|
Kyosuke Route, Mission 12 After last mission, my first order of business is to max out the R-GUN's energy, buying it an additional two (and a half!) Metal Destroyer shots. A little more cash goes into upgrading its mobility.   Lefina asks for an update on the Moon Cradle's status; colonial battleships have it surrounded, but they've made no move to attack yet. Lefina thinks that even their formidable military would have a tough time seizing control of the installation; Sean, however, isn't so sure, and urges the captain and crew to move with all haste.   In the hangar, Radha is going over the R-GUN. At Ingram's instructions, the specialized control system has been removed in order to gather test data from a wider variety of pilots; however, its power supply is insufficient for its specs and the frame isn't up to the strain of repeated transformations ("yoga transformations," Radha calls them). Viletta is aware of all of this, and had planned to disassemble the mech and make some necessary adjustments when she had the chance.   Kyosuke's been quietly observing the crew's newest addition all this time. Something about Viletta reminds him of Sanger, though he can't place it. Noting his interest, Excellen says he shouldn't be two-timing her just because he's into women like that.   (Atlus) "...You don't notice anything about her?" "Hmm. Well, she is pretty foxy. Even I'd go for her. 'Oh, ma chere soeur, you musn't!' You mean like that?" "I have no idea what you're trying to say."  I spent a little while trying to think of an English equivalent for "onee-sama," which literally means "big sister" and is sometimes used by lesbians (anime lesbians, at least) to refer to their older/wiser/more-experienced partners. Then I gave up and went with the Atlus version. Maybe I need to hang out with more lesbians so I can pick up these things. Anyway, the Atlus version just says "dear sister," which may or may not actually carry the same connotation, but it's French and therefore exotic.   Gilliam ends up having to come by and fill the Sanger void by reprimanding them for standing around. Excellen asks if he can tell them about the Moon Cradle, and he does. It's an artificial hibernation facility - "like a sleeping beauty on ice?" Excellen asks. Gilliam doesn't know about the "beauty" part, but she has the right basic idea. Asked by Kyosuke why it was built, he explains that it's a contingency against the downfall of humanity. Like Noah's ark, the Moon Cradle is meant to contain the seeds that will allow the human race to endure, even in the face of an all-consuming cataclysm.   As for what the colonial forces would want with it... well, given its mission, it's built to be durable and has an integrated self-defense system - plus, it's still under construction, meaning that it would be relatively simple to repurpose it as a military fortress. Needless to say, if somebody seized the Moon Cradle with that intent, it would be very difficult to dig them back out again. In any case, it's time to prepare for the next mission. As they head to their machines, Kyosuke thinks to himself about (yet again) Sanger's warnings of the true threat. If preparations like these are necessary, the threat must be dire indeed - but something doesn't add up.   Inside the Moon Cradle, Ring Mao and Yuan Meilong are keeping an eye on the enemy. For the moment they're content to keep their ships high overhead, with armored modules on the surface, but at a distance. None of them are moving - which is strange enough in itself. EOTI, now the Divine Crusaders, did much of the facility's design, which means they should know what parts of its security (physical and technological) aren't yet complete.   In the progressive future of Japan, men are allowed to be operators too. They're startled by an alarm - something moving in the plant, but too small to be a human. Not a rat, given that we're on the moon (Yuan starts to suggest that it's a moon rabbit, but Rio isn't around to appreciate his sense of humor, and Ring certainly doesn't appreciate it, given that she threatens to cut his salary if he keeps it up.) Oh right, this is Rio's dad, if anybody missed it.   Back to the topic at hand, something is definitely tripping the sensors, but given the small size the operator's prepared to chalk it up to a malfunction due to the system not being complete yet. Ring warns him not to just assume abnormal readings are an equipment error - a lesson learned the hard way with the Huckebein. She orders another check of the system, this time checking for evidence of hacking.  Mission 12 - Moon Cradle   Tasuku: "Ha! Right in the sweet spot! We have moonfall!" Bullet: "I can't believe Captain Lefina had us come down right in the middle of all those ships..." Excellen: "Looks like Lieutenant Katina or Kyosuke are rubbing off on her." Bullet: "Um... isn't that a bad thing?"   Katina: "Stow it, Bullet! Unless you want to join Tasuku after this?!" Bullet: "Uh, no. No, I'm good." Tasuku: (After? W-what's she planning?)   Sean praises Lefina for the daring maneuver, but they both know it should have been much more difficult. Gilliam and Kyosuke echo the sentiment; the enemy's formation is all wrong for an ambush. Excellen is worried about what they might be planning, while Tasuku is pretty gung-ho about just finding out what it is. Either way, Lefina orders them to launch...   Lefina asks Eun to contact the Moon Cradle, but a few seconds later she reports that they're not responding. According to Viletta, the facility's comms equipment should all be functional at this point - meaning that the enemy has done something to prevent transmissions. Kyosuke says they'll just have to deal with the enemies in that case, whatever they're up to. Gilliam approves, saying that sometimes the direct assault is the only way.   (But he's always like that...) (Yep, every time...)   Nothing exciting in the objectives, 6 turn timer for the skill point. On the map we have the enemies to our north; five Barrelions (twitch) on the left and five Cosmolions on the right. That's definitely not six turns' worth of enemies, Barrels or no, so we're looking at reinforcements. The Moon Cradle is off to our west. I'm pretty sure it made an in-mission appearance in Alpha Gaiden, but it's been awhile and I don't remember for sure; story-wise it was the host for D.O.M.E. from Gundam X. Here it provides some defensive terrain that we're not going to use on account of it being nowhere near the target.  Kyosuke gets to start this mission at 110 morale! He hit the 50-kill mark last mission, which now makes him an Ace pilot. Aces get a +5 bonus to their morale, which stacks with the +5 bonus Kyosuke was already getting for topping the killboard. Every pilot also gets a unique(ish, there's some overlap) ace bonus. In Kyosuke's case, his Counter skill activates 10% more often, and an extra 10% is applied to all melee damage calculations.   I didn't look at Viletta last mission, so here we go. Her spirits are cheap, but nothing special yet in terms of abilities. As for skills, she has a full set: Support Attack and Defense, Infight, Gunfight, Mental (the reason for her cheap spirits - Aya and Elzam have the same skill), and Fortune (1.2x as much money per kill).   Here's Tasuku as well, who's a bit less interesting skill-wise; Telekinesis and Lucky (not to be confused with Fortune; guarantees a critical hit when it triggers, regardless of weapon).  So, to business. Barrelions are Barrelions, so Tasuku and/or Excellen are going to stand in front and take the heat for the moment.     They can't hit Excellen...    ...Whereas this is all the damage Tasuku takes from their primary weapon. Picture this happening five times on the enemy phase. He doesn't get to fire back, but getting shot at will boost his morale so we can use the good stuff.   The Cosmos go for Tasuku too. They're even less successful.   Turn 2, enemy phase. Eun gives the warning of enemy ships descending, with contact expected within 30 seconds. The first batch of enemies haven't moved, though (because they're too busy shooting at Tasuku  ) Kyosuke suspects that this means there's more at play, demonstrating basic pattern-recognition skills.  Despite being an ace, Kyosuke still needs another 25-ish kills, so he gets in position to wipe out all the Cosmos next turn.   Tasuku won't be able to do the same with the Barrels (twitch), but he still adopts a similar position to continue drawing their fire. I can't put him in melee range of more than one, since they can't hit him from that close and will go after the rest of the team instead.         Killing Barrels is a team effort if you're not one of the heavy-hitters (and even then it'll still take two people at this point), so the rest of Turn 2 consists of the rest of the crew whittling them down. Bullet and Katina finish two of them off.   Enemy phase, and company arrives. After all the build-up, Katina was expecting more than just a lame pincer attack. (Excellen says they should've brought about 7-and-a-half times as many; even Kyosuke thinks that's a bit much.) There's still no response from the Moon Cradle; what's going on in there?   The Barrels keep doing their thing, but now Tasuku has the morale to return fire.   This is a little lopsided now. And I don't feel sorry for them at all.    Kyosuke wipes the floor with the Cosmos, as planned.     The enemy reinforcements include the new Cosmolion Type F, which is unremarkable aside from having another 600 HP than the basic model.   Then again, I think their range is greater, given that this one is shooting the Hiryu from 7 squares away.   Given a choice between Excellen or Radha, this Barrelion pilot picks the one he has a 0% chance of hitting.   Turn 3, and now we have reinforcements! I hope they're as good as the Barrelions.   Um.      According to Viletta, these are the Moon Cradle's unmanned defense drones - but with the ongoing radio silence from the installation, we can't be certain that they're allies. That makes Tasuku just a bit nervous. Kyosuke shares this sentiment - as does Excellen, who says this shows that they make a good couple! He suggests that she hook up with Tasuku instead, in that case, but she says she doesn't know how long he'll be with them. Tasuku freaks out, thinking that Katina really must be planning something (she does the delinquent "Huh?" in response), before Kyosuke belatedly tells them to focus up again.  And we finally get to look at the map again. That's five extremely boring Gespenst Mk.IIs in the lower left, and the enemy reinforcements of four Cosmo-Fs, two Barrels, and two Peregrines in the lower right. The Peregrines last mission bailed before we could do anything about them, but we get to kill these two - with 29,000 HP apiece, they're the biggest things we've had to bring down yet.   Of the original group of Barrels, the one back in the corner has taken the least damage; Viletta steps up to bring it in line with the others.   Excellen moves up front and center to start chipping away at the newcomers.     I mentioned that our heavy-hitters could take the Barrels out in two hits, and Katina certainly qualifies. On the other hand, her target gives as good as he gets. Lefina casts Trust afterwards to patch her up again.   Gilliam and Bullet each pick off one of the new Cosmos.   Now that everybody's cleared out of the upper section of the map, Tasuku casts Luck and gets set to finish things up there.   The Giganscudo's G-Circle Blaster is a bit like Cyflash in that it hits everything in a 4-square radius; however, it does hit allies, hence the need to clear them out beforehand.   Unfortunately, you don't get the chance to turn on battle animations before using a MAP weapon. If animations were on for the previous engagement, you see the MAP weapon's animation; otherwise, you don't. So no video this time. I imagine we'll get another chance or two.   3 Barrels are roughly equal to one Killer Whale in the payoff department.  Enemy phase. The Peregrines go for Excellen, as planned...  ...but this could take a while.  Excellen kills one of the new Barrels and leaves everything else one hit away from death for easy cleanup.   I have to admit that there's something unnerving about the march of the soulless robot Gespensts.   In any case, they haven't attacked us yet; they must be allies!  Excellen reminds Bullet that the first rule of investigation is to doubt everything. As usual, he has no idea what she's talking about, while Tasuku complains that his sixth sense is still tingling. Bullet tries to protest, saying that the drones are clearly moving to guard the Hiryu.   Unexpectedly, Excellen compliments him on his keen observation, but instead of explaining she just thinks that they'll see what develops. Poor Bullet.  Turn 4. Pretty much everybody's within striking distance this turn, except for Viletta and Tasuku who have to hit the afterburners to catch up with the others after finishing off the first set of Barrelions.   Kyosuke gets right up in front of the Peregrines and hits one with the claymores, doing a slightly more encouraging amount of damage.   Russell hits one with his shotgun and does a slightly less encouraging amount of damage.   Katina Valors up and re(-re-re-re)asserts her dominance over her wingman.   Bullet and Radha pick off a couple of the small fry, while Gilliam and the Hiryu make their own contribution to the Peregrine damage pool.   Enemy phase; one Peregine goes for Excellen, while the other goes for Kyosuke. The two ships are roughly equal in health now, so finishing them off next turn won't be a problem.   Unexpectedly, this last Cosmo goes for Kyosuke even though Russell is closer.   Turn 5.  Isn't that cute, they're protecting the Hiryu. :3  Excellen and Gilliam set a Peregrine up for the deathblow.   Tasuku casts Luck again and moves in to show off one final attack, the Giga Uragano.           Uragano is Italian for "hurricane," but all it does is sit on the target. Really hard.  It bears repeating that you should always use Luck or Bless when you kill something big, if you have the option.    Russell kills the last Cosmo. He's still around a level behind the bulk of the team.     Kyosuke, Bullet, and Lefina beat down the other Peregrine; then Radha Blesses Excellen so that she can finish it off with Oxtongue B.     No sooner have we finished off the enemies than Excellen informs us that the Gespenst drones are enemies too. This stuns Bullet (  ), and she has to explain that all this time, they haven't been firing on the colonial troops either. This still doesn't make any sense to Bullet; they've been protecting the Hiryu, right? Gilliam has picked up on Excellen's reasoning, though - they're supposed to be protecting the Moon Cradle, not the ship. Viletta says it's possible that a net worm has hacked their systems. This would also explain the radio silence, meant to keep the Hiryu from learning until it was too late. It's a clever trick; either the drones sink the Hiryu, or the Hiryu has to destroy valuable Federation PTs. If Excellen is right, of course.  "All right. I'll take that gamble." "Oh, come on. Gamble? Don't you trust me?" "I'll let you decide that on your own."  ARGH BLURGH RAWR SMASH    Katina Valors again and does what she does best.   I'd like to use the R-GUN's Metal Destroyer to take out another pair, but Viletta hasn't actually killed anything all mission and still doesn't have the morale for it. So she teams up with Radha to kill a third.   Radha damages a fourth, which the Hiryu kills by counterattacking on the enemy phase...  And then Excellen kills the last one.   Katina is disappointed that the rampant bloodshed is over already, but we're not done yet; the mastermind of this attack still hasn't shown himself. I don't know why they assume the mastermind wasn't one of the guys they just killed, unless they just naturally assume that all their enemies are colossal dickheads who don't mind throwing troops away. Which I guess is true in this case.   (Atlus) "Well, we'll just have to hoist him out by his leotard!" "That's 'petard.'" "Wow, that was quick! Ahh, ma chere soeur!" "Soeur? But... I don't have any sisters." "Ooh, and you can play the boke too!" "Boke? Is that a kind of flower?"   Katina has to yell at them to drop the comedy act, because the enemy's coming. On cue, Siebel arrives to compliment us on our performance... but he always has a backup plan.   Excellen: "Aren't you the confident one? But your acting could use some soap." Viletta: "Soap?" Kyosuke: "Because it stinks." Viletta: "...I see. That's very funny." Bullet: "Ms. Viletta, please don't take them seriously..." Yeah, it's that time again. The first phrase Excellen mangles is "The schemer drowns in his own schemes," which is pretty much a direct fit for the "hoist by your own petard" line. Then you have the tsukkomi/boke sketch comedy joke, with Excellen commenting on how Viletta can play both roles. Atlus got halfway through writing it out of the English script, replacing the "tsukkomi" part with "wow, you're fast!" and then apparently realized that Viletta was supposed to keep playing off it afterward and said "gently caress it" and left the rest in. I'm doing the same because I am lazy. Then when Siebel arrives, Excellen comments that his act is "strawberry-flavored." Because it's sweet, or amai (甘い ), which is also used to mean soft, weak, or ineffective. It's a little frightening how quickly Kyosuke is adapting to her.   Siebel says they won't be laughing in a moment, and reveals his trump card - a MAPW. It'll barely even scratch the Moon Cradle, which was built to withstand bombardment from the Aerogaters, but the same can't be said for the rest of them. Noting the choice of brute-force tactics in the end, Excellen says that the mastermind turned out to just be a thug after all.   Siebel: "What? How dare you mock me, woman?!" Excellen: "Wow, talk about old-fashioned. This is the age of gender equality - there's plenty of career women these days, you know!" Lefina "Career... women?" Tasuku: "Now who's old-fashioned?" As you can probably guess, "Career woman" (in English) is/was the borrowed term in Japan for a woman who pursued a career instead of becoming a proper housewife like women were meant to do.  I have no idea whether the term has actually fallen out of currency today (like "the New Woman" from the 1920s, only fifty years later) or whether it's just assumed that things are better 200 years in the future.  Kyosuke tells her to focus up and deal with the MAPW first (she knows), but then a voice says there's no need for that.    Sanger tells Siebel that he hasn't grasped the purpose of this battle (yes, we're playing Sanger Mad Libs, just take the same dialogue and paste in different proper names). Excellen asks if this means he's coming back, but Kyosuke holds his silence. Siebel accuses Sanger of just trying to steal his glory and score points with Command, but the German (wait, I guess we can't use that to refer to specifically to Sanger any more, can we...) yells that his goals are different.   Then he rushes over and GRUNGUST SMASHes the missile. Despite Siebel's claims, the explosion may well have damaged the Moon Cradle; the standing orders to all forces are to occupy enemy territory, not destroy it, yet here Siebel is waving around    Siebel vows to remember this insult and withdraws. Excellen observes that even with Sanger being on the other side, this shouldn't be too surprising; Siebel isn't exactly the sort of person he would get along with.   Lefina: "Major Zonvolt, why did you assist us?" Sanger: "Farewell." Kyosuke: "Wait, Major." Sanger: "We will not fight here. But the appropriate time will come to conclude this, not far in the future." Kyosuke: "Understood." Excellen: "Hold on a minute! Kyosuke? Boss? HELLO?!"   And with that, Sanger leaves. He claimed to be here to protect the Moon Cradle, but Lefina knows he's not the sort to act only for material gains. Excellen asks Kyosuke what he thinks. Kyosuke, of course, tries not to think very hard about anything, and says we'll just have to see where things lead them. Wherever that might be.   In the Moon Cradle, Yuan has finally managed to isolate and remove the Net Worm. Ring orders the surface gates opened to allow entry to the Hiryu Kai.   Inside, we confirm what we already suspected, that a virus was controlling the drones and preventing communications. Ring apologizes for the delay in resolving the issue. Lefina, likewise, apologizes for destroying the facility's Gespensts, but Ring just says that PTs can be rebuilt - unlike human lives.   Excellen is surprised that Mao Industries' president is so young; evidently she just recently took over her father's position. Kyosuke is already familiar with her background - between this and Viletta, he certainly seems to be keeping close tabs on the ladies! Being stationed at the Far East Base, he's heard of the PTX Team's history and her role as a pilot on it. Excellen is impressed; first an ace pilot, then the head of a company... Ring has achieved a lot in a short time. Maybe Excellen should do the same? ("Which company would you run?" "Hmm, good point...")   Inwardly, Kyosuke's mind is on the past mission. They pulled through this time thanks to Sanger's intervention, but just protecting things like the Moon Cradle isn't going to turn the tide of the war. They're going to have to take a gamble, and a big one at that...  We get another pile of weapons after the mission, and then we get this beauty - a Solar Panel. A unit with this equipped gets 10% of its energy back every turn, so you can bet that either Viletta or Tasuku is getting it immediately. And that's it for now. This one sat around for a while without anything happening to it. I'm shooting for a minimum of one update a week, with the cutoff being Sunday night/early Monday morning. Ideally I'm going for more than that because gently caress if I'm taking 70 weeks to get through OG1, but I had five exams this week so that wasn't happening. Next time: 
Seyser Koze fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Nov 3, 2014 |
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 01:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 19:11 |
|
|
This world clearly needs more Excellen, if it can't have more Sanger.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 02:49
|
|
|
Original Origins: PTX While Masaki was an original character (the first in the franchise), he couldn't be called the main character of SRW 2 or 3 by any means. He only appeared halfway through each game, and the main focus of the story was on elements completely unrelated to his development. Super Robot Wars 4 tried something new, introducing a character who could serve as "your" pilot during the game. Character development still wasn't a major focus; rather than choosing a character, you chose a personality, which affected how your dude (or gal) reacted to things throughout the game. There was a set of pregenerated name/face/personality combinations (four male, four female) or you could mix and match (and rename) as you chose. Two of these were Irm Kazahara and Ring Mao, pictured above. Recognize them? Me neither. Whichever one you play, your character joined Londo Bell as the pilot of the PTX-001 Gespenst that we all know and love (?) which came in two flavors, Real and Super (depending on whether you preferred shooting things or punching them). Partway through the game you got an upgrade, either to the Huckebein or the Grungust, as the war against Earth's alien invaders continued. Additionally, your character had a love interest - either a high school sweetheart or a pilot met after enlisting, depending on your choices in-game.  When the series moved into the Playstation era, Super Robot Wars 4 was remade as a pair of games, F and F Final - a bigger, badder, and infinitely more sadistic retelling of the same story (they had both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Space Runaway Ideon this time around, so I guess that last part was inevitable). The new version kept the same setup with a character serving as the player's avatar, and even reused the same names and personalities. As you can see above, Irm and Ring got a bit of a makeover in the process. Then, in Super Robot Wars Alpha, they resurfaced again, as older and (possibly) more mature versions of the people we met in F. Their role in the story was much more restrained this time around. Ring was mostly seen in cutscenes, while Irm's role was to spirit away the main character's significant other (something we'll get into in more detail after we've met all the appropriate people) to fight the war independently and generally get in your way throughout the story, before finally deciding to play nice and joining up with you during the latter part of the game. They appeared again in Alpha Gaiden; then, like the other elements that were carried over from the classic games, they pretty much disappeared. And now we see them again here, reprising their Alpha incarnation but as larger contributors to the story. People have mentioned already that Irm's design, both physically and in terms of his machine, is a nod to Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3, a bigass mech that transformed into a tank and an aircraft, and whose pilot, Banjou Haran, has impressive hair.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 03:24
|
|
|
Seyser Koze posted:
Huh, I thought the Huckebein's problem was, literally, you turn it on and it explodes. No save throws. Unless Ring means they dismissed abnormal readings while they were building the engine, in which case yeah, get your poo poo together Mao. Must've been the lowest bidder.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 04:43
|
|
|
MarsDragon posted:Huh, I thought the Huckebein's problem was, literally, you turn it on and it explodes. No save throws. Unless Ring means they dismissed abnormal readings while they were building the engine, in which case yeah, get your poo poo together Mao. Must've been the lowest bidder.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 05:17
|
|
|
AradoBalanga posted:The actual explanation involves OG2 spoilers, but the short version is: what you've seen here is what Mao Industries thinks caused the Huckebein disaster. We won't find out the real answer until the (very end of the) next game! Well yeah, I know what really happened. It's just that the way Ring says that makes it sound like they turned it on, saw some abnormal readings, and proceeded with the tests anyway which ended with the Hucky going boom. Meanwhile every bit of extra game dramatization (that vocal version of Ice Man I posted awhile back, Divine Wars, DW manga) says that it was more turn on, what the hell is it doin-OH gently caress OH gently caress OH gently caress. So less being able to ignore the readings and more everything happening too quickly. I guess I can kind of see how they got from one to the other, but it still feels like a bit of a jump with no other explanation. It's the difference between "we hosed up building it" and "we hosed up testing it", if that makes sense. The games go one way, the dramatizations go the other.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 05:47
|
|
|
MarsDragon posted:Well yeah, I know what really happened. It's just that the way Ring says that makes it sound like they turned it on, saw some abnormal readings, and proceeded with the tests anyway which ended with the Hucky going boom. Meanwhile every bit of extra game dramatization (that vocal version of Ice Man I posted awhile back, Divine Wars, DW manga) says that it was more turn on, what the hell is it doin-OH gently caress OH gently caress OH gently caress. So less being able to ignore the readings and more everything happening too quickly.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 05:54
|
|
|
AradoBalanga posted:That seems to be a trend with this franchise. The moment content from the games jumps over to a different medium, things change a lot. Drama CDs, manga and anime adaptations just take what they're given and go off in their own directions regardless of game continuity/plot, sometimes for the interesting (Divine Wars and The Inspector) and sometimes for the downright bizarre (the Cybuster anime). The Record of ATX manga is probably the least problematic with this issue, since the writer of that manga was brought in as a script writer for this game and is still with the team, IIRC. Record of ATX still has some pretty off the wall moments. I can't bring any of them UP since they all happen later, but my favorite parts are really awesome...
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 07:09
|
|
|
Record of ATX is a fantastic read just because when dudes like Siebel appear on the scene they get the absolute best artistic renditions of their dumb arrogant faces.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 07:28
|
|
|
TheLastRoboKy posted:Record of ATX is a fantastic read just because when dudes like Siebel appear on the scene they get the absolute best artistic renditions of their dumb arrogant faces. Man, you can't just say that and not give examples, especially since Siebel is only going to be relevant for a few more ahahahaha who am I kidding Siebel was never relevant and never will be Still want examples, though. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 07:36
|
|
|
KataraniSword posted:Man, you can't just say that and not give examples, especially since Siebel is only going to be relevant for a few more ahahahaha who am I kidding Siebel was never relevant and never will be  Hello Hans
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 11:33
|
|
|
Pilot skill-wise, Lucky, in addition to guaranteeing a critical hit, also causes an enemy miss. Which makes it pretty comical for Tasuku to have given that he's piloting one of the least mobile things in the game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 14:34
|
|
|
Remember the Giganscudo has that chest cannon, which involves probably opening up its reactor and firing a huge loving laser out of it, instead this time you just ram into them and laser them at point blank range.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 15:21
|
|
|
CaptainRat posted:Pilot skill-wise, Lucky, in addition to guaranteeing a critical hit, also causes an enemy miss. Which makes it pretty comical for Tasuku to have given that he's piloting one of the least mobile things in the game. They really should have made misses on Supers just Glancing hits for 0 damage. Unless the attack is Supreme typed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 15:46
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:They really should have made misses on Supers just Glancing hits for 0 damage. Oh poo poo, I forgot that Supreme type attacks were a thing in the GBA version. What was up with that? I was never really able to figure out how they were different from any other attack, and I've never seen anything like it in any other SRW game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 15:53
|
|
|
iirc there is no type-specific defense/skills to supreme typed attacks.Also it might pierce barriers/have some special defense interaction. Its reserved for big assed attacks/attacks that dont really fit in a typing like Metal destroyer or the alts special ace in the hole.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 16:10
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:iirc there is no type-specific defense/skills to supreme typed attacks.Also it might pierce barriers/have some special defense interaction. I still think something like that should stick around, especially since it seems most SRWs nowadays give units a big fire with everything then melee finish attack that should qualify as a middle ground between ranged and melee. Like that amazing one the Nu Gundam has in Z2.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 16:46
|
|
|
Gyra_Solune posted:I still think something like that should stick around, especially since it seems most SRWs nowadays give units a big fire with everything then melee finish attack that should qualify as a middle ground between ranged and melee. Like that amazing one the Nu Gundam has in Z2. There have definitely been games that have Melee/Ranged mixed attacks-- I remember specifically it was a thing in MX, for example. If 'Supreme' is just Atlus-code for 'Barrier Pierce' that makes a lot of sense, though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 17:11
|
|
|
Onmi posted:Record of ATX still has some pretty off the wall moments. I can't bring any of them UP since they all happen later, but my favorite parts are really awesome...  Seriously, the Record of ATX duo are responsible for one of Gilliam's most James Bond moments in the franchise (done in OG Chronicle, a manga collection of one-shots and side stories). Except it involves a hefty portion of OG2 spoilers. TheLastRoboKy posted:Record of ATX is a fantastic read just because when dudes like Siebel appear on the scene they get the absolute best artistic renditions of their dumb arrogant faces. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2014 21:25
|
|
|
Look at that chin. It's their hidden fourth Peregrine Class ship. Beautiful.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 00:19
|
|
|
Welp, looks like the Start button on my PS2 controller is finally on the way out (after 8 years), so my savescumming days may soon be coming to an end! Whether that means the end of the LP remains to be seen.  Not really, I don't generally savescum to get through things
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 03:45
|
|
|
Seyser Koze posted:Welp, looks like the Start button on my PS2 controller is finally on the way out (after 8 years), so my savescumming days may soon be coming to an end! Whether that means the end of the LP remains to be seen. Not with new ones going for $8 on amazon they aren't!
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 12:08
|
|
|
I forgot how badly Kyo's route beat into your head the true meaning of this fight.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 17:13
|
|
|
Kyosuke's route in general is a bit weak and mostly survives on the strength of its characters. The hero characters, nearly all the villains are kind of dull. Seibel's good for a dick you just want to repeatedly punch in the face, but even Sanger pretty much just shows up to yell about the TRUE MEANING OF THIS FIGHT and the rest are just kind of there. About the only thing that separates Maier from just being Space Bian is his relationship with his sons, and they're both on the other route. I think they probably could've gotten away with just doing a modification of Ryusei route where you join up the SRX and ATX Teams earlier and they both take on not-Zeon and the DC, but they didn't.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 18:30
|
|
|
Yeah, OG1 is pretty clearly Ryusei's show. Which is fine; OG2 is Kyosuke's.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 20:09
|
|
|
MarsDragon posted:Kyosuke's route in general is a bit weak and mostly survives on the strength of its characters. The hero characters, nearly all the villains are kind of dull. Seibel's good for a dick you just want to repeatedly punch in the face, but even Sanger pretty much just shows up to yell about the TRUE MEANING OF THIS FIGHT and the rest are just kind of there. About the only thing that separates Maier from just being Space Bian is his relationship with his sons, and they're both on the other route. It was an okay attempt at your idea...but, Divine Wars has issues in places. Most notably, it decides that the majority of the budget be devoted to rendering all mechs in CGI, leaving very, very little for character animation. Pictured below is a shot from episode 17, where some of the cast meet a future character for the first time. Note Kyosuke's...hair (among other problems).  Did I mention that Divine Wars never managed to get Kyosuke's hair right? Even on the DVD-only episode 26, where they usually get a little more time and resources to fix animation errors in the TV broadcast? Yeah, his hair highlights are that godawful banana-yellow color, not the actual muted blond color they are in the games.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 22:39
|
|
|
FredMSloniker posted:Yeah, OG1 is pretty clearly Ryusei's show. Which is fine; OG2 is Kyosuke's. And yet you can go through the majority of the game without him, I always found that interesting. I mean in the end they make two of the three villain factions about him, and the third villain faction are about as well developed as anything from Classic usually is. But OG2 I feel didn't try to force you to drag him along. AradoBalanga posted:That's sort of what Divine Wars tried to do. While they focuses heavily on Ryusei's route, they gave some spotlight to the ATX team in some minor bits, until about episode...10ish. Then, the Hagane gets sent into space to assist the Hiryu during a big operation the UCC was planning (we'll see that in a few stages). The episode also denotes some time to Rai facing Maier, who despite everything Rai did in severing ties, still sees Rai as his son and doesn't appear to hold a grudge against Rai. This gets topped off by the ATX team joining with the SRX team in attacking Bian for the conclusion of Ryusei's route. Actually... rendering mechs in CG is CHEAPER than hand drawing them, it's why so many mech shows do it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 22:47
|
|
|
Onmi posted:Actually... rendering mechs in CG is CHEAPER than hand drawing them, it's why so many mech shows do it. He didn't say they spent a lot on the CG mechs. He said they spent the majority of the budget. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 01:10
|
|
|
I certainly hope they didn't spend a lot, considering that the battles in Divine Wars looked like plastic toys fighting in a diorama. EDIT: I see somebody finally got sick of me being a Stupid Newbie (tm), so thanks to whoever that was. Also one of the videos I recorded for the next mission didn't come out properly, so now I get to pray that my last in-mission save was far enough back. Seyser Koze fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Nov 5, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 02:17
|
|
|
Seyser Koze posted:I certainly hope they didn't spend a lot, considering that the battles in Divine Wars looked like plastic toys fighting in a diorama.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 03:35
|
|
|
Gilliam and Viletta may be awesome spies, but they still can't hold a candle to Gido Zero Four who is literally anime James Bond. Dude's theme song is even named 'License to kill'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpfbGxELnME (possible Masoukishin F spoilers) It's a shame he's stuck in the Masoukishin games.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 11:07
|
|
|
Ryoga posted:Gilliam and Viletta may be awesome spies, but they still can't hold a candle to Gido Zero Four who is literally anime James Bond. Dude's theme song is even named 'License to kill'. Yesssss this guy looks awesome. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 11:23
|
|
|
AradoBalanga posted:That's sort of what Divine Wars tried to do. While they focuses heavily on Ryusei's route, they gave some spotlight to the ATX team in some minor bits, until about episode...10ish. Then, the Hagane gets sent into space to assist the Hiryu during a big operation the UCC was planning (we'll see that in a few stages). The episode also denotes some time to Rai facing Maier, who despite everything Rai did in severing ties, still sees Rai as his son and doesn't appear to hold a grudge against Rai. This gets topped off by the ATX team joining with the SRX team in attacking Bian for the conclusion of Ryusei's route. Yeah, I watched Divine Wars when it was coming out. Honestly, my big problem with it is awful pacing. It devotes like 2/3rds of its runtime to the DC, so the Aerogators don't get nearly enough time to do anything. The animation quality (or lack thereof) is something I can overlook, but the writing really needed to adjust some episode counts. Other than that yeah, it's a good look at OG1 if it had Ryusei be the hero all the way through, and I think the game would be better if they'd gone with that idea. Yeah, that scene with Rai and Maier was good, and exactly what I meant when I said that Maier's only really interesting relations are with his sons. Though for my money that scene's more about showing that Rai still loves his family, even if he's terrible at showing it. We already know Maier and Elzam are just waiting for him to grow out of being a stupid teenager. Though I think they would have to put in a route split here or there if they wanted to make the UCC an actual threat and not just "oh yeah we're here tooooooo". Ryoga posted:Gilliam and Viletta may be awesome spies, but they still can't hold a candle to Gido Zero Four who is literally anime James Bond. Dude's theme song is even named 'License to kill'. drat but that guy looks smooth as hell. We don't need competition among spies in SRW, though. They can all form a squad together and run around with awesome theme music and shooting people. It's how it was meant to be.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 02:59
|
|
|
I'm catching up (and sort of playing along on my GBA copy of 1), and while I'm only up to Kyosuke #11, I have to know: Seyser, why are you ignoring buying the SP Regenerate skill? Almost-free Focus every turn would help some of these pilots so very, very much. Beyond that though, excellent work you're doing with this thread, mucho enjoyment is being had.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 04:14
|
|
|
SorataYuy posted:I'm catching up (and sort of playing along on my GBA copy of 1), and while I'm only up to Kyosuke #11, I have to know: Because I haven't needed it. I don't think I've had a pilot run out of SP once thus far. Though there is one incident that pops up in the next mission. But we'll get to that.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 04:22
|
|
|
I get SP Regen in the early stages but really it's only for the benefit of my OCD "but what if I need it later?" tendencies. If you know what's coming and plan accordingly you really don't need it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 04:49
|
|
|
Ryusei Route, Mission 13  We'll inaugurate the Grungust with a bunch of cash spent on energy and armor upgrades. We also give it an Apogee Motor for the movement boost, because the Grungust's movement is lacking. You can switch to the Wing Gust to get a boost, but you can't move in Wing Gust form and then attack in humanoid form in one turn.   We also pick up Support Attack for a bunch of people who don't have it. At this point Masaki is the only one on the team who doesn't, on account of just having joined up last mission.   Due to the rigors of the war, coffee has run out at DC headquarters, and tensions are running high. Kyle Bean reacts badly to the news that their project is being suspended. In their last mock battle using the experimental ODE System, the test machine ran amok, killing twelve pilots. Kyle tries to blame the deaths on the inability of the pilots' brains to interface with the system; fellow project member Gigi Lu adds that it was the pilots' rejection of each other's consciousness that caused the system failure. Privately, Lorenzo (the one delivering the news) thinks that while the recent deaths were the reason Adler gave for pulling the plug on the project, the system has far more ominous implications.   The project's head, Professor Wilhem von Jurgen, tries to placate the DC leader. Evidently the system has some bug preventing it from functioning properly; more testing is clearly needed so that the bug can be isolated and fixed. Lorenzo asks if he's questioning the vice-commander's judgement. Jurgen merely states that the goal of his system is not for use as a weapon, but to save lives. In response to this, Lorenzo says that Bian Zoldark himself judges the ODE System too dangerous for use. He clearly believes this to be the final word on the matter; when Jurgen begs for just one more chance, Lorenzo flatly tells him that the project is suspended and that further instructions will be forthcoming. With that, he leaves.   Kyle is furious over this turn of events, while Gigi observes that the old man has laid his groundwork with great care. Jurgen agrees that it's too late, which Kyle interprets as giving up; Jurgen has to explain that the ODE System is in direct competition for resources with Adler's GEIM System. Kyle realizes that this means the GEIM System, acquired from Isurugi Industries, has been green-lit even as their own project is being suspended. If so, what other strings has Adler been pulling all this time?  This scene is new to the remake, giving a little bit of facetime to some characters who were introduced in the Original Generation OVA (and accompanying audio drama) in 2005. The OVA takes place after Original Generation 2, so it'll be quite a while before these three make any mark on the story. On the other hand, it also does some early establishment of Adler as a backbiting dickhead (although Adler's own dialogue will accomplish that on its own soon enough.)  Adler has summoned Tempest to speak with him. Tempest has heard of the fall of Wake Island (two missions ago; I guess he's been busy). Adler asks if he thinks it was a mistake to leave the duty to Tenzan; Tempest hesitates, then says no. Hearing this, the old man tells him that Commander Bian has new orders, and to speak with him. Tempest's expression as he leaves tells Adler that the ex-Aggressor has issues with his commander's leadership. With the right impetus, he might be persuaded to join Adler's side... Like I said. Backbiting dickhead.   The face of a man you can trust. Professor Egret Feff enters; Adler asks him how the work on the Earth Cradle is progressing. It isn't, as it turns out; Bian and Maier are diverting resources to operations on the Moon. And furthermore--- Adler finishes the thought for him; Dr. Sophia Nate opposes the use of the hibernation facility for military purposes (using the Earth Cradle as a stronghold, like the colonial forces planned to do with the Moon Cradle). Clearly, she doesn't appreciate the importance of uniting the Earth under one banner, at all costs. Egret asks if he feels that Bian and Maier aren't being aggressive enough in their tactics, and Adler confirms that he does. Their insistence on using a minimum of force when capturing Federation bases is only going to draw out the war.   In related matters, Egret has heard about the ODE Project's cancellation; while it was a worthy effort, it's competition for Adler's GEIM System and thus it had to go. ("How thorough of you" is Egret's response.) Measures like these are more crucial than ever now; if the Aerogaters should attack in force before humanity is ready... Egret says that that's the purpose of the Earth Cradle; to preserve humanity, in order to secure a bright future.   "Indeed." (Yet there is no place in that future for senile old fools like you. May the aliens take you all...) Though he didn't actually appear there, Egret was first mentioned in SRW Alpha Gaiden, which - as was discussed a while back - centers around what's become of the Earth Cradle in a post-apocalyptic future. OG1 was the first time he put in an appearance in person.  Tempest goes to meet with Bian, who tells him that he'll be organizing the troops on Aidoneus Island for the assault on Europe. Sensing his subordinate's dissatisfaction, Bian gives him leave to speak. Without hesitation, Tempest asks to be reassigned to the front lines. Bian denies the request immediately, saying that he's the best choice to prepare for the coming battles against the Federation, and the aliens. In desperation, Tempest says that his entire reason for joining this battle is to avenge his family. The DC commander is, of course, well aware of Tempest's loss during the Hope Incident.   Realizing that Bian isn't going to be moved, Tempest asks to at least be given the duty of intercepting the Hagane. It's very likely, after all, that this very installation is the ship's ultimate target - making it an assassin sent to claim the head of the enemy general, and thus too dangerous to ignore. Instead of acknowledging Tempest's words, Bian muses that the ship has managed to repel both Tempest and Elzam. It makes him want to see it with his own eyes. Indeed, perhaps it's time he visited the front lines himself... I like Tempest's  face. Hey, we've almost reached the edge of the world. Go us.   On the Hagane's bridge, Latooni is giving Kuro and Shiro a primer on the DCs' weaponry. The cats are surprisingly receptive, quickly picking up on the ID codes for the different enemy classes (including the AGX code that represents the Aerogaters). Rio thinks that it's so rare to see Latooni talking with someone other than Giado and Garnet - and a pair of cats, no less. Tetsuya comes by and asks for an explanation, and it turns out that Cybuster doesn't have any data on either the Federation or DC units - further evidence that it's not a machine of this world.   Shiro says that once they've entered this into Cybuster's computer, combat will get a lot easier. Tetsuya has to marvel at cats who are skilled enough to use computers, causing Kuro to pipe up that they're not cats, they're familiars. Shiro tries to explain, saying that they're more like helper spirits. This doesn't make things any clearer, leading Latooni to give the proper explanation that according to Western folklore, familiars are minor demons used by witches to help with simple magic. ("But we're not really what you'd call demons," Kuro helpfully adds.) Tetsuya can't really wrap his head around any of this - they don't prepare you for this kind of thing at the academy.   Masaki is being questioned by Ingram and Aya about his background, but is being very tight-lipped when it comes to where he's from. Ingram decides to take a different tactic, and asks about his reasons for pursuing Shu. Masaki says that if he doesn't stop Shu, he's going to cause untold damage on the surface, too. This gets Ingram's attention, both for the reference to "the surface" and the implication that whatever Shu's going to do, he's already done the same somewhere else. Certainly, given the demonstration in Antarctica, Masaki's warnings seem to have some merit. Shu does seem to be quite the remarkable specimen, having earned ten doctoral degrees as well as being a foremost expert on EOT - which he has since integrated into the Granzon. Yet it would appear he has a darker side still... Meanwhile, Masaki is getting a vibe from Ingram that he's never felt before, and decides that he'll have to be as careful around this man as he is around Shu.   After Masaki leaves, Aya fills Ingram in on the results of her own search. There is an ID for a Japanese citizen named Masaki Ando, but he's been missing for some time. In that case, Ingram believes, they could easily be one and the same, and he could have traveled to another world during that time and brought this machine back with him. Aya is dubious about this, but Ingram points out that for ages, human societies have told of another realm within the earth - Shambala, Avalon, Agartha, Shangri-La, Hades... to name but a few. In recent years, Makoto Anzai of the LTR Institute published a thesis of his own regarding the hollow-Earth theory, proposing the existence of a massive cave or void within the globe. Of course it was all just supposition, yet here we have a young man claiming to have come from another world within the Earth - just as Dr. Anzai suggested.   In the hangar, the cats have brought their data, along with a map of the surface (not that Kuro thinks it'll help any ). Shiro immediately changes the subject, thinking that Masaki hasn't been looking so hot since their last battle. Masaki insists that he's fine, but then Kusuha shows up. She's thinking along much the same lines as Kuro, having administered Masaki's last physical, and so she's brought him... a little something.  Yep, they added a pose to the game just for the health drink. The straw really makes it. It's an energy drink that she put together herself. She knows the color's a bit off-putting, but she promises it'll be effective! Masaki thinks to himself that the color isn't the half of it - what are those things floating in there? The cats aren't too impressed with his reluctance and start laying on the guilt at once; how can he refuse after she worked so hard for his sake? Unable to withstand the  onslaught for more than a few seconds, Masaki gives in.  *glug* "Umm... how was the flavor?"   Rest in peace, Masaki. We barely knew ye. As Kuro frantically tries to get Masaki to speak to her, the alarm goes off.   Eita reports three drop capsules descending through the atmosphere. Before long they open to reveal the contents: colonial armored modules. Daitetsu orders units deployed to intercept... Right, whatever. That was a lot of talking. Let's just move ahead and see which chumps we're blowing away this time---  Mission 13: Bian Zoldark Oh.   But first we get the Treue Squadron, for their one and only appearance on Ryusei's route. Leona isn't sure they should be doing this; their orders were to rendezvous with the DCs, collect the latest AM model, and return at once. Julia, however, has been listening to Elzam's reports about the Hagane and its entourage, and she wants to get a look at their capabilities for herself. Leona tries to argue that they don't have time to waste; Julia laughs, saying that she really is a straight-laced one - it must be in her blood. When her subordinate says that she just doesn't want to endanger the duty they've been given, Julia points out that their foremost duty is to protect the colonies and Commander Maier; isn't studying the enemy a key part of that duty? This seems to satisfy Leona, or at least to convince her that there's no use in arguing.   Rai recognizes the Treue machines, and we get filled in on their background (with Giado giving the requisite  response to learning that they're all women). Rai wonders what they're doing here, given that ordinarily they're never far from the supreme commander.  We sortie our units, and Leona notes that we have a bunch of prototypes and test models - obviously we're underequipped. Julia says to think of it more as field testing. Leona doesn't seem too sure about the prospect of being test fodder for the ATX and SRX teams, but Julia rather seems to look forward to the prospect.   Meanwhile, Masaki is nowhere to be seen, with Rio reporting that he suddenly fell ill. Tetsuya wonders if it was something he ate, but nobody really knows - in any case, Kusuha's taking care of him now, so everybody else will just have to carry on without him.  Objectives, nothing too exciting here (although we can't see the battle mastery yet, which isn't ominous at all).  And here's the map. That's a lot of Cosmolions. Thankfully they don't perform as well in the atmosphere as they do in outer space. At this point I back up and restart to shuffle some pilots around, which I forgot to do this time; Latooni takes over the Huckebein 009, while Garnet and Giado finally "upgrade" to Gespensts.    We start our advance. Ryusei takes the first shot - nothing to worry about here, given that nobody can even hit the upgraded Wildraubtier.  I'm planning to have Irm take on the enemies on the far side of the formation, so I mark the edge of their firing range and have everybody stop just shy of it.    The Hagane does some negligible damage to the Cosmo that Ryusei hit. Having a post-movement attack with an 8-square range is pretty nice, but these are torpedoes and get a C rank on anything outside of the water (don't ask me how they even hit a flying target with them).   Enemy phase, and I immediately realize that I misjudged the range. Cosmos can hit from 7 spaces away, it's just their railgun that can only hit at 6. Not that Ryusei's in any trouble for it.  He does some minor damage to everybody who attacks him.   Turn 2, let's have Aya finish that first Cosmo off.   Ugh. Really?     Thankfully, she dodges, and Latooni is there to take care of cleanup duty.   Aya gets the experience for the kill (this is with Gain cast), although Latooni gets the killscore credit. Fine with me.   As an encore Latooni leaves another one as an easy kill for somebody else.   Somebody like Irm, who picks up a level.   Everybody else weakens some targets, except for the Hagane who picks up a kill (and a level). Daitetsu is rewarded with a larger command aura.   Turn 2, enemy phase. Leona notices something about one of our units. Its maneuvers are familiar...  Julia at least pulls a nonzero hitrate versus Ryusei.    Her Cosmolion's also a little stronger than her last appearance on Kyosuke's route (where she "only" had 15000 health).   Leona has a different target in mind. "I knew it..." "That voice... Leona?" "Raidiese..." "So you did join the army after all."   "Of course. I must uphold my family's duty. The Garsteins have always served the Branstein family. If you have chosen to fight against Commander Maier and Major Elzam... then I will fight you for their sake!"  "I won't show you any mercy... Raidiese."   "Rai, leave this to me!"   "Not bad, Raidiese... but you'll never measure up to Major Elzam!" Leona will continue to go after Rai (and only Rai) for the rest of the mission.   Anyway, for the rest of the phase, Irm softens up some more of his targets, while Ryusei and Giado pick up kills. (Garnet used Cheer on herself, but fell just short of getting a kill herself.)   Turn 3, Irm moves in on a Cosmo and uses the Wing Gust's Spiral Attack.      It's basically the same as the Gust Lander's Drill Attack. Only with a spiral. Good damage, but a 1-square range.   Ryusei casts Focus this time, since apparently an 86% hitrate isn't good enough to hit Julia.   Rai and Aya double-team Leona, and this happens. That's a 4, in case it's hard to see. I swear to god, Aya's doing this on purpose.  On the other hand, that makes Leona an easy target for Garnet, who Cheers herself before the encounter.       Realizing that she's miscalculated the difficulty of fighting under Earth's gravity, Leona withdraws. Garnet gets a pile of experience. If Rai is the one to take Leona out, there's a little exchange where he tells her to get out of the army and she tells him to go back to his family. Neither one listens.    Latooni takes a break from relaxing on the beach to snipe an enemy.     Ingram heads out to help out against Julia. They get around a 75% hitrate on one another, so he does some tactical cheating and casts Sense first.   Aya's the only PT who hasn't moved yet, but I don't think think the Gespenst-TT/tricked-out Cosmolion matchup would work so well. So I have the Hagane join in instead.   Looks like Julia's got about one round left in her.   Enemy phase; she goes for Ingram...  ...while Irm doesn't quite manage to finish the last Treue grunt.   Turn 4; Garnet Cheers Giado, and he moves up to finish Irm's job.     The Hagane and Ryusei double-team Julia...    And then Garnet Cheers Ingram for the finale.   "So this is what Commander Maier and Bian Zoldark have their eyes on. I've seen enough. We're pulling out."   Julia withdraws, and Ingram gets a crapton of experience, making him now the highest-leveled member of the team.   Rio reports that the enemy force has been wiped out. If the colonies are preparing to offer their full support to the conflict on the Earth's surface, this doesn't bode well.   Tetsuya doesn't have time to pursue this line of thought, though. Eita detects an object approaching their airspace at high speed, and not part of the unit they just fought. Its type is... unknown?  BOSS MUSIC (video of the upcoming segment)       oh god   To a degree this new machine resembles the Granzon, but it's not an Aerogater design. Is it a new DC weapon?   "Well met, my foes. I am Bian Zoldark, commander of the Divine Crusaders." The group does a collective spit-take at this latest surprise. The first instinct is to doubt the man's words; Giado suggests that it's actually a hologram, but Latooni thinks that given this new machine, it may really be him. But why would the DCs' commander appear here?   "It's been a while, Dr. Zoldark." "Hmhmm... so it has. Since the Hiryu's dedication, I believe?" "Why have you come here?" "I've come out here personally to offer you a final chance." "What kind of chance?" "To choose your destiny." "..." "Surrender, or die here. Those are your options."   Neither Ryusei nor Irm is very open to the idea of surrendering to the guy who's trying to take over the world. Bian comments that they're like disobedient children, but Ryusei isn't taking that - the world is in chaos on Bian's account, and he doesn't seem to care about the lives lost to his crusade. Bian sees the losses only as labor pains - necessary for the birth of a new era of humanity. As far as Ryusei's concerned, he's just making excuses for wanting to rule the world.   "So it may seem, to your young eyes. Hmmhmm..." "What's so funny?" "A dog barks because that's all it can do. If you have something to say, then show me." "What!?" "Of course, to do that you'll have to defeat this ultimate robot, the Valsion..." "Ultimate robot, dog-meat robot, whatever. I'm turning it into scrap either way!" Another minor wordplay, with Ryusei mixing "ultimate" (kyoukoku) with "school lunch" (kyoushoku). The Atlus version went with "I don't care about your 'valley girl!'" in place of Valsion.   Giado tries to get Ryusei to calm down, since we have no idea what this thing can do. Tetsuya turns to Daitetsu for orders, and the captain says that there's no choice - we can't surrender, so we'll have to bring down the Valsion, whatever it takes!  Now the battle mastery is revealed - bring the Valsion below 80% of its maximum health by the end of Turn 7. The deadline adjusts to your progress, so it'll always be three turns after the Valsion's arrival (more like two turns if you finished the Treue girls off during an enemy phase).  In any case, here we are. The Valsion usually pops up closer to the island, but this time it's out over the ocean, which probably means it appears X spaces from the Hagane's location. Ryusei's over the island now, right next to Rai, because I thought it adjusted to his position and I was trying to outsmart it. In my infinite wisdom I neglected to take a look at the Valsion's status screen, but this fight won't last too long anyway. Right now you just need to know that it can hit really hard and has 45000 HP (9000 of which we need to knock off for the mastery), as well as a barrier to make reducing that HP more of a pain.   Everybody within striking distance (who I'd be willing to risk) has already moved, so I just end the turn. Bian goes for the Hagane during the enemy phase.   "It's no use. You will never defeat the Valsion. To keep the truth of what happened at Pluto a secret, the Federation demoted you, ridiculed you... they put you on the Shirogane to keep you out of the way. And now they send you to Aidoneus Island, like sacrificial pawns... why do you support them, when they've mistreated you so?" "So that the crews of the Hiryu and Shirogane will not have died for nothing... and so that the Earth will be protected!"                    The Mega Graviton Wave takes a pretty big bite out of the Hagane's health. You really don't want one of your lighter PT units to eat one of these.   The Hagane's impact cannons don't fare so well, in comparison.    "Hmhmm... Well? Is this all the strength you can muster?" The group freaks out after realizing that there's something protecting the Valsion from harm. Latooni does a quick analysis - the machine radiates a distortion field which both deflects projectiles and diffuses incoming energy pulses, preventing anything from striking with full force. Ryusei asks what they can do, in that case. Ingram says it's simple: hit it hard enough and in enough concentration, and the field won't be able to redirect the attacks as effectively. (Or as Irm puts it, put your FIGHTING SPIRIT into your attacks.)   In any case, Turn 5. Ryusei cast Grit a while ago, and it's still in effect. This is good, because Bian can get a 44% hitrate on him when even Julia could only manage a 2% (even if it's with an Armor Breaker, which is a status weapon and has a much higher accuracy than most.       And Bian hits him.  In any case, Irm support-attacks, getting in a free hit.  I'm tired of doing 1000 damage per hit. Irm's built up a good stock of morale at this point, meaning that he can use the Grungust's ultimate attack - the Keitoragouken Ankensatsu, or Darkness Blade.           That's more like it. Irm does get Mega Graviton Waved for ~2000 health afterward, though.  Earn a Battle Mastery in Just Four Hits, by Daitetsu Minase, Ryusei Date, and Irmgard Kazahara.   The Valsion is showing no sign of weakening, and meanwhile we're approaching our limits - are the Hagane and its crew really going to get wiped out by a single mech? Daitetsu orders Tetsuya to start charging the Tronium Buster Cannon. Tetsuya is shocked by the reckless order, as the cannon is still being adjusted and can likely only be fired once during this campaign. Daitetsu is aware, but with Bian Zoldark right in front of them, it's no time to be timid. When Tetsuya still tries to protest, saying that there's not enough time, Daitetsu roars not to make him repeat himself when they're facing down their greatest enemy. Tetsuya gives in and gives the order, then tells Rio to instruct the troops to hang on and buy them time - but she doesn't think they can do so.   "If it's time you need, I'll buy you all you want!!" Apparently Masaki has recovered (and he sounds better than ever, according to Kuro - Kusuha's present really did work!). Kusuha is surprised as anybody to learn that he's up and about, and he has to thank her; vile as that health drink was, he can't argue with results. (She doesn't know what was so bad about it.)   Bian recognizes Cybuster, and Masaki isn't about to let this chance slip through his fingers. He's been looking all over for Bian, and now that he's found him, he's going to get an answer: where is Shu? Bian, however, isn't in a cooperative mood. Shu plays an important role - and moreover, Masaki and Bian are not allies, and Masaki lacks the power to make him cooperate. Masaki's a bit miffed that his dramatic entrance isn't paying off... but now it's too late.   Elzam arrives with a pack of Lions, which is pretty much the last news Tetsuya wanted to receive at this point. Bian doesn't recall requesting Elzam's assistance, but Elzam regrets to inform him that enjoyment has its limits; he's the commander, and there are considerations to be made accordingly. Moreover, Julia is currently waiting for him to return. Bian decides that he's seen enough, in any case. In their current state, these fighters will never defeat the Divine Crusaders. Nonetheless, he looks forward to when he encounters the Hagane again - and its crew.   Bian withdraws, and Elzam informs his men that he'll be escorting him back to headquarters. That done, he tells Rai to remember what Bian said - and then, promising to meet again, he departs as well.   In any case, it looks like we'll have to stop charging the Buster Cannon and mop these guys up the old-fashioned way. Angrily, Daitetsu wonders if Bian seriously intended to destroy them in the first place.    We've got us a pack of seven Lions to clean up, and Masaki just arrived, so let's let him get on that. Kusuha's health drink really must have worked, because he jumped into the fight at 130 morale, letting him pack a pretty serious punch right off the bat.   Rai, Garnet, and Aya whittle down a couple of the other Lions while keeping their distance. Not to worry, I have a brilliant plan.   Everybody goes for Masaki on the enemy phase, and I have him attack everybody who hasn't been hit yet, leaving the entire group at near-death.  Since Masaki started out with high morale, I am now in the perfect position to wipe them all out with a Cyflash and reap the sweet, sweet cash rewards. All I have to do is have him cast Luck and---  ...I mean, all I have to do is have Garnet cast Bless on him and---  ...  ...  ...I think I may need a moment.    Okay. :deepbreath: So during all that setup I forgot that Masaki doesn't actually know Luck yet, probably because I was remembering the last mission where Tasuku could use Luck with his MAP weapon without any problems. Which ordinarily isn't a problem, because somebody else can cast Bless on him instead. Of course, the only person who has Bless is Garnet. Which also wouldn't be a problem, except that I had her cast Cheer four times on this mission. And now she's out of SP. And now I look dumb. This is what opportunity looks like as it slips away from you, kids.   Well, since I can't make a ton of money by killing everything at once I may as well spread some experience around instead. Ryusei, Rai, Aya, and Latooni all come over and snag a couple kills; they're no real threat to us on account of the enemy being, well, Lions. Garnet hits level 13 and learns Trust; Aya also hits level 13 and doesn't learn anything (except maybe how to stop leaving enemies alive with less than 100 health).   Local airspace is clear, but the Valsion's signal has been lost. We've just met our arch-nemesis, it would seem...   Julia reports in to Bian, saying that she's come to oversee the transport of the new unit. The shuttle's already prepared to go, making this a short stop. Bian asks her to inform Maier that their goal is soon to be accomplished; she seems to know what this means and promises to carry out the request. Julia wishes him fortune in the coming campaign in central Europe; he wishes the same for their brethren in the colonies.   Elzam gives Leona a warm greeting and asks how Sanger's been doing. Quite well, by her estimation, though not everybody is pleased to have him around. He considers that inevitable, given that they're both out of their respective elements, with Sanger in space and Elzam on Earth. On that subject, Leona is worried about how Elzam is doing, but he claims to be enjoying himself quite a bit; there's an abundance of ingredients here on Earth that you can't get so easily in the colonies.   Leona says that the Lady Cattleya always loved Elzam's cooking, and the mood turns somber. Elzam keeps his wife alive within his heart, now and forever. There's an awkward silence before he asks if Leona's encountered Rai yet; she has, but laments that she wasn't able to convince him to return. Elzam hesitates briefly, then asks her to bring a message to his father when she returns to Elpis: let him be the one to worry about his brother.   Back on the Hagane, the pilots are discussing the Valsion. Garnet wants to know why Dr. Zoldark bothered coming out to attack us; Giado suggests that he just wanted to show off his mech, but he seems a bit less prone to that sort of thing than, say, Ryusei or Robert. Still, it seems like if he'd wanted to sink the Hagane, he could've done so easily enough. It's as if he was just testing them... Ryusei doesn't have any interest in Aya's line of thought. Bian is leading the DCs, who want to take over the world, and with that being the case there's no option but to go to Aidoneus, march into the big boss' throne room, and kick his rear end. Masaki's down with that idea, having finally received some confirmation that he's on the right track. Irm says it's refreshing to have people around who view everything as just being straightforward; Masaki agrees, saying that he just gets worn down if he thinks too hard about things. There's actually a pretty big contrast with the original here, despite the text being largely the same; in the GBA games Ryusei didn't have the serious-expression portrait used here, so they had him with his default smiling pilot portrait instead.  At this point Aya broaches The Subject: was Masaki sick before? Shiro helpfully chimes in about Kusuha's health drink, which immediately has Ryusei offering his condolences. He's been on the receiving end of her health mania himself, and she finds the weirdest things to put into her concoctions. They work just fine, but the flavor is another matter entirely; he's pretty sure there's nothing else on Earth that could taste as bad. Masaki dares to ask what's in them, and Ryusei answers that last time, she mail-ordered some powdered newt and viper parts. Garnet suggests that she make a batch for Giado next time; he quickly swears up and down that there's no way in hell he's drinking one of those. (Aya doesn't think much of the maturity level in the room.)  Cue the shower scene music from Psycho.   Kusuha comes in to tell Masaki that she's added some orange juice to the mix and offers him another. Given that the color hasn't changed at all, he says he has work to do on Cybuster and flees the room. Undeterred, she tries to repeat the offer with Ryusei ("My health is fine! I eat tofu!"), Irm ("Y'know, I really should finish tuning up the Grungust..."), Aya ("I have to go submit a report to Major Ingram!"), Giado ("H-hey Garnet, you want to go up on deck and look at the stars?"), and Garnet ("O-okay! Even if it's noon!")   Left alone in the suddenly empty cafeteria, Kusuha wonders if it really tastes that bad. And then Ingram walks in. She makes him the same offer, and after hearing her explanation, he agrees, telling her to hand it over. "Um... h-how does it taste?" "Mgh...?" (I... I knew it...)   "It's... not bad."  "Really? Thank you so much! I'll go back to my post now, sir."  That is either the worst thing Ingram has ever tasted, or the best. Can't be sure just from his facial expression.  A crewman asks if Ingram is all right; he doesn't look well. Ingram insists that he'll be fine. But he's going to be in his quarters for a while... And that's it for now. Next time, we get rid of one of those tacky Gespenst-TTs. Seyser Koze fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Nov 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 21:22
|
|
|
Oh man I forgot Ingram's O-Face.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 22:12
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:Oh man I forgot Ingram's O-Face. Ya know, even though I know what happens with Ingram in the future, I can't help but feel for the guy. No one deserves to be exposed to Kusuha's health drinks.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 23:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 19:11 |
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:Oh man I forgot Ingram's O-Face. Rorahusky posted:No one deserves to be exposed to Kusuha's health drinks.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2014 00:34
|
|