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 Back in the Space Route, Ichitaka’s Vajra killing spree has pushed him father away from Kenji. And he’ll likely get a bunch more today, as we continue our trek through Macross land.  Now, before we get to upgrades, it should be noted that Klan herself comes with four upgrade bars, which is a ton more than I ever gave her Queadlunn. As such, I’ll likely keep her in this form not only for the survivability, but because I prefer the cash bonus. We’ve a complicated mission ahead of us, and everyone’ll need to pull their weight. As such, all the cash I had went into giving boosts to our secondary folk – give them weapons, armor, EN, mobility, the works. Everyone needs to be able to hit reliably and for not insignificant damage.  Reason for that is because I’m deploying everyone, barring Rey and Yagyuu (safety net), as solo units. I also finally remembered to put Heine in the Gaia Gundam. You’ll see why we’re going out like this in a bit.  By the Quarter, our people are getting reports that the number of Vajras around Island 1 is finally starting to decrease, but the protracted battle is starting to wear us down as well – we can’t repair and resupply our units fast enough. Even Iczer-3’s feeling beat up, and doesn’t understand what made the bugs so angry. Unfortunately for her, Nagisa says she’ll have to head out again after a bit of a breather. And what Bobby wants to know is where Ozma and Cathy have run off to during this mess. The Bridge Bunnies have been trying, and failing, to get in touch with them, and Hilda fears the Vajra might’ve gotten them. Best not to go there, Ichitaka thinks. But Jeffrey gets a call from Monica, saying ACTING PRESIDENT Leon Mishima has arrived.  Indeed, he’s taken up the President’s chair after Howard “unfortunately” met his demise at the hands of the Vajra. Talia is deeply saddened to hear that he died in such a way, and extends her condolences. That said, now isn’t the time for grieving: Leon has come to request LOTUS’ assistance with a mission. The siege by the Vajra represents not only an unprecedented crisis for the Frontier Fleet, but it is also a knife at the throat of the PLANTs if left unchecked. They’ve got us severely outnumbered, Noin agrees, and that is why the Frontier’s thought up a plan. And the key to it all will be codename “Little Girl”. What is it? A Fold Bomb developed by L.A.I., capable of destroying anything in a 50 kilometers radius. That sort of blast would engulf a chunk of the Fleet, Alto yells, which is why Mishima wants us to draw the Vajra elsewhere – then, they’ll detonate it. As for how they’ll do that, Mishima notes the known fact that the bugs are drawn to Ranka’s song, so they’ll use that. “You want to use Ranka as bait for them?!” Alto isn’t happy, but the girl herself has agreed to it.  He has her escorted in to explain it all, and she confirms to Micchi that she really did agree to help with the operation. Hyouma asks if she’s actually okay with setting herself up as bait, and Mishima says it’s to avenge her late brother. It’s only natural for her to want this, no? “Hey, hold on there, Mushroom Head!” Kenji protests. “It’s too dang soon for you to tag Ozma as having been killed by the buggers!” Oh, but news of his and Cathy’s disappearance almost coincided with the time the Vajra started tearing through the urban areas. Is it that absurd to take that they were among the many victims? Maybe not, but Kenichi agrees with Kenji that the jury’s still out on that one; to say nothing of the fact that Ozma wouldn’t want Ranka to avenge him like that! But Ranka speaks up, and says it’s fine. This is a choice she made by herself. Alto doesn’t like it, but Ranka figures if her song can help everyone – help Alto, in particular – then that is good enough for her. Jeffrey can see that we’re not changing her mind, so he asks where we’ll be gathering the Vajra. That’d be Island 3, and now it’s Klan’s turn to get mad: that’s one of the Zentradi’s. Mishima understands that it’s an agricultural and sightseeing Island, but her people can easily be micronized and accommodated in the other ones. And there is simply not enough time to prep a different island for the operation. Once the Vajra have been drawn there by Ranka, they’ll blow them and the Island with the Little Girl. Jeffrey’s a bit uneasy that they’d destroy an entire Island to exterminate the Vajra, but Mishima says it’s better than risking them causing even more damage. While we’ll need to wait for Lady Une to officially OK our participation in this Talia sees no problem in helping safeguard the Fleet from the things. Mishima extends the gratitude of all of the Frontier’s populace, but inwardly he’s grinning like a motherfucker: “Heheheh… And, with this, we’ll be able to proceed to the next step of the plan. My turn is just around the corner…!”  Iczer-2 has fully recovered from her wounds and Neos Gold bids her welcome. Iczer-2 tags her as the spawn of mother Big Gold, and asks if it is true that she’s captured Nagisa Kanou. Indeed, thanks to the splendid work of her Four (one) Generals – they’re currently analyzing the girl in a bid to figure out the source of her unique powers. Iczer-2 seems a bit disappointed that she can’t be put to actual combat yet, but, regardless, asks what of her sister. Currently hiding inbetween the dimensions along with the traitorous Sister Gray – she’s left Earth’s defense in the hands of Iczer-3. 3? Another warrior granted the Iczelio’s power, like Iczer-1. She could well be dubbed Iczer-2’s little sister. “My little sister? I care not for such nonsense. My target, my enemy, is Iczer-1 and no one else,” she answers quickly. Well, Neos Gold figures destroying Iczer-3’ll be the quickest way to drawing Iczer-1 out into the open. Hearing that, 2 is now more than willing to “play” with her baby sister a bit. As she leaves, Golem wants to know why Neos entrusted that one with the destruction of Iczer-3. Neos harrumphs at her, annoyed that she’d dare show her face again – surely she, as a commander in her troops, hasn’t forgotten that the price of failure is death. Golem begs for another chance, arguing that the Evangelions had never displayed teamwork of that level before. Neos Gold calls her a fool, but, fine. She has ONE chance to redeem herself, and only if she successfully kills Iczer-3. There is no place for the weak among Neos’ generals! Golem confirms, and starts scheming: while Iczer-2 is the favorite warrior of Big Gold, she must obviously be weakened after all the time it took to recover…!    : This sensation… the tension ripping through the air… Ah, to be in the battlefield again…! : Wait just bit, Iczer-3. I’m coming to end your life and drag my sister out of hiding!*Woosh!*  : Stop right there!: Hmph, what of you, weakling…? If you are here as my backup, tell Neos Gold that I don’t want any. You’ll just get in my way.: “Get in your”…? Idiocy. I am the one who’ll destroy Iczer-3, and it is you who’s in the way!*Blast! Warp!* : … Impudent worm!*Blast!* : I-I can’t be…! She’s too… stron…g…!*Boom!* : This was the mightiest of her Four Generals? I’d laugh, if it wasn’t so pathetic. Now, where was I…?*Warp!*  : (That woman’s… so strong…! She’s going to crush Iczer-3! What should I do...?) Mission 30 (Space Route) – Little Queen, Little Sister   : … The new president’s got a lot of nerve, cooking up a plan like this. : Michel?! Weren’t you injured?!: I couldn’t exactly stay in bed with all this going down… But I’m fine, and ready to go as usual. : Well, don’t worry about watching my six anymore. And you better not make me cry again, or there’ll be hell to pay!: Yes, ma’am… Any tears I get out of you will only be tears of joy, I promise. : The Vajra are expected to start massing here as soon as Ranka starts singing. Once we’ve confirmation that they’re all here, we’ll detach Island 3. The Little Girl’ll be detonated right when the Island’s made it past the buffer zone. : And I just have to keep singing until that moment?: Right, and we’ll keep them all away from you. Once it’s time to go, we’ll get you out of here safely… So…: So don’t worry about anything. Just sing. : … Okay. : We’re all counting on you, Ranka. : And after this is finished, maybe you could put together another concert?: Hmhmm. I’ll be happy to… : … You don’t have to sing if you don’t want to, Ranka.: !!: Why… Why would you say something like that, Brera?: Your song comes from your heart. It belongs to no one but yourself – that’s why.: Thank you, Brera. But it’s fine…: (I wanted my song to touch the heart of just one person… but I couldn’t. Still, this is that one person’s wish, so I…!) : Aimo… Aimo… ♪: (Come on…! I’m over here…!) *Vajra spawns all around us!*  : Here they come! : Sorry, Mr. Bugs, but I don’t want Nagisa and her friends to be sad…! : Our objective today is to draw all the Vajras into Island 3. Don’t worry about shooting them down outright. : Focus primarily on making sure none of them reach Ranka’s stage. : According to our calculations, it’ll take about 8 minutes for all the Vajras to make it here. You must keep Ranka safe until then! : 8 minutes, roger that!: “That one person’s wish…” If making it real is your own wish, Ranka, then I… Mission Objective: Protect Ranka for 8 turns. Mission Failure: Any Vajra enters the target area, Alto or Iczer-3 shot down. Oh, boy, this mission. I’ve heard plenty of talk about this being one of the hardest missions, and I can certainly see why. You’ve a big area to defend that you simply can’t fully encircle even if you deploy everyone as solo units (there’ll be one spot open, and Brera’s AI controlled), there are enemies on all sides, and you’re kind of forced to rely even on folks you might not have been using too much. The Vajra are also very quick on their feet, and can easily blindside you. That’s why I don’t advise the aggressive approach, because all it takes is one breaking through your lines. Still, there are a few things that can make your life easier. First and foremost, and probably THE most important piece of information for this: you should always prioritize the Small Vajras (the yellow ones, not the larvae). Their AI is hardwired to ALWAYS make a beeline for Ranka; the other ones are rather prone to attacking nearby enemies, but these are a lot more likely to just ignore you. And they’re also very fast. I’ve only seen the yellow Vajra ignore this rule if someone’s at their spawn. Do note, however, that this doesn’t mean the other enemies’ll drop everything to attack your bait. They might still go after Ranka regardless (especially if they catch sight of a juicy target inside the target area), so be mindful of them. Oh, and the Red Vajras pairs are flier/walker twins, so, if you can take both out, get the flier first – the forest will really slow down the walker. Resource management is the name of the game, as 8 turns is a lot and our stocks of SP aren’t too great. Provided you’ve been using the Nagahama bots, Kosuke and Megumi should already know Confuse, so use those to give your Reals two turns where they won’t need to cast Focus. Ground whoever’s good on foot because Ranka’s stage area provides a decent boost to defense and evasion. Also keep an eye on your EN and Ammo, but don’t be stingy enough that you’ll leave a Vajra hanging close by: using an expensive weapon to quickly ease pressure on a side will allow you to shift attacks around more flexibly.  Now, I’m going for the defensive approach here. It’s what allowed me to beat this mission in one try, so I reckon it’s the safest bet. Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that you can check a target’s movement range like in any SRW. This is important, because it’ll let you know what you need to kill THIS turn, and what you can leave for the next. You’ve two gaps to keep an eye at, so don’t hesitate to shift your people around to close an entryway if a Vajra’s too close and you can’t kill it. If you can only kill one of two targets, and one can be blocked off, but not the other, you know which one to pick. Again, check their movement ranges constantly to confirm which is which. New Vajras will arrive whenever you drop them under 12, so keep that in mind. All things considered, with this defensive approach, you should expect a new wave to be closing on your perimeter every 3 stages (but that’s not a hard rule). Finally, don’t be afraid to send units out if you spot a nice chain attack (especially with guys that can oneshot both smaller Vajras), provided next turn they can get back in place. If you need to pop Valor to put a squad down quick, do it. Take things slow, constantly check movement ranges, send people in and out as needed, and keep Duo and, especially, Rey’s MAPWs ready to use in a pinch. The first few turns are the hardest, but this’ll get progressively easier as your morale builds and you can reliably oneshot the enemy.  Brera’s AI will immediately cast Focus, Accel and Renew, and spawn camp at the north. He’ll be a fine distraction, drawing in enemies from N, NE and NW, and he can’t die, so I’m not too mad over the lost money. The first turn’s a freebie, though, as all enemies, except the Vajra Larvae, will stay put.  : Seven minutes until the operation’s concluded!: I’ll make you all pay for hurting Nanase! And now the other Vajras start moving.  : Six minutes left! Keep Ranka safe, people! : Yeah! Since we’re running solo units, if you’re not comfortable using chain attacks, you’ll either have to make use of Support Attacks or Fury to bypass the Vajras’ support defense.  : I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger and kill you all if this boils down to only one of us getting to survive!-- : Hrk…! Crap, the painkillers aren’t really cutting it by themselves, huh?: Still, the pain’s keeping my eyes wide open, so I guess that helps. A sniper’s eyes are his life, after all!       : We’re letting you have one ship, but that’s it! You better never show your faces around here again!      : I swore that I’d keep Nanase safe…: So you’ll have to forgive us, Island 3! If we let the Frontier take any more damage, it’ll be the end of our fleet!    : Five minutes left…! Where were these many Vajra hiding at…?!: (Urk…! I’m hurting… inside…!) As I said before, you can send folks out to weaken with chain attacks, provided they’re in range to plug the new opening they’re creating. Heine’s cheap, powerful Gryphon 2 does that nicely, and our remaining folks can pick off what’s left.  : The fate of the Frontier’s riding on this battle! We need to draw as many of them as we can!   : That guy, Leon’s, attitude really rubs me the wrong way… but we still need to work as hard as we can to help Ranka!    : Hm…? What am I feeling…?: Is something wrong, Iczer-3? Are you sensing Atross?: No… It’s something a whole lot weirder – and scarier. Eyes, hiding in the darkness… looking right at me.: Then… Then maybe you should let the others handle the Vajra, Iczer-3!: No, no, I don’t wanna be treated like a baby! I’ll fight them too!  Once the enemy’s turn four rolls around…  : Wah?!: Iczer-3!: That was close! Who did that?!   : It’s…!: Watch out! That’s Iczer-2, your big sister!: Whuh?!: So you’re Iczer-3… the sorry creation of Sister Gray…: Then how about I put you to the test? Prove yourself as my little sister… as one of the Iczer siblings.*Iczer-2 rushes 3 down!*  : Oow! What the hell?!: Listen to me, Iczer-3, because I’ll only say this once. We, Iczers, have no room for those that are weak. Much less a young sister who cannot measure up to her elders…: Iczer-1… my big sis never said anything like that!: And I am not her. Show me the depths of your strength!: Why, you!! : …! Is she stronger than she was before?!: Hmph, you have raw power, at the very least. Unfortunately for you, battles aren’t won with just that!: Whaat?!*Iczer-2 warps all around 3!* : Ah? Oh?! Awawawa!: And your movements are too haphazard! : Waaaaaaaaah!: Iczer-3!: What’s the matter? Your other sister was a far greater challenge than that, you know.: I’m not done yet…! If I got beaten here, Nagisa… and the Earth would… Hrgh!: Your end has come, Iczer-3! : Hm?! : You are…!: Atross! : You’re not killing her! : That girl… Has she found a different path than fighting us…?: … You are Neos’ servant, are you not? You’ll betray the Cthulhu?: Lady Neos lied to me! I thought I was her daughter, but I’m not! So I won’t let you kill Iczer-3… I’ll stop you even if it costs me my life!   : Pfeh… I’ve lost my appetite now. When you find Iczer-1, relay a message for me: “I, and no one else, will be the one who’ll kill you.” : Stop!: Uh-Urrgh…: …! Hang in there, Iczer-3!*Atross moves after her.* : Atros… Why did you…?: I’ve tormented you and Nagisa so much… but I’m done.: Nagisa, do you hear me?! I’m bringing Iczer-3 over to you! I want to make up for what I did!: Thank you! Just follow my telepathy and you’ll find me!: Understood, Nagisa.  : We’ve confirmation that Iczer-3’s made it out safely. The rest of us will carry on with the mission!: Aye, aye!: Keep at it, Ranka…!And now we have a new gap in our defenses… I seriously hope you didn’t have any yellow Vajras being blocked on Iczer-3’s side, or you might simply be screwed here. : Go to hell, Vajras! You can have Island 3, but leave and never return!    : There’re still so many flying around…! But we just need another four minutes! We need to keep things steady until then! : Why are you attacking us?! What are you after?! If it’s bullets, then I’ll give you your fill!      : Just three minutes left… Stand firm, people! Psyche yourselves up and don’t give them an inch!: (Hrk… It hurts…!) : We will hold this line…! If we don’t, both the Frontier and the PLANTs will…!      : Couldn’t we just have used a bunch of bug lights or something? That way, we wouldn’t need to put Ranka through something as dangerous as this…! : Hm, it’s a shame that the Rushbird can’t attract the Vajra. In which case, we’ll just have to do everything we can to make this go smoothly!    : They’re still not all in here…?! How much time left, Tsubaki?!: Two minutes! Just a bit longer!       : Only 60 seconds until the mission is done! This is it, folks!              : It’s time! 2nd Lt. Alto, take Ranka and evac!: Yes, sir!*Alto flies to Ranka’s stage.* : Come in, Ranka!: Alto!: Ranka’s secured! : We’ve confirmation! Island 3 has been purged! T minus 1 minute until Little Girl is detonated!: There it goes. All forces, full retreat!  BOOOOOOOOM!   : An excellent job, Little Queen. What a difference 11 years make, hm…? We’ve made it out and Alto is very grateful to Ranka for everything she did. She nods, but inwardly wonders if it was the right thing to do. All those Vajra died because of her song, and she still doesn’t know what to make of that sharp pain she felt inside her as the bomb went off. Her thoughts are interrupted when Mishima calls in to also thank her for leading the operation to success. However, today’s battle merely defeated the Vajra that invaded their fleet – this battle will not end until every single one of them has been destroyed. Ranka doesn’t like hearing that. Will she continue to sing for them, to ensure their victory and survival? Ranka’s progressively growing frown soon gives way to an apology: “I’m sorry, but I… I can’t sing anymore!” And she runs off, leaving Mishima to wonder what happened. Rey notes that despite her being in battlefields before, she is still a civilian – the destruction that unfolded before her eyes has likely disturbed her plenty. Kenichi sees his point, as being forced to sing as tons of dead Vajras fell all around you would scar anyone. Seems to Mishima that they’ll need to assign some mental care for the girl, to make sure nothing obstructs the success of future operations… and Grace will handle that job. But, whatever the case, the Vajra threat has been repelled for now and the Frontier Fleet is safe. Mishima is certain Howard would’ve been overjoyed, and extends the fleet’s gratitude for our efforts. Now, he has to oversee preparations for the next offensives in his Vajra extermination campaign, so he signs off. The thought of extermination leaves a bad taste in Kenichi’s mouth, and Kyo agrees: the new president’s way of thinking is a whole lot more extreme than the former’s. You can see that just from today’s operation. Rey counters that extreme measures were necessary, as the rampaging Vajra even did damage to nearby PLANT colonies. Sure, but Alto still doesn’t agree with the guy’s idea of using Ranka as bait…  By Island 1, Ranka’s back a Griffith Park and isn’t happy: “I can’t do this anymore… Why me? Why does my song affect the Vajra…?” But she’s brought back when Ai-kun flies over. Now where did the little guy go? She’s been worried sick! Never mind that, as Ai-kun starts glowing and transforming! Oh, my god, it’s a Pokémon!  : I can’t go back to the Cthulhu anymore…: And you don’t have to. You can just stay with us!: …! I’m your enemy, remember? A warrior created to destroy you?: No, you’re not, Atross. That’s why you saved Iczer-3!: Right, and that makes us friends!: “Friends”…? That’s insane! I’ve fought and hurt you and your friends as your enemy! How can you say I’m a friend now…?!: Ah, don’t worry about that. Everyone screws up once or twice. What’s important is what you’re gonna do from here on out!: That’s very well said… Who are you and what did you do to Kenji?: Blah, gimme a break, Tsubaki. : But if I hadn’t attacked you back then, Nagisa Kanou wouldn’t have been taken by Golem… : I can’t even imagine what she’s going through at Lady Neos’ base… and it’s my fault…! : If you feel that way, then come with us and help rescue her.  : Hmhmm, that’s how you can take responsibility for what happened. : Speaking of, do you know where Neos Gold is hiding?: Not really… the Cthulhu fortress hides itself between dimensions, and it’s already left the spot I knew of…: I see…: Chin up, Atross! The only way to move onwards is to look straight ahead, not at your feet!: … I understand, and I’ll try my best!: That’s the way!: Thanks for everything you said, Nagisa. I really, really like you!: Oh, Atross, you’re such a sweet girl…: HEEEY! Nagisa’s my partner! You can’t hug her without clearing it with me first!*Beep, boop.* : Hm? A message from Ranka…? Alto’s run up to Griffith Park, wanting to know what happened, why she’s not singing anymore. Ranka has a favor to ask of him, though, and waves Ai-kun over… and he looks very much like a Stage #2 Vajra larva! Alto flips out and draws a gun, but Ranka begs him not to shoot. Why?! It’s a Vajra – one of the things that’s brought so much pain to the people of the Frontier! “But that’s not the case with him! He’s just shed his skin, so he hasn’t done anything wrong!” Ranka protests, but Alto isn’t budging. “So long as any Vajras are around, the sky’ll erupt into a battlefield again! The only way for us to survive is by killing them!” he says. He tries pushing Ranka off the way, and earns himself a punch from the suddenly appearing Brera. He asks Ranka what she wants, and he’ll make it happen. Thinking a bit, she turns to Alto: “Alto… these past days, I’ve been slowly remembering things from my childhood. I’m kind of scared of what I’m going to find out, but… but it’s something I have to know. I just feel like I have to… and that’s why I need to go.” Go where? “I want to at least bring him back to his friends,” she says. And Brera understands, immediately summoning his VF-27 and beckoning Ranka aboard.  : Alto…: Ranka, please, this is insane! Don’t go!: To be honest, I wanted to make this trip with you. I wanted to be with you forever.: Ranka…!: Alto… Goodbye… I loved you…!*The VF-27 flies away.* : Ranka! Don’t go! RANKAAAAAA!! At President Mishima’s office, turns out this is all part of the plan. They’ve pinged Brera’s route and know that he’s headed to the Vajra Homeworld with the Little Queen in tow. The girl’s pet Vajra will lead them there… you see, the major influx of Vajras, and their constant cries, have beckoned their homeworld itself to Fold into this universe. Now it is only a matter of following the Little Queen and they’ll find the planet in due time. Mishima is ecstatic, and figures he needs to make ready to head over there right away. Grace inwardly sneers at how small he’s thinking: he’s so giddy over all the Fold Quartz lying in wait at the Vajra HomeWorld… “But, to me, the crown jewel of that planet is the being that managed to Fold the entire homeworld”. Whatever the case, Mishima thinks they should cover their bases. He wants a substitute songstress readied for the eventuality they lose the Little Queen. Oh, Grace says he doesn’t need to worry one bit about that: “As it turns out, the fallen songstress has exceeded my expectations. I’m certain you’ll be pleased…Hmhmhmhm…” Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Oct 20, 2017 |
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Oct 16, 2017 20:34
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You had absentee Ozma apparently talking about Ozma (text only) near the start there, and Kenji probably was meant to say everyone rather than even, but that's all I really saw.
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Oct 17, 2017 02:50
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You know, I feel like we should know more about Frontier's plot at this point. It feels like we're getting close to the end and I still don't really know what Mishima thinks he's accomplishing (is it really just a power grab? feels like that should be clearer), what Grace's endgame is, or really anything about Brera besides the fact that he's a big 'ol dork. Linebarrels is also pretty deliberately obtuse, but at least there seems to be a theme to it. Frontier is mostly just that infuriating trope of villainous characters discussing things in the vaguest possible terms that makes me roll my eyes so hard they fall out of their sockets.
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Oct 17, 2017 03:00
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Well the main plot is seems to be just Enders Game with j-pop idols, so they gotta add something.
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Oct 17, 2017 03:08
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What, you thought music was justice? Music is just a power like any other.
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Oct 17, 2017 03:13
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Yeah, this mission is just a slog. You get waves after waves of Vajra coming at you while you sit in one place firing back at them, and that's just not a fun mission to play. If the base area had HP/EN regen tiles on it, the mission might not be as bad, but unfortunately that's not the case. But then you also have Iczer plot crashing the party much like in Operation Angel Down, except this time Iczer-2 removes Iczer-3 from the fight, leaving you a unit down halfway through the mission on top of Ozma, Talia and Jeffery being out of the action due to Frontier plot (by the way Atross, you're not going to fill in for the injured Iczer-3 because....what, exactly?). At least Brera is kind enough to aggro the top section of the map and even self-heal should he get shot down, which can happen despite his VF-27 being dodgy. But yeah, just grit your teeth when going down this route, make sure you pair Rey and Yagyu to save yourself massive headaches, and deal with the onslaught.
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Oct 18, 2017 02:16
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AradoBalanga posted:Yeah, this mission is just a slog. You get waves after waves of Vajra coming at you while you sit in one place firing back at them, and that's just not a fun mission to play. If the base area had HP/EN regen tiles on it, the mission might not be as bad, but unfortunately that's not the case. But then you also have Iczer plot crashing the party much like in Operation Angel Down, except this time Iczer-2 removes Iczer-3 from the fight, leaving you a unit down halfway through the mission on top of Ozma, Talia and Jeffery being out of the action due to Frontier plot (by the way Atross, you're not going to fill in for the injured Iczer-3 because....what, exactly?). At least Brera is kind enough to aggro the top section of the map and even self-heal should he get shot down, which can happen despite his VF-27 being dodgy. But yeah, just grit your teeth when going down this route, make sure you pair Rey and Yagyu to save yourself massive headaches, and deal with the onslaught. I'm pretty sure the reason you don't get either ships this mission is simply because an Island doesn't have enough room for something of that size to fly about properly (or even enter). As for Atross, I can excuse her not helping with this mission since Iczer-3 was pretty much knocked out, there was nowhere safe to set her down inside the Island, and someone needed to get her out through the Vajra swarms before the entire place was blown up.
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Oct 18, 2017 02:28
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Oh no, not FJ-3! While that haven't happened yet, I just leave senseless destruction of classic 80s space battleship (Giant phallic hanging gun included) here.
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Oct 20, 2017 22:17
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 Back for the last mission of the Earth Route and, drat, did Daiya really get ahead of the competition. But we’re not staying on this path in to keep Michel’s bespectacled face from getting sprayed across the space countryside, so it doesn’t matter.  As before, all our cash went into our squaddies to help them stay alive. The R-Daigun comes with 4 bars, so it’s already good.  Ichitaka, Kouichi, Miu, Yamashita, Kouji and Tetsuya are deploying as event units, so that’s a good bunch of squads I need to rearrange: Dancouga/Yanma Domyoji/Jack Gaiking/Deceive Norza/Lee Dick/Puria Goh/Rei Ken/Lou Eida/Anna (another combination-oriented squad, deployed separately so Goh and Aoi still have their mates) Shinji/Yajima Mira/Shizuru Asuka/Boss Alright, let’s get to it.   : (I’d lost both my parents at a very young age, so the only family I had left was my sister Yuriko.) : (I fancied myself some Champion of Justice back then. My body felt no pain, so that led me take the fight to any delinquents I found…): (But there was a price to pay for all the gangs I defeated… and my sister, the one who’d been protecting me from the world, was taken from me.): (It was payback from some of the delinquents I’d hurt… though they weren’t the masterminds behind that plan. The culprit was my confidant, my one friend, Eiji Kiriyama.): (I presume he did not like how Yuriko kept me grounded, how she made me hesitant to give all of myself to “justice”.): (But even knowing the truth, I don’t hate him. Because I know that the real blame for my sister’s death fell on my self-serving, distorted sense of justice...) : … A dream. That’s unusually nervous of me, hm…? Cut to Shangri-La, Katou’s already managed to get things rolling – the pathway is stabilizing and it won’t be long before “Central’s” invasion of this world begins. He wants Masaki to lead the first wave, though the guy asks if Katou’ll be able to carry out LOTUS’ destruction without him. That’ll be no problem at all, and he asks Masaki to give his regards to the superior… though he concedes that addressing individuals is meaningless. Whatever the case, Masaki asks to have Kiriyama accompany him on his mission and Katou allows it (though he doesn’t look too happy). As Masaki leaves, Katou, inwardly, is hoping for Reiji’s success.  Over by Flag, Yumi’s called in to say he STILL needs more time before the Mazinkaiser is ready. Fine, Kouji will just keep on trucking with the Mazinger, and Yumi’s very apologetic, what with our showdown with Moon WILL drawing closer and closer. Still, he wants Kouji to take care and not do anything crazy. When the call ends, Kouji spots Miu and the JUDA techs talking nearby. Seems like the Painkiller’s D-S.O.I.L. is showing signs of growing weaker, and Rachel can’t really determine the cause. It shouldn’t affect her ability to fight YET, but she still wants Miu to be careful. Miu mumbles a “thanks”, and Rachel asks if something’s wrong. She’s not looking too spritely. Miu says she’s fine and sets out, though Maki is worried: if her D-S.O.I.L. continues to drop, it’ll push her already dipping vitals to very dangerous levels. As Sakon remembers, Factors are dependent on the D-S.O.I.L. to stay alive, so a problem with it is a major problem for them as well. And that’s saying nothing of the fact that it’ll also really diminish the Machina’s own ability to regenerate, Shibakusa points out. Rachel hopes it’s just a temporary thing, but will try and look for a way to deal with it.   : … : Ah, here you are, Miu.: Kouichi… you were looking for me…?: Yeah. Kouji said you looked kind of down, and I got worried…: Sorry… I’m just being a burden for everyone…: No way, you’re a very dear friend for all of us. There ain’t a soul here who thinks you’re a burden.: Thanks… you really are a nice guy…: Ahahah… I think you’re giving me too much credit there.: I… I want to be capable of helping you and our friends… to be a Champion of Justice, someone who can protect what’s dear to me…: Or… rather, that’s what I wanted…: … Why the past tense?: Huh…?: You can still do it now. Just don’t give up on it, and you can come to be a Champion, keeping safe all that’s dear to you… : The important part is asking yourself: “What do I want to do”? And, if you ask me, you’re already a great Champion of Justice. : O… Okay… Thank you, Kouichi. : Um… Kouichi, I—*Alarm! Take off!* : The alarm?! What happened?!*Door opens.*  : Not good, guys! Yamashita’s just taken off on his own!: He…?! : Col. Katsuragi’s just ordered us to give chase! Everyone aboard their units!: Y-Yes, sir…!: (What happened, Yamashita…?!) Mission 31 (Earth Route) – The Demon-Eater   : Sorry, folks… : Hello, Yamashita…: Reiji… Why did you kill the president? Please tell me…: Because it was necessary.: “Necessary”…? Not out of anger, hatred, or whatever… but just because it was necessary…? : That’s right. Come with me, Yamashita. I could use someone like you.: Did you expect this one mail would get me to turn on everyone else?: Did you honestly think a few words is all it’d take for me to betray friends I’d been fighting with since forever…?!: They’re only people you know. Nothing more, nothing less.  : … : Hmph… : I told you trying to be diplomatic would be a waste of time. : The Katou Organization…! How wrong I was about you, Reiji…: What will you do about it, then…?: I’ll put you down… here and now…! Yamashita can’t really take on Reiji by himself, so we’ll just pull him out of range for a turn… As the enemies start closing in, next player phase… : The Hind-Kind’s an artillery and support model – as evidenced by its cannons and reflector cores. : I don’t need a reminder…! That’s why I’ve been trying to keep you at a distance…!: … You do understand, I see. Still, if you haven’t the skill to make proper use of it all, then your Machina is no more than a fancy paperweight. : Reiji…!: Is this what you think is just?! Fooling those who took you for a friend, hurting them… Is this what you really wanted to do all along?!: …: Answer me… Reiji Moritsugu…!!: Are you done with your monologue?: Kch…: YAMASHITAA! You still alive?!: They’ve come… : K-Kouichi… everyone…: Goddamn… Now this is a crazy stunt you tried to pull!: Once we’ve made it back, you’ll be sweeping all of the Dragon’s Hive gym until it is sparkling clean!: Sorry… but I needed to hear what was on his mind – nothing else mattered…: Reiji Moritsugu… looks like every millimeter of your heart’s frozen solid, huh?: You don’t stand a chance of winning this battle as you are, LOTUS. You’ve too many amateurs holding you down…: Hrm…!: So what we’re amateurs…!: We’ve still learned a lot more than you think!: And if you say that’s still not good enough, then we’ll just help each other cover our weaknesses! That’s what being a team – what being friends – is about!: Right on! And we’re going to win this, and keep our world safe, even if we gotta kick you to the curb!: A fine speech, but one that’ll amount to nothing if you haven’t the strength to make good on it. : Come… I’ll show you what true brutality is like. You can take down Reiji but he’ll just heal to full and keep going (cash only on the first kill), so I’ll ignore him until later. Other than that, it’s the same battle we had in Misaki, only it’s Sawatari, Yulianne, Soubi and Wufei instead of Yulianne, Masaki and Sawatari. Deal with the MP Jinrais as you have, and this’ll be simple – valored attacks will tear through the midbosses. Of note is that Reiji’s AI seems to be hardwired to go after Yamashita if possible, so be mindful of that or you’ll be eating chain attacks. Miu can always repair him if the damage mounts up too high. Do note that you’ll only have actual backup by turn 6, so it’s in your best interest to shave off the enemies’ numbers ASAP – send Ichitaka, Kouichi and the zingers forward, setting them in the forest and/or popping Iron Wall when the enemy wave comes closer. From what I’ve seen the more distant mook groups will take a long while to start moving, so you’re not in a big risk of being overwhelmed. After Kouji and Tetsuya’s HP dips enough, they’ll likely only be taking two-digit damage if Mazin Power’s active anyway. Your bigger liabilities here are Miu and Yamashita, and even they should prove pretty resilient unless you’ve neglected them throughout the whole game.  : We’ll protect what is just… we’ll fight side-by-side… Isn’t that what you once said?! What is all a lie?!: It was.: …!! Reiji…!!       The Katou folks will support defend like crazy, so chain attacks are the way if you’d rather be proactive.    But, really, barring you not using ANY of these people, this isn’t really hard if you let the protags take point. When turn four rolls over… : …?! M-My energy’s…!*Power dooooown.* : What happened, Miu…?!: Kouichi… I… the Painkiller is…: The Painkiller’s D-S.O.I.L. has dipped below 20%! Her cardiopulmonary functions are going critical…!: What?!: … You’d try to uphold your “justice” with a body as frail as that? Calling it idiocy would be an understatement!: But don’t worry: I’ll make it all go away in just a second!*Soubi charges after Miu!* : Watch out!  “You’re not taking the Painkiller!”    : Urgh…!: … Heheh… Looks like the Painkiller’s still in one piece…!: Kabuto!: I-I’m fine, Tetsuya… that attack just wrecked the Mazinger Z’s propulsion, though…: …! You’re willing to go this far to save her? The Factor of this Machina is that important a companion to you…?!: This ain’t about me being “willing” or not…! I just acted on impulse…!: …*Soubi backs up.* : *cough, cough* I-I’m… so…rry…: Hayase, Yamashita, Nagumo! We have to cover Kabuto and Kujo!: Roger!: We’re not letting them have this their way! This would probably be more dangerous if Kouji didn’t have enough SP to cast Guts. That said, it’d probably take a midboss to do anything more than 10 damage to him on that HP level (and they’re not close enough). FYI, I could never get Miu to attack anything before this event because either she was out of range or the enemies all ran after our beefier targets, but she does have a quick line: : (Please… hold on for just a bit longer, Painkiller…!)Now, just hang in there one more turn, and… : Hmhmhm… fighting while babysitting your friends is pretty tough, isn’t it? Why not just dump those guys and take care of yourselves?: Are you kidding? None of us would ever do that!: I can appreciate how manly you’ve gotten, boy, but I wonder for how long that attitude’s going to last.: …*Tetsuya moves by Kouji and Miu.* : You kids let me handle this. Grab Kabuto and Kujo, and pull back!: Wh-What’s wrong with you, Tetsuya?! I’m gonna fight here until the last second!: What he said! Not even the Great could take all these enemies alone—!: Don’t be stupid! Our main goal isn’t to win this ONE battle – it’s to make sure the entire world survives! That’s what we need to do!: Tetsu…ya…: drat it… Mazinger, please, move…! I don’t wanna have to leave one of friends hung out to try…!!*Beep, beep!* : What…? There’s something… flying towards us? : It’s the Kaiser Pailder…?! What’s it doing here?! : Kouji, I’ve finished the Mazinkaiser’s maintenance at long last! Quickly! Board the Kaiser Pailder!: I don’t know what you’re up to, but it won’t be a problem if I just destroy you all!: No, you won’t! Both Kabuto and Kujo are under my watch!*Soubi takes aim at Tetsuya and Kouji.*   : Hrk…! The Great was…!: Tetsuya, I’m also sending the original Great for you to use! Climb to a higher altitude – hurry!: …! Yes, sir!*Kouji and Tetsuya fly westward a bit.* : Don’t know when to give up, do you? And here I was, trying to free you from all this hardship…!: I won’t let you hurt them…! : What…?! But I thought the Painkiller couldn’t move…!: Th-This is…! The Paikiller’s D-S.O.I.L. has been reenergized! Its energy cycle rate is… 250%?!: She’s deliberately sending the D-S.O.I.L. into overdrive! The nanomachines are being pushed to the point of apoptosis to increase the rate they metabolize energy!: Miu, stop! That’ll kill you!: I won’t die like this…! Because I…!: I’ll be a Champion of Justice… side-by-side with everyone… and with you, Kouichi…!!: Miu… you…: Kouji… Tetsuya… Keep flying. I’ll cover you…: Alright. Let’s go, Kabuto!: Sorry, Miu! : You’re not going anywhere…! : Kouji! Tetsuya!  : N-No way…! Kouji! Tetsuya! Say something!!: … And there you have it. At the end of the day, the so called “power of justice” is— : Easy there, Hayase! We’re not going down from something like that!: What?!      : You’ve been getting a kick outta messing with us, eh...? But now you’re gonna have to deal with the Mazinkaiser! Get ready!: They both made it…!: My piloting technique hasn’t waned enough that you'd need to worry about me.: …: Time to pay them back with interest, Kabuto!: Aye, aye, Tetsuya!*Nearby…*  : So those are the Mazinkaiser and the True Great Mazinger… The data didn’t do justice to their magnificence. : Should I deploy and collect data directly?: You’ll have plenty of chances to fight them in the near future. That can wait until then.: I ask that you simply observe them fight, precisely in the interest of what moment. I’d like my magnum opus to be absolutely flawless when it steps into the limelight. : Yes, sir. True Great Mazinger (Tetsuya Tsurugi) Squad Bonus: Armor +150, Accuracy +5  Mazinkaiser (Kouji Kabuto) Squad Bonus: Armor +150, Accuracy +5 Show’s over, folks. We’ve officially won the game. If Gaiking the Great already made this plenty easy, Kouji and Tetsuya’s upgrades mean we cannot be beaten in a straight-up fight ever. Mazin Power, if you’ll remember, ups damage done by 25%, and lowers damage taken by 25%. Once it activates, only bosses will do real damage; once Prevail gets rolling, not even they will. Tetsuya’s original Great Mazinger, complete with blue arms and legs, gains access to its Double Thunder Break move, on top of a stat boost to everything else. But the real jump in power goes to Kouji, who’s just been promoted to the rank of “tied with Gaiking as the strongest goddamn unit in the game”. Gaiking the Great has more HP, but the Kaiser hits harder courtesy of still having Double Burning Fire with Tetsuya. There are a couple of moves with higher attack power, but this won't get left far behind with Mazin Power boosting it. Mazinkaiser has everything: survivability, nuclear powered strikes, good range, it is cost efficient (99 Gigant Missiles!  ), Rust Tornado will apply Armor Down, strong chain attacks if you’re deploying solo, and more, more, more. The only demerit I can think of is that neither it nor the True Great actually inherit the upgrades from the regular Mazinger or Great Mazinger. That’s a bit of a dick move if you dumped a lot of cash into them (which I didn’t), BUT you can assign any other Mazinger pilot to control the things (though only Kouji and Tetsuya can do the Double Burning Fire). Now we just need to stand by for a bit longer, and be thankful that the enemies are spread out, otherwise Kouji and Tetsuya would wreck them all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lH19nxoFSI     : Our plan’s been pushed into the final stage, but these orders we got… Hmm...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Qs6OQOBNs Tetsuya and Kouji’s rocket punches had their animations updated, so he it is (with a bonus of Kouichi showing that he’s pro now). : There’ll be nothing left if we do not make good on this opportunity… Come! Show me your full strength!      : Had things played out differently, I believe I could’ve ended up part of your team… but this is reality, and I am now your enemy!       : A legit attack jives a whole lot better with me than sneaky traps like this. Still, orders are orders.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXCLXlj66ac Would you blame me if I said that it was only on this mission that I noticed Sawatari had upgraded his mech (apparently he’s had it since the Misaki Sphere mission)? To be fair, his new Idaten Ver. 2 looks pretty much identical to Ver. 1, only with a new backpack, I think? And because I know someone’ll ask, no, it’s not called Idaten Nogota. Do they outright call it like that in the original series, or did the furigana read like that in the manga? Because it is written イダテン弐型 and that is Idaten Nigata. The JP wiki doesn’t have it spelled out like that, either. Where did this Nogota business start? Either way, after a whole turn of slaughter…   : Is everyone alright?!: Ah, there’s the Daiku Maryu, right on time! : That’s… the Mazinkaiser! And the True Great Mazinger! : Okay, that’s enough “Men’s Super Robots Monthly” for you, Johnny. : We had a few close calls here, but, as you can see, everyone’s A-OK!: I’m really sorry, guys…! : Never mind that right now! You just went through a tough bit, didn’t you? Then let’s go and get some payback!*Looks at the Reiji.*  : The Vardant is leading the enemy forces… We’d best assume he’s got a pretty good read on all our tactics… : It’s fine…: Huh…? : He might be LOTUS’ old commander, but that doesn’t mean he’s familiar with the current LOTUS. So we’ll be alright. : That is correct. All of you have been displaying growth far beyond our expectations.  : And if the enemy underestimates that growth, then that’d actually be an opening we can exploit.: … I understand. And we only got this far by having faith in one another, so I shouldn’t stop that now. I’m counting on you all, troops!
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Jan 1, 2018 |
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Oct 22, 2017 18:54
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 Still need to keep Miu, Kouichi and Yamashita safe (plus your ships, of course). Not that any of this matters, since Kouji and Tetsuya could’ve easily wiped the floor with all the enemies, but hey. Carrying on.      I have chosen you to suffer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suv5DWM-fRA How ghastly.    Bye, Yulianne. : So you kids have done a bit of growing up, huh…? Much as it annoys me, I better run off…!  Secret Alert! If you’re taking this route to carry on with the Linebarrel secret, then you’ll want to have Kouichi fight Soubi TWICE before killing him (anyone can take him). : Are you seriously fine with the whole world getting destroyed? Katou’s trying to bring over a bunch of invaders from that other universe!: You really are a noble kid, huh…: A long time ago I also had that same passion of justice and ideals… but that changed when my wife died. That is when a realized that there are no such things in this world.: But in the future? That’s where we’ll find true justice and ideals – nowhere else!: Y-You…Second time: : Listen, I don’t think I could ever imagine what it feels to lose your wife…: But what you’re doing now will only result in more people being as miserable as you!: Hah, noble, indeed… so much so that you’re getting on my nerves…!: You don’t think I’m well aware of that? Of course I am…!    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KKv601ZD78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNPiVF4OuTQ Folks decide to tangle with Tetsuya, allowing me to show off his new moves (that’s a pretty smug DK for Double Thunder Break!).  And I have Kouichi wreck Soubi again just because. : I’m not finished yet… I also have a cause of my own, you know! : drat it, his Machina’s still regenning? When does it stop?!*Miu charges after him.*  : What are you doing, Miumiu?! We’ve no idea when your D-S.O.I.L. might break down again!: Are you trying to get yourself killed, MIu?!: I’m fine… so is the Painkiller…! This Factor is in pain… I have to do this not just for us, but to also set him free from it…: Painkiller… please give me strength… just enough to keep everyone safe…!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iSvOVauoCo : … Kaoru… Finally… I can be with you… : Are you alright, Miu…?: I am. The Painkiller heard my voice and answered it…: (Thank you, Painkiller…): Recording complete. Will we turn in in this data as well?: No… a D-S.O.I.L. being stimulated by one’s emotions isn’t something they’d be too happy with. : Still, it is some very interesting data. I think we could put it to good use for our future endeavors.: Copy that.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eFHb-p_T9I And here we go, I found a good opportunity to show off God Beast Mode’s DK. We’ll likely never use it again!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPRyf6CIWyw Bye, Wufei! : This is it. I believe that today is when the curtain will rise on a new battle!   : Psh… How did I end up as just some random foil to guys like them…?!: Don’t think I’m the same guy I was before!: Your brute-force approach hasn’t changed, though… I could see through your attacks blindfolded, Hayase. : You son of a!!    : You overextend beyond what the Painkiller can handle. Carry on with that and you risk not only your life, but that of your allies as well. : I won’t… let that happen!  : Oh…? Your movements have improved. And you’ve learned how to properly control your unit…: But this is still as far as you’ll go. You’ll have your chance to get together with Prof. Grife in the afterlife.: No way, I’m not stopping now. Rather, this is the moment I’ll clear a major milestone!: Come on and let’s do this, Reiji Moritsugu!     : The Gaiking and Daiku Maryu have served their purpose with the defeat of the Darius. Now I’ll just snuff out these symbols of hope.: Like hell you will! The souls of every single one of us are riding on that ship!: And while I know that you’re really dang strong, I’m still not letting myself get beaten! And that’s a promise!     : Ever the obedient pup, fighting on command. If you’re so afraid of being rejected by others, I can just put you out of your misery. : I… I’m not doing this because anyone told me…! I’m here just because it is what I chose to do…!: Ah…?: And that’s because…: I’m Shinji Ikari of LOTUS, pilot of the EVA-01!   Had you attacked Reiji before all events went down: : Your units aren’t in top condition, it seems. That’ll hamper your capacity to fight with all your might.: Too bad for you, the Great’s still running perfectly. And while your body might not feel any pain, I can just as well give your soul ample taste of its power!   : You called Yamashita here only to try and kill him?! I never took you to be the kind of man to use dirty tricks like that!: It is never a good habit to presume things. There was much more you never thought to question, and that was your biggest mistake. : Oh, no, you’ve rubbed me the wrong way since day one. But I saw that everything you did was for us and Earth - that’s why I trusted you! So what the hell happened there?!       : …: What’s the holdup, Reiji? Come and show us “what true brutality is like” already! : As you wish.*Reiji rushes Kouichi down.* : H-He’s fast…! But I!! : Wh-What?! But I should be way stronger than before! : You are, absolutely… but…: Like I said, I can still read you like an open book. : drat…!: The Linebarrel is special; it eclipses all other Machinas. It is the ultimate, greatest of all weapons. You’ve been entrusted with it, and this is all you can manage? Show me strength to match all your grandstanding! : Kouichi, you’re being too hot-headed! Pull yourself together!: Is this what the power of your justice amounts to…? Defeat is not an option in this fight. If you think you’re allowed to die and leave all this behind, think again…!       “How do you figure you could ever defend this world with so little power?” : GAAAAAH!!: Stay strong, Kouichi! A Champion of Justice always finds a way through even the toughest situations! : He’s right – get up, Kouichi! I know you too well to think you’d have gone down from that! : Mister Godannar… Wasn’t there something odd about the Vardant’s attack just now? : Yeah... The killer intent is clearly there, but he didn’t hit any vital spots…: You don’t think Reiji’s…?: You cannot protect anything, Hayase. You ramble on about justice, but have no power to back any of it up…: You cannot even kill me, the villain who murdered Ishigami and left to join the Katou Organization. How could someone like you ever protect even a single person? : Then I suppose I’ll just kill you, the people of LOTUS, and everyone you swore to keep safe…! : Kouichi…!: I’m not… losing this…!   : The Mode B…! It engaged without my authorization…?!    “Nothing’s changed, Hayase. You still have no idea how to make good use of that power.” : Even if you can engage Mode B at will, it isn’t difficult for me to predict your actions when your attack patterns remain the same. : Can he really not win this…?!: Wait, this is… the energy readings are still going up!: I’m not finished…! So many people have trusted us with all their hopes. That’s why…: That’s why I…! : … I am never letting myself be beaten!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOVv42SVQY8 Kouichi: “Everyone’s hopes are riding on us… I can’t go down!” Reiji: “Hah… it’s finally awakened…”  : He did it…!: Haah… haah… haah… : What was that just now…?: My guess is the Linebarrel answered his wholehearted determination…: Yamashita!: Y-Yes!: I trust you collected data on what happened? That was the true power of the Linebarrel. But the awakening is still incomplete…: Hayase has no choice but to keep on moving onwards, so you will all need to support him. : Reiji…!: Never forget how you felt now, Hayase. Nagumo, Kabuto, Tsurugi, Kujo, I hope you’ve also gained something from this battle with me.: Reiji, you…: I knew it…: … : It seems the time has come... : Th-That’s…! : We’ve a match in the Flag’s database… It’s the Shangri-La, Katou Hisataka’s battleship!: Ladies and Gentlemen of LOTUS, I am glad to see you well. : Katou Hisataka…: I’d like to tell you that we have officially entered the final stage of our plan...: The second the Dimension Peeler activates, the forces from the other side will invade this universe. Are you ready to take a stand and fight…? : drat straight! We’ll kick all their asses, and yours as well, so you better start clenching! : “Tired” isn’t part of our dictionary...! We’re ready to go whenever, wherever…!: That’s good to hear. And, in that case, I’d like to propose an alliance between us and LOTUS.: What?!: An alliance?! Just what are you…?!: The Katou Organization’s true purpose has always been to oppose and destroy the invasion from the other side… and to cultivate the strength and resolve of this world’s dwellers in preparation for the showdown that’d inevitably come. : I think we can safely check that objective as “accomplished”. : That’s your “true” purpose…?: Oi, what the hell is going on…?!: B-Brother… why…: “Brother”?! Him?!: You’ve recovered all of your memories, hm? It’s been a while, Emi…  : … Could I ask you for a full explanation? Why have you proposed this alliance as abruptly as you have?: As I mentioned not long ago, the Dimension Peeler will soon activate, opening a hole in the fabric of space-time. : Machina-Humans from the other universe will surge through it, and it is up to us to face them.: “Machina-Humans”…?: To put it simply, those are humans who’ve chosen to merge themselves with machines in order to better execute their goals. Their separate psyches were unified into a single network, and all is directed to one thing: harmony with the collective mass. There are no more individuals, nor emotions.: Perfect efficiency… Discordance is a thing of the past. And the unified consciousness that controls it all is the being named Central.  : No individuals or emotions… Are there no regular humans in that other universe, then…?: Yes, there are. Half of that Earth is populated by humans like those of the Frontier Fleet, under the rule of the United Nations Government.  : It’s possible for us to coexist, then…?: No, it isn’t coexistence. Central merely surveyed and appraised them as having the potential to be “useful” to the whole… : Just as it did to Amagatsu Kizaki, the one who’d recovered a piece of technology that’d been lost when humanity transitioned into its unified state: the Factor System. : Amagatsu Kizaki… the creator of the Linebarrel, and Emi’s dad…: … : Okay, I kinda get what that Central is, but why are do they want to invade our world…?: Because all must be in harmony with the whole. They now seek to expand that harmony across the other universe, converting all who live here into Machina-Humans.: It could well be said that that desire to expand is the one instinct left within the Machina-Humans. : And so you pretended to work with Central, all the while forming the Katou Organization in order to oppose them?: So that the people of this world would be ready and able to stand against the force that would eventually arrive from the parallel universe, correct. : And was that… why you killed Amagatsu Kizaki? Is that why you killed our father?: I need an answer, my brother… why did you kill him that day?: While I remember you often clashed with each other, I still thought that, deep down, you loved each other as family…: … Around that time, our father had been appraised as an “unsuitable part” by Central. He, himself, realized that, and what was coming, so he asked me to gun him down…: I had already infiltrated Central’s ranks by then, and it would prove my trustworthiness to them… all in the name of true justice…: So… when he told me not to hate you, he was…: … But the fact still remains that I killed our father. I will not blame you if you’ve come to despise me.: …: Color me surprised… The Katou Organization has been an unknown force since before the Second Impact, but not once did I expect that to be your goal.: I all kinda makes sense… but, drat, it still feels so surreal… : I think he’s telling the truth, though… : Eida? : What the Katou Organization has been doing is about the same thing the R-Daigun did: force your opponent to grow. That’s why they willingly cooperated with us.  : All for the sake of mankind’s future, huh…?: Their ideals guided their hands in battle, though all could see that they’d be villains in the eyes of the world. No different from one Treize Khushrenada…: And, so, I chose to help this man: for our once-earned peace to be made truly enduring…: I see... that’s why you stopped reporting after you infiltrated their group.: My goal is to permanently strand the invading forces inbetween the dimensions… but I cannot do that without yours and the Linebarrel’s power.: … : My friends, now is the time where we must pool our strength against the enemy from the other universe.: Mr. Ishigami…!: My words are neither commands nor threats… The choice is entirely yours to make. If pressed, I’d say... this is a sincere plea for your help.: I’m never going to forgive what you guys have done… but I can tell that there’ll be no way for us to protect this world by fighting each other. : So if us fighting together is an option, then I guess that’s the one I’ll pick…: Kouichi…: And I agree… if we can stop fighting our fellow men, then that is clearly the way to go.: I think LOTUS should accept their proposal, Lady Une. : Giving them a vote of confidence, are you…? Very well, I’ll defer to your judgement. : Thank you!: We have an agreement… : Then I guess that’s that. I look forward to working with you guys… especially with these cute boys. : P-Please don’t look at me like that…! : Reiji Moritsugu… I await the opportunity for us to have our duel. : You’re free to try, but only after this battle’s finished… : … : … Have you nothing to say about this, Sawatari.: … Eh, I already had some idea of what you were up to after how long we’ve worked together. : I just wish Soubi, Riku and the boss were around for this… but you can’t get stuck in the past, right?: I see… but I apologize to you regardless…: I was also privy to what Katou’s agenda was, but I couldn’t condone all the bloodshed that would’ve resulted from his methods…: So I left, taking many of their Machinas and the Flag with me… and the rest is history.: Of course, actually getting said Flag to activate wound up putting a major burden on Reiji’s shoulders.: Activating the Flag…?: You see, doing that requires someone to part with their physical self and merge with the ship itself. I took that job upon myself… but I had to thrust the dirty work onto Reiji. : Pay it no mind. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t change what happened… and I’m ready to do as I must to the very end. : Reiji…: Blah, there’s being poker-faced and then there’s you… it’s like I’m staring at a cardboard cutout. drat it, I can’t believe I let you trick me like that!: Further proof that you still have a long way to go.: And you, Prez! You said you were an AI, but that’s really you in there, isn’t it?! You just plugged your mind into a machine!: Ahahaha, I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Still, this is a pretty sweet body, don’t you think? Now I can go flat out with my pranks. : Granted, that's not really that different from before...: ... Alice, is there anything you can do to teach him a lesson?: I think I could hack into the main computer and start messing with his source code a bit, or maybe…: N-Now, please wait a second! … By the time you see this, I’ll likely be dead, dead, dedededededededddddd…: You’re not fooling anyone!: Darn and blast! The truth was better left unsaid! Oh, the humanity!: I hope I managed to help you guys out there, Kouichi…: Yeah, absolutely… but you also really had me on pins and needles. Can you promise you won’t push yourself to the edge again?: Oh, don’t worry. My body’s feeling a whole lot better now! : It seems that your condition today was a secondary effect to the Painkiller inoculating itself against viral attacks.  : And with this data in store, you should be fine even when faced with viral weapons targeting your D-S.O.I.L. : Miu’s back to normal, I’ve got the Kaiser back and Tetsuya has a new and improved Great… all things considered, today was a good day! : And what about the Mazinger? : He’ll still be ready for to be used if need be. We’ve been fighting together for too long for me to just leave him behind…: Wouldn’t you feel bad if you had to say goodbye to your EVA all of a sudden, Asuka?: … Yeah, I guess.: (Inside the EVA’s the only place I feel truly at home, after all…): (… Actually, maybe that’s not true anymore. Maybe here, with these people, is just as much of a home to me now…) It’s been a long since time since Wufei and Goh had a chance to fight – not since he and Katou visited JUDA. Wufei’s wanted to speak with him again for a while, and is glad to see that he’s recovered his spirit. Actually, he’s looking even mightier, courtesy of all his comrades. That’s especially true in regards to Anna, Goh says. Wufei also recognizes the girl, telling Goh to value his wife. “I will,” he says, “We’ll never be taken apart again.” But never mind that: Misato calls in and says we just got an urgent message from Une. One of the Preventers’ agents has located Djibril, and the guy’s camping out at the Moon’s Daedalus Base. That sounds pretty good to Goh and Anna since we were headed up there do deal with Moon WILL as well. We’re expecting a major battle, though, so Misato says we’ll be first heading up to rendezvous with our other half.  : What… I’m still alive…? : …: Masaki… What are you doing to me…?: I’m making you useful, just as I did to Eiji Kiriyama.*Click.* : Masaki! What the hell are you—?!*Wirrrrrr* : No, stop! STOP! GWAAAAAAAAAAAH!!
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Jan 1, 2018 |
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Oct 22, 2017 18:54
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Ah yes. They were lying to us before, so it makes perfect sense to trust them now.
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Oct 22, 2017 20:34
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Ah, yes, the Neo-Neue-Shin-New Divine Crusaders. I was missing the logic of 'in order to make you strong, I had to kill a bunch of people who could have helped the fight' in my mech games.
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Oct 22, 2017 20:42
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Weren't the Katou Organisation introduced blowing up a town or something? I don't really know how that fits their goal of secretly actually being good guys.
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Oct 22, 2017 20:59
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I don't think I even need to say this by now, but absolutely nothing here happened in the manga. Literally, absolutely nothing. Oh, except Katou being actually a good guy. And even there, the actual situation is much, MUCH different. So much that I won't bother explaining, go read the manga yourselves. It's very good. All of that said I'm glad the Mazinkaiser and True Great Mazinger got new animations because they look very good. That was visually satisfying.
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Oct 22, 2017 21:47
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Ishigami you lying sack of poo poo, your identification games could have gotten everyone killed.
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Oct 22, 2017 22:08
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Hellioning posted:Ah, yes, the Neo-Neue-Shin-New Divine Crusaders. I was missing the logic of 'in order to make you strong, I had to kill a bunch of people who could have helped the fight' in my mech games. How else is LOTUS supposed to level up their pilots?
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Oct 22, 2017 22:42
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Blaze Dragon posted:I don't think I even need to say this by now, but absolutely nothing here happened in the manga. Literally, absolutely nothing. I enjoy watching your continuous descent into darkness.  But, yes, I agree that they really did good with those animations. Kaiser's as brutally powerful as you'd expect from the movie version of the bot.
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Oct 22, 2017 22:43
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I find it amusing that Wufei and Trowa have the same goddamned gimmick. But Trowa gets a pass (even in universe) because he's treating it like a punchclock obligation until he inevitably rejoins the team, while Wufei goes full  with it.I'm sure Reiji will get a pass because despite all the much worse poo poo he's pulled for operation "I was just testing you all along  ", never underestimate the difference how annoying you are in the process makes
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Oct 23, 2017 01:10
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Hell, it's about time, Yumi. Worth the wait though. A nice dash of stylish animations, a good helping of POWER OVERWHELMING, and dare I say this version of Mazin Kenzan is even better than W's?
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Oct 23, 2017 02:02
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Section Z posted:I find it amusing that Wufei and Trowa have the same goddamned gimmick. But Trowa gets a pass (even in universe) because he's treating it like a punchclock obligation until he inevitably rejoins the team, while Wufei goes full So like... if I'm understanding correctly. Wufei's been working with the Preventers from the start, but basically just went full HAM in his role?
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Oct 23, 2017 02:04
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Onmi posted:So like... if I'm understanding correctly. Wufei's been working with the Preventers from the start, but basically just went full HAM in his role? Eeh, more like he infiltrated Katou's group as part of his Preventer job, talked with Katou for about 5 minutes, and said: "I'll take it." He got to go all Treize without the "dying" part, and now it was time to finally face THE TRUE ENEMY. Wufei's not a very good agent, is what I'm getting at.
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Oct 23, 2017 02:10
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Trowa's still feeding LOTUS information about Djibril and I'm pretty sure is the person who has revealed the location of every single one of Djibril's bases so far yeah? If he was capable of human emotion I feel like all of Trowa's reports include the phrase "This fuckin guy I swear to god"
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Oct 23, 2017 02:15
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Is that a subtle reference to Wufei's backstory at the end? Dude's a widower, you know.
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Oct 23, 2017 02:23
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HitTheTargets posted:Is that a subtle reference to Wufei's backstory at the end? Dude's a widower, you know. That's exactly it, yeah. Wufei's basically telling Goh to not get his wife killed like he did. Apparently, no one told Wufei Goh married twice due to his first wife dying in combat. Sure, she didn't really die and all, but that doesn't change the fact that Goh's the one guy there that actually knows how that feels and doesn't need to be reminded of it.
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Oct 23, 2017 04:04
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And here we have the reason for blond Reiji as seen in Vardant's ultimate attack: that's what he looked like before meeting Vardant. Well, "meeting" is a bit of a loose term here; it's more "Reiji ran off after the revelation about Eiji being a manipulative jackass and fell into a hole that contained Vardant, which happened to have its arm outstretched and was holding three of its swords out into the air (because...who knows, the anime never really explains that part), and Reiji became...intimately familiar with said swords, if you catch my drift." So yeah, Kouichi is not the only one in the cast who encountered their Machina via a painful death. Oh, as for Idaten, it does have a minor difference between its two versions. The initial one uses a sawed-off shotgun, while the current model uses a machine gun. That's...really all that changes for Idaten outside of the cosmetic differences. Yeah, not really sure why the anime went out of the way to give Sawatari an upgrade when it changes very little to Idaten overall. More merchandise options, I guess? 
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Oct 23, 2017 05:31
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Hellioning posted:Ah, yes, the Neo-Neue-Shin-New Divine Crusaders. I was missing the logic of 'in order to make you strong, I had to kill a bunch of people who could have helped the fight' in my mech games. One of the most used (overused, I'd say) trope in the mecha anime, and one of the most irritating. Really, I'd like to watch a series where someone tries this and the only thing he succed to do is to make things more complicated and hurting someone close to the protagonist. Guy Fawkes fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Oct 23, 2017 |
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Oct 23, 2017 20:29
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Guy Fawkes posted:Really, I'd like to watch a series where someone tries this and the only thing he succed to do is to make things more complicated and hurting someone close to the protagonist.
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Oct 23, 2017 20:40
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Yes! Finally the Kaiser is back. And this time, the stereo had better not break down just when the final boss shows up. (Seriously, a big gripe I have with the Mazinkaiser movie is that the good song cuts out right when the going is getting good and gets replaced with something I don't even remember.) So let's see what happened here. The double-triple-quadruple agents all got their allegiances revealed. (or so they'd have us believe. For some guys working against the interdimensional invasion-force, you sure put a lot of effort into building the gate said force will invade through and trashing anyone who might be able to fight against said force, including your own bloody organization.) Ugh, I'm ok with working with them I guess, barely. But can we at least have everyone get in line and have a turn at 'slap the idiots in the face'? Painkiller unlocked Victory 2, I have wings now. Linebarrel got a new...super-mode? The second one? Eh, I think I prefer the teleport-spam myself and after having Gundam-00 in half a dozen SRWs straight, I can't help but look at Linebarrel Mode-C and go "Huh, it's just like Trans-am". Which isn't Linebarrels fault really as I'm pretty sure it predates 00 by a few years, but still. Some mysterious half-staticy folks are watching from the sidelines. I think the mystery would have worked better if purple-hair got the green filter as well. I guess she doesn't to show she's right there at the scene, but it makes it a bit too obvious (if I'm guessing right) what is going on. It's like trying to go in disguise by putting on glasses and nothing else. It rather amuses me that right before the mission Yumi is all "Nope, not done yet. I need more time!", but half an hour or so later he's dropping not just the Mazinkaiser but also the Great 'Even Greater' Mazinger out of orbit. I guess he's just a perfectionist and had to get that last little bit of paint touched up just right.
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Oct 23, 2017 21:00
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maninthesuit posted:Painkiller unlocked Victory 2, I have wings now. Considering how I've been told that, in the manga, the Linebarrel's ultimate, ultimate form is him turning red and "going three times faster" (plus adding ALL THE SWORDS), I'm very inclined to say that, yes, this is totally meant to be Trans-Am. And I spoke with people before how my theory is that Yumi had Mazinkaiser ready to go ages ago, and this was all one huge game of "let's see how long I can bullshit Kouji before it sinks in". Oblique Angle posted:dare I say this version of Mazin Kenzan is even better than W's? To be fair, I'm rather torn as I really like sound set used for W's melody. But I also appreciate a whole lot of how L handled everything else in the song.  Clearly the solution is just to smash both versions together! 
Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Oct 24, 2017 |
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Oct 24, 2017 02:43
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Brunom1 posted:Considering how I've been told that, in the manga, the Linebarrel's ultimate, ultimate form is him turning red and "going three times faster" (plus adding ALL THE SWORDS), I'm very inclined to say that, yes, this is totally meant to be Trans-Am. "Three times faster" is the understatement of the decade, consider that Linebarrel's first super mode is teleportation, and this is something even greater. It's closer to 00 Qan[T]'s bullshit than Trans-Am.
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Oct 24, 2017 02:52
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Section Z posted:I find it amusing that Wufei and Trowa have the same goddamned gimmick. But Trowa gets a pass (even in universe) because he's treating it like a punchclock obligation until he inevitably rejoins the team, while Wufei goes full It means "The Bart The" in German. Well no one who speaks German could be evil! 
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Oct 24, 2017 03:53
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HitTheTargets posted:It means "The Bart The" in German. Well Trowa does like to dress up as a clown from time to time so it all fits.
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Oct 24, 2017 04:23
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Brunom1 posted:Considering how I've been told that, in the manga, the Linebarrel's ultimate, ultimate form is him turning red and "going three times faster" (plus adding ALL THE SWORDS), I'm very inclined to say that, yes, this is totally meant to be Trans-Am. Well, I stand corrected. A quick sniff through wikipedia shows that Linebarrel started about a year after Gundam 00, which would firmly place it somewhere in 00s second season if I'm not mistaken. So yeah, this is Trans-am and if 00 had been in this game, there probably would have been a joke about it.
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Oct 24, 2017 06:20
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Well, now somebody has to do UX to see if they point out the similarity there. (UX has Trailblazer and manga Linebarrels, for the unfamiliar.)
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Oct 25, 2017 02:44
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UX is worth LPing just to get a single secret: Andrei Smirnov, who brings Patrick as a bonus. No really, you do a bunch of steps to recruit Andrei, and you get Patrick for free as well. Andrei's GN-XIV is also hilariously one of the better animated units in the game. Oh, and to show off how easily Zhuge Liang can shatter the game over his knee by being set as your Tactician.
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Oct 25, 2017 03:09
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AradoBalanga posted:UX is worth LPing just to get a single secret: Andrei Smirnov, who brings Patrick as a bonus. No really, you do a bunch of steps to recruit Andrei, and you get Patrick for free as well. Andrei's GN-XIV is also hilariously one of the better animated units in the game. Is Zhuge Liang the Tactician that turns off Evasion Decay? Because I thought the sheer power of that made whoever it was the best one.
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Oct 26, 2017 03:01
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Sordas Volantyr posted:Is Zhuge Liang the Tactician that turns off Evasion Decay? Because I thought the sheer power of that made whoever it was the best one.
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Oct 26, 2017 04:18
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AradoBalanga posted:UX is worth LPing just to get a single secret: Andrei Smirnov, who brings Patrick as a bonus. No really, you do a bunch of steps to recruit Andrei, and you get Patrick for free as well. Andrei's GN-XIV is also hilariously one of the better animated units in the game. Please tell me this zhuge liang does not use a feather fan... Just hearing/reading the name zhuge liang on the same paragraph as tactician makes me cringe due to my liking of actual three kingdoms period history, and how badly things get exagerated and twisted in the novel (and even more in the dw games and such, which have also ruined the word benevolence for me) That and my hatred for the feather fan wielding tactician trope that seems to start with him. Is this zhuge liang from 00? Or another series? I need to know so I can stay the hell away from it :p
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Oct 26, 2017 14:47
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Arkanumzilong posted:Please tell me this zhuge liang does not use a feather fan... He's from SD Gundam, and from what I can see on Google, yes, he does have the fan.
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Oct 26, 2017 14:51
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Presumably a version of SD Gundam based on the Romance, yes?
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Oct 26, 2017 21:39
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