Part 5: Tien's Self-Doubt! Can He Overcome It!?

Howdy, folks, and welcome back! Last time, on Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, Yamcha defeated Monster Carrot, who had taken over his old bandit hideout. Today, we're going to check out what Tien is up to, so let's head out.

Also, for a guy who doesn't say much, there are a ton of goddamned in this update. Like, holy shit, there's more dialog in this chapter alone than in the game so far.



We'll be picking up a new attack this update. Can you guess what it is?



I think this is less of Roshi being curious about what Tien is doing, and more him being curious why he hasn't gotten the fuck out of his house.



Man of few words, Tien is.



: Master Roshi... I have betrayed the Crane spirit. In its place, I have learned how to wield my martial arts in ways I never imagined before...But I am afraid my training has left me at an impasse.

: An impasse, you say...?

: ...Yes, Master. Once, I thought martial arts were a tool to dominate others. But the skills I've learned from you are something entirely different. There is warmth... and kindness to them.



Tien, I'm going to guess the view where you're not a huge fucking dick all the time is the correct path.



: And I can certainly forget about ever surpassing him...



Look at how goddamned happy Roshi is. I think he's found his way to get Tien and his creepy child-friend the hell out of his house.



: Yes. Once, there was an evil spirit who settled in the northern mountains...It summoned every kind of disaster to the land, tormenting the people who lived there. Master Mutaito heard of this one day, and so he traveled to the land alone...And he used a special technique to contain the evil force.

: Contain...?

: Indeed...And the polished form of that skill, I trust you already know very well...It's none other than the Evil Containment Wave!

: Are you saying I'll find the correct path if I visit there?

: Ho ho ho...That would depend entirely on you, Tien. They say Mutaito's pure soul rests in those lands...A man of your ability would certainly be able to find something of value there.



: I require my daily feeding of souls...



Alright, before we go too far, lemme tell you that Master Mutaito was the Master of both Roshi and Shen; Shen was the man who used to be Tien and Chiaotzu's Master, and taught them their Crane style martial arts. Chiaotzu is also a normal human, but he design is based on that of the Jiang Shi, the Chinese vampire.



Mutaito himself was a pretty bad mamma-jamma, as he trained Roshi and Shen when they were younger, teaching them about Ki and Ki techniques. He also invented the Evil Containment Wave, which he used to seal the evil King Piccolo in a rice cooker.



I think those are the important parts to know for what's coming up.





...Goddammit, Chiaotzu, why?



Jesus, Tien!





Remember, Chiaotzu, he's troubled about whether or not to use his martial arts to be a gigantic asshole.



Then again, these two are extremely close, like brothers. Plus, Chiaotzu is a pretty nice guy, wanting to help everyone he can.



: But stay the hell out of my active party.



And just like that, we're snapped to the Divine Crossing. Thinking about it, I don't know why they made you travel to the Training Island, but auto-warp you to these dungeons.



Oh, by the way, you have no idea how many of those bubbles I cut out of that previous conversation. There were ten or eleven, and about eight of them from Tien. He's a very ellipses kind of guy.



We've barely stepped inside and something is already weird.





As someone in the thread mentioned, were it the anime, this would be filler.



: "I am thou... Thou art I... From the sea of thy soul, I come..."



: O seeker of power, unlock my seal...You shall be blessed with untold powers...

: W-who're you!?

: ...I sleep deep inside this land.





As good an answer as any.



Considering what we know of Mutaito and what Roshi told us, it's a safe bet to think that it's whatever was sealed here.



Tien apparently doesn't give a shit about that sort of thing.



Chiaotzu has psychic powers, just so you know. It seems pretty possible he could stop Tien dead in his tracks if he wanted.



Instead, he'll just sort of...Follow him. , I suppose.



For all that dialog, I had nearly sixty screenshots. Had I included all of the emotion bubbles and shit, I could have easily gotten over one hundred.



First things first, since his only Ki blast takes some of his health, Tien gets the Energy Ring; it was automatically unequipped from Yamcha.





We're almost immediately thrown into a fight.



Now, we could punch this guy back to death, but since Ki blasts will basically one-shot any Ghost you find, it's better to do that.



Sure, Tien took 30 damage, but he would have taken more damage had I elected to fist-fight the spirit.



Tien doesn't gain as many levels as the others.



Maybe it's just me, but Tien's section seems a lot shorter than the other two. I didn't have nearly as many fights, either.



If nothing else, this area is pretty.





I think I only got into three or four battles my entire time here.







I wonder if this guy is here for the same reason as Tien.



He's just like the guy Krillin encountered in the Bump Forest.





Nothing really special to note about this guy.



Good EXP, though.





There's a treasure chest at the end of this path.



Huzzah, 50% Ki refill.





In this next section, there's a ton of destroyable crystal formations.







This path leads to another chest.



This accessory adds +5% to a fighter's attack, and it immediately goes on Tien. 5% may not be much, but it definitely can't hurt. Us, that is. It'll help hurt other stuff.





Just beyond that is the end of this area.



But first, more vandalism of natural, beautiful, structures.



It's for profit, so it's okay.





And our last new enemies of this update. There's also some demon fellows that can pop up here, and usually do, but I didn't see any this time.



Being big-ass bats, these guys can drain some health from you.



They only have around 80 HP, though, so they're not too threatening.



They also have a sonic wave they can fire at your character; later bat-type enemies can inflict Confusion with this attack, but for these guys, I believe it's just pure damage.



I'm absolutely terrified of bats, so it's very cathartic to see one punched to death.



Tien snags himself a level here; he gained one earlier, which I didn't show, for...Reasons.



Don't ask what those reasons are, but I assure you they were (probably) good ones.



Let's go finish this shit off.





Inside here, there's a statue of Master Mutaito, performing his Evil Containment Wave on the seal he created for the demon that was wreaking havoc here.





At one point in Dragon Ball, Emperor Pilaf was about to make a wish to rule the world, but Oolong beat him to the punch by wishing for a pair of panties.



No reason to mention that here, but seeing the word "wish" reminded me of that.



Dragon Ball can, on occasion, be pretty goddamned weird.



Chiaotzu, it's for the power to surpass Goku. Clearly, the ends justify the means here.





Tien doesn't automatically break the seal, though. We're given control, so we have to break the seal.



So, let's get that done.



Oh, the demon was sealed in a pot. Of course he was.



Well, that doesn't look good.



In fact, it blows Tien and Chiaotzu back from the power of it.



And four fireballs shoot out of the pot. That's definitely not good.





Way to go, Tien. This looks like a great outcome.



Generally, Tien, if something is sealed, it was put like that for a reason.



And it wasn't so your Downs could flare up and you could try and get power.





Tien is pretty much just a normal human, despite being a three-eyed weirdo. He's descended from the Three-Eye Clan, which can account for some of his stranger abilities, such as the ability to grow two extra arms and move his eyes independently of each other.



Chiaotzu is also just a regular human, too. Sure, he has psychic powers and what-not, but he's still just human at the end of the day.



Then again, I can see how this guy could get confused there.



Against his will, Chiaotzu is pulled toward the evil spirit.





And is possessed by the spirit.



Were it anybody but Chiaotzu, this would be intimidating. But, since it's him, I could probably kick his ass, bum leg and all.



Don't get mad at me, buddy. He's the one who will blow himself up and not even scratch the guy he was trying to kill.





Still, it's time to duke it out with possessed Chiaotzu. Fight video is here, if you'd like to see that!



Chiaotzu has the Dodonpa, a simple finger ray, as one of his attacks.



Let's show him what a real Ki blast is like.



...Oh, well, sometimes that happens. Misses are terrible when they happen to you.



Don't worry, we'll get him with this one.



...Well, okay, that's unfortunate.



At least he's not doing much damage.



Until we can figure out how to hurt him, may as well try to blind him. He's not doing very much damage, but that'll add up quickly and we don't have a ton of supplies at the moment.



...Shit.



Actually, this is just an unwinnable fight. I just enjoy being dramatic.



Why has he dropped Chiaotzu's body already?



Oh, great, what mysterious voice is yelling at Tien now?



Tien, you get three guesses and the first two don't count.



: ...M-M-Master Mutaito?! Oh, Master, I'm so sorry! I was greedy and now I'm paying dearly for it...

: This spirit takes advantage of the weakness in people's hearts...Normally, I would punish you for this, but...hmm...I know. Perhaps I could call it even if you sealed this spirit again.

: But he just moves too quickly for me, sir! I could hardly take him on in combat, much less seal him away...

: Ho ho ho! It appears you have yet to understand the true meaning of your martial arts!

: The true meaning...?

: Indeed...Is there anything in your life you want to protect?

: Protect...?

: Yes. If martial arts can be used to hurt someone, it can also be used to protect them! I contained this spirit in order to protect the people that live in this land!



Tien, I don't think you should be struggling with this concept so much.





: That's it! I've got to protect Chiaotzu...The one who cherishes me like a brother!

: Ho ho ho. Well, if you know what must be protected, now you must find the skills only you possess...

: The skills that only I possess!?



Seriously; you shouldn't be missing shit with those eyes.





Alright, these next couple of shots are going to seem kind of weird, but I didn't miss any dialog.



See, by this point, Tien has already used his Multi-Form Attack to split into four forms; he used it against Goku at the tournament, actually, but Goku got the hell out of the way.

Tien will go on to use this attack against Goku at the next world tournament, not that it'll do him much good. Goku just gets the hell out of the way.



I find this a little disjointed because Mutaito mentions Tien has three eyes, then Tien suddenly launches into four viewpoints. Maybe it's just a quirk in the translation or something, but it's weird to me. Am I alone in that?



No fucking clue why he didn't already have this attack.

I'm not sure how Tien originally learned this attack, but I can't imagine this is where it happened.



Well, whatever, let's show this shit off. That video link up there, by the way, covers through this fight.



Still not sure why the Evil Flame ditched Chiaotzu's body so quickly, or why it's never mentioned, but whatever.



He's a far bigger badass like this, anyhow.



To kick off the Multi Form Attack, Tien boots this guy's ass way far back.



And splits into four. These four have a quarter of Tien's power, so it's not like he's suddenly four times stronger when using this.





However, it does give him four different vantage points to use to attack his enemy, and this hits four times.



It does damage roughly on-par with the Tri-Beam, but without the HP cost, and I've never seen it miss. It's also far more expensive than the Tri-Beam, though; the Tri-Beam costs 22 Ki, while this costs 38.





This fight isn't exactly difficult, but this guy has some strong attacks. They tend to hit multiple times, too, so Advance Guards are even more important in this fight.







A lot of it is just trading blows and keeping your health up.





And, yeah, any attack can hit him now.



Tien snags himself another level from the fight.



As well as a rice cooker capsule. So we can have delicious rice on the go!



He apparently punched it so hard it exploded into fireballs.



Which goes back into the pot.



Holy crap, the statue is doing stuff again.





: Do you think you understand what I have told you?

: ...Yes, Master. Martial arts is not for harming people...It is a tool to protect others, as well.

: Yes...I see you are worthy enough now to use the skill I have invented.

: The skill...You invented?

: Indeed. I'm sure you're aware of it by now.

: The Evil Containment Wave...? But I couldn't...

: Hah hah hah! You may use this skill in any way you wish...I look forward to seeing how you grow, my lad.



Tien picks up another attack here. Well, not an attack, exactly. This is a skill he can use to seal enemies within that rice cooker we just got. It's actually a sidequest, but one I'm not sure if I'm going to do. The rewards...Well, they're not terrible, not exactly, but they're also nothing I'd find regular use for.





He's still possessed! Shoot him in the face, Tien!



If nothing else, he's probably deaf at the moment.



Where did you go?



It's pretty hard to miss him, guy. He's about as wide as a bus.



Okay? Shit, he's come out ahead in this deal.



: Heh heh...I knew you'd come to help me, Tien.

: Well, yeah...Why wouldn't I?



And we're done here!



: Do you think you've learned the true meaning of your martial arts, then?

: ...No, Master.

: W-wha!?

: What I have learned is that there are some things in my life I must absolutely protect.

: Mmm...I see...Can't believe you weren't aware of that before.

: I also think I understand where Goku's true strength lies...

: So, have you gotten rid of your doubts?

: ...Yes, Master. I wish to master my skills to protect those who I hold dear. While I do so, I want to continue searching for the true meaning of martial arts.

: Think you'll ever find it?

: ...I don't know if I will or not. But if I keep doing everything I can to strive for that goal...I think that'll be what leads me to become truly strong like Goku...

: You've grown, Tien...Now it's time to explore the outside world and train to your heart's content!

: Yes, Master!



I'd write a comment here, but I'm too busy laughing at that single strand of hair on Chiaotzu's head.







That finishes off this update. Next time, we'll be visiting an old (but new for us) location to relive one of Dragon Ball's greatest moments! Stay tuned!