Part 43: Master Mutaito's Training Grounds!! Can Kami's Trainees Save Their Friend?!

Howdy, folks, and welcome back! Last time, on Attack of the Saiyans, we finished off the Nemuria Ruins and received more evidence of Gohan's ass-kicking powers. Today, we're going to, reluctantly, go save someone only Tien gives a shit about, in a dungeon I friggin' despise, so let's head out.





We start the day out in Kami's Lookout, where Krillin is staring at a wall, and Popo is staring at Krillin.



Ugh. This is what we're doing today. Does anyone like Chiaotzu? This is a question that nobody gives a shit about.



Even Krillin forgot that Chiaotzu was around here.



I'm fervently praying that some VC laid out traps, all punji stick'd out, and Chiaotzu fell prey to them.





I'm trying so hard not to dog on Chiaotzu through this entire opening. I don't want to run that into the ground.



He's pretty well useless, and doesn't do shit for most of the series; in the games where he is playable, he's laughably useless. It's so hard to care about him.



Not to mention, I think Tien is actually the only one who gives even the slightest fuck about him, and I don't like Tien all that much, either. He's just not that interesting of a character to me.



Well, nobody else has any ideas, so we may as well. I'm not sure what Kami is supposed to do, though.



How astute. No wonder you're Guardian of the Earth.



What, like he tripped, and fell off the Lookout?



No, we'll just crawl along the underside of it, hoping he someone wound up glued down there.



I think part of why I don't like this section is because of the setup here; Chiaotzu goes missing.



That's alright; that's a goal. We should go and find him, because he is part of the team, after all. Maybe he's not the most useful warrior around, and maybe very few people like him, but he's around for a reason.



However, to get us where we're going, we go talk to Kami, who is sending us over to Baba.



And then we get a justification for how it's part of our training.



However, we will receive no explanation for how Chiaotzu disappeared.



So let's hop down and make a quick pit-stop.



Someone asked about our carrot situation, so this is for you, Kemix.





Oh, dear Christ, we're almost 60% done with the carrots!





But, having hit another milestone, we get another reward. This one increases the Zeni gained from battle, and is 50% effective on standby.



We'll get you your 1,000 carrots. Don't you worry.



One of the bonus areas of the game, actually.



Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. In a lot of RPGs, you don't think much about fighting 1,000 enemies (or realize how many you fight, probably, because I sure as hell don't), but man, it seems like I've fought more than the 561 carrots I've given this guy. I've probably killed around 600 enemies total, counting bosses and fights when I was on damage floors and had the proper negating Capsule equipped, but man, 561 carrots.



Okay, over to Baba's. Let's see what she has to say about Chiaotzu's disappearance.







don't care*





I think Baba is figuring out if she gives two shits or not. Really, Tien, if worst comes to worst, she can always bring him back for 24 hours.





Don't strain yourself or anything, though. It's okay if you're busy.





Ugh. She wasn't busy.



: He's been eaten by wolves. He tasted like chicken, but they would not reorder the dish. Sorry for your loss.



How the hell did he get there?





I wish Ghido was in this game.





Ah-ha! He was kidnapped!





I like the indecision here; it seems to imply that Chiaotzu sleepwalked over there or something. Or else someone had kidnapped him, was flying him away in a plane, and then pitched him out and he just landed over there.



Seriously, who the hell wants Chiaotzu?



We don't have any other option.



And off we go.



To a dungeon I don't like, and so I went through in one go, as quick as I could go. I even skipped some items to get through it quicker (not that I missed anything really important).



Even the game doesn't like this area; it doesn't get a panning, establishing shot. Just walk on in and the title appears.





Shut up, Yamcha. You're probably stronger than Mutaito was. As is anyone here.



Also, I want you to note that Tien is pretty much the only one who gives a shit about Chiaotzu. Yamcha never says shit about the little guy.



Tien is the leader for this go 'round, because this is his thing.





We've got some standard recolors around here; we last encountered these kinds around...Bump Forest, with Krillin, back at the beginning? They've got the same basic attacks.



With 890 HP, the Expelled Pupil doesn't have anything too fantastic about him.



1,050 HP on these guys, and they're just a touch stronger than the Pupils are.



Their three hit combo can dole out some good damage. This is over a third of Tien's HP, by the way. He's the lowest level guy I have here, so he has Popo's Turban on for this dungeon.



Just not yet, though. Yamcha has the Perfume and a Fighter's Crest, while Krillin has the Fighter's Emblem and something else that I don't remember equipping him with.



There's a few dead-ends around here, including this one.





This area is mostly a series of caves, too.





Including this number, where we slip into passages we can't see ourselves in. Yet, we kind of can see where we are.



That rectangle that I drew on there is where we are; in the game itself, you can actually see that square moving around, so it's not just an emulation thing. In these bits, you can see yourself moving around, so it's really nice, if not a little subtle.



I didn't explain that very well, did I?





Oh, well, let's forget about it while we meet a new enemy.



Been a while since we've seen a big pig enemy, huh?



But we've never blown one up with Yamcha before, so that's new. They have 3,200 HP, so they've got some staying power.





This is about the most exciting thing regarding them; their snort attack does a bit of damage.



In addition to inflicting Sleep, which could be problematic if all three characters are sent off to dreamland.



But our resident demigod kicks his ass while the others sleep it off.







This is the majority of what this area looks like. It's a cave system.





And then there's this shit right here; you'd think you could come over to this vegetation and jump on up to the chest, but fuck no, it's just a red herring. That rock up there is our key to getting that chest.





And that little cave to the left there?



It's just a dead end that's deep enough to make you think it goes somewhere until you realize it just hits a wall.





Oh, God, another bear! Krillin, run for your life!



Or do that; with 3,050 HP, this isn't a bad start.







However, the Strong Bear lives up to his name and can dish out some damage of his own.



And here's what kind of damage Yamcha is currently taking; this is through a Guard, but...Well, it's not such a huge increase. It's certainly not enough to make me stop using the Perfume. Which also increases Yamcha's Evasion, so he's dodging a good amount of attacks anyways.



So, yeah, the Perfume is entirely worthwhile and if you don't use it, you should take your copy of the game, attach it to a pointy stick, and jab it into your ear as deep as you can for making such bad decisions.







We can now go grab that treasure chest that momentarily taunted us before.



But not without another obstacle.



...Whoops. Guess who didn't grab screenshots of the Female Pupil's name (or her 840 HP).



Or who accidentally didn't use the Super Spirit Ball, which hits all enemies and is Yamcha's second Ultimate, on the entire enemy party.



But the 990 HP Master doesn't justify using it on her alone.



That's not a huge amount of damage, no, but that's supposed to hit the entire enemy party, and it's only on its first level. It's a nice skill to have.



Maybe this is why I didn't take shots of these ladies; they're just not that interesting.



Well, that's not a bad treasure. Not a great one, either, but not bad.



But look at how big my Ki-Blast Meter is!



I can't recommend using that line with the ladies.



Not that I'm a master with the ladies or anything, so maybe you should use it. Hell, I'll tell you what; use that line with a lady and have it be successful, and I'll buy you a forums upgrade.







This adds +8 to someone's Power, and I would give it to Yamcha, but I think the +15% Attack increase is better. He has over 110 Power, so I could make it 118, but a 15% increase would be more than 10 Power, but I'm not quite sure how that boosts stacks against a straight boost to Power.









Oh, holy shit, I have 105 screenshots left for this update? How the hell...







Well, we'll be at the boss fight soon. I think it's a pretty neat concept, with a fun gimmick.



And our villain for this update is going to surprise some of you. I know it surprises me every time I play, because I forget this guy exists.



Though, if I'd watched Dragon Ball, I'd probably recall more of the guy.





I at least remember his hat. And that probably tells some of you exactly who we'll be seeing later.



You can see the white square much better in this shot.



I'm glad I didn't go for all the treasures here; it'd be a lot of extra shots and I'd have to bullshit more commentary.



For instance, see that chest?



Fuck that chest; I don't want that chest.



That save point there is the one just before the boss, so we're almost done.



For having stuck with it this long, let me show off Krillin's second Ultimate.



Y-Yajirobe?! is a fun Ultimate, since it's ultimately utility.





He jumps on into battle and tosses a bag of Senzu beans over on our party.



It's not a full heal, but that's about half the party's health, so you can't really sneeze at it.





He draws his sword, putting it to good use.



Or trying to; if this hits, it instantly kills the enemy. Yajirobe is kind of like Odin, but he heals you, so he's probably a little more useful in boss fights than Odin, but he's still ultimately a chance at instant death, when it's probably better to focus your efforts on dealing damage and killing them that way.



Though, it's interesting to note that both of Krillin's Ultimate skills can inflict Instant Death, but the Chain Destructo Disc Barrage at least deals a bunch of damage. But Yajirobe heals the party. And as we level up that Ultimate, Yajirobe will heal more HP and the chance of Death will raise. But the Barrage will deal more damage as well as a better chance of Death. Hmm.



I'll let someone else debate that.



I've got a boss to go fight.



Well, if this isn't a ritual sacrifice area, I don't know what else it could be.



And Tien's brilliant retort!?



Feh.



This is probably more effective in games with voice acting.



Ah! Tien and Chioatzu's old master, who taught them the Crane Style, and a former pupil of Mutaito.



Look at that fucking hat. How do you forget that?



As far as I can tell, he's also had that hat for his entire life. I'm thinking it's possible he was born wearing it.



Oh, yeah, this is why we came here.



Really, Tien? This is the egomaniac who is so desperate to prove himself better than those around him, and is also enough of an asshole to break off relations with his brother over a spilled bowl of rice, and you're wondering why when you took off on his ass, and being an assassin, is pissing him off?





Shen has some pretty weak motivations here.



Essentially, he's pissed that he trained someone to be stronger than he could be, and is more pissed when Tien realized it.





Then again, pride is a very strange thing. Wars have been started over issues of pride, so maybe there's some legitimacy here.



I don't know if you should be agreeing with me, Shenny-poo.





: after you caused him injury beyond recovery!

Oh, yeah, he has a brother named Tao, who is a badass mercenary. Who Tien also knocked the fuck out at the World Martial Arts Tournament. But Tao is not dead. Shen and Tao don't even die on-screen.



Let's not get too hopeful.





And then the purple robot appeared.





Shen seems a little...Stupid, maybe, here? I'm still not sure on his motivations. He's pissed at Tien for training too well with him and for kicking his brother's ass, who I'm not even sure Shen actually liked.



If someone wants to take a crack at it, I'll edit it into the update for clarity.



Either way, Tao, who was rebuilt as a cyborg, is not in this game as a boss, but as a robot built by Shen who has Tao's skills.

So here's the fight. Let's dance, robot guy!





...Look at this goofy motherfucker. Holy shit.



He's got 14,000 HP, so this is going to take a bit of time.



There's also a gimmick to this fight, which...Well, makes this screenshot kind of odd.



But first, let's check out this. It looks so damned goofy to me.



But, good bit of damage all around, really. And if you look at how much damage Yamcha is taking, the Perfume definitely isn't that big of a hit to his Defense.



Alright, so, let's see why that Destructo Disc shot is so odd.



If you'll notice, those numbers are green. Yes, TPP-EX absorbs Ki attacks. Except I guess that the Destructo Disc isn't Ki-based. Either way, physicals are where it's at for this fight, which means Yamcha is going to be our MVP.





Earthling Strike is still a good idea, but I messed up a bit here, and I just meant for Krillin and Yamcha to use their physical combos, and I was trying to build Tien's up, but this worked out.





He has a tail swipe to hit with, which deals a fair amount of damage to whoever it hits.



He can also electrocute someone with his ass, which can Paralyze somebody, as it did to Tien here. Also, Jesus, look at that damage.



TPP-EX can also fire a big, fuck-off, blast from his arm-cannon.



And, man, does he want Tien dead.



Alright, let's finish this. Yamcha has the honors, despite him having very little dialog during this ordeal.









We can only hope.







Alright, I'll lay off Chiaotzu.





Yeah, get back to me when you can fire Kamehamehas instead of your jerky Dodonpa.



Your survival?



Sorry, last one.



Alright, let's fade out and get back to the Lookout.





Well, I guess that's all we get to know about Shen's motivations. Or the last we hear of him, really. I'm not sure where he goes after the boss fight, but he just kind of disappears.



You won't be in the party much more!







I kind of wish we had fought Shen.



This is true; after the World Martial Arts Tournament, when Tien knocked out Tao, Shen started taking Tao away and Tien told him if they showed up again, he'd fuck them up again.



Well, probably not. As I said earlier, Tao and Shen, and to quote the DB Wiki, "At some point after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Master Shen and his brother Tao got mixed up in something and died as a result of the event. Due to them both being bad people, they were likely not restored to life."



If anyone knows more specifics on that "something" they got mixed up in, I'd like to hear about it.



Oh, quiet down, Kami. I know nobody knows anything. I'm just trying to boost discussion.





Yamcha, Krillin and Tien do wind up as pretty close friends, despite their differences in the beginning.



But without you, we wouldn't have reached this point.



I'm not sure Popo can say the same; later on, he'll be able to block and dodge several blows from a pair of Super Saiyans like it ain't shit. Granted, it's Goten and Trunks, but still, Super Saiyans.



Well, they can do that, but we'll be going to the next chapter and joining up with Goku again.



Hey, we'll be alright, Kami.



I didn't miss it or anything; Yamcha just doesn't get a "!" over his head here.



Dear God, Yajirobe, how long have you been there!?



As soon as I can, I'll do an update where we run around old locations, blasting destructible objects we couldn't pass before, collecting treasures, and finally getting past those damnable black objects.



But, for now, let's close out on this update. Next time, we'll be going back to Goku, who is back with King Kai, finishing up his training.

Stay tuned!