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Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.



What game is this?
Super Robot Wars (SRW) L was the last game of the series to be released on the Nintendo DS and, while the series has a couple of games released in the west (plus a few patches or, recently, Singapore-based English releases), it is completely understandable if you’ve never heard of it.
SRW games are, essentially, massive crossovers of mecha anime that have been built around a solid strategy game – all the different stories are tied together by an original plot.
L tends to be the less famous of the three DS games; most people have played W and it’s regarded as the best, K is infamous for its many problems (including, but not limited to, plagiarized music and a MC whose biggest achievement was becoming the SRW meme) but L never really garnered a lot of attention.
Mechanically, though, it follows in K’s footsteps but gives it a few needed tweaks.

Why LP this game?
As I said, L isn’t that well-known (I confess that I haven’t beaten it myself) and that leads to the lack of available summaries. It doesn’t have a MNeidengard guide, which is a rarity, and the only one is available is, by the author’s own admittance, lacking a lot of plot detail.
I wanted to play this one for a while, so I figured I’d do an in-depth guide for it along the way.

What series can be found here?
L’s list borrows a handful from K’s, though it also adds some old veterans and newcomers:
  • Rebuild of Evangelion – 1.0 and some of 2.0
  • Fight, Iczer-1!
  • Iczer Reborn/Adventure! Iczer-3!
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
  • New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
  • Super Electromagnetic Robo Combattler V
  • Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V
  • Gaiking – Legend of Daiku Maryu
  • Koutetsushin Jeeg
  • Beast Machine Armor Dancouga Nova
  • Mazinkaiser – Showdown with the Great General of Darkness!
  • Marriage of God and Soul – Godannar
  • Macross Frontier
  • Linebarrels of Iron (the anime, not the manga)
Shows making their debut in L are both Iczers, Dancouga Nova, Linebarrel and Macross Frontier (which went on to be in everything for a good many years).

How will you play this game?
Well, since there’re almost no summaries available, I’ll just have to cook one up from scratch. I’ll usually follow whatever names I find in wikis to keep in line with previous translation works, unless I see something being horribly mistranslated. Don’t think that’ll happen, though.

I will TRY to update about once per week but don't hold me to that. As I often said during the MX LP, my free time has been about cut in half, so things will be posted whenever possible. Barring something going horribly wrong, I will absolutely finish this but don’t expect another six-month clear like before.

:siren: And, as always, series spoilers are allowed as long as they are tagged but original story spoilers are OFF LIMITS. :siren:


Mission list:


Ye Olde Super Robot Discotheque

1) Macross Frontier



  • Alto, Ozma, Jeffrey, Klan, Canaria, Luca and Michel's theme - Triangular


  • Sheryl Song #1 - Sagittarius☆9pm ~ Don't be late


  • Sheryl Song #2 (from Z2.2) - Diamond Crevasse


  • Sheryl Song #3 - Northern Cross


  • Ranka's Song #1 - Aimo


  • Ranka's Song #2 - Interstellar Flight


  • Macross F OST - Do You Remember Love? ~ Bless the Little Queen


  • Ranka and Sheryl's Duet - Lion


  • May'n & Megumi Nakajima - Lion

2) Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V



  • Voltes' battle theme - The Song of Voltes V

3) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny



  • Shinn, Rey, Lunamaria, Heine, Dearka, Yzak, Athrun and Talia's theme - Ignited


  • Kira, Waltfeld, Cagalli and Murrue's theme - Follow Your Heart, Kira


  • T.M. Revolution - Ignited


  • T.M. Revolution - Vestige

4) Banpresto Originals



  • Ichitaka/Alice's theme - Head To the Blue Skies


  • Rushbird's special attack theme - In Front of a New Door


  • Yuu/Haruno's theme - Feathers Fluttering in the Night Sky


  • Straybird's special attack theme - You Can Be Sincere


  • Pre-asskicking theme - Hope's Blossom


  • Bad Guys' theme - Potential for Glory


  • Very special attack theme - Wings of Time


  • Final Boss theme - Great Throne


  • Final stage theme - The Light of Hope


  • Ending theme


  • Appropriately hype theme for the final beatdown - JAM Project - Savior in the Dark

5) Linebarrels of Iron



  • Kouichi, Yamashita, Reiji, Shizuna, Miu and Jack, Sawatari, Yulianne's theme - Sword of the Demon Emperor


  • Event theme - PROUD


  • Ali Project - Sword of the Demon Emperor


  • Lisa Komine - PROUD

6) Beast Machine Armor Dancouga Nova



  • Dancouga Nova's theme - A Bird's Song


  • Senri Manaka - A Bird's Song

8) Koutetsushin Jeeg



  • Kenji, Kyo, Tsubaki, Yagyuu and Micchi's theme - Stormbringer


  • Big Goddamn Heroes theme - Dead or Alive


  • JAM Project - Dead or Alive


  • JAM Project - Stormbringer


  • SRW Alpha 3 - The Song of Steel Jeeg

9) Mazinkaiser OVA



  • Kouji, Teetsuya, Jun, Boss and Sayaka's theme - Fire Wars


  • Upgrade themes - Enter the Devil

10) Fight, Iczer-1!



  • Iczer-1 and Iczer Robo's theme - Iczer Robo


  • Iczer-1 event theme - The Eternal Iczer-1


  • Iczer-2's theme - The Unbeatable Iczer-2


  • Iczer-1 OST - My Target


  • Iczer-1 OST - Iczer Robo

11) Super Electromagnetic Robo Combattler V



  • Combattler's theme - The Theme of Combattler V

12) Marriage of God and Soul Godannar



  • Goh, Anna, Mira, Shizuru, Tetsuya, Ken and Lou's theme - Marriage of God and Soul Godannar


  • Godannar's event theme - Engage, Godannar!


  • Akira Kushida - Marriage of God and Soul Godannar


  • Mitsuko Horie & Ichiro Mizuki - Engage, Godannar!

13) Gaiking - Legend of Daiku Maryu



  • Daiya, Lulu, Yanma, Dick, Norza, Lee, Kain, Vestanu and Puria's theme - Gaiking


  • Proist's theme - Dvorak ~ From the New World


  • Dvořák - Symphony №9, 4th Movement, Allegro Con Fuoco


  • Psychic Lover - Gaiking


  • Ultimate power theme - Its Name is Gaiking the Great


  • Akira Kushida - Its Name is Gaiking the Great

14) New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz



  • Heero, Quatre, Duo, Hilde, Zechs, Wufei and Noin's theme - Last Impression

15) Rebuild of Evangelion



  • Shinji, Rei's theme - Decisive Battle


  • Berserk EVA-01's theme - The Beast


  • Asuka's theme - Red Ambassador

16) Iczer Reborn/Adventure! Iczer-3!



  • Iczer-3 and Iczer Robo's theme - Oath ~ Iczer-3... With You


  • Maiko Yoshino - Oath ~ Iczer-3... With You

Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Dec 16, 2017

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Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Space – the final frontier of mankind.

No one knows the myriad mysteries it’s concealed from its onset or what events may be occurring throughout its reaches.

Lost galactic civilizations… recurring histories… parallel worlds… all possibilities lie here, hitherto untouched by human hands.



We open with a New United Nations Spacy (NUNS) soldier reporting to his superior a gravitational distortion up head – he figures it’s a Fold Out, but quickly changes his opinion and reports a Warp.
Quickly, something emerges before them: a bird-shaped ship or fortress or something. The NUNS officer sounds the alarm across the fleet and orders someone get in touch with the president’s office.



Leon Mishima, over by said office, hears the alarm signaling an encounter with an unknown entity – sooner than he expected.
When he gets in touch with the NUNS officer, the guy reports the unidentified vessel up ahead. Is it a derelict Zentradi ship? They’re still investigating but, by the looks of it, the thing appears Earth-made and, furthermore, it doesn’t appear hostile.



Howard, the president, says protecting the fleet is the top priority right now and orders both the NUNS troops and SMS Squad ready to roll out – that said, he doesn’t want anyone to attack until further notice.
Right then, the officer gets confirmation on what the thing is: the Solar Falcon. That surprises Howard and, plus, we’re detecting faint life signs aboard – no answer to our hails, though. Mishima remembers the Solar Falcon, a legendary ship said to have protected Earth from invaders of Planet Boazan before the Unification Wars.
Said ship, Howard says, supposedly went missing sixty years ago during its return voyage from Boazan. Why did it show up now and here of all places? Regardless, he won’t leave them out there and orders the ship brought into Island 1, with a medical team sent over after they’ve ran their checks.


Later, by Howard’s office, part of the Solar Falcon’s crew has been brought over. Kentarou (stache) has come to grips with the fact that they’re sixty years into the future – as unbelievable as it sounds – but Sakonji doesn’t understand why it happened in the first place.
The Solar Falcon’s warp travel shouldn’t have seen any time dilation between them and Earth.
Mishima might have an idea of what happened, saying that their warp travel likely has the same issue as their Fold method. See, Folding means essentially warping into a higher dimension; as such, there’s an inherent risk for folks to get stranded when they’re breaking through the proverbial fold in the dimensions.
So, Sakonji asks, they’ve been adrift between the dimensions for these sixty years? Perhaps, though Mishima admits that they’ve never seen anyone survive such incidents, so we can’t say for sure.

Kentarou admits that this would explain their current situation, though Sakonji groans that the warp TO Boazan went swimmingly. Regardless, Mishima reports that there was no further contact with the Boazanians ever since the Solar Falcon set sail and, more, the warp route leading there is likely long gone. For all those reasons and more, humanity has pretty much lost all material we had on the Boazanian’s tech during the Unification Wars. All in all, it’ll take a while to figure out what happened with Kentarou’s ship.
When Howard asks, Kentarou says he and his team would rather head back to Earth but it’d be too dangerous to attempt another warp without knowing what caused the problem. So, Howard suggests they stay with the Frontier Fleet -- surely famous heroes like them would be welcomed. Plus, the data stored on the Solar Falcon about their stay inside the Fold will be very useful to the Frontier Fleet.


In exchange, Kentarou – and the Voltes Team – agrees to cooperate with Howard in whatever’s needed. Rather than having them assigned to the NUNS, however, Howard asks Mishima to get them set up with the SMS crew (Mishima quietly sees his finger behind them taking in the Solar Falcon).
Upon Kentarou’s request, Mishima explains that the SMS are a civilian military provider with pilots known for their excellence. They’re mercs, Sakonji surmises, and figures Howard wants the Voltes Team to help them in case any threats emerge to the Frontier Fleet, yes? Indeed.
Well, Sakonji figures they’re all glad to stand against mankind’s enemies and, with that, everyone but Howard leaves to get things set up. “That day’ll soon be upon us… we’d best bolster our forces,” he thinks.



A call comes in right then, with a mysterious man asking Howard about the Solar Falcon. He reports their assignment to the SMS and the man is pleased to have their cooperation secured, including in scientific matters.
Hopefully, by applying the Boazan tech, they’ll be able to transition between the dimensional folds without having to deal with “them”. As for whatever left the Solar Falcon stranded, Mishima’ll handle that research and the man is eagerly awaiting the results.



Aboard the SMS’ Macross Quarter, Sakonji is informing the Voltes pilots about what happened and their new assignments. Kenichi (top portrait) and Ippei are rather blown away at being sixty years in the future but Sakonji says they all need to accept this.
When Hiyoshi (the kid) asks, he says Kentarou is with Mishima visiting a certain L.A.I. Company to investigate the incident with their warp.



Megumi’s never heard of the company, obviously, so Luca walks in and says it’s one of the largest researchers and manufacturers of various techs around here. Michel (glasses) is quick to also add that Luca’s the heir apparent to said company.
As the kid blushes, they introduce themselves as Luca Angeloni and Mikhail “Michel” Blanc, SMS pilots. Michel eagerly heads up to Megumi and, upon getting her name, asks her out – Ippei is not amused.



Another man, Henry Gilliam, apologizes on behalf of his teammate and figures Ippei and co are the new recruits. Ippei doesn’t appreciate the title, figuring he’s got more skill and experience than playboy there; when Michel sniffs that “the weakest dogs bark the loudest”, Ippei is all but about to jump him.
Gilliam cuts in and yells at both to cut that crap out – that’s fifty laps around the hangar as punishment and if they still have the energy for a brawl after that, then they can go for it. Both men are stunned but they better not complain, lest he add another ten laps. At least Ippei figures he can put Michel in his place in a race…



As they go, Daijiro apologizes for Ippei and both Luca and Hiyoshi wonder what’s up with the two men – they’re not usually that incensed.
Gilliam apologizes to Sakonji but says that the SMS are a professional mercenary company, so they can’t well tolerate internal brawls lest it affect morale. Sakonji actually likes to see that this group’s got a firm grasp on discipline.



Ozma, the SMS flight lead, and Jeffrey, the Quarter’s captain, enter the room right then, having seen Michel running around. They can assume what happened and quickly introduce themselves to the newcomers. Sakonji looks forward to working with them, though it’s Jeffrey that confesses to be a bit nervous with meeting such famous heroes.
Ozma is also familiar with Sakonji from what he read at the army’s libraries: apparently, the guy was known for being an even tougher trainer than anything the SMS or the NUNS have. Well, you can't survive against the Boazanians with lackluster training. With that in mind, Ozma has an idea: why not leave Sakonji in charge of training the younger SMS members?
Sounds great to Jeffrey, wanting everyone to be at their best for the future and Sakonji eagerly accepts. While the battle with the Boazan Empire may be over, he’ll still be making sure the Voltes Team isn’t slacking off.

Hiyoshiy sighs at the thought, but Kenichi and Gilliam tell him that there’ll be other battles to be fought to protect the Frontier Fleet. Folks who can’t handle their training ain’t got a place with the SMS.
Hiyoshi acquiesces, so Sakonji beckons Gilliam over – time to get the training started.



Several days later, by Mihoshi Academy, Alto Saotome wants to know what the hell is up with that crazy new coach – is he trying to work them to death? Michel can’t say much, being yet another victim of the guy.
Kenichi and the others swear by Sakonji’s tortuous training, though. You just have to grin and bear it! Alto sighs that maybe THEY are used to that but not him. “Well, if you can’t keep up, how about going back to the good, ol’ theater?” Michel prods him. Alto quickly bristles, so Michel suggests he stop grumbling and take the training like a man… Oh, sorry, Alto’s a “Princess”, right?
Alto’s already frothing, though Megumi is forced to admit that he’s got this princessly beauty to him – which is why, Luca adds, he always played female roles in his plays. In truth, the Saotome family is quite famous in the kabuki theater.
Alto yells at Luca for this violation of his privacy but, as Michel notes, it’s not like everyone at school doesn’t already know of his past career. That’s hardly the point, though!


Nagisa and Nanase (purple) come on over, having been looking for our folks. They’ve some big news to tell us: their teacher has just told them that the pilot course trainees have received an offer to perform some aerial acrobatics during a Sheryl Nome – the famous Galactic Fairy – concert!
That’s some big news, alright, but Alto is neither impressed nor interested. “Not interested… or not confident?” Michel snickers. Hell, no! Alto’ll go out there and show him a triple… no, a quintuple loop!
That’s a rather high-risk maneuver for a concert but Alto’s sure he can pull it off easy… though Michel figures, like Ippei, that “Princess Alto” is all talk. That gets both Alto and Ippei crying for blood and it falls on Kenichi to keep them at bay. Michel huffs that the two boys need to grow some thicker skin, though Kenichi also chides him for his attitude – it’s neither needed nor wanted.


All that’s interrupted with Sakonji stomps over and proclaims that they obviously must have plenty of energy if they’re still fighting!
Michel stammers that this is just friends talking— and he’s also got energy to complain?! WELL, then they better put all that gas to use tempering their bodies and minds! Nanase’s rather amazed with the guy, though he tells both her and Nagisa to run off – the pilot trainees have work to do! Both girls stammer a confirmation and off they all go.



Back at the Quarter, Mina (also purple) and Monica, the resident bridge bunnies, see Sheryl’s add on TV yet again – she’ll be arriving at the Macross Frontier tomorrow and pretty much the entire fleet’s waiting with bated breath.
From what Lam, the last bunny, has heard, the entire concert is already sold out – now that’s popularity. Hiyoshi is already a fan of hers and Megumi’s rather taken with the idea of a space-travelling singer, so they’d very much like to go… if there were tickets.



In comes Bobby with good news, though: he’s got three tickets for the Voltes team’s fans; these were, originally, for some other folks but they don’t need it anymore.
Gilliam sighs that had he known Bobby had some, he wouldn’t have needed to bust his rear end getting the stuff for Ozma. Still, it’s all for the best: with Gilliam getting the tickets for the guy, the Voltes crew can now go check the show out. Sounds good to him, though Ippei’s a bit surprised that their squadron leader’s a fan of an idol singer.



Ozma walks in, “apologizing” for his surprising behavior. By the by, dissing a superior officer is a no-no, as it might have consequences at Ippei’s performance evaluation. Nah, not really. The guy’s just messing with him – he won’t expect them to be all formal when off-duty.
But never mind that, Monica wants some info on Ozma’s apparent liking for Sheryl’s songs but the guy sighs and explains that the tickets were a favor to Ranka. His girlfriend, Megumi wonders. Hardly – she’s his little sister, a student of the Frontier’s premier all-girl’s school.
Regardless, he was adamant that he needed to get some tickets, so Gilliam called in some favors to get a few VIP ones. Ozma would’ve asked Bobby but he figures he couldn’t always be asking so many favors of him (not that Bobby minds). Ozma owes Gilliam some Galactic Ramen for this, though.



With that done, Ozma puts in a call to Ranka and gives her the good news – there’s nothing impossible for her big brother! The girl’s beside herself with joy (“Deculture!”) and tells Nagisa of Ozma’s exploits.
That’s great as Nagisa and her friend Kawai (no, really) had also gotten their hands on some – looks like the three girls’ll be going together. Yaaaaay!
Nanase pokes Ranka and Nagisa, telling that the manager is glaring their way… looks like they got a bit too excited there. Still, tomorrow can’t come soon enough.



At the Frontier’s air dock, Sheryl (pink) and her manager, Grace, have just arrived. The singer’s a bit woozy, getting a double-whammy of both jet-lag and Fold sickness but quickly refuses to cancel the show – who does Grace thinks she’s talking to?
Cathy, Howard’s daughter, walks over to welcome Sheryl to the Frontier; the idol passes on the formality, though, wanting to go wrap up the upcoming press conference ASAP and head straight to rehearsal. Cathy is taken aback but shows the way.



The next day, at the park, Luca’s annoyed by the fact that, one, they haven’t even been giving a dressing room and, two, the powers that be scrapped the whole routine they were going to use. Still, the client’s always right and all that – no dangerous maneuvers allowed.
Luca doesn’t like that they nixed Alto’s corkscrew maneuver but Michel’s in charge here, so that’s the end of that. Alto’s sulking nearby, and Michel warns that it’ll wreck his girlish good looks – if he doesn’t like Michel’s decisions, then he oughta get the top scores next time.
Before Alto gets in his face, Kenichi walks over and asks if they’re actually fighting right before their big gig. Seems like he’s accompanying Hiyoshi and Megumi, not having anything better to do – plus, he figured he shouldn’t pass on the opportunity to see a singer famous on a galactic scale.
Regardless, when Kenichi asks, Michel says Alto’s pissy that the concert folk took out his corkscrew maneuver. No, Alto’s pissed at his attitude since he never cared about this gig to begin with! Still, Luca and the Voltes Team are disappointed as they wanted to see his trick – Megumi’s sure he’ll make a great pilot someday.

Alto has to wonder about that, considering the Island’s ceiling is only so high – what point is there to flying in such cramped spaces? To say nothing of the fact that he’s stuck in this crummy EX-Gear flight suit and not in a proper Valkyrie.
The concert’s doors will be opening soon, though, so Kenichi and co have to get going. Wishing everyone good luck, they set out, while Michel tells everyone to go get in position (and Alto’s moodiness won’t get him a free pass if he’s late).



As Alto gets to wearing his EX-Gear, Ranka hops on over and trips right nearby. He checks up on her, though Ranka’s more impressed with how pretty he is – he’s like a beautiful girl. “WHO are you calling a girl?!” Alto flips out.
But he quickly takes a breath a recomposes himself, asking what she’s doing here. Well, she was headed to the concert but got lost from her friends; her plan was to climb a tree and get her bearings but, yeah…
Well, Alto’s also got business at the concert, so he’ll get her over there.



Fast forward a bit, Alto’s got Ranka close enough that she can find her way. She thanks him and asks Alto to stop by Nyan-Nyan – the restaurant she works at – sometime and she’ll fix him up with something.
Alto’s never heard of the place but never mind that, Nagisa and Kawai run over after Ranka – they’d been worried sick. Show’s almost starting, so they need to get in there with now. As they run off, Ranka says she’ll be waiting for Alto to stop by the restaurant.
With them gone, Alto sighs at the strange girl and gets ready to get to work.




Off goes Sheryl’s show (“Listen to my song!”) and the flying acrobatics are going fine. That is, until Alto starts getting a bit too uppity; he figures the audience is loving it, so he’ll go for his big corkscrew maneuver regardless of what the routine plan says.
Turns out concerts really aren’t the best place for high-risk tricks, as Alto loses control and flies straight at Sheryl, knocking her off the tall, tall stage. It falls on him to step on the gas and catch her in the air (Hiyoshi’s impressed).
“Whew… Sorry, I’ll get you back to—“ Alto says, but Sheryl interrupts him. “Just keep flying! If they notice it was an accident, there goes the whole show! The bridge’s almost over, so keep flying!”

Alto can’t well do anything now, so he obeys and Michel and Luca are forced to play along. If anything, Ranka, Nagisa and Megumi are blown away by the beautiful acrobatics Alto’s pulling, with Sheryl in his arms.
Alto himself is impressed with how she turned an accident into a show piece. “Of course. Who do you think I am?” Sheryl huffs.



Things are going less swimmingly by Howard’s office, however. Some unknown creatures have shown up outside the Fleet and have just broken past their first defensive perimeter.
He commands the NUNS officer to keep them at bay while they sound the alarm across the ships, telling the civs to find shelter. As the mook ends the call, Howard and Mishima knows the troops won’t be able to hold the line. “It’s me, Mr. Birler,” Howard gets on the phone, “they’ve finally come.”


Back at the Quarter, Bobby reports a request from the president’s office for the SMS to scramble – code: Victor 3. Gilliam is taken aback with the code but Jeffrey proclaims that this is not a drill and orders all units equipped with their Super Packs (Armored Pack for Ozma). As Gilliam moves to call in Michel’s crew, Ozma’s also thinking to Ranka that THEY have come.
Sakonji wants the Voltes Team to sortie as well but, of course, Ippei relates that many of them are at Sheryl’s show. They’ll have to wait for their return, too, which sucks for Ippei as this would’ve been the perfect chance to show Michel what’s what.
Gilliam suggests he lay off with his “rivalry” with the guy, though he understands why Ippei wouldn’t like Michel flirting with his girlfriend; Ippei says he and Megumi aren’t like that. In that case, Gilliam figures he and Michel are at each other’s throats because they acknowledge each other’s skill and see something the other lacks.

A rivalry can be a good thing, helping both sides grow stronger, but they can’t let that control them when there are actual enemies nearby. “You two gotta learn to trust and help each other, or you’ll both find yourselves an early grave,” Gilliam warns. “Plus, if you still wanna keep that rivalry going, then you both need to make it back in one piece.”
Ippei agrees with his point and while we’re waiting for the others to show up, Gilliam’ll be heading out there. Ippei better get his team here pronto or there’ll soon be no more game for him to chase after!



Back at Sheryl’s concert, the whole thing suddenly shuts down as the general alert rings across the Island: everyone’s to head to the nearest shelter. Sheryl isn’t happy at having to stop things halfway through but Cathy grabs her and sets out to a shelter.
Nagisa and Kawai also grab hold of Ranka (to make sure she won’t get lost again) and leave with her; Kenichi and Michel have just been summoned back by their teams, so off they go, leaving a confused Alto to wonder what’s going on.









Outside, the generic NUNS soldiers are getting their asses whooped by the unknown enemies.
Ozma and Gilliam deploy right then and there, telling them to leave this area to us. The mooks run off with nary a complaint, Ozma sniffing that these ain’t enemies cowards’ll be able to win against. Indeed, Code Victor tells Gilliam what these creatures are: Vajra. One of said Vajra charges Ozma at blinding speed and goes right by him, into Island 1. Gilliam flies in pursuit.


At the Quarter’s bridge, Monica and Mina’re receiving reports of the Vajra bypassing the defensive perimeter and into Island 1; Jeffrey’s in awe at how easily they transposed the Frontier’s defenses.
Michel and Luca – Skull 2 and 3 – have arrived with the rest of the Voltes Team, all ready to deploy. Sakonji fumes at their delay but Kenichi tells him to save the yelling for later. Jeffrey’s orders are for the Voltes, Michel and Luca to rendezvous with Ozma inside Island 1 and intercept the enemy.
Ippei calls up Michel and prods him onward – Gilliam’s waiting for them!



Prologue 1 – Another Encounter



: Ranka, where are you?! Ranka!!
: I don’t see her anywhere…! What do we do, Kawai?!
: I don’t think we can do anything, Nagisa. No way we’ll find her with this crowd running about.
: Shyaaaaaaa!
: Aaah!
: Wh-what kind of monster is that?! A giant bug?!
: Nagisa… we have to get to the shelter right now. We’ll die if we stay here!
: But what about Ranka—?!
: Shyaaaaaaa!



: Yaah!
: I’m sure she’s already at the shelter – we have to go!
: O-OK…

*Nearby.*

: Get in the car, Ms. Sheryl… it’s dangerous for you to be here.
: (An armed escort and everything… things are pretty serious, it seems.)
: Hey! What the hell are you doing?!
: You…! You’re that amateur…?
: Just what are you—
: There’re still people around here! Are you two just gonna bail on them?!
: (Does this boy not understand that Sheryl’s life takes precedence over anyone else?)
: The professionals will handle this now – it’s nothing amateurs should bother with.
: What did you say?! All of these people came here to see you and you’re gonna run off by yourself?! Who are you to speak of professionalism?!
: …Idiot.
: We’ve no time for this – get in the car!

*Sheryl’s car runs off.*

: Hey, wait! Rrgh…drat it!
: Shyaaaaaaa!
: That monster’s running amuck through city! What the hell is it… a weapon?



: Aaargh!
: Aaah!
: Huh?! You’re…!
: Nagisa… Kawai… help me…!
: drat it, she’s gonna get trampled by that thing!



: That bugger… he’s tearing the whole city apart!
: A VF-25?! They’re already fielding those…?
: Hrm?! Is that an EX-Gear? But those aren’t the army’s colors… a student?!
: Hey, you there!
: Huh?!
: Yeah, you! Get outta here – you’re only gonna get in the way!
: I can’t! There’s a girl that got left behind!
: What?!
: H-Help…!
: That’s… Ranka?! Urk!

*Gilliam gets right in the Vajra’s path.*

: You’re not going anywhere! I’m keeping her safe ‘til the captain gets here!
: Shyaaaaaaa!



: Gwaaah!
: Hey! You OK?!
: I-I told you to run off, didn’t I?! Leave this… to the pros!
: B-But…
: A-And it’s our… our job to keep this ship… and the civs safe. And that girl’s… the captain’s…!
: You’re…
: I’m not getting dropped… not by this thing!





: Aah! The cockpit!
: Hrgh…gaargh…



: Stop! STOP!!





: GAAAAAAAH!!
: AAAH!!
: !!

*The Vajra starts heading towards Ranka.*

: A-Aah…
: I-I gotta do something or…!
: Oh!

*Alto looks at Gilliam’s Valkyrie.*

: (This EX-Gear’s the same as the standard army model. Maybe I can get that VF-25 to work with it… But could I actually fly the thing…?)
: N-No… stay away…
: drat it… No time to think about it!

*Alto jumps inside the VF-25**

: EX-Gear Contact… initializing systems!

*Beep, beep!*

: …Here goes!



: Gwooooo!
: N-Nooo!
: Raaaaargh!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgo1IozQd0M



*The Vajra’s tossed back.*



: Gilliam! No… it’s not him! Who’s that?
: N-No…!
: Ranka?! What’s she doing there?!
: You goddamn monster…!



: Rgh! This is bad…!
: Gwoooo!
: Stop…!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAziq0QIzk
“You’re not getting even one of your claws on Ranka!”

: A-An Armored—!
: Who the hell are you?! What happened to Gilliam?!
: I-I’m…
: No, never mind me. What the hell is that monster?!



: Captain! Lt. Gilliam!
: That you, Michel? It’s a greenhorn in that Valkyrie, not Gilliam!
: What?!
: What about the Lt.?! Where is he?!
: I don’t know, but the priority now is taking out that Vajra!
: Lt. Gilliam… he couldn’t have…!
: What is it, Ippei? Something bugging you?
: N-No. Never mind me, Kenichi.
: Ippei…?
: Hey, greenie! Leave the monster to us – grab the girl and bail outta here!
: O-OK!
: “Girl”…? Ranka!
: Hey, you there!
: Huh?!
: Get in the Valkyrie’s hand! Hurry!
: O-OK…
: We’re gonna be flying outta here, so hold on tight.
: A-Alright!
: You better not let her get so much as a scratch or I’ll find and vaporize your rear end!
: Captain! We’ve got enemy reinforcements inbound!



: The thing called its buddies over?!
: We can’t let them cause any more damage – engage and destroy them quick!
: Roger that!
: And what the hell are you still doing here, greenie?! Get going already!
: I’m on it!

Alto walks off with Ranka but…



: More of them?!



: Huh, is that really a rookie? He’s not half bad.
: Still, those’re some very dangerous moves he’s doing. We need to wreck those things and back him up!

*Alto gets hit!*

: Urk, they got my arm…! The girl!



: YAAAAAAAH!!





: drat it, can I make it to her…?! No, I have to! Haaaaaaah!!

*Alto flies over to the falling Ranka!*

: Grab my hand!!











: Aah!
: There – got you! You alright? Stay with me!
: Haah, haah… I-I was… so scared…
: You’re safe. Everything’ll be fine.
: Brother… brother…!
: Hey, get a hold of yourself! Do you see who I am?!
: …! Wh-What…
: Can you walk? I’ll set you down.
: Y-Yes…
: There… we should be safe.



: Rrgh, crap—



: A-Aah…
: Whew, got it... What was that moron thinking..?
: (H-He got a bullseye from that far away…! The pilot of that blue Valkyrie’s real good…)
: Pretty fancy gunslinging there, Mikhail.
: Well, I figured I should talk the talk AND walk the walk.
: (Did that transmission just say “Mikhail”…? No…)

*Alto flies further away.*

: Stay here; I’ll come pick you up once the battle’s done.
: A-Are you going to fight?
: Yeah, I’ve got cause enough to. I’m off!

*And he flies back into the fray.*

: Captain, Ranka’s safe and out of the battle-zone!
: Alright, then that means all civs are in the shelters.
: As for you bugs… I’ll make you pay for attacking Ranka!
: (I’ll help keep our ship safe… That’s the best I can do for that pilot who sacrificed himself for us…!)


I guess someone at Banpresto really likes Frontier for them to make the very first mission pretty much the first few Macross Frontier Episodes (featuring Voltes). But I digress, our objective here is to kill everything without losing anyone.
Not difficult as you might imagine, though the Vajras can be decently accurate if your guys aren’t prepared.

Quick overview of our available units, starting with the bulkiest (for consistency’s sake, I’ll stick with either the Atlus’ localized terms or whatever the folks at Akurasu use):


Voltes V (Kenichi Go, Ippei Mine, Hiyoshi Go, Daijiro Go, Megumi Oka)
Pilot Skills:
  • Sword Cut – Requires an equipped sword. Chance to parry incoming blade or missile attacks, determined by the difference between your pilot’s Skill (技量) stat with the enemy’s plus a fixed % equivalent to the skill level.
  • Predict – activates at 130 morale (気力), granting a +10% chance to hit, dodge and crit.
  • Prevail L3 – stats go up as HP goes down, point of activation depends on the skill level (L3 = +5% stats with 30% HP remaining, 10% with 20%, 15% with 10%, etc.).

Spirit Commands – Kenichi:
  • Strike (必中) – 100% chance to hit for a turn
  • Snipe (狙撃) – +2 range to all non-MAPW, non-point blank attacks.
Ippei:
  • Accelerate (加速) - +2 movement range for a turn.
  • Mercy (てかげん) – if pilot’s Skill stat is reater than the enemy’s, it’ll survive a killing blow with 10 HP.
Daijiro:
  • Spirit (気合) – +10 morale to the main pilot.
  • Gain (努力) – earn double exp from the next battle.
Hiyoshi:
  • Alert (ひらめき) – 100% chance to dodge the next attack.
  • Vigor (根性) – unit recovers 30% of max HP.
Megumi:
  • Scan (偵察) – display targeted enemy’s stats.
  • Luck (幸運) – earn double money from the next battle.
Squad Bonus (these effects increase as you upgrade a unit): HP +1000

Big, bulky Super Robot filled to the brim with pilots. I’m not a big fan of the thing but I can’t well argue against what it brings to the table.
Its range dips sharply as you get into its better weapons but it can handle itself decently still. Enemies will also have a hard time killing it with all those spirit commands on its side – as a Super, though, you’ll want to boost its EN pool as it likes to chug.
That squad bonus makes it a nice fit for any Super squad and, plus, it’ll only get stronger once we meet up with its sibling bot.



VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie (Alto Saotome)
Pilot Skills – Alto:
  • Sword Cut
  • Shoot Down (撃ち落とし) – same deal as Sword Cut, only requires an equipped gun and only intercepts missiles.
  • Shield Defense (シールド防御) – requires a shield. If triggered, blocks and reduce incoming damage. Activation % calculated in the same way as the other damage reducing skills, though this one will activate 100% of the time if you have your unit set to defend an upcoming attack.
  • Predict
  • Prevail L1
  • Support Attack L1 (援護攻撃) – if an allied unit attacks while adjacent to one with this skill, the other will follow up said attack with another one. Morale and range limitations still apply, the support attack will have boosted accuracy but reduced damage.
Spirit Commands:
  • Focus (集中) - +30% chance to hit and evade for a turn
  • Alert
Mech Features:
  • Shield
  • Pinpoint Barrier (ピンポイントバリア) – reduces all incoming damage by 1000.
Squad Bonus: Dodge + 5, Critical + 10


VF-25S Armored Messiah Valkyrie (Ozma Lee)
Pilot Skills:
  • Sword Cut
  • Shoot Down
  • Shield Defense
  • Guard (ガード) – activates at 130 morale, reduce all incoming damage by 20%.
  • Commander L1 (指揮) – projects a command aura, boosting hit and evade rates to anyone inside. Size of aura and effect increase with skill level.
  • Prevail L3
  • Support Attack L1
  • Support Defense L1 – same as attack, only this unit will pop in to defend an adjacent ally under attack.
  • Attack Combo L1 (アタックコンボ) – attacks marked with a "C" can strike both units in a partner squad. Higher levels allow additional squads to be targeted, at the cost of one extra ammunition/EN cost per extra squad targeted.
Spirit Commands:
  • Invincible (不屈) – next incoming attack deals 10 damage.
  • Strike
  • Focus
Mech Features:
  • Sword
  • Shield
  • Gun
  • Pinpoint Barrier
Squad Bonus: Armor + 100, HP + 500


VF-25G Super Messiah Valkyrie (Mikhail “Michel” Blanc)
Pilot Skills:
  • Sword cut
  • Shoot Down
  • Shield Defense
  • Hit & Away – able to attack and move after.
  • Prevail L1
  • Support Attack L1
Spirit Commands:
  • Snipe
  • Alert
Mech Features:
  • Sword
  • Shield
  • Gun
  • Pinpoint Barrier
Squad Bonus: Accuracy + 5, Ranged weapons damage + 100


RVF-25 Super Messiah Valkyrie (Luca Angeloni
Pilot Skills:
  • Sword Cut
  • Shoot Down
  • Shield Defense
  • Prevail L1
  • Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands:
  • Scan
  • Focus
Mech Features:
  • Sword
  • Shield
  • Gun
  • Repair Module – can use move to restore the HP of an adjacent unit. Grants 10% HP regen to squad and it stacks.
  • Pinpoint Barrier
Squad Bonus: Money+ 10%, EN + 50, Debuff Immunity

Alto’s the Magikarp kind of protagonist, in that he starts out average but will be kicking rear end by the time we’re done. He’s still decent right off the box and the plot will all but dictate you use him, so you might as well.
Ozma’s Alto but better in every way. He’s a great pilot, his attacks carry a hefty punch and he’s even surprisingly bulky with him stacking the Armored Pack, big Prevail and that squad bonus. His Command aura is worth noting, mind, as only select people get it and its bonus is very much welcome – especially against dodgy/accurate enemies like the Vajra.
Michel’s the least impressive of the bunch as SRW tends to be a very aggressive game, thus penalizing sniper types. Lacking Focus, you shouldn’t risk sending him too far ahead either if he’s not hanging right by Ozma. That +ranged power will make him a good squaddie for ranged-oriented protagonists, though.
And Luca’s a support through and through, making him a great squaddie. The HP Regen is nice but that squad bonus as a whole will make him very desirable for a lot of people – especially those with big MAPWs.


With our homework done, let’s get to it. Select a unit and the options are, in order, Move, Spirit Commands, Stats.



The Small Vajras are easy enough that Alto’s got no problem getting perfect numbers on them.




: You monsters…! Get off our ship!
: The hell are you doing, greenie?! Get outta here!
: No, that pilot gave his life to protect this ship so I’ll help take ‘em out for him!
: …
: Fine, I’ll allow it as a favor to Gilliam. But you better not get dropped!
: Aye, aye! I won’t be!








Numbers aside, he’s not too strong – that was about 65% HP on a crit.



We’ll have Ozma lead the offensive to spread that command aura.




: I swore to never let Ranka suffer again! None of you monsters are getting out of here alive!


Large Vajras are bulkier and more accurate, so watch it.



Kenichi can take it.




: Our first battle since the showdown at Planet Boazan. Keep your heads in the game, folks!
: Roger that, Ken!
: We’re ready to go whenever and wherever thanks to Sakonji’s training!
: And we’ll give these buggers a taste of everything the Voltes’ got!
: I made a promise to Lt. Gilliam to come back in one piece, so we can’t screw this up!
: Right on! Here we go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mab7UYiXzyA
Everyone else moves onward.



Enemy Phase!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7MZGcI62cs
Kenichi gets pestered a couple of times but not a lot of Vajra move to attack. Alto is still busy.



Player Phase!



As Alto wraps that up, Ozma and Michel set their sights on a Large Vajra that Kenichi weakened.




: Their armor and agility are an even match to the Valkyries… So that’s how the Vajras are like, huh?


Dead.



Not gonna kill but we can leave that to the Voltes.




: These Vajra are living creatures but they’re likely equipped with Jamming devices to counter our Ghost drones…
: I might need to equip Simon, John and Peter with characterized AIs…






And that it does.



Enemy Phase!



Kenichi gets harassed by a mob of Vajras but it’s nothing he can’t handle.



Behold, the Itano Circus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTl7xB7sUMA
Beautiful.

Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 01:25 on May 14, 2017

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Player Phase!

And you’ve got the gist of it. The Vajras, thankfully, come in in waves, so you’re at no risk of being overwhelmed; keep your guys closed, Kenichi with a decent enough stack of HP just in case, and take them down one at a time. No enemies here survive two clean hits from anyone (except Alto).

Of note:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cmkxtzBkfM
It’s a sniper rifle that’s also an automatic rifle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEy-G9ITMIk
Ozma’s strongest weapon, a.k.a., firing EVERYTHING.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceNcKfAdp6s
And the Voltes’ second best weapon. Look at those vintage explosions.



: And the radar’s clear. I think that’s all of them.
: Don’t relax yet, Megumi. If those things really were living weapons, you never know what might happen next.
: He’s right. Skull 2 and Skull 3, go and patrol Island 1’s perimeter just in case – we might have Vajra stragglers hanging about.
: Yes, sir. Come on, Luca!
: Roger!

*Off they go.*

: (He said Luca? He’s also here…?)
: Hey, greenie! Where’s the girl?!
: Oh, that’s right!

*Alto flies over to where he left Ranka.*

: Sorry for the delay. Have you calmed down?
: Yes, I’m good!
: Huh… you got a stiffer upper lip than I expected.
: Heheh… Well, I am 25% Zentradi.
: Ah… So you’re made of tougher stuff than you appear.
: Still, I’m only safe thanks to you. So thank you… thank you so much!
: Y-Yeah, no problem…
: Greenie, quit yacking and get her to the hospital! And when you get there, leave the mech!
: Why do I gotta do all that, huh? If you’re worried about her, go and take her yourself!
: If I could do that, I wouldn’t have told you to, dumbass!
: (That angry voice sounds so much like my brother’s… but he’s a businessman, so it’s got to be someone else.)
: Huh? What’s this…?
: Something up, Hiyoshi?
: Weird… It’s pretty faint, so I can’t get a bead on it but I’m pinging an enemy on radar…
: Hey, Cpt. Ozma! Can your Valkyrie find the thing?!
: Huuh?!
: D-Don’t call out my name, idiot!
: No way… is that you, brother?
: N-No! I’m not, Ranka! ... Ack!
: I knew it – it IS you!
: Why are you working as a pilot? Weren’t you a businessman? And didn’t you promise me that you’d never do anything dangerous again?!
: …



: Gwoooo!
: The Vajra’s come back to life!
: That’s what I was picking up on the radar!
: You goddamn cockroach!
: Gwoooo!

*The Vajra rushes Ranka down!*

: AAAH!
: RANKAA!!



: Cpt. Ozma?! Hrm, that monster…!



: Cpt. Ozma!
: Y-You… alright, Ranka…?
: Brother! Don’t die! Please!
: Why? Why would you do something like this?! I…I never told anyone what happened, so why… why…!
: AAAAAH!!
: Hey, calm down!
: This is Voltes V, calling Delta 1! Skull 1’s down and needs immediate evac!
: …



At the Quarter’s hangar, Kenichi’s just as surprised to find that Alto was flying that VF-25 as the guy is to find that Kenichi’s group, Michel and Luca were legit pilots.
Megumi explains that they were all sworn to confidentiality, so they couldn’t say anything – Michel and Luca probably had a hard time keeping that secret, Kenichi figures. Alto doesn’t seem to sure.
Regardless, Kenichi asks what happened to Gilliam and explains to Alto who that was. Before he can tell what happened, Ozma (!) walks in and asks him to wait until everyone’s here.



Hiyoshi’s shocked he’s not at the hospital but Ozma laughs that he wouldn’t get bedridden over nonsense like that – plus, Canaria, tagging along, has given him the go-ahead to get back to work. Mind, she does warn him to take it easy unless he fancies reopening those wounds.
When Megumi asks, Ozma relates that Ranka calmed down, so he had her sent home… without seeing him. Hiyoshi apologizes for his big mouth but Ozma tells him not to sweat it, as it was his own fault for not telling us what was up. So, why DID she freak out as badly as she did?
Ozma and Canaria explain that she reacts violently when faced with friends and family being harmed. In essence, she has Dissociative Amnesia, stress and physical trauma leading to her being incapable of processing a certain experience she had; whenever something causes her to remember said experience, it triggers a terrified outburst.



Alto asks what kind of experience it was and Ozma says Ranka lost her entire family eleven years ago. Her “entire” family? Yeah, Ozma isn’t her real brother – rather, he was the worthless pilot who failed in his mission to protect her family. Granted, Ranka’s forgotten everything about that event.
And despite having his “sister” in that state, Ozma still went on piloting? That’s what set her off last battle, Alto protests. Ozma says he’s doing it all to protect her, though Alto asks how he can say he’s protecting Ranka by hiding so much.
“What the hell are you getting at, then? That I should walk up to Ranka and say ‘hey, your family was torn apart by Vajra and that left your mind a mess’?!” Ozma explodes.
If anything, Alto says he’d want to know it all – he doesn’t like the thought of others deciding what’s what in his life. And, on that note, he wants Ozma to explain just what those Vajras are. Ozma warns that there’ll be no going back if he hears the truth but Alto is undaunted.

In that case, Ozma tells him to wait 24 hours and think things through: what does Alto want to do? What would he fight for? “I don’t need 24 hours! Just let me on the Valkyrie!” he yells, eliciting an angry punch from Ozma. Alto’s got his head running wild on adrenaline so calm the hell down and think things through!
As Alto grunts in submission, Ozma requests everyone called over to tell what happened to Gilliam. And, as the one who saw the guy’s last moments, it’s up to Alto to relay his account to the survivors – that’s how things work here…
Alto’s not too happy but the Quarter’s crew starts coming in (Mina thinks he’s cute). Along with them are Michel and Luca, who’re blown away to see Alto as the mystery pilot.


Luca apologizes for the two of them keeping their work at SMS a secret but, you know, confidential. But, hey, if Alto joins the crew, they’ll be able to fly together as teammates and not just at school.
Michel isn’t too sure about that and questions if Alto would eventually run out of them as he did with his family. He’s flown with Alto for almost a year and can tell that he’s not ready; if he goes at it the way he is, then he’ll end up either dying or getting someone else killed. And Michel is in no way interested in being the victim, so Alto oughta take this as a friendly warning.






By Griffith Park, Alto’s inwardly denying Michel’s accusations when he hears Ranka singing from a nearby hill. She spots and thanks him for the help today… though only now she gets a chance to ask his name. Alto asks if she’s feeling better and, indeed, she is – as scared as she got, her brother’s injuries weren’t too serious.
As for the song, it’s something she remembers from her childhood – the only thing she remembers, even – and she’s rather fond of climbing this hill to sing where no one can hear her. Is she actually alright with that, not having anyone hearing?
In truth, Ranka’s never actually considered that before but… “I was so scared when I got attacked by that monster. I thought ‘I’m going to die here, never having done anything with myself and without anyone knowing I existed… but what if I could let everyone know that I’m here – that I exist’?”
Alto says it’s impossible and Ranka agrees: “Yes, someone like me could never—” but she doesn’t get to finish. “Or, at least, it’ll be impossible if you keep getting stuck on ‘what ifs’ or thinking you’re not good enough,” he amends his statement. Ranka huffs that he’s so very mean (he gets that a lot) but, then, she decides that she WILL make herself known to others – just like her beloved Sheryl. And Alto, nonchalantly, agrees to be her very first spectator as Ranka starts singing again.



As luck would have it, Sheryl was around and heard her – she’s rather impressed. Ranka freaks out, though Alto’s more startled than star-struck. Sheryl’s got business with him but that’s low priority now – she asks/tells Alto to shuffle away. He wants to know how Sheryl knows his name but, again, she shoos him off.
With him fuming in the distance, she prods Ranka about being her “beloved Sheryl”; the girl starts clamming up in embarrassment but Sheryl yells against it. Just come out and say what’s on her mind!

Well, Sheryl’s just lovely and she sings and dances so well and she’s got this aura of talent and self-confidence, etc, etc. Ranka’s long been a huge fan and wondered if she could potentially come to be like her; while it may be impossible for someone like her, Ranka’s still willing to give it her all.
Sheryl likes hearing that, as you can’t well do anything if you haven’t, at least, the willingness to put in the effort – that’s a good first step for her. Now, does Ranka love to sing? Absolutely! Then she’ll need to start making waves and chances always present themselves.



Is the girl talk done? Yes, so Sheryl turns her sighs back to Alto: “give me back my earring.” What? She knows he’s got it, so no playing dumb! Alto yells that he’s no idea what she’s going on about… but is interrupted with Nagisa runs over, looking for Ranka. She was so worried and— “AAAAAH! It’s Sheryl! What’s Sheryl Nome doing somewhere like this?!”
Ranka begs her to keep quiet but, too late, people around heard her yelling and the fans are rushing over. Nagisa faints and, meanwhile, Alto’s conscripted into service when Sheryl demands him come with her before the mob comes over; as Alto groans, Sheryl wishes Ranka good luck as she runs off.

Nagisa comes to, wondering where Sheryl went. Ranka waves it off as a dream, as didn’t Nagisa say she’d been having some strangely realistic dreams nowadays? Still, Nagisa’s a bit confused as she never outright fainted like that.
But never mind that, Nagisa wants to know why Ranka didn’t get in touch with her and Kawai to let them know she was safe – they were worried sick! Ranka apologizes, saying she was at the hospital and that’s all the more reason why Nagisa wants her to get home and rest ASAP. Off they go!



Cut to downtown Island 1, Alto figures they’ve lost the fans though Sheryl asks if he should’ve left Ranka back there. But she’s the one who dragged him away in the first place! And, plus, he barely even knows the girl. She’s not his girlfriend? “No! Absolutely not!”
And, on that subject, should a famous person like Sheryl be wandering around town? What, doesn’t he like accompanying her? Nope. Well, tough luck because she’ll be returning to the Macross Galaxy next week, so today’s her only chance to find her earring – it’s very important to her.
Well, the thing dropped into Alto’s EX-Gear as he carried her, so he tries making a call to the school’s Lost and Found. No one answers, though, prompting Sheryl to try yanking the phone off his hands to try it herself. Alto tells her to back off and he’ll try again first thing tomorrow.

As for how she knew said earring was with him, her manager – Grace – has some bits of tech implanted into her own brain, so she went through the recorded visual data and saw what happened.
Said brain implants are also very illegal in the Frontier but Sheryl says they’re pretty commonplace at the Galaxy; not Sheryl though, one of her selling points is that she's all human. Still, that’s a subject for another time as she’s got to get going – Alto promises to have the earring delivered as soon as it’s found.



At Ranka and Ozma’s place, she’s trying to wrap her head around everything that’s happened today.
Sheryl and Alto’s words about not getting stuck on just “what ifs” and to take her chance when it presents itself. And Ranka might have something in mind…



The SMS Team has moved over to Island 1’s cemetery to have Gilliam’s funeral: “He was the bravest of soldiers. With neither fear nor hesitation, he fought to his last to defend his fellow man… Still, this is far from the end. One day, his mortal shell will become our flesh and blood as we burn away our souls amid the sky. So rest, my friend; farewell… and see you soon,” Jeffrey says.
Ippei’s taking it badly and Michel, speaking frankly, says he’s a bit envious: Ippei’s lost important people to him before but he managed to rise above that and keep going. Meanwhile, Michel finds himself constantly hounded by his past, always on edge.
He apologizes for being an rear end and Ippei does the same. He’s surprised Michel’s also got that kind of history but, truth be told, it’s not that uncommon among the SMS folk – he just doesn’t like talking about it. Michel figured it was only a matter of time before Ippei found out, so he decided to say it himself; a decent bunch of people know, too, but he does ask it kept a secret from Alto.
Ippei swears to honor his wish and, exchanging a handshake, Michel proclaims himself to be eager to have more scuffles with him. Inwardly, Ippei swears to Gilliam that all of them will survive through this.



Ozma’s met up with Alto at the graveyard’s outskirts, telling him that, as civilian military providers, none of the SMS crew will officially be tagged as having died in combat – it’s always treated as accidental deaths. They get no proper funeral services and their families won’t even be informed the particulars about their deaths.
Alto sees no problem with this, as he lives life through his strength alone and will die by it as well. So, he’s willing to join the SMS. Ozma objects that those 24 hours aren’t over yet, but Alto says he doesn’t need to think any more than he’s already done – he won’t change his mind.
Ozma doesn’t like that he’s keeping with that idiocy and moves to punch him… though stops just short. Alto didn’t even try to dodge and Ozma asks why. “Because I figured you wouldn’t actually punch me,” he says. “I only came here because I was committed to doing this – and you don’t seem the type to not notice that.”

Ozma’s chuckle indicates a bullseye and he tells Alto to present himself tomorrow at 0800. Michel, Luca and the Voltes Team were spying from afar and run in to welcome Alto to the job – starting tomorrow, they’re comrades-in-arms!
Alto’s also looking forward to fighting with them, all in the name of keeping Ranka and the Frontier Fleet safe from the Vajra.



Finally, at the Miss Macross Contest, we’re getting introduced to the 7th contestant to take to the stage: Ranka Lee!
Her overenthusiastic bow slams her forehead against her mic (Nanase, from the crowd, is worried). Still, she soldiers on: “I-I love music, so I figured I’d come and sing for you! The song is… ‘My Boyfriend is a Pilot!’”

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Ah yes, SRW L. The swan song for the DS that everyone dropped about a month or two after its release because Hakai-hen's first trailer came out and stole all the hype. Which is a shame because L is a good game, especially since this was the first game for the then-all new handheld team.

Also, say hello and goodbye to Henry Gilliam for good. I believe that L is the only SRW he appears in, the rest of Frontier's appearances either start after Henry dies or just stick to the movies' plot and forget about him.

Grizzwold
Jan 27, 2012

Posters off the pork bow!

Brunom1 posted:

Well, you can survive against the Boazanians with lackluster training.

I assume that should say can't, right?

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Grizzwold posted:

I assume that should say can't, right?

Off to a good start. :eng99:

Inferno-sama
Jun 5, 2015

You touch my burger, and I'll slap you so hard you won't even be able to understand how you fucked up.
Super Robot Wars L... I have nothing to say about this. I know nothing about this game, so I'm looking forward to this.

Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

AradoBalanga posted:

Ah yes, SRW L. The swan song for the DS that everyone dropped about a month or two after its release because Hakai-hen's first trailer came out and stole all the hype. Which is a shame because L is a good game, especially since this was the first game for the then-all new handheld team.

Also, say hello and goodbye to Henry Gilliam for good. I believe that L is the only SRW he appears in, the rest of Frontier's appearances either start after Henry dies or just stick to the movies' plot and forget about him.

Gilliam does show up in the movies...only to just die the same way and has even less of a presence in the plot.

Anyway, Brunom, I honestly figured you'd take a break and just LP V now that it's out and already translated to begin with, but we do appreciate you doing God(dannar's ahahahaha shoot me now) work by LPing another SRW.

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Dr. Snark posted:

Anyway, Brunom, I honestly figured you'd take a break and just LP V now that it's out and already translated, but we do appreciate you doing God(dannar's ahahahaha shoot me now) work by LP another SRW.

Ah, there wouldn't really be any point in doing V since I'm 99% sure people on youtube have already handled that.

I was half tempted to do K due to Gun x Sword but chose this one since, first, it had almost no story guides and, two, I was curious about Iczer since I never saw those OVAs.

Booky
Feb 21, 2013

Chill Bug


Oh boy a new SRW LP!! :allears:

From the description given, L seems like it just got overshadowed in general. I'm excited to see what happens!

SyntheticPolygon
Dec 20, 2013

Huh, weird to see the prologue doesn't introduce the originals at all. I don't know much about most srw games but that seems out of the norm.

Inferno-sama
Jun 5, 2015

You touch my burger, and I'll slap you so hard you won't even be able to understand how you fucked up.

Brunom1 posted:

Ah, there wouldn't really be any point in doing V since I'm 99% sure people on youtube have already handled that.

I was half tempted to do K due to Gun x Sword but chose this one since, first, it had almost no story guides and, two, I was curious about Iczer since I never saw those OVAs.

Half surprised that K having Mist wasn't one of the reasons to skip it, or does that go without saying?

GodofDiscord
Sep 5, 2013

Not the strongest, but the cutest.
A new Brunom LP! I'm following this and waiting for more updates eagerly.
So we're basically starting with Macross Frontier? Welp time to play Aimo at surround sound for the true Frontier experience.

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Oh nice. Another LP!

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Dr. Snark posted:

Gilliam does show up in the movies...only to just die the same way and has even less of a presence in the plot.
You can tell how much I even remember about the Frontier movies. I barely remember the TV show at this point. Except for the events of stage 30A. Boy do I remember what's going on there. :suicide:

CaptainRat
Apr 18, 2003

It seems the secret to your success is a combination of boundless energy and enthusiastic insolence...

SyntheticPolygon posted:

Huh, weird to see the prologue doesn't introduce the originals at all. I don't know much about most srw games but that seems out of the norm.

It's not terribly common, I want to say either Z2.1 or Z2.2 did it (or maybe both? It's been a while) just to lay some of the setting groundwork, and there's I think one other one I'm forgetting where the MC is hanging around sans robot (J I think does this with Calvina but I'm pretty sure I'm remembering another one). But yeah, SOP is for the original to be introduced during the first stage.

MonsieurChoc
Oct 12, 2013

Every species can smell its own extinction.
Nice, I know nothing about L!

Ashsaber
Oct 24, 2010

Deploying Swordbreakers!
College Slice
I know next to nothing about L, other than I like the original's themes. But then, that's just about every SRW.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

CaptainRat posted:

It's not terribly common, I want to say either Z2.1 or Z2.2 did it (or maybe both? It's been a while) just to lay some of the setting groundwork, and there's I think one other one I'm forgetting where the MC is hanging around sans robot (J I think does this with Calvina but I'm pretty sure I'm remembering another one). But yeah, SOP is for the original to be introduced during the first stage.
Off the top of my head, the list of SRWs (aside from L) where the protagonist is not introduced/included in the action right at minute one are:

--Alpha Gaiden (Tetsuya waits until the first route split to appear)
--J (Calvina is on the Nadesico to start, but doesn't get her robot until the second stage)
--D (The first prologue stage is Getter Robo Armageddon's introduction and features neither Josh or Rim, who show up in the second prologue)
--Z2.2 (Esther is the lead for the first 15ish stages, then Crowe returns to take over the role)

Inferno-sama
Jun 5, 2015

You touch my burger, and I'll slap you so hard you won't even be able to understand how you fucked up.

AradoBalanga posted:

Off the top of my head, the list of SRWs (aside from L) where the protagonist is not introduced/included in the action right at minute one are:

--Alpha Gaiden (Tetsuya waits until the first route split to appear)
--J (Calvina is on the Nadesico to start, but doesn't get her robot until the second stage)
--D (The first prologue stage is Getter Robo Armageddon's introduction and features neither Josh or Rim, who show up in the second prologue)
--Z2.2 (Esther is the lead for the first 15ish stages, then Crowe returns to take over the role)

Plus the first 3 stages of Z2.2 are prologues

Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

Oh boy, I knew something good was coming when I saw Brunom's name on the new LPs thread and I am not disappointed. I'm yet another person who knows nothing of L, so I'm looking forward to learning.

I'm confused about the Valkyries here though. Are they unable to transform in this game? Also, do you just start with the packs ready and installed?

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Blaze Dragon posted:

Oh boy, I knew something good was coming when I saw Brunom's name on the new LPs thread and I am not disappointed. I'm yet another person who knows nothing of L, so I'm looking forward to learning.

I'm confused about the Valkyries here though. Are they unable to transform in this game? Also, do you just start with the packs ready and installed?

You can transform between the Battloid and plane mode, and I THINK the Gerwalk mode is only when the plot sets you into it.

In this mission, however, you can't transform them - my guess is due to Island 1's low ceiling, so no planes allowed.

Sordas Volantyr
Jan 11, 2015

Now, everybody, walk like a Jekhar.

(God, these running animations are terrible.)
These threads are always a good time.

CaptainRat
Apr 18, 2003

It seems the secret to your success is a combination of boundless energy and enthusiastic insolence...

AradoBalanga posted:

Off the top of my head, the list of SRWs (aside from L) where the protagonist is not introduced/included in the action right at minute one are:

--D (The first prologue stage is Getter Robo Armageddon's introduction and features neither Josh or Rim, who show up in the second prologue)

This is exactly what I couldn't remember!

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Brunom1 posted:

You can transform between the Battloid and plane mode, and I THINK the Gerwalk mode is only when the plot sets you into it.

In this mission, however, you can't transform them - my guess is due to Island 1's low ceiling, so no planes allowed.
Gerwalk mode (as a separate form) is only in this mission with Alto. Everywhere else, it's folded into Battroid mode's attacks and is not a separate form like it was in the Alpha games.

HitTheTargets
Mar 3, 2006

I came here to laugh at you.
I believe Alto's traditional Ace bonus is "can transform without wasting an action" but I never played L so I dunno what'll happen there. Does it have Ace bonuses or is that what the squad leader thing is for?

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

HitTheTargets posted:

I believe Alto's traditional Ace bonus is "can transform without wasting an action" but I never played L so I dunno what'll happen there. Does it have Ace bonuses or is that what the squad leader thing is for?

Ace bonuses in this game work the same as W's: 50+ gives your guy +5 morale on deployment, with your 2nd and third highest ace getting another +5 and the absolute top ace getting another +10.

And the squad bonus isn't like in Z where it only depends on the character being in the lead - it's always on, affecting the entire twin unit.

HitTheTargets
Mar 3, 2006

I came here to laugh at you.
Oh, okay. No custom ace bonuses. You mentioned the squad bonus upgrades, is that tied to full upgrades then?

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

HitTheTargets posted:

Oh, okay. No custom ace bonuses. You mentioned the squad bonus upgrades, is that tied to full upgrades then?

Yeah, it upgrades when the unit's 50% and 100% upgraded.

Take Alto, for example:

Base bonus: Mobility + 5, Critical + 10
50% bonus: Mobility + 15, Critical + 20, Movement + 1
100% bonus: Mobility + 25, Critical + 30, Movement + 2

EthanSteele
Nov 18, 2007

I can hear you
Really looking forward to this, I've liked L mechanically so it'd be nice to know whats going on too!

KaosMachina
Oct 9, 2012

There's nothing special about me.
L... I'm interested to know what the actual details of the plot is, line by line. But I can say this felt like the one I most enjoyed mechanically, at least.

The rest I think I'll save until this LP gets to a few particular parts.

Sciencegar
Dec 21, 2013

I'm afraid its because of Super-Science.

Regular-Ass Science is innocent.
I really really liked SRW L, it felt incredibly balanced and had a great variety of series and unit types. It was also a really good version of the Partner System, and I really liked how every unit had a role to play.

When I went back to try K, I was stunned by how shoddy it was in comparison, how the Partner system was more of a hindrance than a help, and how every mechanic just seemed to funnel me into playing Super Solo Wars starring Gaiking and Mist, despite my intent of using everyone.

Then somehow I ended up playing through K like 5 times, while I only did 3 runs of L. I guess K is a better game for mindless abnegation.

Also Zoids.

Mikl
Nov 8, 2009

Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!
Ground floor, yay. I always enjoy a good SRW LP :)

Raxivace
Sep 9, 2014

Hey I have a question. Akurasu lists both SEED and SEED Destiny as a part of the cast list, but I see that you only have the latter here. Is that a goof on Akurasu's part?

Mikl posted:

Ground floor, yay. I always enjoy a good SRW LP :)
The MX LP was a lot of fun so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Brunom1
Sep 5, 2011

Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Raxivace posted:

Hey I have a question. Akurasu lists both SEED and SEED Destiny as a part of the cast list, but I see that you only have the latter here. Is that a goof on Akurasu's part?

Figured I didn't need to put it there since it's only a handful of SEED units that show up here.

Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

Brunom1 posted:

Figured I didn't need to put it there since it's only a handful of SEED units that show up here.

Ah, the Char's Counterattack treatment.

General Revil
Sep 30, 2014

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
More Brunom SRW LPs. You're a beast, but this is highly appreciated, especially with how the GC translation effort just petered out.

ImpAtom
May 24, 2007

Raxivace posted:

Hey I have a question. Akurasu lists both SEED and SEED Destiny as a part of the cast list, but I see that you only have the latter here. Is that a goof on Akurasu's part?
The MX LP was a lot of fun so I'm really looking forward to this one.

SEED is unit only and in a pretty unusual way. The plot is only SEED D.

Raxivace
Sep 9, 2014

Huh, I was wondering if this might be some weird situation where the SEED and Destiny plots run concurrently, but I look forward to seeing how things play out anyways.

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Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.
I have beaten this game and have less than no idea what happened during it, because on top of everything else I haven't seen most of the shows that form its plot.

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