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K Prime
Nov 4, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnprsZTrGFY

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Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE


Right out the gate, "Renton" is babbling about how one day, Dr. Dominic suddenly invited him and Eureka to hike up a mountain behind their base. At the time, all he knew was that the mean old doctor was suddenly being nice to him. It was the first and only time Renton had seen him smile.



In the flashback, Dominic tells them that it's the winter moonflower, and supposedly, every hundred years, when stardust rains from the heavens, it blooms into light in all the colors of the rainbow - and if you make a wish bathed in that light, it'll come true. He tells Renton that he'll have to go away for a while to do his research, and he wants the boy to keep the hill where the moonflowers grow safe for him. And he wants more thing - "someday, you two make that rainbow flower blossom."

Renton recalls that Dominic vanished the very next morning, just as he said. It would be a week before Renton learned that he had died participating in research on the monsters known as Imáge. The very same day, the military came to take away his friend Eureka, and he's tortured by the memory that he was powerless to stop them.

"That was eight years ago. I don't know if I'm any stronger now. I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect what's important to me next time..."

Movie Renton is pretty tortured.



The shadow team has gotten an actual mission from Chairman Roddick: recover a military secret that will be critical in the war against the Imáge. More precisely, back up the team that's already been assigned to the mission.

Either way, though, battling the Imáge should fall under the Council's jurisdiction. There's no obvious reason the Chairman should need us to recover this info for him... unless he wants us to steal it. Or more precisely, he wants it to look stolen rather than officially handed over, and the easiest way to do that is to actually have it stolen, by us. Ohgi and Crowe don't feel too comfortable playing the bad guys again when they're trying to be at least vaguely heroic, but Zero trusts Roddick to settle that. Besides, he must have a good reason for asking us to do this.

The most likely outcome is that he expects a distraction to present itself at the site, and that seat will be filled by the Imáge themselves. This is exactly the mission, and we will be expected to hold off the Imáge while the main team does the dirty work.



Before Sumeragi can actually explain what this big screaming deal is we're stealing, though, Feldt receives a warning that the U. N. transport is already under attack. We'll need to head for the site immediately, and the other group Chairman Roddick mentioned in the misison is already on the way too. WHO COULD IT BE? Sumeragi says Crowe already knows them, though...



The carrier warship Gekko has the Imáge in their sights. Captain Talho orders her KLF squad to deploy and secure the transport. Recovering that secret is their top priority, because they need it for "our plan."



Holland tells Talho not to push herself. She's been out of sorts lately. But you bet she's going to push herself (telling people not to never works in anime). "This is the beginning of our... no, of your dream coming true."


Chapter 17: The Dream Goes On
(shadow route)



The U. N.'s KLFs are trying to hold off the Imáge.



It doesn't work.



The Gekko arrives to support (so they claim).



Their team has a new squaddie eager to take on the Imáge.



Also, to talk to this weird thing squeaking away in his cockpit. Holland suspects that his ability to talk to his KLF is what lets him pilot.



And so begins the fight.



I'm not even going to talk about Purple Nirvash.



Holland, Talho, and Renton are tasked with taking down all the Imáge. The U. N. captain is here as an allied NPC whose ship we have to protect.



For now, I'll place the Gekko team between the Imáge and the escort, I guess. Not like there's a time limit.



Talho doesn't have Hit and Away or Command. What's the point?



At least someone on this team knows how to shoot.

This is our dream! Our future! I won't let anyone take it from us!
Out of my way! I'll destroy anyone who tries to stop us!





They could be stronger.




The Imáge are smart enough to go for the U. N. ship.






Luckily, it defends.



Renton starts whining that there are too many of them. Holland tells him to shut up or he'll shoot Renton down personally. Fortunately, we're here to help!



Renton and the captain are surprised to find terrorists helping out, but Holland was the one that arranged this with Roddick. He asks what the hell took us so long. Jeez, buddy, you're welcome. Crowe tries to get everyone off his case, since he remembers Holland helping him at the lab so long ago. "I always pay back my debts." Anyway, we've been assigned to take down the Imáge.



The battle continues. It is not interesting in any way.



Eventually, the time comes to start counterattacking.



First, let's start an Attack! and cheer up the Gekko squad so they can use some decent attacks.






Chirico has some decent (P) guns now!





And he got hit! (This feels weird to be happy about.)







Also, he Attacks Again! I think this is a good start, don't you?



And he learns Snipe.







Ranging the faraway Imáge falls on the supersonic Getter-2.



Everyone else moves in to back up the Gekko, sweeping up lesser Imáge on the way.



With the ship safe for the moment, Holland and Renton get more aggressive against the next wave of Imáge.

I'm doing this. I have to!
I'll fight! I have to get stronger, strong enough that I never have to go through that again!








Sorry, wasn't that a Cut-Back Drop-Turn?



Anyway, that's enough of that.



Most of the Imáge go down on their turn, leaving cleanup.




I'm just going to skip to the part where they're all dead and a bunch of Damons show up.



Naturally, MD is with them. As in the other stage, Crowe sets his sights on the white Rhinodamon.



MD attacks the transport, sending it flying. Renton wants to help, but Holland orders him to ignore the ship and focus on the prize. "This operation is about our future!" he snaps. "We don't have time to worry about other people!"



Holland dives for the cargo, but MD blocks him with cover fire.



Nirvash tells Renton it's "found" something. Found what?



Nirvash takes over and flies Renton to the fallen ship, where he finds the cargo box is cracked open...



and inside is Eureka!



They have a tearful reunion, but Eureka refuses to escape with Renton. She insists that he'll be in mortal danger.



As the Damons eye the crashed ship hungrily, Eureka wails that she's not worth defending. Renton yells back that it's what he wants to do ever since he lost her in the first place. As he pulls her into the cockpit, she insists that he shouldn't do this, and he repeats that he wants them to be together. Finally, she relents and admits she wants to be with him too...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGKh8H0LFM
Obviously, this causes the Nirvash to shapeshift and stop being purple. Holland seems to recognize the phenomenon.



Gidget confirms that there are now two vital signs coming from inside the Nirvash.



MD is still looking at Holland, so Crowe rushes in to engage it. Sumeragi orders GOONZ to focus on MD.



Meanwhile, Holland reveals to Renton that Eureka is the big secret we've been trying to pilfer. He orders him to keep her safe.



Ime, watching, says that thing about the scales. "I came to observe the ones that nest between the dimensions, but here I find you. Heh heh. This must be destiny."



We get a bonus condition at last: within three turns from now, defeat all other enemies, followed by MD.



The carrier ship is gone, but instead we now have to deal with the whole Damon pack.



With so little time, I have to spread out and rush before thinking of fighting MD.



Sending pilots to remote edges of the map to pick fights.



Desperately trying to engage as many of the basic Damons as possible (remember - range of 5, can't attack on the run).



Soon enough, look who's brought his stupid awesome theme again.



Just like before, he moves in on the Brasta at the speed of bad news.



With nothing for it, I have to end the turn and hope Ime doesn't rip me apart.



Musashi adds Luck to his repertoire of support Spirits.



MD goes straight for Crowe.

Hey again, MD. I've been waiting to pay you back.
And not just for myself. I'm paying you back for someone else too.



Crowe focuses on evasion.



Arietes, too.

So we meet at last. Ha ha... I'm so glad.
Seriously, who are you? What did I ever do to you?
Ha ha ha. You are my brother.
Huh?
Ah, you moved. You waver well.
Was that a lie? Just to mess with my head?
Get out of my way. I don't have time for your games.







And then he kills Crowe with a terrifying mouth beam.



Wait, that's not right.



I meant Crowe totally dodges. Yes, that definitely happened.



Okay. Whew.



So now we have these non-conversation-having characters dealing with the stragglers.



Meanwhile, the stars and heavy hitters rally around the business end of the map.



We're definitely going to give Crowe as much support as possible.



And speaking of support, time to hammer Arietes. I need the turn after this one to destroy MD.




Ime gets in the first shot. Good thing Karen knows the Invincible Spirit.







Two attacks.







Four attacks.






And we'll give the kill to Aoi because she's very underleveled and she'll be involved next chapter. Crowe's going to level off of MD anyway (I won't hear of anyone else killing it).



She climbs to a passable level and wins Ime's Hyper Jammer.



Johnny learns Analyze.



Ime acts smug and leaves.



Oh, poo poo, I forgot about the new Nirvash.


Nirvash spec2 (Renton Thurston, Eureka, Nirvash)
Skills
Prevail L5
Break Will Limit
Will+ (Hit)
SP Regen (Eureka)
Spirits
(Renton)
Invincible
Gain
(Eureka)
Scan
Attune
(Nirvash)
Accel
Focus
Vigor
Faith
Traits
KLF
Weapons
Boomerang Knife
Homing Laser (6 ammo)
Charge (50 EN, 110 Will)
Ace Bonus: Renton, Eureka, Nirvash's max SP +30.

Nirvash is actually a fair subpilot, but the robot is so dumb who cares (sadly, it has a better Spirit set than either Renton or Eureka). Eureka is one of few subpilots with a relevant skill and precious few anythings in this game with the built-in SP Regen skill, which can't be learned (until Restoration, anyway). But unlike in the first SRWZ, she has few good Spirits to use it on. In fact, it's probably fair to say that while the other Eureka had a spell list suitable for an ace, even when Renton took over the Nirvash, this version of the character has much more of a support role. Telling, and saddening.



Well, let's make him make himself useful.

Eureka! We're okay! It's going to be okay!
I know... I'm not scared becaues I'm with you, Renton!
Not just me! Nirvash is with us too!
Squeak!
Nirvash and I will protect you! I swear, Eureka!








I guess... it has those laser things theEND used to have now.






And then Talho supports.



Pick off some dickbag Bulldamon before it shocks someone.



That takes care of the rest of the Damons around here.



So it's about time to begin the assault on Rhinodamon MD.

Locked on. Target: white Rhinodamon-class DAMon.
Eliminating the enemy leader with extreme prejudice.






He'll regenerate some of it, but damage is damage.




Now there's only one Damon left... and MD.







MD and Brasta trade blows.



Now it's time for the final push.



After dealing with this, anyway.



Now nothing stands between me and Rhinodamon MD.

This Damon is clearly different from the others.
As fascinating as it would be to observe, I do not intend to die at the hands of an alien from another dimension.
You'll have to disappear, Damon. There is no place for you in this world!



Zero issues the Charge! order, which looks no different at first blush.



But remember that it pumps damage at the cost of defense and evasion. At this point, defense and evasion are done by Spirit commands anyway.



Also, let's Analyze it for good measure.

Be careful, Aoi. This thing's packing way more heat than the other Damons.
We'll be fine, Kurara. I'm the type that gets hotter the tougher my opponent is.
Brace yourself, white Damon! Let's go wild and see how much I can hurt you!




This'll be fun! This guy's extra strong even for a Damon!
I'll teach you that humans aren't gonna lie down and let you trample all over them!





This one is much stronger than the other Damons.
But it is still a cause for war. Destroying it is the duty of a Gundam Meister!







And Crowe gets the kill.



My own anger, my promise to Esther... I'm unloading it all on you!










SR Point: check.



But MD escapes again. Sumeragi keeps Crowe from chasing it down, reminding him that we don't have the resources left to back him up, but he still wants to settle things for good next time he finds it. And like the public team, the shadow team still has the mystery of Arietes to deal with...



Speaking of mysteries, how about that top military secret.



Holland calls that burst of light "the falling stardust" from the fable about the moonflower, and Talho confirms that they've gotten the Key to what Holland calls the plan to "restore the legend."



Later, Holland checks in with Roddick. They have an agreement, and Holland says he'll keep his end of the bargain and fight with GOONZ. In exchange, GOONZ will help Holland with his own goals, and to start with, he's made sure that the record shows that girl's death, setting the Gekko crew free to do whatever they want with her (but is that a good thing?). Holland reminds Roddick that their alliance is only temporary. Roddick says that all he wants is power to save the world. He has no intention of moving against Holland, provided Holland does nothing against Roddick's goal.



Holland takes his leave, and Roddick muses on this "Neverland" business. "But it doesn't exist," he says to himself. "Not in this or any universe."



Zero explains to Talho that GOONZ is already lashed together with shaky agreements of mutual benefit. Adding another card to that house won't topple it any time soon. As long as the Gekko crew follows the rules of the terrorist-GOONZ, no one will have any beef with them.

Zero asks about the Imáge, but honestly, even the dedicated counter-Imáge team has very little to say about them. Cool, more mysterious alien entities whose nature, origin, and goals are all unknown, we needed more of those. They appear out of nowhere, refuse to communicate, and attack humans - no, seriously, we've heard this all before.

As for Eureka, the Gekko team can't say about her either. They came upon her name while looking into the underside of the anti-Imáge research, and found that she was being experimented on - they don't know how exactly, but it probably wasn't good. That's why they left the regular military, formed their own specialist team and rescued Eureka, which brings us to now and them to GOONZ. Even Elgan Roddick, Chairman of the Peacekeeping Council, claims he didn't know Eureka existed.

Sumeragi then asks about the pilot that actually saved Eureka, and his co-pilot that makes weird squeaking sounds. Jobs, the mechanic, explains that the squeaking thing isn't a co-pilot, but the machine itself, which only Renton can communicate with. KLFs all contain a tiny creature called an Archetype that can expand to mech-size; add armor and you get a functional KLF. Most of them are basically just organic machines, though. What makes Nirvash special is just that it's self-aware and can act under its own power. The Nirvash archetype has been with Renton for years, and Renton's ability to communicate and get Nirvash to operate on its own will gives him a piloting edge.

As for Eureka, GOONZ hears all about how she used to know Renton at the laboratory in Warsaw before being taken by the military and experimented on. Luckily, now they're back together! Holland agrees to let her stay with Renton if it'll make her more comfortable.



In his mask, Zero feels something wrong with their conversation, like they're acting something out. "They're just like me," he realizes. "Wearing masks and playing their assigned parts." What's going on here?



In whispers, Holland and Talho plan their next move. They just have to gather "stardust", and everything will be okay forever. "The sacred white bathed in stardust. As the moon wanes, a rainbow bridge to the stars. The chosen boy and girl will return all the children of the earth to a blue world." This is the legend they want to restore, their only hope - but for what?



Eureka and Renton continue their joyful reunion. He promises to protect her from everything forever no matter what.



That's it. Gekko team has joined. Later.

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

Man, Movie Eureka Seven can piss right off. The Gekko is useless because it has lovely weapons and no command aura, making it worse at both support and combat than Ptolemaios and Macross. Nirvash is a joke, which is absolutely heartbreaking because it became absurdly powerful about halfway through Z1 - featuring solid single target and squad attacks as well as a rediculously strong MAP attack that dealt 5000 attack power to everything within 5 squares of the Nirvash. There are few things more satisfying than pairing Renton up with his cross-series bro Garrod, casting Valor, Luck, and Bless, and charging them into an enemy formation before watching it melt into fountains of money and experience. This version? Well....he's got a weak single target attack, and a middling one. That's about it. And he's in a game where just about every other lead and a bunch of supporting units can be counted on to melt through waves of enemies. Completely useless. Holland is a little better, but not much.

It's really a shame because everything about Eureka 7 was pretty awesome in Z1 - the plot was well integrated and was actually one of a handful of series' to have a major role in Z1's awesome finale, Renton and Holland had fun interactions with other characters like Gundam X's Garrod and Jamil, and even aside from the brokenness of Nirvash, Holland was surprisingly handy, and the Gekko was a decent battleship. Here, the units range from mediocre to bad and the characters do so little cross-series interaction and have so little impact on the plot that I just forget they're there. Huge disappointment.

Spiritus Nox fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Dec 17, 2012

TheLastRoboKy
May 2, 2009

Finishing the game with everyone else's continues
My experience with the Movie Eureka Seven units in this game was basically "Boy that sure is a whole lot of flipping and pew pewing for a whole lot of nothing."

BlitzBlast
Jul 30, 2011

some people just wanna watch the world burn

Spiritus Nox posted:

Man, Movie Eureka Seven can piss right off.

Everyone in the Eureka Seven movie were much worse at piloting than their TV show counterparts, so it's not that much of a surprise. The Nirvash isn't a super special prototype anymore too, so it being weaker isn't odd either.

Setting-wise the E7 movie is a perfect match for Z2, but storywise it's pretty much just a mess since the only way Banpresto could have possibly made it a central part of the story would be to base Z2's plot around trying to be exactly like Z1. Which needless to say wouldn't work at all with all of the new series. The E7 movie had a specific message to it, and unfortunately it just doesn't translate to SRW.

On the other hand it is the one thing I can think of where most of the plot actually is just the characters flying around until events from their show happen, so in that aspect it's the perfect fit for SRW. :v:

BlitzBlast fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Dec 17, 2012

Ardeem
Sep 16, 2010

There is no problem that cannot be solved through sufficient application of lasers and friendship.
So, the Eurika 7 movie is right up there with Prince of Darkness, isn't it?

Also, definatly not Caphi's favorite stage.

Omnicrom
Aug 3, 2007
Snorlax Afficionado


TheLastRoboKy posted:

My experience with the Movie Eureka Seven units in this game was basically "Boy that sure is a whole lot of flipping and pew pewing for a whole lot of nothing."

That's actually accurate to Z1, Banpresto put almost NO effort into the Eureka 7 and reused as many sprites as possible. In addition the Devilfish's new final attack replaces it's final and interesting "Assault" attack and the Nirvash Spec 2 movie-version also has its own Assault attack removed because the animation has the Nirvash doing a thing I believe it can't do in the movie. This sucks because those 2 were the most interesting attacks of the Z1 LFOs. They also removed the goofy Skyfish attack that the Nirvash could do in Z1. Also the LFO we'll be getting later in the game is just MUCH less interesting in all ways than its counterpart in Z1, it's also MUCH weaker but I guess that's to be expected.

Oh and speaking of MUCH weaker: The Nirvash sucks. It's right up there with something we haven't met yet as the most horribly crippled unit in the conversion from Z to Z2. The Nirvash is just so much worse in so many ways. For starters they removed the "Ref Skill" pilot skill which boosted Accuracy and Critical Hit rate and granted a permanent and automatic chance for a double image no matter the pilot's morale. The loss of this skill makes LFO pilots and the Gekkou less accurate, weaker, and less likely to pull through heavy fire. Both the Nirvash Spec2 and the Devilfish are much weaker statwise, that's partially because in Z1 they were both midgame upgrades with significant stat boosts on them but even considering that they're underpowered. Holland's Squad Leader ability in Z1 gave him a free 20% bonus to all damage against flying units which made him ideal for cleaning out flying pests like Cornixes and Daughtress Neos and Windams but he doesn't have that here. Also lost with the removal of the squad system was one of the valuable traits that all LFOs had in Z1, they were good squad busters. The removal of squads means they no longer have their handy Post-Movement TRI attacks, and the removed "Assault" attacks were very powerful ALL weapons. Also is the pilot swap of the Nirvash, Eureka is the initial pilot of the Nirvash in Z1 but around mission 25 Renton becomes the main pilot. Eureka is an amazing pilot while you have her, and while Renton is initially a step down he quickly surpasses her skill so for most of the game you have a much better pilot for the Nirvash. Also as Caphi touched on Eureka as an ace for half the game has Real Robot spirits instead of support spirits with her SP Regen allowing you to have Focus on nearly always. And of course lastly is the Nirvash's missing and awesomely powerful MAP weapon which can be counted on in the endgame to easily slay around 20 or 25 enemy units in a single go by dumping 20K+ damage on everything in 5 tiles.

tl;dr: The Nirvash just flat out sucks, and it hurts bad considering how awesome it was in Z1. The Devilfish is slightly better but can no longer threshes enemies like it did before.

Ardeem posted:

So, the Eurika 7 movie is right up there with Prince of Darkness, isn't it?

Also, definatly not Caphi's favorite stage.

Yeah, the Eureka 7 Movie compares favorably to Prince of Darkness in inverting what people loved about its series. I suspect Banpresto aren't fans of Pocketful of Rainbows either because they made very little effort to make the LFOs or the Gekkou look good in combat and in terms of gameplay they suck pretty bad.

Alacron
Feb 15, 2007

-->Have tearful reunion with your son
-->Eh
Fun Shoe
As someone whose never seen Eureka 7, I have to say that the animation of Nirvash attacking looked awful. Just a shitload of pointless flipping around before it shot a bunch of lasers and... slashed with a knife I guess. Can't say that I'm a fan of how it looks either, or that it's AI can apparently only communicate through anime "Uguu~"s. I imagine that would get really annoying, really fast.

ActionZero
Jan 22, 2011

I act once more in
imitation of light
I actually kind of like Seija Tanjou, nowhere near as much as the music from the series (where the gently caress is my Storywriter) which are massively superior in every way but I don't think it stands out as exceptionally bad. That other BGM from the movie in this game is an absolute atrocity against my ears though and I hate it.

This has reminded me I need to finish watching the series now, need to arrange some times with the people I'm watching with. Might have to abandon thread for a bit in case the movie spoils the series in this.

Tobias Grant
May 16, 2009

Lucky for you, I'm a dog lover.
Pretty much everything I was going to say about how much Movie Nirvash sucks has been said already. it's easily the most boring unit in the entire game.

Hunter Noventa
Apr 21, 2010

Tobias Grant posted:

Pretty much everything I was going to say about how much Movie Nirvash sucks has been said already. it's easily the most boring unit in the entire game.

Yep. I always dread when I see it being force-deployed, I'm all like "Oh, I need to dump some money in this piece of crap so it doesn't die instantly and get me a game over" because Renton is invariably 1/4th the level of the rest of my team.

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Hunter Noventa posted:

Yep. I always dread when I see it being force-deployed, I'm all like "Oh, I need to dump some money in this piece of crap so it doesn't die instantly and get me a game over" because Renton is invariably 1/4th the level of the rest of my team.

Hm, the crummy Z2 Nirvash never bothered me MUCH (I still want my Seven Swell back!) but there's one problem that sends me over the edge:

Banpresto, why did you take away Days and Storywriter?! I don't care if they weren't in the Eureka 7 film, those songs were a hundred times better than the boring movie themes!






Edit: Whoops, seems I forgot to post Renton's own theme as a comparison. This one starts playing as soon as the Nirvash goes pink:



See? Neither this nor "A Man's Battle" is an acceptable substitute! :argh:

Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Dec 17, 2012

GilliamYaeger
Jan 10, 2012

Call Gespenst!
Well, at least in the inevitable Z3 we're most likely gonna be getting Ao, which has some rather good opening songs, especially BraveBlue. Can't say the same about the plot, unfortunately.

Monathin
Sep 1, 2011

?????????
?

Alacron posted:

As someone whose never seen Eureka 7, I have to say that the animation of Nirvash attacking looked awful. Just a shitload of pointless flipping around before it shot a bunch of lasers and... slashed with a knife I guess. Can't say that I'm a fan of how it looks either, or that it's AI can apparently only communicate through anime "Uguu~"s. I imagine that would get really annoying, really fast.

Yeah, even as someone with casual knowledge of E7, that sprite looks so goddamn weird and awful (is it tweening in the beginning? Come on Banpresto :cripes:) that it was hard to handle.

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

Brunom1 posted:

Hm, the crummy Z2 Nirvash never bothered me MUCH (I still want my Seven Swell back!) but there's one problem that sends me over the edge:

Banpresto, why did you take away Days and Storywriter?! I don't care if they weren't in the Eureka 7 film, those songs were a hundred times better than the boring movie themes!

You know what I missed more than either of those? loving Sakura. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDaewmgFm1g

Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE

Ardeem posted:

So, the Eurika 7 movie is right up there with Prince of Darkness, isn't it?

Also, definatly not Caphi's favorite stage.

This stage has nothing going for it. The map itself is boring. It's another grind through monster enemies that don't talk and present targets to blow up, but let's be honest, the Invaders, Damon, and Heterodyne all mean something at least to their enemies and often to others outside their series. As far as I can tell, even in the context of the movie, the Imáge exist strictly to reuse Coralian footage/sprites and be enemies to fight, and since we're making comparisons to Z, the Coralians were a real interesting entity in the merged story, not an alien enemy to use in fight scenes. The DAMon side of this chapter is more interesting than almost anything the Imáge do, and it's just a fight with Bulldamons on flat terrain. I'd almost rather have Bird-Human, where there was strategy involved.

The new characters are all terrible. The plot interacts with jack-all outside itself. Holland says cryptic things that no one gives a poo poo about and refuses to care about anything going on in the rest of the game; Elgan Roddick himself even says "I don't care what you're doing, just don't gently caress it up for the rest of us."

We're expected to feel for Renton and Eureka's relationship on, apparently, a combination of faith and carryover from the first Renton and Eureka, even though we have gone from a legitimately cute developing teen love story to every single "I SWEAR TO PROTECT YOU" yarn that has ever come out of Japan. It's incredibly dull on its own and trying to ride on E7's good graces just makes it insulting, much like the units. Also, the music is poo poo.

And the new Gekko and Nirvash are so awful it makes you think the SRW staff hated it too. And the fun part is that it's going to get worse.

Daler Mehndi
Apr 10, 2005

Tunak Tunak Tun!

Alacron posted:

it's AI can apparently only communicate through anime "Uguu~"s. I imagine that would get really annoying, really fast.

In case it wasn't clear, that part is movie-specific. And yes, it did get annoying really fast.

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Caphi posted:

And the new Gekko and Nirvash are so awful it makes you think the SRW staff hated it too. And the fun part is that it's going to get worse.

I remember the good ol' days...when Holland was a chill, badass surfer dude. Even though he wasn't the strongest unit, he was more than capable of clearing a ton of mook squads with an excellent TRI attack (and he was a great squaddie).

Talho had a good command aura and the Gekko was filled with sub-pilots with nice spirit commands...and the Nirvash was probably the most broken unit in the game.

drat it, why does the movie have to suck so much? Z made me love E7 and Z2 took that away! :rant:

Daler Mehndi
Apr 10, 2005

Tunak Tunak Tun!
We haven't seen him yet, but I believe Orguss was also hit pretty hard by the transition from Z1 to Z2. Not as hard as Eureka, of course. He was one of my top aces in Z1, and most of the time in Z2 he was just warming the bench, next to Nirvash.

Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention in the post. Remember how I said a word about how in Z, Eureka's Spirits represent her being a badass pilot that Renton has to catch up to and eventually develop mutual respect and empathy and fight alongside as equals with, while in Z2, Eureka's Spirits represent her being a trophy damsel Renton has to rescue?

Well, go look again. Because just to drive it home, Eureka is also level 1.

Three Cookies
Apr 9, 2010

As much as I like Eureka 7, the LFOs probably have the worst sprites. And something about the way their shoulders move always makes me cringe.

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

I actually like the spritework for the LFOs in Z1, but that's because the only ones that ever get considered for Squad Leaders (So Holland and Renton, basically) actually hit hard enough to justify the fancy animations. Here the attacks are weak and you don't even have the excuse of blasting multiple targets with ALL attacks, so they just feel weightless.

Daler Mehndi posted:

We haven't seen him yet, but I believe Orguss was also hit pretty hard by the transition from Z1 to Z2. Not as hard as Eureka, of course. He was one of my top aces in Z1, and most of the time in Z2 he was just warming the bench, next to Nirvash.

I haven't gotten that far yet, but Kei strikes me as someone who would really hurt from the lack of the squad system, considering his best uses were clearing out sqwuads of mooks and smashing things with his team attack - which removing squads means you now have to sacrifice another precious deploy slot to use.

Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE

Spiritus Nox posted:

I haven't gotten that far yet, but Kei strikes me as someone who would really hurt from the lack of the squad system, considering his best uses were clearing out sqwuads of mooks and smashing things with his team attack - which removing squads means you now have to sacrifice another precious deploy slot to use.

Only in the first one. In Restoration, the follower units get folded into Orguss' attacks. And while the Alphastrike attack was a great squad-clearer in Z, I've always found it's morphed into a fairly good regular attack in Z2. On the other hand, I also find the Z2 DX to be unremarkable as a fighter but not actually terribly weak, particularly in Restoration, so clearly I'm doing something differently.

Silentman0
Jul 11, 2005

I have a new neighbor. Heard he comes from far away
I liked the Eureka Seven movie, it's just so sad that the Nirvash is just a low-rent King Gainer, doing all the same things but worse.

StrifeHira
Nov 7, 2012

I'll remind you that I have a very large stick.

Brunom1 posted:

drat it, why does the movie have to suck so much? Z made me love E7 and Z2 took that away! :rant:

Obviously they wanted make up for all the mooks killed by the Seven Swell MAP... and just took it too far. :(

BlitzBlast
Jul 30, 2011

some people just wanna watch the world burn

Caphi posted:

We're expected to feel for Renton and Eureka's relationship on, apparently, a combination of faith and carryover from the first Renton and Eureka, even though we have gone from a legitimately cute developing teen love story to every single "I SWEAR TO PROTECT YOU" yarn that has ever come out of Japan. It's incredibly dull on its own and trying to ride on E7's good graces just makes it insulting, much like the units.

I hate to be the guy going against the grain, but pretty much the entire point of the E7 movie was that it wasn't E7 and that everyone who came in expecting to watch E7 in two hours was being silly. All things considered, Banpresto's treatment of it in this game was very appropriate, though admittingly they could have made the units not suck as much.

I could probably go more in-depth about this, but that would require a paragraph of spoiler bars so I'll pass.

Omnicrom
Aug 3, 2007
Snorlax Afficionado


Well another thing Kei lost was his Squad Leader Attack which is one of the reasons why he was so unreasonably good at killing armies: Kei dealt 20% bonus damage to all Male enemies but took a 20% penalty to all female enemies. Outside of the Emaan army who you only fight once (And get a bonus for not actually attacking) every Enemy army fields only Genderless AI or Men as regular soldiers. Outside of a handful of bosses Kei basically gets a free damage bonus to every major enemy in the game as well.

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

BlitzBlast posted:

I hate to be the guy going against the grain, but pretty much the entire point of the E7 movie was that it wasn't E7 and that everyone who came in expecting to watch E7 in two hours was being silly. All things considered, Banpresto's treatment of it in this game was very appropriate, though admittingly they could have made the units not suck as much.

I could probably go more in-depth about this, but that would require a paragraph of spoiler bars so I'll pass.

You are correct, but they did make a pretty fundamental flaw with that. The thesis of what they were doing depended on what they were making being... well, good. It's incredibly interesting from a metatextual perspective but that can't carry the actual flaws. It needed to be a much better product for the metatextual idea to work.

It is, however, significantly better than loving Eureka 7 AO. The day that gets into SRW is going to be depressing as hell. E7:PFoR isn't very good but it sure doesn't poo poo all over the original to the degree AO did.

ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Dec 17, 2012

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

BlitzBlast posted:

I hate to be the guy going against the grain, but pretty much the entire point of the E7 movie was that it wasn't E7 and that everyone who came in expecting to watch E7 in two hours was being silly. All things considered, Banpresto's treatment of it in this game was very appropriate, though admittingly they could have made the units not suck as much.

I could probably go more in-depth about this, but that would require a paragraph of spoiler bars so I'll pass.

Oh, I don't have a problem with that - I just wish the units didn't suck rear end and that Holland didn't sit in a corner away from the rest of the GOONZ being grumpy while the rest of the Gekko-State sat in a different corner being generic.

Justin_Brett
Oct 23, 2012

GAMERDOME put down LOSER

Alacron posted:

I imagine that would get really annoying, really fast.

Hey, it's not like it starts doing an extremely high-pitched squeak on EVERY ATTACK YOU DO later on or anything, right?

:suicide:

Silentman0
Jul 11, 2005

I have a new neighbor. Heard he comes from far away

Justin_Brett posted:

Hey, it's not like it starts doing an extremely high-pitched squeak on EVERY ATTACK YOU DO later on or anything, right?

:suicide:

:byodood: MUKYUUUUUUUU!

Also gently caress everyone pissing on Birth of a Saint. That poo poo's good dramatic rear end-kicking music.

Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE


Over Azadistan, Esther chews out Crowe for letting MD get away, then tells him not to die.



Down on land, Queen Marina just got out of a negotiation with Ambassador Dorian. She needs outside backing if her country is to survive in one peace, but Azadistan is a political hot potato no one wants to touch. Conservatives within Azadistan refuse to allow it to go under the flag of any outside power, and as the Queen, it's up to Marina to fix it however she can. Shirin is trying desperately to get her to find the guts to do what has to be done - the revolution of Azadistan itself. But the Queen can't bring herself to pull the trigger to start that war, either.



There might be a way to save Azadistan without bloodshed, but might involve a deal with the devil. And whatever Carlos and Shioni plan to do for Marina, you can bet they're going to get theirs out of it.



Meanwhile...

...
...
...
...

Enough of that. Anyway, Heero is tailing Setsuna because Sumeragi and Lockon are "concerned" about his behavior, especially Azadistan, which is close to Setsuna somehow. Setsuna asks Heero back why he's a Colony spy, and Heero explains that he just found himself pulled into a war. Before he knew it, he was fighting with the Colony guerillas, and from there, he was made a spy and given the Gundam. (Obviously, all this exposition contains 100% of your daily dose of ellipses.)

Setsuna's backstory is more or less the same: he grew up in the terror of war, and was then handed his Gundam and his mission.

But I am not like you now.
What do you mean?
I refuse to answer.
...



Who should break up this awkward moment but Relena Dorian, in Azadistan with her dad on business (we know what business it is now). Setsuna believes she's not Ambassador Dorian's real daughter. Meanwhile, Heero lies to Relena that Setsuna is a native he just happened to be asking directions of. But a real Azadi passing by blurts out that Setsuna is clearly a Kurzhisi (from the territory that Azadistan took six years ago).



And those people aren't welcome here, so get out! The whole town is on Setsuna's case at this point. He and Heero make a dash for it.



The others are doing some sightseeing. Seems that the Azadi don't know who GOONZ is, so it's perfectly safe for the shadow team to spend their free time walking about the city. Besides, Zero and Sumeragi are putting together the plan to hit the WLF in Azadistan, and in the meantime, there's nothing the mere soldiers can do but kill time.



Renton and Eureka are making it a proper date, to the more hardened members' bemusement. Eureka's never seen this many people in one place before, which is sad, since there are like ten people just milling around. But she's been locked up by the military all her life, so cut her some slack. Renton promises again that he and Nirvash will protect her no matter what. (This is getting more sickening by the minute.)



Karen agrees, and everyone reminds Renton that while it's quite noble to be the white knight, there's no I in GOONZ. We're always there for them if they need it.



He blurts out that Musashi is way nicer than he looks, then immediately tries to get his foot back out of his mouth - but the Getter Team likes his honesty.



But Team D is watching and considering the contrast that the couple make to the rest of our shady bunch. Everyone is keeping everyone else at arms' length, for that is the way of the dark GOONZ. And that's not just between teams - Aoi points out once again that the four themselves have zero love lost between them.



It's a good day for GOONZ to be caught with their pants down by nosy B-characters. Sakuya wonders aloud what they're covering, but Isabel says it has yet to happen. Yes, Isabel is still trailing Dancouga like a bloodhound, and she and Kinue have noticed that it and Celestial Being have been together an awful lot lately. And it doesn't take a prophet to see that where those two go, trouble follows. Plus, they want to confirm that those two have joined up with these "Black Knights" characters.

So what brings them to Azadistan? Team Journalism has picked up on the same rumors that a branch of the WLF is hiding right here in this city. They've struck a deal with the Azadi elements that want to keep it independent, and they're going to make their move very soon. They're probably after control of Azadistan's natural resources, which raises the question of what makes the Azadi dissidents okay with terrorists and not occupation, but we digress. And on the local end of the contract, it's most likely they'll put a target on the Queen.

Azadistan, everybody! At least GOONZ' vacation turned up something useful, anyway. They run off to let the commanders know. Isabel tells Kinue that she blabbed on purpose to see how those kids would react. She recognized Aoi as the missing racer/model, and the Dancouga/Celestial teamup happened shortly after Aoi vanished. So it looks like Isabel's instincts were on the money. Dig up the facts and bring them together...



Back to these clowns. The cat's out of the bag as far as Relena's concerned, and she says Setsuna's eyes look just like Heero's. "I see sadness covering a core of strong conviction." Setsuna wants to know what the hell Heero was thinking bringing Relena along with them and blowing their cover to her in the process. Heero says he can't answer, and Setsuna realizes it was him getting carried away by emotion this time.



Then Heero catches Marina in the bushes. She says this is her alone place, and she didn't think anyone would be here. Setsuna blurts out that he's Kurzhisi. Marina asks him to tell her more, but he snaps that he has nothing to say to her and stalks off. Relena asks Heero to listen to her, but he also refuses to listen and leaves.

The two girls briefly bond over their shared whatever-the-hell-it-is with their not-boyfriends.



Then the WLF takes Marina. WELP. They say they're helping protect Azadistan, and take Relena too.


Chapter 18: Crossing Futures
(shadow route)



But at the actual scene, the WLF soldiers plan to keep Marina Ismail as a puppet ruler, putting Azadistan's resources under their control. The conservative soldiers thought they were going to take her down so their leaders could govern Azadistan as they saw fit, but the WLF just laugh at them. "Your so-called 'conservativism' is just an excuse to deny that the world is changing!"

Hard-hitting political commentary in my giant robot video game? Impossible! (Though I'd like to remind you that the WLF are the bad guys. Actually, they're all bad guys. The only moral I can draw is that giant robots are awesome.) They even point to the Gundams to demonstrate that you can change the world if you just have enough power. Whoops.



The WLF rolls out their machines - now including PMC ATs and Tieren snipers.



Aoi's Nova Eagle will be taking the empty spot. Crowe, Setsuna, and Heero are wrapped up in events. Renton and Holland, regrettably, have lines this chapter.



Sumeragi and Zero congratulate each other for each successfully divining the location of the WLF base. The terrorists warn GOONZ that they have the Queen, but Zero orders the attack anyway. They plan to use the Queen, so they wouldn't kill her. Besides, "the Queen is responsible for Azadistan's instability. Her death may be in the country's best interests." That gets the WLF good and riled up.

Meanwhile, Setsuna is off doing a side mission - one that, surprisingly, he volunteered for, and at least as surprisingly, Heero volunteered to go with and back him up. As for Crowe, Lockon just says it's "his kind of job." In short, it pays better.



Aoi reminds Team D that they owe Isabel one for the tip. The best way to pay her back? Let Dancouga Nova go wild and put on a hell of a show.



Time to clear the map within two enemy phases.



With all these cheap-rear end robots, the main problems are going to be those two Genocidrons (hee hee) and three Tierens.



The order to Attack! will help hit, which will be important against the ATs.



Let's get these two over with.

(I have no idea what these GOONZ goons are thinking, but they're the easy way to keep Eureka under the radar.)
(Guess I'll let them do that until our plan comes to fruition...)



Okay, Holland.



I guess I gotta keep Eureka's SP from rotting away. The odd Attune for someone that needs it (Tieria) helps.

Renton...
Don't worry, Eureka! Nirvash and I will protect you!
I don't know what we're trying to do here! But I will protect you, and that's all that matters!



Do they talk about anything else?



Anyway, back to useful people.




At the end of the first phase, the grunts are dead or suffering and units are closing in on the snipers and Genocidrons.




Chirico damage update.



Once the crapmechs are ripped through, the snipers start doing what they do.



But this time, the Scopedot RSC is ready with long-range weapons.





Missiles away!



But overall, an unproductive enemy phase. And now I have to wipe out these enemies before the turn ends.



Another order to Attack!





First the snipers go down.





Then the mechs.






Then the first Genocidron.






Then the second.



With absolutely no time to spare, the SR Point is mine.



Marina wails that her incompetence as Queen got Relena into danger. Relena reveals that she's Ambassador Dorian's daughter, and says that her father highly respects Marina for always seeking the nonviolent option. But Marina has been trying that all this time, and she's starting to wonder if the terrorists are right - that she will have to break a few eggs to turn her country around. After all, her example of peace was the Sanc Kingdom, which cast aside its weapons and adopted a policy of complete pacifism. The trouble is, that policy got the kingdom ripped apart, which makes it a suboptimal precedent.



Setsuna breaks in to save them, having cleaned out the base, but Marina just gets mad at him for not even trying diplomacy. Setsuna obstinately says that "people will die while we talk." For example, Kurzhistan. Marina protests that they were trying for a peaceful resolution, but Setsuna just says again that people died as they talked. She realizes he was a child soldier then. He reveals that he's still a soldier, a Meister in fact, and he tells her that trying to change her country by talking will only extend the war.

Relena asks if he thinks he can end the war. She's not the first one, and Setsuna says the same thing he always has: a simple "yes."



But she gives him an answer he's apparently never heard before: No, he can't, because the only thing fighting causes is more fighting. This turns Setsuna's entire world upside down, or as he most eloquently puts it: "I... can't be Gundam..."



Crowe tries to get them back to business. They're taking the ladies and getting out of here.



Crowe plans to take the rear, rightly worrying about what Setsuna might have blabbed to the Queen - but he's interrupted by Ime Liard, now claiming to be from the Azadi government. Ime says it doesn't matter what Setsuna might have said, because the Queen is soon to die anyway. You see, the WLF has planted a bomb on her, and they're about to detonate it!

This is, of course, a troll, and Ime introduces himself over again. In fact, pretty much the same conversation goes down, right down to Ime briefly claiming to be Crowe's one true love.




And as Crowe begins to see red, Ime snaps the dimensions.



As if signaled, the Invaders also charge in.



The rescue team escapes having placed Marina and Relena in a safe place, but we're stuck between two packs of monsters.



And it turns out they're not too safe after all - a Damon spots them and moves in hungrily.



Like the wind, Heero dives in to block the attack.

Setsuna F. Seiei! You are not Gundam!
!
So you must become Gundam!



Inspired (somehow), Setsuna strikes too and eviscerates the Damon as Marina and Relena look on, bewildered. They come to their senses and take the opportunity to escape. Sumeragi orders them taken into custody while we deal with the monsters.



The SR Point is already in, so we can take our sweet time.



Which is good, because the bad news is that only the rescue team has moves left.



I need everyone to try to regroup around Sumeragi and Zero - Setsuna most of all, since he's not allowed to be shot down anymore.

I am not Gundam... but if I am not Gundam, then...



And of course, best to put Crowe somewhere his supports can be put to good use.

So if Ime caused the shock... he basically summoned the Damons.
How does that work? Does he actually have the power to cause dimensional quakes?



It's only the end of turn 2.



Nirvash gets shot down by a Rhinodamon because it's not very upgraded. Renton cries for Eureka. I don't really care, though.



Karen fights off every single Invader. She quickly runs herself out of energy in the process.



As the next turn starts, two more Invaders arrive.




But a new robot enters the battlefield at incredible speeds and rips through both of them.



But while Team D wonders what's going on, the new robot also attacks Dancouga! And according to the readings, it has the same type of power core as Nova too. Team D is up for a fight if the red Dancouga is, and Zero orders the team to focus on the Damon and Invaders while Dancouga Nova duels the unknown.



So fyi, to win we don't actually need to take down the red Dancouga, just everyone else.



On the other hand, the "R-Daigun" drops an A-Adapter. Also, I think she looked at us funny. Let's focus on the Damons first for now, though.



Just gonna point out that she has four Spirit slots. Interesting, no? (Scan and Alert, if you're wondering.)



Pull out, Karen!



In fact, the Invaders are much weaker, so we should be focusing on the Damons, who are annoying.



Also, let's try out a MAP weapon!






Ahh.




After a turn of a concentrated front, most of the Damons have been defeated. The Invaders are also weak, though they'll probably charge anyway. R, of course, will almost certainly gun for Dancouga.



Let's see.



The Damons are putting up their final struggle.



The Invaders are almost gone too, though they're still out for Karen's blood and she's not able to fight effectively without power.



R-Daigun, as predicted, goes for Aoi's throat.



Fortunately, she's protected by Tieria.

Who are you, anyway? I know we're fighting, but have some basic courtesy.
...
Ha, the silent type. Just warning you, this is gonna hurt!




I guess it turns into a plane. Makes sense to me!





Tieria absorbs the blow completely.




Mystery pilot says something strange as she eats Dancouga's sword - "You think that's enough to protect the planet?"



Anyway, this ends now.




Invaders out.



Time for a Charge!







One angry red super robot to another? You're out of your league.




Dancouga finishes it off.



She wins xp and the A-Adapter.



But the red robot heals right back up and casts Guard on itself. It's actually possible to grind it indefinitely at this point, since there's no time limit and no drawbacks, but I've got places to be, man.



Now there's just the Rhinodamon.





Crowe finishes it off to end the chapter.



Now that the field's clean, the Dancouga-alikes run off to have their own little duel.




But a straggling couple of Invaders distracts Aoi. The red Dancouga attacks. Nova's surrounded!




But the pilot of yet another Dancouga gets impatient and takes down the Invaders! He tells off the red's pilot for being a dick and using the Invaders to get an advantage, and delivers a slap as punishment!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XphFuv3ep38
Red says that the attack had "the power of a god who has transcended both man and beast" and retreats. The new Dancouga leaves as well, muttering about how he's going to get a lecture. Since Aoi asks nicely, he introduces himself as "the final Dancouga."



Setsuna goes to introduce himself to Marina once again. Tieria is about to stop him as promised, but Heero steps in. Setsuna tells Marina that "this is a new age for us as well as your country. Fight in the name of whatever god you believe in."



Team D calls into the Dragon's Hive to see what they know about the red Dancouga. Seimi can say for almost certain that it's a solo mech, because "there's no irregularities in its movement. Your Dancouga is clumsy because your teamwork is frankly terrible." Team D demands to know why they have to be four anyway; it's not like they were ever a team to begin with, or wanted to be. Tanaka just says their Dancouga is a four-man robot and that's all there is to it. Even he can't tell them exactly why.

Well, fine then. Team D moves on to question 2: the "Final Dancouga" that bailed them out, who was that? Naturally, Tanaka can't answer that, either. But it looked similar enough to our Dancouga Nova, which surprised Tanaka too. Team D gives up on getting any info out of Tanaka and tell him to pass a message onto his boss: enough with the secrecy already.



After hanging up, Tanaka promptly turns around and delivers the message directly. The mysterious man says that their curiosity is not to be looked down on, and Tanaka reports on the red Dancouga - optical camouflage, high maneuverability, and strong specs in aerial combat. But it's a one-seater, so it "can't fulfill a true Dancouga's purpose". Still, hopefully it will lead Dragon's Hive closer to "them." Whoever "they" are, the unknown commander hope they'll enjoy Dancouga Nova's show...



While Setsuna and Heero get lectured by Tieria, everyone else is back to hanging out in Azadistan, gossipping away about the two silent Gundam pilots. Setsuna's going crazier by the day, and as Duo says, Heero tries to act like the silent professional, but seriously, he's a loose cannon. Crowe asks what Setsuna means by "being Gundam," but even the other Meisters haven't the slightest.



Despite a little chaos and a lot of unanswered questions, Team D had fun. But they're not the only one with unanswered questions. Isabel and Kinue know that the WLF was utterly stomped, and they're sure that not only were the culprits Dancouga and Celestial Being, but Colony Gundams, the Black Knights, and some other bogeys besides. She tries to grill GOONZ, but they just deflect her questions and simply say they're interested in the Queen's philosophy of nonviolence - and, even if it's impossible now, if it can become reality somewhere in the future. The journalettes are still suspicious, but moved, and hope to cross paths with us again.



Next in the parade of callers is Relena Dorian. She just needs one little favor from a complete stranger: if we happen to see a boy named Heero Yuy, can we maybe deliver him a message? "I'm looking forward to the next time we meet," she says. Duo evenly replies he has no idea who this Heero kid is, but he'll remember if he bumps into him. It's pretty obvious we all know what's going on, but Duo is certain she also won't let it out. She knows exactly who Duo is; they met in Area 11, remember? Hopefully Marina's on the same page re: Setsuna.



That same Marina is declining Carlos' offer of a deal with Axion and an alliance with Limonesia. She says she wants a bit more time to think about how to restore her country. Some people may die in the process, but it would be even worse if she were to dive headlong into all-out war. She really wants to come to an agreement with her people. Shioni spits that she's being naive, and Carlos reminds her of the Sanc Kingdom. Even so, Marina's made her decision, and Shioni storms out, dragging Carlos behind her.



As soon as they're out of sight, she doubts if she made the right decision. Shirin assures her that only she, as the Queen, can make that judgment.



Carlos and Shioni were hoping that pushing the WLF would scare Marina into cooperating, but it looks like whatever happened out there only strengthened her resolve. Now Azadistan is a lost cause, and almost all of Limonesia's DEC went to trade with the Frontier. Project Uzume isn't looking good, and Shioni refuses to let it fail. Carlos agrees that there's no turning back, but he's sure their mysterious benefactor has a plan.



If you forgot, it's this fucker. Once again, the dice are rolling...



And Elgan Roddick is pulling GOONZ back together to make a move of his own.



Now that the path split is over, do we want to step back and have an intermission? I'd like to throw out the opportunity to talk about our playthrough's favorite pilots now that we have them all together again, and maybe chat about pilot training if anyone has specific opinions. For reference, there are 15 deployment slots upcoming, but the automatic deployment is the interesting duo of Shunsuke Akagi and Lockon Stratos. (I don't plan to do this every chapter, obviously, but after path splits seems like good occasions to give the chance to do a status check.)

veekie
Dec 25, 2007

Dice of Chaos

Caphi posted:

But she gives him an answer he's apparently never heard before: No, he can't, because the only thing fighting causes is more fighting. This turns Setsuna's entire world upside down, or as he most eloquently puts it: "I... can't be Gundam..."

Setsuna F. Seiei! You are not Gundam!
!
So you must become Gundam!

I am not Gundam... but if I am not Gundam, then...

Never fails to crack me up.

Materant
Jul 22, 2010

see, what you don't understand is he now has

THE MANLIEST MUSTACHE

it defies physics


Oh Dancougar, I've missed you so.

Also yeah, an intermission sounds good right now. We've got so many people at this point we probably need a moment to sort through them.

Materant fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Dec 30, 2012

Omnicrom
Aug 3, 2007
Snorlax Afficionado


I love all the Setsuna/Heero Buddy Cop scenes. I applaud how well Banpresto got the personalities of both characters, there is actually some decent characterization for both under the ellipses and the interactions here are pitch-perfect.

Oh and don't get your hopes up for getting Final Dancougar soon sadly.

Son Ryo
Jun 13, 2007
Excuse me, do you know where Saiyans hang out?
I gotta say, if there's one thing I thought Z2 got very wrong it's Dancougar Final's Dancouken animation. Imitating a camera like that just takes all sense of speed and power out of the attack.

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.
Hell, Yeah! Final Dancouga is awesome no matter the game!



YAAAAAAATTE YARUZE! :black101:

Caphi
Jan 6, 2012

INCREDIBLE
Just for information, our current roster looks like this:

  • Trider G7
  • Shuttle
  • Gaia
  • Cosmo Crusher
  • Scopedog RSC
  • Wing Gundam
  • Gundam Deathscythe
  • Gundam Heavyarms
  • Gundam Sandrock
  • Gundam Exia
  • Gundam Dynames
  • Gundam Kyrios
  • Gundam Virtue
  • (S) Ptolemaios
  • Nova Eagle
  • Getter
  • Mazinger Z
  • Aphrodite A
  • Dai-Guard
  • Burai (Zero)
  • Burai (Ohgi)
  • Burai (Tamaki)
  • Guren Type-02
  • Gurren-Lagann
  • VF-25F Messiah (Ozma)
  • VF-25G Messiah (Michel)
  • RVF-25 Messiah (Luca)
  • VF-25S Messiah (Alto)
  • VB-6 Koenig Monster
  • Quadluun-Rea
  • (S) Macross Quarter
  • Nirvash spec2
  • Terminus 303
  • (S) Gekko
  • Brasta

I post not to demand a vote right now, though one may well happen, but only to put us all on the same page.

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

Caphi posted:

Just for information, our current roster looks like this:

  • Trider G7
  • Shuttle
  • Gaia
  • Cosmo Crusher
  • Scopedog RSC
  • Wing Gundam
  • Gundam Deathscythe
  • Gundam Heavyarms
  • Gundam Sandrock
  • Gundam Exia
  • Gundam Dynames
  • Gundam Kyrios
  • Gundam Virtue
  • (S) Ptolemaios
  • Nova Eagle
  • Getter
  • Mazinger Z
  • Aphrodite A
  • Dai-Guard
  • Burai (Zero)
  • Burai (Ohgi)
  • Burai (Tamaki)
  • Guren Type-02
  • Gurren-Lagann
  • VF-25F Messiah (Ozma)
  • VF-25G Messiah (Michel)
  • RVF-25 Messiah (Luca)
  • VF-25S Messiah (Alto)
  • VB-6 Koenig Monster
  • Quadluun-Rea
  • (S) Macross Quarter
  • Nirvash spec2
  • Terminus 303
  • (S) Gekko
  • Brasta

I post not to demand a vote right now, though one may well happen, but only to put us all on the same page.

Ugh I like so many of those and we've only got 15 deploy slots. :gonk:

Also, while I generally like 00 Gundam and Setsuna, "I am not Gundam?!" is absolutely hilarious.

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GilliamYaeger
Jan 10, 2012

Call Gespenst!

Setsuna and Heero posted:

Gundam Gundam Gundam Gundam Gundam Gundam

:allears:

Why didn't these two get a combination attack with each other?

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