Gajah Mada is a campaign in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas. It is based on the exploits of the real-life Gajah Mada (ca. 1310 – ca. 1364), the Mahapatih (equal to a viceregent) of the Majapahit Empire known for bringing the empire into the peak of its glory; at its zenith, the Majapahit Empire had controlled roughly what would be part of Indonesia today. He is also famous for his Sumpah Palapa ("Palapa Oath"), where he vowed to not consume any food with spices until all of the Indonesian archipelago (then known as Nusantara) belongs to the Majapahit Empire. Today he is remembered by the people of Indonesia as one of their greatest heroes.
Unit[]
Gajah Mada is an infantry hero found in the titular campaign and in the Scenario Editor. He is displayed as a two-handed-sword-wielding infantry with his own unique sprite. Boasting massive amounts of hit points and attack damage, he is one of the strongest heroes in-game. He makes two appearances in Unconditional Loyalty and The Pasunda Bubat Tragedy. If he is killed during the campaigns, the game is not lost. As a hero, he cannot be converted and can regenerate health.
Campaign[]
| “ | On the island of Java, a new power is rising. Gajah Mada, prime minister of Majapahit conspires to build an empire to rule the waves and islands of the archipelago. Will he be able to balance his unconditional loyalty to the king with his growing ambitions? | ” |
| —In-game campaign description | ||
The Gajah Mada campaign consists of 5 scenarios. The player plays as the Malay, and the player color is red.
The Gajah Mada campaign map
- The Story of Our Founders
- Unconditional Loyalty
- The Oath to Unify Nusantara
- Serving the New King
- The Pasunda Bubat Tragedy
The campaign is narrated by Gajah Mada himself, who had been exiled in the aftermath of the Battle of Bubat.
Trivia[]
- Despite the campaign being named after Gajah Mada, the first scenario actually focuses on the foundation of the Majapahit Empire by Raden Wijaya.
- The campaign map features a Borobudur ship as the scenario icon, which was about 500 year older and was not used by the Majapahit Empire. The main Majapahit ship was the jong, a type of large ship, armed with guns (bedil / cetbang) and barunastra (a giant steel tipped arrow that functioned as an underwater torpedo - possibly a kind of rocket weaponry).
- Gajah Mada's depiction in the game is based on Mohammad Yamin's illustration from 1945, which was then used in numerous depictions of Gajah Mada in the form of statues, paintings, and popular media. The in-game unit sprite shows a bare-chested, muscular man, wielding a two-handed longsword and wearing a fabric (sarong) at the waist. Historical sources, however, do not support this. Kidung Sundayana stated that in the war, Gajah Mada wore a golden embossed karambalangan (breastplate), armed with a gold-layered spear, and with a shield full of diamond decoration.
Gallery[]
