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 MOEAGARE MOEAGARE MOEAAGRE GANDAMU! KIMI YO HASHIRE MADA IKARI NI MOERU TOSHI GA ARU NARA KYODAI NA TEKI O UTEYO, UTEYO, UTEYO SEIGI NO IKARI O BUTSUKERO GANDAMU KIDO SENSHI [2] GANDAMU! GANDAMU!~~~~~ xoxo Anyway, back in 1991 this thing came out into the world. Unfortunately I wasn't around then, nor was I in Japan, so I can't give any thoughts of it at the time. Although this game has certainly aged to the point that playing it is a bit painful, it no doubt would later go on to spawn many more titles, each becoming less and less painful, or at least it would seem, in my recent playthroughs up to EX for the SNES. In general (the meh RPG for the DS excluded) Super Robot Taisen is an SRPG, not unlike Fire Emblem, where you move your units, attack, and get EXP. The central difference being you control ROBOTS, WHO ARE SOMETIMES IN SPACE (not in this one, sadly), versus your standard medieval units, with funky hairstyles. Like I previously said, while this entry in the series is a bit aged, well really aged, it still has a few nice things about it, such as the seven and a half track OST, which I will supply. I don't think I really need to go into anything else, as there really isn't much to go into, this game just sort of appeared out of the ether, and got really popular in Japan, but not North America.  On SpoilersWhat spoilers? But seriously, I guess don't talk about the mecha and monsters that aren't introduced yet? I'll try to introduce the mecha from the Gundam universe to the best of my ability, but I won't, however go into detail of the Mazinger Z and Getter universe, as the little bits and pieces that I do know from Mazinger Z and Getter is from playing the series. Updates I picked a wonderful time to start a new LP, as I have to go back to school in two days! I'm going to try for at least one update a week, every Sunday, and random updates throughout the week when motivation strikes. Don't count on frequent surprise updates though, I'm in my final year of university, and am taking five classes this semester. So with that.. Content Prologue: Pretty Boys Make Sub-Par Heroes Episode I: I am Cheating Already Episode II: Zeta Goes Fishing for Zaku IIs Episode III: Speedy Like a Red Comet Episode IV: The Most Thrilling "Labyrinth" Ever Episode V: Zeta Wins By Doing Absolutely Nothing Episode VI: Z Gundam's Big Day Out Episode VII: Death is Not a Concept in the Gundam Franchise Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Dec 10, 2014 |
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Sep 2, 2014 02:03
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Prologue: Pretty Boys Make Sub-Par Heroes  In the depths of space, a vile creature is born. It travels far, laying waste to worlds as it passes...  Eventually, it comes to spy a tiny blue planet... The space monster Girgilgun has invaded the Super Robot homeworld! One by one they fall into his thrall... But some* had the strength of mind and soul to fight! As long as they stand, there remains hope of restoring peace!! *Unfortunately the deployment hatch, which equates to my patience of moving around units in this incredibly slow game has limited the robot count to two units for the entire game.  And welcome to Super Robot Wars! I can't promise any thrilling gameplay, as I am going to tear this game to shreds in approximately four chapters. What I can promise however, is a beautiful title screen, as well as a wondrous, conflicting storyline of intergalactic paradox, spanning across Nintendo AND Sony for generations to come. With that said, let's meet the teams!  The most important choice is made here, as these three teams are the teams you start, and finish the game with. Highlighted is the ever so popular series, Team Gundam.  Next up is the not-so-popular Team Mazinger, with weird, human like mecha, and a smug rear end battle theme.  Bringing up the rear is Team Getter. Bandai later goes out of their way to make the player choose them, but not today Bandai!  And it's Team Gundam, stepping up to the plate to bash dem' aliens into orbit! By the by, once we pick Team Gundam, it's Team Gundam all the way to endgame, no switching.   Ah, the RX-78-2, THE Gundam, as in the mecha everyone thinks about when they hear the word, "Gundam." Unfortunately, manufactured in the year UC 0078, it has fallen behind in terms of technology, therefore is unfairly worse than most Mobile Suits.   Then again, there's always, you know, rock bottom? Meet the RX-77-2, the "Guncannon". While in Gundam 0079, it's piloted by the sassiest character in the UC universe, it isn't here, thus instantly losing cool points. What makes this poor thing so, well.. poor is its horrid mobility. While the Gundam is bad, it can at least cross mountains and lakes, albeit at a snail's pace. Given the size of the maps, and the craptonne of tedious oceanic levels, you'll find the Guncannon failing to make it to the fray in time to get EXP for the next map.   Taking a drastic step up from the two aforementioned Mobile Suits (herein referred to as MS), we have the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, otherwise known as Z Gundam. While his stats may not be drastically different from the Gundam's, he has an ability I will demonstrate in due time that make him and another MS similar to him especially shine throughout the series. It's also the MS of the main character of my favourite series.   And ladies and gentlemen, it's time to meet the hero, the pretty boy with the golden locks, the MSN-0100 Hyaku Shiki. Basically, he is a more handsome Gundam with two SPD points ahead, and while overshadowed completely by the next three MS's, I am still going to use him out of pure fanboy service. The Hyaku Shiki is my all time favourite MS, I have two 1/144 high grade models of it at home, and even a phone case.   THE BUFFEST GUNDAM. I consider the MSZ-010 ΖΖ Gundam (pronounced "Double Zeta") to be the strongest, as he has Z's gimmick that I will get into later, and better stats. Just a rule of thumb that ZZ is good in any game it's in.   For the longest time, I thought the "v" (pronounced "nu") was short for "Victory Gundam", which is an entirely different series, but upon playing Dai-2 Super Robot Wars, this is the RX-0093 v Gundam, which in terms of storyline, is essentially the RX-0078 upgraded. Sort of makes the Gundam in this game obsolete, if you can pick the upgraded form with better stats over it, eh? And Victory Gundam came out two years after this game in 1993, looool.   Lastly, and drawing up an unfair advantage over all other MS's in the game, is the F91 Gundam F91. I mean look at its stats in comparison to every other MS, it beats them all in everything, even movement and EXP to next level. It would make sense that the F-91 Gundam is the strongest, as its timeframe is set 20 years from all the other MS's in the list, therefore more futuristic, but its lulzy stats make the game into an essentual easy mode.  That being said, we are making the Hyaku Shiki the hero. Being the hero really doesn't equate to anything, except make them the "Lord" character, meaning they have to be deployed, and can't die or it's a game over. They do get amazing, game breaking perks that I will explain in the next chapter.   And this is the only stat you need to worry about for a long time. The Hyaku Shiki has a stellar SPD growth, and we will be abusing terrain, so DEF and HP will have minimal effect on our golden beast.  Welp, guess it's high time to start playing the game, as opposed to talking about it. ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF LET'S PLAY SUPER ROBOT TAISEN:  Unsubtle terrain abuse! Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Sep 2, 2014 |
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Sep 2, 2014 02:13
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I had a look at this one right after I played the AGTP translation of SRW3, but couldn't get past the lack of pilots and characters. Looking forward to seeing how it actually plays out! The game was recently remade and re-released in glorious color on PSN, so if anybody is inclined to play it legit, I guess now's as good a time as any. 
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Sep 2, 2014 03:38
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So obviously F91 and Great Mazinger are their teams' respective easy modes, but who kicks rear end for Getter Team? Please tell me it's Texas Mack.
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Sep 2, 2014 06:43
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That would be Getter Robo G, which is essentially the Great Mazinger for the team. However, the real answer is that you can just get Mazinger, Great Mazinger, and Getter Robo on the Gundam team without dealing with the largely forgettable secondary characters on their respective teams (and Texas Mack, who owns). I assume GeneralContempt is already planning to go over how recruitment works when he puts up his next update, but suffice it to say that if you want a team of Nu, Zeta, Double Zeta, F-91, Mazinger, Great Mazinger, Getter G, and the Hyaku Shiki when you play, that's entirely possible.
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Sep 2, 2014 15:14
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I felt like I was selling you guys short by only posting the Prologue and making you wait until Sunday for actual gameplay, so have an actual update. Episode I: I am Cheating Already  This is the map theme for both allies and enemies until the credits roll by the way; hope you like it.  The map! Terrain in this game offers no defence or evade perks at all, but anything not solid ground is a pain in the rear end to traverse. Moving through trees cost you +2 movement, and oceans, a whopping +3, when the average movement for an MS is 7. Imagine having to move six MS's across an ocean chapter, when they're only going one to two tiles at the time. It also affects the effectiveness of a weapon's strength, as obviously shooting bullets into the water is going to be a lot less effective than shooting them on the land. This doesn't really become a problem until way later though. Also, beam guns don't work in the sea at all, which conveniently is 90% of team Gundam's arsenal.  Towers on the other hand, while they do not give any bonuses, they do restore your HP by a fair margin. If you're not the hero, waiting on towers is the only way to restore your HP.  Also 7/10 of the time, stepping on them gives you items. This time we got the Chobham Armour, which if used in the beginning of a chapter, boosts your character's HP value.  Going into the main menu and choosing "Map" lets you see a rough sketch of the overall field. This level is pretty basic, but some of them fill the whole screen. I'll post the map of every level.  And now I will explain how to completely trivialize this game, with exploitation to the "Spirits" system!  Choosing "Spirits" (hero exclusive command), you are given three randomly selected commands. However I do not want any of these three.  In a normal game, you cannot exit out of the Spirits command after you open it, essentially being stuck with whatever they gave you. However, with a little bit of savestate and RNG abuse (which runs on time), I get the Spirit command I want- Train.  In the most basic sense, Train is +1 to a random stat.  I could rig the RNG (which also runs on time) to give me +1 STR every time, which will turn the Hyaku Shiki into an absolute monster in the matter of four episodes. Using Spirits is not unlimited, you are limited to the amount of SP you have at the start of the chapter, which rises as you gain levels. Right now the Hyaku Shiki has 2 SP, meaning he gets +2 free STR this chapter. However in this run, I won't RNG manipulate train Hyaku Shiki, as that's cheating. Besides, the Spirit command has other abilities I want to demonstrate throughout the LP.  That being said, let's take a brief peek at our enemies. I'm only going to post pictures of the MS's from the Gundam universe, as I don't know much about Mazinger or Getter.   First up is the MS-06 Zaku II, the mook of the series. A cheap mass production type, given to the lower soldiers, who abruptly die. Their purpose in this game is also exactly that.   This amusing looking MS with abs is known as the MSM-07 Z'Gok. Equipped with a cyber speedo, its strength lies in water navigation, but unfortunately being a low tier MS like the Zaku II, it doesn't have much strength after that.  Next up is a Bandai original, created solely for this game, and is not a mecha, but a giant dinosaur!  Finally we have the Getter Q, the only unique mecha on the field.  Pressing onwards...  The Magnet Suit grants +1 AGL, to make the Hyaku Shiki even more speedier than he already is.  Unfortunately the Z Gundam lost a turn going to the tower, so he needs to catch up, and no better way to catch up than..    Transforming into a space ship and ignoring terrain cost along the way.    Meet the Waverider, sacrificing a point of DEF for a point of SPD and losing its Beam Sabre for the benefit of ignoring terrain, we have ourselves a new treasure hunter. The ZZ Gundam can also do this, and has better stats, but I like the Z Gundam more in terms of fanboy service.  The best part is that the Waverider can still defend itself in a 1~1 RG battle with the Beam Rifle.  He also gets to keep his clumsy long range bazooka, which will be an enormous benefit in the first few chapters.  Character say sassy things when they attack, and it stays that way for the entire series, as far as I can tell.  *PEW PEW*  Long range attack work just like in Advance Wars, in the sense that you can only do long range attacks when you haven't moved. They will form the basis of most of our boss killings.  The Hyaku Shiki unfortunately has a limited arsenal and can't long range attack like the Z Gundam, but that won't be a problem for very long.  For now he's going to kill steal, like how a true Lord should.  Thrilling EXP gain, innit? You only get EXP only if you kill the unit. But seeing as how low the EXP to next level is, it really isn't a problem. Unless you're a piece of poo poo like the Guncannon or Zaku II and can't kill anything.  The recruitment system is really weird in this game.  Using his sexy looks, his shades and his Charisma stat, Hyaku Shiki convinces this lovely lady to join our side. Anyone, enemies included can attempt to convince units to join their team, as long as their Loyalty is not 99, or isn't the boss. Someone's probably going to call me out on that, but whatever. The Hyaku Shiki has one of the best Charisma, so it's a lot less painful to get him to do all the recruiting.   WELL.. that went swell.   A savestate later, and one less enemy to fight, and one more ally to target. Notice her high HP and DEF, she makes a great meatshield for this chapter.   To prevent a person from doing exactly what I'm going to do, there is a level cap in each chapter, meaning after a certain level (3 in this chapter), the character only gains 1EXP from then on. The problem with that is you get more than enough free stats in this game, and if you give them all to a single character, the fact that they can't quick levels really doesn't matter. Besides, if you're only using one character, killing all the enemies adds up in the end.  Forgot to screencap what was in this tower, but it was a Heart of Justice, which raises your Charisma stat.  Progressing to the end of the map, we meet our bosses. Technically there is only one boss per chapter, which will always sit on the "throne tile" that you must seize every chapter. There will always be two beefed up units, with long range attacks guarding him.   In this case, he has two Mazinger renditions of Greek goddesses protecting him. As far as I can tell, you cannot convince either to join you. PS: Methuss will forever be better than Aphrodite-A.   To compliment the two Mazinger ladies, the boss himself is an antagonist from the series. He's kind of a bruiser for the first chapter, especially since if you're going to go in for the kill, his women will long range attack you. Nothing the Hyaku Shiki can't manage, with a bit of tower abuse. Bosses and their two guards will never charge when you get close, meaning you can take your time killing them.  To get to this tower, you have to incur the wrath of Aphrodite-A's missiles.  Which hurt like hell if they're paired up with anyone else's attacks. However seeing as the Hyaku Shiki can move far enough to just be in her range, it isn't game threatening.  This tower offers my favourite item: the Biosensor, which raises a unit's STR.  Also in weirdly placed tiles (ie: isolated trees, single isles in an ocean chapter, clearings, grass tiles in the middle of mountain tiles, etc), there are sometimes hidden items. I'm not going to bother to make a meticulous search of each item's location, but I am deploying the Z Gundam every chapter to get the ones I know.  At this point, I get extremely cocky, and place our hero in the middle of the boss area, meaning in enemy phase, he can enter 1~1 RG combat with them all.  It.. gets quite messy.  Thankfully he can get away to the tower with little difficulty. While the boss may recover, as he is sitting on a tower of his own, the two MS's can't recover.  Oh, and you remember how this map is a narrow horizontal line? Well, this game does not trim the maps, meaning whatever bit of it that is unused is filled with these ugly tiles, ugh.  From then on, Z Gundam takes on the bosses, as they are weakened by the Hyaku Shiki. I do this because he has not reached level 3 yet.  It gets rough again near the end, but by this point, he has killed the two guards, and Hyaku Shiki had gained all his HP back, meaning he could beam sabre the boss, and..  Zeta could zap him with the Megaparticlecannon and finish off the fight.  There's also a hidden item along the way, but Heart of Justice is the most useless stat booster in the game.  And that's it for this time, tune in next episode for the beginning of boring terrain navigation, And Texans! (Hopefully I get more amusing when I get all the tutorial out of the way..) Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Sep 3, 2014 |
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Sep 3, 2014 06:02
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Just a note, the dinosaur enemy there is actually a Mechasaurus, minion of the Dinosaur Empire from Getter Robo. The Zuu is the first such creature, a dinosaur with a second, robotic head. The level boss, the Garada K7, was the first of Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts to be destroyed by Mazinger Z (its status as first Mechanical Beast to appear is shared with another enemy that I'll refrain from spoiling until it appears in-game). Also, while we're at it, I'll take up the torch of explaining the various protagonist mechs from Getter Robo and Mazinger Z/Great Mazinger as they appear during the game. The images I use are likely to not be as official-looking, though, because  .Getter Q(ueen)  The Getter Queen was designed by Doctor Saotome, the creator of Getter Robo itself (obviously). It never made it to production, as the Dinosaur Empire swiped the blueprints, built their own, and used it to fight the original Getter. However, the Getter Queen has gotten a lot of use in the Super Robot Wars series, where it's piloted by Michiru Saotome, daughter of the good doctor, though it's rarely playable for more than a handful of chapters (a similar fate befalls the Texas Mack in SRW). In short, it's a powered-down version of the original Getter-1, because pretty much nothing piloted by a woman was allowed to be as powerful as what men piloted, which brings us to... Aphrodite A and Diana A  While they may look different, these are essentially the same robot, with the exception that the Diana has a laser beam. The Aphrodite A (pictured on the left) was built by Professor Yumi, head of the Photon Power Research Lab (and resident science guy for Mazinger Z), for his daughter, Sayaka (who conveniently happens to be the love interest of the series). Intended for geological research (no, I have no idea how a giant robot helps with geological research, but I'm sure there's a cleavage joke to be made), the mech was largely unarmed and while it eventually received weapons, it was inevitably destroyed in combat. This led to the construction of the Diana A (pictured on the right), a much stronger machine that still paled in comparison to Mazinger. Also, the breasts are missiles, and the writers actually gave it an official name, the "Oppai (or, 'Boobs') Missile System". Stay classy, Japan. Guess I'll pop back in whenever stuff like this comes up, but for enemies, there's usually not so much to tell, since neither Getter Robo nor Mazinger Z had a lot of nuance in its story. Still, I can point out any significant facts, or at least clarify which bad guys come from which series.
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Sep 3, 2014 07:23
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I like how the sprite for Getter Q makes it look like she's wearing a hockey mask with really obvious straps.
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Sep 3, 2014 14:40
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EclecticTastes posted:Also, while we're at it, I'll take up the torch of explaining the various protagonist mechs from Getter Robo and Mazinger Z/Great Mazinger as they appear during the game. The images I use are likely to not be as official-looking, though, because Hey, thanks for volunteering to do so, if I decide to archive this LP, I'll be sure quote you at the end of my episodes, if that's okay with you. Truthfully in my three playthoughs, I've only really stuck with Team Gundam. I did use Getter Q on my failed first playthrough however, and was pleased with her ability to tank and her decent arsenal. I also played around with the next mecha to be featured in the next chapter, in which you're right, he DOES own. Also in regards to the remake on PSN, has anyone played it? I'm sort of curious towards it, but at the same time highly unsure I could play this game without frameskip. If anyone has played it, is it just a direct remake with colour, or has it been modernized enough for me to play it without having time to go to the bathroom while the enemy is making its move?
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Sep 5, 2014 05:51
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GeneralContempt posted:Hey, thanks for volunteering to do so, if I decide to archive this LP, I'll be sure quote you at the end of my episodes, if that's okay with you. Truthfully in my three playthoughs, I've only really stuck with Team Gundam. I did use Getter Q on my failed first playthrough however, and was pleased with her ability to tank and her decent arsenal. I also played around with the next mecha to be featured in the next chapter, in which you're right, he DOES own. The thing about the Real Robots (pretty much just Mobile Suits in SRW1) is that they're very good at not getting hit and have great accuracy, but generally lack in the power department and tend to fold like tissue paper when they do get hit. The Super Robots (represented by Getter and Mazinger units here) take more hits to take down, and dish out tons more damage, making them ideal boss killers (whereas Reals are great at clearing out normal enemies). Thus, the optimal team has some of both categories, in order to handle whatever the game throws at you. Given that the original Gundam and Guncannon are, sadly, pretty much cannon fodder in this game (and, really, every subsequent game in the Guncannon's case), it would be wise to arrange for them to meet with unfortunate accidents in order to make room for the more powerful Super Robots. It just so happens that removing those two while keeping all your other Gundam units will leave three open slots, just enough for the three best Super Robots (which I identified up in my first post in the thread). And without spoiling anything, let's just say that if you keep visiting all those towers and other suspicious tiles, you'll find some special rewards for having those very Super Robots on your team that will make the tougher boss fights a little less tough.
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Sep 5, 2014 08:41
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Well this is interesting. I probably won't ever play this but seeing the beginnings of the SRW series and the origins of the mechanics that would become series mainstays is cool.
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Sep 5, 2014 20:42
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Episode II: Zeta Goes Fishing For Zaku IIs  And welcome to the main menu screen! At the start of every episode, you are given the chance to equip your unit(s) with the goodies obtained in the last episode.  In which I immediately put everything on Hyaku Shiki, except the Rocket Punch, as he can't equip it. The folks over at Anaheim Electronics (manufacturers of MSs in the Gundam universe) thought it was too expensive to create gold plated rocket fists.   Here's the before and after: nothing too dramatic, the +2 SPD will help him stay on top of his game, and eventually double attack in the far future. And with that, he is almost too sexy for his Charisma stat in the matter of two episodes.  Z Gundam gets absolutely nothing, but I don't intend on him to do much anyway, with the exception of flying around, shooting things from afar and steal kills when Hyaku Shiki is only gaining 1 EXP.  That's really all there is to see in the menu, so off we go for another thrilling episode, with a lot of trees!  Forests suck in any SRPG.  Again, nothing too large to handle, but this chapter does introduce an annoying trend in map design.  In the grand scheme of things, I like this chapter. The battles are spread decently enough that you don't spend close to twenty turns doing nothing but crossing forests and lakes. In terms of foes, the only enemies to return from the last episode is Zaku II and Z'Gok, as this episode is ZZ Gundam themed.   First up is the marine based AMX-109 Capule, which in many ways is an upgraded Z'Gok without the hot bod. Like in the show, they specialize in missiles, so all its attacks have long ranged attributes.   And then we have the AMX-107 Bawoo, which is really fun to say aloud. Unlike the show, the Bawoo here is complete cannon fodder, who lacks long ranged attacks.  Z Gundam wastes no time and proceeds to aimlessly fly about.   Hyaku Shiki makes it to the tower, as that's where 90% of the fighting will take place. The item obtained here is a weapon for Team Getter, which will have no use for us.  A little west of Z Gundam's starting location is this lovely piece of work.  And then they come.  You can't really see it, as GB graphics make the targeted sprite blink, but Z Gundam is targeting a Capule that is on its way to long range assault Hyaku Shiki.  The trick here being most enemies will charge Hyaku Shiki who is resting on a tower, while Z Gundam snipes them so Hyaku Shiki can OHKO them next turn without fear of retaliation.  The Capule is not too pleased with the strength of his attack, as shown through his usage of ellipsis.  The first five turns are the hardest, as all the enemies charge you, but after the Capule is dealt with, all you really have to face are the Zaku IIs who move at a snail's pace, and lack long ranged attacks.  They do manage to bring Z Gundam to critical, but by the time that happened, it was the last one standing, and Hyaku Shiki brought it down.  Our last foe is another Team Getter member.  That I decide to let live.  The good thing about him is he is an air based unit, so he can fly off down south to get the treasure, saving Z Gundam the effort and turn count.  And believe me, you WANT this treasure.  (Just use your imagination and pretend that we are in outer space and the RX-178 MK-II Gundam is Z Gundam)Unfortunately it will have to wait until next episode when we can actually equip it.  A Mazinger missile, in which we haven't run into any recruitable Mazinger units yet.  While I was trying to demonstrate the next Spirit command I wanted to show off, I got lucky and got "Train" in my menu. While not as desirable as ATK up, DEF is always welcome, especially with a mobile suit that has tin foil for defence.  And now for the most useful Spirit command, which will remain the most useful for many Super Robot Wars entries to come.  By giving our hero a fever of 103..  He pretty much can waltz up to the boss trio and rip them apart in two or three turns. This trend will continue in every chapter from here on out. The best part is that Hot Blood in this game is not a one time use, it lasts for a random amount of turns.   Meet the AMX-102 Zssa by the way, it's heavily based on long ranged artillery as the picture depicts, and James from Team Rocket's long lost twin brother originally pilots this suit. That's all there really is to it.  Hyaku Shiki loves the concept of getting +2 DEF in one chapter, as do I.  We have yet another Mazinger unit for a boss, but unlike the missile shooting goddesses of terror, he's actually quite mild. More so since I'm going to absolutely tear him to pieces next turn, thanks to Hot Blood.   The last enemy unit and the boss of this chapter is an awkward situation for our hero, as the pilot of MAN-08 Elmeth is none other than his girlfriend, Lalah Sune.  She also has one of the more deadlier weapons in the series, which will proceed to constantly kick our asses as we progress throughout this series.  It's all fun and games until Char gets turned down by his own woman.  And then a ditzy Camille* opens fire, killing her instantly, unaware that he just killed an archetype character of his own girlfriend. *Pilot of Gundam Z, and Char pilots the Hyaku Shiki, although technically neither are in each suit, as it's implied that the suits are beings of their own in SRW.  With that, I will see you next update; be sure to bring your healing items and Spirits!
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Sep 8, 2014 03:25
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Hey, me again, with more Mazinger/Getter facts. The Doublas M2 is the other first Mechabeast faced by Mazinger Z (along with last chapter's Garada K7). The two of them remain the most iconic Mechabeasts in the franchise, with Dr. Hell's "ultimate Mechabeast" in the Mazinkaiser OVA being a fusion of the two, the Garadoublas MK01. Now, on to what you actually care about. As far as I'm aware, there aren't any units that can use the Rocket Punch item, it might be intended for a Mechabeast or something. Also, both of the Mazinger units you ran into last chapter were 100% recruitable, and both could use the Photon Missile. If they're available on any of the default teams, you can recruit them if you encounter them during a chapter. Texas Mack  Yes, the original version of the Texas Mack looks kinda goofy, unlike its successor in Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo. Built by the American scientist, Dr. King, Texas Mack is piloted by his children, Jack and Mary. Jack pilots the main robot while Mary pilots the hat, which is detachable. The Texas Mack's main weapons are a pair of giant six-shooters, which can change shape. They can combine into a rifle, or a single gun can transform into a sword or mace, which is paired with a shield made from the hat. Said shield can also fire a beam of energy. The Texas Mack, for all its popularity, only appeared in a single episode of the original anime, where it was sent to Japan to test its mettle against a Mechasaurus. Jack dissed the Getter pilots because their mech needed a whole three people to pilot it (his was technically a two-person mech with the hat and all, he could technically just pilot the Mack on its own). This led to a short sparring match between the two mechs, which Jack won with a cheap shot, because Americans are assholes. Then the actual Mechasaurus fight of the episode happened, the Texas Mack made a strong showing but was ultimately defeated, requiring the Getter team to bail the King siblings out. Jack learns a little respect, they decide the Texas Mack needs some fine-tuning to be useful in fighting the Dinosaur Empire, we never hear from them again, roll credits. In SRW, Texas Mack's original incarnation is pretty much never playable for more than a few chapters. It's usually okay, but nothing special aside from looking great. Also, in this game, all it has is the Texas Sword and Texas Revolvers, but it can be given the Homing Missile to give it a long-range option (the Getter Q could also use the Homing Missile).
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Sep 8, 2014 04:49
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GeneralContempt, I thank you for showing this, as I played the first chapter (with all three teams), decided it was too much of a pain and left. I see now that playing it as I play the modern Super Robot Wars games is a recipe for failure. That said, I have little to no intention of actually playing it myself so I'll keep watching. Also for your own sake watch Mazinger or Getter someday. They're both awesome. If you don't want to watch anything too long or old, give Shin Mazinger and New Getter Robo a try, they don't disappoint. Also also thanks for the descriptions on the Mazinger/Getter units, EclecticTastes. I'll admit I'm not too knowledgeable about the original Getter Robo anime (I didn't bother watching it, having read the manga and watched every other adaptation), so I had no idea Texas Mack existed before Shin vs Neo (it definitely does not exist in the manga, its place is taken by the Stilva and its super-racist pilot), or who the hell Getter-Q was.
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Sep 8, 2014 05:40
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Giant robot + hat is the laziest combining robot I've ever heard of.
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Sep 8, 2014 05:45
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This thread rules and you rule, Contempt.
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Sep 8, 2014 06:17
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BlitzBlast posted:Giant robot + hat is the greatest combining robot I've ever heard of. fixed that for ya
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Sep 8, 2014 07:00
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Oh hey this game. It's an interesting bit of history, being the start of such a big (If Japan only) series. Of note that this is in fact one of the oldest SRPGs around. Fire Emblem, arguably the game that invented the genre, only premiered a year earlier, and you can kind of see some of it's influence I think. Especially since you designate one character basically an an FE Lord. Also, I know I've heard this tune remixed in other SRWs, but I can't remember what game and the name of it.
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Sep 8, 2014 07:22
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BlitzBlast posted:Giant robot + hat is the laziest combining robot I've ever heard of. The hat also transforms into a forearm-mounted shield! A completely flat shield that has a totally different color pattern than the craft it morphed from! And the pilot totally isn't crushed in the process! The wonders of American technology! 
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Sep 8, 2014 09:35
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Dr Pepper posted:Of note that this is in fact one of the oldest SRPGs around. Fire Emblem, arguably the game that invented the genre, only premiered a year earlier, and you can kind of see some of it's influence I think. Especially since you designate one character basically an an FE Lord. I'm of the (probably entirely baseless) opinion that Fire Emblem is in fact a more plotty/less Rock-Paper-Scissorsy take on Nintendo's earlier Famicom Wars, and that Banpresto called it "Super Robot Wars" in association with that. Also, I love the heck out of Texas Mack and will use it all the way to the endgame if I can in any game it's in (especially in Advance, where its acid-resistant raincoat becomes a Beam Coat); same goes for virtually any other one-shot 70s ally robot that makes it into SRW (see Gargantua). EDIT: Are you limited to 2 units and whatever you can convince to turn to your side on any given stage for the whole game? Wounded Land fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Sep 8, 2014 |
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Sep 8, 2014 14:42
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Wounded Land posted:EDIT: Are you limited to 2 units and whatever you can convince to turn to your side on any given stage for the whole game? No, I think GeneralContempt is just going for a solo run with the Hyaku-Shiki with the Z Gundam capturing towers. The normal limit is eight. The original SRW also has permadeath, sort of. If destroyed, your units may appear in a subsequent chapter where you can convince them back, but there's a finite number of opportunities for that, I believe. However, this feature is invaluable for clearing room in your roster for Getter and Mazinger units on Gundam team, since Gundam team starts with seven units already. The RX-78-2 and Guncannon are pretty good candidates for "accidents" to befall. Once you have Getter G and the two Mazingers, you're pretty well set-up, though there are plenty of better robots you can replace the Hyaku-Shiki with (unfortunately, I don't think the other classic SRW Char mech is recruitable, which is too bad because it's OP as gently caress).
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Sep 8, 2014 15:39
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Episode III: Speedy Like a Red Comet This is the most important thing that will ever happen in the camp screen. After this episode, I'm only going to show the before and after effects of all the resources I shoved down Hyaku Shiki's throat in that episode. The Mega Bazooka Launcher is the ONLY chance the Gundam and Hyaku Shiki get at ranged attacks. The Guncannon (surprise, surprise) is equipped with the weakest long ranged cannon in the game by default, and every other Gundam in the team all have their own, stronger cannons.  Just for reference, ZZ Gundam's HiMegaCannon has a whopping 11 for attack (which is called Will), but only 3 range. Lastly of course, vGundam and F-91 are in their broken leagues of their own with vGundam having access to the ever so broken Bit attack, which has the same attack power as the Mega Bazooka, but 100 adaptability over all terrain, and 110% chance to hit. F-91's VSBR, while it is only one Will stronger than Mega Bazooka, and has only 60 adaptability in the sea, has F-91's stats to pretty much offset any penalty. Hell, if we were soloing with F-91 with RNG Train abuse, he'd be nearing 45 ATK, which is halfway maxed in the matter of three episodes.   A single ATK and DEF up in this chapter, but I'll gladly take it. Especially that DEF, since we're going up against a jerk in this episode.  At least he can take a hit and engage in chip damage? The Recon truck was never meant to be an attack unit anyway.  (Why oh WHY was this half a track originally seven minutes long)  Ah, the Messala the MS all the assholes drive, or those who are aspiring to be assholes (e.g- Reccoa) drive.  Oh hey, it's all the enemies in the chapter all in a single screenshot. The thing that looks like a toaster in the top left is the boss, who is surrounded by the Zssas whom we wrecked with relative ease last chapter. This is also the first chapter the Zaku IIs don't appear in.  This map plays exactly like the last one, tower battle and all. The only difference being the different MSs we have to face.  Once again, it's to the towers, only this time, the Hyaku Shiki has sniping capabilities.  Hidden items that aren't across the battlefield, in virgin lands, untouched by mankind, with 30 turns of travel attached generally make me happy.  Getting weapons we just got last chapter, and have no use for? Not so much. In any case, at least I can be thankful for this tower, which will be the most important aspect to this episode.  As shortly after, the enemies come in one big, obnoxious swarm, exactly like in the last chapter.  I'll take your Mazinger Greek goddesses in Episode I, and raise you the superior, recruitable Mazinger Roman goddess of beauty. She DOES have access to long ranged attacks (4 Range), but as shown in the last picture, she's out of range, so she ended up attacking.  Which ended terribly for her.   Closely following her is the MS-09 Dom, Zaku II's replacement, which boasts a whopping +2 STR, -1 SPD, and +4 DEF over Zaku II, and is still 1 range locked.  On top of that, this is the first time I've actually ever seen him hit the Hyaku Shiki. Bear in mind the Hyaku Shiki has one of the poorest DEF ratings in Team Gundam.  Banpresto is well aware of Dom's shortcomings, and threw this in as well, which amusingly is Dom's replacement, IN the chapter the Dom makes an appearance in. What that equates to, is he is yet another 1 ranged locked unit, who hits harder. He's the only one in this chapter however.   And then we have this prick, the AMX-014 Doven Wolf.  If anything is going to kill anything in this chapter, it's this weapon, which is basically a Bit attack, strapped on to a MS who hits like a truck in the third episode. Given the fact that we are using a MS who relies on dodging, a 110% hit will ruin him quite quickly.  It doesn't help that the OP unit of Team Mazinger is an enemy and is hurling missiles at the Hyaku Shiki, which are fortunately rather easy for him to dodge.  I guess the Dom hitting a few screens ago was a one time special?  Pictured: the Doven Wolf is an rear end in a top hat. He does go down after three Mega Bazooka shots though.  Mazinger monsters like to keyboard mash when they get hit; I don't know, ask EclecticTastes.  Once the Doven Wolf is dealt with, we can safely leave the tower and pick this guy up. It only took me one try to get him, for the first time ever.  While Zeta takes out the last Dom, who amusingly ran away when its health was in critical.  To my dismay, Z Gundam got a lot less EXP than I was expecting, which means he has to accompany the Hyaku Shiki to boss land to kill steal.  We now have two of these sitting in our inventory, hooray.  The central issue of making me fight all the MSs at once is the rest of the chapter is spent doing nothing but crossing water tiles.  About six or seven turns later, boss land is in view. Let's check out who we have to face today!   The PMX-000 Messala, a purple Methuss (the original, if you want to be technical) without the Arm Beam Guns, exclusively reserved for dicks.  Its arsenal is no exception. While not as annoying as the Doven Wolf, the fact that she has three other Zssas guarding her makes this fight longer than it should.    I've never been so disappointed with a treasure haul before.  In any case, Mazinger Z finds a nice melee weapon for himself, that he can admire for all eternity on the bench.  Because the bosses all have 4 range, it makes it pleasantly easy to destroy them one by one.  And another stellar dodge from Hyaku Shiki!  (Here, I'll give you a song and a half this update. This is Team Gundam's only battle theme, it's Gundam 0079's main theme song in 8bit!)  Why do you do this to me, Z Gundam?  Still not going to make up for just barely killing everything, and having to spend another turn TO get a kill.   With two left, I get lazy and finish them off the cheap way.   Oh god, that shrieking, Sarah must be the pilot..  Camille once again with the boss kill! He really doesn't like female pilots, bosses nonetheless, does he?  With that done, I decide to waste the last bit of Spirits I have to see if I get anything useful.  Which I get Friends, a little bit too late, seeing as there are no more enemies.  And the most useful thing to happen to me this chapter. More swarms at the start of a chapter! And a really easy boss!
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Sep 14, 2014 18:38
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Man, that Gundam OP needs to come back at some point. I remember hearing a pretty goddamn amazing version of it but it's since been removed from all internetdom so no dice there.
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Sep 14, 2014 19:02
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Well, another update, another batch of mechs from Mazinger and Getter Robo. The Spartan K5 is just another of Dr. Hell's mechabeasts. Of note is that the Spartan is the only mechabeast to demonstrate any will of its own, refusing to fight at one point during its appearance in episode 14. Its shield protects it from heat-based attacks, as well, making it immune to Mazinger's key finisher, Breast Fire. Speaking of which, let's get going! Venus A  Built by the father of Kouji Kabuto (Mazinger's pilot), Kenzo (who was thought to be dead but it turns out was not dead at all). It was designed to be the partner unit for Great Mazinger, and is basically the Diana A, except it can fly and shoot missiles out of its fingertips as well as retaining the Oppai Missile System (  ). Pretty odd how Professor Yumi and Kenzo Kabuto, who were not exactly colleagues, both managed to design mechs with boob missiles, independent of one another. The pilot, Jun Honoo, was a fellow orphan of Tetsuya Tsurugi, Great's eventual pilot. Unusual, I would think, for cartoons of the era, her backstory got a little political, as while her mother was Japanese, her father was black, which led to her being ostracized by the other kids at the orphanage, aside from Tetsuya. Other than that she's pretty much a replacement for Sayaka. Later works fleshed her (and everyone else) out more thoroughly, though the Mazinger Z manga made the questionable decision to change her father to having been Caucasian.MAZINGER Z  The mech that started it all! While Tetsujin 28 was the first giant robot of anime, Mazinger Z was the first with an internal pilot, and set the tone for all the series that would follow. Even Gundam was designed to contrast with series in the tradition of Mazinger. The "Z" is pronounced "Zed", by the way. Built from Super Alloy Z (the primary ingredient of which is Japanium) by the mad scientist, Juuzou Kabuto (who also discovered Japanium on an expedition to Mt. Fuji), and piloted by his grandson, Kouji, Mazinger is powered by a photon atomic energy (or "photonic energy" for short) reactor. Mazinger Z began the tradition of mechs shooting off their forearms as projectile weapons with its signature Rocket Punch. His big finisher is Breast Fire, where Mazinger launches a blast of heat from the red panels on its chest, melting enemies to slag. The wings on its back up there are the Jet Scrander, an upgrade to Mazinger designed by the guys at the Photon Power Labs to let Mazinger fly. The Iron Cutter that GeneralContempt just found is an upgraded Rocket Punch, where a pair of blades pop out from the sides of the fist. Of note is that in the first SRW, Mazinger's arsenal is far from complete, and you need to find his more powerful attacks, as well as the Jet Scrander, scattered about levels, and use them during intermission to replace his weaker moves. Iron Cutter, naturally, replaces the Rocket Punch. Tune in next time for another exciting installment of me droning on about anime robots!
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Sep 14, 2014 22:59
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It's actually "Fly, Gundam!" And I find it odd that the Dom's sprite explicitly has its giant bazooka and yet it has no ranged attacks.
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Sep 15, 2014 02:16
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Episode IV: The Most Thrilling "Labyrinth" Ever  With my Chobham Armour, and Heart of Justice, I not only past the halfway mark of maxing Hyaku Shiki's HP (already), but also effectively maxed his Charisma out, which will be put to use this chapter, then never again.  Despite giving Z Gundam no resources at all, he's still hanging on, just barely. However, due to all the items in the upcoming chapter, he's going to fall behind real quick.  We can recruit two more units, before we have to kill people off. Having being introduced to SRPGs via Fire Emblem, I disagree with killing people. So let's make use of those last two slots!  I still don't know what this means, but we're in a "Labyrinth" now! Only without sexy goblin kings, just ugly robots who shoot missiles at us.  Indoor chapters are generally the least painful chapters, as the map layouts are very basic, with little to no obstructions.  They're also disturbingly symmetrical.  While this chapter is meant to be fought on two fronts, we only have two units, and one of them can barely fend for himself. I take the west path, as the OP MS in the west takes longer to get to the team than the east does.  Continuing the slow, but sure tactic we've been doing for four episodes already.  The problem here however, is that the aforementioned episodes offered Z Gundam at least a little bit of coverage, while he's wide out in the open in this episode.  First up is the typical Mazinger monster cannon fodder, their gimmick in this episode is they appear in great numbers.   Mr. Blue Methuss, RX-139 Hambrabi makes an appearance, who is a total beast in the show, but Mega Bazooka Launcher bait here.   This chapter really likes transformable MSs for some reason. The ORX-005 Gaplant is a rather generic transformable MS, but is known for its speed. Thus it should come to no surprise that it and Hambrabi go neck and neck with Hyaku Shiki's speed for the first time in enemy history.  Amusingly enough, exactly one chapter after recruiting Mazinger Z, his upgraded MS shows up next chapter.  With no one to guard the eastern frontier, the enemies are in prime position to pincer attack. Being out in the open, this isn't going to turn out well.  At this point, the OP unit of the east (top-left) has shown up, and Great Mazinger is still alive and kicking, and Hyaku Shiki can only take exactly five hits.    So nothing better than having to resort to recruitment chains to both save my rear end, and add more targets for the enemies so Hyaku Shiki can survive next round!  Silly Yazan*, you can't persuade the Lord character to join your team! *Pilot of the Hambrabi, (Z Gundam spoilers) known for killing the most amount of people in the Z Gundam series, including fatally wounding my favourite character, Emma Sheen. Her soul gets sucked into the Z Gundam, which then uses magic to both destroy Yazan's main cameras, and obtain a ridiculously large beam sabre. So there's a silver lining in my tangenty story, I suppose?  After the initial horde is dealt with, the Hyaku Shiki can then move to the next tower, where he will stay for the rest of the chapter.  Does anyone honestly need three Photon Missiles?  Right, so count how many tiles it is from Hyaku Shiki's tower, to the boss's tower. Yep, four. And what is the Mega Bazooka Launcher's range? That's right, four.  So while Mr. Rakan Dahkaran* can hit us, we're on a tower, and will instantly heal any damage he does to us. *The ever so handsome pilot of the Doven Wolf.   Meanwhile we can dish out the damage, that he cannot fully heal, and will slowly, but surely lose the fight.  While Z Gundam can pick off the Zssa's for desperate EXP.   And pick up crappy, symmetrical treasure.  This is the first chapter that has towers that give nothing. They're probably just placed there for strategic value to fight the Zssas. Which begs the question of why would an enemy base have towers that are to the advantage of invaders, and serve no purpose for the defenders, who ironically have no towers in the inner chamber?     GOOD, hidden items, and me using fresh recruits for an actual just cause!   Meawhile in boss land.. Hyaku Shiki is sure taking his sweet time to destroy the Doven Wolf.  It's no problem however, as there is lots of beautiful things to extract in weird places.  And Zssas for Z Gundam to grind with.   Well crap, no one gained any levels this episode.  I also learned the anyone can seize boss towers, not just the Lord.  I don't know what they're getting at with the next episode's name, but tune in next time for more less annoying game mechanic introduction! Extra: How I wasted my Spirits at the end of this map!   Don't ever leave me, Zeta, or I will Mega Bazooka Launcher you before you have the chance to pick up another Biosensor for me. And that's all that matters.  A bit too late, much? Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Sep 19, 2014 |
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Sep 19, 2014 07:32
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Wow, Great and Getter on the same stage? That'd be an endgame team right there if you were the "more than 2 units" type.
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Sep 19, 2014 07:56
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Wait, can you get counter-recruited by the enemy? If so, that's amazing(ly terrible). EDIT: I also just noticed that the tower that resembles two As is in fact a minitaurized Photon Power Labs. That's neat!
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Sep 19, 2014 15:00
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That map is the only time I'm aware of where the enemy will try to recruit your units. Luckily, your default units have very high starting Loyalty, and since Gundam team has the highest number of endgame-worthy units of the three starting groups, they have a bit of an edge. Now, onto the robits! The Obeleus is our first look at the Mycenae Empire, primary antagonists of Great Mazinger's series. Desperate for ways to beat Mazinger Z, Dr. Hell turned to a mysterious benefactor, Archduke Gorgon. When even that wasn't enough, and Dr. Hell was finally killed by Mazinger in a final confrontation, Gorgon had to reveal his role as a leader in the Mycenae Empire military, sending Warrior Beasts to destroy Mazinger. They would have succeeded, had Great Mazinger not appeared to save the day, thus launching into his series where Mazinger Z left off. The Obeleus is a Flying Warrior Beast, and they're normally under the command of General Birdler, one of the lesser villains of Great Mazinger. Speaking of which... GREAT MAZINGER  Tetsuya Tsurugi was an orphan, adopted by Kouji Kabuto's father, Kenzou, who was long thought to be dead. Kenzou designed an improved version of his own father's greatest project, Mazinger Z, as he was aware that the Mycenae Empire would attack once Dr. Hell was defeated. The primary improvement was refining Super Alloy Z into a lighter and stronger material known as Super Alloy New Z, making this new Mazinger even more durable than the legendarily sturdy Z. He dubbed this robot Great Mazinger, and taught Tetsuya how to pilot it, and the rest is history. Great also had its scrander by default, and could call in the Great Booster, a more powerful scrander that frequently served as a finishing move, slamming into foes with great speed, or firing on-board weapons. Its signature moves include the Atomic Punch (an upgraded Rocket Punch), the Mazinger Blades (seen in his sprite, they launch from the knees), Breast Burn (an improved Breast Fire), and Thunder Break (pictured). GETTER ROBO  Designed by the brilliant Dr. Saotome to utilize the mysterious Getter Rays, the energy of evolution, to explore outer space. However, as luck would have it, the Dinosaur Empire had decided to reclaim the Earth using their Mechasauri around that time, having been driven underground by Getter Rays many eons prior. As Getter Rays were deadly to the Dinosaur Empire, Getter Robo was Earth's only hope. Knowing he was in an anime, Dr. Saotome found a trio of high school hotheads to pilot the three jets that combined into the titular mech (Eagle, Jaguar, and Bear). The pilot of the Eagle was soccer captain Ryoma Nagare, known for his hotblooded attitude and bitchin' sideburns. Ryoma piloted Getter-1, the flight-capable form (via Getter Wing) with the Getter Tomahawk and signature Getter Beam. The resident bad boy delinquent, Hayato Jin, was the pilot of the Jaguar and Getter-2. Getter-2 was extremely fast, able to leave afterimages with its Getter Vision technique and burrow underground with its drill arm. Judo team captain Musashi Tomoe was the pilot of the Bear and Getter-3, which was capable of operating without hindrance underwater. It was equipped with missiles, but is better known for the Getter Blizzard, a powerful grappling attack that is traditionally the original Getter's most powerful single attack. However, as the team became more adept at piloting the Getter, they eventually mastered the Open Gate Attack, where they rapidly switched between forms to fire off a rapid series of attacks from each of the three forms of Getter Robo. Getter Robo was totaled at the end of its series, as Musashi sacrificed his life to destroy the most powerful Mechasaurus the Dinosaur Empire had, the Zaro. What happened after that, is a matter for a later post. EclecticTastes fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Sep 21, 2014 |
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Sep 21, 2014 21:48
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Episode V: Zeta Wins By Doing Absolutely Nothing  Speed with soon become important, and everything else is growing at a fine pace.  Meanwhile, Zeta is still the bitch of the team.  It just hasn't been a good time for Zeta and Hyaku Shiki, has it? Being magically teleported to a labyrinth just last episode, having to wade through trees, and even fighting a Messala piloted by a woman who did nothing but screech into the radio the whole time.  You can literally see the choke point from satellite view.  Because he has time to spare, Z Gundam flies up north and grabs this.  While Hyaku Shiki dashes on over to the choke point as fast as he can.  Reinforcements are introduced in this chapter, but I'm sure we all know how amusingly incompetent Doms are from our last encounter with them. More so since Hyaku Shiki has since then consumed endless Biosensors and rapidly sped up.  In many ways, the Doms are a blessing, as they are cockblocking the stronger units from melee attacking Hyaku Shiki, while he blasts the stronger units from a distance, safe on his tower.   Char's response to the v Gundam, the MSN-04 Sazabi, which is equipped with funnels, fast as hell, and is as durable as wet paper. And yes, Char is fighting an older version of himself in this chapter, it only gets weirder as we progress.  (Last song until the end of the game, it's Getter's staccatoriffic, westernisitic battle theme).  One of the reasons why I'm happy the Doms are clogging up the melee area.  Check that out, that, combined with the next mecha's attack spell immediate trouble. He is melee range only however.  Mazinger units on the other hand, stop messing around with beauty goddesses, and go straight to goddesses of war.  Like Getter Dragon, she also has the potential to inflict a great deal of harm, but seeing as Getter Dragon can fly, he's the bigger threat.  Man, check this loser out, Hyaku Shiki has 3x his speed!  Even the Guncannon's weakest weapon is stronger than his strongest weapon.  Gold paint has been scratched in this image, Char is NOT happy. .jpg) I timed the shot wrong, but by the time she got to Hyaku Shiki, he dodged her big scary attack, and countered, winning a glorious victory. .jpg) He then goes on to further impress me by doubling an enemy unit for the first, and definitely not last time. Double attacks are only possible from short range, and if you have 3x the enemy's speed. The later series let you move again if you have enough Speed (called Response), but not here, unfortunately.   He ain't done impressing us yet, he then pulls two levels out of that scrap!    With all the enemies gone, we are free to progress to boss land, without any resistance. Man, I just realized how similar every map plays out, which makes this game seem even more aged.   Unfortunately no crazy woman, who rips her space suit off, exposing her cleavage* is present in this game, but her MS, the AMX-015 Geymalk at least makes an appearance as a boss! *Chara Soon, possibly the greatest thing to come out of the ZZ Gundam series.  She is also the first boss we have to face who carries around an attack with 5 range, meaning if you get into one of the guarding Sazaku's attack range, you'll be in her line of fire as well.  That being said, brute force is not recommended here, so it's time to show off another Spirit command!  Combine with HotBlood for instant win, not unlike the later series as well.  Those rare moments when you can confidentially charge into the boss zone are truly moments to be cherished.    Glorious montage of Dodgetank Shiki.  Look at that face, that is the face of a man looking at a missile square in the eye, knowing he is going to dodg-  Oh..    But by that point, Char destroyed the three clones, time paradox or whatever of himself, leaving only Chara at short range combat.  OH GOD, I HATE SEA MAPS. Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 00:14
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I guess you must really hate sea maps if you haven't updated in almost a month 
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Oct 20, 2014 04:52
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Oh, hey, I didn't see chapter five go up. Okay, so, the Mechasaurus Saki is just a generic monster of the week, no big deal. Minerva X, however, is more interesting. It was originally intended to be a partner/backup unit for Mazinger Z, the only mech besides Mazinger itself designed by Juuzo Kabuto, and while its sprite more resembles Diana A/Venus A, its actual design and coloration were very similar to Mazinger Z. The bad news is that Juuzo died before he could actually build the Minerva. Then Dr. Hell got ahold of the plans and built his own, though he had to use inferior Super Steel instead of Super Alloy Z. The Minerva had access to, theoretically, all of Mazinger's weapons (it only showed off a handful), and would have been a real problem had Prof. Kabuto not installed a programming failsafe into the mech that messed up Dr. Hell's onboard AI. Not only did the professor's failsafe cause Minerva to defect to Mazinger's side, it also caused her to fall in love with the big guy, which led to wacky hijinks of Minerva being jealous of the Aphrodite A (and scaring the poo poo outta Sayaka), obviously. Dr. Hell got pissed and sent a mechabeast out to deal with the traitor, and while it was really no match for, well, anything, it damaged Minerva enough to knock out her self-awareness module :technobabble:. That caused her to go berserk, and when she went for a nearby nuclear plant, Sayaka was forced to blast her with her chest missiles, but at least they were able to bring her consciousness back long enough for her to get in some robot crying before going off to the scrapyard. The whole thing, while superficially similar to the (produced much later) Getter Queen episode of Getter Robo, was played much more heavily for tragedy. In a later spin-off starring the female cast of the Mazinger franchise (Sayaka, Jun, and the two female characters from UFO Robo Grendizer), the Minerva would return, with a new purple-and-white color scheme (which stuck throughout its appearances in SRW, where it's pretty much never playable outside of one or two games in the series). And perhaps notable is the fact that the Minerva X is the only one of the four woman-shaped robots to not have the boob missiles. Now that I'm done rambling about a minor one-episode character, let's get on to what you really care about. Getter Robo G  In the final battle with the Dinosaur Empire, the Getter Robo is damaged beyond repair, largely due to Musashi's, for lack of a better word, weakness. He'd always felt like he had to play catch-up to Ryoma and Hayato, and his botching what was, at the time, humanity's last hope, hit him pretty hard. When Doctor Saotome revealed one last possibility to save the day, he was about to have his daughter, Michiru, go into mortal danger when it turns out Musashi had already jacked the plane and taken off to redeem himself. Unfortunately, he failed again, and so, in one last act of desperation, he used himself as the bomb that would slay the final Mechasaurus, saving the world at the cost of his life. Following that, Dr. Saotome would reveal a pair of contingency plans: New pilot and baseball fan Benkei Kuruma, and the Getter Robo G! The three mechs are now known as Dragon, Liger, and Poseidon, with Benkei taking Musashi's place in the third seat. While mostly a straight upgrade to the original Getter, the Getter Dragon has a new move that harnesses the power of Getter Rays for an incredibly powerful attack, the Shine Spark. And then they fought the Hundred Demon Empire and it was all pretty similar to the first go-round. I don't know if any Hundred Demon Empire enemies show up in the original SRW, but I'll talk about them if I see them. Well, that's it for important mechs, but I'll pop back in to ramble about various minor bad guys as they appear, assuming this LP goes any farther.
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Oct 20, 2014 11:54
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Yeah, sea maps can go forth and multiply. Sorry for the delay of epic proportions by the way, it was a pretty intense semester over here. Can't guarantee I'll follow my Sunday plan any more, but I'll try to get this done someday. Hopefully in the following year, I promise! Episode VI: Z Gundam's Big Day Out   No offence gains whatsoever to speak of, but we can always use that extra bit of durability to offset those times when he can't dodge, like during bit attacks.  Ha ha ha.  *Dies* Better not get any sand in my nether-regions, nor do I think solid gold reacts well with water.  The size of this map is the least of my concerns.  LOOK.  AT.  ALL.  THIS.  GOD.  drat.  WATER.  The Capule, it pretty much had one episode to itself in ZZ Gundam, and was never seen or heard from again until literally thousands of years later. I guess it's an upgrade over Z'Goks? While they might lack the Z'Gok's beach bod, they are nonetheless lined with countless missile spewing breasts, which is always a welcome sight outside the Austin Powers franchise. The only good Capule is the Capule driven by Ms. Sochie Heim of  Here's another monster mook, he is a moderate threat however, based solely on the premise that he can fly, and because the Z Gundam is actually going to do its own little thing this chapter.  A common trend on water maps is the notion of spreading treasure out everywhere, that if you're not using Z or ZZ Gundam, makes getting them a royal pain. I once did a complete Hyaku Shiki solo, and getting all the items in this chapter with just him took up to 60 turns.  But bitching aside, this treasure was just beside Z Gundam's spawn point.  As you probably saw with the water montage, this map boasts a weird, branchy peninsula feel to it. While Z Gundam can do whatever the hell he wants because he doesn't give a single drat about terrain, our man in golden underwear is essentially limited to where he can go, lest the player really wants to wade through single tile movement and lack of beam weapons in water. In this case, his interest (getting this terrible chapter done ASAP) is in the north-east branch.   While he's at it, he proceeds to effortlessly double attack everything in his way.  He also picks this up in between missile raids from neighbouring Capules.  Z Gundam's main interests are in the east, an area Hyaku Shiki will not see. As a result of this, he becomes the target of a fair bit of enemies. If you've been paying attention to his growths hitherto, this does not bode well for him. While I could possibly just make him wait for a few turns and make the AI all target Hyaku Shiki, that would include waiting, and I don't like waiting.  Oh my god, Kamille.  If Captain Bright saw the ineffectiveness of this attack, there would no doubt be bitch slaps going around following this battle.  ...  ........  Just to put things into perspective. I don't have an image of him attacking a Capule, but chances are he was probably reducing them to single digits, if not OHKO'ing them with the Mega Bazooka Launcher, and doubling them with his Beam Sabre.  Jesus. With a hit rate of 80 however, Z Gundam usually dodges the rockets 2/5ths of the time anyway.  Granted, making Z Gundam rush off alone probably took as long than if I just made him wait, he got a level out of it, and it was much more fun than waiting, so it all worked out in the end.  This, and another treasure up north are pretty much Z Gundam's sole reasons to be deployed this chapter, mandatory levelling through kill stealing, sniping things while on the safety of a tower, or what have you aside.  As if to mock him from the amount of turns it took to kill two or three enemies, Boods will now charge at him relentlessly for a few turns.  Meanwhile Hyaku Shiki continues mopping up the northern front, briefly stopping for a detour to both lure some Bood reinforcements away from Z Gundam and pick up more HP raising goodness.  Man, I hope you're as stoked to see Hyaku Shiki's HP growth next chapter as I am.  And the second treasure I was talking about, it has absolutely no use to us whatsoever, yay! From here, Z Gundam sits on that fort, attacking Boods and waiting for Hyaku Shiki to get to the boss so he can eventually steal the kill for EXP.  Z Gundam, getting into vulture position, flying around the boss and his cohorts.  Suddenly our hero is attacked by a mysterious MS! Who could it be?    Why, it's none other than the AMX-004 Qubeley, the MS of Char's mortal enemy, Haman Karn!  The battle is kind of anti-climatic though, guess her funnels are outdated or something.  Following the battle with Haman, Char proceeds to take a million turns to cross the five or so water tiles to pick up the final item of the stage.  So let's exploit terrain and make an otherwise annoying boss fight into a simple spirit command kill.   Our victim for abuse is the PMX-001 Palace Athene, piloted by the ever so mercurial Reccoa Londe. I really don't like her, being my least favourite character in Z Gundam, so it all works out fine.~~~    Check out her arsenal, and look where I am going.  With her big scary missiles out of the question because I'm four tiles away, she is basically limited to her weaker weapons, which are further weakened, thanks to the notion of me being on a water tile. Meanwhile she is sitting exposed on land, without support fire, and without a fort, allowing me to constantly barrage her with my Mega Bazooka Launcher.   "The sound of effortless EXP!" *SWOOSH* While the Messala is still the same screeching toaster we've known for a couple of chapters already.  The only issue with taking the Messala out is the fact that you likewise enter the boss's airspace, which hurts like hell.     Yes, we are fighting a giant spaceship with a pair of legs, 0079 was a weird series, okay? It's also called MA-08 Big Zam, I have no idea what the creators had in mind.  Its main gimmick being that it is tanky as hell, as well as being on a tower like all bosses.  His arsenal is nothing to scoff at either.  However with no support, that's all he really has. As long as Hyaku Shiki is engaging him every round to undo the healing, he doesn't last long.  Z Gundam, failing to finish the boss off, leaving it with 3 HP. Kamille will definitely see the back side of Captain Bright's hand after the battle is over now.  Nonetheless he gets the kill next round, nearly dying during the enemy phase albeit.  A little too late for that, golden boy.  Tune in next chapter for an actual somewhat GOOD map. Bonus! .jpg) Haman Karn, fab or fine? Your call.
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Dec 2, 2014 09:26
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Protip: For those of you out there intending to play SRW like normal people, this is a chapter where it really pays to have recruited some of the Super Robots. Great Mazinger (and maybe Mazinger Z, I seriously do not remember if he has the Scrander or not) is flight-capable, as are all of the Getter Robo units (well, only Getter-1/Dragon fly for the titular mechs, technically). Also, Getter-3/Poseidon was designed for underwater operation, so it has normal movement and performance over water tiles. As for the non-Gundam enemy featured, that's actually the Mechasaurus, Bado, known for being a giant robot pterosaur. I'm guessing the guy at Aeon Genesis made a mistake. The Bood is Dr. Hell's most well-known transport, a giant submarine fortress with a retractable face on it used to launch Mechabeasts. Baron Ashura was the one at the helm, traditionally.
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Dec 2, 2014 10:28
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The big deal about the Big Zam was that it was one of the first units with an anti-beam coating, which rendered the Gundam's main weaponry useless; it took some jerkass kamikaze-ing its tailpipe with a spaceplane to take it out. And I recall that the AGTP guy doesn't care about getting the names of things right in SRW games since that takes work.
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Dec 2, 2014 17:49
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I just finished watching the American live action Gundam movie. I think I am going to blank it out of my memory, alongside Dragonball Evolution... Chapter VII: Death is Not a Concept in the Gundam Franchise   Just one of the reasons why I like this chapter, it sure makes the 30 turns I spent on last chapter gathering items worth it. +8HP!  Hooray?  Good news being his DEF growths are good enough to be on par with Hyaku Shiki's DEF. Bad news being he will forever kill steal and not really contribute much to fighting.  All in the matter of six episodes we've already fought on half the world. Sure, why not?  It's basically Episode V's map design without the large chokepoint and a bottom section added.  There are way too much of these for what they are worth, even in a full party run.  Still the 1RG mook we took out in the first chapter. He has decent STR growths, but he'll never, ever be able to hit the Hyaku Shiki.  The monster of the day! Like most monsters, I believe it's also 1RG locked.   And the mobile suit of the day is the XM-07 Vigna Ghina, look at her SPD, even the Hyaku Shiki will have some problems with hitting her. I was half paying attention when I watched F91, but the pilot of it is Cecily Fairchild, the somewhat forgettable love interest in the movie.  Somehow I'll make a man out of you!  Never mind that, I have yet to see Z Gundam even hit her once. I just end up giving the three bazookas I find to him. I don't think stacking weapons does anything, except clear inventory space.  I don't see how they can spell "Mega Bazooka" on one hand, and yet fail to add an "a" on this weapon.  And then comes the legion of screaming Sarahs...  Hyaku Shiki makes it to the second square and moves down to the third to deal with the onslaught of Messalas coming our way.  Parks his rear end on the tower, as he has the same range as the Messala long ranged attacks... (Z Gundam hides in the north for kill steals, as the AI will never go for anyone out of range if there is someone in their range)  Doesn't take long to clear the reinforcements, as most of them charge the Hyaku Shiki and die after a turn of combat. Now let's go meet who we're up against!   While the MRX-009 Psyco Gundam might look like an average run of the mill MS, it is in fact a Mobile Armour, and in turn is much bigger than MSs. The pilot is Four Murasame, Kamille's girlfriend. Main thing about her is she is a cyber newtype, or a human who has been altered and has subsequent heightened senses. That being said, what count are we at with killing Team Gundam's girlfriends?  At this point, the Hyaku Shiki's stats are so overpowered that I confidently charge right in, and proceed to make short work out of the mini bosses.  Miss Psyco Gundam here being no exception. In regards to her line, cyber newtypes are known to be emotionally unstable and frequently suffer from migraines, Four in particular, who is in next in line behind Sarah for the Scream Queen of Z Gundam.  Pictured: Kamille's Loyalty rating going down a fair deal. Originally I was going to make Z Gundam get the kill for shits and giggles, but Hyaku Shiki is that strong.  See you when you're next inevitably used for common enemy fodder!   Did I ever mention how awesome this episode is?  Hyaku Shiki then proceeds to make friends.  Gains a point of DEF  And gets pissed off for no reason. Pretty much summarizes Gundam SEED without the use of excessive flashbacks or angsty tears.  The memories of choke points and having to fight two clones of your rival, great. Kaskitew fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Dec 10, 2014 |
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Dec 10, 2014 06:33
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Super Robot explanation time! This one's pretty good, actually. The Rhine X1, from Mazinger Z, is also a character's girlfriend! Sort of. The designer of the Rhine X1 (originally the Danube [alpha symbol]1 in the manga) is Schtroheim Heinrich, a brilliant scientist on par with the Kabutos and Dr. Hell. He died in a car accident, but Dr. Hell brought him back as a cyborg (though, unlike his other henchmen, Dr. Hell didn't make any bizarre changes to his body). After spending an unknown amount of time working with Dr. Hell, he bailed and eventually built a "daughter", Lorelai Heinrich. The two of them drifted around until settling in Japan for a while, which proved to be their undoing. One day, Lorelai brought home a new friend, Shiro Kabuto (kid brother of our hero, Kouji), and Dr. Heinrich was surprised to see the grandson of his colleague, the late Juuzou Kabuto. After Shiro left and Lorelai was put to bed, Dr. Heinrich was confronted by Baron Ashura, looking for a robot the doctor had taken the designs for when he left Dr. Hell. Luckily, Dr. Heinrich is a cyborg and beat up Ashura's flunkies. Unluckily, Baron Ashura came back and managed to activate the giant robot him/herself, because of course Dr. Heinrich built it. Lorelai got caught up in the commotion, at which point Dr. Heinrich explained that she was actually the robot's core component, and that she was way stronger than that loser robot, Mazinger Z, and as he died, he told her she was his greatest creation. Naturally, her father dying kinda pissed Lorelai off, so she combined with her giant robot self, despite Shiro's protests, and defeated Ashura with little effort. When Mazinger Z hit the scene, she'd gone berserk, and proceeded to attack. In the end, Kouji had no choice but to destroy the Rhine, and with it, Shiro's friend/crush. So, the theme of this chapter was potential love interests who were tragically forced to fight the heroes. Good news, though, Cecily didn't die in F-91, and, in fact, by the end of the various Crossbone Gundam stories, had two kids with good ol' Seabook.
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Dec 10, 2014 07:13
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Huh, I was surprised not to recognize the Rhine (SRW tends to use the same mooks over and over) and even more surprised to learn that it is actually the Danube Alpha 1 itself. I watched a bunch of Mazinger Z episodes but didn't catch that one, so I did not know where the Lorelai from Shin Mazinger came from. It is weird that SRW doesn't use her more often, given how every game has some kind of 'rescue the berserk girl' plot.
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Dec 11, 2014 16:41
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GimmickMan posted:Huh, I was surprised not to recognize the Rhine (SRW tends to use the same mooks over and over) and even more surprised to learn that it is actually the Danube Alpha 1 itself. I watched a bunch of Mazinger Z episodes but didn't catch that one, so I did not know where the Lorelai from Shin Mazinger came from. Well, she'd originated in the manga (which would need to be licensed separately from the anime), and the Rhine just wasn't as memorable as the Danube. Plus, you might notice that pretty much no SRW game has actually covered the classic Mazinger Z plot, preferring instead to roll it into covering the plot of Great Mazinger, Grendizer, or the Mazinkaiser OVA, if it gets any acknowledgement at all. I'm not going to count the bare-bones plotlines used in the first few SRW games, since the only stories they actually followed instead of just having the bad guys show up and do stuff were Gundam stories. They didn't even do Musashi's death properly in 3!
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Dec 11, 2014 17:18
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I wish SRW paid more attention to the original manga instead of constantly doing anime adaptations. I think only Linebarrels of Iron got that treatment. I say this less because of Mazinger, and more because I really would love if SRW finally took the Getter Robo manga and brought it to life on a videogame. Of course, I'd also love an actual, manga-faithful anime adaptation of Getter too, much as I loved New, the manga still reigns supreme.
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Dec 11, 2014 19:36
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