EINHANDER PLOT SUMMARY/ANALYSIS Compiled and written by Matt Mitchell Document Version 0.2 (8/13/02) Contact Email: matt_in_nihon@yahoo.com **DISCLAIMER** This document is my own intellectual work. As such, if you would like to use it on your webpage or in your FAQ/walkthrough/guide, written approval from myself must be obtained. This document (C) copyright Matt Mitchell 2002. The newest updates to this document can be found at the following locations: GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) My Personal Hosting Site (http://home.att.net/~matt_in_nihon/einhander_plot.txt) =================== :: Document History =================== Version 0.1 - Initial document. Main sections are in place, as well as basic (8/12/02) information for each section. A lot of the info was just jotted down so I wouldn't forget it, so expect better organization in later updates. Version 0.2 - Added a few things to the Contradictions section and further (8/13/02) tightened up the feel of the document. =========== :: Contents =========== 1) Introduction 2) Historical Summary 3) Historical Timeline 4) Contradictions 5) Further Analysis 6) Conclusion =============== :: Introduction =============== Welcome to my "analysis" of the game Einhander. Right now, you are probably thinking, "Whoa! It's a SHOOTER! What possible analyses can there be? You shoot things and they blow up!" This is very true; however, Square managed to throw in a rich history with quite a few references to mythology and the Bible and whatnot while they were making one of the better shooters of our time. So please, read on, and gain an appreciation for the underlying meanings contained within this spectacular game... ===================== :: Historical Summary ===================== Einhander, although simply a shooter, has a very rich and deep background that will please many history buffs. The game takes place 50 years after World War III (called the Great War in the American version of the game). According to the timeline given in the manual, WWIII would have ended around 2192. The basis of the war was due to the colony of Selene that was established on the South Pole of the moon 100 years prior. Selene started to express its wishes for indepence from the Earth, leading to war between the moon and the Earth. This is why World War III/the Great War was also known as the Interplanetary War. This seems to have been the mother of all wars; the Earth was burnt to the ground by the moon's superior weaponry. Most of the Earth's surface was reduced to a wasteland, with few major cities left standing. The war eventually ground to a halt after both sides lost many lives. The remaining nations unified to create the Empire. It would appear that Germany was the nation that rose above the rest, because its influence can be seen throughout the whole game. In fact, the Empire's capital city, Sodom (called Gesetz in the American version), was built over what was left of a major German city. The ruins you see on the "secret" path in the first stage are the remains of the old city, before WWIII. The remains of the Autobahn are down there as well, not to mention an unexploded ICBM missile launched during the war. A period of uneasy peace lasted for 100 years. This peace was broken by the moon colony; Selene was in need of agricultural nitrogen that could only be obtained on Earth. The Second Interplanetary War began in 2242. Once again, superior weaponry utilized by the moon decimated the Earth's forces. Surrender seemed inevitable. However, the greater supply of resources available to the Earth slowly turned the tide of the war and forced the lunar forces to retreat back from whence they came. Because of their defeat, the Selenians began development of a prototype weapon system codenamed "Einhander." It utilized state of the art starfighters and pilots trained to carry out suicide runs with them. These fighters were sent to Earth to break through the Terran defenses time after time in the ensuing two year period. This leads up to the events in the game, which begin on the 12th of December, 2245. A group of three Einhander fighters have been sent to Earth on another suicide run, your character and ship being one of them... ====================== :: Historical Timeline ====================== 2092 - The lunar city of Selene was established near the South Pole of the moon. 2092~ - Due to increasing separatist sentiments on Selene, war breaks out 2192 between the Earth and the moon for the lunar colony's independence. 2192 - After heavy losses on both sides, the First Interplanetary War ends with an uneasy ceasefire agreement. Due to bombardment from the moon, the Earth is reduced to a barren wasteland save for a few larger cities in scattered nations. These remaining nations, under German leadership, unify to form a single Empire. 2242 - Selene, lacking essential agricultural nitrogen, rekindles the flames of war with the Earth. The Second Interplanetary War is once again dominated by the moon, but the Earth's superior supply of resources and manpower allows them to eventually drive the Lunar forces back to the moon. This defeat leads the Lunar military to begin researching new prototype starfighters to be used in suicide runs against the Earth forces. This program is codenamed "Einhander." 2242~ - During the following three year period, numerous runs are made by the 2245 Einhander program. These runs strike fear into the hearts of the Earth's forces and begin to call the Einhanders the Angels of Death. 2245 - Your character is sent to Earth on his first, and most likely last, run. The date is December 12th. ================= :: Contradictions ================= Einhander, although an excellent game, wasn't accepted as well as it should have been in the gaming community. Perhaps this was because Square didn't feel the need to promote a small side project like this, and instead focused on its main series that brought them the cash. Because of this, not a lot has been released about this game. There are contradictions abound, mainly between the in-game story and the information in the manual. I have attempted to compile this into a semi-coherent record for the sake of fans like myself, but there are bound to be discrepancies. This section is for that purpose: pointing out those differences and trying to rationalize them. Read on. --- The first major difference that comes to mind is the reason for the Second Interplanetary War. The manual describes the reason as Selene's lack of agricultural nitrogen that the Earth possessed. However, the in-game text says that Selene demanded that the Earth return the holy land of Sodom (Gesetz in the American version; see the Analysis section later for details on this name change). This is the largest discepancy that I have found, and never really seems to be cleared up. Perhaps this was the reason Selene used to cover up their true motives, but that hardly seems likely. Most people (notice I said most, not ALL) would need a more concrete answer to fight and die for, not simply to gain a moral victory. If the Selenian leaders simply said "They have what we need, so we will have to take it by force" I think that that would be received more readily and result in full cooperation of the people... --- Was there an actual World War III, or wasn't there? I am inclined to believe that there was indeed a WWIII, as well as the First Interplanetary War. How do they relate? Here's my theory: World War III took place maybe a decade or two before the colony of Selene was established. Once again, Germany made an attempt to gain territory and power, and managed to emerge victorious over the other nations of the world. The Germans expanded their borders and set up a rather sizeable empire. At the end of the war, the defeated nations formed a sort of secret alliance and began to build the lunar colony of Selene under the guise of lunar research. The Germans approved of this plan, hoping to benefit from the colony. After the colony was completed, large portions of the populations of the defeatednations who held feelings of resentment towards their German rulers migrated to the moon. Once there, these colonists made it clear that they intended to gain independence from Germany and from the Earth. This leads up to the year 2092, when war breaks out between the Earth and the moon, marking the start of the brutal First Interplanetary War... Hey, this is far from official, but I think that it all ties together neatly, no? The only thing missing is a motive for Germany starting World War III; perhaps the mysterious religion of Zonnay has something to do with it? --- Is the city of Sodom/Gesetz the only remaining city in the world? That's another good question. If you read the in-game introduction, it says that the lunar colony demanded the return of the Holy Land from the Earth's remaining nations, yet even in the instruction manual it says that Sodom is the only large city remaining on Earth. This is stated twice, actually; once in the manual's introduction and later in the description of the first stage near the end of the manual. So which one is it? Are there still a few scattered nations left all over the world, or is Sodom the only city left that's worth speaking of? Who knows? --- Another point of contention would be the Public Peace Force. This is the force you fight in the first stage of the game, the capital city. The manual states that they are a special police force under immediate control of the Church. "Whoa, what church?!" you might ask. Well, upon further inspection of the game manual, it appears that the capital city also houses the main temple of the Zonnay religion. This and the fact that its church controls the police forces of the city add to the mystery of the whole "holy land" aspect of the game, but sadly, none of this is ever explained any further... --- This talk of the "Great War" and World War III is rather confusing. By reading the in-game text, it seems that there was indeed a third world war that was responsible for the Earth being transformed into the wasteland that it is now. But according to the manual, the First Interplanetary War is responsible for all of the destruction. Further adding to the confusion, the manual says that the first stage's boss "turned the world into a sea of fire during the old world war." So what does this all mean? Well, I have a theory. Perhaps there was indeed a third world war that took place before the First Interplanetary War, and as the trend goes in World Wars, Germany dominated this war as well, but actually managed to come out victorious instead of being defeated by the allied forces. Their dominance was asserted over the nations they defeated, and this dominance would later prove to be the key factor in uniting the remaining nations left after the First Interplanetary War into one unified Empire. However, just like the influence of the church, this is another topic that might never be fully explained. --- Right now, these are the only contradictions I can find within the storyline. As I find more, I will be sure to update this section. =================== :: Further Analysis =================== In this section, I will do my best to explain the hidden meanings and the references to mythology and religion contained within the names of ships and locations in Eihander. --- Endymion (pr. en-dim'-ee-uhn) : Endymion was the mortal lover of the moon goddess Selene in Greek Mythology. Astraea (pr. ahss-tray'-ah) : Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice. She made her home among the stars and became the constellation Virgo. Selene (pr. suh-lee'-nee) : Selene was the goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. She had many different lovers, Endymion being her most famous. Her sister is Eos, and her father is Hyperion. Use of her name is usually symbolic of the moon. Eos (pr. ee'-ahs) : Eos was Selene's sister and the goddess of the dawn. Her father as well as Selene's was the Titan, Hyperion. Use of her name is usually symbolic of the dawn. Hyperion (pr. hy-peer'-ee-uhn) : A Titan from Greek myth. He and his wife Theia have three children, two being Selene and Eos. His name means "he who goes before the sun." --- Sodom/Gesetz : This is perhaps one of the more interesting references in the game. Let's talk about the American name of Gesetz first, because it's much simpler to explain. "Gesetz" is German for "law"; the meaning behind this is that this is the city where all law originates from since it is the capital of the Empire. That's not too hard to explain, but the whole Sodom thing is a different story. First, to understand this reference, you have to know what the city of Sodom was and what it represented. The city of Sodom was referred to in the Old Testament of the Bible; remember Sodom and Gamorrah? Well, these cities (and a few others as well) were centers of sin in God's eyes, and he planned to wipe them from the earth because of that. The reason as to why Sodom was such a city of sin is widely debated among theologians and practicing Christians, but the fact of the matter is that it was considered an evil city. According to that, it can then be assumed that Square wanted to portray the Empire as evil and corrupt. How else would you want to portray someone that is supposed to be the bad guy? Of course, there are numerous theological reasonings and theories that I could cite to back this up, but it would be much easier if you would just take my word for it. ^_^ Anyway, God ended up destroying the cities by raining down fire and brimstone from the heavens. Square also threw in a nice bit of symbolism here as well, since the Einhander comes from the heavens to rain destruction on Sodom once more... Cool, huh? --- The religous references don't stop there, though. If you pay close attention to the text between stages 6 and 7, it seems that the leaders of Selene were lying to the inhabitants of the colonies, telling them that the Earth was a paradise unlike the moon. The pilot finds this truth out for himself, yet when he tries to bring this news and truth back to his people, his own allies and friends condemn him and put him to death (or at least attempt to). Does this sound familiar? It should; the pilot is very reminiscent of a Christ-like figure. This theory may be a bit of a stretch, but given the previous ties in the game to religion and mythology, I am inclined to believe that it is indeed intentional. ============= :: Conclusion ============= Well, that's the end of my Einhander plot summary/analysis. I hope that you, the reader, had as much fun reading over my thoughts and ideas about this game as much as I had writing them down. Please feel free to email me any comments, questions, theories, etc. that you have. Thanks for reading! Matt Mitchell, 2002