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MarsDragon posted:Massive spoilers all the way up to the Alpha 3 plot: Pretty sure Balmerians are just a different strain of humans. If I recall correctly it goes back to the whole thing with Augustus (first psychodriver, later becomes Keisar Ephes) and when he died Nashem Gan Eden traveled through the galaxy and eventually brought humanity to Earth. It's all little more complicated in Alpha 3 where they have more aliens hanging around (Zendradi, Buff Clan, STMC) and I think it's related to the Protoculture in some way, I forget. Either way, Balmerians are straight up the same thing as humans, and I think it's either stated or implied heavily so are the other humanoid aliens we'll be meeting. At very least, every single psychodriver is a descendant of Augustus. Now, this might all get changed in OG because things are clearly very different here, but I'm pretty sure the basics will stay the same. So for now, please treat this as spoilers for what we haven't seen in OG at all. But the original non-humanoid aliens are coming... well sorta already here in a way... for those who know what i'm talking about
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Jul 6, 2015 19:59
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Digital Jello posted:I always thought EF made fun of the fanservice bits rather than re-emphasized them. It's one of those Nadesico situations where they supposedly meant to parody a thing but just turned into that thing anyway.
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Jul 6, 2015 20:03
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AtomikKrab posted:But the original non-humanoid aliens are coming... well sorta already here in a way... for those who know what i'm talking about Allow me to amend that statement to "non-humanoid aliens that aren't terminally boring.
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Jul 6, 2015 20:29
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MarsDragon posted:Allow me to amend that statement to "non-humanoid aliens that aren't terminally boring. Shiro and Kuro should get their own mecha. Or just let them pilot the Cybuster alone. 
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Jul 6, 2015 21:13
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KataraniSword posted:Shiro and Kuro should get their own mecha. Or just let them pilot the Cybuster alone.
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Jul 6, 2015 21:35
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AradoBalanga posted:It always has baffled me as to why the Masoukishin familiars are never treated as sub-pilots (i.e., like Tetsuya and Sean are) for their respective herald. Likely because they're kind of part of Masaki's spirit/soul already, so I can't imagine their skillsets being that much different than his. But as for their being involved in the battles, well... Technically they are (at least if the OVA anime isn't wrong). Shiro and Kuro pilot the High Familiar drones Cybuster uses. It's one of the most adorable attacks I've ever seen. 
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Jul 6, 2015 23:29
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SorataYuy posted:Likely because they're kind of part of Masaki's spirit/soul already, so I can't imagine their skillsets being that much different than his. But as for their being involved in the battles, well... Technically they are (at least if the OVA anime isn't wrong). Shiro and Kuro pilot the High Familiar drones Cybuster uses. It's one of the most adorable attacks I've ever seen. Mostly it's just me going "Masaki's the Lord of the Wind. Why doesn't he have Accel in his spirit commands?" Then again, I guess having anywhere from 2 to 4 pilots would make the Elemental Lords even more powerful.
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Jul 6, 2015 23:43
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Subpilots would make Cybuster the best unit in the game, no question. Remember Banpreios? I imagine the real reason is some combination of game balance and tradition. Were subpilots even a thing way back in SRW2?
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Jul 7, 2015 00:08
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MarsDragon posted:Subpilots would make Cybuster the best unit in the game, no question. Remember Banpreios? Nope, and they were in SRW3-oh-wait-oops-we-didn't-program-that-now-Combattler-is-just-awful
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Jul 7, 2015 00:28
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At least with Getter you could cast and Change and the effect would remain. I think.
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Jul 7, 2015 04:31
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Wounded Land posted:At least with Getter you could cast and Change and the effect would remain. I think. It did.
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Jul 7, 2015 05:05
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MarsDragon posted:I wish SRW would do original, non-humanoid aliens more often. It's a cartoon, you don't have to limit yourself to what the makeup guys can do. I maintain that bringing in the BYDO would make for an amazing SRW game.
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Jul 7, 2015 06:22
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I'm not gonna go back and find all the quotes, but in regards to the Balmarians being human, I guess Euzeth Gozzo does have a face under there, further supporting this. Just to be safe, I'm gonna spoiler tag a few things from OG2 II (Gaia Saviours): I never got to the ending because gently caress is this a long game, but the game's main villain, a slick politician and arms dealer named Arteil Steinbeck, turns out to be Gozzo in the "true ending". I ran some translations for his big reveal, and it's left ambiguous as to if that's really what he looked like or if it was some sort of RPG-themed magical disguise to make himself appear human. However, because this is an OG game, it may be off base because again, I never played Alpha to fully understand Gozzo's character (if it even has any relation to the role he plays in OG2 II). And this never donned on me, but the Inspectors and Guests are humans from other worlds as well. Also, I'm with whoever wanted some non-humanoid looking aliens in the SRW games. That's a cool idea.
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Jul 7, 2015 07:11
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Digital Jello posted:I'm not gonna go back and find all the quotes, but in regards to the Balmarians being human, I guess Euzeth Gozzo does have a face under there, further supporting this. Just to be safe, I'm gonna spoiler tag a few things from OG2 II (Gaia Saviours): Let's just say the whole "What does Gozzo look like under the mask" is a complicated question, due to the nature of Time Drivers. At least if I understand them correctly, which I might not.
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Jul 7, 2015 07:56
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Digital Jello posted:I'm not gonna go back and find all the quotes, but in regards to the Balmarians being human, I guess Euzeth Gozzo does have a face under there, further supporting this. Just to be safe, I'm gonna spoiler tag a few things from OG2 II (Gaia Saviours): So if I've got this straight, there was Original Generation 1 and Original Generation 2 released on the GBA, then they got a compilation game in Original Generations, then there was OG Gaiden, then they named the next game Original Generations 2? gently caress you Banpresto, stop being so god drat confusing all the time.
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Jul 7, 2015 07:57
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It's actually called "The 2nd Super Robot Wars OG" English fans tend to call it OG2nd.
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Jul 7, 2015 08:00
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Ashram posted:Let's just say the whole "What does Gozzo look like under the mask" is a complicated question, due to the nature of Time Drivers. Yeah I don't really get it either, but from what I can tell Back in Super Hero Sakusen, where that guy is from, he had two character designs. The spiky-haired version in 2ndOG was his original form, when he was an environmentalist scientist who just wanted to clean up pollution and accidentally discovered Crossgates. Then later he has a long-haired version that looks like Ingram, and this is the version that Ingram was cloned from. Why the two different portraits? Good question. I don't know enough to say. Either way his true face is never revealed in Alpha, but his cut-in has long hair. I'm not sure why Banpresto went with the short-hair version for 2ndOG, except to maybe throw people off, since before then the short-hair version had nearly been completely forgotten. Which means they still have a perfectly good character design lying around for future use...
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Jul 7, 2015 08:29
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Alacron posted:So if I've got this straight, there was Original Generation 1 and Original Generation 2 released on the GBA, then they got a compilation game in Original Generations, then there was OG Gaiden, then they named the next game Original Generations 2?
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Jul 7, 2015 20:02
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Yeah it's pretty much like, the OGs we're watching being played right now is considered one singular game, and OG1 and 2 are chapters of it (and indeed, things that occur in this version are canon as opposed to the original changed stuff), so 2nd OGs is..the Second Original Generations.
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Jul 8, 2015 00:04
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Ryusei Route, Mission 41 We do the same Ability Down Lv. 3 ammo as on Kyosuke's last mission and put it on a rifle for Leona. We also shuffle around an equippable item or two. This is important.  Mission 41: A Double-Edged Sword   Going by Eita's calculations, the White Star's core should be just ahead. Daitetsu wastes no time in ordering a full barrage to blow open a path, after deploying the PTs for cover.  But somebody's waiting for us.    "So you've come. My chosen priestess has gone to her god... only the final touches remain. Yes, that's right. This is the end."   The standoff with Ingram is pretty much the same as Kyosuke's route, although instead of Excellen talking about her time as a prisoner she's giving Aya some more encouragement.   Kyosuke: "Assault 1 to all units. Defeat the R-GUN Rivale and destroy the fortress' core!" Bullet: "Roger that!"   Masaki: "Hold on a minute, Kyosuke. Aren't you forgetting something?" Kyosuke: "Hmm?" Excellen: "Yeah, like 'once this mission's over, let's throw a big party!' or something like that."   Masaki: "That's not what I meant!" Kyosuke: "Heh. Well, let's wrap this party up so we can get to the next one."   Elzam: "Are you ready, Rai? Let's finish the duty our father left us." Rai: "I'm ready, Elzam. I'll fight... to protect the Earth, and the colonies Cattleya loved so much." Elzam: "Heh. That's my brother."   So resolved, the battle begins...  Objectives; kill Ingram within 7 turns for the mastery.  And the map. The layout's pretty similar to the DC base from Ryusei 19, actually.  For enemies, we have... well, it's more than we had in the last update. Two Zechariahs, two Habakkuks, three Ezekiels. For whatever reason only one of the Zechariahs is a twin unit.  We've seen Ingram before, but he does have a little surprise this time around: an extra 40,000 health, for a grand total of 200,000. I guess we'll worry about that when the time comes. First, we have some grunts to get through.  Which means we need to squeeze everybody into this nice narrow corridor. Stop pushing, people! You'll all make it eventually!  You'll be taking fire from pretty much everybody as you trudge forward. The good news is that Masaki can handle dodging them easily. The bad news is that they're all way the hell out of range.   The worse news comes when you get everybody else up close and realize that, as befits the final battle, the enemies have gotten some serious upgrades. And by "the enemies" I mean "the <expletive deleted> Habakkuks," who have an uncanny knack for hitting you over and over with a 20-30% hitrate. Then you cast Focus and they switch to a status weapon and hit you anyway.  Then you hit them and realize that their armor is absolutely ridiculous.   Then they hit with their main weapon and you realize that their attack power is ridiculous. Even your strongest Supers can take three or four hits at most before desperately needing to repair. And since they have plenty of armor, you'll be getting hit a lot.  Also, this happened. Aya's head starts pounding. Ryusei freaks out and is ready to back down, but she tells him just to focus on the fight; likewise, Rai tries to get her to cut the T-LINK connection to the R-1, but she just yells that she's fine and they need to focus on supporting Ryusei.  This actually happens the first time SRX gets hit after you get access to it again. That just never happened before now, apparently.  A difference in the remake is that after Aya tells Rai not to make any changes, the original has him doubt her, thinking that the T-LINK system must be overcoing her ability to reason.  Where was I? Oh, right. Complaining about enemies. Another novelty in this mission is Zechariahs that can actually dodge things. The natural instinct is to save your SP for Ingram. Don't, because you will need your spirits just to get through this handful of grunts.   In fact, if you're playing along at home, some advice: use Valor, on the Habakkuks at least. The faster they die, the fewer of your people end up looking like Kusuha here.  At the end of Turn 2, this is what the field looks like. Half my team was firing away during this turn. What do I have to show for it? One dead Zechariah.  At the very least the Habakkuks are feeling the burn, however slowly.  The first priority on Turn 3 is to clear out one of the Habakkuk twins so that people can rush past and start to focus on the Ezekiels. Now, at least, we have a lot of people in position to offer supports.    A Revolver Stake/Akashic Buster combo leaves one of them ripe to be finished off by Lune, and we have our opening.   So we go through to fight the Ezekiels. They have 18k health to the 13k of the Habakkuks. They're still much, much easier to handle; despite the extra health it takes the same number of hits to finish them.   There is the matter of that other twinned Habakkuk, but that's what the Shishioh Blade is for.  By the middle of Turn 4 the grunts have all been disposed of, leaving Ingram. Of course, we still have the same problem we had when we fought him on Kyosuke's route. There may have been more enemies in this mission, but there still weren't very many, leaving us short on morale - and we're on a timer this time around, so we can't spend 40 turns having Radha cast Rouse over and over.  One guy who's doing just fine for morale is Ryusei, though. Also notice that Ingram's hitrate is a bit higher up close and personal.  Let's do something about that.    Ability down, check; armor break, check.     I didn't intend to have Kyosuke participate here, but no matter.  Ryusei twins up with Ryoto. Ryoto's not going to actually do anything, but twinning with the R-GUN should give Ryusei an extra TK level, which means a little more damage.  As you can see, Ability Down Lv. 3 makes a pretty big difference in the enemy's hit rate.  Especially when you do Focus on top of that.  Now, shall we?           Nice.  That was fun.   Let's do it again! Good thing I have two people who know Enable.   Wheeeeee!  Again, again!  Out of SP? Not to worry.  Drink this, Latooni, it's high in vitamins!   That's better. (The SP Drink is a consumable item that restores 50 SP. There's only three or so in the entire game.)   And that was for making me trudge through a fleet of battleships, and then another fleet of battleships, and then Evil Zombie Tasuku, and then Gaza and Atad, and then the most godawful Habakkuks in the entire game before I could reach you!   Tag! Here comes a relief player.  Aw, man. We're out of energy.   Thanks, Giado! I knew I leveled you up for a reason.   I could do this all day.  What's that, Ingram? This isn't fair?   I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my TENJOU TENGE NENDOU BAKUSAI KEN Okay, fine. I won't use Enable again.   Because I had Ryusei use Zeal beforehand!    Tired of the same two images? How about a dynamic kill.             So yeah. We just knocked off 200k health in a single turn with one mech. SRX is a beast. Not because it's strong, although it is, but because of the sheer number of spirits you can bring to bear. Even if I'd had Kyosuke and Excellen using Rampage Ghost and tried to do the same thing, they would've run out of SP after two or three Valors, and you'd have two separate mechs to gas up with Renew. SRX's own pilots can even fill in on the support roles if necessary; Ryusei has Zeal for extra turns, while Aya can cast Renew. Anyway. Ryusei, Kyosuke, Masaki, and Aya all have "unique" dialogue after defeating Ingram, but unlike Viletta's it's essentially the same thing, just with a different speaker giving the reactions.  Ryusei: "It's over, Ingram!"    Ingram: "Of course..." Ryusei: "!?" Ingram: "...I was... now I see..." Ryusei: "What!?"   Ingram: "I, too... was being controlled... by Gozzo's shackles... Heh... heheheh.... Ironic." Ryusei: "Shackles!? What the hell are you talking about?"   Ingram: "I... am not Balmarian... nor am I an Earthling... I was created to carry out this mission... a hollow shell of an existence." Ryusei: "Hollow...?" Kyosuke: "You were created?" Ingram: "Now the shackles on my nefesh have been broken. I am released... from this false body..."   As when destroyed by Viletta, he makes his apologies before dying, and the crew reels from the discovery that Ingram was just as much a pawn of another as they were of him.     Tremors run through the area; the R-GUN Rivale's destruction has destabilized the area. It may already be too late to escape, but Daitetsu won't leave without finishing the job. Rather than flee, he orders a full bombardment of the core...   Outside... Eun: "I'm picking up a high energy reaction from within the White Star!" Lefina: "What happened!?" Eun: "I-I don't know! Cause unkown!" Sean: "Could it be...?"   Eun: "C-Captain! The enemy machines... they've ceased all activities!" Lefina: "!" Sean: "Did they...?" Lefina: "The Kurogane! What about the Kurogane!?" What about the Kurogane?              Sean: "Th-the Kurogane...!" Lefina: "Captain Daitetsu... everyone... you're all safe!" Daitetsu: "This is Daitetsu Minase, Captain of the Kurogane. This ship and its PT contingent have succeeded in the destruction of the White Star's core."   Sean: "And Levi Tolar?" Daitetsu: "No, she wasn't---"    Eun: "A-Another high-energy reaction from the White Star! It's not an explosion!" Lefina: "What!?"       Tetsuya: "S-Status report!" Eita: "Direct hit to the bow! The third bridge is demolished!" Tetsuya: "What on earth..."   Eita: "Source appears to be... a high-powered beam attack from the White Star!" Daitetsu: "It can't be! It's still functional!?"   Eita: "The White Star... it's moving! It's heading for Earth!" Daitetsu: "No! All units, full pursuit!"           We get no time to take in this new, massive robot before there's a sudden telekinetic pulse, getting the attention of all the TK-capable individuals on our team.   Levi: "My name is Levi... Levi Tolar..." Radha: "That's Levi...?" Gilliam: "The Aerogater leader." Radha: (If our predictions are correct... that girl is like the other Aerogaters.) Gilliam: (A human under alien control. And as for her identity...)   Viletta: (Levi's power is increasing far beyond her past levels. Separating her from Neviim's core reduced the burden on her... no, instead, she's being assimilated into Judecca.)   Levi: "Class Gibol candidates: resistance is futile. So long as Judecca remains, Neviim will continue to function. Surrender is your only option. Surrender, and become our weapons."   Ryusei: "You want us to be weapons? Like Tenzan Nakajima and Kar-Wai Lau?" Levi: "Correct. First we seeded the Earth with Meteor-3, giving you our technology in order to stimulate your growth. We observed, placed challenges before you... and in the end, selected our samples from those who overcame them."   Daitetsu: "Your technology surpasses our own. Why do you need us?" Levi: "Our observations revealed that, in comparison to other races, Earthlings are possessed of a strong will and advanced combat instincts. They are intelligent and versatile, quick to adapt to new technology and discoveries. Furthermore, as seen in the machine you call the Elemental Lord, there exist Earthling civilizations capable of manufacturing exceedingly powerful weapons, even unassisted."   Levi: "In short... among the races of the galaxy, Earthlings' talent for war is unparalleled." Gilliam: "Unparalleled... in the galaxy? I wish I could say it was surprising." Levi: "Why Earthlings have evolved along such lines, we do not understand. Perhaps the secret lies within your planet itself."   Kyosuke: "I get it now. So Earth is going to mass-produce weapons for you." Masaki: "Produce? What do you mean, Kyosuke?" Kyosuke: "We're just the samples who made the final cut. They're going to take our data, find other people like us, and turn them into weapons. That's why you're here, Levi Tolar, isn't it? The White Star is a factory, and we're the product."   Sanger: "In the early stages they used Colonel Lau..." Ryusei: "Then Tenzan was the more advanced version..." Excellen: "It's not hard for them to control people. We saw that with Kusuha." Levi: "You are correct."   Rio: "Then the reason nobody was living in that green space inside the White Star..." Gilliam: "Right. The White Star - this mechanical planet the Aerogaters created - it's a cage for holding humans while they're collected and adjusted."   Elzam: "Levi Tolar... after you've collected all the humans that you need, where are you taking them?" Levi: "There is no need for you to know that. You need only submit, and become weapons of the Balmar." Elzam: "Sorry, but I'll have to refuse that offer." Levi: "Hmhmm... you cling to your way of life to the end. Not unexpected."   Kyosuke: "We'll force our way out of this cage you've built for us!" Levi: "As you wish. Struggle until your energy is spent. It will only make the collection easier." But the struggling will wait until next time, because for the first and last time in the game, we have a two-part mission.
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Jul 9, 2015 06:10
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All that Zeal abuse was a thing of beauty.
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Jul 9, 2015 07:27
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The SRX kind of by its very concept snaps the game in half. Multi-pilot supers are good just by the sheer amount of spirits they can bring to bear, but Combattler/Voltes tend to be balanced by being more fragile than, say, Mazinger and Daitarn 3, so they need to spam Alert/Focus/Guard to not be killed. The SRX is piloted by a knock-off Newtype, with real pilot evasion stats, getting a permanent +16% hit/dodge from being friends with the other pilots, and has a special barrier on top of all that. At that point the SRX's lower armour really, really doesn't matter...especially as OG prioritizes dodging-tanking so high anyway. And, you know, the pilots have every spirit they need, plus they can refill at will since parts on the R-series don't count for the SRX and combining is a free action. It's not quite at full power in OG1, but there's a very good reason why it's still in use all the way up to 2ndOG. Banpresto tried for years to balance the SRX and the R-series; in OG they just gave up.
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Jul 9, 2015 07:57
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I thought we'd get more out of Ingram this route due to him being a more prominent character in the Ryusei route, so it's a bit disappointing there were not many changes from the confrontation in Kyosuke's path. His utter annihilation at the hands of the SRX was still amazing though.
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Jul 9, 2015 08:14
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That right there is basically what every OG's endgame has boiled down to. Not because it's necessary or anything, but just because any other strategy would take too long.
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Jul 9, 2015 13:08
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So, uh, space dudes. There are these things called "alliances" that will get humans to do what you want and you hardly have to kidnap anyone. Maybe you haven't got to that point on your tech tree yet?
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Jul 9, 2015 15:54
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they wouldn't be japanese villains if they did anything that made any motherfucking sense
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Jul 9, 2015 15:57
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Glazius posted:So, uh, space dudes. There are these things called "alliances" that will get humans to do what you want and you hardly have to kidnap anyone. Maybe you haven't got to that point on your tech tree yet? We will not learn this until the Balmarians return in the OG timeline. The loving Balmarians are all insane sons of bitches locked in an intergalactic war with other insane sons of bitches and all of them are looking at Earth like it's the belle of the ball. Which is better than the elderitch gods on the planet itself
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Jul 9, 2015 16:41
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Glazius posted:So, uh, space dudes. There are these things called "alliances" that will get humans to do what you want and you hardly have to kidnap anyone. Maybe you haven't got to that point on your tech tree yet? Then again, "hey, come fight our wars for us, no we won't tell you who you're fighting" probably won't win you many alliances.
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Jul 9, 2015 16:48
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Seyser Koze posted:Then again, "hey, come fight our wars for us, no we won't tell you who you're fighting" probably won't win you many alliances. Well considering neither Levi nor Atad actually know and Gozzo likely doesn't care... Well...It seems Ingram has been out-  -ed. Not that he doesn't deserve it, mindcontrol or not.P.S: Isn't Ingram's whole situation and scheme pretty similar to Alpha!Shu?
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Jul 9, 2015 19:03
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Glazius posted:So, uh, space dudes. There are these things called "alliances" that will get humans to do what you want and you hardly have to kidnap anyone. Maybe you haven't got to that point on your tech tree yet? They came here looking for soldiers, not allies. On the other hand, the aliens who *did* try to negotiate with Earth came pretty drat close to getting an "alliance" that would have been slated heavily in their favor. In fact, they would almost certainly have succeeded in the negotiations if they had known about the DC and Shu, or weren't trying to keep their identity a secret for some reason that may or may not make sense. One must wonder if Bian would have done things differently if he knew his actions would cause humanity to get into a fight with pretty much every major alien power in the galaxy. Probably not, considering all the crazy robots that came out of all of this (looking at you, Sanger/Elzam). thetruegentleman fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jul 9, 2015 |
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Jul 9, 2015 19:39
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Every single one of them will be wiped out by the Database before they discover even a modicum of common sense. And they won't have to fire a shot to do it.
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Jul 9, 2015 19:43
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Ashram posted:Well considering neither Levi nor Atad actually know and Gozzo likely doesn't care... Actually. knowing Gozzo...I'd be very surprised if he considered the enemies of Ze Balmery Empire to be the same as his enemies. thetruegentleman posted:They came here looking for soldiers, not allies. On the other hand, the aliens who *did* try to negotiate with Earth came pretty drat close to getting an "alliance" that would have been slated heavily in their favor. In fact, they would almost certainly have succeeded in the negotiations if they had known about the DC and Shu, or weren't trying to keep their identity a secret for some reason that may or may not make sense. Earth still would be fighting the Balmerians, by the time the DC comes in Levi already has her orders. It's actually lucky that they did, without the completely unreasonable aliens rushing in to kill the EOT Council and force Earth into a "gently caress all aliens forever" position, the politicians would've just gone straight back to their Antarctic guests. Like they tried to do anyway.
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Jul 9, 2015 21:17
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Something that makes Zealspam even funnier: In general the game considers a turn to be about a minute in-universe time. So basically for that fight Ryusei went all Fist of the North Star on Ingram, smashing his face in repeatedly in less then a minute.
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Jul 9, 2015 21:22
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Dr Pepper posted:Something that makes Zealspam even funnier: This makes me think of Blade Mode slice n' dice segments from MGR. 
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Jul 9, 2015 21:34
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Glazius posted:So, uh, space dudes. There are these things called "alliances" that will get humans to do what you want and you hardly have to kidnap anyone. Maybe you haven't got to that point on your tech tree yet? There's only one faction that behaves semi-logically, but that's only because of their response to incidents in OG1 and further reasons revealed in 2nd OGs.
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Jul 9, 2015 21:48
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Dr Pepper posted:Something that makes Zealspam even funnier: I always liked to imagine repeated uses of a single attack in 1 turn were just representations of the attack being used once REALLY STRONG. Like, this playthrough, the canon version of events is that SRX one-shotted the Rivale with its finisher, end of episode.
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Jul 9, 2015 22:16
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Ryusei Route, Mission 41, Part 2 Right, where were we? Oh right, it's the end of the game so we have a colony drop episode. Although even though they said the White Star was moving towards Earth, that isn't reflected in this mission in any way.  Thankfully, we get a full recharge/reload/refill after the fight with Ingram in part 1. It's a fresh deployment, so we could even have sent in a completely new team. I didn't, though.  Here's our opposition.  The Vayyikra Ben, a much smaller version of the boss unit we've been running into periodically. Fifteen of them, to be precise. They all start with 150 morale.  And, at long last, Levi Tolar herself in the Judecca. Although you can't see it, the Judecca has 280,000 health, significantly more than even the upgraded R-GUN Rivale from last mission. Its health actually depends on the number of battle masteries you've collected; if you're missing a goodly number of them, it'll have 200k health, while picking up most of the points will give it 240k. You only get the full 280k if you've collected them all. To top it off, the mech has medium HP regen (20%, or 56,000 health per turn) and a TK barrier.  Levi herself has Foresight (which gives her an extra 20% dodge during the player phase), Revenge, Prevail, a commander aura, and max-level Telekinesis. This last is somewhat noteworthy, because the TK barrier will completely nullify all attacks below a certain threshold, which increases with the pilot's TK skill. That makes the TK field different from the Rivale's distortion field, which reduced incoming damage by a (significant) percentage. For the most part the TK field is actually much easier to deal with.  We've also got the White Star for terrain, offering up 21 spaces of delicious +30% regen/dodge/defense bonuses. The best part is, Levi isn't even using it.  Of course, you have to get to it first.    29,000 health is a lot, even now, when we're starting fresh with no morale.   And the Vayyikras actually get quite good hitrates, not that Kusuha would've had much chance of dodging in a Grungust anyway. Their damage is also decent (she has Guard in effect here).   Guard or no, if Kusuha draws fire from all fifteen of the enemies she's going to die. It's important to have a good dodge-tank drawing fire - or else to advance evenly enough that the enemies have to spread their attacks out.  I didn't quite manage to take my own advice, so Kusuha is the first one to face the wrath of Levi.    Kusuha: "Stop! Do you even know what you're doing!?" Levi: "Ugh... you're also... resonating with me...!" Kusuha: "I was in the same position as you just a little while ago, and I didn't want to fight either!" Levi: "What are you talking about? It is my will to fight! I will make you weapons of the Balmar!" Kusuha: "If you get out of that machine, you'll understand! Just, let me..."  "I will devour your mind..."  "The third torment... Ptolomea!"   Kusuha's blocking and has Guard, so this is something like an eighth of the damage she'd normally be taking.  Despite my efforts to use Masaki as a distraction, a lot of enemies go for Kusuha anyway. At this point she has enough morale for her own TK barrier to absorb the damage, though.   Vayyikras have health, but not much armor. The fight starts out a bit daunting (probably half of my people take at least one hit and are at low health for a while), but becomes steadily less so as you get enough morale to use your better attacks.    For the first couple of turns it won't feel like you're making much progress, mostly due to trying to get your people into position. You chip away at the ones you can reach, but a number of the reachable targets are on the White Star, meaning you'll want to wait until you can get all your firepower focused on them at once.  Elzam!  (He actually has one of the lowest dodge rates of my Real pilots, believe it or not.) The second pilot to get Levi's attention is Masaki.   Levi: "The Elemental Lord... a fearsome foe. But in our hands, a powerful weapon..." Masaki: "Foe? Weapon? Don't talk about other people's lives like that! I'm not gonna be anybody's tool!"  Levi has four status missiles, which she'll use when she can't hit with one of her more fearsome attacks. Not that it helps her against Masaki.  Kyosuke gets ground down pretty quickly as well, though nobody expected him to dodge in the first place. Unlike Elzam.   At least Sanger is having a good time.   After a couple of turns of this the tide turns, for a few reasons. One, repeatedly dodging/countering/getting hit has given us the morale to use our better toys, like Akashic Buster, which means we can easily start knocking off a third of an enemy's health with a single supported attack.   Two, everybody's reached the front line and we can start making use of supports.  Three, we're close enough to the White Star to use it for cover. This makes us harder to hit and also means everybody who took a pounding on the way over will recover a good chunk of their health.   The next pilot to get Levi's attention is Viletta. With her HP regen I'm not wasting any effort attacking her just yet. Levi: "Ingram's puppet! There will be no adjustments for you. You will die here!" Viletta: "I'll free you, just as we did Ingram. I must... it's the task he left to me!"  "An irregularity... it must be erased!"  "Will you meet your end, entranced by Judecca?"  Nope.             Within a turn of getting into position on the White Star, most of the Vayyikra Bens have been wiped out. I have a couple people left over, but since the last two will regenerate 9000-ish health per turn due to the terrain I'll just wait.  And then it's Aya's turn.   Levi: "This woman... she's resonating with me...!?" Aya: "...No mistake. I knew it, you're--" Levi: "This feeling... it's infuriating... get out of my sight!" Aya: "Please, stop this! You're an Earthling! Judecca is manipulating you!" Levi: "Silence! I am Balmarian!" Aya: "...Then there's no choice. I have to destroy Judecca... and you as well..."   "This... impudent... mind...!"   Massed fire brings down the last two Vayyikras in short order.  And we start getting into position to fight Levi.   Who has a MAP attack, by the way.     "Now... which torment do you desire?"   "The second torment... Antenora!"    Meh.  Ow.    Ow.  JESUS CHRIST  Add in a couple more ouches and assorted dodges as well, but holy poo poo, Antenora will wreck you. Surprisingly accurate, and likely to catch you off-guard since she'll probably use it on the turn you're moving into position, when you didn't have people casting Focus/Alert/Guard/Grit because you weren't planning to actually fight her until next turn.  And Levi has two shots of it. We have to do something about this. The next turn consists of desperately running around and healing people, while getting our more severely injured units (  LUNE) out of range.  We do not want to get raped by another one of those, so we need to do something about her hitrate. Elzam and Leona have it covered.    Elzam: "Commander Bian, my father, my fallen compatriots... all sacrificed for this moment... their deaths will not be in vain!" Levi: "Good. The Balmar have need of your fortitude. You will serve well in the vanguard."   Elzam: "I refuse." Levi: "Do you not value your life?" Elzam: "I recognize my grave. As did my father before me." Levi: "Hmhmm... and you have found it... so you will fall here."   Elzam: "Sorry, but no. It's too early for me to rejoin my wife." Levi: "What?" Elzam: "My beloved Cattleya gave her life to protect the people of the colonies. I live on to safeguard her sacrifice. Once again, I must pull the trigger and spill blood... yours, Levi Tolar! Now, Trombe! It's time to charge again!"  She'll regen the damage, but the 30% hit reduction from Ability Down Lv. 3 is the important part here.   The next Antenora gets a couple hits (including Kyosuke, because lol Kyosuke dodging), but is much less painful overall than the first.   And then after another turn of positioning, we're ready to go. Levi singles out SRX on her move.   Ryusei: "Tenzan, Atad, Galuin... Ingram! They were all being controlled... how do you know you're not the same!?" Levi: "Fool... I am Levi Tolar... living core of Judecca, master of Neviim!" Ryusei: "Then if we destroy Judecca... the White Star will stop!" A thing about final bosses in Super Robot Wars. Some of them have some really drat creepy attacks. And the Judecca has one of my favorites.  "That man's existence... is a threat to me...!"            "Hmhmhmm... gaze upon the agony that awaits..."     "...As you fall into the furthest depths of Hell!"     "CAINA!"       "ANTENORA!"      "PTOLOMEA!"  "And the final torment... JUDECCA!"     Ouch. We're done now, right? Levi's leaving, after all.  What the hell is that thing.  Oh God.   OH GOD  *   After that you get spit out of a little wormhole back into reality, and SRX goes on to do TK Burst Slash, but who cares about that when we just got tentacled by the conqueror worm or whatever the hell that thing just was.  As you may have noticed, the Balmarians are basically Space Jews, with assorted Hebrew names, machines named after the prophets, et cetera. Judecca and its attacks, however, are taken from Dante's Inferno, and as far as I know he made this part up himself as opposed to referring to an earlier source. The ninth and deepest circle of Hell, according to Dante, is reserved for traitors. It's divided up into four sections.Caina, for traitors to family, is named for the Biblical Cain, who murdered his brother Abel. Antenora, for traitors to country, is named for Antenor of Troy, who urged peace with the Greeks and supposedly opened the gates of Troy to its attackers. Ptolomea, for traitors to guests, is named for Ptolemy, governor of Jericho, who murdered his political rivals at a banquet. Judecca, for traitors to one's master, is named for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to the Roman authorities during the Biblical Passion. There. Never let it be said that your giant robot cartoon games aren't educational. Three of those attacks we've seen, and the fourth and most basic attack is Caina, where Levi jumps up into the air and chews on you a bit. She typically only does it when she's guaranteed to miss due to Alert, because frankly, would you ever use that move when you can feed someone to a giant worm instead?  Once we're done crying to ourselves while curled up in the corner, we can get back to the fight.   Leona: "Supreme Commander Maier... Lt. Colonel Lily... Captain Julia... I'm here to fulfill your mission!" Levi: "Trying to raise the spirits of the dead from the netherworld?" Leona: "Hmph. Once I tried to throw this life away. It's a choice I regret. On the Garstein name, I will defeat you!"   "What's wrong? I want you to entertain me..."  With Levi debuffed, the beatdown commences.  Kyosuke and Excellen, supporting Leona and Elzam.   I could do ridiculous SRX spam again, but I'm going to restrain myself this time. I decombine so that Aya can do an R-Formation (Rai's at half health and I'm not going to risk him).     "Insolent sample... what are you trying to tell me?"  Viletta supports. "Levi Tolar... you only do Judecca's bidding!"   "If you will not put forward a true effort... you may die."   Excellen... Excellen: "Looks like it's finally the last battle... isn't that right, little Levi?" Levi: "You... ah, yes. You're the one Atad warned me about. Don't address me in that manner. It's unbefitting of a sample." Excellen: "So cold... well, if you can't settle it with words, you settle it with fists, right?"     Viletta attacks for real...   Supported by SRX.   Ryusei casts Zeal and dishes out a TK Burst Slash, supported by Kusuha.   On his extra move, Aya refills their energy and he does it again.  "How comfortable, this sensation... as your minds enter mine..."   Kusuha's out of energy, but does her part. This knocks Levi below 40% of her max health, triggering a scene.   Levi: "Hmhmm... very good. I see why Ingram chose you." Ryusei: "What the hell are you gloating about! Aren't you the same as him - a pawn of the White Star!?" Levi: "Don't be ridiculous. I am the heart of Judecca, nerve center of Neviim!"   Ryusei: "No, wait... you're not like Ingram... you're like Tenzan! Could you be a captured Earthling!?" Levi: "You know not of what you speak. I am a pure Balmarian." Ryusei: "How do you know those memories are real!?" Levi: "Silence, wretched Earthling..."   *TK flash* Levi "Ugh! Wh-what is this? My head..." Aya: "! Radha. Levi Tolar, she's..." Radha: "W-well..."   Aya: "...In the end... it'll be the same as with Major Ingram." Radha: "A-Aya..." Kyosuke: "Captain..." Aya: "I know, Lieutenant. To protect the Earth, we have to destroy that machine. So..." Viletta: "....."   Levi: "You think... you can stop Neviim...?" Kyosuke: "We've already seen your Achilles' heel." Levi: "What?" Kyosuke: "You told us yourself. Destroy Judecca, and we win." Levi: "Destroy Judecca? You think too highly of yourself, Earthling!" Kyosuke: "We won't let this chance pass. We'll hold out for a wild card... one last time!"   Levi: "Ugh... You've proven to be a double-edged sword... if I must purge you, then so be it! Judecca will record your data!" Ryusei: "Are you sure about that!?" Levi: "What...?" Ryusei: "Are those really your own thoughts? You're being used!" Levi: "I'm...?"   Ryusei: "It's Judecca! Are you fighting because you want to... or because that machine is telling you to!?" Levi: "....." Ryusei: "Whatever we thought of the DCs and the colonies, at least they fought for their own goals. Can you say that? Are you really fighting us of your own will? Or are you like Tenzan and Colonel Lau... being used, as a weapon!?"   Levi: "Be silent! I am Levi Tolar... master of Neviim!" Ryusei: "Ugh... she's the same as Ingram... is destroying her the only option!? Isn't there some---" Aya: "Ryu!" Masaki: "Keep it together, Ryusei. The only way this ends is if we stop her here and now. We've been fighting all this time, came all this way, because we thought our path was right. But the only way to be sure is to finish this!"   Kyosuke: "One way or the other, we can't coexist. If she finishes us, none of it matters. The only option is to fight, and win..." Ryusei: "...Okay. To... set her free... we destroy Judecca!"   Kyosuke: "All right. Assault 1 to all units... go all-out against that machine, and don't let up until it's scrap." Lune: "Roger that! Dad entrusted us with the future... we have to protect it!" Excellen: "Last call, everybody!" Masaki: "Here we go, guys! To end this... we reach out and seize the future with our own hands!" The big push continues...   Latooni: "Final target confirmed..." Levi: "Oh? A fine sample... malleable and easily controlled." Latooni: "I'm not going to be anybody's tool... I don't want to be like you!" Levi: "My tool? Hmph... a puppet that thinks it can act of its own will." Latooni: "Other people helped me regain my will. Maybe... even you can be---!"     Ryoto's odds are not good, but I'm trying to show off people's combat dialogue.   Levi: "There is fear in your heart... I can feel it. But all is not lost. I can take that away..." Ryoto: "Fear? Yeah, I am afraid - of dying without making a difference! So I fight! And I won't stop until I die!"   Unfortunately...    That happens.  Down into the worms with him.   "Ugh... Ejecting!" Don't worry. I can see his parachute. He's okay.   Garnet: "I can't die in a place like this... I have to go home alive!" Levi: "Then why do you fight? You only hasten your demise." Garnet: "If I wanted to run away, I would've done it a long time ago! I can't sit by while everybody else fights for my future!"    "What's wrong, Judecca!? Guide me, I beg you...!"   Giado: "Time for the final gig! As a special service, tickets are on the house!" Levi: "You take this far too lightly, facing Judecca with your level of skill." Giado: "Sorry, but you missed a thing or two looking at us from the White Star. I'm going to hell and back if I have to. If I die at a time like this, my little girl's never gonna forgive me...!"    Giado's dodge chance was worse than Ryoto's, but the dice favored me this time.     Lefina supports.   Levi: "Designing a machine in one's own likeness... human weapons are strange." Lune: "You don't get it, do you... feeling and hope were put into building my Valsione!" Levi: "If such vague notions do not result in power, they are useless." Lune: "Oh, but they do... you want power? I'll show you power!"       Masaki backs her up.   And then does it again.   Rio: "You've toyed with the lives of so many people... it's evil!" Levi: "Your petty concepts of good and evil are meaningless. Only power. A weapon without power is nothing." Rio: "Meaningless? Justice is always worth fighting for!"  "Are you really certain about this!?"     For the lulz we'll have the Kurogane go next.   Tetsuya: "Captain! The end is in sight!" Daitetsu: "At last... the time has come to lay my fallen crew to rest!" Levi: "Then you had best follow them quickly." Daitetsu: "I will not die yet! As captain of the Hiryu, I made first contact with you... I will see this concluded!" The Kurogane misses, I just wanted to get that line of dialogue in.  For the final attack...   Irm: "If you want me to become your weapon, you should ask me for a date first!" Levi: "Rather brash. Will that increase your abilities?" Irm: "Maybe? C'mon, get out of the machine. Your pretty face is going to waste, you'd be a knockout if you loosened up a little." Levi: "Impudent man... your first adjustment will be to seal your mouth." Irm: "Really? I guess that's a no, then, huh!"          And that's a wrap. Any words from our defeated villain?   Levi: "...Heh. Ha ha ha..." Ryusei: "!?"   Levi: "You... have made... a grave mistake." Kyosuke: "What..."   Levi: "Hmhmm... If Judecca, and Neviim cease to function... the final countermeasure of the Balmar will be activated..." Kyosuke: "Countermeasure? For what?"  Levi: "Should a target civilization attain... a certain level of power... power enough to defeat Judecca..."   Levi: "That civilization is designated... a threat to the Balmar. And they will be... erased..." Masaki: "The hell? You have something else!?"  Levi: "Yes... the Adjudicator... it came first... and it will be the last."   Masaki: "First and last? You have another weapon besides the White Star!?" Kyosuke: "...! No way---" Ryoto: "The first object the Aerogaters sent to Earth?" Garnet: "You can't be talking about---"   Levi: "Ha... ha ha ha... the last restraints have been released... nothing can stop it now..."  Levi: "This... is your world's... final... hour..."     Random lightning strikes everywhere as the Judecca explodes.   Aboard the Kurogane's bridge, Eita confirms the enemy command unit's destruction; like magic, the White Star and the enemy mobile weapons cease all activities. Tetsuya is almost afraid to acknowledge that they've done it. Daitetsu maintains the alert level, ordering the most heavily-damaged units to the Shirogane for repairs.  Then the alarm sounds again.   Eita picks up an emergency satellite transmission; the troops stationed at Aidoneus Island have been wiped out. But if not by the Divine Crusaders or the Aerogaters, then who? Daitetsu asks for more information, and Eita brings up the video link from an AWACS in the area.  Tetsuya is stunned by what he sees... * The Event Horizon GIF was taken from Daeren's LP of The You Testament 2, a fine and insightful game that everyone should play at least once.
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Jul 12, 2015 03:06
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Seyser Koze posted:
 That...that should be an achievement in its own right. The RNG really did not like Lune today.
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Jul 12, 2015 03:23
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Seyzer Koze posted:Some And you'll notice that many of the hero units have German names, as well. It's best not to read too much into that, as it's probably not intentional.
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Jul 12, 2015 05:10
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about Balmar names
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 13:46 |
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AradoBalanga posted:
The worst part is that that's the second time this LP that that happened. The first time was to an enemy months ago.
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Jul 12, 2015 06:12
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