Part 16: Raditz Confronted!! Are Goku And Piccolo Strong Enough!?

Howdy, folks, and welcome back! Last time, we started our trip through the Spinach Wastes to find Raditz and rescue Gohan. Today, we're going to finish that trip, so let's head out.



Before I forget to mention it, some Skills were gained during the downtime; Goku now has access to the Energy Wave Combo, which is a series of blasts against all enemies; Piccolo snagged himself Auto-Heal Up, so he regains more HP at the end of a round.



There's going to be a fair amount of words here in addition to the boss fight, but nobody is surprised by that, are they?





Stepping up here activates the next bit of story, and Goku picks up on something.



: The Dragon Radar's going crazy right here!

: Right! Time to charge in!



And like that, Goku and Piccolo prepare to boost on in and kick the shit out of Radtiz.



Over with Raditz and Gohan, the little guy is crying.



: You bear the blood of the noble Saiyan race! Saiyans are not...crybabies!

I just want to say that I love that line. You can just hear the exasperation from Raditz.



Raditz, tired of Gohan being a child, decides to take care of him.





By trapping him in his space pod. I'm sure he'll be fine; it's a spacecraft, so there will be air, and maybe Raditz had a stash of pretzel sticks in there, so Gohan won't go hungry.



...Oh, maybe not. At least Gohan can breathe.



However, something catches Radtiz's attention.



His Scouter is giving him a reading. What ever could it be?



Jesus Christ, that's stronger than Goku and Piccolo combined!



And it's coming from Gohan in the pod. How curious.



This is an interesting thing about Scouters; most people who use them seem to think they're broken when they give a reading they don't like.



Even so, enough of that; we've got our heroes coming!



I hope you guys are liking the clean versions of those screens I keep posting. Most of them are pretty cool, and I figure someone might want them.



: Huh?!

: The guy's got some weird device that can measure our location and power levels!

: So...So you think he knows we're close?

: I'm positive of it!

: Hmm...I guess a full-frontal attack's our only choice, then!



Raditz is still bitching about his Scouter being broken.



: Hang on, here's another target...It's coming this way! There's one...No, two of them! Power levels 322 and 334! That'd make one of them Kakarot. There's no way he should be here, though! He knows full well he has zero chance of winning...Besides, how could he even know where I am right now...? Oh, brother...This thing's completely useless.



However, after a line of "...." Raditz decides that they are, in fact, here.

: (Maybe it's not broken after all...! But...But there has to be some reason for this! How could a kid like that have a power level of 710? That's ludicrous!)





Not by using their ability to sense power levels, even though they could have done that, too.



However, Goku's not giving up the secret.



: What are you two here for?

: Why do you think?! We're here to get my kid back!

: So you refuse to join your only kin, your fellow Saiyans?

: That's what I told you!

: You're going to go against the wishes of your own brother?

: I don't have any brother!

: Kakarot... I thought you were a smarter man than that. I can't believe you're such an idiot...What an enormous disappointment. You didn't actually think the two of you together could beat me, did you?

: I've had enough of your yapping.



And just like that, Piccolo casts off his cape and turban.



Revealing that they were weighted.



Just as Goku's training gear is.



Later on in the series, weighted clothing won't be the norm for hard training. Increased gravity will become the new thing, starting out at 10x Earth's normal gravity. Eventually, Goku will train with weights on while in heavier gravity, but that's a loooooooooong way off.



And by casting off their weights, they're revealed to be stronger than previously thought.



Goku casts off his heavy shirt and boots, but since my portrait for him is just his face, I don't have to make a new one!



: This ought to make the fight a little easier to deal with.



Even with their power levels upped by a fair margin, Goku and Piccolo are still only about 2/3rds as strong as Raditz. If only Gohan could come and help them...



Raditz is right in laughing at them, as he can still beat their asses five ways from Friday.



: Don't make me laugh! I can't believe that's all you got for me! You people are in way, way over your heads!

: Winning the battle isn't just about strength... We've got a plan, you know.

: Yeah, yeah...I've heard it all before. Listen up, Kakarot: As of right now, I'm not gonna even try to be friendly with you. You'd be nothing but a drag on all of us, that much I'm sure off...You're an embarrassment to our entire race! Prepare to die!!





Alright, folks, let's get it on!



Raditz is pretty goddamned badass. For starters, he's got 9,000 HP.



Also, we can hit him here. This isn't an unwinnable fight.



Piccolo celebrates by kicking him in the dick.





He won't let us just kick the shit out of him, though.





Be sure to hit your Guard as much as you can in this fight. Raditz can easily murder your ass if you don't.



Oh, goddammit, there's talking in battle now!?



: ?! Ugh...No...Two more Saiyans...And they're even stronger...W-what are we gonna do...?

: Oh, brother...I wish I didn't have to hear that.

: I bet you're excited, Goku.

: Heh heh...Sorry. Not this time, I'm sure not. I'm so scared, I'm shaking...But who cares about that! Where's my son?! Where have you hidden him?!

: I didn't hide him anywhere. He wouldn't stop whining, so I just put him away for a bit. You see that hole behind you? He's in there. Still alive, too, I think...

: In there...? Hang on, Gohan! Daddy's gonna come help you!

: Ha ha ha ha hah! Don't give me that! There's no way you could possibly save him! After all...You're going to die before you even have a chance!



And the fight kicks back in, with Goku kicking Raditz's teeth down his throat.



Piccolo is Evil Assaulting him, as I'm trying to get full Rage Gauges.



Raditz has some big-time attacks that come with a character splash.





This will hit both characters, and as far as I know, you can only activate a Guard for one person.



We get a sweep across the screen with both beams.





And then a fuck-off explosion.



And I missed the Guard for both people, so we take a shitload of damage. Thank goodness that 737 is split between both characters; that would nearly one-shot Piccolo and leave Goku in very rough shape.



We've got to drop a ton of damage on Raditz to get the trigger to end the fight.



Also, since I haven't mentioned it before now, during these physical hits and if you hit a chain attack, the enemy sprite will get a different reaction pose for the ass-kicking.



It's a very small detail, but super-satisfying all the same. It's a nice visual cue that you landed one hell of a hit on them.



Aww, yeah, S-Combos kick ass.



Raditz also has a basic combo attack.



It comes out really goddamned fast, too, so if you're not on the ball, he's going to punch your face in. He literally just teleports in front of someone and throws out the combo.





In this attack, he just explodes with energy, hitting everyone. It's not as strong as his other multi-target attack, but it still hurts.







Much like we do, he has two versions of his combo. In this one, he just kicks the shit out of you.



So, let's skip to the end of the fight. I find it very satisfying that Piccolo kicked him in the crotch to end this part of it.



: Looks like you're just about at death's door!

: Goku...You have any kind of amazing new skill you could use right now?

: Heh heh...Sorry. I gotta admit, I've got nothing.

: Geh...When did you get so lazy...? I treated my training seriously...And it's gotten me all sorts of new techniques.

: Ha ha ha hah! What're you fools going on about?! Discuss your strategy all you want! It's worthless! It'll be easier for both of you if you just let me kill you now!

: Wait...So you've got some kind amazing new technique, then?

: You could say that...But it takes a lot of time to gather the necessary Ki. You'll need to fight him and divert his attention until I'm ready to go.

: Got it...But do you think it'll hurt him?

: It should. If it doesn't, then we've got nothing left. Geh...I wanted to save this move for when I killed you, though.

: But you're gonna save my life with it instead, huh?

: Heh. If we can get this guy, it'll be your turn next.

: Ha ha ha...

: Heh heh...This isn't a laughing matter, Goku.

: You're laughing at me...? Defiant as always, are you?

: All right! This is gonna be fun! I'll go hold 'em off for you!

: Don't give him a single inch!



Holy Christ, that was a lot of dialog. Anywho, Piccolo has learned the Special Beam Cannon.



Not all of these skills are acquired through story events, even though a fair few are. Yamcha learned his, if you'll recall, through leveling the proper skills.



And the Special Beam Cannon requires a bit of charge time. And a full Rage Gauge, which I needed to build up.



However, Raditz was kind to Piccolo in that.



In that he blasted Piccolo hard enough to max out his Rage Gauge.



And that attack isn't just a single hit; multiple hits for good damage. Raditz is teleporting back, which is why he's not on screen at the moment.





Alright, so, we've got to kill a turn before we can launch this. Raditz can still attack Piccolo, and since Piccolo is gathering Ki, he can't use his Advance Guard.



But, whatever, let's blast this honky and be done with it.



It deals a lot of damage, but it costs 60 Ki. You also don't need to use this to end the battle; these events will unfold after you deplete about 4500 HP from Raditz. You can go ahead and kick the shit out of the rest of his HP, and gain some EXP and AP. But, let's follow the story on this one.



The fight ends there, and Piccolo is shocked.



Since Raditz apparently dodged it, even though we saw it peel off a chunk of HP from him. But, hey, it's an RPG; what do you want?



: That's one impressive move. If I took the full force of it, I'd be down for sure.

: ...If I can't hit with it, it's worthless.

: You're gonna pay for that...I promise you will! I'm through playing around here.

: Oh, no...It's all over!



Oh, and you may notice that Goku is nowhere to be seen. How curious.





Ah, there's Goku! He rushes in from behind.







: You...How did you do that...?

: Now, Piccolo! Do that thing you did before!

: Oh...Uh, right! Nice work, Goku! You better hold on tight to that tail! I can unleash the move one more time, but that's it!

: K-Kakarot...You're going to kill the only brother you have in the world?

: Shut up! I told you, I don't have any brother! Not on as horrible as you are! Besides, you're the one who was trying to kill me earlier! Don't try to talk your way out of this!

: I...I give up! I've had a change of heart...I promise I'll leave the planet peacefully.

: Don't let him fool you, Goku! He's just trying to cover his hide! You know he'd never do anything like that!

: P-Please...Believe me, my brother! I've been so terrible all this time...But...But I swear I'll keep my promise.

: Don't let go of his tail! He's trying to trick you!

: I...I'm begging you, Kakarot! Believe in me!

: Goku!!

: Ngh!



...So, yeah, Goku let go of his tail. Because he's a sap who tends to think stupid things.





Raditz turns around and bashes the shit out of Goku. Not only for being a moron, but because he's Raditz.



Raditz is a man who is on the ball with that statement.



: You...You dirty...

: You're nothing like I am...I'm a first-class warrior! I can kill people without a moment of hesitation! Care to see a little sample? Hmm? Hyah!!





Raditz does...Something to Goku that apparently hurts real bad.



Meanwhile, Raditz is in full-on cartoon villain mode.





: Haaaaaah hah hah! Okay, your turn! Come on, lay one on me! What's the problem? Give me another one of those blasts!

: Grrhhh...! H-he'd just dodge it again...

: Yaaaahhhh! Nngh...rrghh...!



Raditz is distracted from beating Goku's ass, but by what?



Oh, it's just Gohan, breaking free of the space pod.





: G-Goku's...son?

: Gohan...?!

: What...What is this?!

: Ngh...!

: G-get away, Gohan! Get away!

: P-power level...1307?!!

: LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!



For those of you not in the know, pissing off Gohan is not a good idea. His power level is higher than Radtiz's right now, which understandably scares the shit out of him.





Gohan headbutted Raditz hard enough to break his armor and to severely jack him up.



: Oh! D-Daddy!

: Gohan...Wow...



Pretty badass at the moment.





Here's the big thing about Gohan right now; when you piss him off, he becomes far more powerful than he normally is. It is a very bad idea to make him angry. Ask Cell. Or Raditz there.



Raditz responds in kind and knocks Gohan the fuck out.



: Why not? Because he's just a kid? Don't give me those lies! That brat's power level is higher than yours! I'm going to kill him before he learns to control his powers correctly! Don't worry... You'll get to see him soon enough, over in Other World!



Goku takes this opportunity to sneak up on Raditz.



The little sprites don't show it very well, but Goku has Raditz in a Half-Nelson here, not touching his tail, holding him back.



: Got it! I've got it prepared already! It's gonna take some time, though! Why didn't you grab on to his tail?

: He...He can just rip that tail off any time he wants!

: Gah! You knew...?!

: C-come on! Hurry it up!

: C-curse you! That brat's attack robbed me of my power...Let me go, Kakarot! Don't you realize this attack will hurt you, too, you fool?!

: Heh heh...I'm gonna die right along with you!

: W-what?! Have you gone crazy?!

: This...This is the only way we have of defeating you...!

: I'm not gonna hold back for you, Goku...Both of you dying together is the best ending I could hope for! (Geh...Not that it'd be much of a permanent solution, though. I'm sure your friends would just resurrect you with the Dragon Balls before long...)



Raditz is fighting and struggling against Goku, and from his previous beating, Goku isn't exactly in tip-top shape. He's using pretty much all the gas left in the tank to hold Raditz here.



Raditz has recognized that Goku is a moron, and tries his hand at fooling him again.



But Goku is on top of things this time. Assume I said something about how he won't get fooled again.



: Do it!!

: Special Beam Cannon!!!



And so, Piccolo fires his Special Beam Cannon.



HOLY FUCKING SHIT





If you look at Goku here, you can see the hole Piccolo blew through him. It's all meaty and red. Holy Christ.



: You got what you deserved.

: Heh...Heh heh heh heh...I never thought...Kakarot would sacrifice his own life...

: You idiot. Goku can come back to life any time he wants.

: W-what?!

: This planet has something called Dragon Balls...They're very useful things. Make a wish to them and you can do anything...Even raise the dead.

: Heh...Heh heh...You do realize all this is being recorded? The entire battle...Is being broadcasted to my two friends, far away in space...Once they realize I've been defeated...They'll come here for you...Y-you Earthings are such fools...They will come and eradicate humanity in the blink of an eye...And maybe I'll have them...Resurrect me...With those magical balls of yours...

: W-when...Are they gonna come here...?

: One year...That's all it'll take them...Heh heh heh...

: One year... They'll be even stronger, and there's two of them...

: You'll have no chance to win...I'm sure of it this time. Hope...Hope you enjoy the year's time you have left...Heh heh heh...Hee hee hee...A pretty short-lived victory, huh...? You humans are nothing more than annoying flies...



With that, Piccolo finishes him off.



Remember this lesson, folks; if you talk shit to Piccolo, he'll shoot you with a laser and beat you to death.



And just then, the others arrive!



The neat thing is if you look at that picture, you can see Raditz dead, Goku well on his way there, and Piccolo standing above the both of them.



: Over there! There's a few people lying on the ground! Who's that standing up...?!



If I'd remembered these lines of dialog, maybe I wouldn't have pointed out that you can see them.



And with that, they land and start to figure out what happened.





Thankfully, they just believe what Piccolo tells them. I mean, sure, the evidence is all there, but c'mon, it's Piccolo.



: You can't just die like this! Come on, hang in there!

: Gohan's unconscious, but he looks all right to me.

: Whew...Thank heavens. Now Chi-Chi won't yell at me. K-Krillin...It's...It's not much fun to die, is it...?

: I...I guess not. Don't worry, though. We'll resurrect you as fast as we can.

: Heh heh...Thanks.

: Goku...Agh!



And just like that, Goku fades away. Well, shit.



Yeah, Kami can take dead folks without having to bury them.



Is it just me, or does Krillin look far too happy about this?



: That little sneak...He's probably got some stupid plan for Goku up his sleeve again.



And so, we fade out of that scene...



And come to these two dudes, who are sitting on some dead alien. The little guy is eating part of it, yes.





These are the two other Saiyans Raditz was talking about. They...Don't particularly give a shit about his death.



: So, now what? Maybe we should save this planet for later...

: Those Dragon Balls intrigue me...He said they can make any wish come true. All right. Let's go!

: Are you gonna resurrect Raditz?

: Are you kidding me? I don't need that worthless bum. Then how about we wish for eternal youth? We could fight on and on, forever. It'd be great.

: Hmm...! Not a bad idea!



And so, they hop in their space pods, rushing off to Earth, to go steal the Dragon Balls!



: You don't think that was some kind of Scouter error?

: No. It couldn't have been. You saw how Raditz was nearly floored by a single strike from the kid...If I had to guess, there must be something about combining the blood of Saiyans with that of Earthlings. It must unleash some sort of massive new power.



Shut the fuck up, Nappa. We've got a loooong way to go before we get there. Shit, that's not even in this game! Or this planet!



: Don't be stupid! What do you think would happen if more of those guys showed up? It'd just make our position dangerous. It wouldn't accomplish anything for us.

: I suppose you're right...Either way, Earth's inhabitants don't have long to live!

: Well...I'd say it's time for the first long rest we've had in a while.

: I'll see you in a year. This is going to be so much fun!



And with that, we close out what I think of as the First Act of the game. I don't know if it's officially split up that way, but this seems like a pretty good breaking point for the first chunk of the game.

That's also partly why this update is so long. Not only did I not find a good place to cut it off, but we've finished off the first part of the game.



And also this update.

Stay tuned for next time; we'll be starting our training to combat the Saiyan menace coming one year from now!