Part 54: Campaign Mission 21AOK: The Final Battle! as Andy, Olaf and Kanbei - Part 1

Mission 21AOK: The Final Battle! as Andy, Olaf and Kanbei (or "Operation Dunderhead") - Part 1

airports! (um... what are they again?)
botes!
mountains of troops!
by your powers combined i am SCARY FACE DRAKE!... oh fine... OPERATION DUNDERHEAD!

Let's... move on.


ALL SYSTEMS, FOOL POWER!
er what
WHAT IS A MAN? ABOUT 2HP, UNLESS THEY'RE A CO.
you're just gonna spout vidjagame villain lines at me aren't you
OF COURSE!
man i don't have time for this
YOU DARE BRING LIGHT INTO MY LAIR? YOU MUST DIE!
zelda cd-i? really?
I STURM WILL KNOCK YOU ALL DOWN!
doubt it
NOT-AS-YET ALLIED NATIONS, WELCOME TO DIE!
all right look i'll just go sit over here and pretend you've captured me
TIME FOR A CHANGE OF PACE!
then i guess my dad and some other dudes'll come beat you up
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO ME
look just shut up

With apologies to Dr. Robotnik (twice), Dracula, M. Bison, Ganon, Garland, Magneto and CATS.



"Danger." Yes.



This mission's A-OK with me! Anyway, yeah. Andy's Anthem, Olaf's Theme, Kanbei's Theme, Sturm's Theme. Not that I care much for Olaf or Kanbei's themes. But maybe I'm just a philistine. I dunno.

Day 1 - Andy


he may be kind of a dumbass but this sturm throws a mean meteor maybe you shouldn't fight him after all
screw that! i don't know the meaning of the word retreat
you also don't know the meaning of the word airport
anyways i totally brought some buds to help me out check this out:


Hey there, Boss! You doin' all right?
Of course I am! Grit! That wretch deceived and used me!
You just figurin' that out?
Eh? What was that?
Did you hear somethin'? I didn't here anythin', sir.



That's what I thought! Paul! I'm here to lend you my strength!

Thanks, Olaf. The snow might be an issue, but at least I won't have to worry about crippling overspecialisation...


Whoa! Where'd this guy come from?

Well I'm not sure, Max, but if I had to guess I'd say Yellow Comet.

Who dares to lay a hand on Kanbei's precious daughter? This unpardonable act shall not go unpunished!

Calm down man, all he's been doing is quoting boss lines at her.

You, who are known as Paul! Direct me as you will!

Okay, that gives us a good powerful CO shoring up the right flank. I think we're good to go!

All right, everybody! Let's move out!
No one...ever...listens to me. I told you...you can't...win. Thank you...for trying.

Less of that defeatism, Sonja. She didn't say this line in Operation Nap Patrol Redux: I suspect it only crops up when Kanbei's on the field.



So yeah, here's our line-up this time. On the left, thanks to our Olaf's Sea Strike detour, we've got Olaf, with a sizeable and nicely-balanced force. However, few people enjoy having Olaf in their Final Battle line-up, for one simple reason - Blizzard. Andy and Kanbei aren't going to appreciate being buried in snow, so Olaf is potentially a serious hinderance. On the other hand, snow is pretty much the only thing that slows Sturm's armies down - he'll cheerfully glide over everything in clear and rainy weather, but he gets hit by snow the same as everyone else (except, as we saw last time, Sami during Double Time). So Olaf might work out for us.



On the right, thanks to the Sonja mission detour, we have Kanbei. Kanbei starts out with four of medium tanks - a lot of firepower. Ideally I want to keep at least some of those alive as long as possible, because of how much it'd cost to get them replaced as Kanbei. He'll probably be taking at least one meteor strike though, so it might be tough. Kanbei also starts with four AAs that should be handy tools when it comes to taking Sturm on. Also note that this time we've got a couple of COs to work with who aren't absolutely awful with air units. So yeah, get ready to see a lot of B copters once we've got all the airports up and running.



Moving on. As before, the infantry get to capturing the base and airport, and the AAs and missiles get ready to take Sturm on.



And as before, the medium tanks and B copters get back to relative safety.

Day 1 - Olaf



"It's sort of soft and fluffy, like a big towel."



No real surprises here as Olaf moves his troops upfield, again with the AAs leading the way.



Careful there, Boss. This Paul fella knows his stuff, but he ain't exactly afraid of breakin' a few eggs to make an omelette, if y'catch my drift.
What do you mean?
You'll see.

Day 1 - Kanbei


I will protect you with my life.

I get what you must be going through here Kanbei, but "keepsake" is still an odd way of putting it.



The AAs trundle upfield in a nice little square of units.



And the medium tanks and so on get spread out as much as possible, for the incoming Meteor Strike.


PLEASE BEWARE OF THE SPIKES ON THE ASTEROID COASTER; THEY ARE SHARP (really? we have to warn people about spikes? like they won't notice the spikes i mean come on the cars are nothing but spikes! unbelievable! wha- uh- my what is still on?)
ok that was pretty funny.

Aaand apologies to Robotnik for a third time.

Day 2 - Andy



He's a canny one, that Sturm: a fighter behind the river, a bomber surrounded by mountains. Pretty frustrating for us.



Anyway, someone pointed out that I'd probably be better off giving the cities down here to Andy (I gave them to Grit last mission), as he needs the funding boost more than anyone. So let's send a couple of infantry down there to grab them.



Blasting a fighter out of the sky...



... before twin AAs take on the bombers.



Always frustrating to leave an enemy unit on 1HP, but it's better than nothing.



Once more it's a case of as we look to lure Sturm's river fighter and mountain bomber out of hiding.

Day 2 - Olaf



Between Sturm keeping some planes back and Andy dealing with the nearest fighter, there isn't too much for Olaf to shoot at.



But at least we can bring down a bomber.



And move Olaf's AAs and tanks upfield a bit. Again, someone pointed out that I don't need to sacrifice all my units to Sturm's meteors, so I'm getting some of Olaf's cheaper ones out of the way.



Two middies, two rockets, two missiles. Should be enough to get Sturm to target over here.



Grit, what the devil is he on about?
Don't really know if I should tell you...

Day 2 - Kanbei



So, let's get Kanbei's AA batteries into action.



Knocking a fighter down to 1HP (again, a one-hit kill would've been cool) before finishing the job with a second AA.



And with that done, I can roll through and cripple a second fighter (can't quite finish it off, though: the fourth AA can't reach its quarry).



Other than that, it's a case of general moving around and spreading out.

Day 2 - Sturm



It tastes just like raisins.



Well, Part 1 of the plan worked out fine.

WORKED OUT FINE?
Yeah... that. Sorry, boss.



Part 2 of the plan works out fine, too, as the fighter and bomber take the bait.



But beyond that, things start going badly.



Sturm's light tanks roll in, crippling Andy's AAs and one-shotting his missiles.



And then the AAs get finished off.



This is almost some light relief by comparison.

Day 3 - Andy



So yeah, once again Sturm's got Andy rocking. Kanbei can handle the fighter and bomber at least, but there's still a lot for Andy to deal with. And once again, we're not in a great position to use Hyper Repair right now.



Anyway, we'd better crank out some AAs to replace the ones that just got totalled.



And we can have a bit of fun by knocking this tank down to 1HP.



The B copters sneak in behind the middie/infantry defensive wall, and I get to capturing the southern cities.

Day 3 - Olaf



You... you... this is about me going first in Air Assault, isn't it?

Well, the thought had crossed my mind, Olaf... but seriously, someone had to get hit by that thing. Blame the guy throwing the meteors, not me.

You haven't heard the last of this!



Oh well, let's get these damaged units joined up.



Infantry advance towards the cities. Olaf's gonna need them for repairs.



Aaand let's just keep our AAs away from this bomber for now (although I didn't think about Sturm's B copters... but then, that actually ends up playing out to my advantage, as you'll see).

Day 3 - Kanbei



I mentioned earlier that Kanbei could handle the fighter and bomber.



Yeah, pretty much.



The fighter's a little tougher than the bomber.



But we've got anti-air to spare (wish I hadn't left that AA on the right so far out of position, though: it could have let me take down a B copter).



Two of the middies move upfield, because I'm pretty sure we're going to need some muscle to shift Sturm here.



And the rest of the units do their things.

Day 3 - Sturm



Once more, Sturm's here to pile on the hurt. May as well leave most of these uncaptioned.









One bit of light relief in here is that two of Sturm's B copters peel off to attack Olaf's light tanks. The good news is that, as well as taking some pressure off Andy, it leaves them nicely placed to be dealt with by Olaf's AA.



Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled destruction.



That was a lot of attacks.

Day 4 - Andy



Andy's been pushed a long way back here, but the first bit of good news is that he still has some powerful units to work with.



The second bit of good news is Hyper Repair. Again, an extra 2HP on a medium tank is pretty much worth it.



Given all that, we've got the tools to give Sturm a bit of a nasty shock.



9HP medium tank piles through the first anti-air, giving my own AA a spot to hit the bomber from.



That's cut Sturm's troops in two, and with that we can divide and conquer.



Thump.



Thump. Thump.



Elegant bit of flanking from the B copters here. With all this forest, it does pay to have them around.



Aaand thump, as another anti-air goes down. Five units in one turn. Of course, odds on Sturm's going to be putting out a lot more than 50 units this battle (50 may be the onscreen limit for a side, but that doesn't matter if units keep getting destroyed).



All that damage has predictable results, though. Hello, Meteor Strike.

(quick note - didn't build anything as Andy this turn. With that Meteor Strike ready, I didn't want to potentially encourage the meteor to fall on Andy).

Day 4 - Olaf



But the good news about Meteor Strike being ready already is that Olaf and Kanbei now get a turn each of "free damage". And speaking of divide and conquer, we've got two B copters over here.



And two anti-airs.



It's nice to have Olaf's evil grin on our side for once.



We're gradually thinning out Sturm's starting forces.



MEDIUM TANKS

Good to see he's cheering up a bit.

Day 4 - Kanbei



Kanbei's got an AA already in the thick of it, and two medium tanks en route.



And a lot of overkill, too.



The B copter and light tank didn't stand a chance.



Question is, what do we target with our other middie? An anti-air, or one of Sturm's own middies?



I go with the medium tank. Yes, Andy's B copters are doomed this way, but with a fighter hanging around I think they're doomed anyway. But it's not too often you get the chance to take 7HP off a medium tank, and it blows a big hole in Sturm's defence.



Especially given we've now got 38HP of frontline medium tank to Sturm's 13HP.



But as for the rest of Kanbei's units... well. Someone's got to take the hit. And with four medium tanks sitting in the centre of the map, I feel like I ought to pack a lot of units into this one.

Day 4 - Sturm



It is nothing. We must save Sonja!

See Olaf, that's how you deal with stuff like this.



One B copter gone.



A 2HP bomber isn't going to do much to Kanbei, though.



The other B copter goes down too.



One of Andy's AAs fall to an AA-middie combo.



But I'm pretty happy that Kanbei's AA managed to chip a hit point off this medium tank in counterattack damage.

Day 5 - Andy



Andy's pretty short of units. The good news is, two of them are medium tanks. A bit like reaching the endgame of a chess match with two rooks left, or at least it would be if we weren't still in the opening gambit here. Or, er, something. I've never been great at chess: what that game needs is bases .



Let's not forget that we've got a couple of extra infantry hanging about down here, too. Every pawn helps (to continue the somewhat dodgy analogy).



Sturm's fighter comes in for a thumping.



This is really frustrating, it would have been great if I could have one-shotted this AA and cleared the base.



Oh well, my time's better spent crippling the other AA I think. See if we can't get some of Sturm's units to join up.



Continuing the chess analogy, I think these two middies just castled.



Anyway, since the middies are doing a pretty good job I think I'll get another one on the field.

Day 5 - Olaf



It's pretty quiet with Olaf. I'll get these cities captured so the medium tank, rockets and missiles can all start healing up.



APC shenanigans as I target the airport. As I say, having got the two COs with the worst air units in the game out of the way in Nap Patrol, we'll be seeing a lot of use of planes and copters to help us get around this map's difficult terrain.



Gonna keep this AA juuust out of range of that tank.



I get caught in two minds here about where I want to send Olaf's full health medium tank. Should I be reinforcing the centre? Sending it to the flank? As it stands, it's gone to the flank.

Day 5 - Kanbei



Kanbei's up, and his power meter's full.



Well, after that meteor, he could probably use a morale boost.



That's a nice hit on Sturm's full-health medium tank.



I decide to send the other middie to attack an infantry. You might think it an odd target with all these wounded units around the place. But since that infantry would probably try to capture Andy's airport next turn, I reckon it's a good move.



AA cleans up the damaged bomber to finish Kanbei's attacks for this turn.



Time to start dealing with the aftermath of the meteor. We'll join all these infantry together to make a nice 8HP one.



Joining the medium and light tanks, and Kanbei too does some APC shenanigans in order to grab an airport.



2HP AA and recon advance, mostly to try and provide some distractions for Sturm.



The big problem with Kanbei is, as always, funds. An APC and an infantry are breaking the bank here. And once the repairs start kicking in, he's going to have even more issues. Maybe I should have tried to find a way for Olaf to take that second Meteor Stri-

Don't. You. DARE.

Day 5 - Sturm



Okay, okay, jeez. Andy takes some hits.



And as predicted, Kanbei's 2HP AA gets taken down.

Day 6 - Andy



But other than that, it was a quiet turn for Sturm. Too busy joining and retreating crippled units, I guess.



Good, that gives us a chance to clear our lines.



Joining couldn't save Sturm's medium tanks, and that's the last full health AA we'll have to deal with for now.



Getting a shot in on this light tank, too.



Hmm, can I finish it off?



Yep. Nice going, that 5HP AA.



With Sturm's various anti-air measures neutralised for now, I allow Andy the luxury of a new B copter.

Day 6 - Olaf



Olaf's continuing to rebuild on the left.



With some cities captured, it's time to move on to the airport and base.



And we can get all these 4HP units on to cities to heal.



Not quite sure what I was doing here, possibly trying to set Olaf up for a Meteor Strike, but it should be at least another turn before we have to worry about that.

...



Other than that, not much going on.

Day 6 - Kanbei



With Andy taking out the bigger targets, there isn't much for Kanbei to do other than smash up some infantry.



So we'll get the capturing out of the way...



... and then get on with that.



Hmm. There is a medium tank back there, and another AA too. But we can't worry too much about them.



Just gotta carry on with the job at hand.



And move some of these other forces up, too.



Again, Kanbei's unit costs are seriously limiting what I can get out of the bases.

Day 6 - Sturm



This is kind of all Sturm has right now when it comes to attacking Andy's B copter.



Kanbei's 2HP recon goes down, though.



And the medium tank bursts through with a nasty assault on one of Andy's middies.

Day 7 - Andy



That medium tank's going to find itself pretty outnumbered, though.



First let's get rid of the threats to my B copter.



Fighter down, AA down.



Now let's take on the medium tank and... oh hey, CO Power charged up.



Good time to use it, too. That's the B copter and a medium tank freshened up to full health, and another middie and an AA looking in better shape, too.



Let's use that now-5HP medium tank to finish off Sturm's middie, while the B copter goes out and makes sure that Sturm can't capture this neutral city.



Hmm, what else? Well, that light tank's idling a bit right now.



Let's send it to rough up some infantry, and finish the job with an infantry of my own.



I also build another anti-air - you may have noticed that bomber lurking around on Sturm's side of the bridge.

Day 7 - Olaf



But then I suddenly realised a much better way to deal with that bomber.



Yep, it's back to divide and conquer - luring that bomber over here with a touch of the ol' , and then lining up the AAs to deal with it.



And Olaf's got his airport and base, too.

Day 7 - Kanbei



Kanbei's got some stuff he can attack, but there's one thing I'm worried about...



... that power meter. It's not too full, but still, I'm in no position to take a Meteor Strike this turn.



Still, I should be all right if I stick to low-calorie infantry.



Yeah, we're good.



Now Kanbei's got an airport, too. We're still working on a base for his troops, though. Sorry man, no mountains of troops just yet.



Getting some units together. I guess I'm okay with clustering them this turn, since we know we're safe from meteors.



And breaking the bank with a light tank. Jeez, Kanbei.

Day 7 - Sturm



(though I'm sure Olaf's campaigning for a Blue Moon APC logo already).



And a bit of an owie as one of Sturm's tanks rolls through and takes out a 7HP anti-air. But with only two attacks, that turn was surprisingly peaceful.

Day 8 - Andy



Hmm. I spy with my little eye something beginning with "R" and ending with "R" and with "ocket launche" in the middle.



Let's do something about that.



Medium tank annihilates the AA shielding the rockets, and a light tank rolls through to take the rockets on.



Back on this side of the river, Medium tank and B copter take out a light tank.



Lotsa arrows.



Spreading out in anticipation of the Meteor Strike, and building another B copter and some infantry for technique-spamming purposes.

Day 8 - Olaf



Olaf's army's looking in decent shape over here. I can think of a shape that'd suit it better, though...



... a diamond shape.

OH COME ON! They're almost back to full health!



Cheer up, Olaf. Here's something you'll enjoy: a nice bomber to shoot down. And look! Sturm even parked it somewhere where you can get two shots at it!



Good job, really: Olaf needed both of them.



I'm still not happy about this.



Not much I can do about it, though. Oh well, here's a T copter. Maybe we can disrupt Sturm a bit with it.

Day 8 - Kanbei



As for Kanbei...



... well, we could take out that APC. But spreading out to avoid that meteor is a higher priority. An AI we are not.



Speaking of APCs, let's send one over here. It might do something useful, you never know.



Not much to report other than that. Let's get this meteor over with.

Day 8 - Sturm



Right on target.

Seriously, why did I agree to let you advise my troops?

Because otherwise they'd all be running after APCs and thinking that artillery are direct combat units. Now hush.



Andy does get a nasty surprise here - that medium tank came out of nowhere and smashed up the light tank at the front of my lines.

Day 9 - Andy



This... could be... a problem. That medium tank and those AAs mean that the rocket is meatshielded nicely now.



Oh well, let's control the controllables. Like this fighter. My AA moves in to attack it (although I have to move a capturing infantry out of the way so that the AA can reach. Oh well, it's worth it to save a B copter.



And this time, with nothing better to do, the B copters do bring down the APC.



All right then, what about this medium tank?



Well, might as well try to attack it. It's not a great move, given that the middie's going to heal up two of those hitpoints next turn, but probably best to get the first strike in given we're facing Sturm.



An AA comes in for some pain as well.



'Course, we're doing all this in rocket range. Not ideal, but there you go.



Let's have a third B copter. I've always reckoned that they work best in swarms, when you've got too many of them for the enemy AAs to cope.

Day 9 - Olaf



PAAAAUUULLL!!!

What can I say? Sorry, Olaf.



Not even going to bother with green arrows here, there's so much joining up to do.



At least the T copter gets to advance, and another artillery gets built. It's not all bad, right Olaf?

No comment.

Day 9 - Kanbei



Not much for Kanbei to do here, other than try and reinforce Andy's lines.



Better than nothing I guess.

Day 9 - Sturm



Semi-good news as Sturm's rockets are distracted by an infantry unit and his fighter proves ineffectual.



That's about all the good news, though.



He's launching a big assault here.



Including some B copters I hadn't noticed before.



And there goes one of my medium tanks. Not good at all.

Day 10 - Andy



So, that was a powerful counterattack by Sturm, disrupting our fragile toehold on the far side of the river and giving us a lot to think about. But that's it for this part. Hey, I gave you two more days than part 1 of Nap Patrol. With any luck, I'll be able to condense this into a two-parter.

But yeah. Will Olaf ever stop grumbling? Will I ever be able to build anything worthwhile as Kanbei? And most importantly of all...



... will Andy be able to survive a Meteor Strike? Tune in next time to find out...