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Let’s Play Wing Commander II – Enigma System Analysis

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Editor’s note: Yup, we’re bringing this one back too! I’ve started updating the YouTube channel with playthrough videos again, so here’s a place to do a deeper analysis, at least of each system if not each mission.

Welcome to the Enigma System! On any Wing Commander II playthrough, this is the penultimate system, and your performance here determines whether you get the good (ConFed Victory) or bad (Kilrathi victory and ConFed retreat) ending. Both versions of the Tesla System drop you here.

Enigma System is also unique in WC2 for only having three missions. Every other system, regardless of winning/losing track, has four. You’ll spend three missions stuck in a Broadsword, and realistically, only your results on the 3rd mission matter.

Mission 1

At least there’s a plausible reason for dropping you into a Broadsword here. Concordia needs to double-jump to evade pursuit and power down for repairs, which means anything jump capable (still only Broadswords) needs to be out to fly escort and jump themselves to the destination. Dogfighting maneuverable enemies is its usual level of misery, but at least your gunners usually do a decent job.

Mission 2

This in an in-system strike mission. A reasonable use for the Broadsword, but dodging asteroids and dogfighting Drakhri still isn’t fun in a slow, unmaneuverable pig.

Mission 3

Finally, the mission that holds the crux of the series – and we need a Broadsword again, because we’ll be making a jump. The task is to follow a Ralatha through a jump point to figure out the location of the Kilrathi base in the Enigma Sector. Success leads to the victory system, failure leads to the defeat system. It’s a fairly simple mission overall, that mainly requires not being a trigger-happy idiot and blasting the Ralatha before it can make its out-system jump.

From a design standpoint, even if I don’t personally care for the Broadsword, these missions at least make use of it in its in-universe designed roles.