Chapter 1, Side Castle 3: Cherrystone Castle

**Map 7** (Chapter 1, Side Castle 3) is a 5x10 relatively small map, and is the first side castle mission the player can encounter in TinyGroove. Side Castle missions can prove to be extra difficult, as they culminate in contributions from each of the chapter's missions and can be tough to beat if the player missed recruiting commanders or missed any key artefacts along the way. The Cherrystone Side Castle's S-rank can be achieved if completed in <20 days.

### **Mission Background**

The mission involves the player entering Cherrystone Castle from the sewers in Map 6, and introduces Emeric to the campaign, although he is not automatically recruited unless you destroy his Stronghold in this mission and acquire Achievement A10. The player acquires Artefact 'G', the Cherrythrone, in this mission by having Dark Mercia sit on it in the middle of the throne room and reclaiming her birthright to rule Cherrystone after Emeric is defeated. Upon doing so, the Cherrystone Side Castle is complete. To complicate things, Emeric calls back the Cherrystone Troops to surround the castle, so the player must defeat Emeric and sit atop the throne by the end of day 30, or the mission is lost.

#### Helpful Tips

The mission has multiple features that can assist the player's victory:

1. Raiding the treasury in the Sewer Entrance, Map 6, will provide the player with 5,000 extra gold starting on Day 3 of the Side Castle mission.
2. Collecting both parts of the commander shield enchantment in Map 6 will bequeath the Dark Mercia with a proportionally large healing field that will restore the her health and all of the player's units within it by 20% at the beginning of the player's turn. The commander shield for Dark Mercia in this mission functions similarly to CO fields in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. As Dark Mercia's groove accumulates, the spatial coverage of the shield grows. It initially covers just Dark Mercia, then units adjacent to her when she is above 40% groove, and then units 2 spaces away at above 80% groove. If she uses her groove, the shield diminishes back to covering just Dark Mercia. Never using her groove and winning this mission will net the player Achievement A9.
3. Having Elodie in your party from Map 4 will provide the player with her possession ability to grant the player vision through the fog of war deep into the gates of the throne room, helping the player to plan ahead when building units and see what is coming next.
4. If you have Caesar in your party from Map 6 (he's impossible to miss if you've made it to this Side Castle), stand on the bridge in the middle of the courtyard. Dialogue will ensue, suggesting that the player cover the drainage grates in the water on either side of the bridge to flood the courtyard. Doing so will defeat any enemies west of the gates. It's a one-time event, so move in to claim the courtyard quickly, as the enemy will not hesitate to move back into the courtyard once the rains begin.
5. If you recruited Sigrid to your party in Map 5, she can help diffuse Emeric's automated crystal barriers. On Day 7, Emeric will deploy two crystal barriers atop the stanchions at the top and bottom of the throne room, and use his groove to deploy a third in the center, making advancing through the courtyard difficult. If you visit the skeleton at the chest near the bottom of the map, Sigrid speaks to the deceased to find a way to short-circuit the crystal barriers when executing on Ceasar's hint about flooding the throne room. If the player has visited the skeleton with Sigrid in their party, the floods will also destroy the automated crystal barriers at the top and bottom of the map.

Otherwise, this small map is difficult to complete without item 1 above, as Emeric can recruit giants and does a few times (as his treasury allows) during the mission, while the player has a limited set of units to build with, requiring some actual strategy from the player beyond simply mowing down enemies with an endless onslaught of giants.

All of this information was gleaned from the in-game spoilers unlocked in the Achievement Castle by completing at least 20% of the game and destroying the red gates comprising the 'Campaign Completion Counter'.

### **Achievements**

#### A9: Eternal Shield Wielder

Conditions: Win the map without ever using Dark Mercia's groove while in possession of the commander shield enchantment (obtained from Map 6).

#### A10: Insult to Injury

Conditions: Destroy Emeric's Stronghold before winning the map (when Dark Mercia sits on the throne).

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