, has other motives and wishes to overthrow the king and rule Wide himself. Five years after succeeding in his plot to conquer Wide King Gustave of Finney dies. Bitter over his exile as a child, Gustave has no desire to return to Finney as successor to the throne. Finally pursuaded by Sir Kelvin Gustave raises an army and sails to Finney to find his half-brother has ascended the throne as Gustave XIV. The brothers face each other at the Battle of Buckethill, where with the help of Sir Kelvin and Nebelstern, Gustave XIII emerges victorious and comes to be known as "Gustave the Steel". The newly crowned king attempts to unite the surrounding lands in peace with all but Nohl accepting his offers. The ruler of Nohl, Gustave's brother Philippe blames him for their mother's death and attempts to take revenge on Gustave. Sensing Sophie's lingering Anima in Gustave Philippe comes to his senses and is offered the crown Gustave willingly admits he failed the Firebrand ceremony

Having relinquished the throne to Philippe, Gustave is intent on constructing a new city for himself, Hahn Nova, where he spends most of his time. One night, Gustave's southern camp is overrun and burnt to the ground by monsters. Gustave sends his trusted friends off and faces the monsters alone. The only person to remain at Gustave's side is Johan, who is slowly being killed by the Scorpion venom from his days as an assassin. As the flames grow higher, the scorpion venom engulfs Johan and the Southern Fort falls. Gustave's fate is ultimately unknown as all they find in the wreckage of the fire is his sword, stuck in the ground, with no sign of Gustave anywhere to be found.

Scenario History
''Note: Many of Gustave's scenario are story driven sequences and do not involve active input, movement or battles. Those listed above are the scenarios where the player can control Gustave to explore, fight, buy items etc.''

Gameplay
Gustave begins the game with high proficiency in Swords and Martial Arts. Gustave has the highest WP, and Sword growth of the cast, and has the second highest HP and Martial Arts growth as well. These stats allow Gustave to be a frighteningly powerful melee fighter.

Due to story reasons, he is unable to learn any elemental abilities, including the powerful Hybrid Arts. This is compensated by his access to his two unique Steel Swords which have incredibly high attack power for their sections of the game, as well as not being affected by the low SP recovery that Steel equipment gives. This makes him one of the strongest melee fighters in the early game who usually dominates the majority of battles.

His draw backs include his low availability in the game. Gustave's chapters are largely narrative and even his few playable missions are short compared to other characters, so rushing through them can easily lead to Gustave having access to fewer Arts than other characters. The other issue is that Gustave's sections usually involve him fighting alone, and without access to Spell Arts, Gustave must heal exclusively with LP.

It is best to give him physical based combat Roles like Cannoball, Heavy Attacker, War God, WALL, and Commander. Due to fighting solo for most of his scenarios, it's best to avoid using Roles that help the team since they usually don't affect the person using the role.

Spell Art Sparking
Due to lacking Anima and the ability to cast elements, Gustave cannot spark any spells.

Starting Equipment

 * Trial Dagger (age 15 - 22)
 * Gustave's Sword (age 28 Atk 29, age 37 - 40 Atk 53)
 * Iron Breastplate
 * Wood Shoes

Gustave appears as an obtainable card.