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We got two new teammates to go over today, so let’s quickly set them up: Unit Upgrades:  I never particularly liked the Kapools but, just to add a bit of survivability, I’ll give them some HP, Armor and Accuracy. I wouldn’t advise investing much into them since, like the Panthers and Trads, there are much better squadmates around. Pilot Training:   Sochie already comes with Backup Attack, so all she needs is SP; I didn’t use Miashey a lot, so she’ll save her PP to purchase Backup Attack when available. Squad Arrangement:  Loran is still an event deployment but we have one new slot available, which means Gain is back to the front lines! With what’s available, here’s the current arrangement:
With that done, let’s move on to the plot. Brace yourselves for some incoming craziness...  We’re still in Inglessa and the negotiations have hit a bit of a snag: Minister Milan, accompanying Diana, says the Moon Race want to move back into the entire Sun Belt region, which includes Inglessa, on the theory that it is their ancestral home. Gwen has a counter-claim: even if the Moon Race once dwelt there, they abandoned it long before the Cataclysm, and it was Gwen's forefathers who nursed the land back to its current state. Milan, however, says that the Moon Race's withdrawal to the Moon was not an abandonment at all, just a temporary retreat - hence the ancient appellation "Promised Land". Diana herself does indeed want to return her people to Earth, but is hoping to do so peacefully... in other words, to live alongside the current residents. Both sides seem a bit uneasy but their meeting is interrupting when Kihel enters, announcing that Gwen’s next appointment (Lily Borjarno) has arrived. Gwen apologizes but says he’ll need to end the discussion for today, saying he has other business to attend. Milan is a bit peeved at his attitude towards Diana but Gwen says that, as mayor, he still has his duties to attend to. Diana agrees to continue the peace talks later, suggesting some time to think things through will do them good – she wants to reconvene in one week. That suits Gwen just fine, and he recommends that Diana take the time to see what the Earth has to offer in the meantime.  As he leaves, Milan snarls at Gwen’s arrogance but Kihel understands the many duties that come from his position; Kihel offers Diana another cup of tea but Diana would rather talk to her. She’d rather it be a woman-to-woman talk, though, and asks Milan to wait outside. As he leaves, Kihel wonders if there’s a problem but, no, Diana just wanted to speak to her in private. They’re both amazed at how much they resemble each other; Diana thinks to what Gwen said about seeing more of Earth and, as such, she would like to ask Kihel a favor. The first step would be for them to swap clothes – just a little game, Diana says.  Back at the Iron Gear’s Hangar, Loran has been studying some sort of digital manual in the computer inside the White Doll. It’s thanks to this manual that he was able to learn how to properly control the mobile suit but, still, he has to wonder how long the mech has been buried inside that mountain. Garrod and Tifa come over, asking if he’s finished studying. Garrod admits to being impressed at how different Loran's "Gundam" looks from their own. Loran is a bit confused at it being called a Gundam but Garrod says the two eyes and antennae are a dead giveaway – though, in this case, the antennae are more of a moustache. Garrod asks if the manual contains anything like a proper name but the closest Loran could find is the "∀" symbol, which Tifa explains means "all encompassing". Garrod figures this would make it the Turn A Gundam. Loran mentions that he’s heard that Garrod’s home was further south and asks if he and Tifa are planning on heading back there but Garrod says neither of them have a home to return to anymore.  Speaking of Tifa, Garrod asks if Loran knows about Newtypes. He doesn’t and Garrod says the Frost Brothers have been going around collecting them and Tifa’s one of them; he says she has the ability of predict the near future and Garrod has made it his mission to stop anyone who would try to use her for their own agenda. Before his warp, Garrod did the job with the help of the crew of the Freeden, a landship, and Loran asks why he doesn’t return to them, then. That would be due to the Frost Brothers having destroyed it after he was warped away. Loran apologizes for asking but Garrod tells him it’s fine: besides, he doesn’t think they would’ve died that easily so he’s still holding onto hope. The same goes for Tifa, which fueled their decision to stay with the Iron Gear for a while longer. Loran wonders why they’re telling him this much and Garrod figured it was only fair, since he helped with Tifa’s rescue. In fact, Tifa insisted on having this conversation: she sees her old self in Loran, and tells him not to think he's all alone in the world. Sooner or later, everyone will come to understand him. Loran thanks them both and Garrod tells him they’re all friends here.  Right then, King Gainer returns from patrol and, just as it does, the hand-computer Loran's been using as a manual suddenly starts reacting to something. It starts displaying the imagine of something: “A person with wings…an angel?” wonders Loran; “Not so much…something far more dangerous”, says Tifa.  They’re interrupted with the arrival of a man, who muses at the Inglessa Militia having so many strong units but being filled with women and children. When Loran asks, he introduces himself as Gavane Goony, leader of the Luziannan elite squadron. Garrod hasn’t heard of Luzianna and Loran explains that it’s a neighboring country and ancient ally of Inglessa but he doesn’t understand what Gavane is doing here. He asks if we haven’t been briefed about the upcoming joint training battle…  Speaking of, Elchi is being informed about it by Lily Borjarno, daughter of the Luziannan mayor. Elchi, inwardly, sees in Lily a cultured rival for Gwen's affections, but Gwen is more interested in discussing how Luzianna’s militia, like Inglessa, has been mechanizing with items excavated from its own Mountain Cycles. Gain is also present, realizing that this mock battle is a way for Gwen to flex his and our power for everyone to see (Moon Race and neighbors alike). Rand understands his distaste but, until we have enough cash, we need to dance to the sponsor’s music. “No matter where you go, the rich are invincible…” Rand sighs.   Gwen also adds that we’ll be accompanied by some Moon Race personnel in the exercise and that’s when “Diana” arrives, asking if everything’s settled. With her is Harry, the one who’ll be joining us for today. He politely greets us and Gain is a bit surprised we’ll be tangling with the captain of the royal guard, asking for Harry to take it easy on us (come on, we kicked his rear end before, Gain!). “Kihel” is also present and requests to join us for the training which Gwen allows, assigning her the duty of official scribe to the event. Diana commands Harry to protect Kihel in the event anything untoward happen, which he readily promises to do. The original Diana is impressed at how skillfully Kihel is playing her part and she realizes that Diana must have been very lonely indeed to think up this little prank. Regardless, the Iron Gear will be transporting all participants in the exercise to the assigned area and, as Elchi leaves to get the preparations going, Kihel inwardly wishes for Diana to take care.  Mission 8 (Rand) – Angel Memories  Our team reaches the training area but it’s certainly not what we expected: instead of the plains Gwen told Elchi, there’s a ruined city in the area. When Jiron asks, Loran says he has no idea what this is – there isn’t supposed to be anything this close to Nocis. Burume thinks he’s pulling our leg but Sochie confirms that this entire region is supposed to be nothing but empty fields. She says criticizing Loran won’t do anything to change this. Loran thanks her for the words but she snaps back that he doesn’t want his gratitude – it’s not like she wants to protect a Moon Race man. Diana tries to calm her down but Sochie tells her to butt out; this is between her and Loran. Inwardly, Gain thinks that Sochie’s not precisely angry at Loran because he’s a Moon Race...  Furthermore, Sochie wants to know why “Kihel” is here, seeing how she never showed any interest in the Militia before. Diana says that she wants to do everything she can to assist Gwen and the Militia during the coming days. Sochie accedes but tells her to stay out of everyone’s way. Gavane is baffled at all this, that the Inglessa militia really is run by a bunch of kids and women. Sochie takes offense, asking what’s so strange about women fighting. Miashey also gets in his face, saying they’ve fought both the Moon Race and UNE troops before. That’s all fine with Gavane, who plans to show us, with his elite squad, how a real battle is like once the training starts.  Rand and Mel have been watching the city, deep in thought: unless Rand is mistaken, the whole drat town must have warped here. However, to do this, the warp would’ve needed to be FAR bigger than the one that got us here. Jiron asks what he plans on doing and he wants to check the city out before the training battle begins.   Pierre is on a nearby building, having just seen our ship enter the area; with him is Silvia, who figures they shouldn’t worry about us. Right now, they need to hurry up and complete their mission. Silvia complains that that ringing noise from before has given her a headache but, either way, Pierre says that, according to Rena’s precognitive dream, this should be where they’ll find the greatest hero of Atlantis: the Wings of the Sun. Silvia thinks that’s not going to happen, though, seeing how she’s sure her brother, Sirius, is the reincarnation of said Wings of the Sun. Pierre says that Sirius has no memories of his past life, though, but Silvia thinks those memories are simply sealed away. “The memories of that battle are too painful…too sad…” she says.  In the ruined city, Rand relates to Gauli that he found a handful of people but, as expected, none are Amerian. This seems to prove his and Mel’s theory that the entire place must’ve been warped here and Gauli sighs that, no matter what happens, we always run into these messes. Loran asks if the warps weren’t like this before and Gainer tells him that all we’ve seen were people and machines getting warped – never an entire city. Rand figures we can’t hold a training battle in this kind of situation and thinks we should send the Luzianna troops and “that fella with the red glasses” back home. Nearby, Chil is asking Jiron what he’s doing and he’s figured that, since the fight’s a no-go, he’d cook a small meal. Dyke is already smelling the delicious aroma of Lizard Jerky and Jiron is about to eat it all in one go when…  Someone quickly swoops over and grabs it off Jiron’s hand: it’s Apollo, who tells Jiron it’s his own fault for getting so distracted while eating! Of course, that’s some good meat and Jiron isn’t about to let him take it without a fight. “Bring it on! I’ll give it back if you can catch me!” Apollo says and Jiron promises to teach him the wrath of a hungry man!  Jiron’s stubborn enough to actually to corner an angry Apollo and demands his food back. With little other option Apollo resorts to licking the morsel all over and wonders if Jiron still wants it back. Jiron thinks a bit and figures Apollo must be real hungry to have done that and offers some more food if he comes back with him. Apollo is a bit surprised but Jiron says he was impressed with his gusto towards food.  It falls on Rag to tell Gain that they’re having a “BBQ” out here, courtesy of Jiron, but she feels this is fine as it’ll allow us to keep investigating the area. With them is Apollo’s friend, Baron, who very much appreciates our offer. This was Apollo’s first time eating Lizard but he actually found it quite tasty and wants more. Burume complains that he already ate enough for five people but Jiron is okay with it, having heard that people who eat this much can’t be bad. Chil tells Apollo to eat quick as there’s more meat coming and, while he eats, Rand would like to ask him some questions. He starts by asking if they’ve heard a “ringing” sound recently and Baron confirms that they did – right before the area got all distorted. As expected, they’ve been warped over here and Gainer asks if they’re living in this place. Apollo says that they don’t really like it here but there’s plenty of residual food lying around that they could eat. For that matter, Baron asks where we came from, seeing how we’re so loaded with food.  We don’t get to answer as Apollo notices someone hiding nearby and out comes Pierre, impressed at Apollo’s perception. Silvia wonders if this beast is an Element Candidate like them; she asks Pierre if he’s getting any response from Apollo’s aura and, indeed, he’s displaying the same meta-quantum pattern as theirs. Baron wonders if they’re the cops but, no, Apollo smells their scent and says they’re much more dangerous than that - Pierre figures he really is a beast, judging them by smell. “Urgh, disgusting! I would never combine with someone like him!” Silvia yells. Jiron doesn’t think these guys are Apollo’s friends and, if anything, Rand figures they’re acting a bit hostile. still, Pierre tells our people to settle down, as their business is with Apollo and adds a warning that, if we don’t, we might get burned. Silvia asks him to come with them but he refuses, telling her she’s free to try force him, though. She says he’ll regret that but Apollo promises that he won’t go easy just because she’s a girl.  He tries punching Silvia and she easily dodges adding that, while he is pretty quick, he’s still an amateur. Her counterattack barely misses but still shatters the concrete wall behind Apollo and Pierre joins in with a kick that actually lights stuff on fire; our people don’t know what the hell is going on and Gain wonders if it’s something like the OverSkills. Baron asks us for help but the fight’s interrupted with some sort of chant coming from the sky. Hypnosound, as Pierre calls it, and Silvia knows this means there are “Fallen Angels” inbound. Expect the rest of the mission to be posted by Friday, folks. See you all then! Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Jul 9, 2016 |
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Feb 12, 2014 20:09
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Again with the attempted recruitment by violence...
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Feb 12, 2014 20:20
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Oh, these guys are some of my favorites. 
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Feb 12, 2014 20:25
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Hellioning posted:Again with the attempted recruitment by violence... Using impressment as a means to crew giant robots is hilariously dumb, but it always works out, so it's a bit hard to question its effectiveness; same goes when they call someone out for acting well within reason: "I don't want to fight for people who take my family hostage!" "Shut up and do it!" "Ok. I'm sorry." I'm amazed how few of these worlds end up being burned to a crisp with such...enthusiastic means of persuasion.
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Feb 12, 2014 21:51
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thetruegentleman posted:Using impressment as a means to crew giant robots is hilariously dumb, but it always works out, so it's a bit hard to question its effectiveness; same goes when they call someone out for acting well within reason: Truth be told, in this case, they're not exactly "recruiting" Apollo - they're merely wanted to check his back to see if the markings of the Wings of the Sun were present. Problem is that Apollo would never go with them if they simply asked, as their smell had already made him hesitant. Of course, I'm pretty sure a kidnapping would've happened if they weren't interrupted and he was tagged as the one they were looking for. 
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 22:11
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"Get in the robot or we're all going to die, you included" is a long and storied tradition.
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Feb 12, 2014 22:38
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Fun fact about Lily Borjarno: Almost nobody ever calls her simply by her first name. It's always "Ms. Borjarno" or "Lily Borjarno". She commands that much of a level of respect and control. And now we're getting to Aquarion, which has its ups and downs. On the one hand, with the right amount of management, Aquarion (the unit) is probably one of the most hilariously broken units in the game. On the other hand....its story is...just plain weird. "Shoji Kawamori tripping on all of the drugs" doesn't even begin to describe it. And that's before taking into account its sequel, Aquarion EVOL.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:05
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AradoBalanga posted:And now we're getting to Aquarion, which has its ups and downs. On the one hand, with the right amount of management, Aquarion (the unit) is probably one of the most hilariously broken units in the game. On the other hand....its story is...just plain weird. "Shoji Kawamori tripping on all of the drugs" doesn't even begin to describe it. And that's before taking into account its sequel, Aquarion EVOL. The weirdness of the story is why it's such a welcome sight when its mixed together with so many series that play everything straight. We need some crazy super robot shows to take us away from the usual Gundam-like realism and into awesome-town! I'm taking the time to watch the actual show while I play through this.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:24
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Aquarion is Kawamori doing whatever he wants for 26 episodes and it's great.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:30
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Oh poo poo is it that time? It's that time  Dr Pepper posted:Aquarion is Kawamori doing whatever he wants for 26 episodes and it's great. Took the words right out of my mouth. Aquarion is a serious candidate for the title of "my favourite show off the 00s" because it's sheer, unbridled fun, combined with a healthy dose of scenes that make you think "I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but it was AWESOME" Everyone should watch Aquarion. Mikl fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 13, 2014 00:06
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Brunom1 posted:The weirdness of the story is why it's such a welcome sight when its mixed together with so many series that play everything straight. This game is my only experience with Aquarion, and the way it's presented here reminds me of Evangelion if it were a traditional Super Robot show with HOT BLOOD and MAGIC and THE POWER OF LOVE.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:15
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Spiritus Nox posted:This game is my only experience with Aquarion, and the way it's presented here reminds me of Evangelion if it were a traditional Super Robot show with HOT BLOOD and MAGIC and THE POWER OF LOVE. That's not an entirely incorrect description. The main differences I can think of are that Aquarion has a clearly identifiable antagonist, far less politics, and the plot makes more sense (in the "yeah, alright, I guess that works" kind of sense anyway).
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Feb 13, 2014 00:25
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Aquarion is a Good Show because it teaches you how to walk. How many other shows teach you valuable life skills like that?
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Feb 13, 2014 00:29
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Aquarion is a good show because it has Gen Fudou, and Fudou is the best character. If you don't agree with this, I'm sorry, you're wrong. Actually I'm not sorry at all, you should be sorry for not recognising how Fudou is the best character. Also Aquarion is the most broken unit in the Z series and I really hope Brunom, Dr Pepper or Caphi show just how broken it is. Apollo has the highest amount of kills by far in my Z2-2 playthrough. Aquarion is Z's answer to W's Valcazard.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:47
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Blaze Dragon posted:Also Aquarion is the most broken unit in the Z series and I really hope Brunom, Dr Pepper or Caphi show just how broken it is. Apollo has the highest amount of kills by far in my Z2-2 playthrough. Aquarion is Z's answer to W's Valcazard. Oh, I'll make good use of Aquarion. Mind you, while it did get a boatload of kills on my previous playthrough, my top aces tended to be MAPers (even as I tried my best not to abuse them). Edit: vvvvv  !!!
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 13, 2014 01:06
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In all honesty I'm not going to abuse broken stuff that much v v
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Feb 13, 2014 01:11
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You are honestly going to keep carrying King Gainer?
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Feb 13, 2014 03:54
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Herr Tog posted:You are honestly going to keep carrying King Gainer? Absolutely. King Gainer had a permanent spot on my previous team and he never disappointed. All the kid needs is enough time to grow up some and he'll be super reliable against both mooks and bosses!
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Feb 13, 2014 10:27
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Aquarion, woof! Also, yay Gavane! It's too bad he doesn't get his signature unit in this game, but he's still a fun as hell squadmate.
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Feb 13, 2014 15:04
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Blaze Dragon posted:Aquarion is a good show because it has Gen Fudou, and Fudou is the best character. If you don't agree with this, I'm sorry, you're wrong. Actually I'm not sorry at all, you should be sorry for not recognising how Fudou is the best character. Aquarion is pretty mediocre in the first Z, really. It's good attacks are all really expensive and it lacks good ALL attacks for a lot of the game. It's a good boss killer but bosses aren't too difficult to take out past the early game where Aquarion isn't any better than any other Super. I definitely wouldn't put it above the two main MAP spammers or even the better ALL spammers in usefulness.
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Feb 14, 2014 07:09
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WrightOfWay posted:Aquarion is pretty mediocre in the first Z, really. It's good attacks are all really expensive and it lacks good ALL attacks for a lot of the game. It's a good boss killer but bosses aren't too difficult to take out past the early game where Aquarion isn't any better than any other Super. I definitely wouldn't put it above the two main MAP spammers or even the better ALL spammers in usefulness. You are definitly playing a mediocre Aquarion then. Because my Aquarion was one of my absolute best units, and the only reason he wasn't the absolute best was because That Map Weapon existed.
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Feb 14, 2014 07:18
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Yeah, the Elements System is pretty busted out of the box and you'd have to completely ignore it for Aquarion to not be broken.
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Feb 14, 2014 09:49
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   Atop a nearby building, a man is observing everything and, on the Iron Gear, Tifa senses the angel’s descent. What comes, however, quickly strikes Jiron as a monster and Rand tries to have everyone run as the thing makes a beeline for them.   There’s no time, however, and Baron is quickly absorbed by the monster. It’s not just him, as Gain sees it absorb people from all over the ruined city and Jiron tells Apollo to run or he’ll be eaten as well. He’s not about to leave Baron inside that thing, though. He jumps onto the monster, which starts to fly around, yelling at it to let Baron go but Pierre and Silvia know that, if he sticks to the Harvest Beast like this, he’ll be taken by the Fallen Angels as well. Gavane wants to stop it and calls for him teammates to show the power of Luzianna’s elite troops to the Moon Race rep.    Silvia tries to warn them to stay away as the mythological power is materializing. It’s too late, though, as several skeleton-like creatures appear in the area. Both Tifa and Diana are concerned, the latter feeling like she’s seen such a sinister monster somewhere - a long time ago.   The skeletons take Gavane by surprise and easily wipe out his entire squad. Even Harry’s aghast at the monstrous power they have and, while Pierre tells Silvia that they need to run away before they get wrecked, she says it’s going to be fine: her brother’s here!   Sirius, pilot of the Vector Mars, gets in touch and confirms that they’re safe. But when Silvia calls him “brother”, he reminds her that this is a mission and she should forget they’re brother and sister.  Glenn, pilot of the Vector Sol, asks if they shouldn’t brief them on the situation but Sirius vetoes the idea. He says defeating the enemy takes precedence and, until that happens, any unnecessary communication would invite confusion.  Reika, pilot of the Vector Luna, cannot get in touch with HQ to confirm their orders and, thus, Sirius decides combine on their own initiative – that’s the reason why they’re piloting these Vector Machines. Glenn confirms saying that, as the Top 3 students of the Element School, they should be able to pull it off and he offers his “first combination” to Reika. Sirius is amused and decides to honor Glenn’s passion but, of course, if Reika isn’t up to it, Sirius can form the head in her place. She’s ready, though, and calls out for Formation LMS – Codename “Shape of Fate”. As they start the maneuver, Silvia watches in shock as she realizes her brother’s going to combine with Reika as the head.  : Spiritual… : Combination!! : GO! AQUARION!!  : Aaa…Aaaaah! : This is…the light of the Machine Angel Aquarion…! As everyone watches the combination in awe, Sirius tells Reika to give the Cherubim Soldiers a taste of their strength. Cotsett tells Elchi that they seem to be charging at the skeletons and, until Jiron and the others return, she says the Iron Gear will need to stay put. For the time being, they’ll have to depend on Harry and Gavane to hold the line. Harry was going to fight anyway, in the interest of ascertaining the power of these monsters, and Gavane is all about getting revenge for his dead soldiers. And, nearby…  : The combination was a success… : However, will they be able to bring forth Aquarion’s full might…? Victory Condition: All enemies shot down. Mission Failure:Any ally unit shot down. Skill Point:Clear the mission by the end of Turn 3. Alright, before anything, let’s take a quick look at Gavane (don’t worry about Aquarion for now).   Borjanon (Gavane Goony) Pilot Skills:
Gavane’s Voice Actor: Houchu Ohtsuka (other known works: Yazan in Zeta Gundam, Aragorn in Lord of the Rings dub, Beck in Big O and MANY others) Yes, this thing is pretty much a UC Zaku with a different name which makes it crap. Gavane is, once again, a somewhat decent pilot that will never amount to anything else other than a squaddie – he’s got decent range PLA attacks and Support Defend. I never found much use for him but you can if you want – just get him something better to pilot. Now, this Skill Point is easier than the last couple but it still requires you to rush the enemy a bit: if you want the Skill Point, you NEED to take one of the enemy Cherubims out by turn two or you won’t have enough time. And, by the way, you cannot attack the Harvest Beast.  The Iron Gear is standing still while waiting for everyone to come back but, thankfully, the closest Cherubim is just in range and this is the one you want to focus on.     You’ll find that Fallen Angel enemies are bulky as gently caress.  Cherubim Soldier Features:
Fallen Angels might just be the most annoying type of mook in this game and it shows: they’ve decent stats all across the board while also sporting good specs as a unit. The HP Regen paired with their usually high HP adds to their bulkiness and the pilot-affeting debuff immunity is the cherry on top. Do keep in mind that their Claw attack carries a Morale Down debuff but it only has a 1-2 range so, if possible, attack from outside of that.   Gavane can’t go too far ahead as he’ll get wrecked if he’s swarmed but, from over here, he can take a quick shot at the Cherubim. It’s very likely he’ll get hit, though…   : drat! I wanted to get some practice but I didn’t think it’d be fighting some monsters!: But it’ll surely mean danger for Luzianna if I leave these things be!: I’ll do this for all my fallen comrades!      Nice.   Harry could use Focus but I’d rather save SP. He only has 33% chance to be hit…right?  : To think such monsters emerged on Earth after our ancestors left…: If such evil continues to exist, it can become a threat to Her Majesty! I’ll destroy it here and now! : (Be careful, Harry…this is an ancient foe…)      Alright, we’re still good!  Now, take to put Aquarion to use. Glenn has just enough SP to cast Invincible once.  Aquarion’s BGM is set the Z’s generic theme, mind. It’s still pretty good, though! : The Machine Angel Aquarion…left behind to fight the Fallen Angels as mankind’s last hope…!: We’ve endured agonizing training to be capable of piloting it…! : And now we’ll reap the fruits of that training!    Not bad, not bad.  Enemy Phase!    The Cherubim strikes a decent hit on Aquarion but nothing it can’t handle. One other Cherubim starts closing in while the two farther away stay put.  Player Phase!   Seeing how the Cherubim stood still, Elchi is easily able to take it down.  Pierre is impressed that Reika’s doing so well and, while she’s getting tired, she insists on fighting for the people that were taken. Their mysterious observer is less than impressed with what he’s seeing, though… Location: Earth Restoration Organization DEAVA (Division of EArth Vitalization Advancement) – Control Room  At DEAVA HQ, Jerome is busily ordering the techs Chloe and Kurt to locate Sirius and the others, who have just vanished. Furthermore, their satellites aren’t picking up anything in the entire region they were in – communications are nonexistent. Jerome wonders what the hell happened with that city.   Sofia asks him to calm down as panicking isn’t going to solve this situation and a nearby girl, Rena, says they’re somewhere very far away – maybe not even in this world.  That’s the mysterious observer’s cue to show up, agreeing with Rena’s. Jerome freaks out, asking who he is and how he entered DEAVA’s control room. Sofia recognizes him, though, and is surprised to see him alive: “The magician of god-like speed…Fudou GEN!” Jerome recognizes the name, the same Fudou responsible for discovering Aquarion in an underwater temple off the coast of Crete. As his greeting, Fudou snaps his fingers and restores DEAVA’s visual connection to the missing city. They quickly see the combined Aquarion in the city and Jerome bursts with pride at the success of his strongest Element team – Fudou, however, has a lesson for him. He recalls that a quote from a general of the “land of the rising sun”: “though a single arrow be weak, three laid together become an unbreakable arrow”. Jerome is aware of said General, Mouri Motonari, and recalls him teaching this “Unbreakable Three Arrows” lesson to his three sons. Just like the general’s sons, by combining the heart, body and soul of three strong Elements into one, they can bring forth the three-in-one combination of Aquarion. “However, even with three arrows, if an unexpectedly strong force is applied… THEY WILL BREAK!” yells Fudou.   Another Cherubim approaches Aquarion but, before Reika can fight it off, the Harvest Beast starts sending the negative thoughts of the captured people directly into her mind.    Reika’s subsequent loss of concentration and panic breaks Aquarion apart. Pierre and Silvia run after Reika, the closest, and find her in shock and wounded – Pierre figures Glenn is probably in the same state. Silvia will leave their rescue to Pierre and jumps inside the Vector Luna. She activates it and joins up with Sirius. meanwhile, Jiron and the others have finally made it back to the Iron Gear and Elchi orders everyone to deploy in order to protect that combinable machine.   Loran deploys and quickly checks in with Harry and Gavane to make sure they’re ok. They’re both very confused that this kind of monster existed and asks what are they but Loran says this is our first time seeing these things as well. Seeing how the combined unit has fallen, Harry and Gavane join up with Loran as his squaddies. Chil and Jiron start looking for Apollo, wondering if he got eaten by that flying monster. Soon, the Harvest Machine starts leaving with all the humans it’s captured.  It’s then that Apollo calls out to Aquarion, surprising Silvia that he knows the name. Sirius gets in touch with Silvia and asks if that boy was the one she was sent after – she’s hesitant to answer. Right then, the Vector Sol spits out Glenn and starts flying on its own towards Apollo.  : UOOOOOOOOOOOOH!*Apollo jumps off the Harvest Beast*  : AAQUAAAAAARIOOOOOOON!!   : That light… : The Wings of…the Sun…!*The Vector Sol reaches Apollo and brings him into the cockpit*  : Urgh…! The hell is this?! : The Machine Angel… : !: Aquarion.: Who are you...?!: Recite this…Genesis Combination.: Genesis Combination…?: Recite it…Genesis Combination…!  : Genesis Combination…: Genesis Combination?: What is that?! Who are you…?: Genesis Combination…GO! AAQUAAAAARIOOOOOOOON!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNBkAiZQbxA I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn that this video may be a bit NSFW...  : This is…*Claps hands!*  : THE GENESIS COMBINATION! : They combined again! : But…it feels different from before!*beep beep*  : The White Doll is responding…: Machine Angel…Aquarion…? Why is it showing this…?! : I don’t know what’s going on but this is our chance! Help the combined mech and take out those monsters! : Roger that!: Let us go, my friends! Lend me your power!: “Friends”?: Friends… Yeah, son! Now we’re cooking with the REAL Aquarion, so let’s take a look at it:     Solar Aquarion (Apollo, Sirius d’Alicia, Silvia d’Alicia) Pilot Skills - Apollo:
Pilot Skills - Sirius:
Squad Leader Bonus – Sirius: +10% Accuracy Rate Squad Leader Bonus – Silvia: +10% Evasion Rate Apollo’s Voice Actor: Takuma Terashima (other known works: Kouta/Fighter Roa in SRW OGs, Ashley Ashura in Code Geass: Akito The Exiled and many others) Sirius’ Voice Actor: Tomokazu Sugita (other known works: Bullet in SRW OGs, Alvin in Tales of Xillia, Ragna the Bloodedge in Blaz Blue and MANY others) Silvia’s Voice Actor: Yumi Kakazu (other known works: Yuffie in Final Fantasy VII stuff, Renée in Gaogaigar FINAL, Dita in Vandread and MANY others) Oh, boy. What can I say about Aquarion? It is crazy powerful (especially against Fallen Angels), it is bulky, versatile and awesome all around! This is, without a doubt, one of the strongest units in the game and it’s not just raw power: that Element System is ripe for abuse and I’ll tell you more during the intermission; as of right now, Aquarion only has its basic attacks but, like many other units, it’ll get more stuff during the game and then there’ll be no stopping it. As evidenced by Reika’s combination, the Aquarion has three different forms depending on which Vector Machine forms the head but, for now, we’re stuck with Solar Aquarion. Set it as a leader for the rest of the game and don’t you dare use him as a squaddie or you’ll answer to me! There’s one thing that needs to be mentioned before we get back to wrecking Cherubins, though:  Secret Alert!
Time for yet another secret Unit Part and this requirement is simple: Apollo and Jiron EACH need to kill one of the remaining Cherubins. Apollo can easily solo the NE-most one so that means Jiron needs to take one of the two closest to the Iron Gear.  Apollo would be immune to the Morale Down debuff but, still, no reason to eat a stronger attack. : Behold the power of the Genesis Combined Machine Angel!: This man…who is he…?: No way…is he really the “Wings of the Sun”…?: RAAAAAAAAARGH!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZu3SeR9Ccg No one can beat Apollo when it comes to fighting Fallen Angels.   We open up on the closest Cherubim with Gain’s TRI Attack.  Next in line is Garrod.   : Tifa’s aboard the Iron Gear! No way I’ll let you freaks get through! : (Garrod, be careful…that’s…)       It seems that, lately, I’ve only been attacking with the Divider but it’s the game’s fault for making me rush through things!  Cherubins don’t have ALL attacks, so we’re clear to go Center Formation.   : I’ll have to figure out the connection between the White Doll and these skeletons later…! : Right now, I can’t just let monsters that attack people run loose!         Ow…we’re still good, though.  Take him out, Gainer.   : …Ah…! : What is it, Gainer?! Did you get hit?! : It’s nothing! I’m alright, Sara!: (When I looked at that monster, I felt my mind go somewhere very far away for a split second…): (But I wasn’t scared…it was like my consciousness was absorbed by King Gainer…)     One down, two to go and the next one has Jiron’s name on it. Enemy Phase!    Aquarion and Cherubim trade blows but no kills yet. The remaining Cherubim starts going towards our group. Player Phase!   Garrod flies over and softens it up a bit.  Rand needs to get closer but he’s immune to debuffs as well.   : Don’t get scared, Mel! These guys ain’t normal, so make sure to take pictures of everything!: Y-yes!  : Come'ere, bonehead! I’ll break ya down and make some broth!         Good man.   Just to be safe, Gainer also tenderizes the mook a bit.  Get to it, Jiron!   : We’ve fought a lot of things, but this is the first time I see anything like this…!: Still, a man doesn’t hesitate! No monster's getting the better of me!       Attaboy!   And Apollo easily wraps up his own Cherubim.  Skill Point and Secret Point get!  Victory is ours but Rand and Mel know that, if those monsters and this entire area was warped, we’ve no idea what else might come over. Silvia is celebrating but Sirius tells her that it’s too soon for that as they’ve no idea where they are and won’t be able to return to DEAVA for the time being. Apollo isn’t paying attention, still focusing on the kidnapped Baron. Location: Atlandia  We find Otoha welcoming Touma, who asks how long he’s been asleep. For 12000 years, she says, and his next question is the status of Earth. She says the foolish, wingless people, having stolen the fruit of knowledge, are transforming the world into a hideous mess. Touma is already annoyed, that even now the wingless people are disrupting their dream. On the other hand, Otoha says their souls are proving useful for making the Tree of Life blossom, and more are continuously arriving from other worlds.   Among those people who have been added to the Tree is Baron and there’s another issue at hand: the Wings of the Sun who betrayed Touma and the rest of them has reawakened too; Touma thinks a bit and decides he wants to see him again. Otoha protests that he's in a far distant world, but Touma reminds her that time and space mean nothing…not since a hundred million, two thousand years ago when Paradise was destroyed. Indeed, Otoha remembers how the battle back then transformed Atlandia into an everlasting prison. Touma wants to regain their world and, for that, he’ll meet with the Wings of the Sun…”the only one he’s ever loved…” Otoha is silent at this.  Ready for yet another Bazaar exchange? If you’ve done the first step towards Rand’s Secret #2, there’ll be a scene waiting.   Jiron is very relieved to see that Apollo is fine after all that. However, he can easily see that Apollo’s distraught over having to leave Baron behind – Apollo’s sure his friend isn’t dead, though. Chil is also present and, while there isn’t any lizard meat left, she offers him some tasty Donkey Bread from Inglessa.  Apollo, however, has his beast-like sense of smell which tells him there’s some lizard meat nearby. Jiron is quite impressed as Apollo leads the way towards a shop and Chil offers to buy the meat as a way to raise his spirits. If anything, Apollo is thankful. Secret Alert!
 A Smoked Lizard has shown up in the items section if you got one kill with Jiron and Apollo during the past mission, so buy it and we’re good for now. There’s no epilogue to this scene like the previous Bazaar event, mind. See you all soon! Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Jul 9, 2016 |
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Feb 14, 2014 19:10
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Aw man, I loving love Aquarion. It's ultimate attacks are the best, its music is the best, Fudou Gen's the best - it's just the best. In all seriousness, there were tons of hints dropped here about Aquarion having connections with other series'. I really like how this game handles Aquarion - another SRW could easily have made Aquarion-focused sequences into complete non-sequitors, but it actually becomes one of the most important shows to the overall plot. Gavane's actually pretty decent himself. He can't dodge very well, which is usually the kiss of death for a real pilot, but between his tendency to trigger Shield Guard and his defensive spirits, he can actually make a mobile suit fairly durable. I got some decent milage out of him as a squad leader through midgame by putting him in a spare (minor unit spoiler) Gundam MK II I couldn't find anybody better to pilot.
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Feb 14, 2014 19:34
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Yeaahhh Aquarion does what Aquarion wants. Music owns though. Kind of neat that the ∀ recognized it!
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Feb 14, 2014 19:37
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I am eagerly awaiting the UC cast recognizing Gavane's ride and being incredibly confused by Aquarion. Even by Super Robot standards, that thing is crazy.
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Feb 14, 2014 19:53
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Spiritus Nox posted:Gavane's actually pretty decent himself. He can't dodge very well, which is usually the kiss of death for a real pilot, but between his tendency to trigger Shield Guard and his defensive spirits, he can actually make a mobile suit fairly durable. I got some decent milage out of him as a squad leader through midgame by putting him in a spare (minor unit spoiler) Gundam MK II I couldn't find anybody better to pilot. Eeeh, I could never really do much with him. Yes, he's more durable than most but I often choose my squaddies on which spirit commands they'll bring to the table and Gavane's built very much like an attacker (which are a dime a dozen and often come with better units). Still, as you said, he can be used so long as he's not in a goddamn Zaku.
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Feb 14, 2014 21:24
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Updated Chapter 7 with some extra Battle Dialogue. ----- Glory Star Vs the Gaizock  : How could you! Torching the city, making people suffer! : Whoa, Setsuko's fired up now! : 1st Lieutenant...God Gavion Vs the Gaizock  : All right! Get a load of the combined God Gravion's power! : Eina, keep track of that graviton limit timer! : Yes, master. We should reach the limit in three minutes, as Master Sandman said.: Then we will eliminate the enemies before that point. : Toga, they finished the adjustments on God Gravion's new weapons.: The Graviton Tornado Punch and the Gravity Crescent...: Stand by, G Shadow cockpit. : Okay! : You can do it, Leele!: (The girl Sandman kept secret... I'll have to look into that.):I'm good here too! Toga, we can fire the Tornado Punch any time!:Get 'em, Toga! Show them what we've got!This one you're hilariously unlikely to get without deliberately setting things up to.
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Feb 15, 2014 00:43
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I really dug the Aquarion theme. The robot I'm lukewarm on, utterly absurd finishers notwithstanding.
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Feb 15, 2014 06:38
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Even if you don't like the robot or the show itself (which you should like anyways  ), Aquarion's sountrack is truly outstanding, one of Yoko Kanno's best works.
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Feb 15, 2014 12:03
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Well, thanks to the multiple Gundam threads, and Dynasty Warriors chat in the Civ 5 MGS thread, I'm now back to playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2. So thanks for that everybody. Learned something interesting today: If you let a four year-old play the game, and give her sufficiently strong pilot and suit, and put her in a relatively easy mission, the game will literally win the battle for you. She killed, like, 50 suits. And as soon as she entered the final combat area it the battle ended because the AI units had already wiped each other out. She had a blast for about a half-hour though.
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Feb 15, 2014 19:57
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Brunom1 posted:
This actually reminds me what I once heard regarding a certain reveal in EVOL, since its possible that what got revealed there was actually intended for the original series. From what I understand, Kawamori was working on having it from the start, and thus used it as the basis for Apollo's... quirks of behaviour, but when another of his staff caught wind of it, they basically sat Kawamori down and tried to explain just how batshit crazy it was. They managed to talk Kawamori into removing it from the story and instead keep with the more obvious setup, and if true, I do think its one of those rare cases where such intervention can make a series better. Really though, true or not, its just a testament to how gloriously ridiculous Aquarion as a whole is. The extent to which you have to go with this show before something becomes 'too far' is really high up there.
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Feb 15, 2014 23:48
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Astro Nut posted:This actually reminds me what I once heard regarding a certain reveal in EVOL, since its possible that what got revealed there was actually intended for the original series. It may have been but, without spoiling, SRWZ establishes some things which make it impossible for that particular reveal to have worked with Z1 Apollo. Which is going to make it interesting how they handle Evol in Z3.
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Feb 16, 2014 00:03
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So yeah I think it's important for you all to know that this game is now for sale on the Japanese PSN store!  It's pretty easy to make a Japanese PSN account for your PS3 and get the points to buy it. Go do it and play along!
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Feb 19, 2014 19:21
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Dr Pepper posted:So yeah I think it's important for you all to know that this game is now for sale on the Japanese PSN store! I have started Setsuko's route for the first time! I cannot wait to actually play Gravion. I can definitely wait to play chapter 8, though. I also surprisingly hate the Glory Star theme and I can't wait for Setsuko to get her own. (If you want tracks, you can save and quit the game to collect them because you get the ones that play during quit messages.) Caphi fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Feb 19, 2014 |
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Feb 19, 2014 19:41
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Is it just me, or is the game running super slow on the PS3?
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Feb 19, 2014 21:32
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Materant posted:Is it just me, or is the game running super slow on the PS3? I did hear a handful of people say it seems to be running with a slight slowdown (around 0.5-1 second, I think someone said). If it's an issue with the port, let's hope it gets sorted out soon. Anyone else who's bought the game want to offer their take on this? Are you feeling some slowdown? Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 03:27
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I just downloaded and started my game on Setsuko's route and I honestly haven't really experienced the slowdown. P.S. I am so excited to be able to finally play this. I have beaten Z2 into the ground at this point already.
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Feb 20, 2014 04:54
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So why is Aquarion good for fighting the Cherubim? Does it get some kind of native-series bonus, or is it just that it's immune to their biggest schtick, the melee-range debuffs?
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Feb 20, 2014 21:51
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Glazius posted:So why is Aquarion good for fighting the Cherubim? Does it get some kind of native-series bonus, or is it just that it's immune to their biggest schtick, the melee-range debuffs? Aquarion is good for fighting everything, IMO... the Element System lets you build stats on subpilots and not just turn them into SP Up dumps, and Mugen Punch is simply amazing. vibratingsheep fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 21:56
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