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Alacron posted:I should've saved this for tomorrow so I could read it on my birthday Yo, don't diss Kiriyama. He's going to make
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Jul 30, 2017 05:07
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It's still a little weird seeing the name Jinrai tossed around so much in here when I know the OGs version better. I can never tell enemy mooks apart to begin with.
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Jul 30, 2017 07:06
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HitTheTargets posted:It's still a little weird seeing the name Jinrai tossed around so much in here when I know the OGs version better. I can never tell enemy mooks apart to begin with.
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Jul 31, 2017 04:23
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 Our current top aces, though this is merely academic since we won’t be keeping the path. On that note, let’s just jump straight into the squads.  Ichitaka Voltes/Mira Dancouga/Tetsuya Kouji Anna/Klan Kouji/Jun Tetsuya/Canaria Combattler/Boss Alto/Michel Ozma/Luca Iczer-1’s deploying as an event unit, so Ichitaka’ll be flying solo today. Better him than any of the others. On we go!  The Cthulhu have successfully made contact with the Jama Kingdom, Himika telling that she’ll easily let them keep Earth so long as she has the Bronze Bell. Indeed, hatred is the mightiest force in the universe – however strong their dreaded Iczer-1 and partner may be, they are nothing face the Jama Kingdom’s malice. Sir Violet warns against underestimating them and ends the call, leaving Himika to ponder that the power she feels emanating from Big Gold is quite similar to their own. Seems to Mimashi that fate’s brought them together, and he asks if they’ll be allying with the Cthulhu. Yes, because Himika sees this as a win-win: if they’re struck down, at least they’ll wear out Jeeg and his allies, and if they survive, the Jama can easily dispatch them. Brilliant! Now, Ikima’s expected to return soon, so they’ll let the Cthulhu do their thing until then.  Over by the Cthulhu Fortress, Iczer-2 has recovered from her last battle and is already raring to put an end to Iczer-1’s life. Sir Violet tells her to get to it, as the future of their kind depends on it. Iczer-2 seems confident: “You may have found your partner, but she’s no more than an earthling girl… Just you wait, Iczer-1. You’re not long for this world!”   : The PLANTs ordered you to sink the Archangel?! : They did, yes. And we’re about to set out after them. : That’s ridiculous! Anyone can see that the Archangel isn’t an enemy!: … It is not our place to decide who the enemies and allies are. I hope you’ll understand.  : … Then at least let us accompany you.: Accompany us?: I don’t think they’re enemies either. So at least give us a chance to talk to them before you attack!: The Archangel intervened in several battles in order to bring the last Great War to an end. I’m sure we can find common ground if we manage to speak to one another!: What you’re getting at is that you want to invite the Archangel to join LOTUS, then?: Yes. If they joined us and clarified where they stand, then ZAFT would have no reason to order this attack.: … Well, I suppose it’d be possible to avoid some unnecessary conflict if they can be persuaded.: I’m glad you agree.: Very well, you may accompany us. We’ll be starting our pursuit at once.*Call ends.* : What do you think?: It’s clear that Cpt. Gladys doesn’t like this either. The Archangel’s given ZAFT no reason to see them as a threat thus far, so these orders are coming completely out of the blue. : I agree. And if they came from the PLANTs’ themselves… does that mean it was Chairman Durandal who ordered it? : But why are they doing that? It’s already bad enough that we’re wasting our time with the Alliance! : Seriously. Humans really shouldn’t be fighting each other with the Jama Kingdom, the aliens and whatnot hanging around. : To say nothing of how much of a boost it’d be for us if we managed to add the Archangel’s forces to our team. *Ping!*  : …?! This presence is…! : What, Iczer-1?: It’s her… Iczer-2 is coming after us! : Speak of the devil… That broad’s got the worst sense of timing in the world!  : Captain, why are we going to attack the Archangel?! These orders are insane! : … They’re also from the Supreme Council. We have to comply. : But why so suddenly? What’s the Chairman thinking? : The Federation’s violence is pushing the radicals in the Supreme Council to become progressively louder. I’m sure the Chairman is trying to contain them, but there’s only so much he can do.: But that doesn’t justify fighting the Archangel! : Then who is it that you want to fight?: …!: We are soldiers and this is war – that’s the way things are. If you can’t make your peace with it… then you’ll die.: We may not need to fight them depending on how LOTUS’ negotiations go… but, first, we’ve to at least catch up to the Archangel. : And if LOTUS can’t convince them?: Then… we’ll follow our orders.: Captain…! : (I have to fight the guy who helped me save Stella…? Can I actually do that…?) Speaking of the Archangel, Neo’s still asleep. He’d woken up for a bit earlier and IDed himself as Neo Roanoke of the Earth Alliance, but his medical data is a complete match to their old crewmate Mu La Flaga. They guy was tagged KIA after his MS was destroyed while shielding the Archangel a Jachin Due, but it is what it is. Neo wakes up and doesn’t appreciate them referring to him as lieutenant commander – he may be a POW, but that doesn’t give them the right to demote him like that. “Hm, why are you looking at me like that, beautiful? Love at first sight, maybe?” he says to Murrue, but corrects her when she addresses him as Mu. He’s Neo Roanoke. Seems like he’s lost his memories, but that’ll have to wait as Waltfeld gets in touch. The Minerva and Macross Quarter are headed this way! They haven’t gotten in touch yet, but he has a bad feeling. As Murrue rushes to the bridge, Kira wonders what the two ships are after.  Mission 16 (Alliance Route) – Intervention    : This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel, speaking. What is the meaning of all this, Cpt. Gladys?: Cpt. Ramius, the Minerva has been ordered to bring down your vessel. : What did you say?!: Hold, Cpt. Ramius. I am Goh Saruwatari of LOTUS.: The hero of the War of Giants… I’ve heard of you.: We are here to parley, and to ask if your group would be willing to join LOTUS. If you cease to be a wild card, and make your affiliations clearly defined, then we could avoid many a pointless battles. : I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve the sinking feeling that your orders to shoot us down have more to do with killing two of our crew members.: What do you mean? Which people are those?: The first would be Kira Yamato, the “Super Coordinator”. The other… : Would likely be me… : Whuh?! Why is Ms. Lacus with them? I thought she was at the PLANTs!: You mean the girl with Durandal? I’ve no idea who she is, but I can assure you that this one is the real Lacus Clyne.  : And you should know that, when we were at Orb, Coordinator assassins came after us… We have reason to suspect that someone, manipulating the PLANTs from the shadows, tried to kill Lacus. : And that’s the reason for these sudden orders to destroy you, huh…?: (But who from the PLANTs would want to kill… Chairman Durandal…? No, that can’t be!): Cpt. Gladys, I understand your position. As a soldier, you can’t go against the orders you’re given… but the current situation compels us to try our damnedest to stay alive.: And, so, if you insist on doing this… : Then we are ready to fight to the end…!: …! Shift us to code red! Deploy all mobile squadrons! : I really didn’t want to fight the Freedom… Isn’t there any way around this?!: …*Kira blasts towards Shinn!* : What?!   Kira: “Unknown attackers?! Watch out!”   Kira: “Hrk…! Is the Impulse…?!” : The Freedom… saved me?!*Alert!*  : Captain, we’ve a group of unknown units inbound! They appeared out of nowhere!: What?!   : It’s the Cthulhu! Why’d they have to turn up now?!: Cpt. Ramius, Cpt. Gladys, those are the Cthulhu. They’re a group of aliens who’re targeting the Earth!: I’ve seen reports on them. It seems our battle has been postponed for us.: Troops, your targets are the Cthulhu forces! Open fire! : That’s our cue to deploy, too! No need to hold anything back against those!   : It’s been too long, dear sister! But what say you we put a definitive end to this today?: I will not, Iczer-2! I cannot afford to fall here!: What do we do, Captain? Do we use this opening to run off?: No, we’ll assist them – an alien invasion is not something we can turn the other cheek to. All units, move to intercept! So, here’s Operation Angel Down… and our only issue is the Cthulhu. This mission is really more of a breather after the big Berlin battle (or mission 15 at JUDA route), and there are no tricks. It’s just a bevy of Dilos Thetas and Iczer-2, and while she’s still massively strong, her range remains quite limited. Build up morale, come packing Strike for her and wrap it all up quick (do make sure the Archangel team doesn’t steal your cash, as they’re neutral). I’m just going to speed through this because, honestly, it is a very simple fight – if you’ve gotten to this point in the game, you know exactly how to approach it. Losing Iczer-1, or any ships (Archangel Included), is a game over but you need to screw up massively for that to happen. Kira himself will auto-cast focus, so he’s nigh unkillable, and I am all but certain he’ll regen to full if that happens.                           : My wounds have healed in full… making this the final day of your life, Iczer-1!: I have my allies standing here with me – I shall not be defeated!    Iczer-2: “I was created solely to kill you! No more, no less!” Iczer-1: "Well, I guess you are not a worthy opponent..." That's a generic line for Iczer-1, so I completely skimmed over it, but I had to include it after the juxtaposition was pointed out to me!   : Ichitaka, I’m all ready to provide support! Just say the word!: I-I’m getting by on my end, too! Bring it on, Iczer-1’s sis!: Indeed, partnering people with one another is nothing but detrimental!        : She’s insanely fast…! Can I even keep up with her?!: I’ve no time to waste with you. My one and only foe is my sister!: But I’m still not letting you get away from me…! My foes are all those who spread the fires of war!    : Iczer-1’s little sister… she sure looks strong, alright!: You’ve a knack for sizing up your opponents, Earthling. Then you should already know that you cannot best me.: Maybe if I was alone, but I’ve got a ton of friends here with me! And we’ll come out on top against whatever steps up to the plate!   : Hmph. If you think victory is yours, think again. Come, Iczer- Σ! : I’ve no bindings around my feet today, Iczer-1… I’ll destroy you with my own strength!: Nagisa, we must summon the Iczer Robo as well!: Right! Let’s go, Iczer-1! : Iczer-2… I will be victorious!  : I’ve a message for your boss, Big Gold: she’ll never get her claws on Earth while we’re still around!: How very brave you are… but you’d best save your bombast for after I’m defeated!      : You dare attack me…? Someone needs a lesson of where they stand.: You might be Iczer-1’s sis and strong as all hell, but the Combattler’ll always be ready to stare you down if you gun for Earth!      : If your people want a new home, then go find another planet! Our world also sent colony fleets out into space, and we never tried destroying other civilizations!: War always follows whenever different cultures meet one another… the strong survive, while the weak perish. Such is the quintessential law of the universe!: That’s just a rationalization for your bull! So I’ll stand and fight for our lives!     : I’ll make you pay for all the pain you put Nagisa through!: Friendship is simply the weak giving succor to one another… A worm like that will never defeat me!     : Luck was not with you when your partners were chosen, it seems. You hamper one another, and that is how you’ll leave this mortal coil. : Ouch. Still, I guess it’s true that we lost to the R-Daigun because our teamwork wasn’t up to snuff… : None of us wanted to be part of a quartet to begin with, really. : But that’s not who we are anymore… we’ve started to learn what teamwork is about, bit by bit. : Hmph… such things are pointless is battle. All one needs are puppets who’ll obey without question or hesitation! : That’s how you see it, eh…? Then this calls for Team D to show you what it’s capable of!    : I only sense Iczer-2’s presence within the Iczer- Σ… she’s fighting us alone?: My “partner” was dead-weight from the very beginning. And once you’re beaten, I’ll have proven the folly of relying on others! : That’s not true! I’ve grown strong only because I have Iczer-1 with me! And we’ll protect humanity and Earth together!: Come, Iczer-2! Behold our combined strength!     : How?! My combat abilities far surpass that of Iczer-1…!: Is this her partner’s… Is this the power of that earthling girl?!: Victory is ours, Iczer-2!: Urk…! : Iczer-2… If you say you are my sister, then it is my duty to stop you…! : OUR duty, right? You shouldn’t try to tackle this all by yourself. After all, you chose me as your partner, right?: Thank you, Nagisa… : All the Cthulhu forces have been destroyed.: Coming under attack by these invaders comes as quite the reality shock…: And it proves beyond a shadow of doubt that this is absolutely not the time for the Naturals and Coordinators to be killing one another.: …: Which is precisely why we should band together. Can’t the Archangel crew consider joining LOTUS?: We’re sorry, but could you give us some time?: We still don’t know who is trying to kill Lacus, or how much power that person holds. We can’t go on fighting completely blind…: Then it seems this negotiation has broken down. Captain, we should engage the Archangel as per our orders. : Weren’t you listening, Rey?! They aren’t the PLANTs enemies!: That’s not our call to make. We must obey the Supreme Council’s command.: … Ready the Tannhäuser!: Captain! : Look! The Minerva’s readying its main gun! : Captain, the Minerva has us in its sights!: Cpt. Gladys, are you…?!: FIRE!*The Archangel flies a bit farther away!*   : The Minerva shot down the Archangel?!: Why?! We all knew they weren’t enemies!: No. The way Archangel was moving was…And Kira could’ve attacked Iczer-2: : Kch…! How can I shoot her…?!: My appearance makes you falter, hm? You are a fool to step onto a battlefield with such meager resolve!: My resolve is…! Back at the Cthulhu’s base, Iczer-2 is back in her maintenance pod. Why is it that she can’t beat Iczer-1? She’ll concede that the Earthlings are powerful, but that doesn’t explain why she’s suffered defeat a second time. “Where does the Iczer Robo draw its power from…? Can it be from that Earthling, Nagisa Kanou…? Nagisa… you’ll be mine. I can defeat Iczer-1 by herself at any given time, but the only way I’ll wipe the slate clean of this humiliation is…”  Elsewhere, Violet is begging Big Gold for forgiveness – she didn’t expect things to end as they did. They’re now out of monsters and it’ll be a while until Iczer-2’s repaired once again – she needs more time. Big Gold seems to have run out of patience, however, and zaps Sir Violet, finally speaking up and telling she’s done enough.  As Violet’s life starts to fate, she returns to normal and remembers all she’d done: “This evil spirit crept into the corners of my heart and controlled me… Or… perhaps it was I who gave it sentience in the first place…? Forgive me, my fellow Cthulhu… it was never my wish for this to happen…” Big Gold, now up and about, confesses to her “mother”, Sir Violet, that she does not understand these humans. The Iczer- Σ’s victory was supposed to have been a foregone conclusion, yet it was defeated. “There are too many unknowns for me to head to Earth yet,” Big Gold ponders. “And if I cannot use Iczer-2, then I have but to use the stored energy to create a spawn of my own… Hmhmhmm…”   : The previous operation has left a bad taste in your mouth, hasn’t it?: No. If it’s the Supreme Council’s will, then…: The Council, indeed… there have always been parts of it that saw the Archangel as an enemy, but they’ve been unusually galvanized lately. : Someone is prodding them on, but I haven’t been able to figure out who yet… until that question has been answered, we’ll all have to proceed with care.: But you’re the Chairman. Not even you can stymie these people…?: Yes, though figuring out how to deal with them is precisely my job. Can I ask you to, at least outwardly, abide the Council’s decisions?: Yes, sir… I’ll do as you ask.: (Is he telling the truth? He knew about Lacus, so why…?): And onto another matter, I would like the Minerva to accompany LOTUS for a while. : Are you telling us to affiliate ourselves with them? : No, you wouldn’t be officially joining – it’d be a temporary transfer in the interest of fighting the various groups that threaten mankind as a whole. : I have already contacted them about this, and they’ve agreed to it. So, I’d like you to accompany the Macross Quarter towards Japan. : Roger that, sir.*Call ends.* : Is this really for the best, Captain?: … At the Quarter, Ozma explains what happened with the Archangel: the ship merely feigned being shot down, and with Talia’s help even. See, the Minerva not only had their weapon set at a low output, but it also purposefully missed its mark. Quite the sleight of hand, but, hey, they’ve fulfilled their orders. And Tetsuya figures Murrue realized what Talia was doing, as she join in on the charade by cutting the power of the Archangel’s engines to simulate it sinking. Hyouma’s a bit miffed that he got all worried for nothing, but Alice finds it all to have been a very educational experience. She didn’t know ploys like this were possible! Hiyoshi comforts Hyouma that it’d be hard for anyone to notice the trick – you’d have to look VERY closely to see what was up. But, as Tetsuya points out, the question now remains whether Durandal will fall for it.  And that’s a no, as Rey realized what happened and told the guy that the Archangel is still around. Durandal thanks him for telling, but isn’t actually concerned. “I had accounted for the possibility that they’d get away,” he says. Rey’s confused, but Durandal simply tells him to keep an ear to the ground and let him know if anything happens. As he confirms and ends the call, Durandal is deep in thought: “The Archangel will now have to lay low for a while… Hopefully this will be enough to fool their eyes as well.”  The Quarter’s folks have just heard that the Minerva’ll be tagging along, and it’s already been officially cleared with Lady Une. Michel is all up for it as it’s been so long since he’s seen Meyrin and the other Minerva girls – Luca suggests he not let Klan hear about that. H-Hey, now, what’s any of this got to do with her?! Regardless, now that we’re finally heading back to Japan, Kenichi wonders how things are going there. Settling down, from what Jun’s heard, and it seems that communications are open again. Nagisa figures Ishigami’ll be waiting for them with a ton of sushi, and Ippei wouldn’t put it past him to throw a “welcome aboard” party for the Minerva. Nagisa isn’t looking forward to it, and asks if Iczer-1 would be willing to scarf down her batch of sushi… though the android is silent. Was she hurt during the battle with Iczer-2? No, she just has a really bad feeling about something. Ichitaka hopes she’s not prophesizing that their bowls of sushi are going to be supersized or something. Actually, no, Kosuke runs in yelling that they just managed to hear from the Daiku Maryu: Ishigami’s been killed by Reiji. Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Sep 6, 2017 |
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Jul 31, 2017 18:31
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Huh. Did not expect it to go that way at the end. I am pleasantly surprised.
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Jul 31, 2017 18:46
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Put it on the record, Rey's a dirty snitch 
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Jul 31, 2017 19:34
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Snitches get Stitches!
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Jul 31, 2017 22:07
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Alacron posted:Put it on the record, Rey's a dirty snitch
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Aug 2, 2017 04:00
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 Alright, time to close up the JUDA Route. Ichitaka’s still got a hefty lead, though Quatre is starting to fall behind (as he should, really).  We got a bunch of cash last mission, so Ichitaka, Daiya and Kenji each get a boost in weapons and assorted stats; Shinji and Lulu get a boost in HP, EN and whatnot.  Kouichi’s still deploying as an event unit, so only Ichitaka’s free again. No need to switch things up from what we previously went through: Kenji/Kyo Daiya/Yanma Quatre/Rei Dick/Puria Shinji/Yagyuu Zechs/Noin Ichitaka Off we go.  We open up at JUDA, with Kiriyama asking if Reiji managed to figure out what LOTUS is up to. Is he worried? Not very, more like wondering where we might’ve run off to when he controls pretty much all facilities that’d be of use to us in Japan. Doesn’t look like we’ve left the country or fled to the PLANTs… or maybe we have a secret base somewhere? He knows we’ll try something eventually, and is looking to make quite the spectacle out of it. Well, Reiji tells him that he HAS, indeed, got a bead on us. Apparently we’ve taken shelter in the Dannar Base, which is odd as it was supposed to have been taken over by Domyoji’s men. Guess they had some more deserters. How hard it is to find good people, huh? Kiriyama does remember hearing very good things about NEX’s Kurata and Orb’s Soga and Amagi… Does he want them scouted? Kiriyama sees Reiji glaring and says he was just pulling his leg – he is all the help he needs. And, regardless, even if LOTUS has the Dannar Base, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re at a major disadvantage. (Those names were an Ultra Seven reference – all, including Kiriyama, were members of the Ultra Garrison.)  With that in mind, the next step of his plan is to use the media to win the masses. LOTUS is bound to try and stage a “rebellion” against his new government soon, so he’s requested/forced Isabelle Cronkite to come over and report it all when it goes down.  Back to us, Misato’s taken over strategic command now that Reiji’s gone; normally they’d have to clear this with Une, but we still can’t get in touch with the world outside, so we’ll have to make an exception. No one’s complaining, so we’ll move on to lay out the details of Operation JUDA Reclamation. First, Maki and Rachel make note that this Op isn’t just about recovering a building. See, JUDA’s main computer houses a TON of sensitive intel and technological data, including on our whole group; mind you, the thing has some powerful safeguards that the two of them personally designed, so they won’t be tapping into it easily… but these aren’t your run-of-the-mill foes either, and we certainly don’t want folks like them tinkering with the Machinas. All in all, we need to get JUDA back immediately lest Kiriyama’s group have a chance to mess around in there, which is why Misato and the others rushed to put this operation together. We’ll be moving to disable all of the Jinrai drones throughout Japan and rescue the hostages tomorrow at 5am. So, what are we going to do, Shinji asks. What we do best: shoot the place up and draw the enemy’s attention. Considering Kiriyama’s towering hubris and “showmanship”, he’ll keep the hostages as a final play to use against us – until then, we should have free rein to fight at will. So we’ll be a diversion, Kyo surmises, and Sally confirms. We want Kiriyama and his peers’ eyes fixated on Misaki while our techs get ready to hack and disable the Jinrai drones. In the meantime, Yui will sneak into JUDA with a group via a secret entrance. Kouichi didn’t expect the place to have secret entrances, but Yamashita explains that Ishigami had it set up precisely for a situation like this. Yui and the others will move to regain control of the Machinas and JUDA’s systems – once that’s done, they’ll have access to the building’s defenses, with which they’ll use to deal with Kiriyama’s underlings.  Izuna raises the point that their Machinas should still be under the effects of Reiji’s suppressor, but Rachel’s already developed a counter for that: the Drexler Soil Activator, or D.S.A. for short! It’ll neutralize the suppressor’s effects and energize the Machina’s D-S.O.I.L. See, it is based on the Bristol Interpretation of space-time tunneling by way of an engineering application of a pseudo-Tyndall Effect via quantum criticality, and... The what in the where now? Ichitaka and Kouichi didn’t get any of that, while Kenji’s already been knocked asleep. Rachel isn’t amused, but Kyo says the gist of it is that the D.S.A. will nullify the suppressor. Does Kenji get it now?! “Eh? *Yawn*… Well, whatever, we just gotta get in there and tear stuff up, yeah?” Maybe it’s best we leave it at that for him, Daiya shrugs. MOVING ON, Rachel says that the Machinas should be able to make a mess of the enemy from inside out, so Yamashita, Shizuna, Izuna and “Miu-Miu” will also be going in with the infiltration team. Now, Misato expects a not-insignificant number of Jinrais to have been deployed at JUDA, and it’s all but certain that Kiriyama will come out with his own Machina eventually. The diversionary team will have a difficult battle ahead, but Kouichi’s all for it: we pull this off and we’ll both rescue the hostages and give Kiriyama a whooping, which sounds great to him! Shizuna huffs that talking’s easy, but Kouichi notes that he won’t be doing it all alone – he’ll have the whole crew there to help, so he has a good feel for it. Rather, he wants Shizuna and her crew to be careful in their infiltration. She harrumphs a confirmation, grumbling that here she was getting worried for him… and Izuna has to stifle a laugh at her beet red face. Regardless, we all know what our job will be, so Misato dismisses everyone to rest until the mission. Daiya already hustles Puria and Naoto to catch some forty winks, and while Puria grunts at what a mother hen he is, she’s not against it.   : Tomorrow… or, rather, a few hours later today, we’ll be kicking off Operation JUDA Reclamation… : They told us to get some sleep, but my eyes don’t wanna stay shut… What to do…? : Kouichi…: Oh, Emi… Can’t sleep either?: I… I want to fight. I have to fight alongside you and the Linebarrel!: Huh…?! Are you crying, Emi…?: I still don’t remember anything… but I came into this world to keep it safe… I want it to be safe, but…: Mr. Ishigami’s death… and everyone’s friends and families being kidnapped… Not only can I not protect a single thing, it was my coming here that set it all in motion…: But if I can at least pilot with you and activate the Mode B, then I’ll do it…! I have to help the others in any way I can…! : No way, it’s too dangerous! Remember how that went last time? Who knows what’d happen to you if you used it again!: Besides, you already got stuff to do: infiltrate JUDA and get its systems out of Kiriyama’s hands! That’s a way to help the others, no?: But what if things take a turn for the worse again? You’ll—!: I’ll be alright… I won’t put you in a position where you have to burn yourself out like that again.: Huh…?: I’m gonna get a whole lot stronger – stronger than anyone else…! I’ll learn to handle the Linebarrel better than even you…! And then… I’ll keep you safe! : Hm… I’ve been left behind. : … : So this is where you were, Yamashita… Alice and Misato are looking for you.: Hahah… there they go again. I bet they’re worried I might be all kinds of depressed, huh?: Well…: Tell them to quit worrying… is what I'd say, but it wouldn’t feel right to ask that of you. Alright, let’s go after them.: Are you really okay…? I mean, being betrayed by someone you trusted so much is…: None of this makes sense to me… What was Reiji thinking? Why would he do something like that…? Is that really the world he wants? The only way I’ll have answers is to ask him directly, so that’s what I’ll do.: Yamashita… Mission 16 (JUDA Route) – Operation JUDA Reclamation  : And Hisataka was right on the money. They’re coming to retake the place in a hurry. : Then we have but to nip their ambitions in the bud. This’ll be payback for Riku, too. : Welcome home, LOTUS…! : Eiji Kiriyama! We’re taking JUDA back here and now! : There you are, LOTUS… Reiji said you’d try something like this. So how about I take the time to show you reactionary hounds on whose side true justice lies?: Reiji, you stay out of this. I’ll personally lay them all six feet under with my Pretender – it’ll be prime time material right there.  : Yes, sir.: And everything’s ready with the TV crew, yes? Now to wait for the perfect moment to make my grand entrance.: The entire world will watch, live and uncut, as I mete out justice! : (I can’t stand this man...) : Everyone’s in position, Misato.: And we’re all ready to go crazy around here! : Time to repo our home from these creeps, people! : Off we go, then! Begin Operation JUDA Reclamation!: (Take care, Emi…) By JUDA’s secret entrance…  : They’ve started… How are the locks, Prof. Sakon? : Just a little bit longer. Emi, could you help parse these codes?: Of course… The system is a bit old, but it’s pretty much identical to the one JUDA currently uses…*Blip.* : And… there. This should be good. : Wow, you’re amazing, Emi.: Not at all, Miu. You’re the one who’s always out there fighting with the Painkiller…: Please, no need for modesty... Hm? That’s odd. The door should be unlocked, but it’s not opening… : Lemme see… Ah, this bit here’s a bit rusty… Hup!*Break!* : Okey-dokey… Lead the way, Ms. Ogawa.: Um… According to the map, it’s this way.: Good thing we brought Shizuka along. : Let’s get to work then! We need to get JUDA back in order hands before Kouichi’s group gets in any trouble! This one’s a bit of a test of endurance as not only are you down a decent number of units, staring at a hefty group of midbosses, but Kiriyama also has a LOT of mooks to send your way and will, eventually, come over himself. Losing either Kouichi and the Daiku Maryu’s a game over, but what can really give you a hard time here is managing your resources – especially your SP since you’ll need it to connect reliably against the boss man. Try to lead with the likes of Kenji, Kouichi and Shinji as they’re rather untouchable by mooks even without any casts, saving most of your SP for the bosses proper.  Make note of the structures and forests around for the terrain bonus, too.     Kenji takes it while everyone else moves forward.  Enemy Phase!  Kouichi’s in a forest, so he’ll have no issues against the Jinrai.  : (Our job’s just to buy time…! This Op will succeed, and then JUDA and Japan’ll be free! I’ll make it so!): (No way I could ever look Ishigami in the eye if I screwed this up!)    Alright.  Daiya and Yanma go to town, the enemies’ attacks hitting them with the consistency of spitballs. That’s six kills for them, Daiya getting further invincible with an extra level to his Flame.  Player Phase!  Kouichi taunts the Katous and Kiriyama over how wimpy they are – we’ll rout them real easy! When Yulianne asks, however, Kiriyama tells them to let the kid ramble on, as it’ll be him who’ll be laughing when this is over. Rather, our glibness will make our eventual defeat all the sweeter to him. We’re already raising some good hell, so Misato tells us to keep at it. Lulu, however, is worried: assuming nothing went wrong, it shouldn’t take too long to get JUDA’s systems under our control with Sakon and Shizuka helping… so why is she so ill at ease? She’s brought back to reality when Rosa pokes her – she understands that she’s worried for our people, but she must carry on commanding. She apologizes and refocuses herself, right in time for Dick to challenge the Katous to try their hand on him. Sawatari doesn’t appreciate our sass, and vows to bestow us with terror beyond anything we could imagine. : OK, if we go through here, we should come out right at the HQ’s underground… : What door is this? An elevator? : Don’t matter. We just gotta push this button, yeah?*Press. Blip!*  : …: M-Mr. Ishigami!: By the time you see this, I’ll likely be dead.: It’s a hologram…: But don’t worry. Even now, I’ll continue to support you with every ounce of my strength.: That said, just as a precaution, I must confirm that you truly are members of LOTUS.: Confirm? How?: Please stand before the microphone and state your name, height, weight…: And your three sizes.: Wh-What the…?!: That’s some real private info he wants…: I guess it’s to check our voice print?: Bah… Fine, I guess we must. I am Yui Ogawa. I’m 1m 68cm tall, and I weight… *whisper, whisper*: My three sizes are… *whisper, whisper**BZZZZT!* : I’m sorry. : Huh?!: There is a significant discrepancy between stated and measured data. As such, you are deemed to be posing as Yui Ogawa! *Ka-chunk!* : WAAH!!: A trapdoor?! : YOU HUGE IDIOOOOoooooo…*Faaaalliiiiiiiiing.* : MS. OGAWA!!: Ms. Ogawa… your sacrifice will not be in vain…: Seems we won’t be making it to HQ that easily…: I can’t believe he’d pull one of his jokes even as part of a security check… I mean, I actually can believe it, but… Carrying on...     Two kills, and the last three Jinrais falling to Kouichi and Zech.  Shinji’s still leading the charge, and he learns both Accel and Support Attack L2 upon weakening a couple of Stealth Armas. Enemy Phase!  Soubi was the only Katou midboss that comes in to attack from the get-go.  : Your people have been taken hostage, but you’ll carry on fighting…? Still, true justice knows no defeat…It’s pointless to oppose it...!If your Linebarrels’ secret points are low, however, you get this: : What a nice surprise, this. I didn’t think I’d get another chance to torture you so soon after the last… Oh, I’m just bursting with joy!    The midbosses can’t pop an A.T. Field without running Prevail first, though.  And again! : Riku… Let the sight of the enemies I kill comfort you in the afterlife!    Try again. After that it’s one kill for Lulu and Rei, four for Shinji. Player Phase!  Kiriyama’s a bit surprised at how hard a fight they’re having his side not pulling any punches, but Reiji says he should be well aware of how strong LOTUS is. Well, whatever – the still have their trump card to play if things go south. In the meantime, he tells Isabelle to get to “reporting”: “JUDA, once a den of evil and now under control by His Excellency Eiji Kiriyama, is currently under attack by villains seeking to claim it back…” Daiya fumes at all that bullcrap, but Tsubaki can see that Isabelle’s hurting over having to do away with her journalistic integrity – she was supposed to report the truth, not this. That’s another person that needs our mission to succeed, Ichitaka figures, so we carry on. Meanwhile, back in JUDA… : By the time you see this, I’ll likely be dead.: But don’t worry. Even now, I’ll continue to support you with every ounce of my strength.: That’s the fifth time…: The door read “Stage 5”, even… How many of these do you figure there are?: Wouldn’t be as much of a pain in the rear end if he didn’t say the same drat thing every time!: I’m starting to feel kind of stupid for how sad I got over his death…: Is this an actual security device…?: Now I will confirm whether or not you are members of LOTUS.*Toot, toot!* : What is that…?! : A synchro-game set up as an old-school party game by the looks of it... (Yes, this is THAT game Shinji and Asuka had to work with to sync-up. Someone call him and Rei over!): Now we begin the thrilling Stage 5! Let’s get rid of Soubi while the other midbosses are hanging back.    Couple more hits and he’s down in the red.  While that’s going down, I kill a couple more mooks and that reduces their squad numbers under 10.   : Jinrais?!: Hahaha…! All of Japan belongs to me now, remember? Struggle as you might, I’ve allies from across the nation answering my call.: You bastard…!: (… But things I still going according to our plan. I gotta keep calm…): We cannot pull back. Carry on the offensive! : Is this the end?! The Katou Organization forces, which has pledged support to His Excellency’s political reform, are having difficulties facing LOTUS, those major cohorts of the former, incompetent government! Let us all pray for these brave souls…: …Kch!: Something the matter? Keep at it. You need to get the crowd hyped all the way ‘til the end…: Weird… the infiltration team’s taking longer than expected.: But our only choice now is to have faith in them.: Congratulations, you’ve beaten Stage 5! You may proceed!: Haah... haah…: I couldn’t feel my legs for a second there…: The president’s traps are very serious business, huh…: ... I don’t seem to have a lot of opportunities to be useful here.: Don’t be so sure – we’ve no idea what kind of traps are waiting for us and time’s short. We gotta hurry up!  Secret Alert!Have Kouichi destroy Soubi AGAIN.      Bam. : Kouichi Hayase… Your feelings towards justice are very clear to me. : Wh-Why’re you bringing that up now…?: (Still, it is far too late for me to accept your justice… If I did, I…!) : The Factor of that Machina… Soubi Nakajima, wasn’t it…? What’s up with him…?And we’ve officially broken the enemies’ defenses; they just don’t know it yet. The enemy reinforcements will come in four waves whenever you reduce their numbers to nine, but they’re not really a threat. See, the new Jinrais aren’t actually squads but solo-flying units – that means any of our guys can easily oneshot them with our good morale. Sawatari and Yulianne should start moving in by now, but Wufei actually takes a bit longer because he’s a jerk like that. They allowed us to build morale, though, so their 15k-ish HP pools won’t last long. Get rid of them quick – better yet if you pull it off before the Jinrais close the distance. With all that said, let’s fast forward!     : drat it all… I’ve retreat. Forgive me, Riku, I couldn’t avenge you…! : What kind of cards are you hiding from us, I wonder…? Don’t disappoint me now, boys!     : Whatever mission Hisataka gives out, I’ll just trust in him and do my job! Here I come, LOTUS!     : We’ve received a message over the Preventers’ secret line. Everything’s in place to deactivate the Jinrai drones throughout the country. : Now we just need to recover the Machinas and JUDA’s main systems, but…! : Do you think something happened to the infiltration team…?!*Beep!*  : You’ve no need to worry about any of that…!: ?!: By the time you see this, I’ll likely be dead.: Mr. Ishigami… I wasn’t expecting you to actually have more than ten Stages set up…: Now I will confirm whether or not you are members of LOTUS. Stage 12… let the battle begin!: Battle…?*Door opens!*  : Hippo?!: A-A hippo monster?: Psh, are ya kidding me? We gotta fight this stupid-looking thing? This’ll be easy as pie.: … Ooh, no, on the contrary.: Ah?: Hippopotami are some of the more ferocious mammals on Earth. For instance, they are widely known to kill even crocodiles with their powerful bites.: Whaa?!: HIPPOOO!!: W-We gotta get out of here! : Hippopotami’s top speed can also reach upwards of 40 km/h. Running will do us no good.: Your grim trivia is about the last thing we needed to hear right now…!: … Hang back a minute, folks.: Shizuka… Do you have something in mind?: I’m just gonna give this bugger here a taste of how scary humans can be…!: HIPPOOO!!: TORYAAAAAA!!*Punch!* : Hipoooo…!*Faint.* : W-Wow… she knocked it out in just one punch…!: Alright, next!: Stage 12, clear! You may proceed!     : Hrm… what a crap mission this was. Bye, LOTUS.       : Hmph… Well, I guess this is about how I imagined things would turn out…  : If you cannot rise above a situation like this, then your dreams of saving mankind will be just that: dreams… Show me how strong you are!        : Our Jinrais and the Katou Organization are in an increasingly direr situation! Will His Excellency be capable of overcoming this crisis?!: ... Aren’t you deploying, Eiji?: I guess I will. I’d rather not annoy the commander by letting this show run on for too long.: Or would you be willing to help me break down the Katou Organization right tomorrow? : Heh... That’d be taking things too fast, Eiji.: It would, wouldn’t it? We need to get a solid foundation first. I’ll go get the Pretender ready to deploy – you handle the rest, Reiji.*Leaves.* : …: Um… Are you…: Carry on with your transmission. Whatever happens, don’t stop.*Leaves.* : He left… What is that guy up to…?: So, Ishigami’s security system’s giving us a lot more trouble than expected…? : Right. I was, much to my regret, separated from the group halfway through, but I’d wager he had even craftier traps in place…: They must be incredibly ingenious if even you fell for them.: (Ooh… how am I going to tell them that I got cut right at the start over trying to keep up with the Joneses? I can’t…) : And what’s going on with Yamashita and the others?: We don’t know that yet. Let’s just keep believing in them for now.: By the time you see this, I’ll likely be dead.: Stage 67… This is still going?: We might’ve had a rough start, but things are picking up for us. We’re managing to clear these ones nice and easy. : Now I will confirm whether or not you are members of LOTUS. Here is Stage 67!*Lights on! : It’s… karaoke?!: You will need to score over 90 points to proceed, so give it your best shot. Duet performances are also OK. Oh, and the song catalogue and remotes are over there.: Singing… Blah, this would’ve been easy as pie if we had Rosa around…: Vice-Captain Rosa’s a good singer?: I’ve only heard that the Captain’s told me, but apparently she’s a professional, even. : Whining about should haves ain’t getting us anywhere! We’re outta time, so who’s singing?!: I can sing… kind of… : I’m afraid I’m also not very sure of myself in regards to that.: … I’ll do it. My father taught me this ballad, and I’m pretty confident I can sing it well. Kouichi and the others are working so hard outside, so I also need to do the same…! : (!! She’s doing it for Kouichi…): I-I’ll sing too!   : This outcome was to be expected. We’ll meet again, LOTUS. Alright, we’ve all midbosses down, so I think this is a good point to stop. I’ll have the rest of the mission up in a day or two. See you all then! Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Jan 3, 2018 |
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Aug 2, 2017 16:10
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Brunom1 posted:We open up at JUDA, with Kiriyama asking if Eiji managed to figure out what LOTUS is up to. Is he worried? Not very, more like wondering where we might’ve run off to when he controls pretty much all facilities that’d be of use to us in Japan. I know the guy's got one gigantic ego, but I doubt he's asking himself here. quote:Regardless, we all know what our jobs job will be, so Misato dismisses everyone to rest until the mission. Daiya already hustles Puria and Naoto to catch some forty winks, and while Puria grunts at what a mother hen he is, she’s not against it. I could see someone named that in Gundam. Sadly, the character I thought of is actually Job John, not Job Jobs. quote:
I'm not sure what she is in the anime (seeing how she's a completely different character, much like Soubi) but in the manga, Miu is an idol singer with an important fanbase...and with a lot of haters that lead her to attempt suicide and give her a very nasty side. But the only thing of that that is still in is her crush on Koichi, so that's probably a reference to her voice actress anyways... And talking about anime changes, nothing of this existed in the manga, but goddamn Ishigami's still perfectly in-character, so long as all of this has a point beyond showing "oh look how crazy he is lol!".
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Aug 2, 2017 17:15
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All fixed. And there hasn't been any indication that Miu's a singer in the anime, so maybe it's both a jab at the manga and the VA proper.
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Aug 2, 2017 17:18
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Brunom1 posted:
 Everyone, dance like you want to win! But seriously, who would design something with SO MANY stages in order to get through with all of them being stupid? ...I would. I would totally do that. Ishigami is me.
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Aug 2, 2017 19:43
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I'm not sure what purpose all these tests could have beyond "Ishigami sure is wacky!" but I kind of love them regardless  The Katou guys talking about getting revenge for Riku falls kind of flat considering we barely know anything about him or the rest of them. Not sure if that's the anime's fault or the fact that it's a SRW game and certain scenes had to be cut. And wouldn't Reiji know about the secret entrance and move to stop it? More evidence that he's pulling a Sanger.
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Aug 2, 2017 20:02
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Alacron posted:I'm not sure what purpose all these tests could have beyond "Ishigami sure is wacky!" but I kind of love them regardless In the manga at least, stuff like this always led to Ishigami improving someone, leading them down the right path in unconventional ways that only he could ever think made any sort of sense, but that nonetheless worked without fail, regardless of how they might annoy his own subordinates. That said, I can't even begin to comprehend what's the point of this, but hey, as I said, the only person who understands Ishigami's ridiculous planning ability is Ishigami. And a Machina that won't appear in this game, as it was cut from the anime, considering it can't appear at all now with Ishigami dead. That "revenge for Riku" falls flat is probably the anime's fault, since nothing like this happened in the manga. In fact, in the manga, it's Sawatari that murders Riku, under Katou's orders, as the fatass that murdered well over 20000 people to test his imagination had turned to not help the Katou Organization at all, go figure. No one mourns him, because no one liked him. It may not be clear now, but the Katou people are mostly well-intentioned, if willing to do some pretty shady poo poo to get to their goals, Riku is by far the most evil of them, with Sawatari a somewhat-farther second. Though Notbi here does not help in making them look good, and Yurianne lost a lot of important scenes. For the last point, I doubt Moritsugu knows about the secret entrance, seeing how the only person that knew was Yui, Ishigami's right hand. Moritsugu is undeniably the third in the command list, but he's also just a pilot, I wouldn't be surprised if that information was kept far from his hands, especially when Ishigami is an exceedingly good judge of character most of the time.
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Aug 2, 2017 20:58
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Ishigami's security system makes no sense and I imagine it is one of those things that would drive me up the wall if I had read the Linebarrels manga.
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Aug 2, 2017 22:13
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GimmickMan posted:Ishigami's security system makes no sense and I imagine it is one of those things that would drive me up the wall if I had read the Linebarrels manga. It's fine. Absolutely none of this happened in the manga. Like, literally, the one thing that both have in common right now is Moritsugu joining Kiriyama, and even there the situation is wildly different (Kiriyama never took over Japan in the manga, nor did he ally with the Katou Organization, and Moritsugu didn't murder Ishigami).
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Aug 3, 2017 02:15
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GimmickMan posted:Ishigami's security system makes no sense and I imagine it is one of those things that would drive me up the wall if I had read the Linebarrels manga.
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Aug 3, 2017 05:25
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The Katous here are a bunch of insufferable twerps. No wonder they had Wufei hook up with them.
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Aug 3, 2017 08:45
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  : LtCol. Katsuragi, how are things on your end?: The infiltration team is having a hard time getting inside. It’s just as difficult for the diversion team…: This isn’t good… Fatigue and stress will be reaching dangerous levels among the pilots as this battle continues. : We’re not equipped to hand a war of attrition against them…!: Stand firm, everyone! Just a little bit more! : Finally, Stage 100…: I’d like to think this is the last one... it’s a nice, round number.: That karaoke round was pretty fun, though! You’re a great singer Miu-miu!: Eheheh…: Is everyone ready? I’m pressing the switch.*Flip.* : ... I could say with confidence that you are, indeed, my dear comrades... but it’s best to be safe than sorry. I will verify your identities one final time.: You pigheaded sonuva…: So let’s begin right away! Your last test will be… Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors!: I’VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THIS GUY!!    : … Why? What did I do to deserve this…?: Well, we can’t have these young girls walking around butt-naked, right? Bear with it, OK? (The girls get towels, but Izuna isn’t as lucky, see.): Just think of this as a random accident and put it behind you, yes?: I can’t believe that moron of a president’s messing with us even beyond the grave…!: Very good…: Ah?!: D-Does that mean…: Congratulations… you’ve won! : Finally… Finally, we’re done! We’ve won! Oh, YEAH!!: Now that you’ve cleared all of my one hundred traps, it is proven beyond any shadow of doubt that you are members of LOTUS! The final lock has been opened, and I bid you all welcome!: Oh, what great games we had today. It was certainly worth all the effort it took to put them together!: Them’s some big words when we were the ones actually having to go through all that!: … Now you must hurry. You are the only ones in position to do something about this predicament.: Huh…?: Hm, he’s right – time is short. We need to go right away.: Hmhmm. Let’s hurry!*Everyone runs off.* : …      : And there’s the cue for my grand entrance. The entire world will watch as I ply my justice! : Eiji Kiriyama has finally come out…! : More like we finally forced him out here…!: My dear fellows of LOTUS, what business brings you to my JUDA?: JUDA belongs to Ishigami and we’re yanking it off your hands right here, right now! : (He isn’t playing the hostage card until the very last second, just as we figured he would.): (Things are mostly going according to plan so far.): Oh, dear… And here I was just wondering if I didn’t have it in me to compensate you guys a wee bit for that.: Have it your way, then. I’ll give you all an eyeful of my slick moves!: Hah, you underestimate what a bunch of middle-schoolers can do!: The EVA has its A.T. Field, so if I can just stall him a bit…!: What’s the matter, Evangelion? Put up more of a fight than this, why don’t you… This is our climatic showdown, you know!     : So Milliardo, the big bad rebel, is set on opposing my coup, huh?: An illegitimate government will bring nothing but suffering… and I will not tolerate that!   : I ain’t putting up with you calling the shots, or with your slimy face! Come here!: Did you already forget the ace up my sleeve? Or are you too kill-crazy to care? My, the role of villain fits you like a glove. : (Yeah, just you wait… You’re gonna be bawling your eyes out real soon!)   Get Kiriyama under 50% HP to trigger the plot. It’s very possible to get an extra kill here, but I didn’t care enough to do it. : Hmhmhm… not bad at all, LOTUS. But our battle’s just getting started.: He’s really not going to make this easy on us…: Now open your eyes and I’ll show you the power of my justice – the justice of New Japan’s ruler! : Go right ahead… I’ll fight your “justice” with everything I got!: Hmph... We’ll see for how long you’ll be giving me sass.*Kiriyama blasts towards Kouichi and grabs him! : Ah, crap!: Kouichi!: Stop! He’s got him immobilized…! : Not even you can dodge a point-blank shot, I bet. And your buddies won’t risk firing either!: You coward…!: This is your very last chance, Kouichi, my boy. Would you kindly wield the Linebarrel’s power in my name? We can rule the entire world, you and I.: I’ll only use this power for good! That’s the promise I made to Yajima, and why I refuse to let you beat me!: Really now? Oh, well. You’ll have plenty of time to rue your integrity in the next world!: Hrk…!   : … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGbqi69RxJ4 : Gwargh! Wh-What the?! Where’d that come from?! : Thanks a bunch, whoever that was! You’re done now, Kiriyama! JUDA’ll be ours again!: Tch!*Back at JUDA…* : TORYAAAA! And that’s the last of them!: We’re set to activate D.S.A.!: Copy that! And now…!: OK, D.S.A. installation is all green. Let’s get our Machinas back…!*Beep. Power up!* : It’s working! The Deceive’s back online!: Same for the Painkiller!: Kickass! Now there’s just the main system at the prez’ office left! You’re up, Emi, Prof!: Alright, let’s hustle on over there!: While we’ll get outside and help close off this whole thing, Izuna, Shizuna, Miu! : Yeah! They pulled it off!: Here come the star players! Ya better grit your teeth for a whooping, Kiriyama!: I-Impossible! All of JUDA’s Machinas should’ve been offline due to the suppressor!: Oh, you really shouldn’t count on those crummy tricks to always work against Girl Genius Rachel Calvin! : Hmph… Fine. Making a miraculous comeback is the mark of a Champion of Justice, as you’ll see very soon!: Took the words right out of my mouth! Come on!The Machinas are a bit too far away and I wanna get Kiriyama off my hair right now, so… : Your tricks are as dirty as the Darius’, and I’m not putting up with any of that!: I’ve heard stories of the Darian Crown Princess, but, FYI, I do not subscribe to Monarchy. So, please, don’t tar me with the same brush as those villains.: What I am is a righteous hero fighting in the name of the people. Those people will revere and be guided by me!: And who the hell said that’s OK?! You are just like Proist in how you ignore what everyone else wants!       : Oh, I have the perfect headline for this one: “His Excellency educates a misguided youth on what true justice entails!”: God, you just can’t stop twisting the facts to suit you, huh? But I’m putting an end to that today!     : You better give it up, Kouichi. If not, you’ll not only lose, but do so as a minion of evil.: Laugh while you still can, ‘cause it won’t last long…! Here I come, Eiji Kiriyama!      : How... How dare you do this to me!: Keep at it! He’s almost down!: This calls for some retribution…! I’ll destroy that which is so dear to you!: Watch out! He’s taking aim at JUDA HQ!: You’ll rue the day you opposed me, KOUICHIIII!! : !!*Missiles!* : Bwahahaa! Serves you right!! *Boom! Boom!*  : What?! JUDA’s intact?!: Emi, you alright?! Is everyone OK?!: Yes…! Yes, we are!: We’ve also restored the system in the president’s office!: And don’t worry about the TV crew that got left behind in here. They’re fine too.: Kouichi... : He wanted to protect them.: Heh, he left us all in the dust there.: Kiriyama, you really are one twisted guy!: Hmhmhm… I’d prefer you use the term “creative”, Kouichi. In fact, my creativity will literally blow everything sky high!: “Blow everything”…?! : What’re you up to, creep…?: Oh, don’t tell me all this excitement addled your memory. I’m staring at one pretty little switch, and with one press, I can command all the Jinrais throughout Japan to open fire.: S-STOP!!: Nah, I won’t, moron! And I did hope you’d protect the world in my name… Too bad.: Bye-byyyeee!!*Press!* : Eh…? What’s going on?!*Press again! Alarms!* : Why isn’t the attack order going through?!: In your own words, Eiji Kiriyama, “too bad”.: All the deployed Jinrai drones have been deactivated.: I-It can’t be… Then you were, from the start…!: What kind of Champions of Justice would just ignore hostages?!: How’d ya like our acting? Pretty dang good, huh?: And now it’s curtains for you, Kiriyama!: It’d be best if you surrendered. There is nothing you can do to turn this around. : “Nothing I can do”…? Don’t be ridiculous, boy!: Did you honestly think the Jinrais were the only card up my sleeve? Not! At! All! This entire city is already surrounded by my tank platoons!: Oh, no…! They’re using the Katou Organization’s stealth tech!: Then… Misaki itself is his ultimate hostage…?!: Yes, and it’ll all come crashing down! Let’s try this again: bye-byyyeee!!*Press!*  : Whaa?! Those blasts are…!  : Sucks to be you, guy!: It’s that guy from the SDF…?!: Domyoji!: Yo, Quatre… Sorry for being late to the party!: Yeah… I did find it weird when I didn’t see you around…!: I took care of all his troops, Kouichi. Get in there and wreck that no-good sonuvagun!: You’re betraying me?!: Sorry, “Your Excellency”, but I’ve been rolling with the Hayase Corps since the get-go!: Domyoji… you…!: So I’m here and ready to get to work! Your orders, my beautiful commander?: Um… Makoto Domyoji, is that right? Okay, you’re more than welcome!: Do you see this, people of Japan? Eiji Kiriyama, leader of New Japan, apparently tried to destroy not only the city of Misaki but also several urban areas and laboratories throughout the country!: You can’t…! Didn’t we have a deal that you’d only show my good side?!: Oh? But weren’t your exact words to “keep the crowd hyped all the way ‘til the end”? : Sorry. I’m an investigative journalist, so I’m not too familiar with the way variety TV works.: And now the whole country got a real clear shot of what a bad egg you are!: You’re finished, Excellency!: H-How did this happen… does that mean…: That I’m now the VILLAIN?!*Kouichi moves back in after him.* : drat straight! Your “justice” is 100% wrong!         Kouichi: “There isn’t a shred of justice in anything you’re doing!” : No… my… justice was… : Mistaken, is what… Just like I once did…: Kouichi…And now it’s just a matter of cleaning up the surviving Jinrais – I’m guessing sunken cost fallacy stops them from calling it quits? Now, for a quick look at the new addition to our crew:  HFX-19 Jinrai (Makoto Domyoji) Pilot Skills: Sword Cut Shoot Down Predict Prevail L2 Support Attack L1 Support Defense L1 Attack Combo L1 Spirit Commands: Sense Focus Mercy Squad Bonus: Melee AND Ranged weapons’ attack power +100, Terrain rating in Air: A Dude, this guy’s the real deal. Enables flight and boosts all weapon types? He might just be the best offensive squaddie we have. Domyoji, as you might expect, is a great pilot (stats just a small step below Reiji) and will make a good fit with pretty much anyone. His sole weakness is that the Jinrai is severely limited in ranged options: everything is point-blank, barring his weakest attack which is 1-3. Treat him as you would Iczer-1 or the Vardant. <Insert here a bunch of Jinrais getting torn to bits in increasingly crueler ways.> Of note, here’s Domyoji’s strongest weapon and the Dynamic Finish for Lulu’s Killer Bite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEWvZWQWjxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDvwyU5vdWA And Kiriyama had words for the other JUDA Factors if we managed to get them over to him: : You might have retaken your Machinas, but that won’t affect my victory in the slightest!: And, actually, it is the perfect opportunity to force you all to submit to me!: Yeah? Well, it’s really not gonna be easy for you!: None of us would ever waste all the hard work our friends put into this!: And we’ll be freeing this country for your clutches! : So ya better get ready for what’s headed your way, Eiji Kiriyama!: That’s enough of your nonsense, fellows of JUDA! My Pretender will give you all a harsh dose of reality!: And that’s the end of our operation. Great work, everyone! The captured facilities are also sending their thanks.: (So that’s LOTUS… the elite force of the UN that has even that Dancouga in its ranks…): You also went through a lot today, eh? Catching Kiriyama’s attention is never a good time.: Not at all… I managed to eventually get the truth out, so I’m happy. : Um… If it’s not too much of a bother, I’ve a few questions I’d like to ask.: Oh, an interview already? No wonder you’re so well-known as an on-the-scene reporter, Ms. Isabelle Cronkite.: Very well, we’ll pass your request along to LtCol. Katsuragi. : There’s still plenty for us to do in the aftermath of our operation, though, so I trust you won’t mind waiting a bit?: Not at all, and I’m grateful you’d arrange this meeting in the first place. I’ll be right over there…*Leaves.* : She also helped us plenty today.: Yup. Not only by clearing up what was actually happening throughout Japan, but also getting the people on our side. : Alright, folks, there’s still plenty to do before things are back to normal. Let’s return to JUDA.: Wait a minute! This is…!   : drat! He’s boarded the Daiku Maryu…!: Lulu!: The ease with which the Katou Organization retreated was just so we’d lower our guard?! : I presume you are the commander of LOTUS?: Temporarily, at least. Misato Katsuragi of NERV’s operational department.: … I have a small request to make.: Huh? As it turns out, Jack has quit the Katou Organization and wants to join LOTUS. Misato argues that he was our enemy not too long ago – we can’t well trust him just like that. Jack says he only joined Katou to train himself, and the boss man himself promised he could leave, no questions asked, whenever he found another path he’d rather trail. Dick can’t help but be impressed that the guy even foresaw his underling’s eventual betrayal, but Jack says he is not betraying anyone: this is all so he can have his duel with Reiji. It is not BUSHIDO to strike down one’s ally, and since Reiji is working with the Katou Organization now, then Jack will throw his lot with the opposition. Yagyuu applauds his conviction, and Jack himself is pleased to see that LOTUS has plenty of men and women blessed with the samurai spirit. In normal circumstances, he’d look forward to facing us in battle, but Reiji takes priority. Well, Lulu doesn’t take him to be a bad man, and Yagyuu herself doubts he’s the type to lie. If they say so, the Misato figures it’s OK to let him join… maybe. With that done, there’s an incoming call from Lady Une.  Cut to a little bit later, and Misato’s already cleared Jack’s position with Une. He’s good to go, and appreciative of our generosity. He’ll stand ready to lay his life on the line when it comes time to fight Reiji. Shizuna’s a bit dumbfounded, but alright… As for the Macross, Misato says they’re doing fine and headed our way now that their mission’s complete. She’s also heard that the Minerva will be cooperating with us – details will have to wait until we’re back together, though. And, so, Misato relays command back to Lulu, so that she can handle things, and takes off. Shinji can see that she was pretty tired, and Alice isn’t surprised. She hasn’t slept at all since she started working on today’s operation. Still, she didn’t let herself waver in front of everyone else; Rosa says both she and Lulu will have to hold strong in their work, despite the hardships. When Rachel asks, Jack says that there wouldn’t be any point in him passing along whatever intel he has on the Katou Organization. He’s certain that any bases he knew of have been relocated, and data banks erased. “Furthermore, I’m not about to be so dishonorable to my old comrades,” he notes. Fine… can he at least tell Sakon what that black “Sphere” from the other day is about? Only Katou and Masaki know that, unfortunately, so he can’t help us there. Seems like the Organization’s grand scheme is kept confidential from even their captains, so Sakon’ll have some thinking to do. Yamashita wants to ask what is Reiji’s relationship with Katou and, from what Jack’s seen, the two men are old friends. Crap.  And Kouichi is finally back in his room, exhausted after the battle and having to do an interview with Isabelle. There’s just one the bothering him, though: he’s sure that whoever sniped down Kiriyama wasn’t with LOTUS, so who the hell was it?  Finally, by Shangri-La’s bridge, Yulianne sighs how unexpectedly quick Kiriyama was defeated. That was all his twisted justice amounted to, unfortunately, Katou shrugs. Reiji himself has just arrived, and Katou bids him a warm welcome to the team… and, as it turns out, the mystery shooter is also there! Katou praises his fine work, and while normally he’d already be given a new assignment, there are some preparations that must be done first. So, Katou gives him leave to take some time off and visit home. But what comes next, Sawatar wonders – hopefully not a huge farce like today was. Farce or not, they needed Kiriyama to buy them time, so it needed to happen. Regardless, they’ll be working in secret for a bit, and not even Wufei has issue with that. It’ll be a good opportunity to see what is truly going on in Reiji’s head. Masaki himself is to carry on with the plan, taking every step to keep LOTUS in the dark.
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Aug 3, 2017 20:31
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Brunom1 posted:
 I like Reiji and all, but trading him for Jack and Domyoji is a deal I can get behind.It's a drat shame you can't do custom soundtracks in this game.
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Aug 3, 2017 21:17
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Hmm, so neither Japan nor LOTUS has an official leader now. How long until that gets resolved? For LOTUS, I'm guessing the chain of command gets re-forged in the next three chapters. For Japan, it's even odds between "Immediately, because that's too important to forget about" and "Never mentioned, because no one cared in the first place."
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Aug 4, 2017 00:56
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MightyPretenders posted:Hmm, so neither Japan nor LOTUS has an official leader now. How long until that gets resolved? Well, Goh has often been the second on-the-ground commander, so he'll likely keep with that with Misato, Jeffrey and Lulu handling tactical. As for our overall leader, it'll have to be Une since she and Ishigami have been calling the shots from the start. And Japan might as well make Yumi and the other scientists the new leadership since they're pretty much the only people keeping the country from getting walloped by a tide of aliens and underground monsters. Alacron posted:
You do have to respect the fact that Jack is so committed to this rivalry that he will outright counter Reiji's heel-turn with one of his own just to keep things rolling. That's dedication right there.
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Aug 4, 2017 01:03
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The biggest disappointment in the bazillion stupid tests, was that it lacked the contractually obligated payoff of "Only LOTUS would have cared enough to put up with my bullshit, even when I'm assumed dead." As for our newest member, I laughed at the gleaming smile. Maybe I'll warm up to Domyoji, given I like the combo of SMGs and a Broadsword in a genre full of laser katanas and oversized rifles for Military Robots- Oh wait, Jack is joining. Domywhonow?
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Aug 4, 2017 07:05
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Section Z posted:The biggest disappointment in the bazillion stupid tests, was that it lacked the contractually obligated payoff of "Only LOTUS would have cared enough to put up with my bullshit, even when I'm assumed dead." But yes, Eiji Kiriyama's defeat in the manga is a lot more satisfying. See, Eiji has been trying to fully inherit his company from his elderly father during this time. The problem is that since Eiji and Reiji have been BFFs for so long, Eiji's father considers Reiji like a second son. As you can imagine, this rubs Eiji the wrong way something fierce. So, when JUDA launches its attack against Eiji's coup, Papa Kiriyama hops on the radio and openly declares that Reiji will be his sole inheritor to his entire estate, effectively crushing Eiji and all the momentum he'd built up to this point. It's at this point that Reiji switches back to JUDA and helps defeat Eiji. About the only other thing of note is that Domyoji is still not a pilot yet in the manga, as the Jinrais are not formally added to JUDA's roster until after the coup attempt.
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Aug 6, 2017 05:23
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 Our crew’s back together, plus the addition of the Minerva crew to go with Jack and Domyoji. Kenji’s getting dangerously close to Ichitaka, with Daiya at a distant third. The latter’s bigger mook magnetism, however, may help bridge the gap faster than expected, though.  The Destiny units all come with three updates, so they’re all set and ready to go. Stella’s Gaia Gundam was just sitting empty, so Athrun took it – better than keeping him in that dinky ZAKU Warrior. Cash upgrades went into the Nagahamas and Aoi weapons, along with some extra survivability boosts of the Valkyries and Daiya. On the Skill Parts’ front, Aoi took EN Save and Kenji took another level of Infight, reaching L3.  The EVAs are deploying as event units, so here’s how our new team’s going: Jeeg/Kyo Daiya/Yanma Kouichi/Quatre Ichitaka/Miu Kouji/Yagyuu Iczer-1/Iczer-4 (I just felt like I had to) Ozma/Luca Alto/Michel Tetsuya/Canaria Domyoji/Athrun (the Gaia’s a rather up-close attacker, and Athrun’s accelerate makes him a good-enough fit). Shinn/Klan Heine/Anna Zechs/Noin Rey/Luna Voltes/Mira Combattler/Deceive Dancouga/Yamashita Dick/Puria EVAs auto-deploying can only mean one thing, so let’s get to it.  Time to catch up on what happened in the other routes. Of note:
 And, at the end, Alice runs in looking for Shinn: she’s just received confirmation that Stella’s condition has stabilized. While it’s still too early to outright heal the damage done by the Extended modifications, JUDA and the Dannar Base will keep at it, so she’s confident the girl’ll make a full recovery eventually. Shinn’s equal amounts relieved and amazed that we could potentially even managed to cure an Extended. That’s some big-shot philanthropy right there, though Ichitaka says we just try our best to be CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE. Mind you, he and Alice point out that he needn’t refer to use in the third person, as he’ll also be part of the crew now! Shinn likes the sound of that: “Stella isn’t someone who should be fighting. I’ll go and do everything I can to make sure she can live as a normal girl when she wakes up.” That’s the spirit. And, one last thing, Alice turns to Ichitaka and says Maki was calling him. Seems their digging into GreAT has yielded some results.  Ichitaka’s rushed on over, Kouichi, Miu and Yamashita tagging along since they’re also curious about anything Maki and Rachel have found. So, is it good news or bad? Bad, Rachel shrugs, and Maki moves to explain. JUDA’s intelligence department reported some mighty interesting information regarding GreAT the other day. See, the famous, huge multinational has a VERY centralized management, with only some ten-ish people running the whole show. Said people are a cabal of young, elite power players, and it’s all kept very hush-hush. In truth, a big chunk of the company employees don’t even know what they’re creating at any given point – they simply obey the commands given. Yamashita thinks that sectionalism isn’t too uncommon in big companies like that, but what’s especially weird is that, by the time Kiriyama’s coup was over, GreAT’s CEO and the entire leadership simply vanished. JUDA tried to get in touch with their security department, but those guys also vanished. The only ones that remained were the rank-and-file workers and those guys were very much panicking. Kouichi wonders if they were in with Kiriyama or the Katou Organization, though Maki can’t confirm that one way or another. It could simply be that they knew of the impeding coup and simply made a run for the hills? All in all, though, this still isn’t anything conclusive on Grife’s kidnapping, and Maki does apologize (the investigation is still ongoing). Ichitaka’s satisfied with the knowledge that something’s up with the upper echelons of GreAT; they’ve just became the top suspects in all this. And while Ichitaka’s rather certain that Yuu knows something, he’ll stay his course and try to find Grife in his own way!  By the president’s office, Yui’s showing the rest of our team all that’s left of Ishigami: a characterized AI that functions solely as the GUI in JUDA’s control systems. As everyone, especially Nagisa, reel from this, Une reports that she’s officially appointing Misato as Reiji’s replacement as tactical command. Misato thanks her for the confidence, and while she’ll admit that the crisis bearing down on Earth is unlike anything seen before and won’t be easily averted, she’s confident we can overcome it if we all take one another’s hands and stand together. This talk turns Anna’s thoughts to Lou, and she wonders if she, Goh and the girl will ever be together again… but never mind that, the alarm rings! Yui relates an SOS from NERV: an unidentified object has emerged by the Odawara defensive line. Pattern is blue, meaning it’s an Angel, and they want LOTUS and the EVAs to intercept. That’s the 6th Angel turning up, so Misato gives the order to deploy and head to Neo Tokyo 3.   : … ([Screams geometrically])   : All SDF Armas have been disintegrated! : Target’s moving across Lake Ashi. : This is bad… Misato, what are you doing…? : We made it just in time by the looks of things. The #01’ll lead the charge against the Angel – are you good to go, Shinji?: Yes.: You’re up, then. EVA-01, launch!: …! We’re a detecting a high energy reading within the target!: What?!: Is it—…! : Get outta there!: Wha—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3JfRgklIWg : Shinji!: Abort the attack! Recover the #01 immediately! : We can’t! That blast melted the catapult – it’s not working!     : UWAAAAAAAH!!: Stop! STOP! I want out! Get me out of here!!: Forget the operation – focus only on rescuing the pilot! Force-eject the Plug! : Belay that.: Why?! Don’t you care that your son might die?!: Take away the pilot and the EVA’s A.T. Field will disappear completely. You’d make a bad situation ten times worse.: And if the Field disappears…: The EVA-01 will be obliterated by the Angel’s beam the second that happens… and there’ll be no way to save the pilot…!: But doesn’t pilot feel all damage the EVA takes himself?! He’s still gonna die if we don’t do anything...!: There’s got to be something that’d work… Oh! What about our own barrier, Alice?!: Impossible! The Angel’s beam is far too strong for the Rushbird to absorb!  : GAAAAAAH…!: … We’ve no other choice. Emergency recovery! Ignite the blast bolts!: Roger that…!   : They withdrew the #01 by caving in part of the Geofront’s ceiling?!: A last-ditch effort, that’s for sure…: …: The target’s stopped its attack!: … All troops, full retreat! We need to reassess our situation!  : … The same ceiling again… One way or another, I always end back here when I pilot the EVA…: …: Ayanami… You’ve been there all this time?: I’m here to brief you on the timetable for Operation Yashima, set to be executed tomorrow at midnight. The pilots Ikari and Ayanami are to…*Fade out, fade in.* : … They’re telling me to pilot again?: Yes. : No, enough is enough… I never want to go through anything like that again…! I’m always so scared… it haunts me, but I still can never run from any of it… : …: I hate piloting the EVA… I only came here because I figured something might change, or that there might be something good in all this. I didn’t come here to suffer…: Is that how you’ll live your life? Running away from anything that’s difficult or unpleasant?: …: I’ll pilot the #01. You can stay here and rest.: Ayanami…!: Goodbye.*She leaves.* : …: I’m just not strong like everyone in LOTUS… Alive or not, I’m worthless. No one needs me… They don’t need me if I won’t pilot… OK, here’s the rundown: the Angel is currently right above NERV HQ, drilling a hole into the Geofront. It’s looking to Tetsuya (Kouji) that it wants to attack HQ head-on. Now, from what we’ve seen of the previous battle, NERV has posited that the Angel spots and snipes down any enemy that enters within a certain radius. And, Mira notes, long-range attacks still won’t fly too good as we’d still have to contend with its A.T. Field. Sounds like tough work for an MS, Athrun sighs, and Heine takes it to be more like impossible – even if our MSs broke through the barrier, they simply doesn’t have the firepower to beat the Angel. Kouji wishes that Field worked like those barrier where you can shatter them like glass (The Angels do not use Photon Barriers, unfortunately) but Prof. Shiba stomps in and says nothing that does that can be called a barrier! What’s he doing here? Kiriko also walks in, telling Anna that she and the other scientists were called by Misato to help with Operation Yashima. Goh wonders what it could be that’d require the help of this much brain power, so Misato continues.  In essence, since we can’t both pop the A.T. Field and destroy the Angel in the small opening that follows, we’ll have to do it all in one go by firing a ton of energy at it. Is that why these scientists at here? Indeed, Yotsuya and Sakon explain that we’ll be taking in all the labs’ special kinds of energies (Photon, Super Electromagnetic, Plasma, etc), plus ALL of Japan’s electricity, loading it onto a bigass, experimental, positron rifle and shoot the Angel. According to the simulations Rachel and the others ran, that blast should have enough force to destroy the thing in a single go. But nothing’s ever simple, and Kiriko notes that the gun is incomplete – that is to say, we can’t have it auto-fire. The only way it’ll work is for the #01 to actively snipe the target down. Our job will be to keep the Angel distracted until the gun is ready to fire. Ichitaka’s worried about it having to be the #01 – does that mean we’ll be forcing Shinji to do it? Tetsuya agrees that it’s complicated: Shinji’s spirit as a warrior took a heavy blow last battle. He’s not too sure if the kid’ll pilot again. Nagisa thinks he’s being too harsh: “Remember how abruptly he was forced to get in the EVA and start fighting. I mean, even I still get scared when I have to fight.” The difference is, Tetsuya counters, that Nagisa has the RESOLVE to step into the battlefield. The will to do so, despite one’s fear, is what resolve is all about. Goh doesn’t like the idea of forcing Shinji, either, and wonders if we couldn’t have someone else take his place. Nope, NERV’s MAGI computers ran the numbers and Shinji + EVA-01 was what gave us the best odds of success. Still, Misato is certain he’ll pilot once more.  Mission 17 – Entrusted Hope  It’s almost time for Operation Yashima to begin, the positron rifle already in position. Before we even get started, though, Shigeru pings a bevy of MSs entering the area; odd, since Misato warned all relevant organizations to stay away, but our scans quickly show that we’re dealing with Mimetic Beasts-jacked units. While Tetsuya Kouji fumes at their penchant for showing up at the worst possible moment, Ritsuko finds it odd: this is the second time the Mimetic Beasts appeared in tandem with an Angel’s attack. What reason is there for this? But she’ll have to ponder that later, as it’s almost go-time. Misato wants the beasties gone on the double, and both Kouichi and Ichitaka would love if we could beat the Angel while at it – would spare Shinji from the crazy Operation. Misato speaks against it, telling them to just limit themselves to distracting the thing; push beyond that and all we’ll get is damage we could’ve avoided. Michel sees the admonition for us not to play with fire… though being told NOT to do something only makes Kenji wanna do it more. Goh will be handling tactical command for a minute, though, as Misato has something she needs to do first. That would be picking up Shinji, he sees, and is fine with it – especially with the experience he has against Mimetic Beasts. While Misato takes off, Shinji’s watching from afar, deep in thought: “Why...? Battles are so horrible, painful… Why do they all fight so hard for others…?”  Ken, whose Insania Virus seems to have calmed down, is watching the battle with Lou. Is he going to keep fighting until all Mimetic Beasts are gone? Probably, he sighs, but Lou has a question: what will he do when that eventually happens? What’ll happen to him once his reason for fighting disappears? “When that happens… I’ll die,” Ken answers. What he means is that when all this comes to an end, the man he is today will cease to exist. He doesn’t know what he’ll do afterwards – nor does he know any other way to live. “And Lou… If something happens to me before we fulfill our goal—” he starts, but Lou interrupts him. He’s not going to die, so he shouldn’t even think of talking like that. Ken’s living his life the way he feels he should, and so is Lou. “Right or wrong makes no difference – I don’t regret for one second the choices I made.” As Ken nods in agreement, Goh sends everyone forward – we need to buy time until Operation Yashima can begin.  Wreck everything, don’t lose a ship. Ramiel won’t ever move from its spot, though the Mimetic Beasts will happily converge to attack him – spread out to maximize your cash and morale gains. Mind you, don’t have your two groups move TOO far away from the SE and SW corners of the map, because the game has a surprise waiting: on turn four, mooks will spawn in both those corners and you’ll likely need to down most of them in two turns under penalty of a Game Over. I’d forgotten about this and the ensuing mad dash made me not have the necessary firepower to down Ramiel (which you should try for the extra money and a Break Morale Limit part). Way I see it… I’d consider maybe sending Daiya, the Zingers, Jeeg, Iczer-1, Ichitaka and/or Aoi to try and kill the thing, while the rest is ready to intercept the later arrivals. If you can do it on turn three, all the better as you can have the Ramiel group join the interceptors.  Ramiel, the 6th Angel Mech Features: A.T. Field (Strong) 30% HP and EN Regen As you might expect, Ramiel’s got a bajillion points in its Range stat, along with some huge… everything else. It’s as bulky as you’d expect from an Angel, but the flying crystal is also accurate as gently caress and will likely get great numbers against pretty much all our guys. Its Shinji-blasting Beam will put the hurt on anyone within 10 spaces of it, but it also has a MAPW version with a nice +30 accuracy modifier to blast a whole 5x5 area around it. Therein lies a bit of a problem with sending folks to kill the thing: it’s obviously gonna cutscene-regen once dead, so the attackers will all but certainly get blasted unless they’re one of the few units whose strongest weapons hit at range 6 or higher. Risky business, but your Supers should be fine – if they’ve Iron Wall, pop it. All that said, we start spreading folks out. No one’s in range.  Enemy Phase!  And off it goes.      Never let Ramiel get a clean hit on you.  That’s three kills for Aoi, two for Hyouma. Annoyingly, the more distant Mimetic Beasts squads rush Ramiel – two die outright, the rest will follow VERY soon.  The enemy AI continues its quest to push Daiya into the Top Ace spot.      Three kills for him, one for Ichitaka.  Player Phase!  : The Blade Gainer! : The lot of you should stand down and observe. I’ll dispatch this bunch…!: Menage Zero… it’s because of you that Shizuru—!  : Stay out of his way…!: Lou?!: Lou, Shizuru’s in a coma because of him! How can you…?!: … I’ll still fight at Ken’s side. That’s the path I chose…! Let’s go, Ken. : Blade Gainer, Twin Drive…!: Lou, why…?! : Ignore them, Anna.: Professor…?: I understand how you two feel, but the priority right now is destroying the Mimetic Beasts.: Hrm… Yes, ma’am…! : Even the Menage Zero is out there… They don’t need me in the EVA…: You’ve missed the rendezvous time by quite a lot, Shinji. : …: You made your own choice to stay, remember? Now you have a job to do, and you have to do it right.: But I’m so scared of piloting again... : You and the other staff have it so easy: all you do is bark orders from a safe distance. How unfair is that? None of you have to go through the horror I do…!: … Walk with me for a bit.: …? : … Fifteen years ago, an enormous amount of lives were lost due to the Second Impact. If an Angel triggered a Third Impact today, it’d wipe out all humans down to the last. : I’ve heard that story plenty of times already…: If an Angel is allowed to make it all the way to the HQ’s level EEE, the whole place is set to automatically self-destruct.: We’ll prevent the Third Impact from being triggered even if we must die to pull it off. That’s the kind of commitment everyone here has. : And the same applies to Cmdr. Tamashiro, Prof. Yotsuya, Lady Une… they’re all willing to stake their lives for the sake of their mission.  : …?! Is that… an EVA…?!: No. What you see is the original of all life in this world, as well as the key to its end: Lilith, the 2nd Angel.: Lilith…?: Yes, and it’s the trigger to the Third Impact. The EVA was made to fight in order to protect Lilith, and that is something only you can do.: …: We’ve entrusted mankind’s very future to you and the EVA…: You ask for so much… Why me?: There isn’t a clear-cut reason – it’s just the cards life dealt you. But I want you to understand that you’re not risking your life alone. We’re all in the same boat as you.: You’re all… : … Alright. I’ll try and pilot again. Carrying on, let’s finally give the Gaia a chance to fight stuff for the first time since the start of the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlriJjsxt4g This is its strongest weapon in MS mode, though it’s got stronger stuff transformed.  While Alto and Michel clear out a squad of Fat Boys, Heine takes one of the Taurus that lost its partner against Aoi.  Forward, Iczers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yduYuiA8Ps  Lulu claims a weakened mook, while Kenji leads the charge with his superior mobility.  Tetsuya’ll take the survivor.    Bam. Southern targets fall to Kouichi and Kouji, Ichitaka and Daiya join up north for a couple of easy kills too.  Can’t send our guys up willy-nilly, lest they get caught in Ramiel’s inevitable MAPW or in the Zamza-Zahs’. Rey and Dick wipe out the nearby Daggers, everyone else moving up slightly. Enemy Phase!  So there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU60YyVv2h8 They hang by with just 500-ish HP, but all six will die when they try (and fail) to damage it on their move. Blah.  On the eastern wing, Jeffrey and Hyouma get blasted by the Zamza-Zahs but hit back with varying degrees of oomph. On the western wing, it’s up to Kenichi.      That’s a surprising amount of damage for some piddly beam guns, but our bot answers even harder. The second Zamza-Zah and Fat Boy gun for Ichitaka, with predictable results for bringing beam weapons against the Rushbird. : Sure enough, these Mimetic Beasts are faster on their feet than the regular ones…!: They may change their forms, but that will not keep me from ending their kind! Such is my lot in life! Ken also gets sniped, but he still has boss stats. Player Phase!  : Why do you pilot an EVA, Ayanami?: … Because I’ve a bond.: A bond…? With my father?: With everyone.: You’re so strong…: Because I have nothing else.: I don’t even have any bond, so you’re at least doing better than me. : … But regardless, we’ll be going out there together... and could both end up dead.: No, you won’t die. : Huh…?: I’ll keep you safe.: … How do you figure I’m even worth being kept safe…?quote:
*Beep!* : A voice mail…? : Hey, it’s Suzuhara. Ikari… actually, I’m gonna just call ya Shinji. We’re all countin’ on ya, Shinji!: Um, it’s Kensuke Aida here. Good luck, Ikari… Touji and his baby sis are also rooting for you. We’ll see you around!: …: It’s time for us to go… Goodbye.: Ayanami… Back to work and this is now just cleanup: our folks will move up on each side and tear down whatever is still left.          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp8zkEv5S9g And here’s the Gaia’s strongest attack.          And when turn 4 rolls around…
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Aug 10, 2017 01:16
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: Y-You were so awesome back there.
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: It’s time for the Operation to begin. : Only the #00 deployed…: Shinji… : The EVA-01! Is Shinji manning it?: …: You alright, Shinji?: If there’s something I can do… then I’ll try my very best to pull it off.: Well said, Shinji. And don’t worry: you’ve got us covering your back, front, right and left!: Shinji… If anything you’ve my gratitude for just being willing to pilot the EVA. : Misato…: Now, as we said in the briefing, the #01 will man the rifle while the #00 will run defense.: Yes, ma’am…!: … Initiate Operation Yashima! Prepare to fire the positron rifle! : Initiate the countdown! All units stand clear of the firing range!: Bring it home, Shinji!: No issues up to the stage four connections.: Final safety device, released!: Cock the rifle!: Auto-tracking target. Sight calibration complete. Positrons accelerating, will be at firing threshold in 0.2… 0.1….!: Shift to stage five. Activate the final connections!: Directing all energy into the ultra-high voltage discharge system! Positron acceleration is at max! Pulse is stable! Everything’s green!: Aim it good, Shinji! Don’t rush it! We’re all here with you!: Our victory…: And all of Japan’s electricity are now in your hands!: We’re counting on you, Shinji!: (I don’t have anywhere as much resolve as Ayanami… I don’t even think I’m decent as a pilot for the EVA… I didn’t even know what was going on – I just got it to move…): (“Protect humanity”…? I can’t even wrap my head around something so major, so I don’t understand why I was chosen…): (… And, yet, everyone still has so much faith in someone like me… So I’ll give this another try… I want to live up to their trust…!): 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…: FIRE!         : He-He missed…?!: But the targeting was right on the money…! : High energy reading coming from the target!: Watch out!: Shinji! Brace for impact!     : Shinji, are you OK?!: Haah… haah…: Status on the energy system?!: Still active! It’s already reloading!: And the rifle?: Also operational and cooling down. We don’t know if it can manage another shot, though…: Don’t worry about that – we’ll go for it anyway. : Shinji, do you hear me? You have to get the #01 back to its perch right away!: Haah… haah… kch…!: Shinji?!: He can’t handle it…? : I’m relieving the #01’s pilot of his duty, effective immediately. The #00’s pilot will man the rifle. : Ikari…!: If he’s useless, then we’ve to cut him loose. : You…! Do you not care anything about Shinji?!: Please, sir! He could’ve ran from all this but he decided to pilot the EVA! He’s not giving up, so we should trust in him!  : Hrk… rrgh…: Have faith in your son, in the #01’s pilot! I know he’ll see this through! : …: A-Again… just… one more… : Ikari…: … Fine, I’ll allow it. Do as you wish.: Thank you very much! : Shinji, let’s try this again. All the energy in Japan, our hopes, the future of mankind, and all life on Earth… everything is in your hands. You can do it!: OK…!  : We’ve new Mimetic Beast signals entering the area! They’re MS-parasite types!: Are they gunning for the wounded #01?!: Hrm…!: Leave them to us, Ikari. Everyone here saw the extent of your resolve, so we won’t let any of them get a single claw on you! : A sniper’s gotta trust the attackers to keep the enemy off his back.: Yeah! So you trust me— trust us, even!: Guys…: Troops, it’ll take another two minutes for the positron rifle to recharge! Keep the #01 safe from the Mimetic Beasts until then! Mission Objective: Destroy all enemies, protect the EVA-01 for two turns. Mission Failure: Any allied ship or the EVA-00 shot down, OR if any enemy attacks the EVA-01. And here’s the problem: the new Mimetic Beasts are special in that they don’t have to follow the standard AI-guidelines of “attack whatever is close and has decent HP”. Rather, they’ll actively make a beeline for Shinji and you have, at best, by the second enemy turn before they reach him. My original plan was to send a couple of folks to keep them busy while I downed Ramiel for the Skill Part, which promptly went south when I realized the AI didn’t play ball. As a result, I had to dump everything, bring our guys into the ships and RUSH them over because there are quite a bunch of them that you need to down in a turn and half (and they’ll prioritize moving over attacking). I could have restarted the mission and kept the Quarter and Minerva in position to MAPW the crap out of them when they arrived, but I’d caught some demonic strain of the Spanish Flu at the time of the recording and couldn’t be arsed to do it.  Fast forward a turn of desperate scrambling and the Daiku Maryu pulls over with my western team in range to engage both flanks.  The Windams all either need to be downed by this turn or walled off because they WILL reach Shinji if they get a clear move on their second turn. As for the Daggers, it can go one of two ways: if the squad is within 7 squares of Shinji, you’ll need to kill both because even with the flying leader gone, the squaddie will be in range to artillery strike the kid; if it’s outside of that range, then just taking out the leader will ground the Dagger and it won’t be in range yet. Keep that in mind when prioritizing which enemy to kill. Forward! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICoN0KEKUzw And here’s the DK for Iczer-4 Full Power. Slick!                  : The target’s drill has reached ground zero! It’s right above HQ!: Ready the second shot! Hurry!: New firing solution has been entered! Any further adjustments and compensations will have to be done manually by the pilot!: Detecting another high energy spike within the target!: No! We’re not ready—!! : !https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yGS__WRNuk  : You did it!*The #00 powers down.* : Oh, no…! Rei…!: Ayanami…!*Shinji gets off the #01 and after her.* : Hrrgh… Aya…nami…  : Ayanami! Are you alright…?! : Urk…: Oh, thank god… you’re alive… : Don’t say… don’t say that you’ve nothing else…: And don’t say goodbye when you’re leaving on a mission. It’s too sad… Gck… aah…: Why are you crying?: … I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do at a time like this.: … Why don’t you try smiling?: ! : …: We’ve confirmation that Rei’s safe!: Whew… That was a bit too much excitement even for my taste.: Recover both the #01 and #00, and bring the pilots along too.: Roger! : As for the remaining Mimetic Beasts, all troops— : They ran off…?! : Say what? The things didn’t get all scared ‘cause of Shinji’s rifle, right?: They fled right after the Angel was destroyed… Thoughts, Ritsuko? : We know far too little for me to give you a conclusive answer. Still, it’s possible that the Mimetic Beasts saw the Angel as a threat on an instinctual level?: …: Our business here is done… Let’s leave!: OK!: Lou, wait! : Lou… : Why do you let nothing but that thirst for revenge lead you, Lou…?: I was really worried we were screwed today, but we actually managed to pull it off.: Hm. We all live to fight another day…: All thanks to Shinji and Rei’s hard work.: Every one of you did an amazing job today. Why don’t you return to base and get some rest?Here are all the convos we missed due to the AI’s sass: : Ichitaka, all we’re doing is trying to buy time!: I know, I know! Now’s our turn to show how strong our barrier is! Come on, Rushbird!-- : Don’t run from this, Shinji… If you do, you’ll be running and regretting for the rest of your life…!-- : Hey, ya big marble! Come and get me!: Hold on, Hyouma! You’re going a bit too crazy with this!: Nah, he’s gotta make some noise or the thing ain’t caring! Let’s put all our chips on Hyouma and let him handle it!--  : Watch it, Kenichi! You’re in the thing’s shooting range!: I understand that, but the success of the operation hangs on the line! So I’m stepping forward, and I’m not letting a shred of fear hold me back!-- : Look at this crazy crystal, camping out right in the middle of our turf! Well, you’re not welcome here – piss off!-- : This thing is like a gun turret…!: Then I oughta close the distance and draw its attention over to me!-- : Will we kill you first, or will you make it to the Geofront first…?: This battle’s gonna come down to the wire…!-- : They just need a bit more time to get things set up for their Op!: ‘Til then, you’re gonna find me and the Gaiking all up in your crystal grill!-- : Will you be alright, Iczer-1?!: Don’t worry, Nagisa. This Angel changes its shape as it attacks.: I need only pay attention to its tells, and I’ll manage to react accordingly…!-- : Blah… Playing bait’s so boring.: Still, this is pretty exciting, don’t you think?: Eeh… But, you know, the thing looks beatable, so no one would care if we gave it a shot, right?: I like the way you think. Let’s step out into the spotlight and run wild on this pebble!-- : Keep your distance from the Angel, Kouichi! You’re inside its firing range!: Shinji went and took this thing’s blast on the chin! What kinda man would I be if I hanged from a safe distance and plinked away at it?! No, what I gotta do is to draw its attention away from them! : I hope Ayanami’s doing alright…quote:
: That was the first time I saw her smile…*Biff!* : Wha—: Attaboy, Shinji!: Ichitaka?!: You slick sumbitch, you! That was drat good today!: Absolutely. You stood your ground and pulled through – you’re the MVP today!: N-not at all… I’m nothing compared to you guys…: Chill, man. Getting a pat on the back every now and then never hurt anyone, right?: Yup… You’ve really gotten strong, Shinji.: No need for modesty, Ikari. Today’s victory was only possible because you mustered your courage, so stand proud.: Um… Thank you… very much. : You were also going to check up on Rei at the infirmary, right? Let’s get to it, then – the other MVP is waiting.: OK…! By the operation center, Ritsuko ponders if Shinji’s turned a new leaf today. Misato doesn’t think people change that quickly, BUT she does think today marks a major point in his life. Perhaps, perhaps. Misato inwardly tells Shinji to keep up the good work, but is interrupted when a call from Gendou summons her to his office. Whatever could he want? Misato already has so much to worry about…  The techs have taken a look on the EVAs and they both, especially the #00, took significant damage. It’ll take a few days to get it all repaired. Misato apologizes, but Fuyutsuki tells her not to: they were the ones who gave her the green light for today’s operation. “You needn’t take responsibility for this, Colonel Katsuragi,” Gendou adds. Colonel? Indeed, she’s been promoted. Misato’s a bit surprised, but Gendou’s already moved on: he’s heard that she apparently told the #01’s pilot about Lilith. Fuyutsuki says they’ll inform the LOTUS leadership themselves about both it and NERV HQ’s true purpose as its defender. As for the squad proper, Gendou’ll leave it to her to tell us, but asks that that knowledge is kept limited to our group. As Misato sets off, Fuyutsuki wonders if this is really fine. Gendou is sure: “The distortion is having major effects. It wouldn’t be any exaggeration to say that things are already going off the rails.” Still, they’ll carry on with the Schedule as is… even if they’ve no idea what’ll happen.   : I understand. That child has awakened, and we’ve entered the summation phase, hm? (Kaworu.) : That’s correct. The Dead Sea Scrolls Apocrypha has been fulfilled up to the Book of Law. The time of the covenant is close at hand.: (Is it…? I feel that things are a little bit off.): Still, it’s the Third again… You sure haven’t changed, huh…? Shinji Ikari…
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Aug 10, 2017 |
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Aug 10, 2017 01:16
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Brunom1 posted:
This made me laugh way too hard.
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Aug 10, 2017 02:09
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This is a pretty standard take on the Ramiel scenario, especially compared to how involved in the crossover the one in MX was. But I do like how Ramiel first brings EVA 01 down to 100 HP, then 10 HP, then 1 HP. Gotta sell those cutscene attacks! At the time this game came out there were lots of people complaining that Bamco was being lazy about not including multiple portraits for each character, so the decision to include three different portraits for Rei (regular, bandages and smiling), which will probably not be seen again outside of flashbacks, made me chuckle.
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Aug 10, 2017 02:11
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Brunom1 posted:Kurara: Blah… Playing bait’s so boring. Lacking a portrait here. Also smiling Rei is cute. I keep being surprised at how L adds new portraits for characters, while at the same time still not having a bunch of them normally like the OG games already did by this point. Weird effort.
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Aug 10, 2017 02:38
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GimmickMan posted:At the time this game came out there were lots of people complaining that Bamco was being lazy about not including multiple portraits for each character, so the decision to include three different portraits for Rei (regular, bandages and smiling), which will probably not be seen again outside of flashbacks, made me chuckle.
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Aug 10, 2017 04:16
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quote:As Misato sets off, Fuyutsuki wonders if this is really fine. Gendou is sure: “The distortion is having major effects. It wouldn’t be any exaggeration to say that things are already going off the rails.” One has to wonder how this constitutes "going off the rails" while all of weird bullshit in MX somehow did not.
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Aug 10, 2017 05:00
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Alacron posted:One has to wonder how this constitutes "going off the rails" while all of weird bullshit in MX somehow did not. I suppose in MX they at least knew they were having a "script fight" with someone else from the start.
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Aug 10, 2017 08:46
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TheLastRoboKy posted:I suppose in MX they at least knew they were having a "script fight" with someone else from the start. Eh... sure, I'll buy that.
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Aug 10, 2017 09:55
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IMO, NGE has way overstayed its welcome in SRW. It tends to dominate the overarching story in a way that just isnt novel anymore, and in a way none of the other mainstays do. And the worst of it is it doesnt really have fallible or human villains, such that the SRW team can't really change how they act and react around significantly, just characters that go through the same developments game after game. Also im tired of the word script and the goddamn dead sea scrolls
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Aug 10, 2017 10:23
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Rigged Death Trap posted:IMO, NGE has way overstayed its welcome in SRW. It tends to dominate the overarching story in a way that just isnt novel anymore, and in a way none of the other mainstays do. I think V did a pretty good job compared to other recent entries of involving Eva in the main plot more. But yeah, I wouldn't be mad if they left it out for a while. They finally dropped Macross Frontier, so leaving Eva out for a while would be nice too.
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Aug 10, 2017 11:04
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My secret hope is always that they rewrite NGE as an old school, '70s-as-hell Super Robot CHAMPION OF JUSTICE.
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Aug 10, 2017 22:39
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Brunom1 posted:
Pff. Look who's talking. 
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Aug 10, 2017 22:57
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Alacron posted:One has to wonder how this constitutes "going off the rails" while all of weird bullshit in MX somehow did not. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'cart space/development time'.
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Aug 11, 2017 01:45
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KaosMachina posted:I'm pretty sure the answer is 'cart space/development time'. Actually it's a more fundamental issue than even that. But I don't think I can explain without spoiling what happens. It's... something.
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Aug 11, 2017 01:53
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| # ? May 20, 2024 10:07 |
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Rigged Death Trap posted:IMO, NGE has way overstayed its welcome in SRW. It tends to dominate the overarching story in a way that just isnt novel anymore, and in a way none of the other mainstays do. I like how Kaoru seems to recognize he's in... what is this, like, the fifth remake?
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Aug 11, 2017 03:58
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